kidsmoke Posted October 24, 2011 Posted October 24, 2011 Vintage Ampeg guitar combos seem to be respected, yet it seems I haven't heard many hear that are using them. I'm looking at a vintage Jet, P2P, not the reissues that are all tube, but PCB. vintage had 12" speakers, tremolo, no reverb, used non-standard tubes (by modern standards) and were pretty light. Also to be found "out there" are the vintage G12 Reverberockets. More expensive than the jets, and not as portable, but still a reasonable little combo. Anyone here have experience with these amps? what would you expect the tone to be like with a 535?
DetroitBlues Posted October 24, 2011 Posted October 24, 2011 Actually, I do have some experience. A friend had one of these for a short time. He got rid of it because the original owner kept in his basement for 30 years while chain smoking as he used it. The smell of stale cigarettes never would come out of the amp, so he got rid of it. Its tone was fantastic, really loud, but being a vintage piece, it really need a good clean up of the electronics. They were a little scratchy at times and every now and then made a few strange noises. Since I used it with a PRS and an American Deluxe strat, I have no idea how it would react with with a 535.
kidsmoke Posted October 24, 2011 Author Posted October 24, 2011 Well how was it with the Dual HB PRS? Were you able to get it fairly bright?
NoNameBand Posted October 24, 2011 Posted October 24, 2011 No help with the Jet, but love the ReverbRockets. I found one in Miami and am thinking of getting it. I've played it and love it, just trying to justify needing a 6th amp.
DetroitBlues Posted October 24, 2011 Posted October 24, 2011 Well how was it with the Dual HB PRS? Were you able to get it fairly bright? It was an old '89 CE24. It didn't sound bad, but I didn't get a lot of time with it. Sounded just fine to me, good 'ol rock tone from it for sure. No help with the Jet, but love the ReverbRockets. I found one in Miami and am thinking of getting it. I've played it and love it, just trying to justify needing a 6th amp. Speaking of ReverbRockets.... $400 for a 2x12 from the 90's http://detroit.craigslist.org/okl/msg/2647555226.html
bolero Posted October 24, 2011 Posted October 24, 2011 friend of mine had a '60's reverberocket, it sounded amazing cranked up, killer reverb, and had power tube modulating tremolo to die for! if you see one cheap snatch it up, I'm sure it would be a beast with a 535 plugged in
NoNameBand Posted October 24, 2011 Posted October 24, 2011 The best amp I've ever heard at gig volume was a matched pair of Ampeg V-4s (100 watts rms & 2x12 EV ProLine speakers in each) . Volume set to 7, what a sound. All you need to do for clean/dirty is manage the guitar volume. No pedals needed.
TalismanRich Posted October 24, 2011 Posted October 24, 2011 The first amp I had was a Univox with 2 10s in it. No reverb. Eventually my dad came across an Ampeg EchoJet EJ12. You clipped two alligator clips on the speakers of your regular amp, and it added the reverb with it's own 12" speaker. It was pretty cool. The sound from it was totally different from the Univox. You could stack the Ampeg on top of the Univox. As for the sound, I'm afraid that 45+ years have pretty well muddied those waters! I sold both when I got my Guild Thunderbird around '68 or 69.
Horace Posted October 24, 2011 Posted October 24, 2011 I used a Gemini II for a few years in high school. In the last 10 years I've given my brother-in-law a Gemini VI and my son a Reverbrocket II. I play through both of them several times a year and they are really excellent amps. Reverb and Tremelos are top notch. Horace
Spectrum13 Posted October 24, 2011 Posted October 24, 2011 Got Edwards 555 plugged into my 65 Reverberocket 2. I purchased new so I have it 46 years. Never had a Jet. These amps are a bit heavy and bulky. They sound Fenderish just not as bright and more mids with xtrem interaction between the bass and treble. Super verb and tremelo. They break up about 1:00. These were the amps used in lots of studios back in the 60s and were the sound you hear on tons of records. Fantastic amp for an archtop if you don't need something light and easy to carry.
Guest HRB853370 Posted October 24, 2011 Posted October 24, 2011 Got Edwards 555 plugged into my 65 Reverberocket 2. I purchased new so I have it 46 years. Never had a Jet. These amps are a bit heavy and bulky. They sound Fenderish just not as bright and more mids with xtrem interaction between the bass and treble. Super verb and tremelo. They break up about 1:00. These were the amps used in lots of studios back in the 60s and were the sound you hear on tons of records. Fantastic amp for an archtop if you don't need something light and easy to carry. Edwards?? Is that like D'Angelo?
