Tech 21 Trademark 120 212 Combo

I was fortunate enough to purchase this amp at a liquidation sale of the late Mars Music (which many will miss). As far as features go, I couldn't ask for much more. It has a total of three channels all with 3-way modeling selectors, a boost function for volume incleases, reverb, and the effects loop. Not to mention haveing an ACTIVE 3-band EQ on every channel. This means you can boost and cut different frequencies instead of most amps simply alowwing you to cut them. Excellent.

The sound is quite amazing. This is one solid state (although 100% analog) that goes primarily unnoticed. Bar FAR the closest thing to the real thing than anything else available. I've found that the louder it goes, the better it sounds. The volume has kept me above everything including drums at the shows I've played with my grunge/wierd band. Absolutely no distortion on clean (when you don't want any) all the way up. I have to say i never use the distortion since I run my Gibson SG through a sustain punch creamy dreamer (which is THE best fuzz box, and was also used by the smashing pumpkins on the first instalment of their last cd machina. Only available through musicians friend now). Putting the dreamer on the clean and turning things up on the Tweed (fender) channel things began to SING. Beautiful. Absolutely NO NOISE. Perfect for recording using the built-in sansamp (which is an unbelievably good technology for recording straight to disk I.E. computer recording). I've recorded countless tracks using the sansamp out to cubase sx and have been amazed at the results. What more could you ask for.

Perfect. It's gotten super-duper hot before but the way it's designed it has managed it well. Never cut out on me once after countless hours of full power abuse. A real tank i kid you not.

No doubt excellent but havn't thankfully had to call them. Even the broscher (sp) is excellent with a black page for personal amp settings.

Coun't be more happy with this amp. My search after search in Harmony Central has come to an end and I love what i ended up with. I recomend this fully to anyone who enjoys music played by the Pumpkins, Starflyer 59 (check them out immediately), or any other meaty-sounding band. Make sure to check out a good fuzz box though. You won't regret it.

The Trademark 120 I own was purchased new in May of 2002 and has 120 Watts & three channels with a foot switch that allows switching between the channels and reverb, effects loop or a boost function. The amp is probably one of the best thought out amps I've ever owned in that it is clear that the person who designed the amp was also a guitar player. The effects loop is set up for stereo and the amp has XLR outputs (stereo) that sound better than any other amp on the market.

My setup is an American standard strat (stock) or a Fender custom shop strat with texas special pickups, for effects I have a visual sound liquid chorus and EHX holy grail. I play blues and 60's rock and roll mostly. One of the great things about this amp is that you can voice any of the three channels to sound like a fender, marshall or a boogie, in otherwords you could have all three channels as boogie if you wanted to. When I first got this amp I almost sent it back because I couldn't get a clean sound like I was use to(fender twin), I even sent the amp back to the company to have them check it out, and when I got it back I still couldn't get the sound I liked then I put the amp side by side with a Fender Twin and discovered that to get the sound I liked out of the Twin I turned the volume up to 8 or 9 and used my volume control on the guitar to control the edge right before the amp started to break-up and when I turned the Master volume up to ~75-80% on the TM 120 then turned the drive up to 11:00 and adjusted the rest of the tone controls the tweed channel came alive, in fact people around me were amazed at the great sounds I was getting. The distortion also improved significantly and the amp had a wonderful "singing" quality to it that you rarely find in a solid state amp. I have since sold all my tube amps because this amp sounds better and is way more versatile. The only part I think they could improve on is the reverb which could be a little deeper and fuller like the TM-60. The British voicing is excellent for crunch rhythms and can be set for Eric Clapton like blues, the California voicing is pure Santana with excellent sustain and balance.

The TM-120 appears to be well built, so far the Tech-21 people have been very helpful and have answered all my questions and you can actually call and talk to them on the phone, try that with one of the major manufacters.

As I said before I feel they have one of the best customer service dept. in the industry.

I've been playing for 30 years and have owned fenders, marshalls, boogies, vox and polytones and the Tech 21 is the best of the whole lot!! If stolen I would order another the next day. I now have a 2-12 combo that weighs 55 lbs puts out 120 watts in stereo and looks sharp to boot!

