Kalamazoo Reverb 12

After reading some of these reviews and being a fan of smallish EL84 based amps, I decided to check one out.

Glad I did! Compact, extremely well-built little monster, with fine tremelo & reverb.

Great build quality. Well made cabinet, hand-wired and point-to-point, which would cost a fortune these days, if ya bought it new.

Separate tone controls for treble and bass work well (and are not that common on amps of this vintage and at their original cost.)

I always thought of Kalamazoos as kind of the poor vintage cousin of vintage Gibson amps, but this one as changed my assessment. I've had a few old Gibsons which I really liked, but this R-12 is every bit as well made as them. Then again, this was probably the crown prince of Kalamazoo amp line.

The 12ax7 preamp tubes in these are lot easier to find and cheaper than the 6EU7s that a lot of the vintage Gibsons pack.

Has a line out for an 8 ohm cabinet. Nice feature when you need more volume then the 10" speaker can provide. The auxillary power outlet in the back has also been handy at gigs to power my drive pedal, which keeps me wart-free on the power strip.

I've also come to really like the easy on-off jacks on the speaker wires. Makes switching speakers a snap, and that's something I'm more prone to do for gigs & recordings (I've since installed these on a few more of my other amps).

It is kinda ugly, but I sorta like that. Plus, I'm sorta ugly, too.

Simple, functional, toneful, built to last...gotta give at least a 9!

I use everthing through this. 'buckers, lipsticks, solid bodies, hollow-bodies, and it's great for acoustic electrics. Great clean tone, amazingly good bottom for 10" speaker. But do consider changing the original speaker. The originals in these (like most Gibsons, except ones with Jensens) are pretty lame. I switch between a coupla good ones: a ceramic for headroom and definition, and a sweet alnico for earlier breakup and a fatter bottom. The speaker jacks make this switch a breeze.

Great clean tone up to 'round 7. I've learned that the key to good driven tone, is a good clean one. Nice compressed driven tone above that & earlier with a drivebox &/or 'buckers.

I can coax a lot of sounds out of it for a variety of styles, none that I don't like. Color me quite impressed, especially for its size and cost.

It still plays like it just came off the showroom floor. Built really damn well. Lots of use and banging around through the years and NEVER a problem. Had a lot of use before me, the amp was a war torn vet when I got it. This is the one amp that I do gig with without a backup! With the point-point wiring, its easy to keep running.

Kalamazoo is long gone, and I doubt that Gibson would help. I imagine that they care about me as much as I care about them, which is not at all.

I really like how it sounds PERIOD. But, especially for what it costs.

If you know amps, you've probably figured out that this had to have been K-mazoo's answer to the Fender Princeton Reverb. I actually like the R-12 better, but I'm sorta partial to EL84 grind. But for the price, these totally trash the Princetons...and nearly everything else. Plus, you can buy like 4 for what a blackface Princeton runs!

These are one of the most under-rated and under-valued amps out there. I've been playing for decades and have been through many of the usual suspects. This a major part of my arsenal for smaller gigs (which is all I care to play now) and recording.

Some friendly advice from an old curmudgeon: anyone who spends more money to play through modern circuit-board mass produced modern junk is crazy & wasteful. If it is built by modern semi-slave labor (e.g. chinese-built), it is also immoral, and there's a lot more fun and less hurtful ways to be immoral. Rock loud & often!

Mid 1960's tube model, class A single channel with dual inputs. 3 12ax7, 2 el84's, 12 watts, single 10" speaker. Tremolo and Reverb are controlled by hardwired footswitch. front panel - volume, Treble - which is also the power switch, Bass, frequency, depth, and reverb level. Rear panel Phono.Tape line, 8 ohm external speaker out, Aux 120 VAC outlet.

My amp tech turned me on to the Kalamazoo. He said that this was the original "low" end of Gibson - but the circuits are the same (hand wired) and components are the Same. The only item that was not, was the use of wood composite materials on some of the models - for the cabinet. What you have is a vintage gibson in slightly lesser cabinet. He has several model "1"s and said they are identical to the Gibson 5 watt tune amps he also has. He was not very familiar with the Reverb 12, but appears to be a Gibson clone as well.

1977 LP custom, 1990's Jackson Dave Mustain King-V, 1966 Vox Bobcat. Play rock, hard rock, and soft rock. Great sounding amp. Use a variaety of vintage and newer tube preamps as well as a few old pedals.

Changed the 10" (Speaker had buzz) with a Eminence Ramrod. Really kicked the volume and frequency range up a few notches.

Put a set of matched JJ el84's. Kept the 12ax7's (sounded very good).

