Ampeg GS-12R Rocket II

Single channel, reverb and tremolo, bass and treble, around 20 watts or so, hard wired footswitch. What else do you need? No channel switching, effects loop, digital fx, modeling, cyber-anything, headphone out or any of that crap. If you wanted that, you wouldn't be looking here.

I'm using this with a beater guitar with P90's and a bigsby. The amp is very "old school:" drippy reverb with lots of dwell or sproing; awesome tremolo, like on all Ampegs. Some examples of similar sounds would be "Day Tripper" or some of the tracks on Cracker's "Kerosene Hat", especially the title track and "Loser." When cranked up, it overdrives very nicely - a lot of compression from the cathode bias, but doesn't sqaush so hard that it seems to get quieter, like a tweed deluxe. Ultra-high end seems a bit absent on this amp, not a lot of sparkle. Amp is not as loud as I expected, maybe due to the crappy CTS speaker, or worn tubes - it's still got the original "Ampeg" labeled 7591As. An excellent choice for psychobilly. Probably not a good choice for death metal.

Seems to be holding up pretty good (see above). It's held up pretty well for thirty five years. I doubt you'll see that from SLM "Ampegs."

Ampeg's changed hands three or four times since then, so I doubt the current owners would be much help. I'm pretty sure it's out of warranty by now.

I probably wouldn't want it as my only amp, unless I was in some sort of revival act or something, but it certainly is a lot of fun, and appropriate for a lot of material I cover.

So much for that old 66 Ampeg Reverberocket 2. It was a piece of...thing that just needed to be fixed, but still a good amp.It features a guitar AND/OR accordion input. Volume,Treble,Bass on the right side of face plate and tremolo/echo on the left side.Can we play both input at the same time?

Old clean sound or good old blues? You choose,depending on the way you want to drive them(7591A)tubes.Strat or Les Paul,(single coil or humbuckers)both are interesting but,again, very different sounding in dynamic response with this amp.Anyway,it performes very well in both modes if you tweek those knobs the right way.

That is a 1966 Ampeg that is still workin in 2004 ?!!!!

Hey! this is NOT a Blackface Fender Deluxe Reverb!
What can you expect for the price?

This is a mid-60's Ampeg GS-12R ReverbeRocket II. It's been modified with a grounded electrical connector and a 'standard' footswitch jack.
No channel switching, has tremolo and reverb. Volume, treble, bass controls -- that's all you need anyway. Not the original speaker -- some noname brand, can't tell what it is (does sound good, though). 7591a power tubes.

I'm using it with a Clapton Strat w/Dimarzio Virtual Vintage p/u's. The amp sounds great to begin with -- especially considering the price -- but two things add to the sound quality. One is, the Clapton Strat has a mid-range boost that effectively introduces a bit of gain/distortion/volume that fattens the sound up. And secondly, once the Ampeg heats up it sounds even better. I use the amp in two configurations. One is to A/B it with another amp (a doc Z) and the other is to use the Dr. Z Maz 18 Jr. to preamp the Ampeg by utilizing a stereo chorus (the Z has an effects loop after the preamp). Both sound great, although I'm slightly favoring the preamp setup - probably because I'm getting a very full sound when using two amps simutaneously and also when the chorus or pitch shift effect is in use. Even w/o either of these configs, this is a great sounding amp -- you can get a very good clean 60's kinda sound. The Who's 'Can't Explain' sound.

I've owned it only for a few months and haven't had any problem, but it is from the 60's, so .....

I'll never know .... uh, maybe it's still under warranty?

If you're looking for a great sounding affordable amp and you know Fender isn't what you want, you should consider one of these or another similar old Ampeg. I think the 7591a tubes are significant to the sound of these - that's why I bought an old one. I don't believe the new Ampegs use this tube and the channel switching distortion they offer isn't good at all. So, bottom line, grab one of these before the prices rise as they inevitably will.

1968, about 15-20 watts, 1x12 tube combo, balck tolex. fits my style perfectly (sixties rock the Who, Stones, Zeppelin, blues, 70's punk). One channel no effects loop no headphone jack. It has a footswitch. It has everything I need for my styles of music. I use the tremelo and reverb all the time. I am not in a band right now so I just use it for myself. I play bass in a band. It has just the right amount of power, not too much not too little. I have a 40 watt Traynor YCV 40 that I can't really open up to its full potential because it is too loud for just home use.

I am using a Danelectro DC 59 Pro, a Gibson SG-I, and Dillion Les Paul copy. It suits me very well because I don't use a lot of palm muting or other heavy metal type techniques. I play sixties music so what better amp to use than one from the sixties? It is not noisy at all. No annoying hiss like my JC-120. The volume knob allows you to take the basic clean tone of the amp and make it more and more overdriven as you turn it up. I haven't cranked it all the way up, I have had it a little past five with my nobels overdrive pedal. I don't want to go blasting the thing if I don't have to because it is old and i want to take care of it. But at five it was breaking up in a nice way with just guitar into amp, no pedal. I would compare the overdriven sound to mid sixties the Who meets Steve Jones of the Sex Pistols.

