Gibson tube amps made in California

[mtdmind]

Gibson tube amps made in Petaluma California are coming out. They use 6L6 and 12AX7 tubes . That is good news because I have been afraid those tubes would disappear. My Princeton Reverb uses those tubes.

[Rudy4]

Originally Posted by mtdmind

Gibson tube amps made in Petaluma California are coming out. They use 6L6 and 12AX7 tubes . That is good news because I have been afraid those tubes would disappear. My Princeton Reverb uses those tubes.

Someone will always manufacture these, as there's a literal gazillion amps that use them.

I'm assuming the new Gibson amps are all point to point hardwired considering the price, but there isn't that much technical information about them yet.

They are certainly near the top for number of dollars per watt!

[mtdmind]

They are pricey as everything Gibson is.

[rockabilly69]

Originally Posted by Rudy4

I'm assuming the new Gibson amps are all point to point hardwired considering the price, but there isn't that much technical information about them yet.

I doubt that these amps are point to point handwired as were designed by Randall Smith of Mesa Boogie fame (Gibson bought Mesa a while back). Mesa has always used circuit boards, but some of the best in the business with heavy traces. And the prices of these are more in line with Mesa production amps, nothing like the uber cost of boutique amps of the same wattage ratings. They are more in line with the Mesa amps like the lower wattage versions of the Fillmore and the California Blond.

I'm actually thinking of buying the Gibson Falcon 20, as I love the sound of the tremolo and the reverb in that amp. And in the demo of both of these amps, the player at one point plays many of the guitar models that I own and it sounds great with all of them, so that would take a little bit of the guesswork out of what it would sound like with my guitars

[Steve DeRosa]

Listened to several other vids as well: nice stuff - the Mesa DNA is definitely there when you inch into the dirt zone, and the Falcon 20 is $300 less than the similar California Tweed 2:20 - and if I wasn't in the market for gear to serve more immediate needs I'd be giving the 20 some serious consideration...

Then again, if Gibson was to come out with a 40-50W version of the Falcon 20 - same simple WYSIWYG controls and features, but with a heavy-duty 15" under the hood for some real throwback tone - for around $2000-2200 new I might find it a wee bit harder to resist...

[seannx]

They are made in Petaluma by Mesa for Gibson.

[Glennwillow]

Originally Posted by rockabilly69

I doubt that these amps are point to point handwired as were designed by Randall Smith of Mesa Boogie fame (Gibson bought Mesa a while back). Mesa has always used circuit boards, but some of the best in the business with heavy traces. And the prices of these are more in line with Mesa production amps, nothing like the uber cost of boutique amps of the same wattage ratings. They are more in line with the Mesa amps like the lower wattage versions of the Fillmore and the California Blond.

I'm actually thinking of buying the Gibson Falcon 20, as I love the sound of the tremolo and the reverb in that amp. And in the demo of both of these amps, the player at one point plays many of the guitar models that I own and it sounds great with all of them, so that would take a little bit of the guesswork out of what it would sound like with my guitars

Holy Cow! That sounds good!

- Glenn

[Rudy4]

Originally Posted by seannx

They are made in Petaluma by Mesa for Gibson.

Doesn't Gibson now own Mesa? That would mean Gibson was making them, not another company.

[seannx]

My point was that they are made in the same facility in Petaluma as Mesa (that they bought), by the former employees of Mesa. So you’re certainly right that the models now coming out are Gibson amps.

[rmp]

Originally Posted by mtdmind

They are pricey as everything Gibson is.

Not really

not if you compare the point to point wired Fenders or look at amps like Supro and Freidman for example.

[j3ffr0]

A little reminiscent of a Mesa California Blond in a couple ways. All cool vintagey amps. I more of a Mesa Mark fan personally for the versatility.

[jseth]

I remember playing through a few of those old Gibson amplifiers, back in the 60's and early 70's. They were nothing more than "okay" to me... of course, I was raised in Orange County in the 50's and 60's, so I was decidedly in the "Fender" Camp when it came to guitar amplifiers!

But those Gibson amps were "nothing to write home about"; I don't know about re-issuing a product that was never all that... however, they DO look very cool...

[imwjl]

Having a multi-power switching and multi channel Mesa (Lone Star Special) with recent years causing Gibson to leave bad tasted in my mouth I might want that extra for the California Tweed.

As for Gibson, current guitars seem better and we're (at least I'm) not hearing from that obnoxious guy who was in charge for a while, and they don't seem to be taking to me poor tangents from being a musical instrument company.

Consider me in the camp of thinking that while expensive, the Mesa products are for sure competitive against some that is out there. I've joked wondering if they include file marks and paint runs but reality is they seem like competitive products. I did not look at the reverb tech specs but plenty of high end amps with same or similar prices don't have it.

On brand, Gibson did a really good job of tarnishing theirs for a while so I don't know if this is a good move or not. I would have banked on the Mesa brand and made sure they're also sold by smaller independent music stores too.

Edit: The low watt version has any or all I want if I decide to move on from my beast Lone Star 2x12 and/or our son moves on with my Princeton Reverb. Maybe I'll have to get over the poor sentiments that Henry guy left with me.

[abn556]

The review on Premier Guitar said they are 6V6 amps that can also use 6L6 tubes. Lower wattage with 6V6 and frankly I prefer the 6V6 sound to 6L6s.

[abn556]

https://youtube.com/watch?v=J5abP4o0...QnAKduPzgbIjdx