Ampeg is making again guitar amps. This new seiers will be out at the end of the summer. Has anyone any opinion or review of this amazing guitar gear???

What about this stuff??.

Didn't know about it! I just checked in ampeg's website. I like the looks and they've got a nice range for home, gigging etc.Thanks for the info.

New Ampegs do not equal the Old Ampegs

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MingSubu
New Ampegs do not equal the Old Ampegs

Did you play one? Please tell us how you know this! Give us a review.

I am very curious as I own a 1965 GS-12 which I love. I noticed the new Ampegs have a Gain knob which is cool. I can;t overdrive my GS-12 without a pedal.

I am very excited that Ampeg is back in the guitar game. My next hope is that Marshall does a 20w and a 40w follow up to the Class 5. The rest of their line has either too much power or is laden with uneccessary effects.

And HiWatt.............who wouldn't love a nice 20w HiWatt combo that isn't $40,000 ?

Low wattage amps are gaining popularity. I love my new Princeton Reverb Reissue; 15 watts, 12 kg

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Cafaro

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MingSubu
New Ampegs do not equal the Old Ampegs

Did you play one? Please tell us how you know this! Give us a review.

I am very curious as I own a 1965 GS-12 which I love. I noticed the new Ampegs have a Gain knob which is cool. I can;t overdrive my GS-12 without a pedal.

I am very excited that Ampeg is back in the guitar game. My next hope is that Marshall does a 20w and a 40w follow up to the Class 5. The rest of their line has either too much power or is laden with uneccessary effects.

And HiWatt.............who wouldn't love a nice 20w HiWatt combo that isn't $40,000 ?

There's various Marshall amp's of between 10 and 40 watts, like the 18 watt 1974X. HiWatt has quite an extensive range of 20 to 50 watt combo's and top's, from very affordable PCB constructed to more expensive PtP.

Mathijs

Yeah but the 1974x is like two grand...I belive they had a 20 watt in their dsl amps...but they dont make them any more...not a fan of the haze stuff.

I'm looking for tube pre-amp/power sections.
I played a Haze 40 last week. It was just ok. It didn't make me want to spend $400 for it. I felt the effects were weak. I ended up buying a used Mesa/Boogie Studio Caliber for $100 more.

I will be trying out a used JCM600 tomorrow. Im afraid that if I want a great low watt Marshall, I'll need to buy it used and not sure if I want to do that. Or just get the Class 5.

Also playing a used AC15 hand wired this weekend. Should be cool

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ohcarol
Yeah but the 1974x is like two grand...

MOst shops dropped prices to around $1000 as they didn't sell, and second hand you can get them for $700 or so.

Mathijs

They have used 1974x on ebay from around 1300 and up...anyone play these amps?

So let me ask this. I realize this isn't an Led Zep site BUT

Do you all know what amp JP played on Dazed and No Quarter live on the Song Remains the Same? Was it Marshall's? If so , which one(s)

I've read he was using Hiwatt amps w/Marshall cabs. I also see an Orange amp in the movie. I love that sound he got on that tour. To me, that is the essence of "British" guitar tone.

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Cafaro
So let me ask this. I realize this isn't an Led Zep site BUT

Do you all know what amp JP played on Dazed and No Quarter live on the Song Remains the Same? Was it Marshall's? If so , which one(s)

I've read he was using Hiwatt amps w/Marshall cabs. I also see an Orange amp in the movie. I love that sound he got on that tour. To me, that is the essence of "British" guitar tone.

As far as I know, the Orange was for the Theramin. His main amp live always has been Marshall Major amps, modified with 6550 tubes to get to 160 or so watts.

There's a dozen websites literally describing JP's setup from show to show...

Mathijs

Ampeg may have missed the mark with these new amps. Made in china? 6l6 tubes? Those are fine tubes but ampeg should have used some of the crazy tubes from those past to help make these new amps a little more unique. 6550s, 7027, and my favorite the 7591. All are commercially available. I don't they could recreate the classic ampeg sound without them. I hope they aren't just twist on a fender circuit or something. If you want the svt or v series sound in a smaller wattage package try finding an old GU-12. They usually need work but mine nails the "exile" tone. Probably because they use it on exile.

Go Dawgs!

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nankerphlege
Ampeg may have missed the mark with these new amps. Made in china? 6l6 tubes? Those are fine tubes but ampeg should have used some of the crazy tubes from those past to help make these new amps a little more unique. 6550s, 7027, and my favorite the 7591. All are commercially available. I don't they could recreate the classic ampeg sound without them. I hope they aren't just twist on a fender circuit or something. If you want the svt or v series sound in a smaller wattage package try finding an old GU-12. They usually need work but mine nails the "exile" tone. Probably because they use it on exile.

