Gibson Falcon: GA19RVT early 1960s

capnjuan

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Pics of my GA19: about 15 watts, reverb and tremolo, bass/treble tone control. Fitted to a GA18 cabinet. Not quite the mojo as the Jeff-spotted, $10K, investment-grade '59 Bassman but Gibson amps, especially the transistion 'tweed' amps like this one falling between the 2-tone 50s amps and the 'Crest' models with the elephant skin tolex and the decal 'family crest' do not disappoint. Warm, lively tone machines.

GA1901Front.jpg


Footswitch made of Phillipine mahogany; said to be the sections cut from the bodies of Les Paul guitars to create the cutaway...refinished, new switches.

GA1903left.jpg


As is common with these amps, upper panel long gone, home-brew replacement. Cabinet tolex stains common too; cotton backing, the lower panel is stapled to cabinet then covered. These stains look biological; on other amps, the rust from the staples bleeds through.

GA1905back.jpg


Control panel; pic understates extent of pitting. Corrosion scraped away with chopstick. 2 inputs plus Monitor out; Vol, Tone, Reverb, and Trem depth / frquency controls.

GA1906controlpanel.jpg


Complete replacement of caps and resistors; rebuilt power supply with upsized caps, JJ Tesla 6V6 outputs, Sovtek 5Y3 rectifier, 3 1960s GE 'short plate' 6EU7s, and a NOS JAN Phillips 7199 reverb tube.

GA1907chassis.jpg


Weber 12A125 alnico speaker; 30 watt rating; as good as can be found excluding the 15 watt, $225 or so Celestion Blue which I understand might be offered in a 30 watt model next year. Because of the 6EU7s, this amp has a 'darker' tone than the 2 X 12AX7 / 2 X 6V6 GA18, considerably more bottom with 12" speaker and upsized PS caps. Lack of bass is a common complaint in older, open-backed amps particularly those with dated ceramic speakers. In this amp, the tone control can diminish the bass.

2-spring / long delay Gibson reverb is generally good eough; neither 'rain forest' wet nor Phil Spector 'wall of doom'; tremolo is superb; deep and 'organic'. The amp breaks up around 4 on the neck pickup, 6 or so on the bridge; warm, round, chimey, sweet, musical signal. Although data is a little sketchy, this is a fairly rare amp with delivery of 200 or so units in 1961. Not considered as desirable as the tweed GA30; a two-channel RVT amp w/ 10" and 12" speakers that go on eBay for $1,000 to $1,500.

Like all amps from the period, they can be rebuilt to last another 50 years. I'll do a similar spread on a GA18; same cabinet but different circuit, 10" speaker.

cj
 

krysh

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hey capnjuan,

the amp looks great. I have never listened to one of those. do you have soundfiles?

all the best

michael
 

capnjuan

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Thank you Michael; working on it as we speak; will post when they are available.

Since I like my PCs and laptops better when they don't crash, I operate them all under Windows 2000 - but all the late-model recording software and hardware want to see XPeee :evil:

Thanks again.

cj
 

krysh

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capnjuan said:
...will post when they are available.

hey cj, this would be super.

capnjuan said:
...Since I like my PCs and laptops better when they don't crash...

That's why I intend to change to mac - not that I ever had real problems with m$ (and I am using it since dos 5) but I don't want vista.

looking forward to the soundfiles...and how you record them :wink:

all the best

michael
 

mad dog

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There is now a soundfile for this amp on YouTube. I can't get to that site at the moment to test it out, but a bit of searching should bring it up. Played by a gentleman named Leon, it's hit M77T into a 60s GA19RVT. I believe you could find it by searching on the amp model number.

It's a timely link for me, as my friend and I just took his falcon out to the amp tech, were wondering how it would sound. Judging from this clip, damn good I'd say.
 

capnjuan

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Thanks Michael, I'll look for the clip. As you and everyone here knows by now, sound is awkward to describe; a sensory/emotional event funneled through words...even tougher to be objective when it's your instrument or amp.

