Why does this scare me (waaay) more than it probably should?

[Rip Van Dan]

It's quite a bit more complicated than this... The G series were manufactured for CMI (Chicago Musical Instrument) under the Gibson brand since CMI had acquired controlling interest in Gibson. CMI also was the exclusive distributor of Standel which when Standel shut down was acquired by Randall. Randall's head designer was a guy named Gary Sunda who later went on to found Orange County Speaker Service. Gary designed follow-up models under both the Standel and Randall brands including the SG series. I knew his son Bryan from the OCS days. All of these later amps are only loosely connected to the old Gibson brand.

Thanks @agedhorse!

 

[Obese Chess]

I don’t think a new amp would be that scary. Sounded like thunder and the house shook.

On the contrary, this is exactly what I want from an amp.

 

[elkkid2]

This is an all tube guitar amp, no class D or switchmode power supply. It was designed by Randall and the guitar amp team at Mesa to capture the (very much vintage) vibe of the old Falcon GA series but with enhancements and a little bit of creative licence from Cesar and the Gibson team. It's very, very much not a rebranding of a Mesa product, though we are building it here in the US for for Gibson because that's an important element for all of us involved with the product line.

I have seen it, heard it, I worked on the project and it's real. I can't say anymore, but I'm sure there will be lots of speculation... including usual incorrect rumors generated by the guitar amp forum mills.

Do you happen to know if a Bass Amp is in the works?

 

[agedhorse]

Do you happen to know if a Bass Amp is in the works?

No, I don't know this information and even if I did I couldn't share... sorry

 

[bobalu]

Hope the quality control and pricing is better than that of their guitars.

 

[SDC1-ClickClack]

Hope the quality control and pricing is better than that of their guitars.

 

[Bonafide]

Its cool. Dig the old Gibson amps. A lot of my buds play them.

My 1941 Gibson EH-185.

 

[SDC1-ClickClack]

Its cool. Dig the old Gibson amps. A lot of my buds play them.

My 1941 Gibson EH-185.

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Nice! If/when you have to replace a tube, are comparable ones still available? I recall reading that fewer companies manufacture vacuum tubes now, or perhaps it is more difficult to find ones of good quality. I hope that is NOT the case.

ALSO: I wonder whether a good luggage repair store could install a new, but more durable handle that might look appropriate?

 

[TyBo]

Its cool. Dig the old Gibson amps. A lot of my buds play them.

My 1941 Gibson EH-185.

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That looks really nice. Missing the handle, but those almost never hold up, really. Looks like it's still got the old field coil speaker. Sweet.

I'm also a fan of 50's era Gibson amps. Got a GA 20 that gives a great rock and roll sound. And a Maestro, billed as an accordian amp, but basically a GA 40. Gibson has a history of making some great amps. This new one looks promising.

 

[Hevy T]

I don't know if they're going to make bass amps but a guitar amp is in the works.
It looks like Gibson Amps will be making a comeback very soon

All I can say is thank God Ampeg is owned by Yamaha

 

[Bonafide]

Nice! If/when you have to replace a tube, are comparable ones still available? I recall reading that fewer companies manufacture vacuum tubes now, or perhaps it is more difficult to find ones of good quality. I hope that is NOT the case.

ALSO: I wonder whether a good luggage repair store could install a new, but more durable handle that might look appropriate?

Those 2 GE octal tubes are not original; they were replaced sometime in the 50s. The RCAs were stock. And Octal tubes are still made>! I have a custom amp made in 2017 based on the EH, uses the same octal tubes.

That looks really nice. Missing the handle, but those almost never hold up, really. Looks like it's still got the old field coil speaker. Sweet.

I'm also a fan of 50's era Gibson amps. Got a GA 20 that gives a great rock and roll sound. And a Maestro, billed as an accordian amp, but basically a GA 40. Gibson has a history of making some great amps. This new one looks promising.

Yeah, those field coil speakers are impossible to find. As are handles.
Love the GA series in general. I have a couple of Nashville friends who use them weekly. My buddy TK Smith is the one who turned me on to the EH amps many years ago. I recorded a guitar nerd record, which is primarily EH150 and 185-driven, though Chris used a 1954 Gibson GA-77 on his track.

I had a custom EH185 style, octal tube amp made for me in the Netherlands 8 years ago. I use 15" hemp cone in this one. My Elektra 'The 185". I use it often for jump blues recording; it has never been gigged in 8 years. It runs hot like the EH amps. Good for winter!

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[TyBo]

Those 2 GE octal tubes are not original; they were replaced sometime in the 50s. The RCAs were stock. And Octal tubes are still made>! I have a custom amp made in 2017 based on the EH, uses the same octal tubes.



Yeah, those field coil speakers are impossible to find. As are handles.
Love the GA series in general. I have a couple of Nashville friends who use them weekly. My buddy TK Smith is the one who turned me on to the EH amps many years ago. I recorded a guitar nerd record, which is primarily EH150 and 185-driven, though Chris used a 1954 Gibson GA-77 on his track.

