NA(mpeg)D - 1961 Reverberocket

Make it loud here.
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garyfanclub
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NA(mpeg)D - 1961 Reverberocket

Post by garyfanclub » Sat Jan 23, 2021 10:48 am

Willing to admit I may have a problem....

Pulled the trigger on a 61 Reverberocket this week, and somehow UPS managed to get it to me on a Saturday, so here comes the review!

This is one of the very early (1961 is maybe the second year of production?) Reverberockets, running on Octal tubes and 6V6s rather than the 12AX7s and 7591s they eventually transitioned to. The tube allotment on these amps can be unpredictable, the early ones are octals, the mid-60s ones (right before they released the Reverberocket 2) are often 12AX7 with 7868/7591s. I'd imagine those are a little tighter and cleaner than this one sonically.

OK, so how's it sound? Well, it sounds excellent! I've been hunting for one of these as an apartment amp - they're not ridiculously loud, but compress nicely and give a touch-responsive squishiness at sane (i.e. loudish music) volumes that won't get me evicted. Speaker is an old Oxford 12k5R - works nicely here, not too dark, and attenuates the amp pretty well. Frankly, I don't want this thing to get blisteringly loud, and would like to be able to record some guitar parts live without needing to crank it up to get a non-wimpy sound.

Tonally, it's the Ampeg smoky, jazzy low-mid guitar thing that us Ampeg-nuts are crazy about. About 1/3 of the way up on the volume it's articulate, and maybe a little bottom heavy. I like darker, smoother guitar tones, and this fits the bill perfectly. I'm running the tone knob about 1/4 of the way up, but I suspect it could get VERY bright if you were looking for that.

The Reverb tank's been replaced, but the tone is all-Ampeg "behind the notes" hall-ish reverb, not quite as splashy as Fender, less surf more of a moody playing in a big room at night time of vibe. The tremolo is great, doesn't have the percussive setting the later amps have, and doesn't get as psychedelic at the later 60s amp, but that's not a deal breaker, I've got other Ampegs for that!

Cosmetically beat up, lots of pitting on the face plate, logo is broken, I suspect this spent a few decades getting ridden hard and put away wet. Not really an issue as it's been restored since - recap, new foot swtich, new reverb tank. I honestly dig the battle-weary look on this thing.

Maybe one of my favorite parts of this one is it was built in Woodside, Queens - this is a pre-NJ Ampeg, which are few and far between. Will need to make a pilgrimage to the building one of these days...

Pairing is a '67 SG Special that's basically been completely gutted. Only thing original are the neck, body, and knobs. That said, the P90s are a great match for this amp.

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Jonesie
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Re: NA(mpeg)D - 1961 Reverberocket

Post by Jonesie » Sat Jan 23, 2021 11:04 am

Oh hell yeah. Old Ampegs are the best. The amp I wish I never got rid of was an old Gemini II. Just incredible sounding.

Enjoy it!

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Scout
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Re: NA(mpeg)D - 1961 Reverberocket

Post by Scout » Sat Jan 23, 2021 1:07 pm

Sweet!!!! Just pulled my Reverbojet II out into rotation last night, go East Coast!

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Re: NA(mpeg)D - 1961 Reverberocket

Post by wproffitt » Sat Jan 23, 2021 4:23 pm

I’ve played an Ampeg from this era (not a RR) and it sounded pretty amazing. Congratulations to you! If, (let’s keep it real here) WHEN I build my next amp, it will either be a B-15N clone or one of these. Any chance of gut shots?

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Re: NA(mpeg)D - 1961 Reverberocket

Post by Tweedledee » Sun Jan 24, 2021 7:36 am

Killer! I want to get a Reverberocket someday. I recently picked up a beat up and modded ‘66 Gemini I and it sounds fantastic, so I may have been bitten by the Ampeg bug.

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garyfanclub
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Re: NA(mpeg)D - 1961 Reverberocket

Post by garyfanclub » Mon Jan 25, 2021 6:15 am

wproffitt wrote:
Sat Jan 23, 2021 4:23 pm
I’ve played an Ampeg from this era (not a RR) and it sounded pretty amazing. Congratulations to you! If, (let’s keep it real here) WHEN I build my next amp, it will either be a B-15N clone or one of these. Any chance of gut shots?
Ask and you shall receive! These are from the listing; can try to open it up later this week if you'd like to see something in more detail. Let me know!

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SAVEStheDAY
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Re: NA(mpeg)D - 1961 Reverberocket

Post by SAVEStheDAY » Mon Jan 25, 2021 7:29 am

It's awesome! I love old Ampegs.

If you decide you want to clean it up some, I have had luck getting very accurate looking replacement parts here: https://www.fliptops.net/

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Re: NA(mpeg)D - 1961 Reverberocket

Post by Kent » Mon Jan 25, 2021 7:50 am

I’ve got a mid-60s one with 7868 power tubes, 6bk11 and some other oddball tubes. A very cool amp w/unique reverb.

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Re: NA(mpeg)D - 1961 Reverberocket

Post by wproffitt » Tue Jan 26, 2021 7:34 am

Thanks for posting the gut shots! It doesn’t look like a very complicated circuit, given that there are two onboard effects. The placement of the electrolytic caps seems odd coming from Fender designs, but this looks really well put-together. Is that hot glue between the orange capacitors?

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