Kalamazoo Model Two

i traded in a cheesy crate FX amp for it. i paid nothing for the 'zoo, and i got 20 bucks to take it! my kalamazoo isn't exactly stock. it has an 8 inch speaker, and i built a new cabinet for it... the old one basically crumbled. i play a gibson sg through it with a daddy o overdrive. most people use this amp for harp, but i like the dirt i get from it with my SG. it has 2 inputs, volume, tremolo and tone. that's all it really needs. who can complain about a 5 watt tube amp?

i LOVE the sound from this thing! mine starts getting dirty around 6, and when it gets really hot i crank it to maybe 9 for a heavy overdriven sound. even though mine has an 8 inch, it still has a heavy bottom and a nice tight high. i use an SG with stock humbuckers. i haven't tried single coils on it. i would, however, like more clean at a higher volume, but i can get really decent dynamics if i pick right. it handles effects pretty well, minus a wah. i can't seem to get a good sound, but that's just a stupid gripe. it does hum quite a bit, but i think that has to do with the 2 prong plug. if you have the chance, definitely change that to a grounded cord.

i can't say this amp has ever failed me, but i'm not in a band, use it on stage, etc. i'm a rec-room warrior, i guess. i moved and it sat for a couple years without any use, and one of the tubes went out, but that's going to happen to any amp. the original cabinet is only particle board so i doubt it could handle too much abuse.

haha.. i ain't no marty mcfly.. kalamazoo has been out of business since the 70s, i believe.

i've been playing for about 10 years, no training at all so i'm not much of a guitar player. plus, i mainly play acoustic. i would definitely try to replace it if anything happened, but with the price they're going for on ebay i might have to sell a kidney. i just flat out love this amp. i'd love to get another one if i can. when i bought it, i just wanted a tube amp so i didn't really compare it to anything. but, it's made by kalamazoo, which is a gibson company. i'm guessing it's comparable to other 5 watt gibson amps...maybe? anybody have any ideas about that?

The main "feature" is it's major tone and crunch for harmonica. It's actual physical features have been covered by others. I like it simple -- hey, the Model Two has tremelo -- that's deluxe! And unlike my champ clone, this Kali even has a tone control! At first I was putting a reverb pedal in front, but that was largely to counter it's raspiness with the "stock" speaker (in this case stock means how I got it - a light weight alnico, not sure how it came from the factory). I put a Weber 10F150-O with H dust cap (ceramic, larger voice coil, more wattage, big bottom end) and no more raspiness now -- gives me more options on the tone control and microphones. FYI, a Weber alnico (10A100) didn't fit -- the 6X4 rectifier is a touch too long. I guess a lineout would be nice for running it's sound to a larger cleaner amp (jeez, that would sound great), but that's a fairly simple thing to add.

WOW. As I said in the features section, this amp sounds great. I play diatonic harp; mostly blues and rock when amplified. With the 10F150, it's huge for a 5 watt amp. I haven't gigged with it yet, but in my current band, I'm sure I'll have to mike it into the house and probably get some in the monitors. YMMV; we mike the drums (3 mikes I think), and the guitar and vocals are pretty loud on the stage.

Harp players often like to experimnet with lower power preamp tubes -- with the Kali, if you drop too low you lose the tremelo or even the sound. Any lower than 2-5751's and I lost trem (not necessarily a big deal, but I like to have it functioning just in case). With the "stock" speaker, I preferred lowering to at least 1-5751, but with the new speaker, 2-AX7's is fine. Right now I do still have a 5751 in V4 -- it gets plenty driven as I nudge the volume up.

Hmmm. How might I compare it to a Champ? I have a tweed Champ clone that I love, but I think the Champ's 8" alnico makes a bit more one dimensional (raspier) and a bit lower in volume. I just ran the two amps together with a Y-cord out of the reverb pedal, and it was heaven!

I got this amp from Greg Heumann of blowsmeaway dot com. Greg is a harp player who (among other products and services for harp players) purchases these specific amps off ebay (or whatever) and makes sure they are in good shape. I'm no tech by a long shot, so this was well worth the money for me. I've wanted to try a Kali Two for some time now -- they are developing quite a rep as a harp amp -- but I don't have the skills to get one up to speed that might arrive falling short. Even paying whatever extra I paid for Greg to provide this service, it was still less expensive than an old Champ (way less expensive!) or a Champ clone. Greg was very good about explaining on his website how he works and good about follow-up questions. He warranties the amp for 90 days. I have no affiliation with Greg.

I've probably only been playing amplified harp for about 5 years. I've only had this amp about a week, but I've spent a lot time with it -- but not gigged. I like small amps and have a 1941 National (2-6V6), a Champ clone (by Brian Purdy of Harpgear), A Fender Pro Jr, a BF Princeton Reverb, an '67 Ampeg Reverbojet, and a Harpgear Double Trouble. I also have a Sonny Junior 410 for thunderous waves of sound. I'm lucky to have a bunch of great harp amps. The Kalamazoo really holds it own, and is the amp I paid the least for (except for the Reverbojet that I got for a sinful price). Yes, I would get another Kali 2 in a heartbeat.

