vintage ampeg gemini I

[StringKing7]

theres this abandoned 1960's vintage ampeg gemini I in my friends basement, that i can probably buy off his pop. ...but is it worth it? the condition is far from perfect. its missing a tube, the footswitch is wrecked, the speaker was swapped with some pyle driver thing- which after research i gather is a car subwoofer? the tolex is filthy and torn to {censored} and the backplate is missing.

as for the sound, it sound pretty good. warm cleans and a pretty cool tremolo channel, although i dont think ill be using that too much. its got 2 inputs on each channel, one for guitar, and one accordion. it gets distorted unless i back the volume on my guitar cus it has humbuckers, but overall i think it sounds nice. im no good at describing sound.

 

i looked and searched around the net and all the ampeg gemini I's ive seen have a checkerboard tolex and a brown grill cloth. this one on the other hand has black tolex and a silver grill cloth - and has the ampeg logo(which is falling off by the way) is on the top left hand corner of the grill as opposed to dead center on the others ive seen. ill post pics when i can, but my question is should i fix this amp up- (speaker swap, new tubes, repairs)- and how much would it run me you think? i will probably take it to my local shop cause i dont really know how to repair {censored}.

 

i hate letting a piece of vintage gear rot away and collect dust. wat do i do?

[StringKing7]

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[StringKing7]

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[The_Pin]

It's lookin like a real old question here but for posterity I'll answer it in case there are others interested. I have a 1966 Ampeg Gemini 1 (G-12), and I just had it completely restored to original specs and back into 100% working order. Took it to The Music Place in West Berlin, NJ where their amp tech did a damn fantastic job.

 

All said, it cost me $485.00 for the repair. This included a total re-Cap, some resistor replacements, 2 new JJ 7591 tubes in the power amp, a new Sylvania 6CG7 tube in the preamp. (The 3 12AX7's and the 7199 preamp tubes are still original '65 Ampeg stock and in great shape.) Pots were ALL cleaned and are completely quiet upon adjustment. A 3-prong power cord was installed along with all new knobs and nice leather handle. The reverb tank and tremolo unit were also shot so I had them replaced as well. I thought it was a sweet tone before the repair, now this thing is an insanely beautiful tone. I could not be happier! It still has an original Jensen 12" speaker dated 1964, I def need to sub it out. Jensen sounds great but I can't risk blowing it. I'm putting in an Emi Maverick 12" FDM speaker, looks like it will be a nice fit for the Gem I.

 

I would put this guy up against any amp in the clean tone department. Ampeg founder Everett Hull was a jazz bassist and these Gemini amps were designed for jazz guitarists. If you're looking for high gain, you should look elsewhere. If you're looking for clean tone with a nice reverb and tremolo, it's a beauty. Worth every penny to rebuild imo. One day it will belong to my son, and then hopefully to his son. Sounds like a million bucks. Keep the Dumble lol, I'm good with the Gemini 1 (G-12).

[The_Pin]

Forgot to mention maintenance, as far as cleaning the tolex Fantastik works great to get the grit off. I know it sounds crazy but i used "Black Magic" brand "Tire Wet". It has plasticizers in it and the tolex just drinks it up. It's not super glossy but it gives it that deep, dark clean glossy shine new tolex has. It also lasts quite awhile so only needs to be applied maybe twice a year tops.

 

Some folks use Armor All but Black Magic is way better for shine and bringing plastic and rubber based materials back to life. These are great amps and are not as well known as Fenders, marshalls, etc.. you can find some good deals on Ampeg's on CL or ebay. Its a sleeper brand. You're not paying for the nameplate, just the tone.

[joep229]

I have one of these too. Do you have any pics?

[Razsan]

You're not in Richmond VA by any chance...