Alamo Montclair 112 Combo

I got this amp at an auction on ebay. I think this amp was made in 1963. It is all tubes. Later one's had the solid state tremolo and rectifier. I also think the reverbs were solid state. But all the ones before 1965 were completely depended on tubes for tremolo and rectifier. This amp has a great tone. All it has is 2 channels with two inputs on each with their own volume and tone. That it. But it makes good use of it's tone nob. This amp sounds better then some amps that have all that bass, treble, mid range and presence tone controls.
The first channel has the tremolo. It has speed and intensity nobs. The tremolo cannot not get as choppy as a Fender's tremolo nor as deep and rich. But that's doesn't mean it sucks. In fact it a great tremolo. You can play on every setting you choose. It can be set very mild and that's were it shines. Whether you have the speed fast or slow it still sounds musical. Fenders settings may offer more on their tremolos but really, just how practical are all the tremolo settings on a Fender?. The second channel is just a little hotter. With the 2 channels you get into some really cool stuff. Plug in a stereo affect and use both channels. This is a great amp for that. an A B box is a great advantage to this amp. You can mix and match pedals through the 2 channels. Example , a stereo chorus pedal can be used. but you can add a drive pedal in the chorus on one of it's stereo outputs and now have the full chorus sound on both channels and the drive pedal on one channel. Get it? This really sounds good in this amp and with a whole mess of stereo and mono pedals you can come up with some fun combos. It different then plugging all your pedals into an amp with just one channel. So the way I see it, even though it does not have channel switching or an effects loop or head phone jack... the two channel inputs two on each side and they all meet in the middle are easy to channel jump or combine stereo and mono pedals. That's it's appeal for versatility. And it has an external out put for another speaker cap. My rating would be 10. Because, you can make it very versatile.

By it self the sound is very good quality. Well, I had to get some work done on it. It was dark and mushy when I got it. But changing it's tubes and caps and small things here and there and putting in a Tubby Tone 40 watt speaker, brought this amp back to life with a vengeance. It refuses to die in this modern world of amp technology. It can hold it's own with the best of them, that is plugged straight into it, not many amps today could rival it's mean clean aggressive tone. I mean that in a good way. It has a very lively tone. Yes it's a great blues amp. Those 6v6's really shine in this amp. You can dime it and nobody's ears will bleed, but they will be pleased. Yes even with the right pedal you can get into the metal zone. Use the Love pedal...( most of my pedals are "Love pedals" which I think are the best ) I have one that sounds like a Marshall in this thing. Wow...yea I know it aint super loud but boy does it sound great in a club. I play SRV and Hendrix , Robin Trower, ZZ Top, Bad Company, Led Zepplin, Johnny Winter, the Stones, Beatles,etc and all the blues cats through this thing. I have a lot of pedals and just set them up for what each set calls for. Club owners have called me back because I am playing music they want to hear but at a volume that is really sweet to the human ear. I used to play all this through my super 60 Fender, or 50 watt Marshall combo. Both are greats amp for bigger clubs. But for the smaller clubs, at 22 watts, you can't beat this. So Sound wise...I think it's great...but I will give it a 9 here...but I can say for my self 10.

Well it is tubes. So it's only reliable if you understand what tubes are all about. Like an old car. The car would tell you what it needs. You could tell when the points need adjusting or when the brakes needed to be replaced etc. Old tube amps are like that. You have a relationship with them. If you know their tone, then they will let you know when their tubes need to be replaced. You have to develop an ear and feel for them. I been playing tube amps since the 60thes ..so I know when tubes sound right or when they sound bad. So if you find one of these amps and it works but sounds bad...buy it and take it to a good tube tech that really knows what he is doing. There are a lot of sloppy techs out there. Tube amps are a dying art. So be careful who you deal with. But once it's repaired and sounds all healthy...get use to that sound. When that sound starts changing, replace the tubes. If that doesn't do it, then go see your tech or better yet, read an learn all you can about tube amps. It takes time to get a feel for this..but remember for me when I was a kid...Fenders were called reliable...and they were all tubes back then. So I will give it an 8 because your ears make the other two points. * 8 is a very good rating for a tube amp.

