Anyone know anything about GBX amps?

tdu · August 20th, 2005, 07:58 PM

I have this huge, ugly as sin "GBX" bass amp down in my basement. Well it's a bass cabinet but actually has 2 different heads that sit on it. One for guitar one for bass. There are no mention of any actual model name. Just "GBX by Ahed". The cab is a 2x12 and the whole thing is solid state.

I would take photos, but the camera is not here. I am hoping someone might know some info just from the description.

I bought it for like $50 at a garage sale years ago and it's sat in storage since then because it blew a fuse. I am going to sell it a garage sale my family is having next weekend, but I was just curious to find out a little about it. I can't find any info searching online.

maestrovert · August 20th, 2005, 08:43 PM

give google a try Bro' .... gbx amplifier
i think it got some hits....

tdu · August 20th, 2005, 08:52 PM

I did get hits when I tried, but mostly just a few stores selling them.

I did find ONE review on harmony central though. That guy said he actually had a catalog, and he left his email address in the review. It's an old review but I am hoping his email is still active. He can maybe find the amp in the catalog.

But anyway, using Google that was the only info I could find.

Pigsfootpeete · August 20th, 2005, 10:00 PM

I bought a new GBX amp in the late '60s, when I lived in Rome, N.Y.
Made in Canada, It was hailed as indestructable, and may very well have been. BUT............
I worked with it all day, and had an accomplished guitar player there helping me.
It was a total piece of sh*t. Sounded like a cheap transistor radio. A usable tone was nowhere to be found. In all these years since then, I've never come across an amp that bad. Total JUNK! I returned it the next day. Sell it...sell it fast....

:D

tdu · August 20th, 2005, 10:25 PM

That is how I would describe a sound of a guitar running through it. It actually doesn't sound bad playing bass with the bass head though.

About the only thing we ever used it for was a vocal amp. I got it for like $40 at a garage sale and it's damn loud so it served that purpose great.

It absolutely has to be the ugliest looking amp I have ever seen though.

chago04 · August 21st, 2005, 01:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tdu

That is how I would describe a sound of a guitar running through it. It actually doesn't sound bad playing bass with the bass head though.

About the only thing we ever used it for was a vocal amp. I got it for like $40 at a garage sale and it's damn loud so it served that purpose great.

It absolutely has to be the ugliest looking amp I have ever seen though.

I think this calls for pictures :D

tdu · August 21st, 2005, 08:54 AM

Ya my bro is away for the weekend with the digicam. When he gets back I will snap a few.

I know they stopped making these in like 1980, so it's pre-eighties. If you looked at it though you would swear it's an 80's relic.

tdu · August 21st, 2005, 09:26 AM

Ok the camera is here.

The design makes no sense. It's a 2x12 cab, but it weighs more then my old Traynor 4x10 cab does, and that cab is like 5 feet tall! There are these weird fans or something in the back of the cab. The heads VELCRO onto the cab too. And the heads are pretty much the ugliest thing I have ever seen. All of the wood ends have rubber paneling on them. And the vintage style grill cloth on an amp this ugly makes no sense at all.

73sg · April 25th, 2008, 03:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tdu

I have this huge, ugly as sin "GBX" bass amp down in my basement. Well it's a bass cabinet but actually has 2 different heads that sit on it. One for guitar one for bass. There are no mention of any actual model name. Just "GBX by Ahed". The cab is a 2x12 and the whole thing is solid state.

I would take photos, but the camera is not here. I am hoping someone might know some info just from the description.

I bought it for like $50 at a garage sale years ago and it's sat in storage since then because it blew a fuse. I am going to sell it a garage sale my family is having next weekend, but I was just curious to find out a little about it. I can't find any info searching online.

hi. i have 3 gbx amps, 2guitar--gd1 head& gd1 bottom. all 3 amps have 4-10"

73sg · April 25th, 2008, 03:47 AM

just got started on this site

73sg · April 25th, 2008, 04:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tdu

I have this huge, ugly as sin "GBX" bass amp down in my basement. Well it's a bass cabinet but actually has 2 different heads that sit on it. One for guitar one for bass. There are no mention of any actual model name. Just "GBX by Ahed". The cab is a 2x12 and the whole thing is solid state.

I would take photos, but the camera is not here. I am hoping someone might know some info just from the description.

I bought it for like $50 at a garage sale years ago and it's sat in storage since then because it blew a fuse. I am going to sell it a garage sale my family is having next weekend, but I was just curious to find out a little about it. I can't find any info searching online.

if you get any pic's of the gbx or # i mite be intersted

skunky_canuck · August 28th, 2008, 03:27 PM

"I did get hits when I tried, but mostly just a few stores selling them.

