Music Man 212HD 130

Compared to other Vintage amplifiers, This amp has features galore. Tremolo, Reverb, 2 channels with 2 inputs each (2nd input is padded for active instruments). Switch for 4/ 8 ohms. One of the most important features though is the master volume switch that actually works. By manipulating the 2 volume knobs you can get tones ranging from crystal cleans to smooth overdrive.

Mine has the 12ax7 phase inverter. I've heard this makes the tone better, but I've never owned a Musicman amp that didn't have one.

Play with a 2003 American Standard Telecaster and 1993 Takamine EG10C (yeah this amp does acoustic great too). Sounds great in both applications.

This is definitely the quietest tube amp I've ever owned. It's got even quieter when I started using an Avalon U5 direct box as a preamp and feeding it into the Musicman's padded input.

I played through an HD-130 head and an RH-212 cab for the last few years. It had great tone, but wasn't very loud unless you were right in front of it. However, the combop version projects sound much better, on account of the open back design. The low end isn't quite as punchy and defined as when I used the closed back cab, but that problem is solved by using an RH-115 as an extension cab.

I've lugged my Musicman amps to countless gigs and have only ever had one problem:
Last year I was playing in San Marcos, TX. We set up our gear and I decided to walk down the street to grab a slice. I left my head on so it would be cooking by the time we went on. After having been gone for about 20min I get a call from our bass player saying my amp was on fire! They shut it off and I rushed back to see what was the matter. Upon further explanation of what had happened it turned out that the amp hadn't "gone up in flames", but had just started to overheat. The tubes had gotten extra bright and the whole started to smell (kinda like a car on fire). After letting the amp sit a half hour it worked fine for the rest of the show.
Later I took the head to my amp tech to discover that one of my tubes had drifted significantly and that the previous owner/ tech had simply tried to compensate with biasing (so, nothing to do with the quality of the amp). After investing in a new set of tubes and a Furman Power Factor Pro, I haven't had another problem.

Musicman has long since gone out of business. They were purchased by Ernie Ball a few years back though, a company which is glad to offer as much support as they can for ALL Musicman products.

A great amp. If you're wanting some huge distorted arena rock or metal sounds you're and idiot, look for something else. But if you're wanting great classic tone that can be used for Rock, Country, Blues, Indie and everything in between, this is it.

THis is an update to a review I submitted earlier. My MM serial no. is C000387 making it 74 or 75' Most of your tone comes from your fingers however listen to Johnny Winter with his Firebird and MM 410 and you can hear the unmistakable MM bark that is his signature sound. Music Man gives you the ability to get a loud and I repeat very LOUD tone from whatever guitar you have. Mine has the PI tube in the preamp and i have been told this does make a difference with the touch sensitivity of the amp. This has everything you need to sound good.

THe reason for the update was the previous reviewer had a problem with his tremelo circuit around 3. After retubing and recapping my MM I noticed a similar problem. On these amps you have a speed and an intensity knob to control the tremelo. My speed pot was shot and needed replacement. Made a world of difference. THere is also a trim pot adjustment inside the amp if needed, but you really need a tech for this. THis is the best Born On THe Bayou you will ever hear. These are not made in China slapped together crap amps. This is a quality piece of equipment that is still truckin after thirty five years and you must do some maintenance to keep it in good shape. One note about brutal distortion. Back in the day they would take razors to the speakers to make them distort. You need to use what the artists used to get their sound. Johnny Winter, Eric Clapton, SRV, Heart, and others all used MM at some time or another

These are reliable but require care as they are all approaching forty years old.

Find a good tech. Someone who knows old amps and parts interchangability. Caps, tubes,wiring,speakers,even voltage makes a difference you can hear. Try using a power conditioner, variac, and/or power brake(attenuatoer)you will be surprised. Speakers do rot and/or sag with age.Your amp may need new ones to wake it up.

Ive been playing over 30 years and own a few amps most recently a Marshall dsl50 half stack which gives me all the other tones that I dont get from my HD212. You really need differnt amps for different tasks. Also have a Cyber Champ to experiment with. The Music Man is a cross between a Marshall and a Fender which is where things were headed in '74. Now if you play Metal you need to go with a Mesa or 5150 which an entirely different animal. But you cant make a silk purse out of a sows ear. Keep on pickin.

Features are pretty much the same as every other guitar amp out there:

Channel 1: gain, treble, mids, bass, bright switch.
Channel 2: gain, treble, mids, bass, bright switch, reverb, tremolo speed & depth
Master: Deep switch, master volume, On/130w/65w switch
Rear: 4/8 ohm impedance switch, reverb/vibrato rca footswitch connectors (standard Marshall type footswith with rca's soldered on will do), standby switch.

