Rick Davis
2689 posts
Nov 15, 2013
5:26 PM
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Today I was at Bruce Collins' Mission Amps shop working on a small amp. I saw this in the corner:
It is a 1959 tweed Gibson GA-40 Les Paul amp. As you can see, it has lived the blues life. I played it for a few minutes, and Holy Moly! Awesome tone and crunch. Totally vintage Chicago sound.
It makes about 14 watts from two 6V6 tubes and has some very interesting preamp tubes: 5879 and 6SQ7. The speaker is an original Jensen 12-inch alnico. Bruce owns the amp and has tuned it up and freshened some of the caps.
Here is the small amp we were working on:
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-Little Rick Davis
The Blues Harp Amps Blog
The Mile High Blues Society
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cyclodan
29 posts
Nov 15, 2013
5:38 PM
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Sound clip or it didn't happen!
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Rick Davis
2690 posts
Nov 15, 2013
5:58 PM
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LOL. I had the Zoom video cam with me, too...
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-Little Rick Davis
The Blues Harp Amps Blog
The Mile High Blues Society
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paul45
144 posts
Nov 16, 2013
6:19 AM
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Small amp? As in small Mission amp? Any early details?
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Barley Nectar
185 posts
Nov 16, 2013
9:29 AM
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I have never met an early BR/GA Gibson that did not sound good for harp.
My next resurection is a '56 Gibson GA-20 Two Tone. Bought this from a guy who said it was his first amp. He bought it used in '63!
The amp barely works. After mkt PT, OEM OT, Very nice origional Jensen P12R sweet. Many origional components are WAY out of spec. It's a shame but this will need a compleate redo electricly. I have a more correct PT ready to go in. Nice 15W Gibby. Said to be a great harp amp. We shall see...BN
Last Edited by Barley Nectar on Nov 16, 2013 9:33 AM
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Rick Davis
2691 posts
Nov 16, 2013
11:33 AM
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Barley, I agree. I've played several vintage Gibson amps and liked them all. This GA-40 was exceptional, though...
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-Little Rick Davis
The Blues Harp Amps Blog
The Mile High Blues Society
Last Edited by Rick Davis on Nov 16, 2013 11:34 AM
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harpburn
85 posts
Nov 16, 2013
11:56 AM
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Can you post a close-up of the GA-40's tone controls? I love the sound of this amp on Kim Wilson's Tigerman.
Many thanks.
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myspace.com/mightynightjars
thenightjarsblues@gmail.com
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Piro39
56 posts
Nov 16, 2013
3:44 PM
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Yesterday I picked up my Gibson Ga-20 from my newly discovered amp wizard Woody Crane here in Santa Fe,NM. I bought this amp about 12 years ago and was never really impressed with it even through I had read what a great harp amp it is supposed to be. I eventually sent it to Kendricks to have them work on it and was charged $350 for the work and still wasn't impressed. I brought it to Woody Crane and he showed me what a bad job they had done on it and there were no mods performed for harp like I had requested. I really felt screwed. I have hardly used this amp because of my dissatisfaction with it.He found 2 bad pre-amp tubes and replaced them. I took it back to my studio and plugged it in and I could not believe what a tone monster this amp has turned into. It's an amazing harp amp, I'm very impressed. I also gave him my 1946 Gibson BR-1 which he said was severely mutilated by someone and he is attempting to rebuild it as close to stock as possible. I'm looking forward to getting this one back by the end of next week.
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BigSteveNJ
19 posts
Nov 16, 2013
6:23 PM
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Back in the day before I knew how to amp the harp right, I had a GA-40 I just never bonded with. Wish I still had it. They are great amps and only just beginning to make waves in the collector market because they're not F*nders. ;-)
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cyclodan
30 posts
Nov 16, 2013
6:53 PM
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Shhhh... you guys gotta stop raving about these Gibsons, gonna drive up the prices before I can get another one. I really want a GA-25 with the 8" and 12" speaker combo but they are already getting pricey.
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Barley Nectar
187 posts
Nov 17, 2013
7:38 AM
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A fellow player and amp nut tells me that the GA 20T is "The One". Have not heard it but this guy knows his amps...
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tmf714
2176 posts
Nov 17, 2013
7:46 AM
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THIS is the "Tigerman" amp-
Last Edited by tmf714 on Nov 17, 2013 7:53 AM
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MP
2992 posts
Nov 17, 2013
12:01 PM
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Almost any old Gibson amp; especially the Les Paul models, is going to be great for harp. I've only played one '60s model Gibo that was thin and lifeless. Maybe a Falcon? can't remember. it was a 1X12 combo.
Br 1s are outrageous.
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i still have a little Hohner stock for reed replacement in three common keys.
when these are gone i'm out of the biz.
click MP for my e-mail address and more info.
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