Ampeg Gemini I G-12 112 Combo

This is a 1966 Ampeg Gemini I, 20 Watt Combo. I play country, rockabilly, classic rock, and any roots rock from Elvis to Guns N Roses. It has two channels, Reverb and Tremelo, with two imputs per channel for a Guitar and an Accordian(?). It has treble and bass controls per channel, too. I use this amp in my apartment and it has plenty of power. It is ALL TUBE!!! Don't be fooled by the price. This is one rockin amp, under anyone's book. In mint condition, thse go for around $3-400. Mine has a broken tremelo.

I use this amp with a Gibson Les Paul Special with Lindy Fralin P-90s and a Gibson Les Paul Studio which will soon have Jim Wagner Fillmore humbuckers in it. Both sound Awesome through this amp. I'm not too crazy about the stock 490 buckers, so right now I primarily play the Special, and it rocks. At lower volumes (around 8:00 to 11:00) or when I turn the amp volume to about 3:00 and turn the guitar volume down, It stays clean and plays awesome. Perfectly balanced, smooth, melodic. I love playing rockabilly/country and southern rock clean with the bridge. When I crank the volume, OH, the overdrive! Smooth, yet VERY raunchy (Hey, they're P-90s!). It's got the chainsaw grind that P-90s are known for (not quite Pete Townshend- you need a dimed stack of 100 watt Hiwatts for that). I also use a Robert Keeley modified TS-9 for overdrive at lower volumes when I need to keep it down. The Studio still retains the humbucker sound too (although a crappy sound- that's why I'm changing buckers). Any guitar you plug in, the amp translates everything- the good, the bad, and the ugly. That's why I have good equipment. Total Sonic Nirvana. The best kept secret in Music. I haven't gigged with it, because I've only been playing for 5 months, but It would be perfect for blues/RnR in a bar or a small club. It has AWESOME reverb. The tremelo is broken on mine, so I can't tell you about the tremelo (but I got the amp for a much better price!). I might get that fixed sometime. I've heard that it is very unique- in a good way.

If I gigged, I would definitely bring spare tubes, but as for reliability, it's been around for 37 years and is still kickin. Need I say more?

I doubt ampeg would still cover this amp seeing how old it is. They're website does give good links for vintage ampeg sites. Good thinking. I still won't rate this, though, because of the age. I do applaud Ampeg for their effort to suppport their vintage amps.

This is one awesome amp. I don't EVER see myself selling it. I might get a Carr Mercury and put some EL 84s in it after I get out of College So I can crank the amp and turn the Power Attenuator down to acceptable levels (especially useful for when I will start having kids many moons from now), but I've played a Fender DRRI and Hot Rod Deville and a Peavey Classic 30 and like the Ampeg better than 'em all.

This amp was made when the guitar amp market wasn't totally feature crazy. There's basically Tremolo, Reverb, and a Treble boost all the way to the right on the treble knob. The reverb is the best I've ever heard from a combo amp.

At low volumes the amp can be noisy...60 cycle hum, RF (when the tubes are old), etc. But the tone is clean, very transparent. But this baby really comes into its own at higher volumes when the tubes get pushed. With humbuckers you can push the sound to shredder's paradise. At upper mid-volumes, the Gemini I starts to display warm and fat blues/rock tones. A Telecaster played through it with reverb gets this monster rockabilly thing going....overall, superb vintage tube sound.

I've owned this amp for nearly 30 years and have probably had it in the shop once or twice. It's in now getting totally restored and should be good for another 30 years.

It's never really broken on me, so I never really had to use Ampeg support.

This has been the only guitar amp I've ever owned. I am just now taking a look at some other amps, but I will never lose the Ampeg. If it were lost or stolen, I would probably cry myself to sleep for a few nights.

This is a two channel amp, one for accordion, one for guitar. If there's a difference between the two, I haven't been able to detect it. Great tremelo and even better reverb. I think the reverb on this amp is the best I've ever heard, very warm. Otherwise this is straightforward piece of equipment. I think it's about 20 watts, though it's not that loud. Fine for a small club though.