Alamo? Well they all died at the Alamo.
No opinion

I been playing 40 plus years. If it was lost or stolen, I lose my mind.
There is really nothing to hate about this little jewel for me.
It has stood the test of time. I think it is made better then alot of the new stuff today...well I talkin what they sell out of Guitar center.
This amp smokes all their cheap tube hybrid amps.
One reason I chose this amp is because not only did it sound good, it is very light. Lighter than a Fender Deluxe. I was using a Univox 400ug which also is a light solid state amp for small clubs. Dime it sounds like a tube amp..not bad. I wrote about that amp too.But this Alamo Monclair had a much more warm tone. I still have the Univox for my back up. At 55 if you want to still play..weight becomes a factor.
My strong son moves my Fender or Marshall combos for me to bigger gigs. But I still like hitting open mikes too. So this amp is a breeze for an old guy like me to carry around. All this adds up to 10 for me.

So in closing I would add...old tube amps might need work. Alamo made some really good light amps. A lot of old light tube amps are out there. Many classic amps are not that expensive "yet", only the big names are. Many of the smaller tube amp are not that hard to get up and running. If you are young and like all that big stuff but you parents are always yelling at you to turn it down...then try an old light 18 to 22 watt tube amp. Dime it...you will love it and so will your parents.

About a 1976 model it seems.One 5AR4 rectifier-2-6V6GT's and a 12AX7 in the tube department.The tremelo and reverb are not it's stong suit but they are usable in the 1-3 settings.The extension speaker jack is very usefull. 12 inch speaker and two channels.
Very well made. Mine is almost mint and looks sweet. Nice and light and easy to lug around also.

I would say it sounds best with single coils and just lovely with a P90.Very quiet and gets a nice break-up at about 6 1/2.I am waiting for some new tubes as we speak.Someone has put a Celestion Rocket 50 speaker in it.I know it deserves better but have not made up my mind on a replacement yet.

Now we are talking strong suits. This thing fires up every time and has no quirks like every other amp I own.

Forget about it. Alamo is long gone.

I considered keeping this all to myself so as not to drive up the price of future Alamo's.This thing is stash and good luck to you finding more of them.Other than the sub-par reverb there is nothing not to like about this little gem.

Mine is a 1965 Alamo Montclair Reverb. It has tremolo & reverb, as well as tone knobs. I never worry about having enough power at a gig, I just mic it. I wanted a Champ but I also wanted reverb and tremolo. This amp has it all for me, and it has a beautiful, warm sound with lots of bottom. this amp shines in every which way I've tried it.

I use a 90's USA tele (California) with a Rio Grande Muy Grande single-coil pickup in the bridge position, as well as a stock Fender humbucker in the neck position. I play rhythm guitar in a rock band mostly, but I also like to play some jazzy/motown stuff. This amp works well for my style. It's not noisy to my ears. I've heard some Fender tubers that really hissed, this amp is pretty quiet. This particular amp breaks up around 6, it's pretty creamy. If you throw a boost pedal on it you can get some nice bite to it.

I've only had it a little while, but it's been working and sounding great so far, no troubles.

They are not around anymore...

I've been waiting a long time to find a simple tube amp that is versatile and this is it for me. I've heard a lot of amps in my day and this one sits justs right to my ears. They come along every one in a while on eBay at such cheap prices, you can't go wrong.

12", black tolex probably 18-22W, single gain with volume, treble & bass, reverb + trem speed & intensity. Anonymous looking late 60s styling, basic set up that kicks butt! Transistor pre-amp with twin 6V6s for output. I think the speaker is a CTS. It has an extension speaker output that's great for gigs.

Basic blues amp but very good, think Fender Reverb Deluxe. The Reverb is not up to Fender standards but, unless you want to play surf, it's more than adequate. Quiet amp, gets crunchy around 6, never screams but it has a nice overdriven sound. I use a Tweed E Dohs Overdrive pedal and this combination gives me all the tone and overdrive I need.

It's never let me down but it's not made to the highest standards. I had it checked over by Dan Torres right after I bought it, he said it was a difficult amp to work on but he really liked the sound.

Long gone...luckily, I'm 5 miles away from one of the best amp techs in the business!

This has become my main gigging amp with the addition of an extension speaker. Totally practical size, weight, features and volume with good tone. If it was stolen or lost I'd be very upset as I'd probably never find another one and would have to "settle" for a Fender Deluxe Reverb ;-). For $200, a total steal!!!