I had a custom EH185 style, octal tube amp made for me in the Netherlands 8 years ago. I use 15" hemp cone in this one. My Elektra 'The 185". I use it often for jump blues recording; it has never been gigged in 8 years. It runs hot like the EH amps. Good for winter!

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Ooh, I had my eye on one of those Elektras a while back, never quite pulled the trigger. I love jump blues and old r+b, so it's right in that wheelhouse. Nice to hear another good report on that amp, way cool.
I do have a sort of beat up original, which of course gets the sound, but not super reliable. There's something to be said for that original amplified Gibson style sound! Those octal preamp tubes don't hurt, with their responsive touch. Gibson was badass!

 

[Michedelic]

Gibson stopped making guitar and bass amps in the early 1970s. Norlin, their parent company, then introduced the Lab Series amps. Some of the vintage Gibson amps were ahead of their time. They made amps with tube compressors. They had a solid state rig comprised of a preamp and powered cabinets. They had stereo guitar amps. The amps were never as popular as Fender, you don’t see used ones very often and when you do they aren’t that expensive.

Gibson sold the GB-440 bass amp for about a year in the 1990s. Dave Funk bought all the remaining parts for the heads from the Gibson warehouse and started building them. When he ran out of the original Gibson enclosures, he had new ones made but labeling them Thunderfunk and the rest is history.

That all got covered a few posts/pages ago.

 

[Jugghaid]

Also Gibson made the Goldtone series guitar amps in the 90s. I believe they were rebranded Trace Elliot Velocettes after that acquisition.

 

[agedhorse]

Also Gibson made the Goldtone series guitar amps in the 90s. I believe they were rebranded Trace Elliot Velocettes after that acquisition.

I haven’t heard this. I can check it pretty easily.

 

[ScoobyDoober]

Haven’t they all gone to retirement homes and assisted living by now?

There's a metric eff-ton of them active on this board every day lol

 

[el jeffe bass]

Every time I get some new tube toy and I think I'm finally the coolest kid on the block, a certain guitarist shows up with something like this: a Gibson amp from the freakin' 1930s. (And I love him for it...)

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If Gibson wanted to put out a new tube bass amp with a half power setting - or a combo that looked something like this - that would be fine with me.

A band mate of mine had a Gibson amp like that from the 30’s. He used to let me play harmonica into it. It had GREAT amplified harp tone

 

[DavidEdenAria]

Epiphone Devon here.....i think its a 63, has a 12" speaker and no tremolo (other Devons did) nice jangly sound i boost it a bit with a 10 band EQ but a cool little rig...not a ton of gain but great cleans...EL84s, 12ax7s, tube rectifier...wish i could post a pic but its the last of what i consider 'good looking' early 60s styling.

Can someone post a pic of a 63 Devon?

 

[StayLow]

Epiphone Devon here.....i think its a 63, has a 12" speaker and no tremolo (other Devons did) nice jangly sound i boost it a bit with a 10 band EQ but a cool little rig...not a ton of gain but great cleans...EL84s, 12ax7s, tube rectifier...wish i could post a pic but its the last of what i consider 'good looking' early 60s styling.

Can someone post a pic of a 63 Devon?

This one?

.


Not sure when it came to market, but here it is in their 1961 catalog (unsure of price but in the 1962 catalog it was $95, or $129.50 for version w/ tremolo, and $7.50 for slip cover):

.


There was also a Rivoli bass amp:

.


And these electric basses (Epiphone offered more upright basses than electrics at the time, and in 1962 the base model Newport was $210 plus $26.50 for a case):

 

[Bonafide]

Ooh, I had my eye on one of those Elektras a while back, never quite pulled the trigger. I love jump blues and old r+b, so it's right in that wheelhouse. Nice to hear another good report on that amp, way cool.

13 were made, and they were expensive. I was the only one in the USA due to shipping costs, and then he stopped due to a separation. Michiel started making/designing steam engines—even older school.

There are a few semi-Valco-ish clones out there, but this is the closest 185 duplicate outside of the field coil speaker, which is no longer made. These are expensive to make and do not have much of a market. No one is making a killing on old Gibson amp remakes...

My friend Tavo makes one called the Moonshine 39', and he makes EH185 pedals called the Junior Barnyard (Play on Junior Barnard). That pedal gets the pillowy Gibson octal amp tones and is very impressive. I have had mine for about a decade. I also used the El Pescadero for the past few years, which has the old Gibson EH Amp tones built in and old chess records reverb. It's a great match for the 185, which does not have a verb.

What I love about this demo is RJ is rocking my shirt with a picture of my actual guitar, a guitar made for me by TK Smith a decade ago, who turned me on to the amps... RJ always kills it.