Heathkit rock-band hardware circa 1967, including Heath-distributed Rocket, Silhouette, and ‘Deluxe’ Harmony guitars.  Also on offer: Heathkit TA-16 solid-state guitar amp.  Click here and here for more Heathkit coverage on PS dot com. 

Nope, it’s the cover of the 1971 Heathkit catalog.

Stumbled upon this, and the accompanying 1971 Heathkit ‘Holiday Catalog’ at a sale today.  Nothing too notable on display, but the photography is pretty fantastic.  Just watched the latest Wes Anderson pic –  his first period picture, I believe – and it struck me that it didn’t feel any different than his other films as far as the wardrobe, propping, and sets.  His contemporary characters all seem to hide in the past, at least as far as their chattels are concerned.  So heavy is the burden of material culture upon Mr. Anderson.  And upon this writer, apparently.  Dig in…

Do you remember the beach-times?

Fukk yr flat-screens.  I’m talkin bout in-wall CRTs.  

The elusive Tequila Sunrise, miraculously captured indoors

Pictured above: the Heathkit TA-38 bass amplifier and the Heathkit TA-29 and JK-37 guitar amplifiers.  Also, your parents.

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For earlier Heathkit coverage on Preservation Sound dot com, click here.

]]> https://www.preservationsound.com/1971/feed/ 3 https://www.preservationsound.com/heathkit-rock-band-hardware-c-1969/ https://www.preservationsound.com/heathkit-rock-band-hardware-c-1969/#comments Fri, 17 Jun 2011 18:19:18 +0000 http://www.preservationsound.com/?p=2702
Download a five-page scan of the various guitar amps, guitars, effects, and other Rock-combo-flotsam available from Heathkit in 1969:

DOWNLOAD: Heathkit_guitar_amps_1969

Products on offer include: Heathkit Starmaker TA-16 amplifier; AKG and Shure mics and Atlas stands; TA-27 guitar amp; Harmony ‘Silhouette’ H17 electric guitar; Heathkit TA-28 “Fuzz” Booster and TA-58 headphone amp; TA-17 amplifier head and TA-17-1 speaker system; TA-38 bass amplifer (130 lbs!); and a kit version of the famous Vox Jaguar organ.

M. and I were digging through some local pawn shops last week and we spotted the above-depicted ‘Starmaker’ amplifer buried under some radial arm saws.  Coincidentally enough, the price they were asking was the same $119 that it would have cost you to buy as a kit in 1969.  “…in about 8-10 hours and you’ll have the best value around in a solid-state amp.  Order yours now.”

Kit-built electronics were a fascinating and vital part of consumer-culture in America through the 1970s. It’s kind of liberating when you think about it: a product which parses out some (but certainly not all) of the labor from the physical materials of the product; you, the consumer, can then create the finished product from a combination of your capital (money) and your raw labor/time.  I am about to do the same thing with a shed; we need someplace to put our lawnmower, and the right balance of capital/labor for my particular circumstances is a shed-kit.  I have neither the money to pay someone to build a shed for me nor the free time to build a shed from a blueprint and a pile of uncut lumber; the shed kit seems like the right choice for me.   At some point in America, the value of the labor required to complete a piece of consumer-electronics equipment fell below a certain point, thanks to a combination automation (robots) and cheap foreign labor.  This made the Heathkit a fairly indefensible option.   This affordability of foreign labor (and transportation costs…) can’t last forever though.  So I have to wonder:  as foreign labor prices continue to rise, will we ever see a return of the kit-option for consumer electronics in America?

Do you ever come across a Vox Jaguar and wonder why it does not work quite right?  Well now we know: it could have originated as one of these kits; 91 lbs of cold solder joints and sloppy lead dress.  Heathkit makes a  bold claim about the capability of the above Jaguar when used in league with their TA-38 bass amp:  “Here’s a combination that will produce the most mind-bending, soul-grabbing sound around.”  266 lbs, $499.00.