I'm sure by now, you know the features. This is one of the most versatile amps without effects on the market. To have 3 discreet preamps, a switchable boost and switchable effects loop (pedal included) is kind of unheard of, especially at this price.

I had to go with a 6 here. While the amp is versatile, mine isn't the loudest thing on the block, and I've been used to playing with an 80-watt rack amp since 1992. This amp did NOT sound like 120 watts to me. It does what it's supposed to do, and at this price point, it sounds good, but just like the modeling amps on the market, it just doesn't cop that tube amp sound/feel. It sounds like it would be amazing recorded direct, but live, it RESEMBLES a Fender/Marshall/Boogie, but doesn't quite hit the mark. Another thing I don't like about this amp is that it's an open back 2x12. I still haven't heard ANY open back 2x12 sound like a Marshall or Boogie hi gain amp going thru a 4x12, I think it's sonically impossible. The open back 2x12 design sounds great for a Fender Twin clean type sound, but when I hear Boogie/Marshall, I think Rectifier or JCM series, and most 2x12 open back amps that i've heard don't quite sound like that. So basically, the sounds on this amp are good, but just like the Line 6 flextone I used to use, open back combos have a certain characteristic that comes from the cabinet design, that characteristic sounds great for clean, but when I want a hi gain powerful distortion, i need the whomp of a closed back cab with the dynamics of tubes. Seems like another amp that cops the popular tones direct and at bedroom levels, but that's about it.

I've been playing for 22 years, and rarely did I ever bring a backup amp anywhere, and never had a problem, so I don't think I'd start now! The good thing about this amp is it has XLR direct outputs, so if anything ever happened to the power section, you could at least finish the night thru the PA system.

I did e-mail the company with a question, I got a response in about 2-3 days. No need for warranty or repair.

I played Line 6 amps from 1998-2002, and used rack gear before that, honestly, the Line 6 amps were lacking in feel, and I'd rather have those than the trademark 120. The Line 6's seem to have the tones down just a little bit better. This amp does sound good, but I wouldn't put it next to a tube amp! I gave it an 8 because it sounds decent compared to the other amps on the market in it's class, and it's extremely versatile.

This is a follow-up review (and an apology for the terrible typing skills displayed in my initial review - hopefully you were able to figure out what I was trying to say).

Un F-ing believable. Period. I mentioned something in the initial review about concern that loud volumes would result in low-end tone the speakers wouldn't be able to handle (a.k.a. Farts). I was WRONG!!! I've since jammed with a rock band, and obviously had to turn this thing up quite a bit. The louder it got, the better it sounded. The other guys in the band couldn't believe how huge this thing sounded. They remarked how close it was to my Triple Recto going through a 412 or Genz Benz G-Flex 212 (my last rig). Not quite that loud (NOTHING is as loud as a Triple Rec) or as full as a big closed cab, but almost...and all out of a solid-state, open-back 212. I was running all channel levels at about 12:00 with the main level at 12:00 and boost at 11:00 or so. Definitely loud and full. Higher volume seems to iron out that seeming bias towards the low end at lower volumes that I mentioned in my initial review. Even when you kick in the boost - which is a whole boatload more volume - it still sounds great and without any hint of a fart. I generally use the boost for solos only, but when we jam on Ozzy's (Zakk's) Miracle Man - who can help but crank it up. Un-freaking belieavable amp. E-mail me if you have any questions whatsoever - because I hope you'll give this masterpiece a try.

