NAMM 2024: Just as CEO Cesar Gueikian suggested to us back in 2021, Gibson Amps are coming back and we now have the confirmation with a model name and a sneak peak.
'Ready for flight?' asks Gibson's new landing page where you can sign up for a mailing list to find out more when the time comes – and we'd bet on it being in the next couple of weeks.
An overhead view of a guitar amp is shown above with a Gibson Amplifiers tag attached to the handle. The amp is called the Falcon 20 with what looks to be a cream Tolex covering, attenuation controls (Full, Half and Low) and a Frequency dial. Frequency for what – tremolo? We think so.
This is not the first flight of the Gibson Falcon – the original tube amp (full model name GA-19RVT) was a 14-watt combo launched back in 1961 – the only year it was produced. It had both reverb and tremolo and proved just how forward-thinking the company was at the time in terms of features. The first Falcon had a 12" Jensen speaker, 6V6 power tubes like Fender's Deluxe, a trio of 6EU7 tubes for the preamp, and a 7199 tube for its reverb circuit.
Gibson first started producing amplifiers way back in 1935 but ceased production in 1967. Series like the GA and BR have become cult favourites but the announcement of Gibson's acquisition of Mesa/Boogie in early 2021 saw the idea of a return to US-made Gibson amps surface.
Later that year Gueikian confirmed to MusicRadar that Mesa/Boogie founder Randall Smith was taking a lead role in the project.
"Randy is working on the design of what are going to be the next evolution of Gibson amplifiers as well," the CEO revealed. "They are going to be made in Petaluma, California. So Randy's been leading that."
You can sign up to the mailing list to be the first to find out about the launch of Gibson Amplifiers over at gibson.com
