Product: Vermona Rock 30-2R
Price Paid: 40 USED
Submitted
02/15/2008
at
10:07pm
by
Jazzdoc
Features
:
6
This guitar combo amplifier is at least 15 years old because it was made in the GDR. It is a solid state amplifier with a bunch of Germanium transistors in it that would make any Fuzzface-collector drool.
It has two channels with separate inputs and Equalizers (Volume,Bass, Treble, Reverb) and a separate knob to sum up the overall amount of Reveberation. Next to this "Summe" knob is a socket for a remote switch to activate or stop the reverb effect. This only works with the first channel.
The reverberation unit is a spring-reverb encased in a large flat metal box inside the particle-board housing of the combo.
There`s only one loudspeaker inside - a 12" broadband speaker from RFT with approximately 12,6 watts at 8 Ohms.
I mainly use this little amp for playing some Jazz with my guitar or Hammond Organ.It is loud enough for medium-sized venues.
Sound Quality
:
10
I use this amp with a cheap Stratocaster copy and a Hammond Organ.It is great for Jazz because it has a quite clear and brilliant sound. And the reverb is phantastic.It has some background humming noise when fully turned up - audible but not disturbing because my Hammond is also making some rattling and humming coming from the tonewheel generators and the small rotating speaker unit sitting in a box atop the guitar amp.
The clean channel is just that - a clean channel, the distortion is not bad for a solid state unit. Not harsh but rather mellow which makes it suitable for Blues and Rock, too.
Reliability
:
10
The unit is very sturdy and reliable, though I still carry a new Fender Champion 600 with me as a backup amp at gigs. The Vermona comes without any integrated circuits inside, this makes it fully serviceable and the electronic parts used in it are still available today - without exception.
It hasn`t failed yet.
Customer Support
:
10
The Vermony company still exists, the folks there are very nice and friendly and have provided me with the schematics of the unit.
Overall Rating
:
10
I have been playing for 24 years now. Besides the cheap Stratocaster copy and the expensive Hammond B3 I have a Maccaferri style acoustic guitar from a Hungarian guitar maker. And a bunch of effect stompboxes, some Wegen picks (Fatones) and Jody Head guitar straps. That`s all music gear I own at the moment.
If this amp was stolen or lost I wouldn`t bother searching for another one because the old Vermona Rocks are quite rare these days -if you are lucky enough to find one the original RFT broadband speaker is often already gone for good money (these special RFTs sell for 250-600 Dollars a piece). Instead, I would get one of Vermona`s great "Retroverb" units and get another solid state combo amp like
a Guyatone, Acoustic or a Roland JazzChorus.
I have compared this amp to a Fender Acoustasonic and found that it sounds better because it has the better loudspeaker of the two.
