Yamaha G50-112 II

I got this amp out of my local pawn shop for $50, only because they couldn't find the pawn ticket. It's turned out to be a very good deal. It sings, it growls, and, most importantly it's mine !!

The most uniquic thing about this amp is the parametric EQ. It allows you to explode your tonality. From Wes Motgomery to Jimi Hendrix and all parts in between. There is no limit to it's capacity, that I have found.

I brought it home from the pawn shop, pulled out the chasis, & lubed the pots. Done deal!! All my amps are reliable, especiality this one.

When you build an amp this good, who needs CS ?

Don't be fooled by it's size or weight, this little amp will cover all bets. It's virtuousity lies in the parametric EQ, and your abilty to exploit it. For such an old solid/state amp, it's got unlimited possibilities.

My Yamaha G50-112II was probably made in the early eighties.
I found it at a Cash Converters store fot 150 bucks. It has two channels and a parametric midrange control with reverb It has footswitch jacks for Channel and Reverb. At first I inspected it for tubes even though I saw only one power switch. I was just hopeing to see another uneducated buyer from the store place such a cool looking amp out on the floor for cheap. Well it was solid state however I was still curious because it looked so well made and attractive, besides I like to experiment. Apparently someone had added an effects loop which I found to be disfunctional. I disassembled the amp to clean it and inspect only to find that the job looked totally neat and logical however it did not work. It has a single steel frame large ceramic magnet 12inch speaker by Yamaha. It was unique sounding for a solid state with a more subtle overdrive than the now common buzz factory sound made popular from metal music. I was also fairly loud. I was really sold when I plugged it into a 412 cabinet and took it home to play around some more. Very gutsy and strong fifty watts. I feel it is either a bit conservative rating or at least capiable of swinging fifty watts down to at least 80 cycles with out too much mudd if you are on the clean channel on about 3 with the master cranked all the way up Now I normally collect tube amps but on occasion I find a solid state that I feel I can't live without. I find that the dirty channel is not my kind of dirt when cranked and it kind of reminds me of my single volume only tube amps when they are cranked only I can use this amp at a much lower level thanks to the master volume control. It sounds best with my multi effects on the clean channel and on occasion a hard buzz clipping of the Boss Metal Zone with the Boss pedal distortion all the way down and the level up two thirds I would switch from the amps clean channel to the overdrive channel during a lead to give the lead tone more dirt and then back to the clean with metal zone on the rythem. I used it as a bedroom practice amp mainly and especially for my keyboards and to practice my bass through. I found it to be really great for the Acoustic with multi effects.
It has a great clean sound and commen to solid state is dry and clinical sounding however it sounds a bit sweeter with just a touch of reverb and even without any reverb it seems to have more headroom and openess than many other solid states even modern ones utilizing mosfet technology. If you really like reverb it has a great full size accutronics unit in it that becomes quite lush and certainly springy when cranked up. I really thought its preamp out function would make a channel switcher out of one of my old tube heads that does not have a master volume and considered the Yamaha G50 II to have a bluesy overdrive that when coupled to the reverb would pass for rythem and blues style. I installed a 30 watt 4 ohm Celestian in it which gave it a looser feel and more nasty overdrive. I recommend the origonal 8 Ohm speaker for clarity or better yet a Marshall 1960 Lead with four 100 watt Celestians Solid states sound better clean in my opinion with distortion occuring in the pre-amp as opposed to the main power section. The 4 ohm 30 watt Celestian was not to my taste when cranked but improved the bedroom aplication of acheiving that main power amp brown sound similar to old marshall plexi tone only with less noise and again not as open sounding as tubes on the overtones and high end. I am by no means a blues player but I do like goofing around on old tube Fender amps with reverb and or tremelo effects. I thought I would fly across the country with it if that says anything about how well built I thought it to be. I found someone who really needed it and traded it for a peice of crap ampeg ( note SLM Ampeg ) not all ampegs are crap. I kind of regretted it but he was so pleased that I gave him the sound he was looking for and when I moved I was given the 100watt version of this amp which seems nearly identical only with more headroom. I really like these amps. I recommend the RCA cable upgrade for the reverb tank and to clean the pots. The origonal speaker in this one was a blown and corroded Cast Frame Yamaha. The reverb tank was broken as well. It was generally abused and filthy however after I cleaned the pots and replaced the reverb tank and cable it is like new and I use the amp with a G&L strat or a weird ZZ top looking washburn from the eighties through 412 80 Watt Celestian's with a Yahama Magicstomp multi and boss loop station. I also play my keyboards through the second channel set to its cleanest setting.

