Yamaha G100-212-II

This amp is exactly what i was looking for when i baught it. i play grunge/punk/funk and it handles anything i may throw at it. i have it now in my music room and any volume over 5 just hurts. ive never felt so much joy and pain at once. this guy is realy heavy, but worth the lug. I wish the overdrive sounded a bit better. Not for my liking at all. other than that all the eq sounds great and works great.

sound is outstanding. i use a strat copy with Fender '61 reissue pickups. my guitar sounds great though this amp. i personally think it sounds much better over 4 on volume. the full sound comes out and just destroys. i run through a boss ds-1 and it has a crisp puch sound. realy sounds amazing.

solid state. id bet my life on it.

other than the terrible sounding overdrive... i ******* love this amp. worth the $300.

According to the Yamaha website, these were made between 1977-80. 100 watts, solid state, 2 channels, spring reverb, casters, same size as a Fender Twin, black tolex, silver/brown/black grillcloth, chassis is made of particle board, controls are as follows: A channel - volume (pull/fat), treble (pull/bright), middle, bass, high & low inputs, A/B button, B channel - gain (pull/fat), master volume, treble (pull/bright), bass, 3 parametric equalizer knobs (level, "Q", & frequency), reverb, on/off indicator light (orange jewel), & on/off toggle switch. On the back: fuse, ac outlet, ser # "AG" & 5 digits, 2 speaker jacks, direct out, reverb & a/b footswitch jacks. 2 12" JA 3066 speakers #322332, 8 ohms, 60 watts, Nippon Gakki Co., LTD Japan, Chassis: Yamaha Music Manufacturing, Inc., Thomaston, Georgia, USA, electronic parts imported from Japan. It has red LED's by each channel to let you know which one you're currently using.

Very versitle amp, covers all styles I play (punk, rock, metal, country, surf, rockabilly, etc), yes, 2 channels w/ channel switching, line out, no effects loop, no headphone jack (your ears would bleed), I wish it had tubes, but that's just because I'm a tube guy (for guitar anyway), you don't need them with this amp though (see below).

LOUD. CLEAR. CRISP. Did I say loud? Oh my god, this thing is loud! Pull the "fat" & "bright" knobs & your ears will bleed. I currently use a strat w/ a hot rail, & although the stock distortion is complete crap, hook up a distortion box of your choice (I use an orange Boss DS1 myself) & you'll be in tone heaven. This amp sounds just as good clean as it does distorted. I played a telecaster through the clean channel & wept. This sounds nuts, but this is the first solid state guitar amp that I've ever played that had some characteristics of a tube amp! Most solid state guitar amps I've played through just sound cold & sterile to me. This does not. The reverb sounds good, channels switch well, it's very quiet when I'm not playing through it, clean channel stays clean at high volumes, and does just about everything I need it to do. As stated before, the EQ is crap; for some reason these pots are scratchy, but none of the others are. The "Q" knob makes a very loud & disturbing pop when I turn it, so it stays at the 12 o'clock mark. When I mess with the "level" & "frequency" knobs, I can get alot of different sounds out of this thing. On the negative side, the particle board chassis is a major design flaw; if this thing gets wet, you might as well toss it out. That stuff will warp, etc. Also, this thing is heavy as hell! Good casters though, & the handle is solid.

Being solid state, it is very dependible & reliable. This would be a great touring amp. I only play bass in bands, not guitar, but I wouldn't bother to bring a backup if I did. This thing is a tank. This thing is very clean, I think it led a good life before I got ahold of it.

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I bought this off a guy that was moving for $100. I'm going to put it on top of an old Marshall 4x12 cab I got & blow the neighbors out of their homes. I can't believe how loud this thing is. Been playing 20 years, got a whole mess of gear, I love buying things & trying them out, especially if I can get it cheap. A Fender sounds great through this amp. I've played through a couple of the old Yamaha 1x12 practice amps & loved them, & when I saw this for sale I snatched it up. No, it's not a Fender Twin Reverb, but it's the next best thing. This would give a Roland Jazz Chorus a run for it's money any day. Don't worry about anyone trying to steal it; their arm would fall off by the time they got down the street, ha ha. I love the styling of the knobs & grillcloth, & the way the amp sounds. I hate the fact that it's made of particle board though; I guess they were trying to cut costs down. Get one of these, you won't regret it. I'm trying to find an old Yamaha bass head right now as well...

