Gibson tube amps made in California

[rockabilly69]

Originally Posted by 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...

That's most likely because the ones you played weren't tweaked. Vintage amps guys knew that these amps could be made to sound great with just a few small changes. I've played a few of them, as two of my best friends are amp guys, and they have modded more than one of these Gibsons, and they sound great! And it sounds like Randall Smith knew exactly what to do with those circuits to get them there. The later Gibson amps, with the triangle shaped tops, well I won't say the same for them

[mtdmind]

Blackstar 5 watt tube amp is $550. 7 Watt Falcon is $1500. Blackstar has 12' speaker and Falcon has 10". I know specs aren't everything, but Blackstar is prettty reputable.

[imwjl]

Originally Posted by rmp

Not really

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

There are big runs of threads in other forums that get into easy to certify as ridiculous on the amps, construction methods and pricing. Funny to me is this has all occurred in the time frame I've been considering stuff like them and trading my Mesa Lone Star Special that has the 5-15-30 watts but is super heavy also from being 2x12.

No matter what many think, Mesa style construction and the Fender reissues are very well proven. When you compare amps that also have a spring reverb tank, and where they are made you see the pricing is quite reasonable.

The latest that delayed my action is a credible Mesa/Gibson dealer said I in essence have most, all or more except the big size and weight.

FWIW if someone is looking for low watt with reverb and not just married to Gibson or Mesa brand. In past 2 weeks Vox at least made the specs page live but I don't see availability or price yet.

https://voxamps.com/product/ac4-hand-wired-tube-amp/

[mo6020]

My old man is a tech for Gibson down in Nashville and, while he's not slow to regale me with any horror stories, he's had a lot of good things to say about these amps.

Price-wise I don't think they're pitching them too high, some tube amps are truly ludicrously priced these days (Two Rock I'm looking at you here), and I say this as someone that owns a Lazy J J20.

[ChrisN]

Originally Posted by mtdmind

They use 6L6 and 12AX7 tubes . My Princeton Reverb uses those tubes.

Your stock Princeton should use 6v6 tubes (2 of them). It's POSSIBLE to run 6L6 tubes in the sockets (and some do stick 6L6s in the stock amp), BUT the power and output transformers will be over-strained, and shorter-lived.

If your amp's transformers have been upgraded, then it's possible to safely run the 6L6s (biased at different point from the 6v6s due to larger draw - may require modification to the bias resistor).

Almost all tube amps made today use 1 of 4 power tubes:
6v6
6l6
el84
el34

They should be making these tubes for a while.

[Jeff Scott]

Originally Posted by 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.

Um, what do you mean by "former employees of Mesa"?

[KevWind]

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.

One possible correction ? in the video the specs say 6V6 not 6L6 for the power tubes
But as noted many amps especially 40 and up use 6L6 so probably be around a good long time

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by mtdmind

Blackstar 5 watt tube amp is $550. 7 Watt Falcon is $1500. Blackstar has 12' speaker and Falcon has 10". I know specs aren't everything, but Blackstar is prettty reputable.

True they are decent amps, but much of the price difference is Blackstar are made in China and the Gibsons are made in California so labor costs alone are likely significant in the difference

[TiffanyGuitar]

These Gibson amps are not point to point wired. There are some videos showing the construction. They actually don’t look like they are built that well, but I am no expert by any means.

Pricing is similar to the Fender reissues that are not point to point - but I suspect the fender reissues are made better.

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by TiffanyGuitar

These Gibson amps are not point to point wired. There are some videos showing the construction. They actually don’t look like they are built that well, but I am no expert by any means.

Pricing is similar to the Fender reissues that are not point to point - but I suspect the fender reissues are made better.

