SamClemons
Poster Extraordinaire
I like the old covering such as it is. I would reglue it and leave it. Seems there is always a ying/yang between the relic crowd and the mint crowd.
Gibson GA-75 Westerner and Scorpions
- Thread starter PapaLion
- Start date
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I saw that model Buffalo amp at a local guitar show 2-3 yrs back. I did a double take then thought the same thing I thought now - logo looks like something off an RV or pop-up camper. (Logo's are important - think wisely amp makers !)
Re : Ga-40's. I had an "LP" logo grill model w/ a factory, gold embossed "Gibson" leather cover that I bought from a guy starting a mom and pop music store. As the bills mounted he would sell another piece from his vintage collection. I also bought a '56 LP Jr w/ the pink brown case for $400 from the same guy.
Anyway - that GA 40 was one of the best amps I've ever played through but if you took a peek inside it looked like someone threw a grenade into an Italian restaurant.
Papa Lion - good luck w/ the clean out and the critters...
Re : Ga-40's. I had an "LP" logo grill model w/ a factory, gold embossed "Gibson" leather cover that I bought from a guy starting a mom and pop music store. As the bills mounted he would sell another piece from his vintage collection. I also bought a '56 LP Jr w/ the pink brown case for $400 from the same guy.
Anyway - that GA 40 was one of the best amps I've ever played through but if you took a peek inside it looked like someone threw a grenade into an Italian restaurant.
Papa Lion - good luck w/ the clean out and the critters...
Cliff Schecht
Tele-Holic
Anyway - that GA 40 was one of the best amps I've ever played through but if you took a peek inside it looked like someone threw a grenade into an Italian restaurant.
This is probably the most accurate description of Gibson guts I've read/heard. Hilarious man!
PapLioin, if you don't have any luck at all with contacting Rob(Buffalo Amplifiers), let me kow. I may have a personal conduit by which I can contact him.
And....my bigger problem than the covering with this amp is the condition of the panel. Vintage market.....originality + condition, condition, condition..... that determines value...or in an isolated situation...a hungry fish, right?
OEN thing about this amp....you don't see very many of them. That alone doesn't make the market go, though.
Talking about rarity, Cliff's mouth is watering over a GA-100 Gibson I have.349 total built with this schematic---on board tube compression, ultralinear bass amp...best electric/acoustic amp I have ever heard.
OEN thing about this amp....you don't see very many of them. That alone doesn't make the market go, though.
Talking about rarity, Cliff's mouth is watering over a GA-100 Gibson I have.349 total built with this schematic---on board tube compression, ultralinear bass amp...best electric/acoustic amp I have ever heard.
FenderLover
Poster Extraordinaire
Just a couple of things:
Buffalo amps is out of business. Rob recovered my GA-50 for me. It's a linen fabric that's glued on and stained, then covered with an acrylic clear coat. Very tedious, but nice looking. Rob is knowledgeable with Gibsons, but not a good businessman. I'd steer clear. It's very difficult to get same-year service out of him... He never shipped my rear cover after paying for it twice and getting a few promises.
FYI - the P15N has a blue label, Wally, and the F15N has a red label.
Buffalo amps is out of business. Rob recovered my GA-50 for me. It's a linen fabric that's glued on and stained, then covered with an acrylic clear coat. Very tedious, but nice looking. Rob is knowledgeable with Gibsons, but not a good businessman. I'd steer clear. It's very difficult to get same-year service out of him... He never shipped my rear cover after paying for it twice and getting a few promises.
FYI - the P15N has a blue label, Wally, and the F15N has a red label.
FenderLOver, that is good info. The F15N from my '52 Pro doesn't have a label on the bell cover. THe cover on this speaker sticks out past the back edge of the amp...normal for this speaker in this amp according to Gregg Rogers. So, teh bell cover has been painted black..probably due to the cosmetic damage that the bell cover has been subjected to over its lifetime.
IT does read F15N on the ege if the basket, though....along with 220137 for a date code.
IT does read F15N on the ege if the basket, though....along with 220137 for a date code.
SamClemons
Poster Extraordinaire
That covering material has got to be still available. I think you might find it called "brown leatherette" it was used a lot for vintage suit cases and I am sure that is where Gibson got it.
Thanks for the chuckles, Sam.
What was does not necessary have always to be, ime. There are Samsonite suitcases from the '50's that are covered in the same stuff....or it looks a lot like it. IF the material was available, I would think that Rob at Buffalo Amps would have found it rather than go to the trouble of 'faking' it...and doing a good job at that. HEy, modern tweed isn't correct either when compared to the vintage stuff. The last time I was able to find 'correct' tweed was back in the mid-90's. THe stripe is not really the correct color.....more olive drab than it is brown. IT has to be 'colored' to look right. I have soem of the correct modern tweed....covering 4 chairs! LOL I also have a scrap of it that shows the difference between what is available to day and what it should look like.
With amber shellac treatment, what we can get today suffices....but it isn't totally correct.
...