Great freakin' amps for harp! I'm a pro harp player but I also started reconditioning these amps as a business (see http://www.blowmeaway.com) I've bought, reconditioned and sold 8 of them so I know the amp inside and out. Do NOT assume one reported as "working fine" on eBay really is. But they're easy to fix if you're handy, and if not, I'll fix or recondition it for you.

As a harp amp the thing has crunch for days. Loud enough for any practice situation, some jams, not others, small venues (bars) not larger ones (big bars.) Helps to get it up on a stool. If you need more,mic it. I have played through FOUR at once - my band called it the "Wall of Zoo's". That's 4 10's - sounded pretty darn good, but certainly not as nice as my Sonny Jr. 410. More of a novelty. On the other hand, the Zoo AND the 410 together sound AMAZING - big fat bottom end from the 410, big warm crunch from zoo. For more fun and games, play through 2 - one at each side of the stage, and put the tremelos on different rates - the sound moves all over as the two amplitudes go in and out of phase. Also use it with the big amp as a stage monitor. I love these little guys! I rated them an 8 because there is always something better. I just haven't found it yet.

It is point-to-point wired so no circuit boards to crack. I have had mine fall over backwards and off a stool onto the stage - kept right on working.

It's a simple amp, so I don't expect too much, but the tremolo is a major plus. Yeah, you could wish for reverb and three band tone controls, but then it wouldn't be the same amp. I replaced the stock speaker with a Jensen from a recent Fender Bassman reissue. The old speaker was worn out, had a torn cone that was fixed with scotch tape and was just generally worn out. The speaker had a transformer mounted directly to the metal back that wasn't connected to anything. I don't know if this was standard for the Kalamazoo or what. The amp has also had the speaker baffle replaced with a solid piece of plywood, whch is good since I hear the original baffle was pretty flimsy. I plan on replacing the old output transformer and 2 prong plug, and replace the filtering caps, as the amp has a low level hum. That should get this thing up to working full strength.

The model 2 sounds pretty good. You can get some pretty gnarly overdrive with the amp maxed out, and the tones with the volume a little lower can range from nice clear ringing notes to a pretty heavy crunch. Considering how few options it has, it's pretty versatile. I use an old Ibanez parametric eq pedal to tweak the sound, which works pretty well, and a dyna comp to fatten up the sound a little. If you dial in just a slight amount of boost on the dyna comp it pushes the front end of the amp and gives you a nice, smooth overdrive. The great thing this amp introduced me to was tremolo. I'd never really paid attention to it too much, but the tremolo on this thing sounds so good I use it almost all the time. It sounds great set way playing chords to get a pulsing, organ-like effect that makes the amp sound like it's about 5 times its size. Set about halfway up, you get a trippy hypnotic pulse that sounds like Hendrix playing Machine Gun. FInally, the new Jensen speaker I put in sounds great, but it's not as mellow as the old speaker, Hopefully this will change after it gets played a little more.

Well, the amp is 40 years old and has issues. Nothing major, but a bunch of small stuff. The capacitors are old and fading, the tremolo switch makes a major pop every time it's turned on or off, and everything needs a general freshening up. On the other hand, It's still going strong after all these years, doesn't rattle or buzz, and is generally very solid. It's pretty good quality, and just needs some TLC, which I plan to give it. And this might be my imagination, but I think that the amp fluctuates in volume from one day to the next. Sometimes you crank it and it's very loud, other times the same volume setting will be much quieter.

So my overall rating isn't just an average of the other scores, but takes into account why I have the amp in the first place and what I want out of it. As a tube practice amp this thing is great. I don't bother the neighbors, even when I crank this thing. I've never played through it with a band, and I don't know if I'd try. The drummers I play with are usually too loud and I don't think it could keep up by itself. I can't wait to try some recording with it. I bought it from a sound engineer friend of mine who got some great, huge tones out of this thing. It should be fun.

Give it a 6, has all i want. Tremolo volume amd tone controls, real simple. Loud enough for jamming with a group. The tremolo sounds good, but I rarely use it. Early sixties I believe. Really light which is a big plus for me. Tired of lugging heavy amps around.

Give it a 10.I have a tele and a strat. I play blues, praise music and country. It does all three very well. If you plug it in upside down (old two prong plug) it hums.Reverse the plug and it is very quiet. Doesn't have the clean treble sound of a champ, distorts at low volumes. The distortion is really good. Bluesy old rock sound that my champ can't come close to. Cranked up all the way has a SRV sound- creamy smooth distortion.