Yes they claim "hand wired " but that is a bit of word play. The one video I saw the 4 pre-amp tubes are mounted in a PCB So I suppose they are talking about all the other wires to and from the board , to the pot controls etc. and possibly the power tubes are hand wired hard to tell as they were in a metal cage. Mesa uses the same verbiage "Hand wired" and uses much the same construction design (obviously being a Randall Smith design )
I had a Mesa Boogie Lone Star Special 1 X12 Combo which was one of best sounding amps I have heard.. But it was simply too heavy for me to lug around

Personally I don't see an issue using PCB's as opposed to a true point to point hand wired amp, which in that 15- 20 watt range in the US is likely to be at or above $2k

[Jeff Scott]

Originally Posted by TiffanyGuitar

These Gibson amps are not point to point wired. There are some videos showing the construction. They actually don’t look like they are built that well, but I am no expert by any means.

Can you post those videos or provide links to them?

[imwjl]

Originally Posted by Jeff Scott

Can you post those videos or provide links to them?

Huge amounts of disk space and bandwidth have been used on these. My suggestion would be YouTube searches with good output device for listening if you can't do hands on.

Per @KevWind, my having a Lone Star Special and an honest dealer saying don't be so quick to get rid of it, there are good reviews of those too. You can get LSS that have 5-15-30 watt output and far more features in a lot of used markets.

The well regarded and somewhat famous Dave's shop senior amp tech Todd worked on my Mesa and it was just a hard to see inconsistent tube problem. From it being recent he confirmed these new amps are quality, so are the Fender reissues.

It is also advised to look at the California Tweed family from Mesa, and I posted about an upcoming Vox that looks interesting.

As heavy as a LSS is (mine's worse for being 2x12), they also have two reverb channels in addition to the main and power switching. The foot switch lets you without pedals complication switch in a wonderful way.

I forget if a California Tweed step above the Falcons has the two reverb channels. That feature should be considered for tone chasing. You don't just get a big spring reverb tank. You can very much adjust the reverb for each channel. The right ones in Mesa lineup in essence give you 2+ amps and reverb in the same cabinet that are all well proven.

It seemed good advice that two respectable dealers said the next step up in the now Gibson subsidiary Mesa are not the one trick ponies a lot of low watt amps are.

This seemed important to remember from that famous and well regarded repair place Dave's is. He pointed out Mesa and especially Fender make far more than most. If they were crap their repairs mix would look different.

I only saw the Falcon 20 and would want the 5. It looked absolutely built well or at least as Mesas have been made for quite a while.

My view on the Falcons is by brand more than content you get a simpler Mesa amp.

[FrankHudson]

Originally Posted by KevWind

One possible correction ? in the video the specs say 6V6 not 6L6 for the power tubes
But as noted many amps especially 40 and up use 6L6 so probably be around a good long time

From reviews I've read on the new Gibson amps they are made so that they can 6V6 or 6L6 tubes, with the latter giving them a bit more power in each of the switchable trio of power settings the amps offer.

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by FrankHudson

From reviews I've read on the new Gibson amps they are made so that they can 6V6 or 6L6 tubes, with the latter giving them a bit more power in each of the switchable trio of power settings the amps offer.

Interesting makes sense given 6L6 have higher current ratings I was going off what the printed specs said in the posted video, so I assume they come from the factory with the 6V6 ?

Although myself since I currently already have a low .5 watt amp , at somewhat close to that price point (for the Falcon 20), I would opt for a Port City Merino 20 watt https://portcityamps.com/product/merino-combo/ which is a true point to point hand wired amp. The Merino 1 X12 combo is $150 more @ $1950 but personally I would get the Head for $1799 given I already have a great 2x12 vertical Port City Cabinet .

[seannx]

Originally Posted by Jeff Scott

Um, what do you mean by "former employees of Mesa"?

Since Gibson bought Mesa, the employees who previously worked for Mesa are now Gibson's. I live near Petaluma, and know someone who worked for Mesa for many years, and is continuing to work for Gibson at the same facility. Buying Mesa was an easy way for Gibson to acquire an amp making business to build Gibson branded amps.