Since this is pretty much all you need on a good amp, I rate it a 9.

Strange feature: the tremolo is routed AFTER the reverb, so if combined you get tremolo'd reverb, which can be interesting, but not always useful. Besides that the tremolo acts like you'd expect up 'till 3, after that it gradually starts beating double-time!

First, let me state that I use my guitar amp 100% clean. For overdrive I use pedals, which give me full control over multiple gain stages. Overdrive sounds from this amp are even worse than from other similar amps, so that's NOT what this review is about!


A few years ago I stopped using this amp for gigs, because I was really fed up with it. It was my first ever serious guitar amp, and I had played it for over 5 years then.

But later I started thinking what it was that I had hated so much about it back then. In the meanwhile I had played around with different type of guitar speakers for my Hiwatt, and found out that they make nearly ALL the difference in your sound...
The music man had been pretty frustrating to me. The highs were brittle, the lows muddy, and the mids dull. So I took out the stock speakers, and swapped them with Hiwatt type Fanes. That made a HUGE difference, these speakers really made the amp come to life.
After that I played with the settings for a while, and did another discovery:

For some reason I had always plugged my guitar into channel two, because that's the chanel with the reverb and tremolo features. One day I decided to plug into channel 1 for a change, and what a change that was!!!

Now, with the new speakers in, and playing stricly through channel 1 this amp can sound even better then my '71 Hiwatt DR103, which is much more sought after for it's clean sounds (David Gilmore), although the MM is trickier to get a good sound out of.

Because you've basicly got 3 volume controls, you can really look for a sweet spot in the gain structure of this amp. Try it with the master way up, power switched to 65 watts (half power), and the channel volume low. Or try it the other way around, with the master on 5, but with full power. This make a big difference in the way the amp responds to your playing.
Same thing goes for the tone controls. The mids are centered pretty low in comparison to other similar guitar amps, so you can fiddle around with the low voicing. For example: Bass set to 6, mids all the way down and the "deep" swith off, gives you a totally different feel than with the "deep" switch ON, but the bass on 2 or 3 and the mids halfway up, while the overall balance stays pretty much the same. Treble settings same story.

This is really what makes the amp very versatile, but only in a specific area. You can tweak for hours to find the best clean sound for your playing and there's plenty of possibilities to adjust it to your guitar. Don't be afraid to experiment with different kind of speakers, and tubes, it can make the difference your looking for!

It has never let me down in 10 years, whereas my Hiwatt and my Roost, which are both considered very sturdy amps, have.

Be careful with the output tubes though. Mainly because it's a combo, the vibrations in the amp from high volume clean sounds make them rattle, and they can go microphonic very easily in my experience. I also read something about unusually high voltages inside the amp, which makes the tubes go bad very quickly. I've had to change them 2 times inthe last 5 years, but I have a tendency to wear them down to the last bit...

N/A

Pros:
This amp can sound VERY nice if you're willing to take the time to get to know it. Fender style clean sounds, very warm and very dynamic. Responds beautifully to humbuckers AND single coils. Can sound like a Jazzchorus 120 or as a Twin reverb easily.

Cons:
The rattling output tubes, the strange choices in the tremolo/reverb area and the mediocre stock speakers. Another downside is the footswitch wiring: when connected my amp gets very sensitive to interference, which usually results in hum but sometimes I get radio Uzbekistan FM.

For reference: I use this amp with a custom built semi-hollowbody guitar with custom humbuckers or a Yamaha AEX500 strung with flatwounds for slide. Signal chain passes a ZVEX SHO pre-amp pedal set to lower (!) the output of the guitar, as well as shape the tone a little. Then it passes a Tubescreamer and a Barber Burn Unit for OD sounds.

I owned one of these back in the 90's. It was my second amp. My first being Yamaha 212. I used to play straight through this for rock/blues. It worked great for that. Had all the balls that you would most ever need and didn't need much else as far as I was concerned. I did have an old MXR distortion pedal which was pretty good on my Yamaha 212 but I thought it degraded the tone of the Music Man. I had an old old Morley Wah Wah with spring Lesley Effect. Wah Wah really kicks in and the Lesley sounded pretty wild. Analog circuits... Oh yeah! I have no idea what it would be like with the digital effects that are out there now.