Have to give it a 10. Forty + years old and still jamming. Not too much to break. Never had a problem with it. I keep a marshall 10 practice amp in my car for back up.

n/a

Give it a 9 overall. I have a peavey classic 30, old champ, harmony h304a (another great amp), a ss marshall 10,and a ss kustom acoustic amp. Been playing 3 years. If lost I would buy another one. For quality/weight this is as good as it gets. Reverb would be nice, but would increase the weight. These old class a tube amps give a real incentive to play and practice. I believe this is a cheaper model of the gibson skylark of it's era. The old fender,gibson,supro,airline, silvertone etc tube amps are an incredible bargain. If I had bought the kalamazoo or harmony first, I would never have bought the peavey, and it is a really good amp (awesome reverb).

The only extra feature this amp has is tremolo. Tghis is very basic, but nice with a 10' speaker and 5 roaring watts it is great for my uses.

I play a G&L Bluesboy and some other stuff though it. I also have some harps and an eggstatic harp mike that I fool around with when no one else is home. I will grow up someday, but not till I'm over 70. This sounds good because I changed all the caps and most of the resistors myself. Working on this thing is haalf the fun of owning it. I learned a few things about amp electronics and did't singe myself even once. See this cool site for info (http://www.rru.com/~meo/Guitar/Amps/Kalamazoo/M2/)
I use a rp300 pedal and a Boss SD-1. The pedal makes it sparkle. The native tone is a bit dry and flat. The pedal adds a lot. I play in a church worship team. I play the amp volume on 5 and I have plenty of power to keep up. I like a light functional rig. I also have a Fender Blues Jr. But that is much too loud for my application.

I can depend on it. I know all the solder joints are good. If it fries on me some Sunday morning I'll just stand there and grin, after I put out the fire of course.

This companys been dead longer than Jimmy Hoffa. I have a great amateur tech. Me.

I have been playing longer than Jimmy H...... Oh I used that already. If someone stole it I would get something similar in size. Small tube amps are where it's at. I love this little amp. My wife even made a black vinyl cover for it ala Fender. I choose this because I read some reviews that it was popular with harp players. I also noticed that the tubes where the same as the Gibson Ga-5 amp. My Blues jr also shares the same tubes 12ax7 el84. So I can have two amps and not have all types of tubes laying around. I'm gonna keep this one. The size, weight, sound, power is all at the sweetspot for me

I've been told these amps were built in '65, this amp is cool because you can play any style on it and if you cant 20 bucks in parts will make it so you can. one channel, no ammenities an amp for players who know what they're doing. I use this amp as a practice amp but could definitely see using it as a recording amp in the future

picture this,- a kalamazoo setting on a line6 pod, all of my guitars are modded out oddities, but i have the standard menagerie, semi-hollow, solid strat-style, shred machine, and paul type thick'n chunky and it seems to compliment them all quite well, i think it does the most for my acoustic, it really warms up those stale piezos, the fact of the matter is the thing is so basic it doesn't sound like anything exept the guitar you are using and the tubes- but this really does warm up and fill out your tone. it is a bit noisy though but everything was and for the most part still is original so it probably just needs some stuff replaced (38 year capacitors aren't good for much. oh yeah for those who know how these reviews work the "distortion" isn't very brutal

what's gonna brake on this thing? and if it does a well trained monkey with a soldering iron could fix it, even if you don't do electronics take the back panel off at least and bask in the utter simplicity of the circiutry these things are working for nearly fourty years and akt as if they don't even realize it

Kalamazoo, . . . isn't that a town in michigan? nice people, good food

this amp basically is a replacement for my peavey bandit i've been using a practice amp. I have a carvin mts3200 as my main amp, and i'm used to pristine tube tone snd the bandit just wasn't cutting it so I was looking for a little light-weight tube amp and this amp more than met my expectations, if mine needed replaced I'd definitely buy another one if i could find it, i had't even heard of kalamazoo until i bought this amp. I love it's tone and portability and the fact that it sounds good at low volumes (which is good for me since I live in an aptarment) I was considering a fender blues jr. but tonally and fiscally the choice was obvious

Cool little tuber! I believe this is a '66 from what I've been told. Tone/on-off, volume, tremolo. Nothing fancy but, I didn't buy if for a load of features. Oh, sure...a little reverb would have been cool but, hey...I bought it as a practice/recording amp and this little thing excels! Single channel so I do what every one else does and slap an overdrive or dist. pedal in front. Can go from fingerstyle to Townsend style without any pedals though! This amp moved from practice room to living room! Now, if that ain't love!

I have a load of guitars but, typically a mutated strat, Godin with Seymour P-90's and Les Paul with hummers are the first string team. I doesn't take much fiddling to make it sound great with all of them. The single coils at 1/2 or so, are beautiful sounding. With humbuckers at about 3/4 volume, this thing is just plain fun! I play (make that "try" to play) all styles but, do mostly original rock. That means I "noodle" a lot, trying to figure out parts, etc. Sometimes, just jammin' away. I play a lot of slide with the trem on and the overtones I get (any type of pickup) are amazing! A friend with an old Vibro Champ always wants to use the Kalamzoo-No can do!

