Considering a Polytone

[garybaldy]

Well I bought the MB IV today and it is glorious! EQs set all around noon and I’ve got the tone I wanted. Love that it can be nice and dark for single note playing without losing clarity on chords. Nice balance between the low and high strings, and definitely no plinky high E through this thing. It was pretty dusty but cleaned up great and seems to be working 100%. Made in 1995. Thanks for helping me make the decision everyone!

Glad you like it.
Is it the 4 knob version?
What position do you have the slider switch please?

[epistrophy.]

Those are both very sweet offers, but before you bite consider a few small things:

I've never owned one, but have played through them. They have dark sounds, which I like but w/o the right setting can possibly veer towards muddiness.

Also, the book on Polytones is that they're pretty fragile, therefore not all that road-worthy. Again, I've never owned one and cannot honestly verify that.

But they are good amps, and there are reasons why they're still around and their fans swear by them. And $200? $450? What are you waiting for? Grab both before someone else does!

I’ve heard very mixed things about their reliability, even just in this thread! But thankfully I just play at home so roadworthiness isn’t a major consideration.

And though I’d love to try a Baby Brute as well, I’m all set with the MB IV I grabbed! At least for now. I see most Polytones going for under $500 and a fair number even for under $300, so hopefully that won’t change anytime soon. Glad they are still affordable despite their age!

Glad you like it.
Is it the 4 knob version?
What position do you have the slider switch please?

Yes it’s the one in the photo posted earlier in this thread (except mine is black tolex). Bass, mid, treble, reverb, channel volume and master volume, and gain for the fx loop. Also overdrive channel volume and overdrive controls, but I just pretend those don’t exist. I’ve been enjoying the slider in the dark position the most for solo guitar, using the low input. Center position sounds good too, and I bet would help out in a group setting.