Gibson GA-6

Pretty average features for the time. Two channels. 4 inputs I believe. Volume, Volume, Tone. It's number one feature was an outstanding fat blues tone.

Thick, overdriven, compressed. Perfect for 50's blues leads, but not the greatest for chords. My biggest gripe was that the volume went from a clean whisper to a growling shout by 1.5 on the volume knob. Not enough room to explore any nuances in tonal color. This is the reason I sold the amp. Because the amp had only one sound, albeit a great one, I will pass on giving a rating.

It arrived to me non working, and my tech had it up and running quickly. No problems after the repairs, but I only kept it a couple months due to lack of versatility.

The Gibson that made this amp is long gone.

If I had the spare income and storage space I would buy another one, just for playing blues lead guitar. It really had an outstanding tone. However, this amp was more of a one-trick pony than my Gibson GA-8 (Volume & Tone, 8 watts, parallel single-ended 2x6V6) or even my Airline 8512 (Volume, 4 watts, single 6V6)...at least these amps have a usable clean tone for a few notches on the volume dial. So, in the grand scheme of all the amps I've owned and played, I give it a 7.

Mine is a GA6 Lancer from 1960. Totally stock except for new electrolytic caps and a C12R speaker. I've played guitar since '64 and owned my share of low to medium power combos. This and a blackface Vibrolux Reverb are the only tube amps remaining in my arsenal. The Lancer is, of course, a 'one trick pony'. But what a great trick. Mine starts to unhinge at about 10 o'clock and just gets stupider as you turn the dial up! From mild crunch to 'Jesus, take me home'. Even 15 watts will kill an old P12R and I replaced mine with a C12R as they are way cheaper to replace. I added a line out so I can run thru the board or thru a power amp for more volume. I throw a couple of packing blankets over it and close mic it in the studio.

I'd rate it at 9.9. I mostly play a Peavey Wolfgang and a home-brew two pickup Strat with a Texas Special at the neck and a Pete Biltoft P-90 at the bridge. I play a hybrid blues-rock-country style with and without a pick. She does get noisy around the single coils so I don't get too close. Your hands give you the variety if you know how to use them. No modeling, reverb or tremolo here. And if you're used to changing your strings only when you break one you'll be disapointed. What you put in is what you'll get out plus varying degrees of louder and crunchier. Honesty on steroids. Old school overdrive at a way better price than a tweed deluxe.

Never had a breakdown, but I am a trained tech and experience helps anticipate potential problems. Keeping my pots clean, replacing weak phone jacks before they fail and treating her like a lady makes gigging with this oldie a real pleasure.

I've never had to deal with Gibson for a problem but they have been very helpful with serial # searches and wiring schematics. I do wish some of the myriad boutique tranny builders would make some parts specifically for Gibson and other old school amps. We have plenty of Fender parts suppliers, thank you, and while some fit, some don't.

I've played 45 years+. Guitar and bass about equally. I own what you'd expect of a still active old-school player. See above, plus: Dano DC 12-string, home-brew maple-body strat w/ pP90's, Martin D28, early aluminum-neck Ovation, Various J and P basses, Dano Longhorn bass, Hofner 182 bass. If this amp were stolen I'd get a re-issue Deluxe or the equivalent. I love everything about it. It's light-weight and loud. The 5/16" speaker baffle lets the speaker 'flap' just the right amount. And not everybody has one! I only wish I had two. I'd definitely pay the $100 I paid for this one, again! Find one for your own self at a yard sale and thank God you did.

1960 Tweed GA-6. Yes, its pretty versatle...gets a good chunky rhythm sound at lower volume settings and screaming, ZZ-Top style lead tone at anything above "8" on the volume setting. Two channel (mic and instrument) with two inputs each. Two volume and one master tone controls. This is a simple and straightforward 1950's style amp and has more guts than a comparable Fender Tweed Deluxe or Vibrolux/Harvard amp. It is amazing loud and chunky sounding for its 14 watts and single Jensen P12R "blue bell" speaker. My buddies were amazed at a recent "amp fest", even comparing the sound to vintage 4X12" Marshall setups! Plus I love the cosmetics of these late 1950's early 1960's Gibson amps! A total winner!

Reissue Historic Les Paul mostly; Blues and R&B; very quite operation

its been kicking for 45 years and will likely do so for another 45 years!

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Been playing 37 years and have owned literally hundreds of Fender, Gibson, Marshall, Boogie amps, etc, few rivaling the superior tone of the GA-6. Would hate if this amp was lost or stolen...I would immediately look for another and would likely have to pay a lot to get one as it is really getting hard to find a nice clean tweed GA-6!