I bought this amp at a musician's trade fair and the guy who sold it to me said it was shot. Bought it anyway, replaced the EL84 and it fired right up! After a couple of months, the filter caps went to heaven. Local T.V. repair guy (nice thing about old, simple circuits-almost any electrician can fix 'em!) cleaned it up, did the caps, and I replaced the rest of the tubes. This thing has been on for a couple of hours every day for about 3 years-no problem since the repairs. If I had to gig on tone alone, this would be the amp for me (NEVER without a backup). Volume considerations keep me using a Fender DeVille 2x12 and a Fender Super 4x10 for gigs, though.

Better find that local repairman I was talking about...Kalamazoo is long gone.

Been playing about 25 years or so. Have lots of amps, the Fenders I mentioned, Ampeg Gemini 1, Gibson Falcon RVT, Cordovox with leslie, several smaller amps and "cheers" to all of the other amps that have come and gone over the years. I try to take good care of everything so, all my gear sounds and works well, but if this little sucker were lost or stolen, I'd find another one. Fits me to a "T"!

Bought this little amp at a flea market. Don't know what year it was built ... early sixties maybe. Single channel; two inputs; Volume, Tremolo, Tone controls; 12AX7 pre-amp, 12AX7 tremolo driver, 6X4 rectifier, EL-84 power tube; 5-7 watt, I'd guess. Simple little practice amp.

Mods ... (per recommendations on the following web site http://www.rru.com/~meo/Guitar/Amps/Kalamazoo/M2/) ... new caps; modified tone control; grounded power cord; cabinet shielding; stand-by switch; hum reducing mod for the heater suppply; solid state recitfier mod; new Jensen C10Q speaker; new tubes (Groove Tube 12AX7s, and JJ Tesla EL-84). All I can say is that this little amp ROCKS ! Surprisingly loud for 5-7 watts. Window rattling bedroom volume at about 6. The Jensen speaker provided more volume and bottom. GREAT tone.

It's still ticking after 35+ years.

Kalama-who ?

My main amp is a '81 Fender 75 (probably the best Blues amp ever made ... 75 watts into a 15 inch Weber Cali speaker). The 75 weighs almost that much. The Model 2 weighs less than 15 pounds, and is great for practice and jamming at friends' houses. I love it !

Volume, tone, tremelo, one more knob than you need(tremelo)

This is a followup review of this amp so I will hit the highlights..
I retubed it with JJ/telsa for the power and preamp. It is much
louder now...7 on the volume is enough for bedroom practice.
10 used to be. I also installed a 10 inch Jensen reissue. Really
helped the bottom end and you can push it to much higher volumes
than the stock speaker using a pedal. I started to mess around with
Harmonica thru this amp...for this it really sounds great better
than a fender Champ. This amp does not do clean sounds very well
like a Champ. I use it with a tubescreamer pedal and humbucker
guitar for Marshall sounds, it excells at this. I will keep my
Champ around for clean sounds.

Did a full recap for about $5 myself, speaker was $24...
Should last another 40 years.

forget it.

A handy amp to have around for sure!

Budget lin of Gibson. Same amp as one version of the Skylark. Similar circuit as Tweed Champ. Very simple, one channel, two inputs, volume, tone, and tremelo. One 10" CTS alnico speaker puts out a lovely 5 watts.

I play blues/rock harp through this thing, and it's the best small harp amp I've ever played. It has a very fat sound that is great for blues harp. Begins to distort at pretty low volume and gradually increases to a nasty snarl by the time it's dimed. Needs to be miced to play out (it's not real loud). Absolute sweetness!

Gibson did not skimp on the inards of this amp, even though it was their budget line. They saved money on the cabinet, which is particle board and not terribly rugged. Overall, a durable amp, but it can't be slammed around.

Kalamazoo brand was gone by 1970.

Absolutely the best value for a great little blues amp. Tweed champs are $1,500, even silverface Champs (which I don't think sound as good) are twice as expensive, and Gibson Skylarks are starting to go up in value. You can find these for a steal still. I'd buy another in a hearbeat.

I now have two of these model twos one has a particle board cabinet
the other has a plywood cabinet. Both look identical otherwise.
one channel, volume, tone and tremelo. 2 input jacks and a 10 inch
alnico CTS? speaker 8 ohms. 2 12ax7,6x4,6bq5(el84) tubes. Both were
made in 1966 looking at the control pot dates.

Since I have two of these I link them together with a guitar cord
from the unused input jack on one into the other amp and turn them
both on. SOunds great when they are 10ft apart. Louder also.
With humbuckers and a Distortion pedal, these things are mini marshalls I think.

I intalled 3 wire cords to cut down on hum noise and for safety and
replaced the filter caps myself. I also used aluminum to shield the
inside of the cabinets. Shielding did not affect the amp but if I
use it near flourescent lights I am sure it would help. These were
dusty and needed cleaning and a shot of Caig Deoxit on the controls
and tube sockets. Now ready to go another 35 years.