I used the amp mainly for bedroom practice and now the new owner uses it for recording. It does sound cool as a blues amp for small clubs or with the preamp out it can power slave amps and mixing boards.
My music is experimental and it has been a useful and worthwhile investment. The clean channel will gradually distort until it reaches a mild overdrive when cranked all the way up. The dirty channel is very sensitive to adjustments as you aproach its maximum setting and will become muddy if you are not careful unless it is a desired effect. The push pull pots on the tone controls are useful in finding your tone and it varies how I use them with each situation.
In my case there are too many to describe other than I usually use the fat pull switch to beef up my acoustic's cheap thin piazo bridge pickup and leave the brite swith in with the trebal around one third to half way up depending on volume. I may turn it down as I play at louder volumes because my acoustic is a bit nasal sounding and the amp is eager to produce high notes at ear peircing levals. I generally do the opposite for the electric with the fat switch in and the brite out or activated and the trebal down to one or two as it becomes really clear sounding and smooths out like this otherwise get some ear plugs and watch your listeners faces melt in horror as their ears explode.
This amp is not a childs toy and requires some time to get to know will not satisfy metal players unless they use a stompbox or multi effects distortion. As far as the midrange control it is totally professional parametric and may confuse those who do not understand how to add or boost a selectable frequency as it also may affect where you may set other controls to acheive your tone however if you take the time it is one of this amps best features besides its overall brute quality and unique clean overdrive. Hey it looks sharp too. The metal corners look almost silver and do not corrode as much as others.
Cool lettering and knobs. I really missed it until I got my 100watt version of the same amp. I rely mostly on tube amps to get most of my tones but this solid state is multipurpose and unique.

I think I had a problem with the RCA cable on the 50 only after I disassembled it. I just pushed it until it worked again.
I replaced the one on my 100. They both have the same preamp and as I stated the 100 was a bit beat up when I got it and now it works flawless and quietly after cleaning. It looks to have been used often and was donated from a neighboring band. It still sounds strong after as I would guess at least five to ten years of continuous service and just being in existance for eighteen to twenty five or so years.
I am not worried about it crapping out any time soon allthough I may upgrade the main power caps just because they tend to dry out and become leaky in all amplifers as the get old.

I am the support. I have sent a rebate to Yahama for the Magic Stomp and received it within the time alloted however this is my only experience. These amps have long been discontinued. Someone else once told me about an Old Yamaha Bass head that he wish he haden't gotten rid of. I do not even know if Yahama makes guitar or bass heads now.
It is of my opinion that the late seventies and early to mid eighties Yahama had some quality offerings and if you find one chances are it will be cheap and worth every penny if not more, buy it.

I only gave it away because I will not give away my tube amps and I had too much gear to lug across the country and there happened to be a more powerful version of the same amp waiting for me across the country. The G 100 It is certainly an amp with its own sound which is nice for solid state if that is what you are looking for. If you can not afford tubes and want to get a little closer especially if your recording on cheap equipment that will not notice. I dont know how to describe it other than it sounds a bit responsive and dirty brown even. It still can not hold a candle to a real 50's fender bassman or plexi in real life or to a high quality recording however it is fairly quiet on noise and loud enough to gig the blues and blows away the tone of marshall valvestate type amps that even use a single preamp tube sometimes. Although it is nice to power passive guitar pickups with a hot preamp tube real tone is carried out in main power tubes and responsiveness comes from simple design with minimal tone circuit feedback. For a Solid state it is a 10 in Value especially since they will all be used and knowbody seems to know what a workhorse these are. As a tone machine it is neat and versatile with the right pedals however it is a toy if you are playing bluesy material and are looking for an amp that can help you make your guitar talk or really cry like and old Fender can. It is good for Metal or lo fi 80's sound pop rock with cheap boss Ds1 or nasty Metal zone pedals
It sound the most alive with a Digitech or better effects processer but hey what dosent?

Basic features are sufficently covered by other reviewers.

I purchased this amp new in 1980. This is a US made Yamaha; assembled at Yamaha's Pro Audio Products Division in Georgia. Wish I would have had the foresight & $$$ to by 4 of them.

IMPORTANT: The snap-in electrolytic capacitors used in the power supply and output stages should be changed every 8-10 years. If not, the amp will suffer from hum issues and will produce "ghost notes" in the lower registers.

My amp guru/tech installed 4700uf 100v caps when he replaced the stock 2200uf 160v cap's in those locations. With more than DOUBLE the stock capacitance in each location, the entire frequency spectrum is clean, clear and huge and dynamics are unrestrained.

Individual & chord note(s) definition, attack dynamics and post attack nuances are exceptional....almost surgical.