I did find ONE review on harmony central though. That guy said he actually had a catalog, and he left his email address in the review. It's an old review but I am hoping his email is still active. He can maybe find the amp in the catalog.

But anyway, using Google that was the only info I could find."

That ONE guy was me! I've now added a Tele and some new gear (as
Well as subtracting some old gear) to my collection, and the GBX is
STILL my main amp (my HC review was from 2004!)
I still have all the dealer ****, which if anyone REALLY is salivating for it,
I could scan and post.
As to the post that started this thread:
It is probably a BDI Bass Driver head and a GDI Guitar Driver head.
I can't seem to find any info on yr 2x12 cabinet though...
Lots on the 4x12..must have a been a late model.

djdeacon · August 28th, 2008, 06:47 PM

GBX were designed by Guy (G) Beresford (B) who initally was the tech at Kalua Music in Scarborough, ON.

The concept was very much like an Acoustic 360, or the Fender TFL/XFL series - a preamp "head", with powered cabinets. The standard cab was 4x10" speakers with an 80-watt solid-state power amp mounted in the back. There was also a 4x12" guitar-only cabinet with a power amp that was, if I recall, a little more powerful - possibly as much as 120 watts.

The speakers had chrome dust caps, probably to fake you into thinking you were getting JBL's.

The great thing about this set-up was that the little preamp had as many as six outputs (the standard one had four), so that you could hook up as many as six 80-watt cabinets at once - 480 watts!! The bassplayer in Steel River (Canadian heavy rock act from the early 70's) used just such a setup.

I used to have a post of Lighthouse in my bedroom, featuring all their GBX gear.

You have to remember that there was a 30% duty on foreign-made amps at the time, which made Fenders and Marshalls hugely expensive here. GBX were popular here in southern Ontario, largely because they weren't Traynor - by the early 70's, Traynor had pretty much saturated the market here.

Blazerball · November 14th, 2008, 11:35 AM

hi 73sg; I just joined this forum and saw you post from April. I have a GBX GD-2 with 4 10" speakers. I was wanting to sell it and get something more mobil. Do you know of anyone or other websites that might be helpful. My email is bdgoedde@aol.com. My site name here is Blazerball. Thanks for whatever help you may be able to give.

August 20th, 2005, 07:58 PM	#1 (permalink)
tdu Friend of Leo's Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Ontario, Canada Age: 32 Posts: 2,530 11 Photos	Anyone know anything about GBX amps? I have this huge, ugly as sin "GBX" bass amp down in my basement. Well it's a bass cabinet but actually has 2 different heads that sit on it. One for guitar one for bass. There are no mention of any actual model name. Just "GBX by Ahed". The cab is a 2x12 and the whole thing is solid state. I would take photos, but the camera is not here. I am hoping someone might know some info just from the description. I bought it for like $50 at a garage sale years ago and it's sat in storage since then because it blew a fuse. I am going to sell it a garage sale my family is having next weekend, but I was just curious to find out a little about it. I can't find any info searching online. __________________ Torn Down Units brand Rock n' Roll My Solo Stuff:

August 20th, 2005, 08:43 PM	#2 (permalink)
maestrovert Poster Extraordinaire Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: West Branch Mi. Posts: 6,732	give google a try Bro' .... gbx amplifier i think it got some hits.... __________________ Sing the Song Bro' Play on Drummer www.godonthe.net

August 20th, 2005, 08:52 PM	#3 (permalink)
tdu Friend of Leo's Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Ontario, Canada Age: 32 Posts: 2,530 11 Photos	I did get hits when I tried, but mostly just a few stores selling them. I did find ONE review on harmony central though. That guy said he actually had a catalog, and he left his email address in the review. It's an old review but I am hoping his email is still active. He can maybe find the amp in the catalog. But anyway, using Google that was the only info I could find. __________________ Torn Down Units brand Rock n' Roll My Solo Stuff:

August 20th, 2005, 10:00 PM	#4 (permalink)
Pigsfootpeete Tele-Meister Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Memphis Posts: 324	I bought a new GBX amp in the late '60s, when I lived in Rome, N.Y. Made in Canada, It was hailed as indestructable, and may very well have been. BUT............ I worked with it all day, and had an accomplished guitar player there helping me. It was a total piece of sht. Sounded like a cheap transistor radio. A usable tone was nowhere to be found. In all these years since then, I've never come across an amp that bad. Total JUNK! I returned it the next day. Sell it...sell it fast.... :D __________________ ....I've forgotten more than I could ever hope to remember.....*