Gibson/Kalamazoo probably can't help you. Easy to fix yourself.

These are great little amps. I have had a dozen others and this fits
the bill for that Marshall sound. I have a Fender Champ that covers
the clean sounds better.

My Kalamazoo was made in 1965. Has volume ,tone, Tremelo controls.
10 inch CTS speaker. Particle board cabinet. Gibsons low price line.
two 12ax7a, one 6bq5, one 6x4w tubes. Mine is all original.

Amp is very quiet even with the old 2 prong cord. Clean channel
is not as clean as a Fender but very nice. I like the tremelo
effect too. I mostly use it with a boss distortion pedal in front
for distortion and extra volume.

I only had to clean up the amp cosmetically and clean the tube
sockets and pins and spray the controls with Caig Deoxit.
It still has the original Raytheon tubes I think. Super easy
to work on. Even if I have to replace all the caps in this one
day, parts might cost $10 to do it!

No support from company, not needed either.

A great alternative to a Fender Vibro Champ at about 1/3 the cost.

I bought my Kalamazoo Model Two new in 1966. It has always been my primary amp and have used it for all types of music from folk, folk-rock, rock-a-billy, blues, country, and jazz. At one point when I was a teen I know I briefly plugged some kind of Olson Electronics fuzz box to it and even that worked fine with the amp until I got that fuzz tone phase out of my system. Other than that brief period I've always proudly used the amp without any effects attached to it. I've gone through extended phases where I've used the amp's built in tremelo always turned to ten, but generally I've used it with the tremolo turned off. Over the years I've also had four other amps in my possession, but I've always come back to the Kalamazoo Two as my amp. I guess I acquired the other amps over the years because at some point I longed for features the Kalamazoo Two didn't have although actual experience proved I didn't really need any other features than the Kalamazoo Two has. I should add two of the four other amps I've had either konked out or tried electrocuting me while the Kalamazoo Two has kept going and going and going. Time proven, the Kalamazoo Two has all the features and durability I need.

My main pickup set-ups have been 60's thin line hollow body Gibson and Gibson-made Epiphones (made in Kalamazoo of course) with
single P90's. I have also used Humbuckers through the amp as well as whatever pick-ups are on full size hollow body early 60's EKO's. The tones have always been warm and sweet through the amp. I've also put a 50's Gibson Hawaiian lap steel (with a P90) as well as two solid body Korean Epiphones through it with the result being the solid body sounds are nearly as warm and sweet. I usually set the tone at 10 and the volume at about 6 for home playing. When I use the solid bodies I turn the tone down to about 6. In my "middle aged" days I play a lot of jazzy riffs as well as basic primitive type blues which the amp totally accomodates. If I were Wes Montgomery I would endorse this amp.

I've taken great care of this amp over the past 35 years. At about year 25 the tone/on-off switch began to occasionally not click on-off when I turned it. I started unplugging it rather than turning it off for about 6 years instead although sometimes I would still automatically click it off by mistake. I was able to successfully keep clicking it to get it back on until one day..it just wouldn't turn on anymore. I called Gibson in Nashville who referred me to a local authorized repair shop. There they installed a toggle switch next to the tone knob. They said the on-off switch portion of the tone/on-off switch was no longer available. The tone control portion of the knob is still functional. The Kalamazoo Two amp lived again.
I should note that over the years I have seen other Kalamazoo Two amps also with the on-off toggle switch added to it so I assume it is the now standard repair for the problem. I recall seeing the toggle appear as long ago as probably 20 years ago so I knew mine would eventually have to go this inevitable course anyhow. Considering my stereos, TV's, radios, etc. from 35 years are nowhere to be found, while my Kalamazoo Two amp is, I would call this amp very reliable.

Refer to my anawer to Reliability.

I've been playing guitar for 39 years. I own a wide assortment of acoustic and electric instruments generally, Gibson or Epiphone of Gibson/Epiphone influenced. If my Kalamazoo Two amp konked out I would have it repaired. I should add that the original tubes are still in it so one day I will have to search out the marketplace and suitable replacements. If for any reason the amp became unrepairable I'd search out and find another identical one regardless of price. But, until then I'll just keep using the one I have. For all I know, this amp may simply be so reliable that I literally may never have to get another one.

all tube,single channel practice amp with tremolo, 10" speaker,4 tubes;pre,rectifier,trem,and power.very simple design featuring from left to right 2 inputs(no hi and lo imp. or anything),1 volume,1 tremelo(varies rate,with on-off),1 tone(that actually is the power on -off for the amp),a pilot light(red),and a front panel fuse.i understand this is probably a 1962.it's not an ampeg j-12 jet(i own a`66) but it's got the stuff it should have for this time period ,nice tremolo.really light.gets loud enough to jam quietly with friends in a low volume situation.

