Trying to identify year for 212-sixty five amp

71LesPaul

I bought this amp used from my guitar teacher way back in 1980. It still sounds amazing. I am not sure what year it was made. The serial number is CN02555. Any help identifying it from the serial number would be appreciated. Thanks.

Music Man Equipment
MM 2-10-65

Member for

10 years 7 months
Profile picture for user mm210

mm210 Sun, 09/28/2014 - 09:28

Not a real accurate way for MM's but does it have a 12ax7 tube in the PI spot? If it does, it's gen 1 which places it to the 74-77 era or so. No tube but still using 6CA7's it's in the 77-79 or so. The speaker codes and the transformer codes will verify it for you too. The silver backed badges places it in the gen 1-2 category.

Full Name
James Sute
Music Man Equipment
Music Man 212 Sixty-Five guitar amp, s/n CN02555. I bought it used in 1980 from a guy who said it was too heavy to lug around. I play a '71 Les Paul Custom black usually just straight into channel 2 but I occasionally use a Tube Driver from Chandler Industries for extra punch.

Member for

10 years 1 month
Profile picture for user 71LesPaul

71LesPaul Sun, 09/28/2014 - 12:59

Thanks for the reply. The tubes are Sylvania 6CA7's. The code on the speaker is 677839, so that probably means June 77. So then it must be the 77-79 gen 2. Here is a scan of the circuit diagram that has been sitting in the back all this time.

Images
Full Name
Rob Flindall
Music Man Equipment
112RD-100 with EVM speaker, built 1981

Member for

10 years 1 month
Profile picture for user RD112

RD112 Sun, 09/28/2014 - 14:09

If you take the chassis out, the date might be handwritten on the circuit board like 5-22-81 ie May 22, 1981

Images
Music Man Equipment
MM 2-10-65

Member for

10 years 7 months
Profile picture for user mm210

mm210 Mon, 09/29/2014 - 04:03

That's a gen 1 schem-has the tube

Full Name
Kevin Murphy
Music Man Equipment
Black Cherry Burst Albert Lee , SSS,Trem & Piezo 2005

Black LE Albert Lee MM90,Trem 2006 with solid 9k gold knobs

2009 VSB SSS Hardtail Albert Lee KTS Titanium saddles 6lb 1 oz

Red EVH Hardtail 1993;

Mesa F50 Combo; Marshall 25/50 Silver Jubilee signed by Jim;

AER 60 ;Fender BJ 15W;WEM Clubman 5W;

Musicman RP 65 112;

Musicman RD 50 112:

Member for

10 years 7 months

spudmurphy Tue, 09/30/2014 - 06:11

My date was witten on the chasis itself.

Full Name
Sean
Music Man Equipment
1979 212 Sixty-Five, 1981 212 Seventy-Five
Numerous other amps and several guitars...

Member for

10 years 7 months

codamedia Tue, 09/30/2014 - 19:52

There is some contradiction with the info. The scheme might show a tube, but the speaker codes show 1978. The tube versions normally had the power switch on the front (Hi / Off / Lo) and a standby in the back. This appears to have the stand by in the front (Hi / Std By / Lo) with the power in the back. To me that points toward a later 70's.

If I were a betting man, I'd say this was an early 1978 amp based on the photo and the speaker code. Who knows why the schematic is there - let the amp tell the story, not the schematic in the back (unless it matches the amps guts).

Just my 2 cents.

EDIT TO ADD:
"71LesPaul" said "The code on the speaker is 677839, so that probably means June 77"....

That is not a '77 it is a '78.

67 = Eminence
78 = Year
39 = Week of the year (mid - late September)