Ampeg Jet 1961 tube guitar amp 6v6 amplifier

Ampeg Jet dated May 1961. Very few flaws in navy random flair tolex as shown, a bit dusty, otherwise in very well preserved cosmetic condition. Grill cloth excellent and tight. Chrome control panel is sharp.

Factory spec'ed for 12w of clean output but this goes MUCH louder. Has had two extensive professional services several years ago, and most capacitors and resistors replaced per tech recommendations, including filter caps, as 60 years is well beyond life expectancy often. Many orange drop caps but also a couple NOS Soviets. Original Jensen p12s alnico speaker sounds great, dated 48th week of 1960.

Between servicings, I changed the fixed tremolo intensity by bypassing the resistor and routing signal through a potentiometer to vary intensity, also wiring a foot switch jack to turn tremolo on and off. That tremolo pot lives in the On Off switch location, with the switch moved to the jewel light location, in turn that light mounted down where the filter cap can was.. A simple rearrangement to preserve the original wiring with no extra chassis holes. The only rough element to this is the foot switch 1/4'' jack mounted onto an L bracket on the inside wood peg chassis support, near the 1st preamp tube, just using a discreet screw hole. This was all scrutinized by the 2nd tech who replaced many of the resistors. The tremolo still works as original by turning it on clockwise with the speed control knob, or with a standard foot switch using the added jack. I don't have a functioning single button footswitch so it's not included, but a dual switch works as well. The cabinet interior is very clean and the original schematic is protected with clear plastic. Tube chart in nice shape.

Tubes are: JAN Philips 6188 (military 6sl7), Sylvania 6sl7, Hewlett Packard/GE 5y3, and a pair of 6V6 equivalent Soviets that look identical to those rebranded Sovtek. All these tubes have been in the amp for several years with no issues. The preamp tube was foil-shielded by the previous tech but I don't think it's required. Amp sounds strong with no crackling, buzzing, hissing, clicking, etc. It only has a very slight level low frequency hum, does not increase with volume.

This is not unusual for this era Jet and I read may be attributed to factory grounding scheme. It was there before any servicing or mods I did and gets drowned out by even low volume play.

I've had it maybe 10 years, play it regularly but at low volume, never needed above 4, usually 2 is enough for living room jamming, and even 3 can annoy the neighbors.. I reinforced the original leather handle with metal plumbing strap wrapped in duct tape, a crudely effective way to ensure the 60yo leather won't break at an inconvenient time. The original is underneath it, in decent shape, and the reinforcement strip can be removed by unscrewing the handle. I tried to be thorough, but please ask any questions you have. I'll carefully pull and pack the tubes inside unless you prefer a different way. This item is in the category "Musical Instruments & Gear\Guitars & Basses\Guitar Amplifiers". The seller is "pariahscary" and is located in this country: US. This item can be shipped to United States.

Brand: Ampeg
Number of Speakers: 1
Model: Ampeg Jet
Amplifier Type: Combo