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Topic: Ampeg Gemini II |
Randy Owens
From:
West Central Indiana, USA
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Posted 10 Nov 2016 3:28 pm |
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I stumbled across one of these amps. A friend bought it at a yard sale and gigged with it once or twice before retiring it to his basement. He said that a serial number search revealed that his Gemini II was built in 1966. Even though it is on wheels, he said "It weighs a ton and it's just too big to lug around." He did say that it sounded great with his 6 string electric guitars.
Have any of you used one of these for steel? With a 15" speaker and an all-tube 30 watts, it is sort of interesting. There are inputs for guitar and accordion of all things and is covered in a dark blue tolex.
Is this worth having @ around $300 or is it not worth bother?
Thanks all!
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2003 Mullen Royal Precision, Walker Stereo Steel, Ampeg G-15, Telonics FP-100 |
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Ben Waligoske
From:
Denver, CO
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Posted 10 Nov 2016 7:43 pm
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I think vintage Ampegs remain one of the best values in tube amps around. I own the younger brother of the Gemini II, a late 60s GV-22 2x12, and although it has neither a mid control nor steel specific speakers, I can easily get a nice steel tone out of it. I also own a B25B which is very much like a Fender Bassman, and even that works for steel with the right drivers.
$300 is a very nice price too if it's in good working order. There are several up for sale online for twice that currently... Even if you don't take to it, you wouldn't lose on a resale...
Especially with something like a JBL 130 or Altec 418 in there, I think it would be excellent. |
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Chris Boyd
From:
Leonia,N.J./Charlestown,R.I.
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Posted 11 Nov 2016 5:18 am
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Great amps and well worth the 300.00... As Ben mentioned,replacing the 15" speaker (probably has a Jensen Concert series or CTS in it now) with a JBL or my favorite..an EV SRO coffee can ceramic 15" will greatly beef up that amp.. I've used a '66 Gemini II for guitars and still have its brother..a Gemini VI along with a bunch of other 60's Ampegs...they were manufactured in Linden,N.J. As a Jersey kid in the 60's,many of us played Ampegs as they were plentiful and cheaper than Fender amps... highly underrated in my opinion and a great value !! Post a picture if you can and I can tell you more.
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https://www.reverbnation.com/bigredandtheresonators |
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Randy Owens
From:
West Central Indiana, USA
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Posted 11 Nov 2016 5:48 am
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You guys pretty much confirmed my suspicion that it might make a nice amp to use. I just saw the owner a few minutes ago. I'll ask him if he has a picture of it. We did look at some of them on reverb.com and he pointed out that his speaker looks like the speaker in one of the pictures that has a bell over the magnet and says "Concert" on it. He also saw how much they are selling for while we were looking at the pictures. He's at the "I'll let you know" stage right now and I spoke for it if he decides to sell and we agree on a fair price.
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2003 Mullen Royal Precision, Walker Stereo Steel, Ampeg G-15, Telonics FP-100 |
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Chris Boyd
From:
Leonia,N.J./Charlestown,R.I.
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Posted 11 Nov 2016 5:59 am
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Sounds promising Randy. It may need servicing,so keep that in mind. I sent mine for servicing to Jess Oliver who was the VP of Ampeg and the inventor of the B15 etc..he has since passed but was a wealth of info and great man. Good luck !
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https://www.reverbnation.com/bigredandtheresonators |
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Carl Mesrobian
From:
Salem, Massachusetts, USA
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Posted 13 Nov 2016 8:09 am
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Keep in mind that if an item is for sale on the web, it is not necessarily what it's worth. Some sellers are pretty romantic about valuation - also the "sold" price sometimes reflects the demand of a buyer who never sees such gear in his shopping area. $300 certainly is not expensive for that amp - I suggest you use reverb.com only as a guide. also you should make sure the tubes are available and reasonably priced - if it needs a 7199, prepare to pay a lot for that tube. Ampeg sometimes used some oddball tubes. Just be an educated buyer 
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--carl
"The better it gets, the fewer of us know it." Ray Brown |
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b0b
From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
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Posted 13 Nov 2016 8:37 am
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Well worth $300. It's a good amp. Reverb.com puts it in the $500-$700 price range.
We used to have one when I was a teenager, before I started playing steel. I remember it had a rich low end and that the tremelo was amazing!
