Price Paid: US $600.00 used
Features: 9
Actually I have a Berkely Super Reverb Twin which is a Cambridge Rvb in a head format with a 2x10 closed back cabinet mounted on a very cool chrome tube roll around stand. This amp has one channel with reverb and vibrato. The controls are volumne, treble, bass,reverb,vibrato and speed. 3 inputs with ext. speaker and inputs for the vibrato/reverb pedal. This amp puts out 18 watts and is all tube format with 2 EL84, EZ81 rectifier,2 12AX7 preamp tubes and a 12AT7 reverb driver. It is also completly hand wired ptp. I am not a big fan of amps with 15 knobs and control pedals with 10 switches so I'd say this amp has enough features for me
Sound Quality: 8
I actually don't use this amp much but it does have a fairly good sounding trem and reverb. It runs very quiet and has a nice clean sound up to half volume and crunch from there up. It never gets real distorted but reacts well to string attack, pick it lightly it's clen and sweet, pick it hard and it bites you. This amp is pick sensative. This amp responds well to pedals.
Reliability: 9
I bought this amp at a flea market, if you can imagine, and it is very clean but when I purchased it it had low power, sounded good but not loud enough to annoy the wife. My tech took $100.00 of my hard earned and brought it back to life. Since that time it has been trouble free. I would not hesitate to use it on a gig.
Customer Support: 1
As already mentioned, there is no customer support, just find a good tech. This is not too hard as these amps are pretty basic compared to JMI VOX's.
Overall Rating: 8
I have been playing guitar for 40 years and currently own 12 guitars and 11 old tube amps including a 1953 Pro, 65 Champ, 68 Super Reverb, 78 Princeton Reverb, 62 Supro, 65 tubetype Vox acemaker,65 JMI vox ac 10 Twin Ten and others. If I lost my Berkeley I would buy another if one could be found. This amp sounds good, looks cool, is easy to operate, is loud enough for a a jam or small gig what more does a player need?
Submitted by Craig at 01/22/2003 18:32
Price Paid: N/A used
Features: 9
This is a 65 or 66 made by Jennings (JMI) and imported by Thomas Organ (as were all the very early Thomas Vox amps) before they made their solid state line. They also imported a piggy back version called the Berkeley (I). Single channel, 3 inputs, great reveb and tremolo. EZ81 tube rectifier, 12ax7s in front end and gain stages; a pair of EL84s for output power...about 17-18 watts or so, sort of like an AC15, but with a completely different circuit. A single 10" gold Bull Dog (Oxford), and an extension speaker out (the Berkeley was a 2x10 setup). Bass and treble controls. Great portable combo that gets incredibly loud. Only negative (hence the "9") is that the cab is all particle board instead of birch plywood, but I'm not complaining.
Sound Quality: 10
I play mostly blues. I'm using an '83 US-made Epiphone Spirit (think DC Les Paul Special) with a Leo Quan Badass and Harmonic Design Z90 single coils in stead of the crummy dirty fingers it came with (see www.tonequest.com article).
The tone is to die for. Reminiscent of my old JMI AC30 TB Super Twin Reverb that I sold like a fool 20 years ago. My favorite setting is to back the tone controls all the way off, which leaves more mid-range. Very cool. By adjusting the tone controls you can get a vairety of tube amp sounds. The knoobs only go to six. At 4 the amp begins to break up nicely. So, I turn it up and use my guitar volume knob on half for a semi-clean rhythm, then up for lead. The gold Oxford isn't the most efficient speaker around, but it captures the tonal variations of this amp quite well. I can only imagine how it woulod sound with a Celestion Blue...one of these days, I'll find out.
Reliability: 8
This baby is in pristine condition; the wiring is great P2P. All of the tubes have caps or spring locks to keep them in. I trust it. However, I always bring a backup and this amp is only suitable for small venues unless miked. I haven't ha dit long enough to be sure, but I think it will go the distance as well as any old tube amp and better than any new one with a crummy printed circuit board.
Customer Support: N/A
N/A here. Don't need it. Only aftermarket and repro parts avaialable for this thing. Any good good tube amp tech will do fine. I have a schematic.
Overall Rating: 10
I've been playing 35 years altogether. Bass, guitar, keyboards, in that order. Years ago, I was mostly a guitarist who doubled on keys. Today, I'm a blues keyboardist who doubles on guitar. If lost, I'd collect the insurnace and look for another to replace it. Unforetunately, the last one I saw, sold for $1000. They are hard to find. I looked at Vibroluxes, Deluxes, new Peavey Classics and Deltas, Marshall combos, etc. I love the Vibrolux, but no amp could ever could ever compare to my old AC30 TB STR. Ever notice how everyone compares their amps to an AC30? Well, nothing compares to a JMI AC30 Top Boost Super Reverb Twin. BUT in a small lower power combo, the tube Cambridge is the only amp I've heard that comes close. I haven't played a new AC15, so I don't know about that.
I also have a GK 206 ML/E which I use for everything, inclusing keys with a pair of Flite Sound Coax 15s. It's a Swiss Army Knife amp....great for solid state. But nothing compares to the all-tube Vox sound.
Submitted by John at 05/10/2001 06:28