What was does not necessary have always to be, ime. There are Samsonite suitcases from the '50's that are covered in the same stuff....or it looks a lot like it. IF the material was available, I would think that Rob at Buffalo Amps would have found it rather than go to the trouble of 'faking' it...and doing a good job at that. HEy, modern tweed isn't correct either when compared to the vintage stuff. The last time I was able to find 'correct' tweed was back in the mid-90's. THe stripe is not really the correct color.....more olive drab than it is brown. IT has to be 'colored' to look right. I have soem of the correct modern tweed....covering 4 chairs! LOL I also have a scrap of it that shows the difference between what is available to day and what it should look like.
With amber shellac treatment, what we can get today suffices....but it isn't totally correct.
...
The tweed you remember is probably the kind Mike Fenton over in ElCajon had made for him to sell. It was darned near perfect! But alas Fender gobbled up that market.
I've got a single '55 and and pair of '62 Bel Air script chrome names that go on the quarter panel for old chevys... or would look very good on a custom amp front.
****
Scene guitar show:
"What model amp is that buddy?"
"Oh that's the Bel Air, ya never seen one of those? Best darned tube amp around." dealer smirk.
"It has a 4 6V6s, a matched quad set. The power chassis is down on the bottom, preamp up top and as heat rises a special slotted baffle laid in diagonally in the speaker cab draws cool air from the bottom slot and cools those power tubes down." Thus the name ~ Bel Air~ " "Very few made ya' know, boutique to the max."
****
* Yes, one very similar to that exists.
As 4 me 2day, I've been on the tractor all day rototilling my pomegranate orchard. So IR tired as heck and took no pics. tomorrow is another day.
italian restaurant ... grenade... boom.
all good, I will check that speaker and get some close ups and #s 4 shore.
I've got a single '55 and and pair of '62 Bel Air script chrome names that go on the quarter panel for old chevys... or would look very good on a custom amp front.
****
Scene guitar show:
"What model amp is that buddy?"
"Oh that's the Bel Air, ya never seen one of those? Best darned tube amp around." dealer smirk.
"It has a 4 6V6s, a matched quad set. The power chassis is down on the bottom, preamp up top and as heat rises a special slotted baffle laid in diagonally in the speaker cab draws cool air from the bottom slot and cools those power tubes down." Thus the name ~ Bel Air~ " "Very few made ya' know, boutique to the max."
****
* Yes, one very similar to that exists.
As 4 me 2day, I've been on the tractor all day rototilling my pomegranate orchard. So IR tired as heck and took no pics. tomorrow is another day.
italian restaurant ... grenade... boom. all good, I will check that speaker and get some close ups and #s 4 shore.
Cliff Schecht
Tele-Holic
That speaker darn sure looks original, that wasn't even a concern of mine. Hopefully gutshots don't reveal anything nasty but even in rough shape these amps are usually recoverable. It will sing again!
BTW I slept over it and still really want your amp.
I'm not sure if it's worth it to try to re-cover the amp with new materials. While I'm not a big fan of the faux "road worn" look, I'm by no means against vintage equipment that shows its age. The original covering can be recovered enough to not feel the need to re-cover it. The backside could use a small patch but that's not worth ripping the entire original covering off IMO..
BTW I slept over it and still really want your amp.
I'm not sure if it's worth it to try to re-cover the amp with new materials. While I'm not a big fan of the faux "road worn" look, I'm by no means against vintage equipment that shows its age. The original covering can be recovered enough to not feel the need to re-cover it. The backside could use a small patch but that's not worth ripping the entire original covering off IMO..
FenderLover
Poster Extraordinaire
As to covering, Wally is right. If it were available, Rob is a good bird dog, and he would have found it. But original covering isn't everything. Wally's observation is spot on there too - if it looks nice (condition) a custom job will bring a buyer. The right fish will come swimming along. A custom job can fill the place of condition. It always takes the right buyer when you start asking a lot of cash for an amp anyway.
Personally, I've always liked that western-tooled tolex look. I'm a fish that would jump all over that!
Personally, I've always liked that western-tooled tolex look. I'm a fish that would jump all over that!
I am sitting here wishing that I could find the deal that PapaLion got on this one....25 cents, right, Papa? 4 for a dollar as I read it....
If I could get this amp at a very cheap price, I would redo the panel...whatever that took....to make it be 100%. Then I would cover the amp in leather, tooled leather, or cowhide. With the amp in proper running condition and looking like that, I would probably be turning down offers for big money....maybe over market value, who knows. But....imho, the panel is the key. I don't like looking at shabby panels....whether it be a Gibson painted panel that has had a rough life like this one or whether it is a FEncdr chromed panel that has started rusting away. There is no way to get an amp to top condition without having a fresh looking panel...original or redone. IT would take a good but of work to get the panel looking correct.....work equals time, time equals money.
The other option is to ignore the cosmetic issues and just get it running properly with fresh caps and whatever else is needed..and accept that his amp will never be worth more than about 35-40% of top dollar for an excellent condtion amp of the same model. The tears in the linen are acceptable to me. ONe thing that really bothers me is the water damage that is observable. The amp has been in water to a depth that would put the lower part of the speaker in water. ....or it so appears to me.
Still, if it walked in today I would be making reasonable offers until I either bought the amp or had to watch it go away. I would hate to have to watch it walk away, but sometimes.....that is what happens.