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-𝕓𝕆𝕓- (admin) - Robert P. Lee - Recordings - Breathe - D6th - Video |
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Randy Owens
From:
West Central Indiana, USA
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Posted 13 Nov 2016 11:34 am
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| b0b wrote: |
Well worth $300. It's a good amp. Reverb.com puts it in the $500-$700 price range.
We used to have one when I was a teenager, before I started playing steel. I remember it had a rich low end and that the tremelo was amazing! |
I see the owner of this amp almost every day at work. He stops by and asks how I'm doing on my PSG journey and answers any music theory questions that I may have for that day. We'll talk about the amp some more and if negotiations are productive, I'll get him to look in there and see what tubes it has as that will be a determining factor in whether or not I want to buy it. If I am able to buy it, he'll probably have me lug it up the basement stairs  Yeah, I'd do that!
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2003 Mullen Royal Precision, Walker Stereo Steel, Ampeg G-15, Telonics FP-100 |
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Bruce Derr
From:
Lee, New Hampshire, USA
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Posted 13 Nov 2016 12:38 pm
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| Carl Mesrobian wrote: |
| Ampeg sometimes used some oddball tubes. Just be an educated buyer |
Ha, no kidding... My old Reverberocket uses one of those Compactron triple triodes, 6BK11, impossible to find and very expensive if you do.
Looks like the Gemini II came in two variations, one using 7591s in the output (easy to find, reasonably priced aftermarket versions are available) and another using good ol' 6L6GCs. Both use a 7199 as the phase inverter. Not rare but sometimes a bit pricey.
I have fond memories of the Gemini II I used for guitar back in the mid-70s. It sounded a bit dark with the big Jensen but I bet a JBL would have been great in there.
I've always had a soft spot for old Ampeg amps. They were well made and easy to service. They even pasted the schematic inside the back panel. Very courteous to technicians! |
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chuck lemasters
From:
Jacksonburg, WV
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Posted 14 Nov 2016 6:16 am
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| I had the single channel version of this amp, the Gemini VI, when I was in high school. Would love to have it back again. Be gentle with the Jensen speaker as it will not handle the full output of the amp. |
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Chris Boyd
From:
Leonia,N.J./Charlestown,R.I.
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Posted 14 Nov 2016 9:28 am
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Chuck..I have a Gemini VI with RCA blackplate 6L6's if you're interested.Great amp...I think it's a '67...has the black tolex,not the checkered blue. Had it serviced some years ago..has the Jensen Concert series 15" that I believe Weber reconed but I'd have to check...8 condition and sounds superb.. I also have a really cool Ampeg B12XT which is a large portaflex totally gone over by Todd Sharp at Nashville Amp Service...has the original dolly and footswitch too..a very good amp for pedal steel with original Jensen concert 12's....Too many heavy amps for a 63 year old...
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https://www.reverbnation.com/bigredandtheresonators |
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chuck lemasters
From:
Jacksonburg, WV
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Posted 15 Nov 2016 6:08 am
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| Chris...also too heavy for a 65 year old...I want the amp..and my youth back |
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Carl Kilmer
From:
East Central, Illinois
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Posted 15 Nov 2016 6:20 am
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Randy, I would stick with an amplifier made for steel guitar.
Lucky
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aka "Lucky Kay"--Custom built Rittenberry SD10 3X5, Walker S/S, NV-112, and Hilton Pedal |
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Chris Boyd
From:
Leonia,N.J./Charlestown,R.I.
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Bob Carlucci
From:
Candor, New York, USA
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Posted 15 Nov 2016 4:25 pm
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I Love old Ampegs, and would grab that one in a heartbeat @$300!,,, However, IMHO they are voiced wrong for steel at gig volumes.. Tried them several times over the years, and they just sound "off" with pedal steel. Kind of "tubby".. They have great reverb, but again the reverb is odd sounding for steel to my ears.. They might be a better steel amp with a JBL or something instead of a Jensen, but I dunno, there are better vintage tube amps out there for pedal steel.. Nothing beats Fender amps for a vintage tube amp for pedal steel. Old Ampegs don't cut it.. Never saw a pro use one, even an amateur come to think of it,even in the old days.
Buy it, enjoy it, and plug the steel in once in a while.. You certainly can try it on gigs, but I would make a bet you won't use it long.. They don't have the power, and make a lot of odd sounds when pushed hard with a steel.. The preamps seem to not like what a pedal steel pickup tries to ram down its throat... bob
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I'm over the hill and hittin'rocks on the way down!
no gear list for me.. you don't have the time...... |
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