There weren't any good vintage Gretsch amps, but some of them looked cool.
I generally agree with everything you say on this site. The view on vintage Gretsch amps is the rare exception--my 6156 Gretsch (Valco) Playboy with factory 12'' Jensen and 6973 power tubes is a quite an excellent sounding amp. ~18 watts sweet spot as well.
Very lightweight also thanks to the cheapskate build quality decisions.
I've only ever owned one vintage Gretsch tube amp, a '60ish cowboy amp. It was before I was able to service my own amps, so I had to rely on the kindness of strangers, but it was not a good sounding amp. It was the two oval speaker variety and just sounded muffled and underpowered.
I have a Gretsch 6152 and a 6159 both are Valco built amps. They are unique in tone with a low-fi midrange sound and maybe not as versatile as say my 1962 Fender Vibrolux, Pro or even my 57 Bandmaster. But the Gretsch amps have their own place in my soundscape. I usually play my Fenders or my Ampeg Gemini II but I don't think I could get rid of my Gretsch amps there just too much fun!
Thanks john
Valco was a cheap budget brand, like Harmony or Kay...not quite a Danelectro. They can have a certain charm, but they were not in the same league as pro amps like Fender.
Zep I,II and III baby.
Valco build quality was crap but the sound was awsome.
I generally agree with everything you say on this site. The view on vintage Gretsch amps is the rare exception--my 6156 Gretsch (Valco) Playboy with factory 12'' Jensen and 6973 power tubes is a quite an excellent sounding amp. ~18 watts sweet spot as well.
Very lightweight also thanks to the cheapskate build quality decisions.
I've only ever owned one vintage Gretsch tube amp, a '60ish cowboy amp. It was before I was able to service my own amps, so I had to rely on the kindness of strangers, but it was not a good sounding amp. It was the two oval speaker variety and just sounded muffled and underpowered.
I have a Gretsch 6152 and a 6159 both are Valco built amps. They are unique in tone with a low-fi midrange sound and maybe not as versatile as say my 1962 Fender Vibrolux, Pro or even my 57 Bandmaster. But the Gretsch amps have their own place in my soundscape. I usually play my Fenders or my Ampeg Gemini II but I don't think I could get rid of my Gretsch amps there just too much fun! Thanks john
Valco was a cheap budget brand, like Harmony or Kay...not quite a Danelectro. They can have a certain charm, but they were not in the same league as pro amps like Fender.