1966 Ampeg Reverberocket ll
Ok, here’s the little devil here! Ampeg’s Reverberocket ll from ’66. I think I paid about $400 or so for this 1 X 12 combo about 5 years ago. Since I’m always keen on the trivia aspect, I should point out that “Ampeg” stands for “Amplified Peg” – a pickup for the upright bass – this was the 1940s… but you probably knew that! It was the company’s first product. But I digress…
Anyway, this little combo, which looks WAY cooler than a Black Face Deluxe Reverb, also, IMHO, sounds cooler! When I first got this little Buck Rogers inpired (well, the “LOOK” rather than the guts, we can assume) combo amp, I also had both a 1964 Fender Deluxe Reverb as well as a ’65 of the same model in the house. I have to tell you that while Leo was saving dough by buying particle board pressed wood, Ampeg was putting together very high quality little amps that included plywood cabinets… take a look…
Back of The Reverberocket… a thing of beauty!
Now isn’t that checkerboard Tolex just an eye-catcher!
Anyway, my point is that there are alot of these little “sleeper” amps around – just killer amps that are “off the radar”, that absolutely kill! My pal PF (Ok, you figured it out… Mr. Peek Frean) just picked up a Gibson 1 X 12 Lancer Combo – and there are lots of other killers out there! This Reverberocket ll has a wonderful open tone, that, I feel, is more inspiring to me than the aforementioned Deluxe Reverb… the Ampeg ‘ll get nasty or stay clean, it has a glorious Reverb… just awesome. It’s around 20 watts – a really BIG sounding 20 watts, I might add! It has 2 weird power tubes – a little like EL84s – that are rare, but findable. I think they are “7591A”s. I put my favourite 12 in there – a Celestion G12H30. If you didn’t experiment with this little beast, you might dismiss it – not all amps work the same – and this one has a few of it’s own quirks. For example, it’s not voiced like a Fender. Set it up like a Fender and you’ll shatter glass. But roll the treble back to 1/4 and it’s gorgeous. Another thing I discovered is that while this amp sounds magnificent through the “Guitar” input, I think it sounds even better through the “Accordion” input!!! A little more gain and richness. That’s hilarious to me! OK I’m a bit weird… So in closing, how ’bout a pic of the “Control Panel”? A look and feel that Buck Rogers himself would be most comfortable with.
A look and feel that would do Buck Rogers proud!