B-52 Pro Audio AT-212 212 Combo

This is a short add on to my review below. I realized that I had forgotten a very important fact about this amplifier. During my search for a new amp I dealt with The Guitar Center in Tulsa OK. They were very good to deal with. I was very resistant at first to buying a 100 watt tube amp. Obviously it will be quite loud and I was concerned about using it at smaller gigs and for at home practice. I was looking at amps in the 30 to 60 watt range. I found that virtually all of the tube amps I tried stacked most of their power output into the first 2 or 3 numbers on their knobs. Fender De Ville amps are really bad about this. It was very difficult to find decent tone at the lower volume settings required for small jazz and blues clubs and especially for at home evening practice. Once I finally tried this amp I was amazed at how good it sounded at low volumes and how contollable the output is. This is accomplished by the master volume knob. The output builds very smootly and gently until about 5. That's when all hell starts to break loose. The bottom line is, the AT212 has wonderful tone no matter how loud you play it. You won't need a smallr amp or an attenuator for smaller gigs.

100 watt all tube combo with 2 12 inch B-52 speakers. 3 channels, Clean medium gain, high gain all switchable with included four button footswitch. Separate 3 Band EQ for the clean channel and a shared 3 band for gain channels. Gain channel has a countour control with on/off sxitches for each. Each of the three channels has its own volume control and each gain channel has its own gain control. There is also a master volume for the entire amp as well as a resolution control which functions like a presence control on a Fender amp. There is also a reverb control. On the back panel is a rotary control switch to change rectifier settings. Class A w/tube rectifier, class a/b w/tube rectifier and class a/b with solid state rectifier.. Also a switch for 4 ohm, 8 ohm or 16 ohm speaker cabs. There is also an effects loop with level control for both in and out.

This is the most versatile amplifier I have ever owned or used. The clean channel is wonderfully clear even at fairly high volume. I use this channel primarily with an American standard Strat and a
Gibson 335. The Strat for country and the 335 for Jazz and 60's British rock. The rectifier switch comes in handy here. Class A for a really warm smooth jazz tone and A/B for country.
The lower gain channel I use with both of these guitars. Class with the Gibson for Santana style sounds and Class A/B for Eric Clapton type sounds and good hard electric blues (Buddy Guy, Robert Cray). This amplifier is capable of nailing all of the sounds. The High gain channel I use for playing old original Black Sabbath (primarily albums 1 thru 4). I still haven't decided whether I prefer the A/B tube rectifer for this or the A/B with solid state rectifier. The tube recto sound produces a tone very similar to the original Sabbath sound with the old Laney amps of the early 70's The solid state recto creates a tone very similar to the present day sound or the Tony Iommi signature amp. For this work I use an Epiphone Tony Iommi model with the gibsom Iommi signature pickups. The tone in this configuration is very powerful with brutal distortion without it sounding dry or raspy. Another item of interest are the speakers. B-52 makes them in house. They use Celestion vintage 30s in other models. I was a little skeptical of their in house model until I played through it. It seems like different model Celestions excel at different types of sounds. The B-52 speakers seem to sound great with any type of music.

To new to tell. However, if the build quality is any indication this amp should be very reliable. It is built like a tank. By the way, the B-52 literature claims this amp weighs about 53 pounds. I also have a 4x10 Hot Rod Deville which supposedly weighs 53 pounds. The B-52 feels considerably heavier. Thankfully id comes with nice sturdy casters. Also, the footswitch particularly well made. The amp also runs pretty warm. That is to be expected though with 12 tubes under the hood.

If I could give them a 20 I would. I called the company on a day they were closed with a tech question. A couple hours latter I received a call back from Avi, the company VP. Needless to say I was impressed. Made me feel like a Mesa Boogie customer back in the 70s.

Been playing since of and on since 1965. I would definitely buy another one of these should the need arise. I love its tone, versatility, it's built quality and its price. I compared this amp with similar products from Fender, Marshall and Crate. I chose this one because none of them compared to this amp regardless of the price. B-52 is a family owned business and even though they have made other sound reinforcement products for a long time, I think they are fairly new the guitar amp business. They seem to have found a great formula.

Brand new AT 212 combo. Losts of features 2 gain channels and a surprisingly nice clean channel.
# Mode Rectifier switch aloows you to gofrom "A" to "AB" to "solid state"
Shared EQ for the 2 gain channels and a contours switch that dramatically effects your mids.

I'm playing this with ajackson SL2H solosit a couple of old San Dimas chavels and a GMW custom Strat. All of my guitars have seymour Duncans in them JBs,custom Tb 11's and Jazz.
I play mostly old school 80's type of metal, VH,Ratt, Dokken, Ozzy etc, but also lot's of Instrumental, stuff IE; Satch, Vai, Greg Howe, Kotzen, firkins etc. I went out amp shopping with either a 5150 combo or a JSx combo in mind. I tried both out and liked both, but each had their drawbacks. I saw this combo in GC and I had never heard of them. I plugged in and was blown away immediately. Really versatile. The 2 gain channels have enough flexibility to get you just about any famous tone you're looking for, and plug a MXR 10 EQ into the loop and this turns into a noise free 5150 gain monster!
I have been A-b ing this against my buddys JCM900 hi gain (ya what a joke) 100 watt 2 X12 combo and this thing destroys it loud or quiet.
I had a Line 6 flextoneII plus and I traded that in and got this for a great price.
I also plugged this into a Marshall 1960V top loaded with vintage 30's and it sounded absolutely amazing. If I decide to keep this amp (I have 30 days from GC, but it looks like I'm going to) I am definitely going to get me one of those cabs for playing out.
This amp alos sounds realy good at bedroom levels as well which I found surprising for an all tube amp.
the only thing that worries me about this amp is that it runs really really hot, so I've got a fan running on it constantly. But with a 5 year warranty I'm not too worried.

too new to tell, I've heard reverd nightmare stories fromthe AT 100 head owners, but so far so good.

No contact yet, but with small companies like this, it will probably be pretty good (at least at first!)

I've been playing since 1975 (ya I'm old I know) and I've had mostly Marshalls, and this hangs right with them, for a third of the price.
I think these are going to take off as soon people realize how good they sound for such short money.

This beast is an all tube 100W 2x12 combo. It has 2 gain and 1 clean channel. It has a 4 button footswitch which includes Gain, Channel, Reverb, and Effects. High and Low inputs, Effects loop, selectable 4,8, or 16 ohm extension out. You can choose between A,AB,and Solid State. Basic EQ including a contour option. I play it in a club and at home just jamming.

I use a Schecter C-1 Blackjack w/Seymours, and an Ibanez Rg 420 with EMG's. This amp is brutal with the C-1. I like to play hard rock mostly. This amp will do any kind of sound. It has tons of gain in both channels. The clean is great. It has a bright switch that really makes it stand out.

I feel that this will be a great amp. Haven't had it that long. But it is built like a tank.

Don't know yet, Hope I don't need it.

I've been playing about 16 years. Been through tons of amps. This is hopefully the last I'll ever need. As far as sound, it rules over anything I've ever had. You know, the mesas, marshalls, and all the other fun things. The gain is right up there with the best of them. Cranked up, it is nothing else than a wall of sound. The sound guy from the other night was very impressed with it. I recommend this amp to anyone wanting a Mesa or Marshall sound. The name B-52 made me wonder if it was cheap, but I guess I was wrong. This isn't a crappy amp. It is well worth the money. Great amp, good price. Try one, you'll be amazed.