FACTOIDS & TRIVIA

The Thunder series amps were Guild’s most popular amplifiers and were available in the mid to late-1960s. These included the Thunder 1 (in four different speaker configurations), the Thunder 1 Reverb, the Thunderbird, the Super Thunderbird, the Thunderstar, the Thunderstar Bass, and the Thunderbass. The Thunder series designs were a departure from what Guild had been doing in the 1950s and early 1960s. The differences were cosmetic as well as in the completely new circuits. The Thunder 1 amps were designed to have a very clean sound that would not be prone to distortion. While that may be appealing to jazz guitarists it was less desirable since some harmonic richness was sacrificed. Hence, the Thunder 1 amps tend to sound “Hi-Fi” when they are directly compared to their contemporaries from Fender, Ampeg and even other Guilds. Oddly, Guild chose to use power tubes that were commonly used in old table radios rather than instrument amplifiers. This could partially account for the clean sound of the Thunder 1 amps. The Guild Thunder 1 amp in a 2x10 speaker configuration was called the “Baby Bass Amp” in the Guild catalog. However, this amp was not really a bass amp at all. The 2x10 layout provided richer tones and more bottom end than its single speaker counterparts. As such, the T1-Twin model is probably the best sounding non-reverb Thunder 1, especially if an outboard reverb unit is used.

Top: 1965 Guild Thunder 1 T1-12

Bottom: 1967 Guild Thunder 1 T1-Twin

Power Amp:  Tube; 2 x 6GW8, 12 watts RMS @ 4 ohms (T1-Twin) or 8 ohms (T1-12)

Preamp:  Tube; 2 x 12AX7

Rectifier:  Tube; 1 x 6CA4

Speakers:  2 x 10" CTS (T1-Twin) or 1 x 12" CTS (T1-12)

Channels:  1; 2 inputs (Normal, High Gain)

Effects:  Tremolo

Controls:  Bass, treble, volume, bright switch; tremolo on/off switch, tremolo speed

Dimensions:  21 1/2 H x 22 1/2 W x 9 D inches (T1-Twin); 18 1/2 H  x 18 1/2 W x 9 D inches (T1-12)

Weight:  33 lbs. (T1-Twin); 25 lbs. (T1-12)