All I ever owned before that was a Yamaha 212 which was great but it didn't have the guts this has. The salesman at the Vintage guitar shop sold me on this amp over a Fender saying that it was just as good and a little less $. Made by Fender and all that. This amp totally rocks with a great tone and great crunch. Sounds great at any level and did I say it has a great great great tone clean or high gain. I mean any setting you make it sounds really good. At least it did with my '74 Les Paul Custom.
Not a super distortion amp or great feedback amp as far as I'm concerned.
I am positively sure there is no digital modeling which could come close to matching this or most any of the decent amps from that period.

I literally ran this amp over with my car one evening. I had the amp right behind my car and thought I had put it in the trunk. Oh yeah carrying this amp out to a car is a pain in the ass much less taking it up narrow staircases. Anyway I slammed into it knocking it straight down on it's face and proceeding to drag it across the driveway at least 5 feet. It got scratched up pretty bad. I picked it up. Put it in the trunk and went and played it no problem. Sounded just as good as it ever did and it always every single time I plugged it it always performed great! Did I say every single time I plugged in it always sounded great. No noisy pots. No bad connections ever...

never

The only reason I give it a nine is the dumb looking Music Man logo on the front. The M's are made from 70's bell bottom stripped pants with these goofy looking guys playing guitar... Yeah right! Also it is not my dream amp. There are better amps that could do pretty much what this does and more. I'm not quite sure what is would be but if someone knows be sure to let me know. I know a decent tube Fender for one would do it.

My amp was made around '74 (??).
This amp is very versatile-- i've used it for everything from Classical solo guitar (weddings, not perfect but very good) to Garage Noise Avant-garde (absolutely brilliant!).
i wish this thing came with a built in dolly-- it is heavy.
The treble can easily get carried away, but i keep an ear on it.
i use this amp all over- bars, clubs, sessions, home recording / practice, a variety of gigs (country, jazz, rock. . .etc.) it always sounds great, and it usually has MORE power than i need (i wouldn't mind trading 50 watts of power for 25 pounds of weight!!).
Overall this amp is incredible!! i wonder why people don''t make amps like this any more?

The crisp and clean sound from this amp is great, but the clean and warm can simply break your heart. The gain is at best 'warm' on the edge of minimal breakup-- but i have great distortion pedal(s). The reverb shimmers, and the Vibrato bounces (though the Vibrato can also be a bit exaggerated-- must pay attention to tempo conflicts and Vibrato tails). All of the controls are 'active'; The Tone Pots '1 - 5' are like normal, 1 taking the most of that particular frequency set, and 5 taking the least from that frequency set, but '6 - 10' boost that particular frequency set, giving you a huge variety of tone combinations. The reverb and vibrato are the same '1-5' is normal, and '6-10' sends the effect signal back for more treatment from the effect-- so essentially you are reverbing the reverb, or vibrato... however you would say that... anyways it make for great effect possibilities (although admittedly a little bit of subtlety is sacrificed, it seems more than fair for what you get!).
It suit me and style perfectly. i guess the style i am most comfortable with is post rock /Avant-garde??? Fusion?? Who Knows??

i use this amp all the time without a backup-- don't even think twice about it.. it has never broken, and i don't expect it to. The closest thing i have encountered to a problem is one or more of the tube coming loose-- i guess it is bouncy in my truck-- tap them back into their socket (they never come all the way out so i just tap all of them), and we are good as gold. i've loaned this amp out, and came to find it turned on after a day or 2, plugged in, and rocked out-- no problem-- (though i still bitched my stupid friend out for being so careless).

i've been playing guitar 24 years. i've played and owned many amps, this one and my other (a '64 Princeton) are my favorites-- BY FAR!!
i've owned several Ampeg's , several Marshall, 7 Fenders (or 8, i lose track), a couple of Gibson, 3 Mesa's (yuck),an orange, Carvins, Peaveys, several boutique amp-- you get the idea. i play several custom guitar through it, and occasionally one of my keyboards (my Roland VK 7 sounds amazing through it!) i have a full pedal selection that i am to tired to type about, but i will leave it at this-- They sound great through my Musicman!

I'm not sure exactly what year - when I had it re-tubed the repair guy said it was a 1978. I've had it about 15 years or so. It has pretty straight-forward features I think . . tone controls, channel volume, reverb and tremolo. It has 2 inputs as well. My amp came with a broken tremolo and a broken second input, though.

I bought this amp in college when I was gigging a lot in bar bands and playing classic rock style music. It is super loud and that was what attracted me to it.

