1965 Gibson Minuteman GAS

[Elvis2]

I traded a Hagstrom accordion for this beauty (it was a crap accordion!)

I have had this amp serviced and modified, it has new tubes and a new reverb unit and i have had a boost switch added to it (activated by pulling one of the volume controls) so it can be more easily pushed into overdrive at lower volumes.

After modifications this amp puts out 10 watts and is dead quiet, it has the most beautiful clean tone i have ever heard and the output valve distortion is unlike anything ive heard before.

[guitargeek62]

kuuuuuuuuuuuuule

[nocaster]

Looks nice.

I had my eye on a 1960 Gibson amp (can't remember the model) as it would be a perfecct match for my R0. It's was only a few hundred quid aswell. Should have taken a punt but I didn't.

Boo

K

[Professor SourTone]

Gibson amps are very underestimated, although harmonica players know all about them.

[guitargeek62]

Whats the one thats always on modelling amps/programs of late? explorer or something? Sounded really nice on my old flextone III if its any good at showing the true character lol!?

[Professor SourTone]

I have an old 1959 Explorer. Unfortunately its the amp rather than the guitar...

For me the nicest ones are the 1950's Gibsons - like Fender tweeds but a little darker. The reason they've always been a niche amp is they were like Fenders but "not quite". But the 50's and 60's Fenders were almost perfect and a really hard act to follow.

The classics are the large and small Les Paul amps, the GA-6 which is basically a tweed Deluxe, the 2x10 v-front stereo amp and a bunch in between. They made nice jazz amps (some really early ones, too). I once bought a job lot of 20 Gibsons - still have a few.

[guitargeek62]

Originally Posted by Professor SourTone

.....the GA-6 which is basically a tweed Deluxe.... I once bought a job lot of 20 Gibsons - still have a few.

intriguing, early deluxes are my favourite pure amp tone i think, followed by blackface princetons


ps, any for sale?

[Professor SourTone]

I sold quite a few of them early on just through lack of space. I met this guy in a service station halfway up the M1 about 17-18 years ago and transferred about 30 amps from his van to mine. It worked out at an average of 130 quid an amp. There were tweeds and blackfaces in there too, as well as a big Les Paul amp etc etc. A real score.

If you compare the GA6 to a Deluxe they're pretty similar, but I think the Fender has better transformers and has more punch and "glass". The Gibsons are darker - must be small component differences.

Here's a cool page

http://www.netads.com/~meo/Guitar/Amps/Gibson/gfmap.html