Guest HRB853370 Posted October 24, 2011 Posted October 24, 2011 Vintage Ampeg guitar combos seem to be respected, yet it seems I haven't heard many hear that are using them. I'm looking at a vintage Jet, P2P, not the reissues that are all tube, but PCB. vintage had 12" speakers, tremolo, no reverb, used non-standard tubes (by modern standards) and were pretty light. Also to be found "out there" are the vintage G12 Reverberockets. More expensive than the jets, and not as portable, but still a reasonable little combo. Anyone here have experience with these amps? what would you expect the tone to be like with a 535? I had a 67 Gemini II which I sold before I started playing guitar seriously. I bought it for electric accordian brand new, $350. Then I came to find out they are really sought after for archtop players. Go figure. I got $700 for mine, I think around 2001.
bolero Posted October 24, 2011 Posted October 24, 2011 that book "Ampeg, the story behind the sound" is an excellent read & reference on them too they were initially designed as small jazz bass & jazz guitar amps, used a lot in studios during the '50's/'60's but they sound great cranked too I agree with noname on the V4, one of the best sounds I ever got was a V4B plugged into a marshall 4x12 cranked up, with a les paul direct...loud and proud
yoslate Posted October 25, 2011 Posted October 25, 2011 that book "Ampeg, the story behind the sound" is an excellent read & reference on them too Friend of mine, Bill Moore, good player, co-authored that book. Bill's a bit of a character. Been trying to get into his basement for years. I've had intimations of an interesting archaeological dig.... Just can't convince him to cut me loose down there....
blackjack Posted October 25, 2011 Posted October 25, 2011 I have a Reverberocket, serial #800. It needs an output transformer. One day I'll fix it up and find a good home for it. The speaker is the original blue/silver logo Jensen. Ampeg had good circuit ideas, especially the tone stack. The last time I checked, these amps were moderately priced.
rjsanders Posted October 25, 2011 Posted October 25, 2011 had a '61 Reverberocket for a couple years (within the last 10) and loved it. swapped an Eminence Private Jack in for the original Jensen (which was sounding a little clapped out). full range of tones, my favorite reverb, loud enough to gig with in a blues band, great singing solo sounds when >1 o'clock on the volume knob, accepted clean boosts and low-gain ODs great. no notch in the mids like blackface fenders, tighter low end than old small tweeds. amp tech loaned me his early-mid-60's Jet for a week and it was similar. once the 'rocket developed problems i got it fixed up, sold it, and got a Juke 1210, then a 112, and have been using those pretty much exclusively for the past 8-9 yrs.
kidsmoke Posted October 25, 2011 Author Posted October 25, 2011 GREAT feedback everyone. Thanks. The G12's I've found range from 650 to 800. Thing is that due to being 40 - 50 yrs old, they're still gonna need some work at some point. And they're not highly mobile. The Jets on the other hand are the size of a BJr and lighter, with a 12" speaker! And cheaper. Definitely good to hear so many positive experiences with them.
High Flying Bird Posted October 26, 2011 Posted October 26, 2011 I have no experience with this vintage amp but one thing I do know is that a buddy's Jett reissue was the best sounding amps I had ever played through - until I got the Vox. Not that I am saying the Vox sounds better. The Jett Reissues are nice!
rockabilly69 Posted October 28, 2011 Posted October 28, 2011 I record with my vintage 1962 Ampeg Mercury all the time, I love that amp it just sounds rock and roll, I recorded the rhythm and lead parts of this song with it... http://www.kuul.com/new2/artists/i/19364?psid=20416
Connor Posted November 9, 2011 Posted November 9, 2011 I've been using an Ampeg J12T lately. I started playing "Classic Country" music with a group of Jammers on Saturday mornings at a local community center. My usual setup these past few weeks is the Ampeg J12T and my Heritage H-155 Millenium with HRW pickups. It's a nice combination. I bought the Ampeg at a pawn shop a few years back. Now I'm thinking about replacing the tubes, for no special reason other than to try out new tubes in an already great sounding amp. I don't understand "biasing". I wonder if anyone has had experience with that on the Ampeg J12T?
TalismanRich Posted November 9, 2011 Posted November 9, 2011 The Ampeg J12T is a self adjusting, cathode bias design. You can't really change the bias without changing some components. Interestingly, I pulled down the J12T manual and it tells you about the "importance" of biasing, but says nothing about the design of that particular amp. Here's a bit of info on biasing schemes for amps. http://www.aikenamps.com/WhatIsBiasing.htm
bolero Posted November 10, 2011 Posted November 10, 2011 Friend of mine, Bill Moore, good player, co-authored that book. Bill's a bit of a character. Been trying to get into his basement for years. I've had intimations of an interesting archaeological dig.... Just can't convince him to cut me loose down there.... hey that's cool! I bought mine from Bill direct & got it signed too, can't remember on which forum but when they were working on it he'd post updates etc real nice guy
hinesarchtop Posted November 11, 2011 Posted November 11, 2011 Love the jet! Love the SB series more.
kidsmoke Posted November 11, 2011 Author Posted November 11, 2011 So did you get the amp? Thanks for asking DB, no time to get here and post lately. I sure did. a 1965 J-12-A. I had it dimed in a bar that night. It had a hard time keeping up with other amps and a drum kit without mic'ing, but the quality of the tone is great. A true stripped down P2P tube amp. Now for the rub....I'm gonna need to start getting to know pedals better. It's an old school amp, just volume, tone and tremolo. No gain. you only get break up with volume. Beautiful cleans, VERY full sounding with my 535 (which i string with flatwound 12's) with the amp at about 2:00 (7 or so) on the bridge p'up, volume and tone dimed on the guitar (SD/blackback custom custom p'up) think of the intro to "same old song and dance"....great dirty growly....aww man. I love it. Problem is I can't do that at home. So I'm gonna need a pedal so I can push it to breakup at lower volumes. I was thinking about the SD pickup booster(ya'll can feel free to chime in on that).....but one thing at a time. Now...who can tell me the difference between the J-12-A and the J-12-T????
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