Old Gibson tube amps?

dhdfoster · December 22nd, 2003, 10:59 AM

Does anyone here have any experience with old Gibson tube amps. I've noticed with the skyrocketing price of old Fenders, and the hefty price of small ptp boutique amps, that these old Gibsons are very cheap in comparison. I have a Blues Jr. for my practice amp, but I'm looking for a small amp with better reverb and some tremelo, and these old Gibsons look pretty neat.

nasonm · December 22nd, 2003, 01:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dhdfoster

Does anyone here have any experience with old Gibson tube amps

I've had a 1965 Gibson GA-8T Discoverer Tremolo amp (1x12, 2-el84,2-6eu7,1-6ca4) for 4 years now, and after re-capping, tubing and putting in a new speaker, I love it!

They are a lot more affordable in deed! I say unless you absolutely need the fender name, look into the Gibsons. They're not high gain monsters at all, but if I ever had to categorize my amp's sound I'd create and use the word....

vinatgey!

John E · December 22nd, 2003, 01:28 PM

I've tried a few and there has not been one that I didn't like... you gotta be careful though because I remember some of the models used wacky tubes that are not readily available anymore(The medalist comes to mind). Great amps though tonally IMO...

JTM45blues · December 22nd, 2003, 02:12 PM

Yes I do. In fact I have a prestine 1953 all original Gibson GA-20. The amp is a clone of an early Fender Tweed Deluxe, and is a very ballsy little amp. The tube compliment in mine is:

1 RCA 5y3 rectifier
2 RCA blackplate 6v6's
1 National 6SL7
2 metal RCA 6SJ7's

by the way all the tubes in the amp are ORIGINAL!!! I'm the third owner of the amp.

There are two channels, mic and instrument, with four inputs, also has the original 1953 Jensen P12R. Its rated at somewhere around 12 - 15 watts, and it is an absolute TONE MACHINE!!! Absolutely perfect for recording and blues work, has a piano like richness when comping, its definitely the best amp I've ever heard. My friends are calling it the Tweed Deluxe killer. By the way I only paid $350 for this little bundle of joy too.

So I hope this helps. If you find another GA-20 and you don't want it, PLEASE email me, I'll definitely buy more of those.

buglecorps · December 22nd, 2003, 09:35 PM

Tend to be a little bit "Jazzier" than Tweeds, and have a bit less gain..but many are voiced with a nice browness that works well with a Tele or Strat. IMO they are a bit well..ugly, but they sound great.

Skydog · December 22nd, 2003, 10:14 PM

Les Paul Jr amp sounds nice, similar to a wide-panel Champ.

Mitch Roberts · December 23rd, 2003, 02:32 PM

I picked up a 60's brown Falcon a couple of months ago. It worked, but it was a bit weak and it was very trebly. I changed all the coupling cap values up in size, removed a weird cap/resistor network that was in the signal chain and - Wow! Instant Tweed Deluxe. I have since swapped in a Mojotone Tweed Deluxe type OP transformer and it has an even bigger sound. These are cathode biased 6V6 amps and they sound amazing. Tons of gain when cranked up. The reverb is great (full sized accutronics unit). Now I have about $240 invested. The 6EU7 preamp tubes, byt the way, have the same amplification factor as a 12AX7, or 100. Even the original 12" ceramic speaker sounds good. The only down side of mine is that it's ugly, but I'm dealing with it.

oh, and one more thing - they are in no way built with the quality of a Fender, so they may not take as much wear and tear. Mine is 40 years old and still going strong, so that is obviously not a significant issue.

da dougster · December 24th, 2003, 01:36 AM

here's a couple of links

Gibson-Fender comparison chart

Holiday for Strings Gibson Amp page

HFS is sort of permanently unfinished ( been there, done that), but what's there is very cool.....

Scumbag · December 30th, 2003, 03:48 PM

I'm a big fan of old Gibson amps... mainly the GA 8 without tremolo, referred to as the "Discoverer" after 1960, and the "Gibsonette" before 60. Crank these non trem ones up and they sound like a Marshall stack (for 9 watts). I beefed up some old ones with some custom stuff, new OT, caps, etc. but that cranked dual 6V6 sound is pretty cool.

The trem versions have EL84's and need even more work than the dual 6V6's, but they have a different gain/tone sound, too. The 6V6 amps are single ended Class A, the el84's are push/pull. Depends what you like...

