Ampeg J-12T

Very full featured, vintage-type, setup. The reverb is very usable for a slight wetness, and the tremelo is goofy-vintage-cool. I cannot see a lot of utility for tremelo, but that criticism applies to most amps that have it as a feature.

It does not have a master volume or channel switching, but those aren't features that I was looking for, anyway. I have not figured out a good use for the accordian input; it just seems to be a lower-gain and volume input, which may be good if I need to play the thing louder. It also has only a single tone control, which gives you a wide range of sounds, but is not that customizable. This amp is quite good at producing a few excellent sounds; don't buy it for an all-purpose amp. It has personality, and will not do all styles.

I replaced the speaker (which had problems in the bass) with a 1958 Jensen P12Q, replaced the power tubes with Groove Tubes, and put a really old 12AX7 (I pulled it from a 60s Organ; no manufacturer stamp was visable) in the V1 position.

I have three main guitars: a frankenstrat [body of an 80s Korean Squire, American Fender pickups NB, Duncan Lil' '59 B, 5-pos switch wired to give N - NM - NB (split) - MB (split) - B (humbucking)], an Ibanez GAX70 with Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates, and a homemade chambered '59 LP Junior clone with Vintagevibe P90s. I occasionally use a homemade treble booster, a TS808, and a Boss Chorus, but most of the time I play w/o effects. I play indie rock.

It is really only clean at very low volumes; breakup starts at about 3. I typically play in the 4-6 range. When the volume is dimed, the treble end is fully saturated, and capable of a Carlos Santana tone on leads. The lower end is crunchy, and good for 70s hard rock. My old 12AX7 produces a lot more distortion than the Sovtek that came with the amp, so you probably can get a nice range from playing with preamp tubes. The amp has a tiny big of background hiss, but it is not that noticeable at lower gain. Prior to changing speakers, the bass sounded pretty nasty at times.

The overall sound is gorgeous and chimey with single coils. Humbuckers don't really shine at low to moderate gain, which is where this amp has the most personality, but they can push the distortion into more brutal territory. The Alnico speaker I installed sounds really good, but it admittedly reduces the chime and volume a bit. However, it also reduces the ice-pick effect, which this amp is surprising good at if you don't watch your tone settings.

No problems yet, but I have only had it for a month.

Have not needed to call customer support.

It is perfect as a vintage-style moderate volume (15 watts) medium gain Rock and Roll amp. It will not do much else, but that is exactly what I bought it for. Expect to futz with tubes and speakers to get the best tone, although it certainly sounded good out of the box.

see the rest of the thread... i agree on the footswitch thing

I mainly use a Jay turser ES-335 (also an excellent peice of non-mainstream machinery) with the stock humbucking pickups in it. I can get very rich, thick meaty tones out of this thing on the neck pickup and total scorching Angus-y lead tones out of the bridge. Love it. I've read above about changing the sovteks out of it, and i think i'm going to. at higher volumes it breaks up nicely, but does have kind of an underlying "scum" if you will that is the only thing that sours the sound, if only so slightly. Most people will probably not notice this, and neither did i until a few months ago. Still, an excellent sounding amp. I'll give it a 10 based on other testimonys say new tubes will help. otherwise its a 9.5.

started sounding buzzy when i first got it, but i took it in under warranty, and turned out it had gotten raddled around during shipping (im in hawaii, and stuff takes a beating).

Very good. Their repair guy was on the other side of the island, but I wasn't too peaved. I normally have to send amps to DIFFERENT islands for repairs, so I took a day off to drop it off, and went to the beach. Nice. The repair guy was a private tech, but he was very knowledgeable, if a little eccentric. I didnt have to deal with ampeg on this instance, but since this happened I got a job at the shop where I bought it and have delt with them on other matters, and they are very good about customer service.

Overall, this amp does everything I wanted it to do. I've been playing around 7 years now and my main amp is a 1974 Fender Bassman TEN 4x10 50 watt tube combo that I would never sell. It is however, LARGE, HEAVY, and a bit of a pain to cart into parties for a jam session (Hawaii has lots of dirt roads, casters DON'T work.). I would most definatly buy another one if this was stolen, especially since I work at the shop where I bought it now and can get it under employee discount! This is an excellent little blues/classic rock amp and works exceptionally well for recording (I recently recorded with it and my boss at the guitar shop commented that I sounded like pete townshend, alright!) These little things really are an excellent amp for the price, and I will usually recommend them to almost anyone, even if they want a large combo. They are loud enough, and sound good enough to take the place of a big combo on most stages...

