Ampeg Gemini II......any love?

[phantomman]

Got an opportunity to pick this up for what I surmise is a proverbial "steal".

Vintage unknown but it looks to be early/mid '60s. Seems all original -- Jensen 15-inch driver, factory footswitch for the tremolo and "echo" (tremolo currently inoperative). The blue cab covering is in fair-to-good shape, grille somewhat "moth-eaten" in a coupla spots, original blue dog-bone leather handle a bit frayed at one end.

Sounds "surfy"......like a blonde Tremolux or Bandmaster with an outboard reverb tank. Speaker is a skosh "fizzy" when the amp is dimed -- prolly ready for a re-cone.

Should I jump and at what price?

TIA

[ziess]

If I had cash/space I'd go for it if I liked it but y'know me, I'm amp crazy!
Remember it'll need (probably) a grounded power cord and new electrolytics. You can do this yourself but it's a good bargaining chip.

How cheap are we talking here?

[twangmeisternyc]

Those were quite popular in the '60's jazz heyday, great club amp. I've looked a lot of them over. If it has the Jensen 15 ", and it's in good to better shape, it may well be worth it just for the speaker.

Past that, you'll need to do all the recapping, etc. I doubt it will be all that hard to get it working great.

What you describe is $350 or less....

This site will help...nice guy.

http://www.fliptops.net/index.htm

Here's a good write-up...

http://www.ggjaguar.com/gem2.htm

[rudutch]

I have a reverberocket 2 - 1966
the 12" version with 7591 (?) output tubes

dispite some minor reliability issues (42 year old solder joints)
add a 101db speaker, and a NFB mod it is my favorite amp..

I have just over $400 in mine

with my 5e3 a close second

[phantomman]

How cheap are we talking here?

A skosh under one hunnert yankee dollahs.

I've already consulted with my amp tech an' he has some NOS OOP tubes for it. What's in it now are, believe it or not, the original OEM Ampeg tubes made by Sylvania. Gotta be forty years old if they are a day. It uses a pair of 7591s for the output an' a 7199 for the phase inverter. Solid-state rectifier. The chassis looks beautiful -- all chrome-plated (!), no rust on the trannies, all original knobs, switches, pilot lamp, etc. About 75 bucks will git that Jensen back into full form an' make the amp ready for work plus another hunnert or so to re-cap, re-tube, an' install a three-conductor power cord an' plug.

I'm diggin' this thang already!

[Kap'n]

Old school Ampegs are great.

They just tend to be big and heavy for a given power.

[Gris]

The Gemini has the best built in reverb on the planet when properly tubed and serviced. I'd pay $400 in a heartbeat.

[phantomman]

Old school Ampegs are great.

They just tend to be big and heavy for a given power.

Thanks, Kap'n. You're right too. This thang is about five inches taller than my Spankmaster Reverb. I don't think it quite as loud either. But it's got some great clean tones an' I love the reverb. Haven't tried the thang with any pedals yet -- jus' sorta noodlin' around to see how it performs "nekkid".

[phantomman]

The Gemini has the best built in reverb on the planet when properly tubed and serviced. I'd pay $400 in a heartbeat.

You ain' kiddin'......look up "lush" in a Funk & Wagnalls an' there'll be an audio clip of this amp. Very reminescent of an outboard tank.

Cracks me up that it's marked as "echo". Also, the "accordion" inputs (!).

Thanks, Gris

[phantomman]

Those were quite popular in the '60's jazz heyday, great club amp. I've looked a lot of them over. If it has the Jensen 15 ", and it's in good to better shape, it may well be worth it just for the speaker.

Past that, you'll need to do all the recapping, etc. I doubt it will be all that hard to get it working great.

What you describe is $350 or less....

This site will help...nice guy.

http://www.fliptops.net/index.htm

Thanks mucho, Twangmeister!

Looks like they pretty much got any parts that I'll need.

[ziess]

$100? Buy it. What are you waiting on!?

[phantomman]

$100? Buy it. What are you waiting on!?

I said under a hunnert.



Done deal!



I've already checked out the "Flip Top" (Ampeg) site. Day-amm, they even got covers still available for these thangs!

An' thanks to all who responded so timely to make this deal possible. TFF is the greatest!

[Cygnus X1]

Great find!

What's the secret...Craigslist?
Pix...soundclips are now mandatory, you know...

[Offshore Angler]

Yep, old Ampegs are just fine. I like 'em.