There's the stand-alone take:
"My guitar sounds great" where the sub-text is 'I play good' or 'I dig me' or some variation. The fact is that someone can be a crappy player but still have a nice-sounding instrument.

The comparative take:
"My guitar sounds better than a Martin / Gibson / Taylor..." or
"My amp sounds better than a Marshall / Fender / Standel..."
Maybe, but these comparisons are meaningless; supposed the comparison was to a different J40, Dual Reverb, or different players.....

This amp has had every resistor and cap replaced, the power supply has been rebuilt, it's speaker / speaker wire / baffle board are the best available on the market, the tubes are either vintage 60s GEs or new JJs; in short, this amp does whatever the Gibson design was capable of without the usual quality-damping cost considerations.

I hope you and your friend get a good result; is the Falcon a Tweed model like the one in my avatar or the 'Crest' model in the black/grey elephant skin tolex? If the latter, it's reverb is driven by a 6C4, not the 7199 in the 'Tweed'; otherwise they are nearly identical except that those fun-loving Gibson engineers labelled the tubes from left to right in the Tweed schematic and right to left in the Crest. I'm sure they thought it would make it sound better...........not.

Owing to its parts, my amp's sound is wider and deeper than stock, warmer and without the grit from resistors that have drifted out of tolerance, and it has plenty of bass - a common complaint in the era - because I have a 100uf/450V capacitor in the 1st position in the power supply. I drive it with the stock humbuckers in a Starfire III; from woody and warm to screaming......as good as it gets.....the sound that is, not me.....

regards,

John
 

krysh

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mad dog said:
There is now a soundfile for this amp on YouTube. I can't get to that site at the moment to test it out, but a bit of searching should bring it up. Played by a gentleman named Leon, it's hit M77T into a 60s GA19RVT. I believe you could find it by searching on the amp model number.

It's a timely link for me, as my friend and I just took his falcon out to the amp tech, were wondering how it would sound. Judging from this clip, damn good I'd say.

hey michael,
great thanks. You are right, it sounds awesome, may be I should look for one of those over here. You must be a proud owner, John!
Does anyone have soundfiles of the old guild amps?

all the best
michael
 

krysh

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I just recognized that john did a post when I was answering, but is seems to fit this way, too :)

glad you are still around, john

all the best

michael
 

capnjuan

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krysh said:
You must be a proud owner, John!

I am spoiled rotten; yes, the GA19 sounds very good but I have a GA18 (twin 12AX7 / twin 6V6) that got the same treatment and sounds ever better to my ear.


Does anyone have soundfiles of the old guild amps?

If there is one around, I'll buy you a new automatic pencil....if I can get my gear running, I'll post one. The reverb in the T1 RVTs is particularly interesting; speaker-driven into its own amp and speaker.

Regards, John
 

krysh

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capnjuan said:
krysh said:
You must be a proud owner, John!

I am spoiled rotten; yes, the GA19 sounds very good but I have a GA18 (twin 12AX7 / twin 6V6) that got the same treatment and sounds ever better to my ear.


Does anyone have soundfiles of the old guild amps?

If there is one around, I'll buy you a new automatic pencil....if I can get my gear running, I'll post one. The reverb in the T1 RVTs is particularly interesting; speaker-driven into its own amp and speaker.

Regards, John

thanks john, this would be great, I have read the thread of john kidders bad luck with his amp and wondered how this one might sound. :)

thanks and all the best
michael
 

capnjuan

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John K's amp is a Thunderbird; pair of 7591s / 6L6s; 40 - 50 watts compared to the Gibson's 15 watts or a Guild T1 RVT at maybe 10-12 watts.

I don' know about the Thunderbirds but the Thunder 1 RVT was an effort at a R&R amp and jazz amp in the same cabinet. If sales are an indicator, it didn't work very well. I've experimented feeding a T1 RVT with the distorted output of a Marshall Bluesbreaker II; the signal comes out clean...like a washing machine. The amp was designed to resist breakup at all but the highest output.

