Trade vintage Ampeg for soldi-state Standel?

There are two Gemini VIs on eBay right now and they are going for $600.00 and $700.00 respectively.. They are a little rough looking but working. The would probably do well to have a 'good' tech go over it and bring it up to reliability.. If you did that with your amp, the reliability of it would be great.. After that, your choice is up to how you like the sound.. I don't know much about Standel SS amps, but I think your Gemini is a real gem.. A good tech would, most likely, make it sound better, too. A man on this forum, who goes by the name MUCHXS, is a very well respected amp technician, who is very fair with his prices.. I am having him fix a couple of my tube amps now.... I would, personally, keep the Gemini... I know that Standel made great tube amps, but Solid State??? And wasn't 1970 one of the first years of SS, when it sounded pretty terribly. At least all the firt Fender SS sounded terrible in 1968-70. They discontinued them immediately, knowing it was a disaster..

 

The "tech" had no idea... hmmmm

 

The Standel is cool, but there is no way I would make that trade. At a minimum, I would just buy the Standel, play with a while, and see if I wanted to keep it. The Standel, depending on the speakers (the most valuable part of the amp) would only be worth like 100 dollars to me. You could probably buy a much nicer SS Fender, Peavey, or other amp for a few hundred dollars. A Bandit, A Fender Chorus Model, Roland Cube, If you can find them, an old Polytone or something would be a much better amp, A Roland Jazz Chorus. Any number of amps. There is no reason the the Ampeg not to be a highly reliable amp.

 

You need a new tech. And you'll need a tech to go through that Standel as well. Sure it's sold state but it still has electrolytic capacitors that are 44 years old.
I agree with Sam for the most part old SS amps are worth what the speakers are worth.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I recall that some of those SS Standels had their circuitry sealed up in goop to prevent copying their design. I can imagine that would make any repairs, umm, difficult, to say the least.

I'd love an old Gemini myself.

 

I vote for keeping the Ampeg...and getting a tech who can put it into servicable condition. +1 on the old SS needing work on it, also.
I remember back in the mid '60's going to a weekly dance. The band that was playing had played in town many times, and I enjoyed them. This time, they had new amps...brand new solid state Standels. The sonics sucked. IF the Standel is loaded with JBL's, it might be worth something to buy it and sell the speakers out of it. There are those who like JBL's...

 

How much do they want for the Standel? I agree with most that's not a good trade. Those Ampegs are worth restoring or converting to modern tubes. However, I remember a few people who had Standel's back in the 60's and 70's. Some thought they were great, others didn't like them. I think mostly country players liked them. There is also a faint connection with them and Mosrite, Standel put out a few of it's own guitars which were designed my Mosrite. I would think the best use for one of the amps today would be as a museum piece, not a gig amp.

 

i have to agree. keep your ampeg its a cool amp. i have a one of the rare good sounding SS amps? not rare as in not many made but in i think it sounds great. it has a great spring reverb too, ( surf tone all day long, surfs up! )
but i only paid 10.00 for it. i need to build a cab for it. anyhow, i would not even consider that trade to be honest.
chris.

 

Keep the Ampeg. When I was playing back in the '60s Standel was a popular amp. They sounded alright but they weren't great. Ampeg and Fender and Supro blew them away. The SS Standels sounded awful IMO. Putting some $$ into the Gemini is a better investment. For a while I used 2 100W tuck and roll Kustoms. If you really want a SS amp from that era that is what I would look for. You couldn't kill 'em and they were roadie proof and sounded a little flat but ok. Your best bet is one of the Peavey's like a Bandit.

 

Keep the Ampeg!!!

 

1: Get a new tech
2: Don't do that trade

If this was for an older TUBE Standel then I'd be all over it, but not for a 70's SS model. Dont' get me wrong - I like SS as well, but they don't (shouldn't) have a lot of value. Swing a deal between the Yamaha and the Standel if you must - but leave the Ampeg out of the mix and get it to a good tech. IMO

 

If a SS Standel interests you, this might, as well: http://www.quilterlabs.com/index.php/products/steelaireseries.