These are great amps for surf, but they're also versatile enough to use for other styles. For sure you can get a great rockabilly sound out of this amp because of the amazing reverb. But you can also drive these a bit and get a decent, sweet overdriven sound. With a pedal you can really expand to tone a lot. You'll never get metal on this without a pedal. Ampegs weren't made to distort. But the clean sound is excellent so it's a great amp for fast pickers who want defnition in their sound.

I had this serviced five years ago and it's been good to me since. Before that I don't think it was ever serviced. This amp is probably from the mid-60's so it's a trouper.

Great amp for the money, no question about it.

I picked up a couple of these amps for $50.00 apiece at Guitar Center. They needed new fuses and nothing else! Of the two, I prefer the one with the original Jensen (the other was replaced with something generic). Excellent for recording, a bit too low-power for gigs.

I play a Gibson SG through this amp for recording and as a second amp onstage (I use a Y-cable and split the signal to a Fender Superchamp). This amp distorts very nicely yet remains warm, the way a better Marshall does. The reverb and Tremelo units are totally over the top; the best I've ever heard. If you need a louder amp or a clean-sounding amp this probably isn't the set-up for you, but for playing at home, 4-tracking or studio work, this amp is amazing.

It has a wierd hum and apparently the tubes are difficult to track down, but it really has given me no problems. The voice of my conscience reminds me that the other Gemini remains in the garage, unused due to numerous problems....

When you buy a 30 year old amp for $50.00, you really can't expect much help from the company, but then again I've never tried to contact them.

I heartily endorse this amp.

This, I believe, a 1964 Gemini I. It's a great amp if you are looking for a warm tube sound. It has two channels - one for guitar and the other for accordian(!). This amp is about 20 watts and not nearly as loud as a Fender of this same wattage - it's probably about as loud as a Princeton.

Tonewise, I'd say this amp lies some point between a Fender Princeton and a Marshall. It's richer and less twangy than a Fender, but not as full-roar sounding as a Marshall. It sounds 'old' in the best sense of the word. You can get some crunch at this at the end. WIth a pedal it can scream. It has terrific reverb and tremelo as well. The tremelo is particularly excellent - the best I've ever heard.

As long as you've got a good tube tech and don't abuse it, you can keep them reliable as any good tube amp.

I've got a few amps, this is one of my favorites. I'm seeing them at stores for $400 and that seems like a fair price for such a good amp, especially one you can gig with in small clubs.

I've had this amp since I was 16. So we have a long history together. By the serial# I've tracked it to being made in '67.I had a R&R band that played a range from Proud Mary to the Monkees to Purple Haze. I was impressed in the store how clean the sound was, and I figured if I wanted fuzz, there was the box. The 2 channels were always used. #1 for the guitar (reverb + tremolo) and #2 (no effects) had my mike. I didn't use the special "*" setting very often while gigging unless we were getting into a spirited jam!(or Crimson and Clover!) Over the years I've used it with a pickup on my acoustic. In the glory days I had a Kent hollowbody with some kind of microphonic pickups(I could speak into it and hear my words). Past 20 years, I've played music ministry and have enjoyed its mellow tone for just the right mood.

My son (14) has a Strat and just recently asked to see what it would sound like. We have an acoustic Peavey amp that we use with the guitars and he with his effects box as well. He plugged in straight and also with the effects and was mightily impressed with the "tube tone".He felt it drove the sound and he does enjoy having Dad playing some old gold with him. It seemed to have a little more push than the acoustic amp but could be a factor of the high freq rolloff which naturally gives you the midrange "presence". We haven't used it with a playdate as it is heavy to cart but it sounds great in the family room and fills the house! Johnny B Goode play on! For a clean amp I couldn't ask for more although there was a time when I wished I could emulate some of the distortion in the Marshalls but didn't have the bucks for g.a.s.(gear acquisition syndrome)

I had this as my main up until 4 years ago. It has broken down only while practicing but were an easy fix for me. I'm an electronic tech. Some tubes were replaced in the mid 70's and the Jensen 12 speaker blew, but was replaced with a Utah. It gave me a sharper treble on the * setting but sounds like old amps do. A little cleanup on tube sockets and solder connections does a world of difference for rejuvenating her.I would use it again but not without a backup.