Notes/Tips: Any amp sitting on the floor and shooting straight past your ankles will have to work a lot harder to be heard than an amp that's correctly positioned. Your audience will hear it more than you or the band and the sound man will be PISSED! Invest in a tilt-back amp stand and position your amp as a personal stage monitor (pointing away from the vocal mics). You'll hear it better, it will seem louder, and it will help keep your stage volume lower and let the FOH PA do what it should. The SansAmp DI outputs on this amp sound EXACTLY like what comes out of the amp's speakers - so plug this thing into the board and let the PA do the rest. No joke...these are NOT standard guitar speakers in this amp - the speaker simulation is more a part of this amp's tone, and the built-in speakers are obviously more of a full-range type. That's my guess at how Tech 21 can get the raw amp and the direct sound to be almost EXACTLY the same. That's also why the manuals basically tell you that non Tech 21 speakers and cabinets will essentially sound like crap. They don't come out and say it - but they may as well have. The givaway is in the fact that Tech 21's powered 112 speaker cabinets are supposed to get plugged into the SansAmp outputs on the Trademark. You would NEVER take a cabinet-simulated signal (like out of a H&K Redbox or similar) and plug it into another guitar amp and guitar speaker - you'd take a non-simulated pre-amp out (or return output from your FX). Tech 21's Power Engine 60 therefor must be a power amp with a full-range - (or damn close to it) speaker in the cab just as the power/speaker section of the Trademark(s). You'd probably be better off using a powered PA speaker as an extension cabinet than something with a Celestion in it. Great amp, great company, now go play.

4 hours at a time running almost all the way open and no problems. Reliable enough for me!

See above and you'll understand why!

I believe this is the newest amp in Tech 21 NYC's line. It shares similarities and has differences with the Trademark 60, which I think is a double-edged sword in this case. Read on for details.

Key features are 3 completely independant channels, which allow you to choose between California (Boogie), British (Marshall) and Tweed (Fender) sound "characteristics" on each channel. This is a neat feature, as most other makers bias each channel towards a type fo sound - Like boogie, for instance. I use the word "characteristics", because it is NOT a modeling amp. It does emulate tube sound and feel as well as those signature characteristics typical to the amp types listed above, but it does not model anything like a Line6 or Johnson etc does. This is a 212 configuration with a stereo power amp (2x60, not 1x120). This is great, because even though the amps native sounds are not stereo, you can place stereo effects in the loop and have true stereo. Other notable features are SansAmp direct outs and a comprehensive footswitch, which allows you to access 3 channels, effects loop, Reverb (very nice Accutronics spring), and boost (lots of volume boost possible). This amp is layed out very smartly and ironically similar to the a Boogie Triple-Recto 3-ch (which I also owned and reviewed).

Versatility is pretty amazing, but good sound and versatility has to start with a good guitar and some decent technique. I have a Gibson Les Paul Standard and a Fender Amercian Strat Texas Special, and the amp does each of them and their respective styles justice. If this amp falls short anywhere its on the UltraGain Triple-Recto side of the spectrum. No Disturbed or Godsmack here, but everything just this side of it.

As stated above, I run a Les Paul Standard (the new one with slightly hotter than standard pickups) and a Fender Strat Texas Special (also slightly hotter than standard pickups). Both guitars sound very good through this amp. The Les Paul sounds like like a Les Paul Through a Marshall and the Fender sounds like a Fender through a tweed or a Marshall. Shocking veratility in sound and even more surprising transparency, warmth and touch. Good by tube amp standards, out of this workd for transistor amp standards. If you're trying to get a Godsmack, Triple Recto sound out of this amp, its not going to happen. There are a hundred reasons for this, but it falls just short in this end of the spectrum. All other tones are very possible, from EVH to SRV.

One thing that is a bit concerning to me is the seemingly over-emphasis on low end. This amp sounds much larger than an open-back 212. Unfortunatly, I think this was done by tweaking the amp's design towards the low-end side of things. I feel that there will be speaker problems when cranked, so I find myself running the low end EQ at a maximum af about 12:00...even with the Strat. I think this will be a payoff when recording, but loud volumes concern me. The amp does sound very good when cranked...almost better louder than quiet like most tube amps, but I find myself very afraid to run to much low EQ. I think the smartest thing to do live would be to run the DI outs to the PA and mix your guitar into the monitors. Most sound men would applaud you for doing so, becuase - while we all like it - loud stage volume is NOT such a good thing. Use this amp smartly, and I think it will shine in nearly all applications.

