Any Love for the Ampeg Jet J12 D?

**abelljo** · 10-08-2017, 09:10 PM

I'm pulling the trigger on an Ampeg Jet from the 60s. Original speaker 7591 output and 6BK11. I'm using it for playing at the house and possibly a small gig with an archtop. Maybe mic'd. Anyone here uses these still for gigs? Is it a good "jazz" amp with an archtop? etc...

**wzpgsr** · 10-08-2017, 11:10 PM

I don’t have that amp, but I have 30 watt Gemini II from the same era that is fantastic. If it’s even remotely similar you’re going to love it.

**abelljo** · 10-08-2017, 11:18 PM

No, the one I'm picking up has only a tine knob. Not the famous eq tone stack that you have on yours. BTW I'm paying 459.00 plus tax. The map gets loud without distorting which is an Ampeg quality.....

**powerwagonjohn** · 10-08-2017, 11:28 PM

These Ampegs have their own thing going on and are worth owning. Great reverb and tremolo too. I have A 66 Gemini II with an Altec 417 and would not part with it.
Thanks John

**Cavalier** · 10-08-2017, 11:50 PM

My Gemini I is a 65 that I put a JBL E120 in for monster clean headroom. They are about 22 watts with the stock tubes.

I did practice quite a lot with a 60s Jet years ago and liked it very much. Given a choice between a old Fender the same size or the Jet I'd go for the Ampeg. I'm not sure where you are but I'd think you could find a Gemini 1 for about a hundred more and come away with tone controls, reverb and one of the worlds best tremelos.

**MaxTwang** · 10-09-2017, 12:03 AM

I have a 1958 J12B and it's a GREAT little amp. These are similar power output to a Fender Tweed Deluxe or black/silver face Princeton. There's no reverb but the bias modulated tremolo is amazing. Power is pretty good and they have a 12" speaker, but the cabinet is a bit small so it can sound a little boxy up close - mine sounds better from across the room. The sound is more midrangy than the mid-scooped Fender black/silver face sound.

The tone control is surprisingly versatile for a single knob.

Great amp for home use or small gigs with a jazz box, and is absolutely addicting with a Strat or Tele.

These old Ampegs are a great deal on a great vintage sounding amp. Best of all: My Jet is only 22lbs.

* the difference between my J12B and your J12D is tube rectifier, 6SL7 preamp tubes and 6V6 power tubes in the J12B. Your's should be a little more bold with the solid state rectifier and should stay cleaner with the 7591's. The J12D also appears to have an improved cabinet design that looks like it better vents the heat out the top (a little gap at the top of the control panel).

**Greentone** · 10-09-2017, 04:20 AM

The old Jet is a good amp.

**Little Jay** · 10-09-2017, 04:40 AM

I used to be in the market for an old Ampeg, but the prices of those 6BK11 and 6C10 tubes held me back so far...

But I really like how they sound!

**abelljo** · 10-09-2017, 09:02 AM

I just want a small amp and the Gemini is bigger than what I want. They have a Gemini there as well for about 600.00

Thanks

**Cavalier** · 10-09-2017, 12:11 PM

Originally Posted by Little Jay

I used to be in the market for an old Ampeg, but the prices of those 6BK11 and 6C10 tubes held me back so far...

But I really like how they sound!

I wouldn't let this hold you up because they last forever if you are running at clean levels most of the time.

**Cavalier** · 10-09-2017, 12:24 PM

Originally Posted by abelljo

I just want a small amp and the Gemini is bigger than what I want. They have a Gemini there as well for about 600.00

Thanks

Well you can't go wrong with either really. The Jet I used was a friends and started me on the road to old Ampegs. I loved the sound. I'd play both for a comparison but the Jet is certainly more compact. The Gemini 1 speaker box is bigger as it is sized optimally, the back baffle is tuned with a small central port. The whole cabinet gets bigger because the head is on top in a separate compartment for optimal cooling flow and to optimize the speaker enclosure.

Funnily I liked the stock Jenson speaker better in the Jet. The box in the Gemini rewarded a premium speaker. It might be worthwhile to experiment with the Jet.

**Greentone** · 10-09-2017, 12:37 PM

Those tubes will indeed last and last.

**Little Jay** · 10-09-2017, 01:55 PM

Originally Posted by Cavalier

I wouldn't let this hold you up because they last forever if you are running at clean levels most of the time.

Good to know! Thanks!

**Hammertone** · 10-09-2017, 02:19 PM

Hooray for Jets! And all the rest!

**raybitterlick** · 02-09-2019, 08:04 PM

I have one of these @1965 Jet amps with the tube rectifier, 2 x 7591, and 2 x 6BK11 (that I had the foresight to buy spares of back in the 1990s when they were $5 each). This particular amp had been sitting in the attic of an old stone tudor mansion at a place called the Orange Lawn Tennis Club where I narrowly saved it from being thrown in the garbage @1988. It has the original tubes and the original Jensen speaker.

Growing up, I exclusively played white/brown/tweed Fender amps, and thus it took me awhile to warm up to this extremely clean-sounding Ampeg. As time has gone on and my serious playing days are in the rearview mirror, the lone amp I've held onto is this little Jet that I got for free @30 years ago. Through all these years I have spent $0 in maintenance, apart from purchasing the aforementioned 6BK11 tubes for backups. (Probably time to do some preventative maintenance and have it recapped.) It's a really nice amp that doesn't break up too much, and the tremolo does verily groove with a Telecaster set to the neck pickup. I'm out of the loop with respect to the vintage market, but at $350 or so, you won't find a better value for a practice amp/small club jazzer than the 1960s Jet.

As an aside, I have A/B'd the 6BK11 against the slightly less rare 6C10; if there is any difference in tone between the two, I was unable to detect it.

**rpjazzguitar** · 02-10-2019, 03:46 PM

When I was coming up in the 60's the gigging jazz guitarists I knew used the Ampeg Jet with a JBL speaker, which was a factory option.

I bought the Reverberocket back then and I still use that amp. Great sound. Best reverb I ever heard, but only a treble cut for tone control. There were different versions. Mine has the 7591s 6SL7, 6SN7 and the solid state rectifier.

Recently, I bought a Little Jazz. Surprisingly, it doesn't sound all that much different than the Reverberocket. Weighs half as much. Usable volume isn't vastly different. Tone control is bass mid treble. I didn't like the reverb at first, but it's growing on me.

The Reverberocket worked perfectly for about 35 years with no repairs. Since then, though, it has showed its age. Things loosen up. The replacement tubes don't last as long as the originals. Caps dry out. The speaker had to be replaced. And so forth. So, now the Reverberocket sits in one place in my rehearsal room and I don't move it. If I took it on a gig, I'd have to take a backup amp.

**Greentone** · 02-10-2019, 04:33 PM

rpjazzguitar is correct. Jazz guitarists--especially on the East Coast--played Ampeg amps. Going with the JBL factory option was the way to go.

The Jet was really all you needed. True, all you had was a treble cut--but what more do you really need? It is also true, IMO, that the reverb on the old Ampeg amps is the best ever.

When I first discovered Polytone amps I was convinced that I had found the Ampeg sound in a solid-state, compact package...minus that lush reverb. But the paradigm was the Ampeg amp. You don't need more than that.