I guess it is reliable since it still has all the original tubes and speaker and it still sounds great. I don't see why it shouldn't continue. I would bring my Traynor as a backup if Iever gigged with it. I can't tell you if it has ever broken down or not because I just got it. Ithink the fact that all the original parts are still there says something about it s durability. I won't give an opinion for this category.

They don't make this amp anymore.

I started out playing on a Premier Twin Eight with a distortion pedal. then I got some solid state amps, a JC-120 and a Trayonr YCV-40. This Ampeg reminds me of the Premier, so I feel Like I have come full circle. If lost or stolen I'd get another one like it. I love that when I use this amp, I use everything it has to offer. Idon't play with the thing with the volume level at "one;" it is low wattage enough that I can let it rip and not go deaf. I don't really hate anythiing about it. It lacks clean headroom but I play rock so thats fine with me. Ibought this on eBay so I didn't get to test it out but I had been playing all the Ampegs I could find in the stores, new and used. I played the SuperJet 50watt, the Reverborocket reissue, the Gemini II, the Reverbojet. They were all nice but I was waiting until I could find a good deal on one, like under $350.00 in good condition. So I was really happy to get this amp for what I feel was a great price.

the serial # on this is nowhere to be found, but having seen similar amps on the net, i'd guess it to be '66 or '67. it's a single channel amp with 2 inputs (guitar and accordion), reverb and tremelo, and features volume, treble and bass controls. no fx loop, speaker out or headphone jack. what this DOES have is incredible tone. i've heard it speculated that it could be possibly 30 watts, but i'm willing to guess it's about 18 - 22. the reverb is quite nice and doesn't sound like a fender's. i consider that a good thing; not that fenders sound bad, but ther are other good sounding 'verbs out there. this amp came to me with a 15" instead of the stock 12", but otherwise seems to be pretty original. the tolex is a little beat up, and the logo on the front is half gone (says "peg" -- wish it said "amp"), but this thing is built SOLID. it's also all-tube (two 12ax7's and two 7591's) with rectifier (6au10). also comes with attached 2-button footswitch (reverb/tremelo).

my main guitar is a stock '96 fender lone star strat and the combination of the fender and ampeg yields some amazing sounds. from zero to halfway the amp's volume knob does just that -- bring up the volume. very clean and pure vintage warmth. from halfway to dimed the volume knob brings in the gain. terrific blues tone! and when i REALLY want to go over the top i kick in on a danelectro "t-bone" distortion ( you know, those little plastic boxes that are like $40). the trick i found is not to use it as a distortion but as a boost. i turn the output anywhere from 12 to 3 o'clock with the gain at about 9 o'clock. sounds heavy and makes the guitar and amp wail. part of the sound of this baby is due to the 15" speaker. i A/B'd it with an identical 'rocket owned by a friend (his with the 12"), and mine had WAY more headroom and a much more complete tone. i recommend this replacement to any 'rocket owners. the only drawbacks about this amp is that the treble can be a little harsh and the reverb should be used sparingly -- this thing provides way more 'verb than necessary. as for the tremelo, i hardly use it, but it has a cool vibe like the tremelos heard in bruce lee and spy movies. when you turn the intensity knob all the way up he pot has a detent that clicks over and makes the tremelo super choppy. very cool. never heard another tremelo like it. this amp is perfect for playing blues and even jazz and surf. you could easily play small venues with this puppy. in fact, by diming the volume and tone knobs and controlling the overall volume with your guitar, you could even play bigger places, too. and one more drawback: the original attached power cord was FAR too short, but i had a friend replace it with a heavy-duty 11' 3-prong cable. this also recommended.

i've had this amp for 3 years and haven't had a problem yet. i believe most, if not all, of the tubes are original. of course, i haven't gigged much in the last 4 years, but my friend with the other 'rocket used his extensively and exclusively for over 3 years (gigging 3-4 times a week, plus rehearsals and recording) playing some loud blues-based rock, and his is fine. (he has since stopped taking it out for fear of something happening to it -- getting stolen, dropped, etc.) as for me, i would probably keep tubes and a fuse for backup, but not necessarily another amp.

N/A

i've been playing for 17 years and owned various amps throughout. this is by far the best $300 i've ever spent. if lost or stolen, i would immediately find an exact replacement. only thing i hate is that the power tubes (7591's) are a little rare and expensive, but they are worth it. i've heard of people having their 'rockets modified to use 6L6's or others, but the 7591's are a big reason these amps sound unique. and the only feature i wish it had is a "standby".

My Ampeg Rocket 2 is a 1965 amp. It was made at Linden, NJ. The amp is a simple one without reverb (the reverb model is the GS-12R).
The amp has one channel with inputs for guitar and accordion. I prefer the accordion input. There are five knobs. Two are for the tremelo (which is not working) and the rest are for volume, treble and bass. It has the original alnico speaker, which sounds fantastic. The amp has an open back design that acoustically is better than most. It is all tube and hand wired point to point.
I think it is about 30 watts.
I use this amp for practice and will use it for recording.