One note about the Trademark 60 cersus the 120. It almost seems as if there are more sounds abailable from the 60. The problem is that the sounds on each of the 60'd 2 channels depend HEAVILY on the master EQ. This is OK for tweaking and recording and then tweaking a difference sound and recording another track, but it would be frustrating in live applications, because you cannot get 2 sounds that are completely independant of each other. The 120 gives you 3 completely discret channels that are not at all dependant on each other and there is no master EQ section. The 120 utilizes the 3 position Cali, Brit, Tweed switch, where the 60 ustilizes some other knobs that allow for more in-between variety. I needed to switch from sound to sound when I do jam with others, and I wanted more speaker and power, so I got the 120, but I feel from a tonal versatility standpoint that the 60 may be a better choice.

My Rig: Carl Martin Compressor -> Fulltone Clyde Deluxe Wah -> Fulltone Deja'2 Vibe into Trademark 120. Fulltone SurpaTrem and ChoralFlange (running Stereo) in the loop.

Hard to say. I have no reference as of yet, but it does seem to be well built, and transistors are pretty solid by design. We'll have to see.

Have not had to deal with them. Besides, I have complete confidence that my dealer would take care of anything that might go wrong. Parkway Music is absolutely a world-class-act.

I bought this amp for its compactness, versatility, tube-like sound and feel and solid state reliability for home-playing, occasional recording and the impromptu jam here and there. This amp excels at exactly that and I couldn't be much happier. A wonderful complement to my two beloved axes and array of Fulltone effects.

I personally love the versatility of this amp. The three seperate independant channel settings are amazing to set up for any type of music. The standard foot control by far outshines anything I have seen yet, and yes...this thing has some volume (predicting neighbor complaints).

I use a Fender strat with EMG's and boy does it sound incredible. I can't rave enough about being able to switch from a crunch Mesa sound to a warmer Marshall sound. Once the proper adjustments are made, it really sounds like three amps in one. The boost feature on the pedal is great for punching up leads. The only thing I would like to see added to this that I used to have on my old Fender Ultimate Chorus is a built in chorus feature (not just reverb).

It appears sturdy enough, I will tell you in a few months after gigging with it. The first one I received did not work at all (read below).

I had a time trying to get this amp. I bought it online through a wholesaler company, who I guess posted the wrong price and I jumped on it. They sent me a broken one first, which look like was thrown the furthest from the UPS truck. I sent it back and then dealt with a 3 month backorder because of the wholesaler. I would like to see a better turnaround for customer backorders for these companies if Tech 21 continues business with them.

Bottom line...this is a great amp if you want a combination of sounds heard from other amps without having to drop a fortune on larger tube driven equipment. I wanted to upgrade to tube driven from solid state, however this amp won me over because of the sound and not to mention the price.

Hi, This amp does have alot of features: 3 Separate channels you can have all 3 eq's different, and 3 different amp sounds as well. 2x12 speakers, LARGE openback. Pedalboard to switch channels, and effects loop on/off. Top loaded controls.

I'm not sure. Opinions can vary on this. I think it's alright.. I like a better punch ie: closed back is what I'm used to. It seems the sounds bleed out the back too much for my style. I happen to LOVE their effects pedals and so that's why I tried this amp.

I have to say honestly that the overall construction is extremely cheap especially for being built in the USA! The grill all but falls off the front... the plywood is super skinny. I guess that's good for those that gig so they dont have to lug around heavy equipment. The metal corners that hold the cheap case together is substandard. They cut alot of corners to make this amp light weight; if that's their excuse for a crappy flimsy construction. I could rip out the heatsink with my bare hands.. same with the speakers. I'm surprised it makes it to the guitar stores in one piece. They package it in a box with 4 cardboard pieces on the corners and NOTHING ELSE.. unless you count plastic wrap. I would expect crap if it was $300, but paying $680 I'd expect something that will last longer than a condom.

Didn't bother with customer support.

