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Ampeg Gemini 2 amp


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I'd post this in the amp forum, but since I'm not looking for teh br:o :o tal gainz, I figure you may be the better choice. Has anyone ever played through an old Ampeg Gemini 2? I've been looking for an amp with a good clean tone, and I've heard good things about these and the other Ampeg amps. I'd occasionally be running a Tone Bender style fuzz or a Fuzz Face style fuzz through it, but most of my dirt tones will be coming from a clone of a Fender Tweed Deluxe, so I just need a good, somewhat loud clean tone.

 

I've also been looking at building a Deluxe Reverb clone, but these Ampegs seem to be a bit more affordable.

 

Thanks

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I have one of these. They rock for cleans, and take pedals really well! It has a JBL D130F in it, so needless to say, those cleans are quite full and punchy! I've also played through a Gemini I, which had a JBL D120F in it, and it rocked almost the same, but there's something about that 15" speaker that makes the II take my vote. (And this is despite the fact that the Gemini I is cathode biased, vs the Gemini II's fixed bias circuit...)

 

Actually, I was pondering the idea of snagging an old Gemini I chassis off of the bay and putting it in the Gemini II cab! :D But I've done so much maintenance work to the Gemini II circuit that I might as well keep it...

 

Go grab one, you'll see what I mean... :thu:

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Oh, and be prepared to do some work on yours when you get it. Mine had some drifted resistors that threw off the power supply voltages...even still, the B+ is a bit too high. Usually this would be acceptable, but right now, the screen supply is close to the max ratings for a 7591 tube... :bor: Anyway, they rock, and please note that the later ones came with 6L6 tubes instead...I'm not sure what sounds better in these amps, but the 7591s sound awesome!

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  • 2 years later...
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Ok, I'm reviving a 2 and half year old thread, but I just bought an old Ampeg Gemini 2 amp and had a question for any other owners of this amp.

 

My Ampeg must be a bit newer (70's maybe?) because it has stock 6L6 power tubes as opposed to the 7591's that were being discussed in this thread.

 

Can anyone tell me the sonic differences between these tubes, and anything else about this amp? I just picked it up on a whim, it was a great deal. Reverb isn't working which is a huge bummer, but it's in fantastic physical condition.

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Sorry, I don't have a way of getting pix up. It has a flatter black tolex as opposed to the blue-ish check pattern I see on some Ampegs. It also doesn't have the big Ampeg emblem on the front cabinet below the control panel. There doesn't seem to be space for it, the cabinet has a white piping around the front.

 

It also comes with a Jensen Concert 15" speaker, which is pretty cool. I'm trying to figure when this was made. I've read so much about the Ampeg reverb being even better than the Fender (actually, it's labeled 'Echo'), so I was quite disappointed that it's not working.

 

I'm wondering if I should get a replacement 15" speaker and save the Jensen Concert. That has to be worth some money, and a replacement might be sonically better anyway. Eminence Big Ben maybe?

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Sorry, I don't have a way of getting pix up. It has a flatter black tolex as opposed to the blue-ish check pattern I see on some Ampegs. It also doesn't have the big Ampeg emblem on the front cabinet below the control panel. There doesn't seem to be space for it, the cabinet has a white piping around the front.


It also comes with a Jensen Concert 15" speaker, which is pretty cool. I'm trying to figure when this was made. I've read so much about the Ampeg reverb being even better than the Fender (actually, it's labeled 'Echo'), so I was quite disappointed that it's not working.


I'm wondering if I should get a replacement 15" speaker and save the Jensen Concert. That has to be worth some money, and a replacement might be sonically better anyway. Eminence Big Ben maybe?

 

 

Yours is a '67-'68 model. The Big Ben sounds killer in that amp.

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Thanks very much. Did Ampeg change anything in the amp (besides the power tubes) to make this version any less desirable or worse sounding than the earlier version?

 

 

Nothing major - yours was the last of that particular run of amps though.

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