Got my eye on one of these. I guess it's a discontinued model made by Trace Elliot for Gibby.

Know anything about 'em?

Sound great, look horrible (imho) awkward knobs on the back, not quite loud enough to gig with a drummer.

GC has one priced at $7 hundo which seems kinda high??

Seems high to me. Saw one locally for just under $600, but it sold before I got a chance to play it. They're built around 12AX7 and EL84 tubes with a Celestion speaker, so I would expect it to sound a lot brighter than vintage Gibson. For $600-700, you can find the real thing if that's what you're after and you're patient.

Yeah, that's what I'm thinking

those trace elliot made gibbys were well regarded when they first came out

btw, there are some great vintage gibson amps that used el84 power tubes..ga79, hawk, falcon etc

cheers

Jim, I've had one like this since 1966.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Gib...

it's a Gibson GA-15RVT Explorer. there's a couple more old Gibson amps on our local craigslist. and there's one at a Music-Go-Round in Woodbury. the prices aren't too bad on them either.

brent

nice... thanks for the tip, Brent!

here's a couple that I've been looking at :

http://stcloud.craigslist.o...

here's another GA-20RVT in Wisconsin :

http://www.musicgoround.com...

it appears that the amp in Woodbury might be gone. might not hurt to check though.

Soundwise, they're nothing like vintage Gibsons, closer to Vox with the EL84s. Great reverb too. That black one certainly looks better than the brown/gold ones that I've seen. I came very close to buying a Trace Elliot Velocette (same thing) but talked myself out of owning an amp I couldn't gig with, although I do love the sound.

There have been a couple for sale locally in the last year or so -- they went for $450 and $500. I had one on loan for a week and they are plenty loud with a drummer, another guitarist, bassist, keyboards, etc. The knobs ARE awkward and that's the primary reason I didn't buy one.

Jim, here's another Vintage Gibson amp from our local craigslist. it's at a pretty good price, too.

http://minneapolis.craigsli...

hmmm... that does look nice! ya know, i do have a b-day coming up. been talking to nick about having ted upgrade the pups in my lester, but maybe i should consider this one instead? about the same $$$... and savage audio has been thru the amp. food for thought!!!

yeah, if I had the money, I would have gone to look at it. that's not a bad price at all.

Wonderful amp in my opinion. I had a Gibson RVS 30 once and I still try to bite myself in my back for selling it.... just cannot reach that far...

I have a black GA 15 RV like Ric12string posted. I'm not fond of the cosmetics but I do love the sound. Up to 2/3 it gives a slightly moodier/darker Fender BF clean. Way up it crunches in a very musical and controlable way. And it's loud! I've only used it with different single coils. Recently been thinking about a extension cab.

I had a couple of those amps. They were plenty loud for my old band's bluesy roots oriented rock. I remember them being a little too 'laser beam' in their sound projection though. Haven't thought about them in awhile.

hmmm... that does look nice! ya know, i do have a b-day coming up. been talking to nick about having ted upgrade the pups in my lester, but maybe i should consider this one instead? about the same $$$... and savage audio has been thru the amp. food for thought!!!

Jim, the amp is now listed for $300.

http://minneapolis.craigsli...

Tried to contact seller but no response. Anyway just blew my wad on a sweet Japanese Roland from early 80s. A vintage solid state if such a thing exists! I was really looking for something that sounds good with pedals at low volume but still has cajones when needed and I've already got a great 5W tuber. This one fills the bill for now.

Stay warm!

mr jimi said : "Stay warm!"

ha ha I plan on doing just that, Jim.

brent