I purchased this amp in the early 1980's (nearly new from a friend). It has two seperate channels with a parametric equalizer and reverb. The channels and reverb can be controlled via a footswitch. It is 100 Watts RMS, solid state, and it has unbelieveable power and volume. The original Yamaha speakers were replaced with JBL's.

The sound is really what makes this amp. I play a Fender Telecaster and a G&L SC-2 and both sound terrific through this amp. I don't care much for the amp's distortion (i.e. "Fat" setting) so I have always used a stomp box or processor. I currently use a Digitech RP-7, but I have used a Rat Distortion in the past. I have played everything from metal, country, blues, classic rock, soul, & funk.
The amp has incredible power. It keeps up with (and overtakes) every half-stack that I have compared it to. I have never had to bring the volume setting above '4'. I have played everywhere from rehearsals, small clubs, large clubs, large outdoor venues, and large arenas when opening for a national act. This amp has handled them all with ease.

This has been my main amp for over 23 years. The only issue I have ever had is a dirty (scratchy) pot, and a worn cord on the footswitch. I should add that I baby all of my equipment, so that probably helps. It still looks new. I never bring a back-up amp to my gigs. It's been that reliable.

The only repair items are the ones I described above and the pots were cleaned by a local tech that I trust and I repaired the footswitch myself. I've never had to contact Yamaha for anything, but over the years I have downloaded all of the schematics and wiring diagrams just in case. I even still have the original manual and sales literature and brochures. After 23 years, this amp dosen't owe me anything.

I've been playing guitar for about 25 years off and on. Took about 8 years off during the time my kids were little, but now I am back at it and giging regularly. My main complaint about the amp is its weight. It is a heavy beast. It feels like it's nearly 100 pounds. The JBL's have really huge magnets, so that probably only served to make it heavier. Wehn transporting my gear I always bring a hand truck primarily because the amp is so heavy. It does have casters, but for any serious distance moves it's on the hand truck.

If it were lost or stolen, I'd like to have a replacement just like it, but the chance of me finding another one in like condition is pretty slim. I'd probably be looking at a Fender Twin Reverb as a competent replacement.

I'm not shure when this amp was made i think it was in the 1980's
I play death metal and IN my opinion I think this is the best amp for that style.It has 2 channels a clean and a distortion.with this amp it is unuf volume for you to play enywhere.

I use a b.c.rich worlock and it suits my death metal well it cant make much sounds but the sounds it does make are real nice my
G100-212 has a hundered watts of power so it is very loud the amps distortion sucks but if you go into Channel a and turn every thing on 10 and the reverb on 5 with it pluged into a DOD FX86 it sounds great

hell yes i can depend on it can an army depend on a tank with this amp I would never need a back up. this amp has no problem ecept the eq knob pops realy fucking loud at low volume

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I have been playing for 2 and a half years.I own a B.C.rich,1954 Merlen red baron, Memphis,squire strat,and 2 aoustics 3yamaha key boards,Fender Fronman 25 watt amp,35 watt crate amp,40 watt DOD amp,15 watt Firstact amp ANd a radioshack 250 watt p.a.system. DOD multi fx processer and death metal distortion pedal made by DOD,3 shure sm58 microphones and a drum set and finally(I think)my
G100-212II I love the way it looks and sounds I hate the EQ knob I would Choose this amp over any other one ecept for a 350 watt Crate half stack I wish it had a bult in fx procecer oh yay i have one of those ZOOM multi fx pedals as well.

I bought mine new in 1980 I believe. I have played Rockabilly, 60's style rock, blues, jump & swing tunes, straight out country....I have used this amp for every style of music I have performed over the years. Most of the basic features have been discussed above...2 channel, paramentric, reverb, 2-12" 100w. Everything I want in an amp. Obviously.....I have been using it for almost a quarter of a century.

