Just got an AWESOME new small tube amp...

[Rickson Gracie]

http://guitarsale.com/hierarchyimages/product_346_1761.jpg

Gibson Goldtone GA-5 Les Paul Jr. Guitar Amplifier

After hearing this thing in that little glass room they have at Guitar Center I traded in a bunch of stuff and brought this little amp home. It's not super loud so it's not meant for band practice but i bet it would sound awesome miced up. It only has one knob (volume) and that's it! The more you crank it the more distortion you get. The tone is AWESOME. It really is. I cant wait to record with it. I'm using it along side my Blues Jr. They are much differnt sounding amps. The BJ is more "fendery" and the goldtone has more of a marshall sound I think. It has much more natural distortion than the BJ.

I also picked up a Morley AB-Y switch and run both amps in stereo. This makes for a very sweet and thick sound with my SG standard.

This little tiny amp looks like it would sound like a practice amp but in no way is that true. Even the speaker is tiny. Only 8 inches but like i said you can never tell the way it sounds.

Its a bit expensive (I paid $449) but it's a "made in US" all tube amp that really sounds awesome at moderate volumes. If your considering the "nanohead" or even a modeling amp definitely check out this amp out first.

Does anyone else have experience with one of these?

 

[bradly]

Yeah I have always been a fan of Gibson's Goldtone amps. I think they sound great. They really don't get enough love.

-Bradly

 

[Rickson Gracie]

for a GREAT small recording amp im surprised this amp doesnt come up in conversation more on this forum. I just read that it has boutique quality parts and it's hand wired point to point (like a boutique amp) and built in the US.

 

[Easto]

Nice to know. I've been looking at those and keeping my ears open for any chatter on them.

 

[Zona Mona]

Ok, it is finally time I ask this question, I haven't for fear of sounding like an idiot, but, let's say I get one of these amps and Mic it for performance. I am running it so I get a good clean tone, but when I want to overdrive the amp for leads, wouldn't it then get really loud in the Mic and PA?? I really don't know this because I have not had experience with one of these types of amps but was planning to look into a new amp and was considering them.

 

[Rickson Gracie]

ive noticed that once you get the amp to a certain volume the sound stops getting much louder and starts to get distorted.

i think it would be better and more convenient for you to get maybe 2 of these or maybe a bues jr and run both in stereo or with a A/B switch. you can use the BJ for nice fendery clean and the GA-5 for a beautiful distorted tone. they are so small that it would be easy to carry around from gig to gig.

 

[jimistone]

Ok, it is finally time I ask this question, I haven't for fear of sounding like an idiot, but, let's say I get one of these amps and Mic it for performance. I am running it so I get a good clean tone, but when I want to overdrive the amp for leads, wouldn't it then get really loud in the Mic and PA?? I really don't know this because I have not had experience with one of these types of amps but was planning to look into a new amp and was considering them.

most of the time, in my experiance, when you go from clean to distortion, you need a volume boost.....its hard to have alot of guitar coming thru the PA and monitors if you are trying to run sound from the stage by the way. I mic my amp and basically give my guitar a little presence...but I don't want the mic hot enough to hurt peoples ears without my knowledge. A little bit of channel level goes a long way on a guitar amp.
If you are using a snake and a soundman, he should compensate for the volume boost when you crank up[.

 

[donkeystyle]

i love those little amps. i want one real bad, but i just recently put a new guitar on lay away and i need other things worse than another amp, so i can't get one.......at least not yet.

i have noticed that at about half volume they stop getting much louder and just compress/distort. so you might just get an over drive pedal and use it without any distortion to drive the amp to distortion.

or you can just roll your volume off till it cleans up enough.

man i love that amp.

 

[Outlaws]

Ok, it is finally time I ask this question, I haven't for fear of sounding like an idiot, but, let's say I get one of these amps and Mic it for performance. I am running it so I get a good clean tone, but when I want to overdrive the amp for leads, wouldn't it then get really loud in the Mic and PA?? I really don't know this because I have not had experience with one of these types of amps but was planning to look into a new amp and was considering them.

(I am going to be getting the Gibson soon)

I find that with my Fender ProJr I can crank it to where its clean or distorted based on my picking technique.

But if I make it so its just clean and on the verge, I use my Fulltone FatBoost for OD'ing my amp.

The amp gets a little louder, but overall its inline with the clean volume still. Just get the soundman to get the PA volume set on the OD, then check the clean. It should be A-OK.

Now if only they would start using tube recifiers in these amps that are under $1100. Then this would rarely be an issue.

 

[Tadpui]

I've been really curious about these amps. I just bought a new amp a year ago, which is pretty recent for me (well, for my wife...). I'd love to have one of these little guys. Any sound clips of it in action?

