Why didn't Ampeg amps become more popular?

[Drewline]

What a great thread. I remember Ampeg was all the rage for a while growing up in New York City. My Father used to fix them for all the time in the mid 60's. When I was 16 I decided I needed a bigger amp than my Gretsch 6156 Playboy & foolishly bought a Sound X505R instead of a BF Pro Reverb. The Sound amps were local and quite impressive to us dumb high school kids. Anyways all these years later I still have the Gretsch & the Sound as well as the Pro Reverb I should have gotten. The list just goes on from there.

[rf7]

The story that I heard was that the Stones brought their English Hiwatts to the States and they did not work, so they switched to Ampeg for the US tour.

[Guitarist]

I had a pair of 22s and man together, with reverbs, what a sound! I still love Ampegs...

Another reason, was the logo/branding and look. It's called a "stage" for a reason.

[Mick Bailey]

I have a '62 Reverberocket as a recent acquisition and I love it. The reverb is spectacular and the trem is buttery and useable. I like the all-octal tube set and the tolex pattern that would still look fresh if it came out today. A quirky feature is with this model you can't turn the reverb fully off unless you turn the 'Dimension' control to zero. This is because the switch kills the send side, leaving the springs to vibrate and sens a signal to the recovery tube. It breaks up much later than a Tweed Deluxe and when it does it really sings. A downer is it has a '76 Jensen ceramic speaker, so getting an original is on my shopping list.

[Justin Thomas]

No Ampeg ever came with less than a 12" speaker until the SVT. And the only single-ended Ampeg was their reverb unit. So even Ampeg's "cheapest" "student" or budget (they called them the Universal Series) had about 12-15W and a 12". I've owned a 63 Reverberocket, 66 & 67 Reverberocket 2s, a 68 Rocket 2 (which still had reverb, and was basically a repackaged Reverberocket), and a 72 GU-12. All great amps for various reasons. I've played a 72 SVT, 76 VT-40, and three 60s B-15s. All great amps.

I think part of the deterrent to players is the oddball tubes, and the fact that Ampeg circuits are not exactly the most common, and many are unfamiliar with how to make them tick. I still have a 66 Jet, that should take 2x6BK11; I have 2x6C10 in it, but it still lacks volume... But I keep it anyway, and someday I''ll get it right.

Justin

[bob p]

You just need to send me that Jet so that I can put the 6C10 in my Super Twin Reverb.

[Justin Thomas]

I'll send you the 6K11 and 6AV11 I pulled out of it instead. Deal?

Justin

[Rhodesplyr]

I'm late to the discussion, but one of the best-sounding guitar combo amps I've ever heard played live was an Ampeg VT-22 2 x 12. It seemed like there was nothing the guy playing it could throw at it that it couldn't handle, even running VERY loud.

[soundmasterg]

I had a very early MCI era SVT that had USA transformers with the correct voltages in it instead of the Japanese sourced ones MCI used in most of those amps that had about 5% less voltages. It sounded great and worked well, but I sold it and the cabinet while in EE school as I needed the money and my Sunn 2000S sounded better to my ears. I still miss the SVT as I like that sound too, and you can just plug in and get a good sound in most cases, but I have a '63 B15N I am restoring to get that Ampeg sound.

I've played some vintage Ampeg guitar amps over the years...generally I like the 60's ones better than the high power 70's ones, but I'd take a vintage Fender, Magnatone, Silvertone, Vox, or Marshall over any of the vintage Ampeg guitar amps....thats not to say they aren't good...but I prefer the others.

Greg