Speaking of which, at my regular gig (around 70 people, medium sized church) I usually run my Bassman around 5-6 on the volume, and when I know I want to use my strat, or do something a little different, I'll use the ampeg and only have to run it at about 1.5 on the volume.

The Tremolo Jet has reverb, tremolo controls, and a volume and tone knob. You can get cleans tones and you CAN get Class A distortion out of the amp, but you have to turn up the volume since there is no master volume. Basically, your volume varies depending on how much distortion you want and vice versa. It's not a high-wattage amp, so getting clean and loud is pretty much impossible.

I think the clean sound of the amp is reall great. Of course, you cannot get a clean sound at higher volumes, but for home recording that's not a problem.

The tremolo is very good, too, I think. Really rich and thick. I kept the amp around for years just to have the great tremolo circuit.

The distortion sound is really thick and juicy, but you have to really crank the amp to get it to distort. That's not a problem for a studio or club, but it can be a problem for home.

The tone knob is pretty powerful and I didn't really miss having dedicated bass/mid/treble controls.

One main issue I had was that the factory speaker did not handle low end all that well. I thought that the low E could have been reproduced a little more accurately. I never tried swapping in a different speaker so I can't say for sure whether it was an issue with the speaker or the circuit, but my hunch is the speaker. Sometimes I play bass through my guitar amps, too, and I noticed that it really would accentuate some notes a lot more than others, unlike my Fender Hot Rod DeVille which is accurate all the way down to a low E on the bass. I know the Jet is a guitar amp (not a bass amp) but this test only confirmed my suspicions of a slightly weak low end with guitar.

I owned the amp for 7 years and never had any problems. I didn't gig all that much with it (maybe 3 times....it's not that powerful or flexible), but I did use it a fair amount for recording.

I never contacted Ampeg concerning repairs. I bought the amp used anyway.

It's a great clean amp at low volumes. Considering the price of boutique tremolo pedals, it's like getting a backup amp for free with a great built-in tremolo pedal.

Covered in previous reviews

G&L Legacy, stock. Blues, country. Living room/good neighbor volume levels. I rarely if ever had the amp even past 4. Rating of 8 is for how it sounded until it crapped out.

My mistake - eBay purchase. Worked for about a week, then suddenly started humming loudly and blew the fuse. Contacted the seller who stated he only played the thing for a few hours since new ( he was original owner ) - basically the same as the eBay description. Just my luck, huh?
Replaced fuse and tried again. Louder hum. Tubes are all good. I'm not a tech. The amp is out of warranty. Maybe UPS beat the hell out of it? No, never!

I called Ampeg for a repair shop in my area. They gave me the number of a place about a mile from my office. Dropped of amp and paid a $50.00 charge up front. This place then proceeded to ship the amp to another place on the complete opposite side of town. This place (Sabel) had the amp about a week and hadn't bothered calling me with the news that the thing needed a new diode and transformer. Sounded reasonable. I called Ampeg and was told that was the first thing thy would check. Well another week goes by, no word from these repair people, so I call again, "Still isn't working right, we're working on it." Yes, another week goes by, still no common business courtesy from this joint, so I call again. They can't fix it. I tell them to send it back to the place I left it at. "We'll get it there by Friday morning." Yea, I got there Friday afternoon, amp is still on the other side of town "not quite reassembled".
I contacted Ampex and even received a reply saying my problem was being referred to a higher up. Yeah, higher up somebodies something! Over two weeks later and no word back from Ampeg. Turns out the "certified" repair facility has never even heard of Ampeg! Maybe they could have at least mentioned that before accepting the amp and my money. Why would someone at Ampeg give me the name and number to the place? This is a three time F-over from three places on one amp!
I realize I have responsibility here and I accept it. I read the previous reviews and weighed the good and bad ones, and took a chance on eBay.

Pay heed to the other less than wonderfull ratings for these things. They look very cool, and many folks love em. I was vey pleased with it until... I have a few other things to try - saw where it may be a bad voice coil on the speaker. Probably should have found that possible solution before trusting the manufacturer to at least send me to a "certified" repair place that had maybe actually heard of Ampeg!
Again, I accept my part in this whole deal. Lesson learned. Hope this is helpful to other folks.

How many rewiews have you read, where the description of features fill your whole screen? Not this amp, though: Volume, tone, reverb, speed & intensity (for built-in tremolo), 15 watts, tube-powered, 12" speaker - pretty simple, and that's a huuuge plus! Think about it: If your amp sounds bad from the start no amount of features will save your tone. Having said that, the tremolo should be foot-switchable.

