the unofficial

page

October 19 , 2008—Leave it to AOL to screw things up. I see something at the top of my old page saying "AOL Hometown is shutting down for good," or something to that effect. I'm not sure what that means; when I first put the site up, AOL Hometown didn't exist. As far as I know, I have never been part of it; this has just been web space attached to my account. And, of course, they have not given me any notice that anything is about to happen, so I don't know what's up, really. It could go away, it might not, and the links they provide are about as useless as . . . well, let's just say they're less than helpful. So start using www.unofficialampeg.com. Make a note of it.

Links might break in the transfer, but I'll try to catch up with them all in between all the stuff that's going on in "real life." You don't want to know.

December 29, 2008—I think I've found the internal broken links; I need to find all the external broken links and also to bring the site into the 21st century by transitioning to cascading style sheets, which should make things easier in the long run, just a headache in the short run.

 

Instruments	Amplifiers	Effects & Miscellaneous	Parts	Schematics	*Relevant Links*	Books

The Electric Bookstore in association with Amazon.com

Let's see how this goes! Oh, and I'd like everyone to respect each other, so try to refrain from flaming. Thanks!

Also, while I'm sometimes unable to respond promptly, I do make an effort to respond to everyone. There have been a few people that I've tried to respond to, however, who didn't give me a valid email address, and my response bounced right back to me. Fortunately this happens seldom. If you wrote and haven't heard back, this might be why.

What's New:

It is now too late to include any more information, but the authors are always interested in unearthing more Ampeg facts. Please contact Hopkins & Moore, 728 Karlsruhe Pl., St. Louis, MO 63125; phone or fax (314) 631-5030; or email ampegbook@aol.com.

Visit Ampeg's official web page!

• February 23, 2002—Added note on Schematics Page about bottomfeeders selling Ampeg schematics on eBay that were copied from this site and are provided here for free.

• February 23, 2002—Overdue update to the Instruments page, adding more photos and information about Burns-made Ampegs, and a photo of a rare prototype "f-hole" guitar.

• March 18, 2001—New section on Ampeg effects and other miscellanea.

• March 9, 2001—Quick Questions really do now have some answers.

• December 20, 2000—I'm finally beginning a long-overdue revamp of this site. Sorry it's taken so long.

• August 23, 1999--I've finally added a page to assist in dating your Ampeg amplifier. The text is reproduced with the kind permission of the authors of Ampeg: The Story Behind the Sound.

• June 11, 1999--A new schematic from Joe, for the V-7 poweramp.

• May 10, 1999--The book is due to be released on May 28! See above for information and to order a copy directly from Gregg and Bill.

• March 9, 1999--The book we've all been waiting for, Ampeg: The Story Behind the Sound by Gregg Hopkins and Bill Moore should be available in late April or early May. It will be available for order through a link on this page. Stay tuned!

• March 9, 1999--A new schematic, this one for the B-12-NC and B-15-NC, from Joe Piazza!

• November 12, 1998--Added pages describing availability, production, and technical details of the new AEB/AUB-2 horizontal basses built by Bruce Johnson for Ampeg. Click the link just below.

• October 13, 1998--Bruce Johnson, proprietor of Johnson's Extremely Strange Musical Instrument Company, has been designing the new series of horizontal basses for Ampeg. Some of the prototypes are now available for sale. Interested? Click here for details.

• September 25, 1998--A correction for the V4-B preamp schematic has been posted. Joe tells me that part of the ultra low circuit on channel one was missing, so grab it again if you've gotten it before.

• May 11, 1998--Another new schematic drawn by Joe, for the 6BK11/7868 version of the Reverberocket, has been posted on the schematics page.

• February 11, 1998--New schematic drawn by Joe Piazza, for the Gemini 22, has been posted on the schematics page.

• January 10, 1998--I've been threatening for a while now to add a guestbook to this page, and now I've gone and done it.

• January 10, 1998--New Feature! The Electric Bookstore attempts to collect many of the books dealing with collecting, repair, and maintenance of amplifiers and guitars in one place, available for purchase. This I'm able to do in association with respected booksellers Amazon.com by linking directly to these books from their catalog. Amazon.com handles all aspects of fulfilling your order.

• November 20, 1997--Added link to Steve West's online Baby Bass instruction manual, as well as a couple of AUB-1 comments on the Instruments page.

• November 20, 1997--Added link to Ned Carlson's 7027 FAQ to Parts page, along with a couple of other changes and additions. Also added Ned's Triode Electronics to Relevant Links page.

• October 23, 1997--Removed notice that my friend's Baby Bass is for sale. He's decided he doesn't want to figure out how to ship it, and to sell it locally. If you're in or near Connecticut and looking for a Baby Bass, let me know.

• September 8, 1997--Corrected release date for Ampeg: The Complete History.

• August 25, 1997--Old update notices from before January 1, 1997 moved here

• August 25, 1997--Parts page updated to include information for contacting Dixie Sound Works for transformer rewinding.

• August 25, 1997--Remove blink tag from Can You Help section.

• July 13, 1997--A new schematic from Joe, for the 7868 power tube version of the SB-12 Portaflex

• June 20, 1997--Two new schematics from Joe, one for the ET-2B Super Echo Twin and the other for the EJ-12-A Echo Jet.

• May 13, 1997--Three new schematics from Joe (who must be working overtime on this), for the M-12, the M-12-A, and the M-15 amps.

• April 27, 1997--Having only been recently introduced to the concept of "browser-safe palettes," I'm starting to recreate the graphics on this page with this concept in mind. I've had a few complaints in the past about difficulty in seeing some elements here. I just chalked it up to differences in browsers. Hopefully keeping the color palette within the range of colors that all browsers can display will help. Don't expect it all to be fixed at once, but if there's something particularly bothersome, let me know and I'll make it a priority.

• April 27, 1997--Another new schematic from Joe Piazza, this one being for both the B-18-N and the B-15-ND. It is listed for both amps on the Schematics page, but is the same schematic.

• April 22, 1997--A new schematic from Joe, for the R-12-A amp.

• March 24, 1997--A small correction to the V-4B preamp schematic from Joe Piazza. Corrected drawing has been uploaded.

• March 3, 1997--Another new schematic from Joe Piazza, this time for the AC-12

• February 16, 1997--A new schematic from Joe Piazza, for the SB-12. Also, Joe is now providing voltage charts on his own page for many of the schematics he has provided here.

• February 16, 1997--Continuing on their quest to provide replacements for all sorts of Ampeg parts, the rubber shock mounts that attach and isolate a Portaflex chassis from its flip-over mounting board are now available from Vintage Amp Restoration. Check the Parts page for more information.

• February 16, 1997--Unfortunately, we received word that the Bass Center in Los Angeles has closed its doors, making one fewer source for Ampeg-length strings. Happily, however, Bruce Johnson at Johnson's Extremely Strange Musical Instrument Company is now stocking an expanded line of Ampeg-length strings in more brands. See the Parts page for more information, and contact Bruce to find out exactly what flavors are currently available.

• February 16, 1997--Added Vibroworld to the Relevant Links page. They carry many amp parts, some of interest to Ampeg owners. There is also a nice discussion of the difference between tremolo and vibrato.

• February 16, 1997--Additional notes on the Stud basses.

• January 1, 1997--Happy New Year! Added phone number on schematics page for those needing schematics for newer (since 1986, by St. Louis Music) Ampeg schematics.

made on a Macintosh