this is an all tube practice amp from 62 i just pulled it from under a half a ton of garbage,it has been rained on and snowed on.it was tossed in a basement and abandoned in an old apartment building(when the maintainence guys cleaned up it went into the pile outside in a construction dumpster!as this amps rescuer i'm impressed with it's condition considering it's exploits.i dusted it off and plugged it in it works like a champ(pun intended)it sounds pretty good all original tubes(more than likely)it's a little noisey but its been thrown around and abused dirty pots and the sort i understand the capacitors go when there this old but i hear theres a ton of great mods that can be done on `em.if i'd seen it pitched in sooner it would probably have perfect tolex(as is speaker cloth is near mint and some cuts in tolex that appear very fresh)the trem is cool the tone when turned to the treble side is clear and when turned to the bass side it warms up nice,crank the volume it will distort(not like a jet but if your used to the tricks to get a good tone out of the jet you understand) this was probably a low end amp from chicago musical instruments company inc.who purchased gibson in 1944 (i believe and later epiphone...kalamazoo is where the first gibsons were built by gibson thus i believe the name)this amp could be used at a coffee house gig or some other low volume gig.you could mike it in a pinch.

this thing is built simply and thats a plus.and probably because it was am inexpensive practice amp,it has been thru hell in the last few days and probably was not the best kept amp over the last 38 years but it powered up in a second and played fine.did i mention the all tube trem is cool(but alas it's not a jet)

it is very simple circuitry,most any repairman should be able to work magic on it,i don;t know if gibson or CMI,kalamazoo can help much with it but the schematics are in the back panel and i'm satisfied that it will last the duration.because its a simple sortof gibsonthat any amp guy could fix i'm gonna give it a five.

i'm a bassist and a sound engineer,my exploits into guitar is mostly for tone purposes and songwriting. i'm a great judge of tone whatever it takes to get it.(in this i lack humility,it's my job to listen to stuff and make it sound better.i enjoy the sounds of guitarists like bb,freddie&albert king,satch,hendrix and buddy guy. other amps i've used a loooong list of fenders,peaveys,and marshals,some boogies, musicmans,oranges, ampegs,sunns,engl yahmahaha's etc .whatever.it's my understanding that these amps can be modified found cheap and will perform admirably so if it were stolen i wouldn't care unless i had just finished modifying it(if it were my ampeg jet i'd launch a manhunt to find the thing )did i mention its just a neat old tube practice amp with a cool tube tremolo...if i found one that was all beat up i'd modify the hell out of it and scare people with it ( especially people who have to have the *it* amp of your favorite payed endorsee hear_______:) add some reverb and a distortion pedal and this thing would be greater than the sum of its parts...

The amp has 3 features to it. Volume, Tremelo, and a Tone knob that doubles as an on/off switch. The amp is completely tube, and has a 10 inch speaker. Only 10 watts, but a great amp.

This amp sounds great. It can go from a nice clean sound, to a overdriven sound for some nice rock, and blues. Its not very noisy at all, but can get funky sounding with the trem. Its a very very good amp for practice when your not with the band, and wish to keep the sound down.

I have only owned mine for about half a year, but have had no problems. I have the habbit of babying all my gear, but this guy seems fairly tough.

The company is long gone, and I dont think Gibson would want to waste their time with you on it.

Ive been playing guitar for a few years now and play mostly, blues, rock, and psychadelic styles. Like I mentioned earlier this is a very cool practice amp and can make some great sounds. If I ever lost this amp id have to find another one to live.

i bought this is a single ended(class A)combo amp from the 60's,on ebay ,delivered to my door for 60 bucks...1 channel...high and low impedence inputs...10" speaker..vintage ,no frills,tone...nothing fancy,just a simple little amp...there is a volume control, a tone control that also acts as the on/off switch...and a neat variable speed tremolo(that also switches on/off)..there is a 12AX7 pre-amp tube, a 6X4 rectifier tube,an EL84 power tube and a 12AX7 for the tremolo...point to point handwired...made by C.M.I.(chicago musical instrument company)partical board cabinet(eh,the one thing that is not that great, although it still only weighs about 15 pounds or less),un-identifiable speaker(marked kalamazoo)...i consider it versatile, 'cause it is really all that you need

i am using a frankenstrat with seymour duncan flat strat vintage pick-ups..i do my own thing,stealing blues,jazz and rock licks,but trust me ...i can play my butt off...this amp is perfect for practice or studio work...i would just suggest the addition of a tube screamer type pedal...this just approximates a crunch channel and virtually turns this little bugger into a usable 2 channel amp...i do not think the amp is noisy at all,but you can "feel" the electricity when you play..it is nice and raw,just as i like it !!..very clean with beautiful harmonic overtones...probably less watts than a fender champ, but not nearly as harsh..it has a smoother overall sound,reminds me of an old supro amp...with the tube screamer,you can pretty much retain the tone of the amp, and your guitar, and add the edge that makes those riffs just fly off of your fingers