The main instruments I have used with it over the years are a '60 Strat & a '67 Tele. Both sound great. I also have owned and played out with Les Pauls, SG's, a Rick 360 12 string, even a Gretsch Country Gentleman. Never was dissapointed with the amp for any of these guitars. My opinion is that you can get a stomp box to get any type of crunch or distortion that you might like. But there just ain't no good "Clean" box on the market. When i bought this amp, I was working at a music store and we sold Music Man, Marshall & Roland. I really wanted to like the Music Man 100 2-12". I would have given myself a great deal on the amp. But I tried everything we sold and I went to the competition and tried everything they sold. The Jazz Chorus was my second choice but just wasn't capable of sounding fat enough when needed. And I ended up going back to the competition and getting this amp. I found nothing else that gave me as much clean volume with so much versatility. Whatever sound I wanted, this amp gave it to me. I gotta admit that I replaced the stock speakers with EV SROs. Wanted to eliminate any speaker distortion. Anyway, the clean channel is amazing, never any real need to go above 3 on any stage. The dirty channel is great for a mild crunch. That in combo with a Boss OverDrive gave me 4 different levels, Amp clean with no Boss, Overdrive channel on amp with no Boss. Amp clean with Boss & Overdrive channel w/Boss. Very simple system for immediately going to the distortion level I needed. That combined with the parametric, and very good tone system...what else could you ask for. I agree that most tube amps will outshine most solid state amps, but this one is a pearl. I work next store to a guy who specializes in repairing old tube amps and home stereo gear. He has doen maintenance on it and he tells me that the amplifier is the same quality that Yamaha used in their stereo receivers during that period of time, I can only guess he's right since the sound is so accurate.

I have had only one proble with it, the reverb tank went out on me, just needed a wire re-soldered. I have carried it to gigs in an Anvil case. I'm sure that helps. But...I have been out of the music biz for some time and I just took it over to my repair guy to give it a good cleaning and after sitting for 5 years, it sounds just great. Never gave me any trouble at a gig. Except for the reverb issue, I would call it a workhorse.

Been playing 30 years. My other amp is a Music Man 50w 1-12". I use a variety of pedals, but mainly Boss Overdrive, Boss Chorus, MXR Phase 100, Boss Compressor, Rack mount Digital Delay.

Two channel, 2 x 12,Fender Twin style, plus the nice addition of a very effective and versatile parametric tone section. I paid it 500 Euros, second hand, in a very good condition.

I'm a (mainly)pro jazz player. I thrown away a lot of money in amps in my musical career, searching for the "perfect" jazz amp. I've had various Fender, Roland, Polytone, Sound Lab, Peavey, Music Man, "boutique" tube amps... I can't even remember all the stuff I had! This amp is the BEST of all them!!! Plenty of CLEAN tone (it can be dangerously loud without any sign of distortion), perfect and versatile tonal controls (you can get lot of different sounds, from fat and dark to sparkling and bright), a wonderful sounding reverb, even the dirt channel is good, adding just that touch of chrunchiness... Charlie Christian way! The basic tone is similar to the Roland Jazz Chorus 120, but without that "metallic" edge... the tone stays round, full and pleasant no matter how loud you play. It works wonderfully both with arch top guitars and solid body, Tele or Strato or Les Paul style. Perfect for jazz, of course, and for funky rhtythms, also for blues... not for metal and hard rock. I'll NEVER sell or change this wonder!

No trouble until now, I'm a pro player and I use it very often on gigs and recording studio. In case of trouble should be easy for a technician fixing it.

I strongly advise jazz, swing, funk and pop guitarists trying to find one on the second hand market... don't be fooled by super expensive "hand made" amplifiers... this is the best I ever experienced in my life.

I've been playin' around for about 35 years and had plenty of amps, this one is very under-rated and features to gloat on. Just make sure that it's made is the USA (it'll have it printed on the back of the chassis). Most complimentary is the eq system that will give you just about any sound you want. The overdrive is a bit cheesy, but hey, if I want good overdrive, I'll hook up a tube preamp.

If you're after a nice clean jazz tone, this is the baby. Much more full-tone than Polytone and much cleaner than any tube amp. Don't get me wrong, I own plenty of tube amps, but when I want clean, the Yamer has it! Very loud, very soothing to whatever tone you're after, very beautiful sounding overall.

