Product Description

1969 Ampeg SB-12

A late 60s example of one of the outliers of the flip top series of Ampeg amplifiers, the little sibling to the B-15. The SB-12 features a 12" Jensen Concert speaker and is powered by a set of 12AX7 preamp tubes, 6L6 power tubes, and a 5AR4 rectifier tube. These more commonly found tubes mean the amp will continue to be serviceable for some time, avoiding the out of production tube issue found on so many vintage Ampeg amps. The lucite, light up logo panel on this example is custom engraved with the name "Johnny" which was a service that Ampeg was offering at the time. This era of production was shortly after Ampeg moved away from the classic blue checkered tolex to a smooth black vinyl, with a chrome window around the grill. It offers an instrument and bass input with a volume , treble, and bass control. The rear panel features an external speaker out jack, hum control, and two prong AC outlet.

The amp is in overall excellent condition considering it's age, with a few dings and tears in the tolex that are mostly around the bottom edges as well as some discoloration to the grill cloth. The speaker has been reconed and a three prong plug has been added. The 12" speaker is great for lower volume home use, but really shines when used for recording. The tone is nicely focused without too much mud and flub found with a larger speaker. An upgrade to a modern bass speaker would be ideal to set the amp up for gigging and playing alongside a band, being a bit smaller and handier than the larger B-15 it would probably suite this application very well. Its current format makes it an exceptional guitar amp as well. The multiple inputs and tone circuit yield a wide range of tones from the single channel, getting pretty raucous with the volume turned into the upper range. It does remain fairly clean over a good portion of the volume control, it would surely make a great pedal platform for a good sized board.

Serial number 062727

Original cover, baffle/casters, and warranty card included

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