I also added "pre-amp out/power amp in" jacks (the Yamaha Service Manual's PCB layout drawing is so easy to follow that a school kid could do it)that serves as a fixed-level series effects loop. Time domain effects and compressor/limiter circuits should be used post pre-amp at this "break point" for best performance.

I've replaced the stock Yamaha speaker with an EVM 12L Series II.
The increased efficientcy and extended bandwith of the EV allows this amp to get INCREDIBLEY loud (if the need arises) while retaining the sound of the player's technique, guitar and effects. The high frequency extention of the EVM 12L (it goes out past 7KHz as opposed to the 5KHz or 5.5 Khz limit of MOST guitar spkrs) also may account for the success I've enjoyed with the overdrive channel (more on this topic below).

The only "sorry" point of the stock amp was the lackluster earth-toned grill cloth Yamaha used with this series. That was an easy thing to fix.

Weight wise; it's a reall ballbuster to haul around with that EV in it.

Used with a 1978 Ibanez Artist 2816 (I'm the original owner) w/a Duncan Jazz in the neck and a JB in the bridge. I use a Vintage big-box Rat for distortion/OD & ART or Lexicon digital effects processors for time domain effects. I'm called upon to perform varried styles.

A truly "hi fi" or broad bandwith amp. I can cover all the bases I need with this amp. The global TRUE parametric EQ section can take you from Brent Mason style juicy Tele clean to outlandish metal scoops. I've yet to find a sound the Yamaha can't "EMULATE".

As a matter of personal preference, I remove all manufacturers' logo's from my amps. Over the years I've been approached innumerable times at gigs by curious fellow gear-heads wanting to know what brand of amp I'm using and what brand & type of tubes I'm using to get "that" sound; which is often described to me as the sound they've been searching for. I wish I would have carried a camera to record their expressions when I tell them it's a solid-state Yamaha amp. 90+% of the time, other guitarists mistake its sound for some heretofore unknown boutique tube amp.

It's dead quiet on the "normal" or "clean" channel even at extreme volume settings. Clean channel is truly clean & punchy up through intollerable SPL's. Although I use HB PUPS, they exhibit STUNNING CHIME through the clean channel.

Contrary to most other reviews of Yamaha's G-Series II amps, I find the "quality" of the distortion to be very versatile. It is, however, totally dependent on the use of the "pull fat" feature on that channel's volume control, the settings of the parametric EQ section and the OUALITY of the signal presented to it. Superior quality HB's in a good instrument will drive it to a thick liquid crunch. Single coil PUPS, however, do the "weasle tone thang" in this cahannel.

It WILL reveal the true sound of the instrument & front end effects...flaws & all. I no longer use the amps OD channel. There's more on this subject to follow.

FYI, the "distortion" channel has a topography similar to a vintage IBANEZ Tube Screamer. Both channels employ the coveted JRC4558D op amps in their pre-amp sections. Of course it has a bit of hiss when the OD channel is cranked...but MUCH LESS than other amps I've used.

In honesty, & being a SS amp, it will not produce the desired "on the verge of breakup" sound. After auditioning scores of OD/Distortion pedals, I settled upon a Vintage big-box Rat and use it ONLY through the clean channel for my OD & Distortion. It's a marriage arranged in Heaven.

With the gain set at 10:00 on the Rat and with my GTR's volume rolled back, the RAT can mimmic the "verge of brealup" sound to a "T". With the GTR's volume wide open and the same settings on the RAT, it sounds and REACTS exactly like a dimed 50 watt Plexi, but without the spurrious noises and reliability issues inherent in a vintage Plexi. The high frequency extention of the amp/spkr requires judicious use the filter control on the RAT. My filter control is set almost fully clockwise.

CAVEAT EMPTOR to those using cheaply made instruments with lousy PUPS and/or using less than fine quality effect units:

This is the most transparent amp I've ever used. The final sound outputted through the speaker will reveal the flaws and/or stregnths of your gear and playing technique. To summarize; if it sounds bad...it AIN'T the amp Bub.

Anecdotally, A few years ago I bought a Rivera R55-12 tube amp in hopes of updating my rig. The Rivera gigged a few times and was sold so I could re-deploy the Yamaha. I am not criticizing Rivera amps as they're probably the finest production amp on the market and Paul & staff are JUST THE BEST. It was an exquisite superior quality amp, but its clean channel just wasn't in the same league as the Yamaha. That is not an 'absolute' observation, just my opinion as it relates to m

Oh that wascally weverb section. Other reviewers cite this as a known issue with this series of amps. I use outboard FX so this is not an issue with me, nor does it otherwise affect the operation or performance of the amp.