These babies are built like tanks. The only problem I've have with the last three that I've owned is that the pots seem to get a little gritty sooner than most, but then, we all know how to clean pots!

Customer Support? You don't need them with this model.

I've been playin' the guit for about 38 years and my present love is my 1986 Guild Baby Manhatten. I've owned plenty of amps including Fender, Gibson, Polytone, Line6, Standel, etc..., and the only one comming close is my 1957 Standel 80L15T (but then again, there were only three of those ever made and I hate to see the day I ever have to rid myself of it). At any rate, these USA Yamaha G100-212II's will get you goin' if you like cleans and volume!

2x12 100W combo. Not sure of the year. 80's?? It has the aluminum-insert knobs and the brown color scheme. Not the colored skinny knobs of the model III. Probably close to same circuitry??
The parametric EQ on this amp is unique and very useful. I like controls you can take to extremes. You dial in cut or boost, Q (bandwith or filter resonance), and center frequency. You can take it from a muddy old school bassy sound up through a golden jazzy sound all the way to a harsh trebly sound. With the Q up, sweeping the frequency control makes a sound like a phaser or wah. See other reviews for features I didn't mention.
I opened this amp up to spray a noisy volume pot and guess what? It is chock full of the coveted JRC4558D chips everybody is talking about in tube screamers. Personally, I don't think they are what makes the sound, but it is an interesting point, and these amps may one day become very desireable because of this fact. The dirty channel does have a very TS like voicing. "Fat" pull pots and treble boost pull pots on each channel as well as the global parametric EQ section. Nice heavy 12" Yamaha speakers.

I use a franken warmoth/bunker tele with seymour duncan vintage pu's. This amp gets very tubelike bluesy sounds as well as warm jazzy sounds. But you have to experiment with the EQ and tone controls. They are very complicated compared to a normal amp. The reverb is OK, but never gets a huge surf wash. Best on 3 where it is just a subtle hint. It is possible to push the EQ into a very harsh treble zone with the tele. But it is also possible to dial in a very lush wide-range scooped mid sound.
The distortion is very tube screamer-like. See my above comment on this amp containing a bunch of JRC4558's. I was looking for one of these for a long time because I wanted the tonal variety it provides. Now that I have it I'm not disappointed. Not so much of a metal sound, although with a 4x12 and a Boss SD-1, the wide EQ might be interesting.

Just got it. It had a bunch of noisy pots but I think that was due to neglect, as there was a touch of rust inside the chassis. Probably stored in a wet seattle basement for years. Also had spiderwebs. Sprayed the pots, wiped out the cobwebs and egg cases, and no problemo. Other Yamaha stuff I have is bulletproof. The construction on the inside is nice. Easy to maintain. Lots of empty space and huge heatsinks for output transistors. There are 2 circuit boards inside which are supported on the back corners. Looks very solid. Most components look replaceable, with the possible exception of the channel switching relays. Might have to substitute something there. But there's plenty of room if you have to improvise. Based on how bad this amp was neglected and how easy it was to bring it back, I'm giving it a 9. There are tolex wear points at either side of the control panel which look a little weak.

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Been playing 40 years. I have had one of about everything. This amp has good tone and is fairly loud. Not frightening like a twin reverb, but it should easily fill a club over the drums. Compared to my Hot Rod Deville 4x10, this 2x12 is a tiny bit less sparkly, and the reverb is stupider, but the distortion is a teeny bit better when it just kicks in. It has a slightly more multidimensional distortion sound than the Fender. The extra EQ is a great plus. This amp is one of the great sleepers on the used amp market. The styling holds up after all these years better than the model III, which looks a little cheezier. Mike Stern plays one. Possible future collectible, but don't count on it. Very enjoyable amp. Grab one if you find it.

These amps came to market around 1976. I have a Mk.II which was a little later. Twin channel solid state 100W guitar combo with 2 original Yamaha 12" loudspeakers. Channel A: Pull "Fat" volume, Pull bright treble, middle, bass controls. Channel B: Pull "Fat" gain, Pull bright treble, middle, bass controls. Channel select button, high and low sensitivity input jacks, Parametric EQ level, Q and Frequency controls. Master reverb level control. Direct out jack on rear of amp. Two speaker output jacks, one of which is wired to the two internal 12" speakers. Lacks an FX loop, as did virtually all amps of this vintage!

