how much should i offer?

just test-drove a sweet little gibson ga-5t skylark tremolo amp from, i dunno, late fifties/early sixties? tweed. 4.5 watts. looks like the original jensen is in it. old, anyway. the amp is pretty dirty, but no tears or dents. the most visible flaw is that most of the gibson logo is broken off: now it just says "n." sounds great.

vintage guitar price guide lists them in gold or brown for $250 to $300 in excellent condition. it doesn't list a price for tweed.

anyhow, the store doesn't have a price tag on it - they said to make the owner an offer. i'm thinking of offering $150 and maybe going as high as $200 (which seems like plenty for such a little amp, especially considering that i'll want to put fresh tubes and speaker in it pretty quickly - but i'm not a collector, so what do i know?).

assuming it's all original, does that sound low? high? opinions, please!

Try $125 and see where it goes. $200 would be OK IMO.

why a new speaker. the jensens that come in those sound great, and the amp is pretty much too little to blow it, in my experience.
johnny atomic

that's good to know - thanks. i just thought the rule of thumb, because paper disintegrates over the years, is to remove original speakers from vintage amps and put 'em away in a box for if/when you sell 'em.

but if it won't blow, it won't blow. and it sounds like you know. great - if i get it, you just saved me some change!

i've never owned a ga5t but i've owned several ga5 from that era. the t has trem, and has a EL84 output versus the champ identical 6v6 circuit of the GA5. all are/were great, and the $250 to $300 price range is about right.

old speakers are old speakers, and therefore are somewhat fragile. but i've never blown one in a GA5 and i've played 'em flat out, even with pedals pushing 'em for hours on end.

johnny atomic