You can get most any sound you want from the amp. Stock and direct guitar in, it's as clean as an old Gibson and Fender, with better breakup as the power tubes start to work. I am amazed at the volume this little 12 watt amp can put out. The reverb is pretty good, when kept at low levels. I also tried the 8 ohm speaker out to an Avatar with 2x12 eminence private jacks - it really adds alot more bass depth and drives them nicely.

It's Class A and the sound difference is decernable from the A/B tube amps I have. Really sweet sounds whenever you want it. Greatly comlements the old hollow body single coil Vox and as well as the humbucker based axes.

What is most surprising, is when running the tube preamps into this little 12, you get some awesome "gain" structures that have a very thick sound to them.

In the studio, I have a dual amp (tube) setup. Setup starts with Phaser and Chorus Pedals -> going into ganged Tube pre's, -> Volume pedal -> Maxon compressor -> Morley A/B A+B switch. The Morley goes to inputs on the Sovtek Mig (001 model) and the Kalamazoo.

Awesome flexibility running the "bassier" Mig with the "brighter" Kalamazoo. The Mig has a 1x15 80's guitar (not bass) tied with the Avatar 2x12 (4 ohms) and the Kal has the 10". Can select either amp and both for great variety of songs.

This amp had not been played for a while. IT had a few creaks and moans, but playing it for a few hours - it sweetended right up. It has noticible hum at idle (compared to the mig) but goes away when you start working it. Probably could use some Cap replacement to make it quieter.

Unbeleivebale to get a tube amp, with this age, and run well when pull it out of the packing after shipping.

If your looking for another "tube" TONE to add to your collection, grab one of these before the word gets out that you can pay 1/3 or less than the cost for an equivelent Gibson of the same vintage and style. I'll be going after a model "1" now !!

I think it was made in the mid-60?s, a Gibson spinoff. Controls for on-board reverb& tremelo (frequency & depth), plus bass, treble, loudness (much better than ?volume?, who wants the thing to take up more space?). Hard-wired original footswitch shuts off & turns on the trem. and ?verb. One channel with two inputs. 10? speaker, maybe about 12 loud tube watts. Also has an AC outlet, stereo in, and 8 ohm speaker out. Nothing else. But all one needs in a package this small. I, for one, really like that this amp is turned on by twisting the treble control clockwise?that lets you know that you?ve plugged into a machine out of time.
The feller that I got it from had put in some desired mods: a weber speaker & grounded three-prong. I didn?t hear it before the changes, but I?m positive that both improved it.
But the real reason for my fairly high rating is this is a 100% point-point hand-wired, sonically-pleasing, all-tube gem, with very sweet & ample ?verb at a very decent price. Plus, it is light, in a well-constructed box with simple circuits and easy to lug around.

There?s something palpably good about the way this unit sounds. It has a very live, breathing quality to it.
Very pedal friendly. I run a chorus, TS-9, and/or echo box through it, and it complements all of them better than any other of my 4 vintage amps, especially with the TS-9. With that green stompbox, the amp has some kind of magical synergy. Single notes articulated and chords suitably crunchy and creamy.
I mainly play single coil, but it the sweetest setup for this box is a hollowbody ?90s gretsch running thru a TS-9 with its drive set at about 11, and the loudness on the amp set at about 2:30 (5:30 is its max). It?s a tone with a very musical sustain, hint of drive & grind, at a reasonable volume.
Running the loudness high doesn?t increase the volume much, but it does increase the degree of breakup, one of the virtues of the low watts on this box.
Even without any stompboxes in front, once you run this run this thing for a while it has a fantastically good tube/blues tone. Like a lot of tube amps (big or small) it sounds best while running hot. Modern metal players wouldn?t like it, but I can?t imagine any of that ilk attracted to this very retro, small wattage unit.
The onboard ?verb is stunning. I have two ?60s Ampegs, which are justifiably famous for their awesome ?verb, and this unit is very close to there. Not only is the ?verb good, but there?s plenty of it?I never run it much past 2 (5:30 is its max) and I love ?verb. Doesn?t have that boingy ping of Fenders.
Runs very, very quiet on idle. I don?t hear any major difference between the two inputs.
For those who can only relate to descriptions that compare an amp to more widely known amps, the other guit player in our band who?s a longtime Fender maniac, says that the R-12 sounds like smoother, creamier version of the ol? Princeton Reverb. But that?s what he says?I only play much cheaper, but great sounding amps, so I can?t vouch for that comparison.
The tremolo is good, but not up to snuff with the rest of the package. At the slowest setting, it is still a little to fast for my tastes for some material. But this is very easy to overlook given the amp?s other virtues. It is a decent trem'.
At 12 watts, it is still loud enough to wake the neighbors. I know. Because it & I did.

