Gibson G105

I like to play blues, rock and jazz. I use this amp for screaching (emphasis on screaching) rock so I have a Crate XLP plugged into it. The amp has a phase shifter which is just okay. it has a "Harmonics" effect which adds crunch. It almost sounds like a tube amp with Harmonics cranked all the way up...almost (it is solid state). You can't overdrive the input because it begins to clip pretty badly. It does have remarkable output though. You could piss neighbors off for miles with it. It has a foot switch to turn the phase shift on and off (which I still have). The reverb is nice(spring). It has bass,mid, treble equalizer plus a seperate gain control for the equalizer. It has a master volume and two inputs, high and low. It also has a speaker output, line out, plus a three prong a.c. outlet in the back with 2 x 12 inch Gibson Ultrasound speakers.

I play a Lawsuit Les Paul with two humbuckers through it most of the time.Every once and a while I play my Kay K-1 archtop through it clean ( I modified the Kay with a floating pickup with flatwound strings). It has a very, very clean sound and isn't too bad for jazz although it lacks that warmth that only a tube can deliver. Somtimes a mike my 55' Champ through it and it really excells at this. After all of these years the pots are still noiseless, no scratch and no hum. I rely on my Crate for distortion, the amp by itself will do it but the clipping becomes very pronounced so I never use the amp that way and the built in Harmonics don't deliver much either.

Like I said, after all these years this amp is flawless. The pots a perfect, the reverb..perfect, everything about it is as if it just came from the factory. The problem is it is solid state so it sounds sterile.

since I bought it used there was no warranty.

I have had this thing since I was a kid. If it were ever stolen I wouldn't replace. Instead I would go get a Fender Twin Reverb of the same vinatge (which I also owned in the late 70's). As far as pure amplification this is a great amp. It is powerful and very well made. Besides that it is pretty much one dimensional. The sound is one dimensional and the options are pretty sparse. These short comings can be overcome with effects. In fact it is the perfect amp for effects since it has none of its own to speak of, huge output and a very clean sound. When I bought it back in the 70's all I wanted was pure power but small enough so I could lug it around and that is exactly what I got.

I believe this amp was made in 1971 or 1973. That said, it's good for what I do. I play music that's somewhere in the same ballpark as garage-y, basic power-chord stuff. There aren't many features. Someone who would want something that could really sculpt their tone should look elsewhere. This thing has very basic features:

Still, I think the features are good. Speakers are 2X12. I don't know if it's stero or mono. There aren't too many things to bother with. There's a three band EQ, a knob that seems to churn up extra harmonics (so your friend who shells out $$$ to maintain something with tubes might get a bit jealous), reverb (spring reverb, I believe) and a phaser. The phaser's nice enough. The only slight gripe is that the phaser's speed control isn't very versatile. You can't get it down to a slow whoosh and you can't get your chords sounding like they're skipping across a pond, but that's why there's stompboxes, eh?

Checking the back of the amp, it seems to have 200 watts and an external speaker output. Always nice to have just in case.

The place this amp lives is in my dorm room at the moment. Of course, like many folks who play the geetar I like things loud but it's not too bad at a softer level of volume.

I've got an oddity for a guitar-an Epiphone Telecaster copy. It's pretty much the same pickup layout as any other Telecaster type of guitar ever made. I suspect this amp might sing a little more if I had something with humbuckers or P90s a-la SG or Les Paul, but it doesn't sound bad. Not bad at all.

But, since I like things simple, this amp is a match made in heaven. I like things uncluttered, and the lack of effects loops and things of that sort mean the circutry's most likely uncluttered by tone-stealing doodads. I used to have a Fender '86 Princeton Chourus, but with my attemps to channel the tones of Tony Iommi, Johnny Ramone, Jack White and many others as the need suited me, I was afraid I was gonna turn the two 10 inch speakers on the Fender amp into dust. Not to mention that whatever 'oomph' I was looking for in the fender just wasn't there (too many effects loops and such, probably). The 2X12 suits my tone just fine.

One thing I must mention. This amp doesn't have any sort of overdrive on it. Any bells and whistles aside from the phaser you must supply yourself. But, I do alright with my EHX Big Muff Pi. That said, this is the sort of amp that has that 'balls to the wall' 1970s tone. You can't get that out of some digital box that tries to sound like something else. I know I'm getting on a soapbox but crap like 'multibank digital effects' or 'digital amp modeling' just seems like cheating to me. That said, this thing gets a 10 in a big way.

I don't know how reliable this thing is. I've had it for only a short while, but whatever tweaking of knobs or volume of distortion I dial up on my Big Muff, this G105 seems to take it well. I would use it for a gig without backup. This thing seems like it aged in someone's basement for a while and got sold to the place where I got it (even trade for the Fender, lucky me). I wouldn't depend on this amp for every musical job I have in mind (there's always Marshall for that, if and when funds allow), but for where an adaptable 2X12 combo is needed it seems fit for the job.

Still, like all used equipment, I'll never know what this thing's truly been through.

I wanted a schematic just in case the amp went screwy. Gibson customer service emailed a picture of the schematic in less than 24 hours. If that isn't good customer care, I don't know what is.

I don't have alot of other gear. I'm not one of those sorts of people who absolutely require a complicated daisy-chain of pedals. I've got the EHX big muff, and a Digitech Synth Wah but I'm wondering if that thing is a piece of crap. It seems to be malfunctioning.

I've been playing for almost two years. I'm in no way a pro, but this suits my needs, pocketbook and otherwise. If this thing were stolen, I'd be up crap creek sans paddle. If I wanted another G105 I'd have to devote a significant chunk of my life to finding another one of these. Still, there's plenty of new gear out there that isn't bad.

All in all, I have no real significant gripe concerning what this amp has versus what I do with it. It suits my needs to a tee.

It has a harmonic amplifier, phase shifter, pre-amp, and two modes i haven't figured out yet. I just got this amp and i'm still fooling with it.

I played it on a fender telecaster and the clean channel is just what I want in a sound. It's very full and warm and I'm not sure if it even has tubes. I don't think it does, maybe like transtubes or something. I haven't been able to find a sound like the one I get anywhere else. For distortion, I use a boss metal zone and it sounds excellent. The midi option on my pedal really brings out the highs and lows this amp has to offer. Very nice and it has an external speaker out so I tested it with a cab and definitly kept up with my jam buddies.

I just got it and I had to trade a Peavey for it but so far it has been the best move I've ever made. I feel that it won't let me down. It is a Gibson after all.

I love Gibson. I think they have one of the best sounds out there. But i haven't been able to find out what kind of amp this is and i've been looking an aweful lot. E-mail me if you know.

Haven't been playing it but i love the sound. Not like anything else. I chose this amp over a small fender half stack and i'm not regretting it at all.