CMI Electronics SG 212

CMI commisioned the SG series in the late '70s, they were biult at the same factories that made the late Standale amps. These are 2x12" chrome domes speaker amps, many came with castors. Really classy black tolex covering with metal corners and a singe leather strap.
The control panel is something right out of Gattika, or maybe a '60s Cietreon dashboard. Large chrome dial size knobes and smaller matching knobs all laid out in a pleasing aethetic pattern. They were a pro-oriented company at the time, so it looks the part. It has a high and low inputs for two channels. One simple channel with bass and treble, the other is attached to the reverb, the special voicing section with a mid-cut and "accent" knobs. The second channel also sports bass and treble as well. These knobs are really easy to reach for, and very clearly marked, perfect for mid-song tweaks. There is a single shielded pre-amp tube which likley drives the reverb, and two power tubes. The reverb on my unit might be in disrepair, because with it's depth maxed out, its barley noticable. A line out in the back, which I think only runs through the SS circuit, and a a speaker out should you want some more firepower.

Mine has been fitted with two Groove Tube EL34S's. I figure the power output to be somewhere around 45-50 watts. It's about as loud as a VOX AC30, but you get the more Hi-Fi sound of a class A/B amp. The pre-amp is a flavorless and clear solidstate, so all the tone is coming from those powertubes and the speakers. Honestly, apart from pre-amp distortion on a coparable modern Marshall combo, you can't tell the pre's are SS. The power section is warm enough to give you a defined Silverface-ish clean tone with some Marshall breakup when the powertubes are pushed. It's loud enough to compete with a well armed rythem section, thats for sure. But if you want breakup, find a nice preamp or some classy stomp boxes. I have got a Snarling Dog Tweed-Dog in the front right now, and when I plug my stock Tele in, I am in Rockabilly land. With that formation, the tone becomes comparable to a modern hot-rod Fender amp. I am a fan of class-A amps, so I plan on putting in some THD Yellowjackets to see what happens. More on that later. Overall, I am very pleased with the sounds I am getting for as little dough as I have put down for it. If someone was looking for something cool looking and as solid as a comparable Silverface or Musicman Tube amp, this is a fine alternative.

This thing is all point-to-point solder HARD WIRED! No PC board to speak of, which even the older Mesa Boogies have. This thing would be cheap to repair due to the ease of working on it. If you are not experienced with working on amps, DONT go near the capacitors, they can kill you even if the amp isnt plugged in. But aside from that, someone with basic knowledge of electronics should be able to work on this easy.

CMI is out of business I think.

This is a solid classic sleeper amp. The looks are great if you like the style of that era, which I do. It's not a stand-alone amp for a lead guitar player, your gonna need some distortion and jiuce up front for that. It's not a surfer's dream amp either. But if you want warm fidelity to run your loved effects through and enough soup to fill a room, this is a great amp. Keyboard players with classic keys and synths should like this amp too. If I could possibly find another one, I would buy it!

According to the other reviews for the CMI amps, this was probably produced around '74. The serial number it 66161. It has two channels and is your basic kickass tube amp. It has a built in phase shifter and an amazing power rock sound. The SG 212 has a great reverb effect and wave form effect as well. Read the other CMI reviews for a history lesson on CMI which is tied in with Gibson. This amp is definetly versatile, I love rock 'n roll and it suits me well, but it will do well for all you emo loving lollipop lickers as well. This amp beats any 2 x 12 that you will find on the market today.

Funny enough, I'm using this amp with a 1987 model Washburn WT-4V, which basically is a Telecaster knockoff, only it has 1 humbucker, 2 coils. It's basically a hair band guitar. It's actually really great and it looks badass. Anyways, this part isn't for the guitar description, it's for the amp. So, this amp has no unwanted noise and sounds great with my guitar setup. I've only played it in my room so far, but I had the whole apartment complex a' rocking. This amp has so much variety, I can't preach it enough, the wave form and reverb and built in phase shifter, not to mention there are about 20 knobs on this thing, you can mess with it all day, it's great. The clean channel sounds good at high volumes. There is a bit of distortion when you get up there though. IF you want an awesome power sound, you're gonna need to get a distortion/overdrive pedal for this puppy, I would suggest a Marshall Jackhammer, which is about 70 bucks brand new at musiciansfriend.com, and is built like a tank.

I haven't had this amp for very long, but from as long as I have had it, it has worked great. Of course because it is a tube amp, it will need servicing every now and then. Therefore I wouln't say that I would use it on a gig without a backup, however, it should be fairly reliable, so I'm gonna rate it as a 7 in the reliability category.

I haven't contacted Gibson yet for help on this amp, but from the other reviews for these CMI's, you will see that Gibson really helps out with the CMI amps, which is very cool of them to take care of an amp that doesn't have their name on it. So you probably won't find better servicing on amps this old made by companies that don't exist anymore. Big ups to Gibson for not only making badass guitars, but for being cool.

Definetly buy this amp if you see it for a reasonable price. I bought mine off of EBay for 201.50 and I feel like I got a really good deal on it. It has sounds that you will have a hard time finding from other amps. I like playing on old stuff, so I'm definetly partial and have become attatched to this old amp. From reading the other CMI reviews, I see that my regards for these are shared by others. BUY THIS AMP, YOU WILL NOT BE LET DOWN. KEEP ROCK MUSIC ALIVE, STOP BUYING NELLY ALBUMS.