Channel A is very warm with plenty of tonal variation available. I mainly use channel B for the very warm valve/tube like crunch distortion (gain half way up and volume to suit venue. I use it with a heavily customised Hofner V3 (only the neck and tailpiece/tremelo arm are original) with two DiMarzio PAF humbuckers, and a Yamaha G700 with powerful (coil tapped) humbuckers. The sounds are gorgeous. Plenty of ringing treble and bottom end warmth. My style is sort of bluesy rock with a bit of pop crucnch and twang for good measure. :-) This is the most convincing sounding solid state amp I have heard and most people would not know it wasn't a valve (tube) amp. I also have an English made Maine 100W solid state combo amp with sealed baffle 2x12" Celestion loudspeakers of the same vintage which sounds very warm and exceptionally loud. But the Yamaha wins on tonal and distortion control. I believe the original Yamaha speakers provide a crucial role in this combo's tonal response. The contributor who gave poor rating for sounds had inferior replacement speakers!! I believe most players, anyone who plays from Country through Pop to Funk and even Heavy Rock/Grunge etc. would do well to check out one of these amps if the chance arose.

I bought this amp second hand about 1986 and it has not given a moment of trouble. However, I have never actually gigged it as I haven't played live for the last 20 years. :-( My G25/112 stood up to lots of rehearsals and several small gigs though and the G100/212 is much heavier built.

I've never needed this service.

I've been playing guitar since 1971 and I have owned and used several amps including a Yamaha G25/112 (nice in the home but poor sound projection in band situations) a piggy back Vox AC30 (OK but it wasn't the Top Boost model so one tone control(!) and low sensitivity), and a Maine 100W 2x12" combo, plus various others: 1976 Peavey Classic, HH Valvesound, Carlsbro amp head, Burman combo (nice), Vox AC30 TB combo, Roland JC50. The Yamaha comes out joint first with the Burman (an English built valve amp which sounded great but suffered from hum problems). I will not be selling this amp but am looking for a second for delay and chorus FX, the Maine is not a close enough tonal match for the Yamaha.

I bought my first one in 1979! This amp rulez for my style of playing!
Of the 30 some odd years I have been a pro musician I have used this amp for 22 years.The two chanells are very versatile in tone and clarity. I have used this amp on all 13 of my albums. If I could wish for one thing on this amp it would be an effects send/return.
I own three of them at this time. One I leave in Sweden so when I go there and tour I have my sound. Thats the third one ive owned in Sweden! It has worked faithfully for the last 5 tours. I have 2 here in the states that I use every week.

I play two diffrent guitars at this time. My main axe is a custom built Warmouth with a single EMG humbuker with one volume knob. The strat style is my fav and it is set up with a floyd. I also use a 25th aniversary stratocaster which by the way I bought with my first Yamaha G50 112 (same as the G100 212 but half the power and size)
the combination for blues rock heavy guitar style is awsome.
The clean channel is brilliant and I have yet to find an amp with the toneality that this one has. The distortion channel is excellent as well in all aspects of my playing. I used to do death metal with this thing!!!

This amp is unbelievable in its reliability. Its like a GMC truck!
You would have to kick it off the back of the tour bus at 90 miles per hour and let it roll into Niagra Falls before it would concede!
The only problems I have had are the parametric eq pots getting dirty from lack of turning. ( I leave them all on 10) it sounds the best!
I have had a problem with the reverb send on one.
The only reason I have ever gotten rid of one was because I sold it to get a new one.

I just called YAMAHA today to buy 4 12 inch ja3066 speakers for a slant cab I putting together for the G100 roman numeral 2 head that I bought on ebay for $200 last month.
This set up will be identicle to my Sweden set up. Its the balls!
When I called YAMAHA today I told them I would be interested in any of these amps that they may have new or used or what ever I WANT EM!!!

33 Years.
TUBE SCREAMER (original malaysian chip model), CRY BABY WAH, MXR Phase 90, MXR Digital Delay, STRAT, CUSTOM GUITAR.
Check out my website! http:arlowest.com