Epiphone Comet EA-32RVT

This is a 12-15 watt amp made in 66 or 67 in the Gibson factory in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The tube complement is 2 6EU7's in the preamp, 2 6BQ5 (EL84)'s in the power section and 1 12AU7 driving the reverb. I have a 12AX7A in the reverb spot right now. The speaker is 10", 8 ohms and the controls are loudness (volume), treble, bass, reverb, tremolo depth and frequency. It has a footswitch for turning the reverb and tremolo on and off. There is also a speaker output jack on the back. The amp is well constructed with fairly thin vinyl covering. All in all it is as well appointed as an old amp is going to get.

Unlike what another review said, this amp's circuit isn't based on the Princeton Reverb (unfortunately) and the amp doesn't sound like that amp.

So much treble it'll take your head off. It is really over the top, and not in a good way, but in an ice-pick-in-the-ear way. The only way to play it is to set the treble control below 2 and play around with bass in the 5-8 range in order to tame the high frequencies. It's too bad, because this amp probably has a lot of potential with a few tweaks, but stock it is not that pleasant a sound.

When you turn it up all the way it does start to sound better. I've heard these amps called mini JCM 800's when they're cranked. I wouldn't go that far, as there is still the crazy treble, but it sure does sound pretty good with the volume around 9 or 10. This and the tremolo is the only reason this amp isn't a complete dud.

The reverb isn't great. It sounds more like a crappy, flabby slap back echo. An interesting, but annoying feature/bug about the amp is that when the reverb control is turned up it acts as a gain control. This happens whether the reverb is switched on or off. I don't know if this is because I have the wrong tube in the reverb spot or if there is something wrong with the amp, but that's what happens. Unfortunately the distortion that the reverb adds doesn't sound all that great.

The tremolo is good.

Seems solid. It's 40+ years old and still going strong with no problems (except maybe the reverb as described above).

This amp just doesn't sound that good. The specs and features look good on paper, but the whole package just doesn't come together in a good amp. They're cheap, so maybe you could pick one up, put some money into modding it and come up with a sweet little amp. I was thinking of doing this, but I decided it just wasn't worth the effort. There are amps that cost just a little more than this one that will provide much better tone to begin with (e.g. Blues Junior).

1966 Epiphone Comet amp. 25 pounds, 12 Watts, reverb, tremolo. It's basically a Princeton Reverb with a few minor differences. Namely, it costs maybe half as much. People love the Princeton Reverbs because they're the right balance between features and weight-- this amp matches that ideal.

One channel, 3 inputs (why not?!) It has a footswitch for the reverb and tremolo. Any other effects will be sitting on the floor in front of you where they belong.

Once I replace the old speaker it should have all the power I need for recording and small-medium clubs. And I can actually carry the damn thing. Best of all, I can get a nice full overdrive without cranking the thing to 11 and pissing off my neighbors.

It starts to break up at around 7.5. Sounds real nice with my fulltone fulldrive. Because the pre-amp tube is also shared by the reverb and tremolo, when you dime the effects out the thing gets pretty dirty. Keeping the reverb on 3 is about right for Dick Dale. Keeping the reverb at 1.5 sounds perfectly tasteful and nice for most of the time. The tremolo has plenty of depth if needed for a Smiths, Magic Sam, Bo Diddley, or Yo La Tengo cover.

I play a lot of different styles-- everything from blues, soul, and country to wall-of-noise-Sonic-Youth freak outs.

My strat and tele both sound ridiculously evil through this amp. My 60's japanese Decca is fantastic too-- maybe the best match. It's a little noisey, but that's because I'm a single-coil type of guy and the power in my building is garbage.

It's relatively lightweight, has a nice long reverb pan, and sounds very tasty. My wife's exact words were "that sounds really warm".

If you're a metal-head or emo kid this amp is probably useless to you. No offense, you just probably won't get the power, low-end thump, and scooped mid you need.

Anyone else will be in tone heaven- punks, bluesmen, country pickers, rockabilly greasers, indie-rockers, etc... you will covet this amp's sparkling tone and light weight.

Been fine so far. My amp tech checked it out and recommended new tubes and a new speaker. I'm dropping a Weber speaker in tonight because those things sound beautiful and I need a little more headroom than the original speaker is giving me.

Vintage amps can sometimes be a little dodgey, but because the wiring is point-to-point they're a lot easier to troubleshoot and fix.

It was made in 1966, somehow I think the warranty may be expired at this point. Maybe I'll call Epiphone just to see what happens. :)

I've been playing for 13 years- in a lot of different kinds of bands. Don't play arenas, so I don't need a big amp. I wish the amp makers understood that. I just want it to sound great and be reasonably easy to carry.

I own a bunch of pedals. I haven't been won over by amp simulators or direct recording-- I just can never get a good sound with that crap. Maybe one day.

I'm probably selling my fender Champ and Deluxe Reverb-- since the Comet is able to handle both recording and small gigs and doesn't weigh a ton it does the work of both of those amps.

The other nice thing about the Comet is that almost nobody has these. Princetons sound amazing if you can find one and have the budget. The Comet is a working man's Princeton.