I have also (after 24+ years of regular gigs & use) had to replace the input jacks. The cheezy plasic enclosed 1/4 in jacks cracked and have been subsequently replaced with open frame Switchcraft jacks. Relatively advanced assembly/disassembly, schematic reading and soldering skills are required for this.

This amp has never given me cause for concern nor has it ever let me down during a gig. I NEVER gig with a backup. Jeeze, don't we carry enough stuff already?

Ordered the service manual from Yamaha about 12 years ago. I recieved a quick & corteous response from Yamaha's tech's. What more could one ask for?

I've been playing professionaly (defined as: for $$$$$) full or part-time for over 40 years. Like legions of other "experienced" players, if it was made, I've probably used it.

This amp keeps returning to my backline, even after several fruitless attempts to "update" my rig. It's my "first call" or "go-to" amp.

I am currently constucting a "topbox" cab for the amp so I can a.) reduce the "each piece" weight of my gigging rig and b.) so I can use it with a variety of speaker configurations, including a 3-way full range cab for use w/my Taylor 714 acoustic/electric. Yes Virginia, it's hi-fi enough to EXCELL at that too.....thanks exclusively to the parametric EQ section.

This amp is not for novices. It is highly recomended for the experienced player.

If you: value dynamics & finesse over sheer, brute stregnth volume, are "prouder" of what your hands have learned to do as opposed to the size or brand of your amp, THIS amp is for you...the PLAYER. It WILL let your audience hear the true you.

I believe this amp was made in 1979 or 1980. Great for any style of playing, sounds great with my multi-effect pedal (digi-tech). Parametric EQ allows amp to function as a bass amp (or at least sound like one). HUGE range of tones/sounds. I bought it used for a little over $150. I thought it was tube, but it's solid state. Sounds tube quality. Has a real reverb tank, hit it and hear it roar...or make noise. Really cool. Many additional inputs in back (out puts too). Has a yamaha 12 inch speaker, I believe it's able to push anywhere from 50-100 watts. 2 chanels, clean and distortion. I've used it live and it sounds great. I use this everywhere I need it. Plus, it's incredibly durable. Fell on concrete and STILL works the same as it always had.

I use a Fender Satin Strat and a Ibanez 350QS(or something like that)
with this amp. Both sound really good. The ibanez has it's own problems, doesn't go too well with this amp, buzzes a lot, but fenders are fine with it. Usually isn't noisy at all. Only clean and distortion. Distortion isn't too heavy, it's just right. Clean channel is hard to distort, incredible tone. I wish they'd kept up this model's production :(

This amp is more reliable than any modern amp. I've used it tons of times at gigs without any back up at all. I'll be surprised the day it breaks down. Good luck finding one of these (if you do buy it, they go pretty cheap).

Uhhh....it was made in the 70's, don't count on getting much support.

I own only this amp, no others. I've been playing it for almost 3 years (and the previous owner abused it...probably since the 80s, still sounds good) and still sounds how it did when I bought it
You can't hate anything about this amp. This amp could use another speaker. Not for loudness, just for the tone, it's louder than it needs to be, but that's a good thing. This amp can never be replaced. It's amazing.

i bought this amp new around 1980, so it was built at that time.

i use it for blues to hard rock, 60s/70s style

this is a solid state amp with a fet pre amp. it has a clean and an overdrive/distortion channel, a three stage eq + an parametric eq (very nice!) and a spring reverb. there's a foot switch for changing channels and the reverb. you can have a mid boost ("fat") and a trebel boost ("bright") using push pull pots for gain and treble, respectively. parametric eq and reverb interact, so you get good reverb sound only when setting the eq at low values, i.e. filtering some frequency out. i do use it that way, but is that the way it's ment to be?

it has 50 w rms and a 12" speaker. it's not too loud, as it is solid state after all.

blade strat (SSS) / epiphone lp special plus (HH, swithable SS)/ ibanez 72 telecaster thinline (custom mod HH) => distortion (jacques fuseblower / ibanez mostortion / marshall shredmaster / marshall drivemaster) => other stomp boxes => GA50-112 II

well, you see where the problem is: i mostly do use the clean channel only, as the overdrive is muddy. it is okay, when you keep the gain below 11 o'clock (slight crunch, sometime usefull for rhythm play), but as you go above that you loose all the bright tones your guitar produces, really sounds like having the speaker hidden under a mattress. the clean channel is excellent for a solid state amp, so with a good overdrive or distortion box it really does the job.

never had a real problem in 25 years, but used it at home only. the pots need some cleaning, but they are really difficult to get at. it sure is sturdy enough for gigging without a backup.

never dealt with them

i have been playing for over 30 years now, most of the time using this amp. until the early 90s i used it without effects, mostly using it's built in overdrive channel (how could I?). then i bought a marshall valvestate 8080, the really sucked, used it just as a preamp for the yamaha for some time! i gave it away and kept the yamaha on its own. the clean channel is really a winner, and with a good distortion, e.g. the drivemaster, you can have a lot of fun with it. i would certainly buy another one at a reasonable price, if this one were stolen, but they are really difficult to find these days.