 

[donkeystyle]

I've been really curious about these amps. I just bought a new amp a year ago, which is pretty recent for me (well, for my wife...). I'd love to have one of these little guys. Any sound clips of it in action?

one of my friends has one. he used it in a recording of his band and only in one part, but i'll see if i can put it up on my nowhere radio account. if i can, i'll make sure and just post the part that it was used in so that you don't have to listen to the whole song........or maybe just tell you what time in the song it was used. i'll also ask him if he's recorded any solo stuff on it.

 

[Fendophile]

Has anyone checked out the price? Ridiculous.

 

[Outlaws]

Has anyone checked out the price? Ridiculous.

Not really.

Go play one.

They are worth every penny.

 

[donkeystyle]

Not really.

Go play one.

They are worth every penny.

i agree. that is one killer amp. our local gibson dealer is selling them for 400 bucks and i think that's pretty fair. i guess other places are selling them for more though.

 

[Fendophile]

Wait until the copycats come out with their versions, which will sound just as good, last just as long and cost $150. Will you feel that your over priced Gibson is still worth it then? I doubt it.

Then again, folks that pay Gibson prices these days are a mystery to me anyway.

Guys, it's just a handful of parts. No special technology, nothing expensive inside...

 

[Outlaws]

Wait until the copycats come out with their versions, which will sound just as good, last just as long and cost $150. Will you feel that your over priced Gibson is still worth it then? I doubt it.

Then again, folks that pay Gibson prices these days are a mystery to me anyway.

Guys, it's just a handful of parts. No special technology, nothing expensive inside...

I bet you own some stuff that says "Behringer"....

 

[donkeystyle]

Wait until the copycats come out with their versions, which will sound just as good, last just as long and cost $150. Will you feel that your over priced Gibson is still worth it then? I doubt it.

Then again, folks that pay Gibson prices these days are a mystery to me anyway.

Guys, it's just a handful of parts. No special technology, nothing expensive inside...

copycats? that amp has been out since the 50s and noone has copied it and sold it for 150 bucks yet. you can't copy a hardwired amp for 150 bucks.you couldn't build the amp yourself for 150 bucks.

fender had a similar amp out for a while and it wasn't any cheaper. in fact i think it was more.

go play the amp and then tell us it's not worth the money. i too think that gibson is overpriced, but i think that that amp is an exception.

so why exactly is it outrageously priced? oh and tell me about the technology of the thing and its components since you know so much about them.

 

[donkeystyle]

I bet you own some stuff that says "Behringer"....

that was meant as an insult and that was uncalled for. i've said things like this a few times and had it turn into a big argument and crap.now i'm trying to avoid that kind of stuff. i guess you don't have to, but i think if we all made a little effort to not be assholes, this bbs would be a lot more helpful.

he has a right to his opinion. even if it's based on no real experience with the product he's bashing.
i would definitely like to know how and why he came to his conclusion.

 

[cstockdale]

I haven't played that particular amp, but I totally agree on small amps being the shit. I have a Garnet amp (made in Winnipeg) that is all tube, point to point wiring, a vintage NOS 1950s Celestion alnico 12" speaker all with 5W driving it. It is amazing, and it has one more knob than the Gibson: tone. Plus it has a killer treble boost circuit in it which smokes. 5W of tubes being driven hard (12ax7 and 6L6), sweet jesus that baby sounds good. I paid $350 CDN for it, and it was worth every penny. Only 5 of them ever made, back in 1999. Signed by Gar Gillies (the maker) on the faceplate.

Sometimes I like to run my wildkat (p90's) into my Fender HRDx, with a few effects and a stereo delay in the effects loop, and run one out from the stereo delay back into the HRDx, and one out to the Garnet Mohawk. I keep the Fender tone bright, and I run the Garnet really hot but with the tone dialled way down, it is such a wicked sound with the really loud clean and slightly quieter low end distortion bouncing off each other.

I imagine that Gibson would sound similar but with its own idiosyncracies.

 

[Outlaws]

that was meant as an insult and that was uncalled for. i've said things like this a few times and had it turn into a big argument and crap.now i'm trying to avoid that kind of stuff. i guess you don't have to, but i think if we all made a little effort to not be assholes, this bbs would be a lot more helpful.

he has a right to his opinion. even if it's based on no real experience with the product he's bashing.
i would definitely like to know how and why he came to his conclusion.

If you read the post I quoted and made my comment to, then you might want to have directed that remark there.




"Then again, folks that pay Gibson prices these days are a mystery to me anyway."

Hmmm

It was a completely valid jab. IMO