well it is probably 35+ years old and it still works, so i would say that YES it is reliable

kalamazoo was the low end product of gibson...the original kalamazoo company ,to the best of my knowledge is out of business...i have tried to research chicago music (CMI) on the web, but i have had no luck...if this amp breaks,any radio,tv, or electronics repair person could easily repair this simple circuit

gosh if i don't own it now, i probably owned it or played through it before...main gear is a strat,prs signature,frankenstrat,335,rivera,boogie,fender..etc..etc..wanna buy some stuff???...if this was lost,or stolen i wouldn't lose any sleep over it , but i would be mighty pissed.i think these are fairly common at VERY reasonable prices....it is a nice amp hough , and very useful for studio work, or just sittin' around plinkin' with the buds...the only thing i wish it had was a secret compartment filled with $100 dollar bills

im trying to sell this amp, i dont need it anymore, i just bought an ibanez toneblaster

sounds great, my email address is john_martioski@hotmail.com if interested. only $30

very reliable

nope

good amp, i just dont need it any more

These were made in the early to mid 60s. Two inputs, one channel.
I kind of wish the trem had a depth control, but the whole point
of these amps was simple and cheap. The speaker is wired straight
to the output transformer, so if you want an external speaker jack
or headphone output you'll have to add it yourself.

These are about 5 watts, *not* 10 watts. But with an efficient external cab, you'll be amazed how loud 5 watts is.

It has a good clean sound, and a *great* overdriven sound. These
are great for rock and blues, as well as almost any sort of
practice amp. You don't *need* a pedal in front of it unless
you want to play metal or want a fuzz tone or something else
most tube practice amps won't do. You can add all the boxes
in front of it you want; you will *not* hurt the inputs.

If in original condition, most of these need a cap job. The
tremolo usually won't work without this, and if you have very
much hum, the power supply cap needs to be replaced. Most of
them can use new tubes by now.

The speaker and output transformer are the weakest links. A good
Weber VST speaker and a new tranny (a small Fender 8 ohm output)
or one of the custom trannies for the ax84 project (www.ax84.com)
work wonders in these. Hammonds work great, too by all accounts.

I would also convert to a three-wire, grounded power cord. I cover
this and a number of other mods on my web site:

http://www.rru.com/~meo/Guitar/Amps/Kalamazoo/Mods/

If a single channel amp is all you need, you can gig with it; just
mic the little thing!

I mostly use a Hagstrom (similar to a Strat without the middle p/u)
with Dimarzio SDS1s, but I've played a Gibson hollowbody clone, Les
Pauls, a BC Rich, a Strat, and other guitars through it. It does a
great job with almost anything. (OK, so it's kinda wimpy with a
bass. 8^)

I play most sorts of rock, with some pop, folk, and other stuff. It
does fine for almost everything. It definitely needs the new speaker
(and output tranny, if possible) to get a good country twang, but
for rock, metal, grunge, even jazz, it soyunds cool. Like any small
amp it needs a pedal for death metal.

If I could change two things on this amp, I would add a tremolo
depth control and a Baxanhall (bass/treble) setup. The single
tone control does a nnice job, but I'd still like a bit more
control.

The only problems I've had with any Kalamazoo (we own two and know
people with more) are that the caps need replacing. This is the
case with almost any amp this old! Once you've replaced the power
supply cap and trem caps, it should be rock solid. Tubes last a
*looong* time in these amps.

Kalamazoo was owned by Chicago Musical Instruments, who also owns
Gibson. I haven't needed anything from them, but a friend from the
net wrote for some help, and they wrote back with the info she requested. Since this amp is 35 or so years old, I suspect it is
out of warranty. 8^) I do my own work, so that's not a problem,
but any amp tech who works on tube amps should be able to work on these in his or her sleep!

I've played off and on (more off than on) for almost 30 years.
I have several laregr amps; I generally prefer smaller tube
amps now, if only because you can get that great overdriven
sound at "bedroom" levels. I have a vareity opf effects I use
with whatever amps I'm playing, but probably spend more time
using no effects.

If lost or stolen, I would replace it in a heartbeat. In fact,
I'm always looking for more Kalamazoos, to experiment with,
to fix up for budding young musicians, etc.

I am not sure what year this amp was made but I know it's old!!! This amp is versatile enough to handle soft back up but can scream out the lead for a classic rock solo. This amp has one channel but has two input jacks. The only things I wish the amp had was an extension speaker jack and distortion. The only feature avalible is the tremelo. This amp has enough power for when you get together with your friends who play guitar but it doesn't have enough power to supply a full band usage.

The type of guitar I use with this is a Fender Squire Stratocaster with single-coil pick-ups. This amps has provides excellent sound when pouring out the sounds of Sublime or the solo from November Rain by Guns and Roses. This amp is only noisy when you aren't playing. Iy hums really loud which I believe is from some bad resistors. The only distorion you get with this amp comes when you tuyrn it up loud. Then you get a really nice vintage distortion sound. My recommendation is to use a Zoom 505 multi-effects pedal.