There ain?t much to go wrong here. Circuits are simple as a born-again republican in Ohio, but way easier to fix. Unlike our goodwill abroad, this amp has lasted about forty years. No breakdowns & I do play it out without a backup ? I don?t care what others say, you got to put yr faith in something. I don?t believe in Jesus, but I do believe in this unit.

The amp lives on even though the company is gone and the parent company, Gibson, makes overpriced stuff for folks that apparently need some sort of pressure valve for their wallets and, apparently, not their brains or ears...

Well I don?t like to give out perfect scores, so if I had the option, I'd give this one a 9.9. I?ve never been happier with an amp (and I?ve got 4 off-brand vintage point-point gems, now), especially in light of the cost. I?m going to buy another one before I post this...3 is not too many of these.
This thing is the best of the best and an incredible bargain compared to anything you can buy of its ilk (point-to-point wiring, etc) ? less than a quarter of what you?d pay for an inferior vintage Fender.

I got this amp years ago for free. I think it's a 1966. One channel
two inputs, reverb sounds great. I've never heard the tremelo because
I don't have a footswitch, and don't know which holes to short in the plug. I've used it at home and at church and it has enough power to keep up with a bass player and a drummer.

I play basic garage rock, CCR, Motown,etc. I rarely use distortion.
This amp is a little weak with a strat, but it barks pretty good with humbuckers. I crank the loudness to 10, and with the guitar up about 1/2 it's just starting to break up, really really sweet.

I replaced the 6BQ5s with a fresh pair of Sovtecs, and I had to replace the 10 in speaker. The only time it has let me down in 13 years is when the speaker went south.

Small Skylark style of an amp. Tremolo amd Reverb that sounds luch and deep.

12" Speaker
Pine finger jointed Box

For the time it was as versatile as they came. Does what fender and Gibson can no problem.

Great Studio or cafe amp. It's an 18 watter in diguise. Runnin 312ax7's and 2 el34's. What tone. t6hese break up at 5 on the volume instead of 7 like fender princeton does.

Beautifull. EL84 richness and middy tones from a jensen 12"

Only had to change the original filter caps. everything else is stock.

Over all it's a do it all amp that shine for Led Zeppeli, and old Fleetwood Mac, Peter Green, and Stones.

I would like to get anothe rbut the chances are slim. who would steel it? it's a real sleaper of an amp. Mostly bluesy in my opinion.

1966 tube model, class a single channel with dual inputs. 3 12ax7, 2 el84(6bq5) push about 12 watts into a single 12" speaker mounted in a partially closed-back pine cabinet. solid state rectification. tremolo and reverb are controlled by footswitch. front panel controls are volume, tone (ganged to power switch), frequency, depth, and reverb level. the rear panel displays a line in jack and an auxilliary 120vac outlet.

i play an ibanez s series (prs neck-thru knockoff w/ 2 hb) directly into the amp. this is therapeutic. with the ability to be both clean and dirty, airy and focused at the same time, it really must be heard to be believed. very little hum is present even when turned up. this circuit's simple layout and low parts count produce a warm, clean tone at lower volumes (below 1/2 on volume control), to thick harmonically-rich grinding sustain past that. the kala is a real players' amp that vintage tone perverts would get all emotional about.

bought used, the maintenance and tech work are done by me. as with all decades-old electromechanical equipment, parts deteriorate and stray out of tolerance and operating ability. new electrolytics (the original mallory multi-section caps were still in the power supply!) and tubes took this amp from sounding ok (directly from the seller) to being a uncontrollable tonal assasin. nobody touches this one inside but me so if it breaks it's my own poor parts or workmanship.

the original manufacturer is long out of business. gibson may be able to supply schematics, but so can google.

this kalamazoo is what guitar amplification should be all about- a simple, musical circuit that sounds sonorous and balanced, seasoned with a couple of cool, usable effects. find one, give it a good home, tubes and capacitors and reap the sonic rewards for years.

Manufactured in early 60's. Single channel with tremolo and reverb. It was a practice/beginners amp. The features it had were about right for the time. No longer have the amp. Traded it in on a REAL amplifier bearing the Fender name.

Played a Harmony solid body with two DeArmond pickups through this thing. It suited my musical style just fine at the time. I had no musical style. I played along to surf music (NOT the Beach Boys, but Dick Dale, etc.) and Beatles tunes.

