Re: J 12 vintage vs reissue

[john kuzloski <jkuzloski@xxxxxxxxx>]

Comparing a vintage to a reissue is complicated by the
changes made by Ampeg over time to the Jet.  Here's
some info on the Jet that I got from the book Ampeg: 
The Story Behind the Sound.  It's not in front of me
right now; this is based on some notes I took.

1958 J-12 -- introduced at $89.50  -- 6V6GT power
tubes
1964 called J-12A -- 7591 power tubes, rugged.
1965 -- J12T -- 2 6BK11 preamp tubes
1966 -- J12D -- solid state rectifier, cleaner than
the 6V6 models -- louder, cleaner, brighter (less harp
friendly?)
1967 -- J12R -- first year added reverb to a Jet,
12ax7's, "Golden Glo" aka copper front (This one is
mine.)
They continued to make a J12 (no R, no golden glo
until 1970, I think.
They dropped the Golden Glo series (it had two other
amps in it) after 1 year,  The J12R had mostly
cosmetic changes after that -- rear controls,
blue/green grill, slightly larger cab.

I'm no techy, but my notes say that a pair of 7591's
cathode biased puts out 18 watts, and fixed bias puts
out 30 watts.  These amps are cathode biased and so
don't push the 7591's resulting in clean sound and
long-lasting tubes (mine are original).  

Hope this info is of some help/interest.  --john k.

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