It has the right features for this kind of amp. If anything it is feature-heavy but, of course, it doesn't have features like new amps do. I'm giving a 7 - the amp really isn't that versatile but it is really great for what it is.

The sound of this amp is pretty good. I have been playing guitar for about 25 years but I have never been a gear person so I don't have a lot to compare this amp to in-depth. Of course I have heard tons of amps that my friends and bandmates have had, etc . .but I bought this Music Man as soon as I graduated from just a practice amp in my bedroom and I never bought another amp until today . .which is what inspired me to review the Music Man. I'm not reviewing the new amp and I'm not selling the Music Man. Maybe in another 15 years.

Sound quality is subjective - sound pressure is not and this amp is a freaking monster. For 4-5 years of solid small to medium club gigging. .this amp did it all for me and I never needed more volume or power. What's really great about this amp is you can get a ridiculously loud clean tone . .and then add whatever effects you want. If you don't have a good clean tone to begin with . .adding the best effects won't help.

Yep. This is an amp you can rely on. I never had a back up and this amp has seen it all . . outdoor gigs in hot and cold weather, it's had beer spilled on it, it's been dropped, it's been played loud for long periods of time. It has even been loaned out.

One time I was carrying it into a bar and slipped on some ice in the parking lot. I fell flat on my back and the amp hit hard hard on the pavement. 2 of the tubes got knocked out and were rolling around on the ground. I put them back in and played the amp that night. They don't make em like that anymore.

I never had it repaired (though it could use it) but I did have it re-tubed, re-biased and generally tuned up twice.

N/A

This is a great, great amp. It is everything you need if you are an entry-level gigging musician. It can take some heavy abuse but you should find a good tech because these amps are getting old. Another plus with these amps is just about anything can be repaired . .try that with a line6! Right now my amp sounds bad . . it needs tubes and a bias badly . .but I know all it needs is a quick trip to the shop and it will come home as good as it ever was.

My HD 212 was most likely of 1972 vintage. very responsive EQ knobs. If you have a chance, use the extension speaker out into 4/12's or a nice fender 2/12 cab... man oh man. Love having two channels and four inputs. I pan w/ an Ernie Ball stereo/volume pedal (no longer make them). If you go through stereo pedals... you've got two distinct channels for a "wider" sound.
It is the Leo Fender brainstorm to go w/ the transformer tube combo and big fat clean is delivered all day. I love to hear the guitar in all it's glory... and you hear every string here. Start w/ clean and get your dirt from pedals.

I use the deep switch w/ both channels on normal. I've tried the bright, and it's not my choice, you can roll the tone knob back a 1/4 and get what I get at full tone on the normal sooo... Both my guitars are custom Phil Kubicki's. The strat has Barden dual rail stacked humbuckers. (why is there no Barden's mentioned on this sight?) The volume knob is a big part of my playing as swells and moods dictate rolling that thing many times through a song. My style is a steely dan meets early police clobberred by some radio head type of thing. Since our lovely MM's weigh a ton... I usually leave mine at rehearsal. Play a micro tube at home for practice. (or my quad reverb)80% of the time I'm in a big fat clean mode.. usually matching the master w/ the channel volume, or some close degree. On the channel 1 I sweeten it up w/ a homegrown pre-amp (blech-tech)with real tubes and all. The #2 channel gets a floor buffer loop pedal and the reverb set at 1.5. Having the panning pedal for me is the only way to go for this amp. I can have a tube screamer type overdrive on one side and a Boss overdrive/distortion on the other. Which ever one you are using ... you can always smoothly pan into the other channel set on some pristine clean phat sound. My originals tend to merge into sounds instead of stark changes. I have to admit with the master on 4 or 5 and your channel in the 3-4 range... you are hearing EVERYTHING you play. Guitar volume usually stays at 8 until things get in a crescendo.. then you are trading blows w/ the drummer. The loop buffer allows a volume level for my wah pedal and a distinct on off that beast. In the by-pass mode it gives you a master volume.. which when tuned a bit hot into channel two, gives a big clean sustaining landslide of sound. If you ever hear too much hiss out of these amps... check your treble setting. it tends to hiss over 7. (Of course if the wiring in the place is a bit wacky.. throw the ground switch in the back.) Mine (treble) is on 5 0r 6 max. Bass usually in the 7 range and mid hovers in the 5. The original pedals work for tremelo and reverb, but I never plug them in. I found the VHT valvulator an excellent way to power pedals and get a direct in the amp sound, and the ground lift switch on it can kill an electical humm in almost any situation. so.. 2 distortions a wah, and a Dan-Echo are good and well... but like some of the reviews stated.. plug straight into this amp and you will still be in guitar heaven. I also agree w those who have dared to take the volume above 8... better have a 30 foot chord and be standing behind your amp. It will rattle large buildings. Tone seems to be the sweetest between 2 - 5. My other Kubicki is a tele w/ two full size Barden humbuckers. All three positions sound incredible through this amp.

