Tech 21 Trademark 120 212 Combo

3 channels (Cali, British, Tweed)with independent Gain level, EQ and volume. Includes a 6 bottons foot switch. 120W (2*12) Soid state design and still has nice tone in low volume. Bought from after market in great condition and it may made in 2002~2003 in USA. I only use it in my bedroom and feel very happy to play with it.

I play many kind of music from Hendrix, Santana to GNR or Metallica with my Gibson LP STD, Epi custom(SH-1 and SH-4 PUs), Fender Strat (MIJ) and a Korean Tele copy. Trademark 120 sounds awesome from all my guitars and could I can make almost every sounds I want from adjusting the gain level and 3 bands EQ(EQ range is obvious). All you need is a delay pedal then you can say goodbye to other effects. The preamp of TM120 is enough for me and the sound becomes suck if I put a overdrive in front of it. Very versatile amp.

Seems to have very strong construction. And have no problem yet, although it's a 6~7 years old amp.

Sent some questions to Tech 21 customer service just right before and after I bought this amp this years. Got detailed responds with in one day from Lloyd. I promise Tech 21 has the best customer support in this industry. You won't see anyone better. I will give it more than 10.

I love this amp so much and I don't know why Tech 21 stopped manufacturing this model. If it were stolen of lost...I am sure I will try to find a another TM120.

This amp has pretty much everything I need in an amp. Others have listed the features already, so I won't rehash. This amp is all about quality vs. quantity. Sure, you don't get a ton of amp models and a bunch of digital effects, but everything works and sounds great. This amp has tons of power and gets plenty loud. The foot switch is awesome. Two other great features that you don't find on hardly any other guitar amps are the XLR outs (I've used them for recording and they work great) and the stereo effects loop (footswitchable). The adjustable boost function on the floorboard is also very handy for band situations.

I'd say overall sound quality is great. All three amp models sound awesome, although the California & British amp models do seem louder than the Tweed. However, this isn't a big deal because you can adjust volume between channels with the individual volume controls so that there's no difference when channel switching on the fly.

I can get sweet shimmering tones all day and brutal, full-bodied distortion is no problem. And with the individual gain control & 3-band EQ for each channel I can get everything in between.

My only two very minor complaints are that the reverb is a little weak (but it's o.k. if you just need to add a bit of presence) and there's a tad bit more noise while the amp is resting than I would like. But it's really no big deal, you barely notice unless you're listening for it.

Final verdict: this thing has sick tone. I've fooled lots of people into thinking it's a tube amp.

This thing hasn't failed me. It seems very sturdy. Also, since there's no tubes it's much less likely to flame out on me during a gig. My only minor problem was when some tact switches in the footswitch board started to go south, but that was easily fixed (see customer support section). I feel totally comfortable gigging this amp without a backup.

I've only had to deal with customer support once. Recently a couple of the switches on the footboard stopped working reliably after many years of faithful service. I emailed Tech21 to inquire about getting it repaired. After several emails back and forth they diagnosed the problem successfully (the tact switches were wearing out) and sent me replacement switches for free. This is on an amp which they no longer make and is no longer under warranty! Great customer service!

Unfortunately, this amp is no longer produced. If it were stolen I would try to find another one used or I would buy one of their newer Trademark models.

Bottom line: if you want a digital sounding amp with a bunch of tinny sounding effects, get a line6 Spyder or something. If you want awesome tube tone without the tubes (and the tube pricetag and maintenance hassles) in a versatile, reliable, powerful package, get a Tech21 Trademark.

This amp has just about everthing I could as for FEATURE wise,only thing that would be nice is if it has the ability to hook up a seperate cabinet say a different 2x12.
To nippick ,a small cooling fan NEVER hurts on a gigging amp ,regardless if solidstate or tube.

My only gripe is that the clean channel ala "tweed,"is hard to dail in a pure clean tone ,I basically have to turn the drive knob to say 10o clock n peg the volume,otherwise that channel WONT balance with the other 2 distortion channels.
So alittle more "headroom" on the clean tone would be nice,but none theless its a pretty dam good clean overall!
I find I use the british channel more than the cali channel ,the EQ is very precise and effective ,so it takes awhile to adjust to your guitar/room.
The cabinet has great bass response,ALOT of it so I roll off the eq on the bass side to get a tighter sound. So you have to EQ EQ EQ to your liking!
Reverb is decent.
The FX loop when engadged does change the tone slightly,it reshapes the sound even if you have no FX in the loop but have the loop engadged anyway,alil weird but not a major problem.
The distortion channels get noisy when the gains cranked but someof that is expected.