6550 is a higher grid voltage version of the 6L6 -meaning you get more power and less distortion than with 6L6 tubes. It is the UK version of the 6L6, like the KT-88. Great for bass or grainy Marshalls, but not very preferable for most modern guitar amps. The 7027 is exactly the same as 6L6-GC, there is no difference at all other then two extra pins that are shorted. The 7591 is fantastic, a 6L6 with the compression of a 6V6. But, NOS tubes are impossible to find, and all modern ones are basically 6V6's in a 6L6 package.

Mathijs

Mathjis- interesting! Your expertise is always appreciated! I am restoring a vt22 and it has 6550s. Ithought they were just giant 6l6s but since it is not in working order I have no opinion. I have tried the new jj 7591 vs nos and I have been very impressed. Looking at the guts there is differences between the new 7591 and new 6v6s/6l6s. I thought it was just a rebranded 6v6 tube but I don't think it is. JJs marketing material and reps insist it is not but you can only take that with a grain of salt. The new 7591s (especially the NOS) seem to be much more responsive/sensitive than 6v6 but not as much as el84/34 and sound great. Defiantly a blend of the two types sound wise. The best nos stuff is tops but for a new tube it compares well to the NOS.

Go Dawgs!

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Mathijs

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Cafaro
So let me ask this. I realize this isn't an Led Zep site BUT

Do you all know what amp JP played on Dazed and No Quarter live on the Song Remains the Same? Was it Marshall's? If so , which one(s)

I've read he was using Hiwatt amps w/Marshall cabs. I also see an Orange amp in the movie. I love that sound he got on that tour. To me, that is the essence of "British" guitar tone.

As far as I know, the Orange was for the Theramin. His main amp live always has been Marshall Major amps, modified with 6550 tubes to get to 160 or so watts.

There's a dozen websites literally describing JP's setup from show to show...

Mathijs

Yep, the Orange was definitely for the Theremin only, that much I know.

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nankerphlege
Mathjis- interesting! Your expertise is always appreciated! I am restoring a vt22 and it has 6550s. Ithought they were just giant 6l6s but since it is not in working order I have no opinion. I have tried the new jj 7591 vs nos and I have been very impressed. Looking at the guts there is differences between the new 7591 and new 6v6s/6l6s. I thought it was just a rebranded 6v6 tube but I don't think it is. JJs marketing material and reps insist it is not but you can only take that with a grain of salt. The new 7591s (especially the NOS) seem to be much more responsive/sensitive than 6v6 but not as much as el84/34 and sound great. Defiantly a blend of the two types sound wise. The best nos stuff is tops but for a new tube it compares well to the NOS.

Watch out with putting 7027 or 6L6 in your VT-22. As it now has 6550 it will have some jumpers wired on the pins, and some cap values changed. You will need to check that before you put in anything else than 6550 or else you will fry the output transformer. And that's the end of a beautiful amp!

Mathijs

Nah sticking with 6550s. If I don't like em I'll have someone more qualified than me do the necessary rewiring, etc.

Go Dawgs!

Has anyone tried the GVT amps yet and how do they sound?

I really can't find much about these amps. It's hard to tell what they sound like from the you-tube clips. Also, I can't seem to find anywhere that has any to try and I wouldn't want to waste money getting one for the sake of it. However, the Ampeg guy on youtube says that the amps are inspired by the early 70s Ampegs used by the Rolling Stones! Is this true?

I would love to get the tone of the old V / VT series amps but in a package that you can play at a reasonable volume and doesn't break your back. Therefore, I was thinking the 15W combo would be a good bet if it can get the sound.

Apparently, a lot of the Ampeg tone comes from the baxandall eqs. Does anyone have any comment on this? How does cutting / boosting the frequencies help get that stones or faces sound?

If anyone has tried one of these out or bought one I'd love to hear about it. People just saying that they are rubbish without ever having plugged in to or heard one really doesn't help me out here (as much as I'm sure you might be right).

Bump

Has anyone tried/heard these yet?

i've been using an Ampeg since 1980for my guitar work in the studio and on stage at times. it's a durable piece of equipment with a great overdrive with a kind of 75-76 stones sound when turned up. it has the blue screen on it with tremolo/reverb. definitely a very favorite of mine. friends have been jealous of the sound for years.

OK so I decided to order one online- after all, I'd have a couple of weeks to send it back if I dodn't like it.

Sound wise, it is sort of similar to the old VT range amps but not exactly the same. It is very different to Fender/<arshall for sure, especially the EQ.

