I love the old Reverberocket, one the the best amps I've played.
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SurfGuitar101 Forums » Gear »
What do people think of Ampeg guitar amps?
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Joined: Dec 26, 2008 Posts: 122 Binghamton, NY 
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Posted on Jul 03 2012 08:42 AM
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Joined: Jan 08, 2012 Posts: 42 Minneapolis 
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Posted on Jul 03 2012 10:07 AM
Been using an Ampeg Gemini VI as my main amp for about a year or two, and have grown quite attached. Here's some pro's and cons: The good The bad Overall it's not perfect, but they sell at ridiculous prices, and it's really the amp that got me into playing surf. Some day I'll probably trade it in for a pricier vintage Fender, but she's cool for now. — |
Joined: Sep 07, 2011 Posts: 507 |
Posted on Jul 03 2012 03:50 PM
Yea, the next time get an amp, I'd like an Ampeg close to a Deluxe Reverb in size/weight w/ tremolo/verb, and about the same volume. Maybe a Reverberocket II? Probably not as loud as the Gemini but the portability looks better. For bigger shows I can use the Twin but for practicing with others I need something a bit smaller. |
Joined: Mar 09, 2011 Posts: 273 Melbourne FL USA |
Posted on Jul 03 2012 05:32 PM
Back in '65 (or so), we had a Jet, Gemini 2, and my Fender Princeton Reverb. It sounded good. We joked about it calling Ampeg the "east coast Fender". I currently own a 1967 Ampeg Gemini 1 & I LOVE it. The tremelo is strong (almost cutting when you engage the "click on" just a tad past ten) & it is very good, maybe best I've heard. The reverb (also called "Echo" on the panel) has a nice "drip" to it a bit apart from a Fender, but nevertheless, GREAT Reverb ! The cabinet is somewhat large to house just one 12" (original) Jensen spkr & the amp is about 20-22 watts....it's really good for surfmusic (or blues w/an OD unit) ! Last edited: Jul 03, 2012 17:33:23 |
Joined: Jan 05, 2008 Posts: 43 Los Angeles 
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Posted on Jul 03 2012 10:52 PM
I love them! I have a early 70's VT-22 and a V4. I use the V4 as my main rig with 4 12's and a tank. It's huge and heavy but worth it. It's super clean without the harsh/thinness that a twin can give you (sorry for the surf blasphemy). With a tube screamer or a fuzz and you can't lose. Rules are meant to be broke. —www.reverbnation.com/thetahitishuttleexperiment |
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Joined: Sep 07, 2011 Posts: 507 |
Posted on Jul 04 2012 02:47 AM
I love my twin but I know what you mean about the thinness, sometimes outside it loses a lot of it's beef. |
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Joined: Dec 05, 2008 Posts: 56 |
Posted on Jul 04 2012 06:52 AM
I had a reissue Reverberocket. For the few years I had it, I thought it was great. I play Jazzmasters and a Gretsch Hollowbody. It always got buried back in the mix and lacked good bottom end. I was in denial about it being the problem with my sound until I tried and bought a Vibroverb 63 reissue. Its like the heavens opened up and the sounds I dream of came out. I did play an original 60s Ampeg once and I do think it was really good. |
Joined: May 27, 2007 Posts: 254 Madrid, Spain |
Posted on Jul 06 2012 11:31 AM
I like my ampeg sj 12t, I use it at home, with the boss frv1 for surf tones, and an ehx english muff'n for rock. |
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Joined: Dec 02, 2012 Posts: 51 FL
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Posted on Dec 09 2012 08:29 PM
There are a bunch of great old ampegs. Heres how to pick one. Decide what fender or other popular amp you like. Eyeball a copy of that schematic, then, look over all the old ampegs schematics till you find a similar layout. Thats the ampeg you want.IE the reverberocket is on a par with a Deluxe reverb .The reissue ampegs need a bunch of tweaks to get them to give up the old tones,and I had one that did a dam good 66 bassman impersonation. The SVTs are another matter, and need to be serviced by a very well qualified tech. Yes there are surfing ampegs . |
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Joined: Sep 07, 2011 Posts: 507 |
Posted on Dec 09 2012 10:12 PM
Used to own a 60s Ampeg Mercury, sounded alright and had enough power for a small gig. Not as chimey or full as a Fender, not much personality tonewise either, had decent headroom though and an ok tremolo. I would say they are cool but not a replacement for a real Fender tube amp. Last edited: Dec 09, 2012 22:15:02 |
Joined: Nov 28, 2011 Posts: 795 Prescott Valley, AZ
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Posted on Dec 10 2012 01:03 AM