Gig everyweekend 3 setnights ,so far no problems for the past 10months of ownership.

Emailed company about a question concerning FX loop.
Fast and informative response.

Other amps I own are a Bogner Shiva head,Line6flextone3,peavey classic30,VHT pitbull super30 and I decide to use the TECH 21 for coverband gigs ,so that should saysomething!
Ive been playing for 16yrs ,fultime musician,
Versatile Amp,3 channels ,FXloop switch is a major plus!
Boost switch another plus!
A amp that can do any style,country to metal.
Only gripe would be a a easier to dial in superclean tone,it breaks up alittle to early on the tweed channel,but you can get a sorta VOXish tone on the tweed with the drive up.
IN A NUT SHELL: Great gig worthy amp if you need to cover alot of styles of music. No it wont sound as good as a highend tubeamp,it just doesnt have the feel or presence of a realtube amp ,But for features and ease of use I recommened it,shame its discontinued.

120w stero amp, fx loop, direct out, and dual 8ohm speaker out.

Not sure of the year made but it was purchased in 2001. I am the 2nd owner. This amp is probably the most versatile amp I have ever owned in my 25 years of playing and I've owned a ton of amps from cheap SS amps to $4K Boutique PTP amps. This is a 3 channel amp that comes with a 6 button footswitch that include channel select, reverb, and effects loop. It is a little tough to coax a "pristine" clean sound out of due to the fact that the drive knob affects the volume profusely so if you switch it to Tweed and keep the drive knob down you lose volume badly which means you have to compensate by keeping the level knobs on the other channels very low which in turn makes you have to run the master vol near peak levels to play with a band. That said this is my main amp right now because of it's versatility and weight.

I can go from Twangy country type sounds to Headcrushing Metal at the flick of a silent, no lag footswitch! Does it get better? Yes it does. This amp does the Marshall sound very well and the tone hardly fluctuates with volume. I love the bottom end this thing has and the speakers handle it well at higher volumes. I use various guitars and pup configs from cheap stock ones to Duncan Bridge invaders and they all sound great through this amp. It's a little noisy with my tube pre-amp hooked up to it but my noise gate takes care of that well enough. It is a little noisy by itself too if you crank the drive on any of the channels.

Have gigged it for over a year and no problems. I dont even bring a backup to gigs because it hasnt even sniffed of failure. Very reliable amp.

Never had to deal with them.

Been playing over 25 years and I own too much stuff to list. Let's just say I prefer this amp over the other two amps I have which are a Fender Twin and a Carvin Valvemaste 100 half stack. I play anything from Blues to Modern Metal and this amp suits it all. It's not a tube amp but playing it you could never tell because it has that almost organic feeling and sensitivity that tube amps have so I'd go so far as to say it's better than a tube amp because it doesn't require the maintenance a tube amp does.

I submitted a review of this amp back on 7/13/2004. I've been gigging with it regularly since then and it has never disappointed me. It still sounds exactly like it did brand new. If you buy a used amp (after trying it) that has issues don't blame others. YOU ARE TO BLAME. You tried it and it buzzed, yet you still bought it? Huh? Now you bad mouth the company. I'm sorry, but I'm a big fan of Tech 21 and I take offense to that. I'm not affiliated with Tech 21 in any way. I'm just sticking up for them. I own Tech 21,Fender, Marshall, Kustom, Carvin and Line 6 amps and the Tech 21 is the one I gig with. It's not perfect, but it's the best I've ever used.

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OK. Now, I wrote and sent a complete review of the TECH21 Trademark 120, but strangely enough, only the 'Features' section made it to Harmony Central. After reading some harsh criticisms from other users in regards to this amp, I have decided to set the record straight and get to the heart of the matter.

I have been playing my amp now for about 3 years. I gig regularly, approximately 2-3 gigs a week, about 3 to 4 hours a night, and all I can say is that my Trademark 120 is the most reliable, versatile and inspiring amp I have ever owned or played through. This amp has fallen off the stage twice (don't ask) and has never failed to perform and deliver. The only replacement I made was the speakers, since the coils were damaged from the impact of the fall, but everything else continues to be in perfect working order.

