Polytone Mini-Brute II Question

[Jeremy Crockett]

Good morning, my mother's second husband, Larry, recently passed away and my brother and I have inherited some of his gear.

One item is a Polytone Mini-Brute II amplifier. I believe that Larry may have purchased this or been gifted it by his former guitar teacher.
I have searched the internet looking for a way to calculate the age of the amp based on the serial number, but this has not resulted in anything concrete.



I have been able to find some photos of similar amps and noticed that they feature a markedly different nameplate than the one my brother has.



Another thing I noticed is that the amp looks like it may have been recovered but it is kind of hard to tell from the pictures he sent me.


Any information regarding this would be greatly appreciated. My brother doesn't want to sell the amp, rather we are looking for as much data on it as we can possibly collect. Thank you in advance.

[Herbie]

My condolences for Your loss.

I have a Mini Brute IV from same years. Red knob and black felt covering. If it is working it is a great little jazz amp!

I remember that this red knob era was in early 80s. Some people here will know more precise.

I You can open the back You will see the handwritten serial number in the chassis of the preamp (the upper piece of electronics). That will tell the year.

[Cunamara]

I had that very same model, for some reason I thought it was a 1982. Nice amp. Had to replace the foam grille, the years had not been kind to it.

[Herbie]

Here in Jazzguitar.be is a lot of information about these amps, but You have to use Google:
”polytone jazzguitar.be”.

Sometimes the speaker or reverb does not work, but there is reasonable spare parts available.

The foam grille is one of the weakest parts in this era amps. I took mine off, saved it and made a more roadworthy grille instead.