This is my "other" amp. For clean stuff, I use a Fender Blues Deluxe. If I want overdrive, I'll go for the Ampeg. I play a reissue Telecaster. Front pick-up, tremolo on (medium range), volume up to 6: you'll get instant Bo Diddley. Rear pick-up, full tremolo, volume up to 8: Link Wray "Rumble". The spring-reverb is a bit thin, as the small size of the cabinet permits the use of larger, fuller-sounding springs. And the J-12T is noisy! The good thing about this amp: Playing with a drummer, I'll have to turn it to 6, maybe7, which is exactly where the "sweet spot" of the amp lies. It's loud enough for small clubs, where I play. Larger ones mike the amp anyway.

So far, having used the amp for 5 years, no troubles. But the fuse is hidden inside and you'll need a screw-driver to change the power-tubes, as they are secured with a metal device, that is positively nerve-wrecking to unscrew: Bad engineering, in my opinion.

I once asked (the german branch of) Ampeg for a schematic, got it, plus a parts list, an exploded view and other useful documents etc. for free. Very nice.

This is a great amp. A pure and simple design in a market where other overblown amps try to be everything for everyone (and fail miserably). I've seen my fellow musicians schlepp around huge, expensive Marshall stacks, when all you need is this little amp, that you can carry in one hand (30 lbs = 13,5 kg). This amp has it's faults (see above), but it does the job, and you don't need a manual to use it.
The downside: when I bought it, it was modestly priced. Since then, Ampeg upped the price about 100% !! I see a lot of these amps in use, but all are older models (How do I know? I asked the players!), as NO ONE is willing to pay the inflated price. So I can't give as good a rating as i would have liked, since it's so overpriced right now!

only reason i gave it a 9 for features is that trem and verb are not footswitchable. take note ampeg, that would put this amp over the top!

has a great tone. i love to mod stuff, so i've ordered a new speaker, and i'm taking it in tommorow to be retubed. all in all, a really decent stock sound. the speaker is pretty fuzzy sounding though. but that might be a good thing for some people. i'm playing strats, teles, and jazzmasters in a roots rock band. i'm trying to play clean, there was a little too much soeaker noise for me.

had it for a couple weeks, been good so far!

haven't had to deal with any.

i own plenty of majestic rock machines and tools. 4x12 cabs, ampeg bass stacks. a dozen or so hot rodded guitars, and numerous pedals. but thru it all i was looking for something quieter than what i had, with a different tone. with the work i'm having done on it and the preice i paid for it. i'm getting an amp that sound very voxy, for under a grand. and it looks cool. like i stated in features, ampeg should make the trem and verb footswitchable. other than that i've been very pleased with it

This one made in 2002.I play a cross between Steve Miller and the Cocteau Twins.This amp's Vox-like circuitry(class A)is capable of producing those linear tones at a wide range of volume settings.The tone control has 30dB cut @ 4k;simple but effective.Two tremelo, one reverb control,a power switch and a blue amp jewel complete the 5 knob,switch and light control panel.This simplicity may be a drawback for some as it does not include a master vol. etc.I use this amp mostly for recording.My only complaint is the lack of a footswitch and the microphonic Sovtek tubes.

Once I replaced the tubes this amp soared.I would compare the tone to a midrangey AC-15.I use a Japanese Strat with Lace Sensors.It is a strong clean tone until about 5 or 6.The breakup is smooth,linear and oh so loud!The solid state rectifier makes for no dynamic sag resulting in great playing sensitivity and well controlled harmonic feedback.The spring reverb is solid state wired but very deep and warm.The tremelo,also solid state,actually goes into true dynamic cutoff.There are some cracks and pops at moderate to high volumes-to be expected from power hungry class-A.

I have only had this for a short time so only time will tell.I mentioned the tubes but planned on replacing them anyway.Factory tubes are rarely worth keeping.I would use this amp anywhere without worry.

The 5 yr. warranty was a huge bonus.Like any tube amp it pays to look under the hood and take care of small problems before smoke appears.

I've been playing for 13 years mostly through old Fenders.If I had to replace this amp and had double the money I would still buy a J12T.I love the tone and simplicity.I love the made in USA.The price is right for Vox-like tone.Besides the fact it needs a footswitch and decent tubes, these amps are the best kept secret in tone quality.P.S...I don't work for Ampeg.