I'll update once I've had a chance to play it properly. It's very loud for a 15W, but I want to know how it will stand up at a gig.

This youtube video shows some guy playing through the 15W head (I got the combo) and I'd say it shows pretty nicely how the amp sounds.

The ampeg one on the clip sounds ok, but it lacks that rudimentary and warm, clean and brutal sound of the 7-tees Stones. Nothing beats the versatile sound of an (early) 7-tees ampeg, in my case a VT 22. It also takes pedals very well.
Cause they are way too loud and heavy, I switched to a mesa boogie combo in the mid 8-tees, it sounds very very good as well, clean, crunch, overdrive etc.
But in the end, it's also in the fingers. A good player gets a great sound out of an old radio, so to speak.

If you want a Stones sounding Ampeg, search the internet, the (early) 7-tees are still available if you are patient. Make sure you take a competent technician with you, I wouldn't go blind.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2013-02-24 22:53 by VT22.

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A good player gets a great sound out of an old radio, so to speak

Never a truer word was spoken.

A friend of my mine can make sh*t guitars sparkle.

But it's all HIM.

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VT22
The ampeg one on the clip sounds ok, but it lacks that rudimentary and warm, clean and brutal sound of the 7-tees Stones. Nothing beats the versatile sound of an (early) 7-tees ampeg, in my case a VT 22.

What Stones exactly? In the studio they used Fender amps for about 95% of the time. Only Exile has 3 or 4 tracks recorded with an Ampeg.

Mathijs

On stage of course, with Taylor. Ive got neighbours, but I personally prefer the sound of an old VT22 above the new Ampeg sound posted on the clip.

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VT22
The ampeg one on the clip sounds ok, but it lacks that rudimentary and warm, clean and brutal sound of the 7-tees Stones. Nothing beats the versatile sound of an (early) 7-tees ampeg, in my case a VT 22. It also takes pedals very well.
Cause they are way too loud and heavy, I switched to a mesa boogie combo in the mid 8-tees, it sounds very very good as well, clean, crunch, overdrive etc.
But in the end, it's also in the fingers. A good player gets a great sound out of an old radio, so to speak.

If you want a Stones sounding Ampeg, search the internet, the (early) 7-tees are still available if you are patient. Make sure you take a competent technician with you, I wouldn't go blind.

Yes, you're right. Nothing beats that sound. You're lucky if you can use a VT 22 cranked up in your room, let alone at a small gig in a pub. I wanted a SMALL amp that could get a reasonable approximation of the sound.

I thought now I'd had a chance to play with the amp, I'd put a fuller review on here. The above clip does not really show the versatility of the amp - it's using one basic setting with lots of pre-amp gain.

The amp I bought was the GVT 15W combo. First off, I'm not necessarily into emulating other peoples exact guitar tones. However, I am INFLUENCED by the 70s Stones live sound. I have a Fender Blues Deluxe, an old Fender Bassman Head, a GIbson Goldtone (same as Trace Elliot Velocette) a strange Laney thing and some other amps - previously I've had a twin and Marshall amps (though I never really liked the Marshalls I had). Wmat I wanted was something more like the 70s live stones sound than the Fenders but in a small package for when I do small gigs or in my house.

The Ampeg is different to anything else I have and this is, IMO, mostly down to the tone circuitry and in particular the pre pre-amp mid control. This means that you can have a distorted mid tone but maintain cleaner highs and lows if you want. It's hard to describe exactly how this sounds, butmaybe imagine running a clean and dirty amp at the same time... Not exactly but it's hard to describe. Anyhow, I like it!

You can crank the amp how you like. I like it set so you get a warm slightly compressed and slightly crunchy bottom end, a more distorted middle and a cleaner top end. This means that you get a tone which is warm, crunchy and clear at the same time. What I like is that (as with all good amps) when you back the volume off on your guitar, the sound cleans up nicely.

The middle tone pot acts as an extra gain/sensitivity setting. You will not get crunch tones with the mid control down. THis is not the same as most will be used to. The tone controls are very wide ranging so there is a much wider variation in sound than you can get from most amps.

I wouldn't buy it if you wanted the Ya Yas sound, though I'd say your as likley to get an approximation using this amp as any other. I think the best way of putting it is that the sound is in the spirit of the 70s Ampegs but not the same. Probably as near as you'll get to it without buying a 70s Ampeg and blowing out your neighbour's ears!

In summary - the clean sounds are not quite as good as Fender but the crunch tones are better. Very different to Marshall - definately better clean tones (I've never heard a good Marshall clean tone) and totally different type of distortion - much warmer tone, though of course that depends on which Marshall you get. It works best set for crunch tones being cleaned up by backing off the volume.