This amp is very low maintance. It would be great for a beginner.

I have been playing for about five years now. I own another electric guitar and an acoustic. If this amp was stolen I wouldn't buy another. I believe I'd purchase an Peavy Bandit 112.

My amp is very versatile. It can accomodate the many different playing styles. Sublime sounds excellent when pouring out of the 10" speaker. When you turn the amp up really loud you get that nice vintage distortion sound. My amp has three channels, Volume, Tremolo, Tone. I wish the amp had some distortion on it. With the addition of a Zoom 505 effects pedal it has excellent sounds. This amp has great sound in a small bedroom.

I use this amp with an Fender Squire. It has coil pickups

I can depend on it to hum after I turn iton

10 excelent

The Model two is avery simple anp. It only has three nobs, one for volume, one for tremelo, and one for tone which, when turned, activates the amp.

The tremelo on this puppy is massive. I love it. Its got the classic rock sound. It deon't have distortion, but hey that's what stomp-boxes are for.

I just got this amp, so I haved had the chance to terorize it.

Kalamazoo does not contine to make amps, which is a bummer.

I probably paid a bit to much for it, but the sound is so beutifull it's worth it.

This is a bargain basement amp built by one of the subsidiaries of Gibson a l-o-n-g time ago. It has a 10" speaker and is roughly the side of a Fender Champ. It uses an EL-84 as a power tube, a 6X4 for a rectifier, and a 12AX7 as the preamp tube. It has controls for volume, tone, and tremolo (that's right it's got a trem!). Volume and Trem knobs double as the on-off switches. Very cheesy build (the chassis is a piece of bent-sheet metal. It's very low output. The other review mentions 10w but I doubt that's accurate. My champ has more output and this sucker is just using a single EL-84. I guess about 4 watts.

Surprisingly good. Amp breaks up smoothly and works well with both single coils and humbuckers. Interacts pretty well with pedals. The amp is pretty quiet considering it's age but it sounded horrendous when I first got it. After replacing the electrolytic caps and a couple noisy resistors it runs fine. The tremolo is rather subdued compared to other amps but it can get pretty funky. It also makes things noisier.

This amp has very few parts so you've got little to worry about. However it's not built ruggedly. It's not giggable since it's so low output but it would hold up well to general use.

Kalamazoo is long gone. My amp has a schematic inside and since it's only got a few parts it's an easy DIYer job. However, the filter caps are in a multi-cap configuration that uses some odd values so finding exact replacement parts isn't going to be easy.

I think these amps are a great deal if you can find one for a good price. They're especially great for low volume practice. I'm eventually going to turn my amp into a head and use it to drive a 2x12 cab which ought to be interesting....

Very Sparse - Volume, Tremolo and Tone controls. 10 watts all tube with point to point wiring. This amp is probably over 30 years old. I added an extension speaker out jack and a pre amp out with adjustable gain.

I am using a 76 strat with Fralin pickups and a 60's Mustang with two EMG-S and DiMarzio humbucker. I play mainly blues with this amp. I retubed it with Groove tubes: 2 12AX7r's, 1 EL84s and tracked down a rectifier tube replacement. I also replaced the no name 10 inch speaker with a Celestion Vintage 10. All of this reworking changed the tone from a muddy mess to a pretty good sounding amp. It has a nice full bass sound with pleasing natural distortion at low volumes. It runs fairly quiet and is basically a one sound amp. Not much clean overhead given that it is only ten watts. This is a great practice amp though especially if you have kids sleeping upstairs.

I have slammed the front end of this amp with a few distortion boxes and it has survived the punishment. I think the tubes I just replaced were the originals. I have had this amp for 20 years and it has been in the shop twice for minor repairs (capacitor blew up once, loose connection the other time) and upgrades. Not loud enough for full band gig.

Kalamazoo products were sold through (and probably produced by) Gibson many years ago. I contacted their customer relations department and they were nice enough to give me the name of an outfit in Texas that had an original rectifier tube replacement. This shop's name was Craig's Music, 123 Dallas Avenue, Weatherford, Texas 76086-3235. They were nice over the phone too.

Since I reworked this amp it is pretty nice sounding. The neat thing about it is it's all tube, point to point wiring and weighs in at only 18 lbs. This amp is perfect for getting together with one of your guitar playing buddies at a low volume jam. You need a nice distortion pedal to get any variation of sound out of it though. I use an Ibanez Tube King and this amp can get knarly tones and feedback at low volumes. It would be nice if it had reverb but obviously this little amp was built to be a one trick pony. If you can find one and are willing to sink $100 bucks or so into a rework this amp might be for you. If it got stolen I would be bummed. I am sure there are other amps out there in this wattage that would also fill the bill though.