I honestly think it'd be a great amp if they made a STURDY version for at home/studio. Like I said their effect pedals are wonderful!!!! I love their sans-GT2 and XXL, and double drive. Once again, good I guess for gigging as long as you dont drop it or go crazy on stage.

2002 Model - All the features have been covered very well by others, I would like to say that yes, you can get an amp with tons of effects, but that is not why you would get this one. I find that individual pedals are better anyway. The boost feature is awsome.

I have a G&L Legacy HB and a G&L ASAT Delux. Both guitars sound great. I play mostly contemporary christian music. It is a transistor so it is pretty quiet at reasonable volumes, there is a bit of noise with gains and volumes up totally normal. My Legacy sounds great really Fender like (it is a Fender after all!) and the ASAT is very "twangy" The Clean channel could be a little louder, every thing else is more than I expected. Adjustment is very easy and there is lots of it! Very close to sounding like real tubes, I've tried others (Line 6, Johnson) but this is the best by quit a margin!!!!!!!!! The reverb could be a bit better.

Looks like it is built like a tank. I've heard Tech21 stuff is top notch. I would use it without a back-up.

Warrenty is one year, I've heard they are great.

I've been playing approx. 28 yrs off and on and have owned lots of amps. I got this cuz I wanted 2 12's and the tube sound, plus my Peavy Classic 30 goes through a lot of tubes it does sound great, just tired of the mantainence. I think where I bought the amp online made a mistake on the price in their advertisment, two days later it went up to $750.00 and the delivery is out 3 months.

3 channels, each with drive, bass,mid,tremble,and level,and amp style (Calif,British,Tweed) + reverb and 9db boost. It is extremely versatile and can go from super old school clean to chuging metal at the kick of a switch. It works extremely well with effects and allows the user to really get the most out of all of their gear. It could use a cd in but I have a bitchin stereo so I get by. It also has an effects loop and 2 speaker outs plus xlr outs. It runs 60 watts to each speaker and they are rated at 100watts max This thing can get extremely loud for being just a 2x12 combo. I use it in my apt. and i dont recomemd trying that in your home unless you have a cool landlord. It comes with a nice foot switch that allows the user to select each channel, turn on the reverb,boost,or effects loop.

I am running this with a Jackson custom shop Dinky reverse with 2 jackson humbuckers. As for effects I have an akai shred-o-matic D1 distortion pedal, a Ernie ball volume, a line 6 delay modeler, a hughes-and-kettner rotoshere a boss hm-2 custom distortion pedal, a akai intelliphase. and a dbx compressor. Running this amp with the above effects is like a dream come true. I can get any style of sound I want from it with out really ever having to bend down and fiddle with the knobs. Once you get the 3 channels where you want them you can just kick between them and run the effects. It is extremely quiet as far as noise goes and works well with my effects. I like crunchy metal sounds like Dime bag Darrel and Adam Jones (God of riffs) and this amp gets me there no problem. I also like to go clean but not tooo cheasy clean and I can get there as well. This thing is no BS. Any sound you want you can get!!!!!

As for reliebility. It is built extremely well and when you have it in front of you it is intimidating. I really appreciate these guys. They really know how to put together a nice amp. I use to have a Hughes-&-Kettner attax 80 that I sold to pick this thing up and let me tell you I haven't lost a wink of sleep over it. It may sound like I am closed minded the way I rave about this thing but believe the hype. Its a great amp and built to last. I have read a ton of reviews on this thing and the only people who ever have any problems are the nickel and dimers that order online and have it shipped. FOOLS!!! you dont save much when ya factor in shipping and reshipping when you gotta send it back cuz the fed ex guy dropped it commin up your stairs.

