Dynacord KV-12

This is a very simple amp.
Three channels, one for voice(mic),one for guitar and a third that must be for line in. Channel one has its own volume/tone control,
channels two and three have individual volume controls and a shared
tone control. Channel two has a guitar filter that seems to make little or no difference.The amp is at least forty years old so maybe the pull out knob for the guitar filter doesnt work anymore.
The Kv 12 was introduced in 1960 and I think my amp was probably one of the first models as the speaker bears the date NOV 1958.It has no reverb which I miss. The KV 12 runs on one ecc83 and two ecl 86's,
replacement ecc 83's are no problem and fairly cheap but the ecl's are a getting expensive to replace, and difficult to find (NOS).
all inputs are din 3 pin,this is not relly a problem as an adapter cable can be made very cheaply in about 10 minutes. There is an external speaker socket (strange 3 pin plug) and the only info on which speaker load to use is the stamp on the internal speaker which states 6 OHMs.

I bought this amp on the strength of the review in this database, and although generaly I agree with the reviwer, there are differences in the sound produced from the respective channels. My amp gives its best through channel one (the mic channel) the tone is full and warm. with a bit of knob twiddleing sounds from clean at moderate volume, going through crunch to outright raunchy at full volume are possible.
Its a bit fiddly and takes a little getting used to but a combination of guitar adjustment and amp twiddleing get you there in the end.
The sound from channel one is very impesive and very valvy, even through the 1958 speaker. The volume on channel one is loudest, and even this channel cannot be played clean with any real volume. Crunchy sounds are the amps strong point and this it does well.
Channel two is quiet and nasal with a very thin tonal quality, channel three is useless. I use a blacksheep GREEN guitar with this amp three single coils bridge 5.6 kOhms middle 5.2 kOHms neck 5.0 kohms.I play blues /rock and the amp suits me down to the ground very basic but what it does keeps me smiling.

I havent had it that long and have never heard another KV 12, so I cant say if everything works as it should, it looked like it still had the original valves (not very likely) so I replaced the preamp ecc 83 with an electro harmonix which improved the tone considerably.
To be honest even if some of the components are worn out the sound is
such that I wouldnt want it to be overhauled and risk looseing the sound it has.

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Ive been playing for two years and have an ibanez and blacksheep guitar, I have tried peavey amps and settled on a hughes and kettner edition blond untill I found this amp. The H and K doesnt get much useage nowadays as the kv 12 has a flavour that makes the transistor H and K sound dissapointing. I dont use any effects and my one excursion into effectland was with a maxon tube screamer which I resold a week after buying it. The KV 12 has a better sound if set right than my H and K with the screamer.
If it vanished I would look for another, at 100 euros it was a bargain and I dont think it would be easy to find an amp with a better sound at this price.I will probably buy another one anyway before they become "collectable". I wish it had reverb, but I can live without it.

This amp had been built in 1960. The name suggests a mere 12 Watts. Features three different inputs: Input 1 was probably meant for mikes, Input 3 is for line level signals and Iput 2 had been designed specifically for guitar and is also the one that sounds best for the purpose. The construction is built around as few as three tubes: an ECC 83 works in the two preamp stages for Iputs 1 & 2, the two triode/pentode ECL 86's work both as output stage pentodes, while the triode of the first one works as a mixing stage and the second serves as a phase inverter. Looks like a class a push/pull design to me. There are three volume knobs, an attenuator for input one, as well as two independent tone knobs for 1 & 3 with the option to use either of them with input 2 (a bit gadgety, that). In addition a dedicated "guitar filter" will be activated when you pull out the input 2 volume knob; this is a passive filtering that "adds" mids by shunting high and low frequencies to ground, hence the signal gets lower, yet gains definition (works only on input 2 and leaves the other two channels unaffected).
All this is hooked up to a small speaker- I'm not sure whether it's 10 or just 8 inches. There is also an external speaker connection, however it is a funny "three pins in a vertical row" kind of vintage affair I haven't tested, yet. And by the way: the input sockets are old three pin DIN thingies...Ground goes to the middle pin, the input signal goes to the upper (pin 1). I helped myself out with a 5pin DIN jack where I've snipped away the inbetween pins- works ace.
Features I haven't mentioned, yet: the "internal speaker off" switch, a nice ruby red "on" light, a voltage selector/fuse holder; the 240V position seems not to be connected with mine...

This thing is pretty small and lightweight; comes with a nice old plastic suitcase handle. Yes, by the way: KV stands for "Koffer Verstaerker" which translates to "suitcase amp". There had been a detachable lid to protect the grille cloth originally, however as is the usual thing with detachable things it's been gone with my specimen. Definitely the most portable tube amp I own, and good looking, too.