[phantomman]

Great find!

What's the secret...Craigslist?
Pix...soundclips are now mandatory, you know...

On the 4th I was notified that our local music store was closing its doors for good on the 14th. The owner is liquidating ever'thang, includin' some personal stock. He's had this one awhile an' he made me a deal I couldn't refuse.

I'll trine git some pics up this weekend.

[Rickenjangle]

Congrats! I've used the Reverberocket II in my buddy's studio. These amps sound so good, I can't believe they weren't as popular as the Fenders were, back in the day...

[Stonefreefuzz1]

Congrats Roger! Sounds like a it's well worth it! Can't wait to see some pic o' this! Sorry to here about your local shop though. Definitely a bummer.

Enjoy the new Toy!
"He shoots and He Scores!"

[phantomman]

Congrats! I've used the Reverberocket II in my buddy's studio. These amps sound so good, I can't believe they weren't as popular as the Fenders were, back in the day...

I plugged my Strat 12-string into it jus' to hear how the reverb would perform......sounds "Paul Kantner-ish" (think "Jefferson Airplane Takes Off"). Very spacey. That tank must have at least 300 or 350 milliseconds of delay. I guess tha's why they called it "echo".

I seen a few Ampegs "back in the day" but I guess they didn't have the marketing, mystique, or mojo that Leo's gear got. Plus the oddball tube array didn't hepp. Remember all the V2s, V4s, B25Bs, and VT22s that got sidelined when the 7027A output tubes dissappeared in the early '80s?

[twangmeisternyc]

Ampeg did better out here in the eastern USA/New York "frontier" for the guitar amps.

The Bass amps did great everywhere...

Between the Gemini II, the Super Echo, and the flip-top B12XT...all great amps. Heavy, any that you find in need of service...kind of a restoration project from the get go. I don't have the space right now...but, when I do... I'll probably restore one of each.

[Kap'n]

Ampeg did better out here in the eastern USA/New York "frontier" for the guitar amps.

Yep, there were almost as many Ampegs and Traynors floating around upstate NY as there were Fenders back when I was learning.

[Gris]

Ampeg's have an interesting story, sort of the anti-Fender. Everett Hull (or whatever his name was) was supposedly a monster player and great friend of the jazz giants (including my step-dad, RIP). The story goes he didn't think rock-n-roll was music, that jazz was the true 'real' performers' music. As a result he strived for no distortion from his amps - the ultimate clean tone. The plant was in NJ, my step-dad's home state, hence the NE focus vs. west coast for Fender.

[steve25]

Grab that baby up!
I have a 64 reverb rcoket that I love, Yup! some of the best reverb around.
Re- caping yours will fix the tremolo, and you might want to replace tha 10 watt cathode resistor with a 20 watter as those 10 watt ones are right on the edge 40 years ago when they where new!
A new set of 7591s cranked up will take that resistor out in the middle of a gig.

[Offshore Angler]

I love the little Jets. They are like a Champ that was bitten by a vampire. Come to think of it, I can't believe I don't have an Ampeg.

[Kap'n]

I love the little Jets. They are like a Champ that was bitten by a vampire. Come to think of it, I can't believe I don't have an Ampeg.

Yep, the Jets are the exception to the "big." A great grab and go amp.

[Rickenjangle]

Chuck, I think you need a Gemini to play with the Wray Guns.

In fact, you should get a Gemini and pair that with your Silvertone Twin Twelve or Mikey's Airline.

[phantomman]

Thanks, Steve.

I did a leetle more pokin' around las' night. The speaker is -- apparently, I'm guessing -- original to the amp: Jensen P15N with the bell cover (missing the round paper tag on the cover). Mfr's # reads "220636", which according to sources indicates a manufacturing date of the 36th week of 1966. So for argument's sake I'm callin' this amp a '66 Gemini II. The TM1 tremolo module is toast, but I found a replacement on the Flip Top website for thirty-five bucks. Though I'm gonna replace 'em all, I checked all the tubes with a GI-issue TV-7/U tube checker an' they all checked good with the exception of the the PI (7199) which showed "marginal" on the meter. The filter caps are showing some electrolyte bleed so they'll be replaced as well.

The amp is actually in pretty remarkable shape for a 42-year old piece of gear. About $250 will git this old warrior back on the road.

[Kap'n]

Nice. My old front panel Geminii VI had a 15" square magnet CTS. I think you got the better speaker.