Never did as the problems came after warranty.(I forget how long it was) My friend that played rhythm borrowed the amp while I was in basic training and had a repair guy replace some parts that failed. I learned after the fact.I do my own repair.had to repair solder joints in the reverb unit at least twice. Tricky with tiny wires.

I recently cleaned up some circuit noise and I feel like I have a gem of a sound that would be hard to get in solid state. I appreciate my solid state Peavey for my Taylor CE but when it's time to surf, The Ampeg gives me a warm tone. It's almost heirloom status! Couldn't replace it. Enjoy it while it's here.

60s tube amp. Has 3 12AX7s, 2 7591s, 1 6CG7, and 1 7199. Schematic hidden in the back panel of the amp if you wish to check it out. The output is 20 watts through a 12 inch speaker. The speaker in mine is unoriginal, replaced in 1977, but it's vintage and sounds sweet. Fuse is located on the front panel, and the power switch as well. No standby switch. There are 2 separate channels, each one with accordion or guitar inputs and treble and bass knobs. There is a tremolo unit with speed and intensity knobs, and a final "click" stage on the intensity for an extremely choppy tremolo. The treble knob on both channels also has this feature, which serves to add a very bright tone. there is also a reverb unit with its own knob. Both the tremolo and reverb are controllable by a footswitch. Make sure you get it if you buy one of these, as it is very useful. The amp was originally covered with the standard Ampeg blue checkerboard, but the previous owner took off the blue and refinished the wood. Consequently, this particular amp looks really cool and unique. It's heavy and large for only a 20 watt amp

I tend to play sort of a country/Robby Creager tone through this amp, and let me tell you, this amp is amazing. My fernandes Tele w/ PRS pickups never sounded so good. If you want tone for the money, this amp even beats out the cheap Traynor craze that's been going on recently. The tone is very tube, sounds just as sweet as the 2000 dollar vibro-king down at the music store. Ampeg really knew what they were doing with this amp. The drawbacks may be the lack of extreme power and expensive NOS tubes you gotta buy, but if you only need 20 watts, this is the amp for you, especially for jazz. Spring reverb sounds very Twin-esque. mine is acually a touch noisy when it's pegged, but at about 3 o clock is as far as I take it and it sounds great. The tremolo...oh....the tremolo...very nice unit. Goes from extremely mellow to ultra choppy with a quick turn. The footswitch for reverb and tremolo is very-very-very nice. There is no separate gain switch, but you do get a decent crunch when you crank the amp. I personally don't push it...i want this amp to last...

Never trust a tube amp!! if I was gigging, i'd keep spare tubes and definitely a backup...it's the price you've gotta pay for that sweet, sweet tone....No problems yet, though. This particular amp had a funny hum once in a while...i finally figured out the cabinet was resonating! :) a little pushing and pulling on the chassis to give it some breathing room after 30 years helped out...a technical tap, if you will.

If you're going to buy an amp like this, you'd better be at least willing to change out the tubes regularly, and you'd better know someone who can work on tube amps. I'm planning on recapping mine soon.... I doubt ampeg could be of too much help with an amp this old.

Buy this amp for 200 bucks, drop 100 on nice tubes, and you will have one of the best sounding tube amps on earth.

And when your Limp Bizkit buddy shows you his new Marshall half-stack and proceeds to rock out a crazy loud distorted lick that leaves you wondering why you were foolish enough to buy a low wattage tube amp like this, go home and tune up your guitar. Plug it into this amp, hit the tremolo, and strike an E chord. Then sit back and listen to the output of those wonderful glowing tubes. When the chord is done resonating, put on your headphones and bliss out to some real music. (And smile knowing you paid 800 dollars less for your amp than your pal.)