It was great to kick the thing to get the reverb tank to go splat. I don't recall the amp being noisy, but I never got the chance to turn it to more than about half volume. It lived in my bedroom. You could get a tremolo sound, a reverb sound and a reverb/tremolo sound from it.

I imagine this thing distorted pretty well when pushed, but never got the chance to find out. My old man would have tossed the amp and myself out the front door if I ever disturbed him with it.

At least it was a tube amplifier.

It was fine for its purpose: practicing and learning. By the times I had enough chops to gig, it was long gone. I cannot imagine using it for a gig in front of real people. Their laughter would have been humiliating. No servicing required. Traded in after about 18 months.

NA

I cannot fathom folks getting their knickers in a knot about this amplifier. It was a cheesy beginners/practice amplifier. Anyone who actually gigs with it needs therapy. It is at the bottom of the food chain of amplifiers, just one rung above a similar model that is solid-state.

Solid-state amps are even worse than this POS.

i dont know what year this amp was made i think mid 60s got it for 31 bucks at the local pawn shop it worked kinda sorta sqealed once in a while but i got sorted out in 4 to 5 hours replaced 2 capacitors and switcted out too 1n4000 diodes too pick up a few more volts out of the power supply...i really suck on the guitar so i dont have any style at all but my freinds who play quite well really like the amp
it does brian setzer type sound almost to a tee and it can also sound
jimi hendrix like also that is a lot of terretory rockabilly ect....
it has 2 channels reverb tremalo its own little foot pedal no ext efx loop no headphone jack its just got what it needs and its cool i like it and it is amp no 3 in my growing collection its in the 15-20 watt
range so itll be good for real small gigs jammin and recording sessions that do take place quite offten its a all tube tone machine

we are useing mainly gibson and fender seymor duncan type pickups
strats sg,s chet atkins and les paul type guitars it does a wide range of styles the reverb is noisey at high volume lvl,s with no input but other than thatits like any other tuber it make,s a very wam clean sound with just a little bit of crunch at higher volume
lvl,s

i havent even had it 24 hours yet so i dont know but its been around for 30 plus years and just needed minor maint so it should be around another 30 plus years

ive been attempting to play for about 6 months now. i also own a peavey classic 2x12 combo circa 1969 and a hartke 1200 kickback
bass amp as far as guitars go i own a squire jazz bass a traditions
strat copy [hot roded with gibson 490 pick ups] sounds sweet and last
but not least an ovation deep body acoustic...if it ever got stolen
it would just be gone forever ive only seen 2 kalamazoo,s in my life [and one was on the internet] im 42 years old id never find another one...

I restore guitar amps no matter how old they are. One day I received a Kalamazoo reverb 12 in a cardboard box. After about 100 hours of repair, the amp is running again. The only thing missing was the upper back. With new components and new tubes, the little amp sounds great. I have had it all the way up and it didn't distort untill it was wide open. Great reverb and tremolo sound that anyone would be proud of in a light weight amp. My understanding of this amp is that it was made by the CMI electronics company before Gibson bought it. The schematic can still be purchased from Gibson. I sold the amp to a customer that wouldn't leave without it. The only other amp I've heard that comes close is the Gibson Skylark.

This amp was made in 1966 so don't expect to find one at your local music store. Ive had it for about a year now, got it used from a freind of a freind. It has reverb, depth, frequency, treble, bass, and loudness. The frequency and depth controls dont do anything, and the reverb is quite noisy if you turn it up further than 2 or 3. It has 5 tubes, 2 12AX7A's, and 3 EL84's. It has great tone and is very loud for a 1x12. It has 2 inputs, and I think they are both at the same output level.

Im using an Epiphone G-310 with it, and they sound great together. I use a morley wah/volume/distortion pedal or a ibanez tubescreamer, the ibanez is kind of noisy but that might be the pedal, the morley is quiet but when i hit the wah it gives a lot of noise. Overall, this amp is pretty quiet. It has a pretty good clean sound, but can get overdriven at high settings. I dont think ive ever played with the volume over 5 on this amp, you can hear it on the streat from my bedroom at 3 or 4!

Well, ive used it for a year, it was used, and was built in 66'. I think since all I did was clean it and change the tubes, its pretty reliable. I barely ever get feedback, and it NEVER screws up while im playing. Id play a whole tour without a backup, but id bring some extra tubes! They kinda get bent since its a open backed combo.

I dont even know who made this, i mean its a Kalamazoo but it sais something about LCS Electronics or something like that.

Ive had this amp since before I started playing, actually this is probly what made me want to play more. I think its the best sounding (and only) 1x12 guitar amp ive ever played.