This amp tends to get a nice clean sound. The bass end is better than just about any amp I've played or heard. It is good at taking a distortion pedal and gets that classic ZZ-Top Marshall kind of sound if you got a first rate distortion pedal. The in between clean and heavy distortion sounds with pedals are kind of like a weak Vox sound. So, we get two great sounds when getting help by a pedal and one kind of weak sound. Still that is better than most amps which can't do one thing right.

I bought this amp from a guy on Ebay who did not represent the amp correctly. Honestly, he just lied but I got a pretty good price and the speaker was in great shape so I haven't chased him down on it. I had to get a big tin can filter cap and put in this which cost me about $65 including labor. It does need a new tremelo module, which I understand can be had. I would say that the problems that it came with came from neglect and bad repairs.

I called Ampeg about the tremelo module and they directed me to a gentleman who makes this. So, I'll give them a 10 for supporting this old amp and keeping info on who does restoration type work.

I've been playing approximately 30 years. I'm 36 years old. I own lots of nice and esoteric gear.
This amp design would be great for someone to put a couple of gain channels in front of for a custom shop kind of Marshall low wattage amp. I'm saying that in terms of speaker used, cabinet design, etc. Compared to other vintage amps, these old Ampegs are the best value. I like amps that start overdriving and distorting at about six on the knob but this amp has a lot of pluses that make up for this shortcoming. So, as far as value, these are a fantastic value because you can get a lot of these old Ampegs in not bad condition for under $300 to $400. Not bad at all. I like this amp enough that I'd like to get a Reverberocket 2 to go with it.

This is a 1966 reverbrocket 2, and it has 2 inputs (guitar and accordian,) volume, treble and bass controls. It sends 20w to a 12" Jensen, and it's powered by 2 7591's (tough to find), 2 12ax7's and a 6U10 rectifier. This puppy was sitting in my pop's basement untouched for the last 25 years (he played accordian,) so I grabbed it, tinked with some junk, and viola! Great tone, especially with the vibrato, echo, and tremolo features. A footswitch is included. I like to play it at 7-8 and get that sweet blues tone. I use outboard effects to add crunchy tone and fuzz.

My 13 year old son plays his Mexi Strat through it, with a DOD chorus and a DS-1 distortion. He plays blues, classic rock, and some funky riff type stuff (barre chords, dude.) There was a low-level hum, crackle, and pop, but it's just the tubes warming up...it went away after an hour. I don't like the way it gets distorted at 8-9, so I back off it a bit...it definately would be a great studio amp. It's more than adequate for our basement jams. The bass control doesn't seem to have an effect, but the treble really attacks, so I ease off a bit from the highs.

After 25 years of sitting there, I got it checked by a tube amp guy(a good idea, friends) and he added a new grounded plug, checked all the tubes (three of the five are original...so much for matching tubes,)cleaned things up, etc...for less than 40 bucks. It will probably run until one of the power tubes go, but we use it 3x per week for an hour at half volume, so I'm sure it'll go another 25 years...these Ampegs are built like bunkers...my pop also had a B-15 (he got rid of it!)

Hey...Ampeg is gone from Linden, NJ where it was manufactured, but the web has lots of good info and sites, so I could get tubes almost anywhere...the back inside panel of the amp had the schematics printed on it...neat. All the parts can be ordered.

For 50 bucks, why would I diss this classic '66 Reverbrocket? It makes my teen son sound better than his solid state, and the tone is incredible. I wouldn't buy another for the 400+ it's worth to someone, but I would buy a newer Ampeg or Fender tube amp...this one is similar to the Fender Deluxe. Bottom line, LOOK IN YOUR PARENT'S BASEMENT BEFORE IT'S GARAGE SALE TIME!

This amp is from the late 60s. At 20 watts RMS and one 12" speaker, its Fender equivalent would be the Deluxe. One channel with bright and normal inputs; and the pots are volume, treble, bass, tremelo speed and intensity, and reverb depth. The tremelo also has a toggle called 'afterbeat' which adds a percussive edge to the tremelo wave. The power tubes're two 7591s. Reverb/vibrato pedal. No outputs for external speaker.

I've used a Les Paul Custom, a Melody Maker and a Strat with this amp, and all sound great. At full volume it distorts a little, in a clean, warm power tube fashion, i.e., if you play a chord with extensions, all the intervals're relatively clear. I use a Boss OS-2 overdrive for more distortion.

It's only been repaired once in its lifetime- a recently blown power transformer. For 30 years, that's not bad (I knew the previous owner)! The tubes're still original!

I love the simplicity of this amp. If I had to buy another, I'd look for similar qualities; the most important of which is a good unadulterated sound at all volumes. I'll use outboard equipment for extra gain, distortion, etc. This amp sounds WAY better than my silver face Fender twin, at any relative volume. It's only 20 watts, but I played a show where it was miked and it sounded fine.