I dropped them an email to say that i ditched my Hughes-and Kettner to pick up theres and they got back to me the same day with a little smiley on the bottom so I think they will be good to work with if I ever do have problems.(not likely, I dont take it out much and if I did I would guard it like I guard my johnson.. always covered:)

I have been playing for a couple of years. Im no expert and I havent seen them all or played them all but I know a good product when I see one and this thing is top knotch. If it were lost or stolen I would beat the fool down that took it and get it back. If I couldnt get it back I would get another or maybe step up to the new 200watt head and get one of their cabs but livin in an apt I dont think that would be a good option. I love this amp as you can tell and my recomendation is to go out and try it. I am sure you will find the experiance pleasant. I did compare it to a few other 2x12 combos but I dont like when they have effects onboard so that took the ones I looked at out of the chase (line 6, vox, Hughes-&-Kettner) Sorry fellas I think you guys could learn from tech21 they know what they are doin so you better step it up cuz if you dont they are gonna straight take over!!!

Benchmark 212,60 x 2 120 watt stereo amp. This is a solid state amp, sounds like a tube amp. Comes with a 6 button swich, very nice and quiet. Like I said in the previous post this amp is not any nosier than any other. The versatility of this amp has proven to run the spectrum. My rating in the previous long winded post were more reluctant to give it the higher ratings. This has changed now.
Features, weell it only has one effect, reverb. So I guess people that like effects will say it lacks features. However my take on this product is that it provides everything a musician needs and does it extremely well at a very good price. Those are good features!
I would think most guitar players want the usual sounds and the ability to find thier own distinct sound in there. This will do it.
The back panel has the additional inputs our outputs but no CD in. Bummer. That would have saved me a great deal of trouble.
The company provides a manual with some presets that sound good! I used two of them and incorporate them into my setting regularly. Check out their web site to hear some sounds. Because it does not have a CD inputI rate it at 8.

I use a Gibson les paul to get my california type sound and british stuff. I use Channel 2 for the british sound. I utilized the AC/DC presets provided by the company with a little more midrange. The distortion settings are excellent from grunge to 70's rock, and you will not need the Boss MT -2 like I mentioned earlier. So the distortion is about what most people want. I am sure there are those that want extreme everything!
I use the California settings for Channel 3. This is my Carlos Santana sound. It's definitley boogie sounding. Not 100% but very ,very,close. Check out the web site demos of his sound. I like mine better. Are you a fan of his? I invite you to try these settings to see if they get you as close as I did.
The Drive is set at 12 oclock,Bass is turned off,
Mid and treble are set at 3/4 75%. And the level is set at about 1 oclock. The master control section has reverb set at 1 oclock, with boost at 2 oclock and you can set the master any way you prefer! The boost will not be on. The master is the final stage so it will not hurt your sound just make it louder. This amp by the way plays very soft, quiet levels and you still get the harmonics, attack, and sustain. Incredible.

Keep in mind I feel the quickest way to get to your sound is by tweaking the Bass, midrange. Adjust these to soot your needs. They (Mids and bass) are very important controls on this amp. This amp is not very forgiving if you over adjust these settings.
Channel 1 is the(CLEAN)sound settings. Like I said previously it's not a Fender amp, but it cost way less, and still produces a fine vintage tube amp clean sound. The drive must be kept at 10 oclock or less to get the clean sound. If you set it higher you will overdrive the sound.
When you find something that produces just about everything you want you get excited and become joyous. I did.

Don't know yet! Funny thing happened the other day.
I turned off the master volume accidently while changeing guitars. I don't know how. Anyway I plug in the other guitar, and no sound comes out. My first thought is, I knew it! I just got this sucker and it's dead already. How negative I am, Once I realized the master was all the way down I turned it up and here comes that luschious sound sustain I like. I was grinning from ear to ear.

I have emailed the company requesting additional presets. They had the ones in the manual only!
I provided a guide line for the Carlos Santana boogie sound for those interested here.

I am pleased with this emotional purchase I made. The people at American Mucsical Supply were very professional, quicker than the speed of light to ship my amp. And I have to say this amp is a true investment to be treasured. Not many new amps make you feel this way. I have almost 10 years playing accumulative total of 32 years in music, and when you get lucky you don't ask why.
I did compare it to others, and I felt based on reviews here at harmony central this amp would do the job.
I still wish it had a CD input! If you bought this amp, and hate it, I think you should try tweaking the mids and bass some before you write it off. Congradulations Tech-21.