They are good-sounding, all-around, low power amps but not for anyone who wants breakup at lower volume.........that would include me but the reverb is quite good; moody, deep, resonant, clean....better than the Gibson GA19...more musical interest.

J
 

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capnjuan said:
John K's amp is a Thunderbird; pair of 7591s / 6L6s; 40 - 50 watts compared to the Gibson's 15 watts or a Guild T1 RVT at maybe 10-12 watts.

I don' know about the Thunderbirds but the Thunder 1 RVT was an effort at a R&R amp and jazz amp in the same cabinet. If sales are an indicator, it didn't work very well. I've experimented feeding a T1 RVT with the distorted output of a Marshall Bluesbreaker II; the signal comes out clean...like a washing machine. The amp was designed to resist breakup at all but the highest output.

They are good-sounding, all-around, low power amps but not for anyone who wants breakup at lower volume.........that would include me but the reverb is quite good; moody, deep, resonant, clean....better than the Gibson GA19...more musical interest.

J

this sounds really interesting. I wonder what this one might do with my koch pedaltone preamp (I do the overdrive with this one, sounds great in front of my boogie stellite and my lender custom) - I know it is not purisic - but I am a player, not a collector :wink: Could one of those T1 RVT be a "workingmans amp" ?

all the best

michael
 

capnjuan

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The person to answer your question is Matsickma; he's an accomplished player and collects Guild amps; earlier models and I think he still has a T1 RVT.

He may get mad at me for saying this but one of the (my) criticisms of the Guild combo amps is their cabinets. The later series T1 RVTs are better made than the early series were; the improvements can be seen in photos.

I get worried with your use of the term 'workingman's'; hauling these to your friends' houses for recording or jamming is one thing. Judging by the gear in a local amp shop that caters to working musicians, their gear gets beat up pretty good and I don't think the mid-1960s T1s are up to that.

If I was looking for the 'sound' of the 1960s; I'd look for the early J66 or J100 Guilds and, going only by it's schematic, a Thunderbird - similar to an Ampeg. If it's tone and not volume and you don't want to spend alot, the answer is Silvertone 1482 which is a circuit knock-off of a Gibson GA18 or a Premier or even a Magnatone; tons of charm and tone, not a lot of knobs to turn.

j
 

capnjuan

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Bump: Link to YouTube demo of Guild guitar and Gibson GA19 (Crest) amp:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12JEr04my0c

View of tube deck of a Gibson GA19RVT like the one in the demo clip:

[IMG:320:240]http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r106/capnjuan/GA19Falconchassis.jpg[/img] Front row - left to right: 5Y3 rectifier, 2X6V6 outputs, 6EU7 summing amp / phase splitter, 6C4 reverb supply/recovery, 2X6EU7 tremolo and pre-amp.
Back row - left to right: power transformer, output transformer, and reverb transformer.

Editorial comment: If it's worth spending $100 for a fresh speaker, it has to be worth $2.50 to replace the crappy little speaker feeds (green/black twisted pair) from the output transformer binding post to the speaker. These are heavily-corroded #20 AWG wires that act like poor quality resistors. I replace them with hi-fi style OFHC #14 - opens any amp up beautifully. I want 'ragged' from the circuit, not from cheap parts.

Gibson styles; 1955 - 1965
[IMG:309:320]http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r106/capnjuan/LesPaul.jpg[/img]
Highly sought after; fair condition to VGC: $800 - $1,500, 2X6V6, plus 5879s in the pre-amp.
















[IMG:319:248]http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r106/capnjuan/GA1RT.jpg[/img] Fender running away with commerical / student amp business; what to do? Answer: copy the leader.....This amp has the same circuit 12AX7 + 6BM8 as the reverb amp in the Guild T1 RVT. This model runs Fair/Poor to VGC $250 - $400 on eBay, more on used amp dealer / consignment webpages; up to $699 to cover the commission. Similar to the Fender Champ except the front 1/2 of the 6BM8 operates the tremolo; a feature not found on the Champ.