Mine say's "Made in USA" 1995 on the inside of the amp.
Has the Basic features, I'm not to keen on amps like MK IV Boogies with 28 Knobs and 7 Master Volumes, Each with a Push/Pull knob.

This is the best part, The sound of these 12" Combo amps sound great for only having 2 EL-84 Power Tubes.
The Reverb has that Warm Fuzzing feeling. Great Tremolo !
I can Crank this amp up to "10" and not worry about the amp Blowing up, It sound's better the Louder you Crank it up.

This amp is Built like a Tank !!
I read some other reviews where some of the screw were coming loose, Maybe the Previous owner Torked all the Nuts and Bolts down for me ?
I bought this amp from the Original owner, He stepped up to a Matchless amp.

Never had to call Ampeg Tech Support. I've had this amp for over 1 year now, I play it daily.
Just for the heck of it, I did call tech Support, They were very friendly.

I've been playing since 1968. Doesn't mean i'm any better than a person that has been playing for only 2 years.
I would compare this amp to a Vov AC-15, Or, Fender Deluxe Reverb.

2002 - bought brand new.
Single channel, reverb & tremelo
15 watt all tube - EL84/12 AX7's
For my intended purpose - lighweight portable jamming / small gig / some recording - it's close to perfect. This amp should be simple and it is. Wish it had "standby" but the cool blue light almost makes up for it!

I play rock, indie pop, blues. Guitars: Gibson Les Pauls (Standard, 60's Classic RI, Junior w/ P-90), Fender Strats (Amer Dlx, Amer Texas Special, 50's RI), Tele w/ Lindy Fralins and Epiphone Wildkat.
Great tone. Clean is not really a "Fender Clean" but is a unique, Ampeg clean - closer to Vox AC-15 than Fender. Breaks up around 5-6. Nice overdrive on 8-10. I run this amp full-on and clean up the sound w/ my guitar volume. I suppose you could change the stock speaker to a Jensen or Weber, but I like the tone of the amp as is. To use at lower volumes I'll run a Maxon 808 for overdrive. Even on 10, this amp is not for "shredders". You will be disappointed if you're looking for Mesa-type gain. Again, I use this amp for a specific purpose and it suits that purpose beautifully.

Don't know yet...crossing my fingers after reading the other reviews

Again, too soon to tell - innocent till proven guilty

Been playing for 27 years. My pedals are: Dunlop Cry Baby 535>
Boss TU-2 > Maxon 808 > MXR Dist + > MXR Phase 90 > Boss CE-5 Chorus > Boss DD-3 Delay > Boss Octave OC-2.
Note: I reviewed this amp plugged directly-in, to evaluate the real tone of the amp. My other amps are a Bogner Shiva Head & 212 Cabinet and a Fender Deluxe Reverb '65 RI. I thought this amp blew away everything in it's price class (Fender Blues Jr, Crate V-15) and sounded as good or better than more expensive 112 combos including the Orange 1512 and the Ashdown 20. This amp sounds great and looks retro and sweet! Again, a standby switch would be nice but not at increased cost.
Finally, this amp is great at doing one or two things really well. It might not work as your only amp or if you are looking for a baby Marshall or Mesa. It's better at nailing those Smithereens or Johnny Marr tones than say the Cult or Soungarden.

This is a quick update to the Ampeg J-12T review that I recently submitted. I mentioned an unidentified hiss/rattle eminating from the otherwise peachy Jet II. The problem got worse and I noticed that it was accentuated with the tremolo engaged. Originally, I was suspicious of the reverb tank, but I was incorrect. I replaced the stock Sovtek tubes, both the two preamp tubes and the two output tubes, with Ei valves. Problem solved. I have no idea which original tube was the offending party, but the amp sounds terrific now with no problems whatsoever. My guess is a bad preamp tube.

OK--since the original tubes were a likely source of bad mojo, you might want to insist that the retailer supply you with a new set of 12AX7s and a matched set of high quality EL 84s (NO SOVTEKs!). Perhaps some Groove Tubes-approved Teslas or Chinese tubes would even be better!

Should I bother contacting them about this? I have lots of spare tubes hanging around, but it is probably about $40 out of pocket expense to replace these tubes.

OK, I'm going to have to subtract a point for the fact that the defective tube seemed to have eluded the two inspectors (Dan Hoerle and Rob Beyes at Ampeg). But I will also add a point for the fact that the amp sounds even better with the Ei valves. So it's a wash. Still a solid 8.