[/i]

December 22nd, 2003, 10:59 AM	#1 (permalink)
dhdfoster Tele-Holic Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: San Francisco, CA Age: 41 Posts: 945	Old Gibson tube amps? Does anyone here have any experience with old Gibson tube amps. I've noticed with the skyrocketing price of old Fenders, and the hefty price of small ptp boutique amps, that these old Gibsons are very cheap in comparison. I have a Blues Jr. for my practice amp, but I'm looking for a small amp with better reverb and some tremelo, and these old Gibsons look pretty neat.

December 22nd, 2003, 01:28 PM	#3 (permalink)
John E Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Connecticut Posts: 1,396	I really like the old Gibson amps... I've tried a few and there has not been one that I didn't like... you gotta be careful though because I remember some of the models used wacky tubes that are not readily available anymore(The medalist comes to mind). Great amps though tonally IMO...

December 22nd, 2003, 09:35 PM	#5 (permalink)
buglecorps Tele-Holic Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Suburban Twang Town Posts: 753	Very Cool.. Tend to be a little bit "Jazzier" than Tweeds, and have a bit less gain..but many are voiced with a nice browness that works well with a Tele or Strat. IMO they are a bit well..ugly, but they sound great. __________________ Loud is Good...

December 22nd, 2003, 10:14 PM	#6 (permalink)
Skydog Tele-Meister Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 371	old Gibson tube amps . . . Les Paul Jr amp sounds nice, similar to a wide-panel Champ.

December 23rd, 2003, 02:32 PM	#7 (permalink)
Mitch Roberts Tele-Meister Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: NYC Posts: 449	Gibson Amps I picked up a 60's brown Falcon a couple of months ago. It worked, but it was a bit weak and it was very trebly. I changed all the coupling cap values up in size, removed a weird cap/resistor network that was in the signal chain and - Wow! Instant Tweed Deluxe. I have since swapped in a Mojotone Tweed Deluxe type OP transformer and it has an even bigger sound. These are cathode biased 6V6 amps and they sound amazing. Tons of gain when cranked up. The reverb is great (full sized accutronics unit). Now I have about $240 invested. The 6EU7 preamp tubes, byt the way, have the same amplification factor as a 12AX7, or 100. Even the original 12" ceramic speaker sounds good. The only down side of mine is that it's ugly, but I'm dealing with it. oh, and one more thing - they are in no way built with the quality of a Fender, so they may not take as much wear and tear. Mine is 40 years old and still going strong, so that is obviously not a significant issue. __________________ I think, therefore I jam.

December 22nd, 2003, 02:12 PM	#4 (permalink)
JTM45blues Tele-Meister Join Date: May 2003 Posts: 423	Yes I do. In fact I have a prestine 1953 all original Gibson GA-20. The amp is a clone of an early Fender Tweed Deluxe, and is a very ballsy little amp. The tube compliment in mine is: 1 RCA 5y3 rectifier 2 RCA blackplate 6v6's 1 National 6SL7 2 metal RCA 6SJ7's by the way all the tubes in the amp are ORIGINAL!!! I'm the third owner of the amp. There are two channels, mic and instrument, with four inputs, also has the original 1953 Jensen P12R. Its rated at somewhere around 12 - 15 watts, and it is an absolute TONE MACHINE!!! Absolutely perfect for recording and blues work, has a piano like richness when comping, its definitely the best amp I've ever heard. My friends are calling it the Tweed Deluxe killer. By the way I only paid $350 for this little bundle of joy too. So I hope this helps. If you find another GA-20 and you don't want it, PLEASE email me, I'll definitely buy more of those.

December 24th, 2003, 01:36 AM	#8 (permalink)
da dougster Tele-Meister Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Beautiful downtown Ayuh Posts: 300	here's a couple of links Gibson-Fender comparison chart Holiday for Strings Gibson Amp page HFS is sort of permanently unfinished ( been there, done that), but what's there is very cool..... __________________ "Somebody set up us the bomb!!"

December 30th, 2003, 03:48 PM	#9 (permalink)
Scumbag NEW MEMBER! Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: LA Posts: 2	I'm a big fan of old Gibson amps... mainly the GA 8 without tremolo, referred to as the "Discoverer" after 1960, and the "Gibsonette" before 60. Crank these non trem ones up and they sound like a Marshall stack (for 9 watts). I beefed up some old ones with some custom stuff, new OT, caps, etc. but that cranked dual 6V6 sound is pretty cool. The trem versions have EL84's and need even more work than the dual 6V6's, but they have a different gain/tone sound, too. The 6V6 amps are single ended Class A, the el84's are push/pull. Depends what you like... [/i] __________________ I used to be a nice guy... but I've turned into a Scumbag.