Alamo 2566

This is a Bass/Guitar combo amp that, according to the limited information I have on it, seems to be from the mid 70's. It has 3 inputs, 3 knobs (volume, treble, bass), a 15 inch speaker, a solid state pre-amp, tube power amp (STRANGE 7868 tubes, that are still available from Antique Electronics Supply), and, honestly, THE COOLEST SOUND I'VE EVER HEARD!!! It was the other review here on Harmony-Central that inspired me to write this one. I got mine under almost identical circumstances, it was the one amp in the store NOBODY tried out (it IS kinda ugly, but so am I, and that never stopped me from makin' music!), I got it for next to nothing (my BOSS Blues Driver cost more!), This amp is unexplainably WONDERFUL!!! IT does ANYTHING I ASK IT TO! I play professionally in a band called the BOTTLE ROCKETS (We've got 5 CD's out on various labels), I've been on the road for 8 years now, tried MANY different amps (Ampeg Reverberocket, Marshall 50W combo, Mesa-Boogie DC-5, Fender Super Reverb, 1963 Fender Bassman, Bassman Re-Issue, Fender Blues Deluxe, Fender Deluxe Reverb), This 50 dollar Alamo is the best sounding amp I've ever had. I'M NOT JOKING!!!!!!!

Right now I'm using a 1959 Gibson Melody Maker, and a 1975 Stratocaster more than anything else. I also have a Telecaster, but the Melody Maker kicks its butt, so I haven't been using it much. The music I play is all original, what they call ROOTS ROCK. It's Kinda country, kinda southern rock, kinda Neil Youngish. This amp is PERFECT for my style. The amp is very quiet, not much hiss or hum at all. It's great for anyone needing a big fat clean twangin' sound, but it also handles distortion very well. You've got to use some kinda box though, it doesn't really get too distorted on its own. It's not clean like a solid state amp, or like a Twin Reverb either. It's a fat warm clean. It's really hard to describe. It's Great with old fashioned FUZZTONE! (I've been using a DOD Flashback Fuzz with this amp, It is UNREAL! SPIRIT IN THE SKY times TEN!, SATISFACTION times TWENTY!!!) It's only got about 30 watts or so, but it can certainly get over a drumset. If you like to play REALLY loud, This is not the amp for you, but if you play in tiny clubs, or big places with good monitor systems, this works fine. I imagine this would be a KILLER blues amp!

So far so good, It still has original tubes & speaker, nothing's gone wrong yet, but it's just too weird to take out without a backup. I wish I could find more of these to buy, My Deluxe Reverb sounds like a TOY after playing through this.

This doesn't apply to this amp. Alamo's been out of business a while.

Like I said earlier, I've been playing professionally for 8 years now, and this is the coolest thing I've ever owned in the amp world. It's also the cheapest amp I've ever bought. It's also the UGLIEST amp I've ever bought (Looks like something you'd find in a pawn shop or thrift store). If it was stolen, I'd be really sad, but I'm already lookin' for more of these. If you want a good lookin' amp, buy a Vox, If you want a loud amp, buy a Marshall, If you just GOTTA spend a lot of money, buy a boutique amp or an old Fender, if you want a GREAT, unique amp, try one of these, IF you find one! (If you find one and DON'T like it, GET AHOLD OF ME!!!) My advice to all: STOP READING AND START LISTENING!!!!

Check this out! This is an Alamo Guitar/Bass amp from the mid-60's, made in Texas. It has three inputs, two for guitar and one for bass. It has no features, it's as simple as simple can be. I am a blues player, have played for 40 years. I have never found my ideal amp but don't like complicated circuits, nor transistors, and am tired of seeing laughable prices for old equiptment. This is now the best amp of the 100's I have owned and it cost $165. It was in the store for three years and no one wanted it. I tried it out and thought, what a great rhythm amp, clean and terrific low end (it has a 15 in. Jensen in a sealed cab). I did som research here on this www and found the power tubes cost $37.50 each (7868). They are somewhere between a 6V6 and a 6L6 with pins. It also has a 7199 driver which is rare and costs $25. So, clean as it was I couldn't get and distortion from it, not enough preamp. I remembered an article I read on this www about how to isolate the power section in small amps. This guy doesn't qualify as a small amp but it shares the commonality of simplicity. I unsoldered the lead from the middle pin on the volume control and fixed it to the pos. post on one of the 1/4 " inputs, hooked up my Peavey Rockmaster preamp and was wetting myself over how it sounded just like an old Fender
tweed; rauchy and creamy at the same time, yet still clean for rhythm. Judging from the size of the transformers and its ability to give clean rhythm it must have about 25 real watts, that's more than a Deluxe, a Blues Jr. or any of those over-rated small amps. And all for $165. Then I opened up the back as a means to work that large old speaker a little. What a great amp!

I play Strats and Teles. The amp is extreemly quiet, almost no hum even with SC pickups. I play it at about half before it starts to distort. The distortion is rauchier than creamy, it's no doubt a single ended (class B I believe) circuit. Sounds slightly better than an old tweed which cost more than my car.

This amp, although 34 years old, still has what I swear to be the original tubes and speaker. I wouldn't want to replace those 7868's @ $37.50 each so I don't drive it hard. But yes, I trust it. I have no idea who works on these, maybe someone in Texas.

I understand these were used for lap-steel in Western bands. I know nothing of this music but guess if you talked to old country players you could learn more about Alamo.

I love everything about this amp. I adore useful things that come cheap. I also like beating up on those guys who sell snobish vintage amps at high prices. Forty years of playing changes a person's attitude about marketing, I don't like those guys. Blues is about blues, we're supossed to be poor, we're supossed to play on old beat up stuff. If you mortgage your mom's house just to look like a seasoned player and think you're fooling anyone, you're not. I'd send my $1000 to Ethiopia before I'd give it up to look cool playing vintage, over-priced equiptment. Yes I'd buy it again if I lost it, but who would steal it? Dollar for dollar it's about ten times better than an old Fender. If you see one, buy it, but by-pass the preamp. And if you know anything about 7868 power tubes please let me know.