I have a 6151 tremolo amp and I'm trying to find out how old and a value. I've had it over 30 years and it plays great. 8" blue label Jenson, black vinyl with white binding and gray grill cloth all in excellent shape. 2-12AX7A AND 2- 5Y3GT tubes. No serial numbers inside the case any where. There is a very small chrome sticker with a # 1-88708 on it. It has 2 inputs and a foot pedal jack for tremolo. Has the old style Gretsch silver knobs. I see the knobs for sale on the net for $175 each. Any help would be appreicated in guiding me to a production year and value.

Hi! Jack, welcome to the GDP!

The Gretsch amps of the 1950s and 1960s were made by Valco. There is a whealth of information on these on the valcopages.com. According to the dating charts there, serials beginning with a '1' were produced between 1964 and 1968.

Interesting that yours has -2- 5y3gt rectifiers. The schematic on the Valcopages shows only one.

But that doesn't mean much; the amps in that vary a lot from year to year or from month to month even. I just got a Gretsch 6163 the other day that seems to be a mix of the 6161 schematic and the 6163 schematic that's on the valcopages.

Could it be that one of the rectifiers is simply a spare? Or are they both glowing when you turn on the amp?

I'm guessing one of those 5Y3s is actually something else like a 6V6 power tube? I see these on eBay ranging from just under $400 to nearly $1000 depending on condition and the luck of the auctioneer.

Nobody is SELLING knobs for $175, asking maybe, but they ain't 'getting'.

I friend bought and sold a similar gretsch amp with replaced grillcloth in the $250 range a few months ago.

The 5y3 is a rectifier, not a power tube.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wik... http://www.tubezone.net/pdf...

And $400-$1000 sounds highly unlikely for a 5y3. Where are you seeing those prices? I could do with a good lough.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.h...

The 5y3 is a rectifier, not a power tube.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wik... http://www.tubezone.net/pdf...

And $400-$1000 sounds highly unlikely for a 5y3. Where are you seeing those prices? I could do with a good lough.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.h...

i think he means the amps for $400 to $1000, not the tube

That was my point. This amp should have a preamp, power amp, and rectifier tube, with an additional tube for the tremelo. 2 5Y3GTs and 2 12AX7s doesn't fit that equation, so it seems likely that one of the 5Y3s must be something else. And yes, I meant the value of the complete amp. Even tested NOS tubes should only have one zero in the price! There was a guy who had a local CL post last week, selling scads of NOS tubes from the 50's and 60's for $20 a piece. His dad ran an organ repair shop and he was selling off the remains. The ad went up on Wednesday but I didn't spot it until Sunday. Almost everything was gone by then. Still kicking myself.

Ah, misunderstood you there jqrm. You mean one of the 5Y3GTs is actually a misread 6v6. And a complete amp makes more sense for that price too.

-although there IS a coke bottle 5y3 on the 'bay at a nutty $150 right now-

Michiel, thanks for the Info I went to the Supro/Valco sites and it directed me here??? Both Glow and I sold guitars and amps for many years back in the 70's. From what I see here it's probably in the time period you mention. I don't see the model as I know it until the 1968 catalog. Could be earlier but haven't seen a catalog earlier.

Michiel and Jqrm, You were right and I was wrong. Misread one of the tube sockets only 1 5Y3 the other is a 6V6. After two guys caught it I thought I'd better check. John Atomic, yea they're asking $175 each for those knobs and I sure wouldn't pay that either.

I sold mine for $350 after buying it for $400. Great little amps. That's the usual price range. Regret selling it.

If you read the fine print, that $150 coke bottle on the 'bay is actually a set of 4. So they're only asking double market value, not seven times it!

If you read the fine print, that $150 coke bottle on the 'bay is actually a set of 4. So they're only asking double market value, not seven times it!

Thanks to everyone for the help on this amp. I found the on the Valco pages that the blue label Jensen speaker had a 1965 mfg. code and the pots were made 43rd week of 1966 by CTS. The date code sticker in side beginning with a 1 tells me it's made between 64-68 and that's as close as I can find now. I do see the model amp I have in the 68 catalog but can't find a catalog to view before that year. Now the only question is a value. I want to sell it and some other old stuff I accumulated like some 60's Cry Baby pedals made by Thomas Organ. If anyone has an idea of a good selling price for the amp I'd appreciate the info. thanks