If I could get this amp at a very cheap price, I would redo the panel...whatever that took....to make it be 100%. Then I would cover the amp in leather, tooled leather, or cowhide. With the amp in proper running condition and looking like that, I would probably be turning down offers for big money....maybe over market value, who knows. But....imho, the panel is the key. I don't like looking at shabby panels....whether it be a Gibson painted panel that has had a rough life like this one or whether it is a FEncdr chromed panel that has started rusting away. There is no way to get an amp to top condition without having a fresh looking panel...original or redone. IT would take a good but of work to get the panel looking correct.....work equals time, time equals money.
The other option is to ignore the cosmetic issues and just get it running properly with fresh caps and whatever else is needed..and accept that his amp will never be worth more than about 35-40% of top dollar for an excellent condtion amp of the same model. The tears in the linen are acceptable to me. ONe thing that really bothers me is the water damage that is observable. The amp has been in water to a depth that would put the lower part of the speaker in water. ....or it so appears to me.
Still, if it walked in today I would be making reasonable offers until I either bought the amp or had to watch it go away. I would hate to have to watch it walk away, but sometimes.....that is what happens.
Here are a few more pics I took this morning.
Bass and treble pots have been replaced with some crud from Taiwan... otherwise the guts look untouched. The power cord is an orange extention cord... I have plenty of 2 and 3 wire black cables, one can go with it in the the box.
Logo is stained some but intact, I suppose it can be polished up, it's brass.
Panel needs more cleaning, but is only maybe 10% cruddy/rusty. I think it could be cleaned and polished up to a very respectable original finish.
If I have Mouser US pots, which i probably do, that are correct I'll add that in the box of course. Save someone searching for and shipping two pots.
Speaker is a P15N 220130 so mid to later 1951 build on that I believe.
I still think the material is beyond a nice job... even for shabby kool look. I'm liking the idea of a tooled leather trim and very elegant custom amp. Something to sit in the living room of some Dr.$ and have his wife ok with that.
Let's think selling it without the speaker? Less $, less weight involved and allows for it to become a project with tooled leather, custom guts changes etc. and keep the $ lower.
One of my Pros is 100% aok original and all, the other is very humble. The Jensen will fit my more humble Tweed Pro and be right... so I can use it, also I got no clue if it is excellent shape or needs a recone. might be an easier deal for everyone... shipping on 31 pounds to the Tornado capitol of Texas is only $25 or so.
Pomegranate orchards ready for summer. We have three varieties and have cuttings started for two of those. We will sell pomegranates and the bushes in 15 gallon containers soon... mostly to winter visitors for around their little mobile homes. Someday?? when the housing is better, I will sell my big old house in town in Yuma and then build a little casita at the ranchita and move there ASAP.
Bass and treble pots have been replaced with some crud from Taiwan... otherwise the guts look untouched. The power cord is an orange extention cord... I have plenty of 2 and 3 wire black cables, one can go with it in the the box.
Logo is stained some but intact, I suppose it can be polished up, it's brass.
Panel needs more cleaning, but is only maybe 10% cruddy/rusty. I think it could be cleaned and polished up to a very respectable original finish.
If I have Mouser US pots, which i probably do, that are correct I'll add that in the box of course. Save someone searching for and shipping two pots.
Speaker is a P15N 220130 so mid to later 1951 build on that I believe.
I still think the material is beyond a nice job... even for shabby kool look. I'm liking the idea of a tooled leather trim and very elegant custom amp. Something to sit in the living room of some Dr.$ and have his wife ok with that.
Let's think selling it without the speaker? Less $, less weight involved and allows for it to become a project with tooled leather, custom guts changes etc. and keep the $ lower.
One of my Pros is 100% aok original and all, the other is very humble. The Jensen will fit my more humble Tweed Pro and be right... so I can use it, also I got no clue if it is excellent shape or needs a recone. might be an easier deal for everyone... shipping on 31 pounds to the Tornado capitol of Texas is only $25 or so.
Pomegranate orchards ready for summer. We have three varieties and have cuttings started for two of those. We will sell pomegranates and the bushes in 15 gallon containers soon... mostly to winter visitors for around their little mobile homes. Someday?? when the housing is better, I will sell my big old house in town in Yuma and then build a little casita at the ranchita and move there ASAP.
Attachments
I listed it in Classified this afternoon. $250 OBO and me get reasonable without the Speaker. OR, $350 more for the speaker (not sold seperately). Cliff I'd like to see U work the $ out, take her home and then thread us pics of the progress, cussing and fun.
enjoy,
enjoy,
Foxy229
TDPRI Member
I will take it.
Foxy229
TDPRI Member
Foxy229
TDPRI Member
Foxy229
TDPRI Member
Almost done. Will have a new faceplate being made soon, leather piping to add to the cabinet, another 6SC7 tube on the way, a black Jensen P15N is being re-coned to 4 ohns today (test speaker is 8 ohms). It sounds fantastic!!
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Just curious....I have never seen a larger Gibson amp with a 4 ohm speaker. Is that what is called for in this GA-75 Recording?
