Hey all:
Someone local expressed interest in my '58 GA40, said he'd be willing to trade his '61 GA77RV for it. Tantalizing. Seriously tempting. The GA77 is the other Gibson I've always been most curious about; this transitional model is tweed, very narrow panel, but with reverb and no trem. 15" speaker. Capn'Juan was kind enough to give me some background on this model, told me enough to know it was worth checking for sure. (Thank you John as always for your advice!)
So I spent hours last night in Brooklyn doing a side by side. Bottom line: His GA77RV is one of the coolest amps I've heard yet. But to get it, I'd have to trade another of the coolest amps ever. Just couldn't do it. The GA40 is much louder than stock with the CRex in there now, can get wild and raunchy or soft and sweet. Ungodly tasty sounds. Bouncy and responsive feel. Fat, dark and hot OD tones from the 6v6s. Magic with strats, teles and P-90 guitars. Does a rich clean at low and medium volumes.
The GA77 is more spare sounding. Fixed bias, 6L6. A different clean, and more of it. (As pretty a clean as I've heard.) He has a Legend 151 in there, and old 6L6WGB power tubes. A precise clean up to pretty loud, then drives so smooth as you turn it up further. It's a parallel universe tweed pro, but with an unmistakeably Gibson slant. In a word, refined. Loves P-90s. I found myself telling this guy "Don't let this one go. It's too good to do without."
I want both, but I can't have both. If you ever get the chance to hear these fine amps, it's well worth it.
MD
Someone local expressed interest in my '58 GA40, said he'd be willing to trade his '61 GA77RV for it. Tantalizing. Seriously tempting. The GA77 is the other Gibson I've always been most curious about; this transitional model is tweed, very narrow panel, but with reverb and no trem. 15" speaker. Capn'Juan was kind enough to give me some background on this model, told me enough to know it was worth checking for sure. (Thank you John as always for your advice!)
So I spent hours last night in Brooklyn doing a side by side. Bottom line: His GA77RV is one of the coolest amps I've heard yet. But to get it, I'd have to trade another of the coolest amps ever. Just couldn't do it. The GA40 is much louder than stock with the CRex in there now, can get wild and raunchy or soft and sweet. Ungodly tasty sounds. Bouncy and responsive feel. Fat, dark and hot OD tones from the 6v6s. Magic with strats, teles and P-90 guitars. Does a rich clean at low and medium volumes.
The GA77 is more spare sounding. Fixed bias, 6L6. A different clean, and more of it. (As pretty a clean as I've heard.) He has a Legend 151 in there, and old 6L6WGB power tubes. A precise clean up to pretty loud, then drives so smooth as you turn it up further. It's a parallel universe tweed pro, but with an unmistakeably Gibson slant. In a word, refined. Loves P-90s. I found myself telling this guy "Don't let this one go. It's too good to do without."
I want both, but I can't have both. If you ever get the chance to hear these fine amps, it's well worth it.
MD