Gibson Explorer amp

[Dani Pace]

Way back in the 60s I had a Gibson Explorer amp; single chanel (2 inputs), 15 watts Rms, all tube, reverb and tremelo, one 12 inch speaker. The little guy had a great tone, deep and sort of gutsy, a great little blues amp. I was just wondering if anyone else ever used one, or better yet knows where I can find one. I don't think Gibson has made them since the early to mid 70s. Also I welcome any comments about other small amps with fantastic tone, yeah the ones we all wish we would have kept instead of trading then in on a big power amp that sounded like crap....but was loud.

 

[DC-XPL]

They come up on ebay from time to time and they aren't that expensive ($200 -$300). There is also an earlier version of the Explorer amp - the GA18T, that has tweed covering. These are a little more desirable because you can get that Fender tweed sound for much less money. Aside from the name, the two amps are nothing alike. There's a tweed one on ebay right now for a great price. I have the tweed version - a little beauty from 1959. Not very versatile, but if you like that honky, sweaty blues tone a-la tweed era deluxe you'll love this amp.

 

[AGCurry]

Back in my first band - 1966 - we had two Gibson amps among us. One was a Falcon, with a brown grille cloth, and the other was newer, a Lancer. Neither were what we'd call high power, but both were fine amps - IMO as good as their Fender counterparts. As DC-XPL writes, there's generally a pretty good selection of old Gibson amps on eBay, and they're not prohibitively pricey.

 

[oh_the_blood]

i always goto vox for a vintage sound.