One of my fav amps was an Ampeg V4 full stack. Very heavy, though, the head alone weighs about the same as my current Super Reverb. But a great sounding 100 watt head. I also owned a VT22 for short while, it had a Pyle speaker in it and still sounded decent. Ended up trading it for a MIM P-Bass. I'm back using Fenders, but more out of familiarity than that they sound that much better than the Ampegs, did. Just different. |
Joined: Jul 27, 2007 Posts: 1099 4 faces. (Where the buffalo roam) 
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Posted on Dec 10 2012 10:13 AM
A local pawn shop has a very old one here for 895.00 the leather on the carry handle has all but disintegrated but the rest of it is very clean. The same guy who brought it in also brought in a 70's twin reverb silverface that's so clean I thought it was a reissue and passed on it then bought a new VM bandmaster which the pawn shop "generously offered" me 350.$$ for my BM and speaker cab as a trade in |
Joined: Apr 03, 2010 Posts: 3201 Jacksonville, AL
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Posted on Dec 10 2012 10:42 AM
I had the pleasure of playing through an Ampeg Reverberocket for a show in Kentucky a few months back. To say that I was impressed would be the understatement of the year. The amp blew me away with tone. There are actually quite a few of the reissues and originals on Ebay at the moment at very good prices. —THE KBK ... This is the last known signal. We offer Sanctuary. www.thekbk.com Last edited: Dec 10, 2012 10:44:02 |
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Joined: Jul 27, 2007 Posts: 1099 4 faces. (Where the buffalo roam)
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Posted on Dec 10 2012 03:03 PM
The one I looked at is a Gemini 11. 1967. 2 channel with 2 guitar inputs and 2 for accordian. Echo instead of reverb. "15" Jensen concert speaker & foot pedal. But they had me pegged as a "tire kicker" and wouldn't let me plug it in. |
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Joined: Dec 02, 2012 Posts: 51 FL
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Posted on Jun 02 2013 11:30 AM
Poeple be on the lookout for Ampeg Gemini twos . Just got one for 100.00 dollars. ax7s and 7591s + 15 in jensen concert.Banzai pipeline saturation reverb. Extreme killer tone, and vibrato to boot. I have never heard one of these before, and I just cant get over how nice an amp these are. DONT PASS THESE BY !!!!!!!! |
Joined: Oct 05, 2012 Posts: 1725 Austin, Texas
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Posted on Jun 02 2013 04:23 PM
How fitting, I played a reverberocket today. It was a spectacular beast, sparkling cleans, and a warm tasty reverb that complemented the sharp, splashy sound of a Fender tank just right. I thought it blew most of Fender's reissue amps out of the water, it sounded so full of life, so natural. —IMO. |
Joined: Jul 24, 2012 Posts: 2762 Finknabad, Squinkistan 
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Posted on Jun 03 2013 01:10 AM
Classic Ampeg stereo guitar amp for sale or trade - $395 (Topanga Cyn WLA) |
Joined: Jan 18, 2010 Posts: 672 Delaware
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Posted on Jun 03 2013 01:39 PM
Big Reverberocket fan, little space ship on the front panel and all, the vintage ones used to be a well kept secret, now their getting expensive. Definitely on my amp bucket list. |
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Joined: Sep 07, 2011 Posts: 507 |
Posted on Sep 03 2013 08:48 PM
Might be looking into an old Reverberocket II on eBay. How loud are they? I have a reissue deluxe reverb, so how is it compared to that? Mostly playing bar gigs/small parties with a 50s RI strat and Hagstrom III. Has original speaker re-coned, I read that the originals would blow because the amp is too much for them, so maybe a brand new Jensen ceramic would bump up the volume and get the most out of it. The other amp that I am contemplating is a Kalamazoo Reverb 12. Can't decide between them. I think the Ampeg would be more gig worthy but I've heard of people using the Kalamazoo at gigs. Or just get both! My dad used to have an Ampeg Gemini and Kalamazoo reverb 12 in the 60s, so there's some nostalgia tied into them for me. Last edited: Sep 03, 2013 20:52:21 |
Joined: Nov 02, 2010 Posts: 97 Austin, TX 
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Posted on Sep 03 2013 09:54 PM
tubesNtweed wrote:
I would definitely recommend the Reverberocket - I have a '63 model and will never part with it! Can't really comment on its loudness in a live situation since I only use mine for recording (and rarely turn it up beyond 4 or 5), but I love the tone and the on-board reverb and tremolo are sweet as well. |
(1195.00 for twin) and he also brought in a U.S. made 50th anniversary strat. I know the poor guy got raped! But if any of you are interested in the Ampeg, shoot me a pm and I'll take a closer look for you and get some pics that I could send via email only.
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