1970 Ampeg AC 12
Does anyone know much about this amp? Is it comparable to the Blues Junior (which the craigslist seller says is true)? This lady was supposed to sell me the Blues Jr (but realized it was broken :x ). and then suggested this instead. Long story short, a google search brought up nil and I'm curious....She's asking for $400.
Thanks in advance for the help!
Ben
I think you need to contact her and have her look for another model number, as I don't recall any Ampeg model or model-series using that type of desgnation. There was an Ampeg B-12, which was one of the PortaFlex series of flip-top amps for bass and guitar.
Cheers!
Strat
She confirmed; AC 12. THis is weird. Anyone else know what the heck she's talking about?
no ref of any ampeg "AC"s anywhere i looked.
here's a small list of some links from the gearheads forum, that may connect you with more knowledgeable people
http://www.ggjaguar.com/ampeg.htm
http://www.ampegv4.com
http://members.aol.com/bluemuse/ampeg.html
http://home.rochester.rr.com/piazza/index.html
#4491....
It's an electric accordion amp. Yes, that's what I said.
From Gregg Hopkins' book, Ampeg, The Story Behind The Sound:
(re: 1970)
"Though Ampeg was establishing itself as a maker of amps for
rock as well as jazz, it gave the electric accordionist one last
amp with the new all-tube AC-12. This was a 1x12 single-
channel 20 watt amp with reverb and tremolo. It was powered
by a pair of 7591As and had a 12AXY, 6U10, and 12DW7 in
the preamp section. The amp flopped and was discontinued by
the end of 1970. Though the accordion amp market had all but
disappeared, Ampeg still offered the stereo string bass pickup
and five-mic accordion pickup.
Ampeg surely knew that an accordion amp in 1970 would like-
ly be a white elephant, so it covered its bets by recycling the
AC-12 circuit to derive the GU-12, which was identical except
that it did not have a negative-feedback loop-- giving it greater
harmonic distortion. The GU-12 was marketed as a guitar
amplifier and essentially took the place of Ampeg's other sin-
gle channel 1x12 amp, the Rocket II. "
It will be expensive to retube, I'd think. $60 just for a new pair of JJ 7591As; $80 if you go with E-H. Offer $150 for the amp and see what happens. Might make a nice low-gain electric guitar amp, or an acoustic amp. If she thinks she can get more for it, tell her good luck.
"Everybody got to elevate from the norm."
Wow, Great work Slej!
#4491....
The AC12 is a great low wattage amp, as long as you don't need any headroom and can play at lower volume. They break up fairly easily and have a dark, warm character. Mine had a lovely speaker that had a very smooth brown tone, with nice overtones but not a lot of treble clarity. Great amp for use with effects. Before using it I'd have it looked at by a good tube amp tech, probably has a few old filter caps that will need replaced for optimum tone. If acertain caps are bad they can damage other components, so don't power it up if it's been idle for long.
They break up fairly easily
Interesting! I wouldn't associate that with an accordion amp! :)
"Everybody got to elevate from the norm."
Keep in mind that pickups on accordions do not generally put out a lot of signal compared to most guitar pickups. If you are pushing the preamp section harder breakup will occur earlier. That being said, there was a preamp tube mod to change the value to a 12AU7. That may have contributed to the breakup.