Features: about an 8. The amp has an a/b channel, 3 band eq and a parametric 3 knob eq, and a 12 inch speaker. It was made in the late 70's-early 80's. I can't tell. It has a 4 digit serial number, in the 3000's. t weighs about 50-60lbs, and has a true 50 watts of oomph. Not stellar on the dirt, but it has some. The Parametric EQ is very nice, and it has a direct out. If I wanted this amp today, it would probably have several things I don't need, and cost about 8 times more.

I'm using it with a Tokai flying V with 'buckers (the originals, but then the originals sounded better than all the other guitars in the music shop I worked in when I got it)and it sounds better than the other amps I have recently played through, of the solid state variety. the beast sounds good and clean, but it's not a tube amp, and doesn't have a tube sound. Put my Hafler T2 preamp on it, and it makes them both sound better than each one could do individually. By itself, the dirty channel has a decent overdrive, but those who like transistor distortion will probably like a rat pedal better. the clean channel sounds good enough, and it's well suited to let the effects boxes do the coloring. If you are using a stomp box on this thing, you get nicely effected tone. I have an RP-100 that sounds great through this amp. I heard tones from this amp, stompbox, and preamp that I could never hope to get going direct to the mixer board. At loud volumes, the clean and dirty channels are great!

Consider this: I bought the thing for 40 bucks after a quick demo at a yard sale, with scratchy pots and noticing the power and clean tone. I bought it knowing there was work to do to get it in shape. I cleaned the pots(which I expected to need a total replacement of all the pots), replaced a couple of jacks, and the thing plays good as new. The only issue I presently have with this dinosaur, is I need to find a value for a resistor on the direct out jack. It apparently got burned out ( my guess, the speakers got plugged into the wrong hole. 10K ohms is much different than 8 ohms, and that would pull a lot of current. I pulled this thing from the brink of neglect to become a nice player. I know it's at least 20 years old. I used to have a B100-115 II and it played forever as well.

Warranty is long gone on this thing.

I've been playing over 20 years, I have several combo amps (a vox (my late granddad's Pathfinder from the late 60's,) a Mansfield 2x12 tube amp, and a tiny crate 15 watter. I think I may be getting rid of a couple of these because this thing rocks massively. If it was stolen, I would be massively bummed, and look for another yamaha. This thing is not light, has no effects loop, and the only onboard signal processing is a reverb, but this thing is loud, clean, clear, and the parametric works like a champ. I'd have to compare this amp to more expensive amps built today on construction alone. I think these amps are sleepers for sure, especially in terms of combo amps suitable for massive effects. Any amp that's capable of surviving that long has a good chance of lasting another 20.

My Yamaha G50-112II was made in 1979. Has 2 channels, Solid State, Foot switch for channer switching & spring reverb cut out. Parametric EQ & 12" speaker. 50 Watt RMS output. Optional 2nd speaher jack (Watch out for feedback) and a direct out jack for mixing boards. My amp has been used for 6 string guitars, 4 string bass & as a keyboard amp on ocassion. I'd like more of a reverb & I'm experementing with the stock unit. You can get more crunch out of the B channel's distortion if you're somewhat knowledgable with Electronics by opening up the Cover on the heat sink & playing with the 2 adjustable potentiometers. One if turned too high will cause the distortion to clip even at low volume.

Telecaster, Strat, Gibson SG, Guild, Ibanez & Jackson gutiars on it. Great for Nearly any guitar. I've used Digital effects racks through both channels & keep my regular selection of foot pedals with this amp. The pedals I keep for this particular amp are a Ibanez FL-9 Flanger, Boss DD-3 Digital Delay, Turbo Rat Distortion pedal Used for Channel-B enhancement (Sounds like junk through Channel-A), Dunlop Cry baby pedal & Ernie Ball Volume pedal.

The only problem I've has are the typical scratchy pods that Cleaned up on he 1st cleaning in over 20 years & the RCA cable for the reverb was heading south so I replaced it with a Pheonix Gold 2' RCA cable.

I'll never part with this workhorse. It's been my most dependable amp & has never ever let me down.