[IMG:319:243]http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r106/capnjuan/G19RVT.jpg[/img]
The 'Crest' line with the little 'Coat of Arms' on them; notorious for cabinet buzz caused by the folded edge of the top buzzing against the housing; not mechanically fastened, - owners line the joint with felt or some other form of padding.

While lacking charm, these amps are good buys; Fair to VGC $250 - $400 and produce, or can be re-furbbed to produce, wonderful sound.



Excellent sources for reading, more links, and these pics:

Sources:
http://hem.passagen.se/ekabjan/GibsonAmps.htm
http://www.informatik.uni-bremen.de/~dace/gg/index.html
 

krysh

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hey john,
this very, very interesting stuff :), didn't read the other links yet.
the guy in the youtube video also has an old silvertone in a new housing in this video (shown in the end). Is this the one you have been talking about?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnZ3OY8n ... er&search=

what I am looking for is not the sound of a special aera, but a small sturdy amp for small clubgigs and recording around 15 watts, maybe tremolo and reverb with a great tone and dynamic, so it seems the silvertone might be a good choice

all the best

michael
 

capnjuan

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capnjuan

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Bump:
Hi Michael; this is the little brother to the 1482, Silvertone 1481:
[IMG:320:240]http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r106/capnjuan/silvertone1481.jpg[/img]
http://cgi.ebay.com/Silvertone-1481-Vin ... dZViewItem
The circuit here:
http://www.freeinfosociety.com/electron ... ne1481.pdf
It's nearly identical to the Fender Champ (5E1) and Princeton (5E2)
http://www.freeinfosociety.com/electron ... php?id=784
This model has only one output tube; 'single-ended' a/k/a Class A; many people believe that this type amp produces the purest tone possible from any amp. The trade-off is lack of built in features like reverb, tremolo, and independent tone controls.

This model has a 6" speaker. The seller has added a jack to to this one to allow the amp's output to be exported to another speaker cabinet. For reference purposes, the Silvertone 1482 is most similar to the Fender Deluxe 5E3; twin preamp and twin output tubes.
http://www.schematicheaven.com/fenderam ... _schem.pdf

One final cross-reference; the Gibson GA19RVT like the one in the demonstration and like mine, is most similar to the Fender Princeton Reverb (AA1164)

This is it for current US eBay listings; also don't know about voltage matching to the Euro grid.

Regards, John
 

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thanks john,
so many research and input :) .
These silvertone amps seem to be my object of desire :wink:. I did a research, too, but most of them unfortunately won't be shipped to germany. Do you have an idea what the shipping cost might be? The 1482 really looks classy and seems to be the right one. Also the 1481 must be great, but I think I could not use it playing with a drummer, only 6 watts I guess? And we use 220 V so I'll have to use a transformer, but this is no problem.

Thanks a lot and

all the best

michael
 

capnjuan

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Agree that the 1482 might be better suited to your interests. I checked the US Postal Service - they are as reliable as FedEx or UPS - to Überall Germany, they want US$180 or so including insurance.

eBay: US:
Auctions:
http://cgi.ebay.com/VINTAGE-1964-SILVER ... dZViewItem
1st class speaker

http://cgi.ebay.com/Silvertone-Amp-Mode ... dZViewItem

eBay e-Stores:
Seller says 'as found' - that is, he doesn't say that it works:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-SILVERTONE- ... dZViewItem

Expensive at $450
http://cgi.ebay.com/1960s-Silvertone-Gu ... dZViewItem

eBay: UK/Europe...nothing

Craigslist US; Boston area...suspiciously cheap 1482 at $50
http://worcester.craigslist.org/msg/349713267.html

If you are interested in an amp on eBay and the seller won't ship to you, for Eine schnitzel Abendessen und eine Flasche guten Weines, I can act as your agent.

Regards, John
 
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