Gahr
Ambassador of Blues & Brews
Yes, I just bought a "new" vintage amp. I guess some of you know I have a thing for Gibson amps. For quite a long time I have lusted for a GA-40 or GA-20 from the years 1957-1961. Well, today I finally had the chance to buy one! It's a 1960/61 GA-20 Crest version, and I got it relatively cheap, all things considered. I'm selling a few things to finance this (the Vox AC4, a few pedals, an old record player, some pickups and other things), but I have a feeling it will be worth every penny.
The seller claimed it was a 1959, but I recon it's a 60 or 61 based on its looks (tweed covering with a dark brown grille cloth, as opposed to the two-tone covering of the 54-57 ones). The looks don't really matter as the GA-20 Crest really remained unchanged apart form the cabinet size from 1954-1961.
The tubes are original; 3 x 12AX7 preamp (I think), 2 x 6V6 power and 1 x 5Y3 rectfier.
Speaker is original; 12" Jensen Concert Series
Power rating at 16 watts, so it should be hefty enough for band practice and small gigs.
It has two channels with two inputs in each; 2 microphone and 2 instrument, with one volume knob for each channel and a shared tone knob.
Only 174 of these were made in 1960, 95 in 1961.
The amp is in full working order and has had a three-prong cable installed, so electrocution is not very likely. It shows some wear, but I'd say that just adds to the mojo. I'll definitely bring it to my local shop to have a tech look at it, to make sure everything is safe, and have any bad caps etc. replaced. Needless to say, I'm super stoked and can't wait until it gets here!
A couple of pics from the seller:
The seller claimed it was a 1959, but I recon it's a 60 or 61 based on its looks (tweed covering with a dark brown grille cloth, as opposed to the two-tone covering of the 54-57 ones). The looks don't really matter as the GA-20 Crest really remained unchanged apart form the cabinet size from 1954-1961.
The tubes are original; 3 x 12AX7 preamp (I think), 2 x 6V6 power and 1 x 5Y3 rectfier.
Speaker is original; 12" Jensen Concert Series
Power rating at 16 watts, so it should be hefty enough for band practice and small gigs.
It has two channels with two inputs in each; 2 microphone and 2 instrument, with one volume knob for each channel and a shared tone knob.
Only 174 of these were made in 1960, 95 in 1961.
The amp is in full working order and has had a three-prong cable installed, so electrocution is not very likely. It shows some wear, but I'd say that just adds to the mojo. I'll definitely bring it to my local shop to have a tech look at it, to make sure everything is safe, and have any bad caps etc. replaced. Needless to say, I'm super stoked and can't wait until it gets here!
A couple of pics from the seller:
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