The amplifier is capable of producing the widest range of real amp, professional quality tones. It's not a valve amp, it's not a modelling amp and it's 100% analogue. I always use the XLR outputs and the sound reproduction through the front-of-house PA's is identical to what's pumping out through the Celestion speakers on board the Trademark 120. I love this amp. Thank you, Andrew Barta, Lloyd (Technical Support) and all staff at TECH21.

See my comments below

See below

This is a revision on my last review for this amp. After submitting my review on the TM-120 I received a email from Lloyd at Tech 21. He wanted to know if I was being fair about what I had written about the amp. The truth is yes I am at fault for taking a risk with a used amp. No, Tech 21 did not sell me the amp directly, I bought it used from Guitar Center. However I believe GC is partailly at fault also for selling me something bogus. Can I prove they knew it was bad?.No! I also mentioned the fact it would cost sixty bucks to ship it to Tech 21 for them to repair it. It would probably be close to twenty five to thirty bucks depending on what carrier you use to ship your amp back to them. Tech 21 does not want to whole amp back to repair it, they just need the chassis to usually fix the problem. personally I don't feel I should have to take out the chassis on my own and send it to them for repair. Lloyd mentioned in his email that "out of warranty repairs" usually cost twenty five dollars on the average. So I admit my mistakes on the cost of shipping and repairs. After seeing the way of my errors I wanted to correct a few things in all fairness to Tech 21 and their staff. One thing I will stand firm on is that I have owned two of Tech 21's amps and I either have two Lemons or the TM-60 and TM-120 are pure junk. I will not spend another dime on any of their products again. So like the review column says.."It's just one persons opinion". Take this information and do what you want to with it. Good luck Brothers and Sisters

Lloyd does his job and he does it well. This just turned out to be a sour experience with myself and the Folks at Tech 21. I apologize for sending bogus info to any potential Tech 21 customers.

I plan on sending back my TM-60 to Tech 21. they can do what they want to with it. I'll chalk this one up to experience.

Features? Yeah it's a good idea when they work.

Good sound when it did work. The idea of being able to dial in a Tweed or AC30 is a nice feature.

I bought this Amp used from Guitar Center. At the store it had a slight buzz but I figured it might have been the lights in the store. I brought it home and played around a little with it here. I had the same problem. Then I used it on a Gig. That's when it went to Shit. This thing sounded like a Fucking UFO! it was pulsating when I plugged my Furman and Pedal board into it. We had a half hour before the gig so I tried everything possible to get the hum out of it. Nothing worked. This is the second Tech 21 amp I bought and you couldn't give me one for free. The reason I bought this one was because I bought a TM-60 and it didn't have enough balls to fill out the sound you can get with a 2x12 combo. The TM-60 has also gone to Shit since I've had it. I'm not playing that game of sending it back to them and paying 60 bucks for shipping, plus another 80 to fix it. They need to send their R&D guys back to school. You can't sell a product of it doesn't work!!!!!!

Sorry Loyd, I know you have a job to do but you guys have jacked me around twice. Personally Tech 21 amps wouldn't even make a good Boat anchor. I will never purchase and will never recommend a Tech 21 product to anyone. This is not an attack on you but like I mentioned earlier, Somebody up there needs to get their shit straight. I'm giving your support a ten only because you made an effort to rectify the situation.

I've been playing guitar for almost forty years, so yeah I been around the block when it comes to equipment. And yes I'm pissed about this experience. Would I buy another one if it were stolen or lost?..... read my review and tell me what you think. I plan on saving my cash and buying a Vox AC30 or going back to the old standby "Fender Twin". Don't waste your time on Tech 21's stuff guys and gals........ you'll be disappointed.

Not sure of the year of manufacture - bought mine used.

Features have been covered but here goes:

Solid State

3 independent channels that can each be set to either British (marshall/vox), California (Mesa Boogie), or Tweed (Fender). Each has its own volume but there is master volme which sets the overall volume of the amp.

Stereo Power Amp driving two 12" Tech 21 speakers (60 watts per side).

XLR out w/ sansamp speaker simulation,effects loop,spring reverb , headphone jack, and a line ouit for driving a speaker cab.

A couple of small things I really appreciate are the fact that the footswitch uses a standard guitar cable and that the power cord is removable and easily replaced with the same type you would use for a PC.

Would have been nice for each channel to have the mod circuit from the G2 pedal. Would have also been nice if they would have included the mic placement circuit from the G2 incorporated on the back next to the XLR outs so this could be adjusted. These are moer wish-list kind of things and really have no bearing on the otherwise great features of this amp.

