Newer J series Ampeg amps

[shae]

You hear a lot about some of the newer, 10-22watt amps now days but the Ampegs seem to have gone under the radar.
So what's the go? I played one the other week and I was floored with how good this little thing played:

http://www.ampeg.com/products/diamondblueguitar/j20/

Beautiful clarity and some nice gritty tones when dialed in. Has a considerable amount of headroom compared to the Tiny Terror (an alternative to consider, maybe?) and the tremolo sounded well wicked. The lack of EQ annoys me a little but besides that (and a $800 price tag, which isn't too bad considering it is p2p (but still uses PCB's obviously)) I really think these guys need a bit more respect in the guitaring world. Any one have any opinions on the newer range of Ampegs? Specifically the J12 and J20 amps.

[Mike]

considering it is p2p (but still uses PCB's obviously))

Looks like a Turrent Board and flying leads to me.

The workmanship looks outstanding.

[euan]

Hot dog. How much?

[Mike]

J20 (20W, Tremelo) Combo - £589


The J12 doesn't appear to be on sale in UK - or on Ampeg's site. I think it's a reissue of a 1966 amp.

[euan]

Not too bad for a Turret board amp. Made in China I guess? There is some real nice craft going on there to do these amps, same with the Blackstar ones.

[jcyphe]

They're made in Tawain or somehting like that. Way too much money for what they are and where they're made. They look neat though. Vintage Ampegs are still all over the place in America for better prices than these.

[shae]

J20 (20W, Tremelo) Combo - £589


The J12 doesn't appear to be on sale in UK - or on Ampeg's site. I think it's a reissue of a 1966 amp.

Yeah, it is. That's why I ditched the idea of using the 50watt combo as an example, as the 60's versions of these amps go for half the price (but I guess that doesn't help us Aussies and UKers). But yeah, those J-20's look effin' sexy and could very well be a good 'opposite end of the sound spectrum' to say a Tiny Terror or something. I'll try give a more in-depth review by Saturday as the girlfriend and I are broke so instead of going out for beers and city strolls - we're saving money and going to the local guitar store for 8 hours and buying a 6pack for when we get home

One HUGE up for us UKers/Aussies... the power transformers on those things have a 220v tap! So we can buy from the States and without much hassle (depending on your skill level) you can have it ready and roaring for close to nothing (when compared to our local prices).

EDIT: Turretboards... oh here I thought they were PCB. Meh, I'm not much of a gear snob though and for $500-600 second hand, I think they're very do'able.

[Mike]

They're made in Tawain or somehting like that. Way too much money for what they are and where they're made. They look neat though. Vintage Ampegs are still all over the place in America for better prices than these.

Couldn't care less where they're made to be honest. The components used and the quality of that build looks excellent.

At £589 I'm not interested though. That's £300 more than my Tiny Terror was and I generally don't like combos, I'm a head man. (OH ROFFLES)

[jcyphe]

They're made in Tawain or somehting like that. Way too much money for what they are and where they're made. They look neat though. Vintage Ampegs are still all over the place in America for better prices than these.

Couldn't care less where they're made to be honest. The components used and the quality of that build looks excellent.

If a company makes a product in a place where they pay lower wages, I shouldn't pay up the wazoo. Tawain is muchbetter than China though to be fair ins standard of living and wages.

But take the tiny terror, I am not saying there is difference between the TT made in Korea and made in China taht i know of. But there is a difference in the cost of production. So I think that matters. If these people are gonna take advantage of the low wage labor force in China they should atleast pass the savings on to the consumer like Behringer does.

[Mike]

I'm happy with what I paid for that amp. £299 is a fair price for how great it sounds and how well it is built.

If Behringer want to clone it and take that market share then fair enough, but there is no amp on the market that sounds as good as the Tiny Terror to me that costs less at the moment. I am delighted with it.

[Sloan]

I've got that Ampeg VL-1002 from the 90's that's balls to the wall awesome, but it's for liek high-gain stuff.
The reverborockets sound awesome. This dude I know found one for $40 at a pawn shop. I was like WHOA.

[Justin J]

these look an awful lot like the brown princetons. which is pretty much my favorite amp ever. and if you're lucky you can probably get one for around the same price.

there's one on ebay right now, but its minty condition will send it well over a grand.
one of these days i'd like to own one. i should probably do it sooner than later as the prices will only continue to rise.

[Mike]

Good spot. Circuit is probably really similar.

[Justin J]

the vibrato on those princetons is amazing. a local shop has one for $1150, which is way too much to spend on a 15 watt amp. in my opinion.
i guess it's still way cheaper than a lot of boutique stuff, but still.

[mewithoutus]

wow, a,peg is stepping it up. im impressed with the build quality. cant wait to try one out!

[euan]

If that Ampeg is a Princeton copy then that is totally against what Ampeg was about.

[Justin J]

it even has bias-modulating vibrato just like the princeton. i'd like to see the schematic and see how the two compare and also see what that extra preamp tube is for.

[Mike]

it even has bias-modulating vibrato just like the princeton. i'd like to see the schematic and see how the two compare and also see what that extra preamp tube is for.

FX loop driver tube?

edit - scratch that, it's two speaker outputs and a footswitch input on the back

[Justin J]

they have a fake little schematic in the owner's manual that i'm trying to wrap my head around.