August 20th, 2005, 10:25 PM	#5 (permalink)
tdu Friend of Leo's Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Ontario, Canada Age: 32 Posts: 2,530 11 Photos	That is how I would describe a sound of a guitar running through it. It actually doesn't sound bad playing bass with the bass head though. About the only thing we ever used it for was a vocal amp. I got it for like $40 at a garage sale and it's damn loud so it served that purpose great. It absolutely has to be the ugliest looking amp I have ever seen though. __________________ Torn Down Units brand Rock n' Roll My Solo Stuff:

August 21st, 2005, 08:54 AM	#7 (permalink)
tdu Friend of Leo's Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Ontario, Canada Age: 32 Posts: 2,530 11 Photos	Ya my bro is away for the weekend with the digicam. When he gets back I will snap a few. I know they stopped making these in like 1980, so it's pre-eighties. If you looked at it though you would swear it's an 80's relic. __________________ Torn Down Units brand Rock n' Roll My Solo Stuff:

August 21st, 2005, 09:26 AM	#8 (permalink)
tdu Friend of Leo's Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Ontario, Canada Age: 32 Posts: 2,530 11 Photos	Ok the camera is here. The design makes no sense. It's a 2x12 cab, but it weighs more then my old Traynor 4x10 cab does, and that cab is like 5 feet tall! There are these weird fans or something in the back of the cab. The heads VELCRO onto the cab too. And the heads are pretty much the ugliest thing I have ever seen. All of the wood ends have rubber paneling on them. And the vintage style grill cloth on an amp this ugly makes no sense at all. __________________ Torn Down Units brand Rock n' Roll My Solo Stuff:

April 25th, 2008, 03:47 AM	#10 (permalink)
73sg NEW MEMBER! Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: sask. canada Age: 52 Posts: 3	just got started on this site

August 28th, 2008, 03:27 PM	#12 (permalink)
skunky_canuck NEW MEMBER! Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Ontario, Canada Age: 24 Posts: 1	"I did get hits when I tried, but mostly just a few stores selling them. I did find ONE review on harmony central though. That guy said he actually had a catalog, and he left his email address in the review. It's an old review but I am hoping his email is still active. He can maybe find the amp in the catalog. But anyway, using Google that was the only info I could find." That ONE guy was me! I've now added a Tele and some new gear (as Well as subtracting some old gear) to my collection, and the GBX is STILL my main amp (my HC review was from 2004!) I still have all the dealer ****, which if anyone REALLY is salivating for it, I could scan and post. As to the post that started this thread: It is probably a BDI Bass Driver head and a GDI Guitar Driver head. I can't seem to find any info on yr 2x12 cabinet though... Lots on the 4x12..must have a been a late model.

August 28th, 2008, 06:47 PM	#13 (permalink)
djdeacon Tele-Meister Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Toronto, Canada Age: 50 Posts: 192	GBX were designed by Guy (G) Beresford (B) who initally was the tech at Kalua Music in Scarborough, ON. The concept was very much like an Acoustic 360, or the Fender TFL/XFL series - a preamp "head", with powered cabinets. The standard cab was 4x10" speakers with an 80-watt solid-state power amp mounted in the back. There was also a 4x12" guitar-only cabinet with a power amp that was, if I recall, a little more powerful - possibly as much as 120 watts. The speakers had chrome dust caps, probably to fake you into thinking you were getting JBL's. The great thing about this set-up was that the little preamp had as many as six outputs (the standard one had four), so that you could hook up as many as six 80-watt cabinets at once - 480 watts!! The bassplayer in Steel River (Canadian heavy rock act from the early 70's) used just such a setup. I used to have a post of Lighthouse in my bedroom, featuring all their GBX gear. You have to remember that there was a 30% duty on foreign-made amps at the time, which made Fenders and Marshalls hugely expensive here. GBX were popular here in southern Ontario, largely because they weren't Traynor - by the early 70's, Traynor had pretty much saturated the market here. __________________ "If you make a mistake, play it twice, so the audience thinks it's intentional"

November 14th, 2008, 11:35 AM	#14 (permalink)
Blazerball NEW MEMBER! Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Evansville, IN Age: 58 Posts: 1	hi 73sg; I just joined this forum and saw you post from April. I have a GBX GD-2 with 4 10" speakers. I was wanting to sell it and get something more mobil. Do you know of anyone or other websites that might be helpful. My email is bdgoedde@aol.com. My site name here is Blazerball. Thanks for whatever help you may be able to give.