I am using an older Yamaha Pacifica with a HSH pickup configuration and it takes to this amp nicely. Don't own a Strat at the moment bbut I'd like to hear single coils through this on the SRV settings.

It should be said that this is NOT a modeling amp - it isn't trying to be a Dual Rectifier, or JCM900, or Twin. It would be more acurate to say that it emulates certain "families" of amps rather than modeling specific models. I wouldn't even try and compare it to say a Marshall JCM900 - this amp has its own sound while providing the ability to incorporate the tonal characteristics of the major families of amps.

I had no problem dialing up smooth jazz, classic rock, or bone crushing metal.

As far as the clean - it isn't a Roland Jazz Chorus but it can achieve a good clean sound with some tweaking. I will say that I have noticed that the tweed clean sound is a little lacking in overall volume in comparision to the overdriven british and california settings but that is really the only negative I have about this amp - I'll still give it a 9 in the sound department - but no amp is perfect

Out of the box this amp has ample amounts of gain. It will handle everything from blues (does what few other SS amps can do - achieve that "in between" drive that makes for a good blues sound). up to heavy metal. It does seem that on the drive setting once you hit about 2-3 o'clock the amount of gain levels off. If you are wanting that over the top, near static distortion, popular with the "nu metal" folks you may want an overdrive pedal. I do happen to like older rock like Rush, Yes, etc and it does that extremely well.

The sping reverb is a nice touch. It doesn't sound as harsh as some make it out to be.

Can't really say since I've only owned it for a short time but having went over every review and discussion thread I could find, few seem to report any problems with this amp. SInce they don't make this model any longer, I am hoping it lasts as log as I do!

The only contact I've had with them was to request manuals for some of their amps so that I could get familiar with tier operation before test driving.

I have been playing for 20 years and have owned SS amps, tube amps, and rack gear. This amp really is quite simply a great amp. Since this amp is no longer being manufactured (BUMMER!!!), I would cry like a baby if it were lost or stolen. Then I'd go buy a Trademark 300 head and 212 cabinet (the trademark is the same circuitry as the the TM120 - just a different format and more power)

Now let me say this: I bought this amp off of Ebay without ever having played through any Tech 21 stuff - crazy? A little. But I did so based on the numerous reviews that talk about how good this amp really is - and they were absolutley right. If you get the chance to buy one DO IT you will not be sorry. If that chance doesn't come about, go buy a Trademark 300 head for gigging or a Trademark 60 amp for practice/recording.

Those who are all about modeling amps put this amp down as "old technology" and then talk about how well their modeling amps mimic tube amps - go figure. The analog circuitry of this amp is what actually puts it ahead of the digital modeling amps. Tech 21 didn't take the "everything but the kitchen sink" approach by throwing in a bunch of so-so effects. It does one thing and one thing well - produce great guitar tones.

For those who want some of that tube warmth without the maintenance, cost, or weight Tech 21 stuff is hard to beat.

I live in Sydney, Australia and currently work for one of the busiest cover bands in the country. Because of our busy schedule and since we don't have a road crew, it's imperative for me to keep my rig light, simple, versatile, compact and as trouble-free as possible. Prior to acquiring the Trademark 120 combo, my main amp was an Australian-hand-built Lab Systems Cage 30A head with matching 2x12 extension cabinet. Even though the Lab Systems was by far one of the best-sounding amps I have played through, the dillema was carrying and setting up two pieces of amplification. I couldn't tilt the amp on its back, I couldn't turn the amp up to drive the output valves to their full potential and, no matter how good the sound engineer was and how good my microphone was, I could never get the amp to sound as good through the PA.

It was one hell of a sacrifice and one hell of a risk to take on the Trademark 120. I swapped my Lab Systems rig for the little combo after hearing the Tech 21 in a local music store. The shop manager connected the combo to one of the store's PA's and I was amazed by the fact that the sound coming out of the PA was identical to the sound coming out of the amp's speakers. I also noticed how intuitive and clever the layout of the amp was; three independent channels, each with three different voice modes, and to top it all off, a master volume control, controllable boost and reverb, and a simple footswitch which can be connected using a regular guitar cable. The amp was light, compact and could be used for all sorts of gigs, rehearsals, recordings and jams. In a nutshell, the features on this amp are enough to keep me satisfied.