VINTAGE 1968 PLEXI LANEY ‘SESSION 50” WATT “SUPERGROUP SERIES 1” - ALL TUBE AMPLIFIER - MADE IN THE UK. - ALL ORIGINAL - HOLY GRAIL TONE - BLACK SABBATH

SELLING MY SUPER RARE VINTAGE 1968 PLEXI LANEY ‘SESSION 50” WATT “SUPERGROUP SERIES 1” ALL TUBE AMPLIFIER IN 98% ORIGINAL, AND SUPER CLEAN CONDITION.
   

IVE OWNED AND STILL OWN MANY VINTAGE LANEY SUPERGROUP AMPLIFIERS. 60 WATT, 100 WATT….. PA MODELS ETC. I BELIEVE THE PLEXI SESSION 50 TO BE THE BEST OF THEM ALL IN TERMS OF DESIRABLE TONES. THIS AMP IS SERIES 1. ITS A VERY EARLY MODEL AND THEY DONT COME UP VERY OFTEN FOR SALE.

THESE EARLY PLEXI LANEY AMPS WERE PART AND PARCEL TO THE FOUNDATIONS AND THE CREATION OF HEAVY METAL BY BLACK SABBATH IN THE LATE 1960’S.

POWERED BY THE MIGHTY AND ORIGINAL PARTRIDGE TRANSFORMERS. ONE OF THE TRANSFORMERS BEARS A TG9686 DESIGNATION. (PLEASE SEE THE PHOTO) THIS IS A TRANSFORMER ASSOCIATED WITH USE IN HIWATT AND LANEY AMPLIFIER BUILDS IN THE 60’S AND 70’S. THE GOLDEN AGE OF BRITISH AMP MANUFACTURING.

THESE TRANSFORMERS ARE ESPECIALLY KNOWN FOR WIDE BANDWIDTH, HEAVY LAMINATIONS, STRONG LOW END RESPONSE AND CLEAN HEADROOM. I CAN TELL YOU THAT ALL OF THAT INFORMATION IS TRUE WHEN YOU PLUG INTO THIS AMP, AS IT IS HEAVENLY.

AS A NON MASTER AMP YOU HAVE TO TURN IT UP TO GET THE INCREDIBLE MUSICAL OUTPUT DISTORTION COMING FROM A PAIR OF BRAND NEW EL34 JJ OUTPUT TUBES. THE OVERDRIVE TONES ARE SIMPLY FANTASTIC. THE CLEAN TONES AT LOWER VOLUME ARE AMAZING AS WELL. RICH AND CHMEY, FULL OF DETAIL, ARTICULATION AND AMAZING HARMONIC OVER TONES. THE SAME CAN BE SAID FOR THE SEMI OVERDRIVEN TONES AS YOU PUSH THE VOLUME HIGHER.

2 OF THE 3 PREAMP TUBES ARE VINTAGE MULLARDS AND WOULD SELL FOR A FEW HUNDRED DOLLARS ON THEIR OWN…PLEASE SEE THE PHOTOS.

THIS IS A 2 CHANEL AMP WITH A BASS CHANEL AND A TREBLE CHANEL. THE BASS CHANEL IS WELL SUITED FOR BASS INDEED. IF YOU PLUG A GUITAR INTO IT, IT'S ON PAR WITH A NORMAL CHANEL  IN SIMILAR HIGHLY RATED VINTAGE BRITISH TUBE AMPS OF THE SAME ERA. BEST USED FOR RHYTHM GUITAR AS ITS NOT AS HOT OR BRIGHT BUT STILL INCREDIBLY USEFUL AND DESIRABLE IN THE TONE IT ACHIEVES.

PLUG INTO THE TREBLE CHANEL AND NOW YOU KNOW YOUVE ARRIVED AT THE RIGHT PLACE. ENVISION A COMBINATION OF A PLEXI MARSHALL 50 WATT AND A VINTAGE HIWATT DR 504 50 WATT IN ONE AMP AND NOW YOU KNOW THE BASIC VIBE OF THIS LANEY AMP. THERE ARE BRIGHT SWITCHES ON BOTH CHANELS THAT ARE MODERATELY EFFECTIVE. THEY CAN BECOME MORE EFFECTIVE WITH FRESH PARTS. I PREFER TO LEAVE THE DECISION OF PART CHANGES TO THE NEW OWNER AND LEAVE THE ORIGINAL COMPONENTS IN PLACE. THE AMP IS 98% ORIGINAL WITH A FEW COMPONENTS REPLACED ONLY AS STRICTLY NECESSARY.

