My M-8...

[tonewoods]

Hi all....

Here's a few pics of my M-8 amp...

http://s231.photobucket.com/albums/ee22 ... M-8%20Amp/

Great little recording amp, especially for lap steel....

Not sure of the date on this...

Bruce

[libratune]

A few ways to date it. There should be a code stamped into the wood of the bottom inside panel. You could compare that code to other M-8s of that era to estimate the date of mfg. Here are the M-8s on the Register: http://www.rickresource.com/register/in ... celebrity=

The M-8 was put in a bigger box and became the M-8E in the late 1950s: http://www.rickresource.com/register/in ... celebrity=

Also, if the speaker is original to the amp, there is a date code (on a Jensen it starts with 220 _ _ _). The 4th digit is last digit of year (example: 7 = 1957) and next 2 are week digits (like 43). So a Jensen speaker coded 220743 was mfg'd in 43rd week of 1957. Why not 1967? That has to do with the features of the speaker, such as whether it has alnico or ceramic magnet, type of label, etc. Also important in dating are the features on your amp, such as covering, badge type, etc. which are definitely mid-to-late 1950s.

As a last resort, you could remove the chassis and see the date code on the pot/s.

[tonewoods]

Thanks Ron....

Yeah, the code stamped in the wood is "T8780", so it looks like a '58 or so....

Speaker code is 220832, so it looks like a '58 speaker too, and appears to be original....

Thanks!

[doctorwho]

Nice amp, Bruce!

[w1nn1e]

I love these little M-8's. The M-8e in silver orange peel are the best ones.
The speaker baffle is loose and designed to act with the 8 " speaker.
It's a one knob wonder and eats Fender champs for breakfast
when cranked.