Geeze... I've owned this thing for almost 30 years, had it fall over in the truck a few times, rained on at parties in Hawaii, lugged it around CA and have only done the traditonal, (so it appears) tube replacement and bias dialing one time. This amp has never stopped working, except in the rain... where extra 3 amp fuses were always taped in the amp just in case. Throw in a new fuse.. click er on.. go..!

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Playing 38 years, have owned mostly fender amps. Old black face Deluxe reverb, the original Fender tremolux, tried mesas, legends, ampeg VHT 212, close but not as versatile. Tell you the truth, the whole lot of them sound a bit thin compared to the ballsy presence of the Music Man. Instead of working out at a gym... I just heave ho the MM and laugh about what a pig it is... ohhh but the sweetest of pigs it is. I was graced with this amp 25 years ago.. by accident, from a friend for I forget how much.. but is was a fair price. I love this amp and sometimes think about snatching another one up just in case... cause This is the sound that slays me.

I believe mine is an early 70's model, I think...I'm a guitarist in a skynyrd band, called Skynnyn Lynnyrd. of course, we play lynyrd skynyrd...note for note, expressed as the origional band members had intended.

This thing was designed by Leo Fender, much like a twin in both looks and electronics, so it's got 2 channels, nonfootswitchable (it would be nice if it were) and bright and deep tone switches.

It has no headphone jacks...(it's not really a practice amp...) or effects loops, but I don't use those anyway.

I wish it had just a touch more gain and a little less of a thin sound. I like the reverb on it, I just wish it were a little more present and that it died out more quickly. I only use the tremolo on the song "ballad of curtis loew" when I'm not playing slide. It's not a really great slide amp, but I'm sure it's only because I'm not doing something right with it.

I use this amp primarilly as a practice amp...it's cleaner than my Peavey ultra 60, which I origionally started playing because I needed more gain to cover my mistakes. Once I started playing the musicman in order to hear and fix my screwups, I began to improve my attack on the insturment and that's when I learned how to make it scream. I usually have it set on: channel 1) preamp ~3 high ~4-5 mid ~4 and low ~10 channel 2) preamp 10 high ~5-6 mid-5 low-10 rev-3 (10 on free-bird slide) tremolo function both 0, and master about 5 on low power. the more this thing is cranked the better it sounds...which is kind of odd, because usually the louder something is, the more compressed and distorted it gets, but this amp just begs to be turned up!

It's a trans-tube hybrid with 212 speakers...I blew one and replaced it with a Mesa Boogie Vintage and it didn't seem to hurt the tone. I like how it's top isn't exactly like a fender and somewhat protects the knobs, and that the power switch is on the face, instead of the back.

I like this amp, but compared to what we've got today, it's kind of a two trick pony...clean, and one kind of sweet gritty.

The EL34's (british tubes) give it some sweet breakup!

When I fist started playing skynyrd, I learned on a 70's Fender Super reverb silverface. Too clean! back to the drawing board! I couldn't appreciate the tone because I wasn't the calibur of player I am now, and really couldn't make it sing. I found out that my dad had one of these hidden away in the garage somewhere that he picked up for about 75 dollars in a storage room auction (guy didn't pay his bill) and so once I became good enough, he brought this thing out and said "Try this" I did, but I couldn't really make it sound great because I didn't know what I was doing...hey I was 15 gimme a break. I put a vintage TS-9 in front of it and it sounded like a freakin marshall! good enough for what I wanted. Because I had to use an ABY switch to get a crunch volume and lead volume, I got a little miffed when I kept getting things messy on the ground with cords and such, so I bought a Peavey.

As I became a better player I began to play cleaner. Now, I haven't touched my peavey in a week, I've been beating the Sh*t out of my explorer and american standard strat and making the musicman scream!!!!

It's a bit too trebley for the kind of music that I play, but it's livable. It's probabally the transistor preamp...

like I said, it's a two trick pony. Kinda clean and sweetly punchy and gritty!

In the two tricks this pony can do, nothing can touch it!!


"I'm a little music man, short and stout.