[steve25]

You might also want to replace that black rectifier bridge while you are at, as those early rectos scare me to this day!

[Kap'n]

The TM1 tremolo module is toast, but I found a replacement on the Flip Top website for thirty-five bucks.

That's good to know. The module, while similar in concept to the Fender 'roach' has a totally different sound, and AFAIK, was unavailable for years.

[Gris]

That speaker alone is worth more than what you paid. It's all your good karma coming back to you. Back before they had delay pedals, the old-timers used a mix of tremolo and reverb to get a slap back effect. Try messing around with both on and see if you can get it... ;-)

[Kap'n]

That speaker alone is worth more than what you paid. It's all your good karma coming back to you. Back before they had delay pedals, the old-timers used a mix of tremolo and reverb to get a slap back effect. Try messing around with both on and see if you can get it... ;-)

That's the * setting (11) on the intensity knob. Talk about megathrob.

I wonder what would happen if I subbed an Ampeg module in for the Fender roach on one of my amps.....

[phantomman]

Well I've never been a big Jensen fan an' my first impulse upon inspecting the amp was: hey, let's stuff a D-130 (JBL) or a 418C (Altec) in it. But this is a historical artifact an' doesn't deserve to be "blasphemed" in any way. Ergo, the P15N will be reconed -- about $75, done locally. I'll restore what I can, replace what I cain't with quality repros, an' (possibly) add the removeable dolly and cover -- both are available from Flip Top. I'm really lookin' forward to gittin' the trem operating again an' hearing it. Combined with that reverb it should sound absolutely heavenly.

[twangmeisternyc]

Phantomman...I stand corrected. Must be my attention span coupled to my age...I thought this had the JBL in it when I mentioned it could be worth it just for that $350.

But, since I am so faulted, and since my fault is that it has an original Jensen P15N AlNiCo, you should just enjoy it as you say...none of that blasphemy.

And when you can play ever through a '60's Super Echo...you'll be hooked. A little "honky", but the reverb oscillating back and forth between the 2 speakers... it's wonderlust.

[Gris]

Actually, IIRC, the original speaker in the Gemini was either a Jensen C15N or a JBL D130F. I don't recall having ever seen one with a P15N.

[phantomman]

The retainer nuts on the speaker mounting screws appear to be unmolested, and there's no scratching on the speaker flange to indicate any tampering. I'm sorta guessing that it's the original driver.

Ampeg did make a JBL-equipped version of this amp -- it was officially designated the "G15L" and from what I can surmise, the factory added a pair of additional handles to the sides of the cab to help facilitate movement due to the increase in weight.

[twangmeisternyc]

Call me "Double Fault", no longer able to play tennis. If it were the JBL, you probably couldn't get a recone kit that was a direct replacement. But, I did write Jensen in my first note...but my brain was saying JBL, but if you did get a P-series AlNiCo, then you probably can recone that one quite well, and that would be "special" for that amp.

So, that's GOOD!

Life sneaks up on me at times... ;-)

[Gris]

It's possible, but I've seen 5 or 6 and all the early ones had what looked like a C15N in em and one other one had a D130F. Given Hull's distaste for distortion I'd be surprised if the P15N was ordinary stock in any of them. PH-Man, I believe there is a website somewhere that will date your amp by serial number. That would be a further clue. Also, if that P15N is blue-ish, it could easily be a '56. There is also somewhere a website that lists OME speakers for most amps.

[Gris]

Well, whadaya know - spkr info was right on Ted's site. Of course! That guy is a genius, really.

http://www.webervst.com/codes.html

Oh yeah, I forgot - the label on the Jensen bell cover will tell whether is a 50s or 60s...

[phantomman]

Local reconing for the P15N runs about seventy-five bucks. The same company does JBLs as well, using some excellent aftermarket re-cone kits. I have a pair of K-120s that they rebuilt for me and they sound pretty much the same as the OEM orange-basket D-120s in my '78 UL Twin. The P15N in the Gemini is not the most efficient of speakers but it does have a nice ballsy tone when pushed. I'm gonna punch the amp around with a Les Paul this afternoon an' see how that shakes out. Mebbe try a few pedals as well......

[phantomman]

Well, whadaya know - spkr info was right on Ted's site. Of course! That guy is a genius, really.

http://www.webervst.com/codes.html

Thanks, Gris. The basket on this P15N is sorta silver-ish.