THE AMP HAS BEEN LOVINGLY CARED FOR FOR AROUND 30 YEARS IN MY COLLECTION. IT WAS LOOKED AT LAST WEEK IN SERVICE AND ALL POTS, JACKS, SWITCHES AND TUBE SOCKETS WERE  CLEANED AND THE BIAS WAS CHECKED. THE AMP IS RUNNING SMOOTH, VERY STABLE AND VERY HAPPY. IN THE CIRCUIT PHOTO YOU WILL SEE A 16MFD 450V RESISTOR ON THE TAG BOARD  THAT HAS BEEN REPLACED SINCE THE PHOTO WAS TAKEN. I NOTICED IT WAS ON ITS LAST LEGS WHEN I TOOK PICTURES SO I HAD IT REPLACED SO THE NEW OWNER WILL NOT HAVE TO DEAL WITH IT.

THE AMP FEATURES 3 BAND EQ CONTROLS WITH A PRESENCE CONTROL. THE AMP GETS PLENTY LOUD FOR SURE. THE COSMETICS OF THE AMP ARE FANTASTIC. ITS VERY, VERY CLEAN. THE ONLY BLEM I SEE IS A CRACK IN THE PLEXI CONTROL PANEL BY THE POWER AND STANDBY SWITCHES BUT ITS A ’STABLE CRACK” AND NOT VULNERABLE TO FURTHER CRACKING.

THE POWER TRANSFORMER DOES NOT HAVE MULTIPLE VOLTAGE TAPS. ITS 220V - 230 V ONLY. HENCE A STEP DOWN TRANSFORMER IS NECESSARY FOR USE IN THE STATES. A STEP DOWN TRANSFORMER IS NOT INCLUDED IN THE SALE OF THIS AMP BUT GOOD ONES THAT DONT COST TOO MUCH ARE EASILY AVAILABLE ON AMAZON. IF YOU NEED  A LINK FOR A STEP DOWN TRANSFORMER LET ME KNOW AND ILL SEND YOU ONE

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I PACK VERY CAREFULLY AND SPARE NO EFFORT OR EXPENSE TO DELIVER SAFELY TO YOU. 

ALL PURCHASES ARE INSURED WITH REVERB SAFE SHIPPING INSURANCE.

SHIPPING COST IS TO THE LOWER 48 STATES. SHIPPING TO USPS PO BOXES, ALASKA AND HAWAII WILL INCUR ADDITIONAL SHIPPING CHARGES.

THANKS FOR LOOKING.

SOLD IN ‘AS IS” CONDITION.

HERE IS SOME HISTORY AND INFORMATIVE DATA.

The Laney “Supergroup Session 50” (50-watt) is a pretty obscure but very cool piece of vintage British amp history—basically a rarer, slightly more practical sibling of the classic Supergroup heads.

🔊 What it is

• A 50-watt all-tube (valve) guitar amp head  
• Built in the late 1960s (often ~1968–1969)  
• Part of Laney’s early Supergroup lineage (the same family associated with that raw British “proto-metal” tone)

🧠 Why it’s called “Session”

The Session” 50 isn’t a totally different circuit—it’s more like:

• A lower-powered Supergroup variant (vs 100W heads)
• Designed to be a bit more manageable for studios and smaller gigs
• Often reported to have slightly lower plate voltage, making it more stable/reliable  

🎛️ Tone & feel

Players usually describe it as:

• Huge, dimensional cleans
• Thick, aggressive breakup when pushed
• More organic and raw than Marshall Plexis, but in the same tonal family  
• Works across rock, blues, and early metal tones  

Think:

👉 early British crunch

👉 Sabbath-adjacent gain character

👉 big low end + chewy mids

🧱 Build & components

Typical vintage specs:

• EL34 power tubes
• ECC83 (12AX7) preamp tubes
• Partridge transformers (a big part of the tone)  

💰 Current market (vintage)

Because they’re rare:

• Around $4,000–$4,500+ depending on condition

Things to know

• Very loud (50W tube ≠ small)
• Minimal modern features (no master volume on many)
• Maintenance matters (caps, tubes, transformers)
• Hard to find compared to standard Supergroup 100s

🧾 Bottom line

The Laney Supergroup Session 50 is basically:

a rare, Supergroup with killer vintage British tone

If you’re into old-school Laney/Marshall territory but want something more unique (and slightly less overpowering than a 100W), it’s a gem.