12 Watts can be -well, not a lot, but pretty much enough if you run them through a 4/12 cabinet at full blast. I also own a lovely WEM ER 15 head (of 15 nominal Watts) that makes a hell lot of noise if I play it in such a set up. In fact my Ibanez TS-9 has not been used at all since I've got the WEM head. Rather I use an A/B switch inbetween my Guitar and my two amps (the other's a Silverface Pro- for those who'd like to know). I guess similar results can be expected from this Dynacord KV12.
However with it's built in speaker it's not very loud; could be enough to get your neighbours complaining, though. I'm intending to use it at home at a clean volume level and I think it will be perfect for that. This amp has a very nice and warm tube tone, both clean and cranked. However the housing and this original speaker seem to develop a very specific nasal flavor when cranking this amp, resulting in a tone that screams "Rock-A-Billy" at you. From my experience with that WEM ER 15 I think I can safely say: If you are looking for that vintage overdrive sound, warm and with definition, yet gritty -this or a similar amp is what you should look out for.
Plus: If you get yourself a booster pedal (I use the T.C. Booster/Distortion) you can overdrive the input stage, resulting in a beautiful heavy distorted sound that is full and warm and elegant, yet never shrill or cheesy.
It's a simple game that goes like this: Your run the amp at full volume, yet turn down the volume knob on your guitar about one third: clean sound. Now dial in your extra reserve: crunch sound. Now you want that super lead distortion: kick in your booster pedal you've set to taste.
Yummy.

I've been owning this amp for quite some time, yet it had been sitting about unused for a couple of years now. Back when I'd gotten it I didn't have a clue about tube amp maintenance- why does no one ever teach us newbies those things? Well, this was pre- internet, at least for me. Guess I'm not such a newbie anymore.
Anyway the amp started to crap out on me not too long after I've had purchased it. I was a little annoyed back then, of course...

Here's what I did to get it alive again: I bought four 47mF electrolythic caps (350V), unsoldered the old ones.
Now the original caps are of the screw on to chassis double cap variety (50+50mF), and since the electronic parts are hooked up directly to each other (read: no board), I thought the best method to be the following:
Take those original caps and carefully remove the metal cans, make sure you don't damage the plastic sockets. Clean off the dried up electrolythic gunk and carefully drill through those metal connections in the socket. Now you can stick the positive legs of two new caps through these holes. Entwine the two negative legs and secure this construction with gaffer tape. Sounds a bit rough and ready but is in fact very sturdy, especially if you consider that now the caps are held securely in place on the chassis. Solder back in place and you're done.
Hey! You've never done such a thing before? Then this is a bad moment to start. Be warned: There's about 300 Volts DC in there and let me assure you: they're absolutely lethal. Refer to a qualified service person.
Actually this is excactly what I did back then- at least I had thought I did. Now I know this guy was either ripping people off and/or he didn't know too well what he was doing- otherwise he would have had replaced those caps long ago.

With those new cans in there I thought to give it a try and switched it on- guess what? That was all. Well, exept for soldering a new lead with a DIN jack on the far end.

I don't think Dynacord supplies people with schematics for gear more than 40 years old like this one, even though I personally think it wouldn't be too big a deal for them to put them online. Anyway there's a guy named Hans Ohms who supplied me with one. He charged me a little for it, but then...I guess he's put quite some time and effort in his fine web page (el-me-se.de -it's in German, though) and in his supplying people with vintage German schemos. It's only fair if he gets paid a little for his work, innit?

Back when I bought it it wasn't excactly this amp that I was after but an orange Semiaccoustic (I'm not sure what it is- looks like a Framus "New Sound" with the wrong headstock) the owner wouldn't let go without the amp. Being a wanna-be Gretsch nut who couldn't (and can't) afford one of the admired originals I was happy to flash out 500 DM's (equals about 250?) for this vintage couple.
Should you see this or a similar amp for less than $100 go and get it. You won't regret it, I'm sure.
Other Dynacord amps that'd fall in this range: Jazz, DA 15 (has Tremolo), KV 6, KV 10 (predecessors of the KV12), MV 15/ Miga..
Plus there are the WEM amps like the ER15 or the Dominator...or for that matter the Vox AC 4.
As a rule of thumb I guess one could safely say: low wattage + tube technology = great vintage tone. And if you can add a "no-name manufacturer" to one side of the equation, it'll say "at a fair price" on the other.
So if you are dreaming of a tweed champ and cannot afford one, look elsewhere!