Take me off stand-by and LOOK THE F**K OUT!!!!!!!!" -some dude said that on the peavey deuce page, and I think it's really appropriate for this amp

I have never had any problems whatsoever with this amp. It's 30 years old, been carted everywhere, survived many hundred miles of carting without a protective case, and getting beaten by sliding 412 cabs in the trailor. I've dropped it, kicked it over, spilled water in it (on accident, of course) and have torn the crap out of it, and it's still just as sweet and loud and good-looking as it ever was!!!

not quite as tough as an old peavey, but it'll take your punishment and as for more while it sings and whines your audience into an awestruck trance!

I've got the origional tubes in it and it's never shown any signs of complaining. I've never even blown a fuse in it!!!

Currently this amp is my backup for my Peavey ultra 60...and I think on our next gig, I'll just use this sweeeeet little thing!

I don't even know how to get in touch with customer support on this thing. It's never shown any signs of giving up, or even letting up. It's a wailer and it's never let me down before, and there's no reason to believe it will ever let me down.

I've never even needed to think about customer support...can you even get customer support anymore for this thing?

I've been playing for 2 years, every day, all day, from the time I wake up, to many hours past bedtime! I'm 16, and I've got the bebefit of over $6,000 of musical equipment that my father collected.

I've got a:
90's Peavey ultra 60, w/ 412MS stereo slant cab,
70's Fender 410 super reverb silverface (really punchy thing!!!)
60's fender dual showman reverb head
60's fender 212 James B Lancing D120 F orangebasket cab
and of course 70's musicman 212

It's got 130W of pure screaming beauty, and if it were stolen or lost...I'd probabally buy a peavey VT series in addition to another one of these. (I need one anyway)

I actually wish I had another one of these, so I could have more grit on my crunch amp

I love the way this amp sounds and feels, the way it takes what you want and makes it so much better, but like all good cleaner amps, any major mistake you make, will be known to all! (not that it's clean, but it's no where metal capable, which is another + for it)

I wish this thing had a power stage volume control for both channels and a 3-4 button foot switch...(channel 1, channel 2, reverb, tremolo) if it had those, it'd be damn near the perfect amp for me...but I'd still look for a Peavey Deuce or Mace.

If anyone's got a deuce or mace you're interested in selling, gimme an e-mail!

212-hd 130 combo
celestions
groovetubes

I fell deeply in love with this immediately when playing through it in the shop. The price tag was very dear but leaving it for someone else to touch felt wrong so i forked out.
It sounds in my opinion absolutely gorgeous. I always thought Fender twins were too jangly and although i see some people criticise this amps lack of 'sparkle', personally i'm glad it's replaced that glassy horribleness with a deeper tone.
I also run an ashdown bass 4x10 from it which really really really warms up the tone for a lovely jazzy breadth.
the reverb is good but i wouldnt miss the tremelo.
It also handles pedals delightfully.

for some reason the 2nd input on the 2nd channel is weaker than the first, but it's an old amp & i only use channel one anyway.
other than that, perfect.

n/a

this suits me perfectly. if it was stolen, i'd probably cry.
i doubt i'll ever buy another amp as long as i have this baby.

Mine is a 74' Im an old picker and i bought it because the pros used it. This is what a twin should have been. Channel switching would be nice but thats not what makes this amp. What you buy this amp for is the tone you get from 130 watts of power. Purchased in 80 this was a good buy for me, little did i know how good. Unlike fender this trem uses optocouplers(no popping noise). Creamy reverb and super clean sound. I mostly use low power and let the tubes break up on their own.

I use a les paul, strats, and a melody maker thru this amp and like both single coil and humbucker sounds with it. Outlaws,Allmans,Clapton,Skynyrd,Srv,Hendrix,CCR,are all good. Did they have Metal in 74'? I use an Mxr for dirty sounds. This is the best signal to noise ratio amp out there. I really have no style of my own, I only play what I hear and to my ear this amp can reproduce more classic tones than any other because most artists have used a fender or music man at some point in their careers.

This last retube was major. Iwent with JJ e34L tubes and all mallory and sprague caps. I dont think this amp ever sounded better than it does now. The caps really woke up the reverb and tremelo circuits. It was time. Don't neglect your tube amp as MM is no more. I gig every week without back up. This is the only amp I would try this with.

n/a but find yourself a good tech. with 750 plate volts this thing will bite you if you don't know what you're doing.

I've been playing 45 years, guitar only 30. This amp is a cross between a fender and a marshall. I've got another fender so if it were stolen I would probably get a marshall. These are getting hard to find in decent shape but prices are still good.