Sold 1966 Ampeg Portaflex SB12 amp head

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mellowgerman

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Up for sale is my 1966 Ampeg SB12 head. Perfect for the famous Ampeg bass tone on countless 60's records, but also works great as a nice'n'warm jazzy guitar amp. This one has been fitted with a single 1/4" output jack intended for use with any 8ohm cab. It's also had a grounded 3-prong plug installed. These put out about 20-22watts of tube deliciousness, but it's remarkable how loud it can get with a quality modern cab. Cosmetically it shows its 54 years of age with the oxidized chassis and general wear, but as you can see, it looks great internally. Definitely not a museum piece but an excellent way for somebody to get that classic fliptop/portaflex tone at a lower price point. I got this amp last year from a gentleman who runs a pro recording studio. He's a pretty well-known guy in the local music community and assured that it was recently gone through by their amp tech, yielding a clean bill of health. This was good enough for me and I've never encountered any issues with it. It hasn't left my house since it arrived and I've used it regularly for solo practice and several times for in-home jam sessions, without any issues.
I went back and forth on this one, really don't WANT to sell it, but I have a few other amps and need to free up some space as we are moving to a slightly smaller house, so my music room and my wife's art room will be combined into one. Also, this sale would allow for some in-depth shop-time for some of my other gear.
*Just in case you're looking to build or restore a full SB12, the entire length of speaker wire is still in place (tucked under the internal lip of the chassis), including the clips at the ends, so this could easily be hooked back up to the speaker terminal bolts on the lid of an SB12 cab.
$430 + approximate shipping to your location takes it. Paypal preferred. Of course, I'd love to do a local face-to-face deal on this, but it's compact and light enough that shipping should be fine as well. If you're in Florida, I might be able to meet you half-way, depending on where in the state you are.
If it sells through LTG for full price, will happily donate $20 to the forum.
Always willing to hear out trade offers, but not likely this time since I'm pretty happy with my music gear stable and really just need less stuff.
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secndshft

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I’m due to get one of these very soon and this is making the waiting that much harder. Good luck with the sale.
 

jp

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I think you'll have a good chance, since an SB-12 head is easy-to-ship, and there are nice compact 12" bass cabs nowadays. It took me a while to realize how many players love the sound of Portaflexes but really just don't want them in this age of small amp portability. I've noticed that SB-12s are easier to sell than B-15s and B-18s nowadays.

I had a hell of a time selling my B-18X, mostly due to its size. It was in super clean condition and had a clean repro plaque, the cart, the original cover, the foot pedal, a Goodman's 18", in addition to the Jensen high-compression horn. It had been regularly serviced by Roy Blankenship and Chris Benson before they both became famous. Granted, I didn't want to take less than a $1000, but I think that it's worth that much for a 1967 in amazing condition. For years, I posted on CL, Talk Bass, and even had it consigned at the most trafficked vintage shop in town. Nothing. I finally ended up trading it for a Highway One P-bass, a small amp Hartke amp, and a pedal, which in total were worth well below $1000.

Good luck with your sale, MG!
 

mellowgerman

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I think you'll have a good chance, since an SB-12 head is easy-to-ship, and there are nice compact 12" bass cabs nowadays. It took me a while to realize how many players love the sound of Portaflexes but really just don't want them in this age of small amp portability. I've noticed that SB-12s are easier to sell than B-15s and B-18s nowadays.

I had a hell of a time selling my B-18X, mostly due to its size. It was in super clean condition and had a clean repro plaque, the cart, the original cover, the foot pedal, a Goodman's 18", in addition to the Jensen high-compression horn. It had been regularly serviced by Roy Blankenship and Chris Benson before they both became famous. Granted, I didn't want to take less than a $1000, but I think that it's worth that much for a 1967 in amazing condition. For years, I posted on CL, Talk Bass, and even had it consigned at the most trafficked vintage shop in town. Nothing. I finally ended up trading it for a Highway One P-bass, a small amp Hartke amp, and a pedal, which in total were worth well below $1000.

Good luck with your sale, MG!

Thanks, JP! I think the thing nowadays is that people mostly want these portaflex amps for recording, so not needing them for volume and intending to keep them in a studio, a lot of guys go for the more compact B12 and SB12. This is basically the same reason why I got my SB12, though I'm sure that B-18x was a real joy to play through!
The SB12 really sounds fantastic with that Eminence-loaded 1x12 cab which you can kinda see in the photos. That said, not too long after I acquired and started using this one regularly, I ended up with an AGC Bonham 213R (close Versatone Panoflex relative), which is essentially the dream tube amp for me and is a match made in heaven with a Starfire. Also I feel the Bonham just suits my current band's mix perfectly.
So even though this SB12 has an amazingly rich pillowy depth to it that the Bonham can't quite cop (at least not with it's stock shallow cabinet design) I've decided to let the Ampeg move on down the line to somebody who will get more use out of it. That said, if for whatever reason it doesn't sell, I'll just as happily hold on to it... might be one of those amps that I'll wish I hadn't sold 20 years down the line. Who knows!
 
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jp

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So true that studio folks are the ones who will seek these out. The guy I swapped with had a studio to dedicate mine to. My '65 Hofner Club sounded amazing through it. It was also an excellent platform for vintage synths and keyboards, esp. a Rhodes.

And as you predict, I know I'll regret getting rid of mine. :cry:
 
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Hi mellowgerman, is the amp still available? If yes, would you be willing to ship it to Europe? Thanks, Gábor
 

mellowgerman

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Hi mellowgerman, is the amp still available? If yes, would you be willing to ship it to Europe? Thanks, Gábor

Looks like I forgot to mark this one sold here! I'm sorry about that, but it is long gone. Sold through the talkbass forum classifieds.
 
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