Mine is a 1958 Gibson GA-6 interim model, with black fiber/paper covering, chrome control panel, brown chicken head knobs, 2 channels (1 mic in, 3 instrument in), 1 universal tone control, and individual volume controls for each channel. 2 6V6 power tubes, 2 12AX7 preamps, and a 5Y3 rectifier stock.

Mine is now a bit unoriginal due to the condition in which I receieved it: originally had dead power AND output tranny's, leaky electrolytic filter caps, scratchy pots, loose preamp sockets, and a jensen p12r speaker with the cone loose from the rim. I have replaced the power and output tranny's with fender deluxe reissues (since the ga-6 and tweed 5E3 deluxe are schematically THE SAME), new celestion greenback, new EH power and preamp tubes, new sprague filter caps, new preamp socket, added a cathode bias bypass cap in the power tube stage, changed the rectifier to a 5V4GA for higher plate voltages, and added preamp stage cathode bypass caps (33uF, 50V each). I also replaced the leads from the input jacks to the preamp with shielded microphone cable as to remove interferance and noise. Also gave it a speaker output on the chassis so that I can use any of my cabinets with it.

Sure, it isn't original, but I had no choice; however, I am thankful that I did all these repairs/mods because now it is the cream of the crop of all my amps.

I currently have a variety of cabinets and guitars I use with the GA-6. Frequently in use are my 1967 Fender Coronado II, 1972 Tele Thinline resissue, Homemade 1952 tele copy, and HEAVILY modified Squire Strat (which now blows any Fender away). The original Jensen P12R was nice and creamy like you would expect, but wasn't usefull due to the cone problem. With the Celestion Greenback it rocks-out-with-its-cock-out, having a nice singing response to highs but a slightly diminished bass response; therefore I usually play on the neck pickup to compensate.
Mine breaks up lightly around 3, and is all out gain around 7, not getting much louder thereafter (12 tube watts of power). With the new bypass caps on the preamp stage, the amp breaks up A LOT better now, with a more musical and creamy distortion (think The Black Keys).
When I'm not using the attached Greenback speaker, I run it into either a Marshall 8222 2x12 cab or a homemade closed back 212 + open back 210 cab (with 2 jenson p10r's and 2 celestion G12-H's). The amp favors the 212 combination, sounding best with the Marshall 212 cab or the lower half of my homemade cab (2 celestion 12" G12-H's). With the 2 10" Jensen P10R's, the amp's natural midrange and treble characteristics don't play well with the punchier midrange inherent to the 10's.
If you're looking into getting one, it's best suited to styles of blues or rock, having very little clean head room and a naturally bassy tone characteristic at low volume levels. If you want to increase the brightness and tone at lower levels, you can replace one of the stock 47k resistors on the input jacks with a 22k carbon comp. resistor. This will give you a better treble response at low levels before breakup (as well as a seemingly louder amp).

By far: THE BEST SOUNDING AMP I OWN. I have a 1968 fender bassman, a 1972 fender vibro champ, a 1990's Sovtek Tube Midget 50, and a 1986 Fender Concert II. This little amp blows them all out of the water when it comes to pure vintage tone.

I've had several problems arise with mine, but that's what you get with an amp that's almost 50 years old. Filter caps were never meant to last more than 15 years MAX, so if you have one do yourself a favor and replace those right away. I wish it would have come stock with tube retainers, because my tubes rattle from the close proximity of the speaker. Other than that the amp is solid.

Come on, it's older than my parents ... warranty void.

Overall a high 10 out of 10. If you're looking into vintage vibe but don't want to shell out the cash for a narrow panel fender collector's piece, then look these up on ebay. They go for dirt cheap and are schematically simple enough for anyone to fix or modify. I've played my GA-6 side-by-side with a tweed 5E3 deluxe (around 1,500-2,000 used on ebay), and I prefer the GA-6 hands down. Gibson amps are highly underrated, and for good reason sometimes. They made some pretty crummy amps back in the day, but a few were true gems like this one. Do your research and see what else is out there, but for the money and the tone you get in return, you can not beat these amps.

My 1960 tweed GA-6 came to me several years ago. It is a great blues and with a very straight forward design similar to a Fender deluxe. It has 2 mic inputs and 2 instrument inputs, 2 volume and one tone control. The volume controls are interactive for more control over your tone. This is a fairly loud 12 to 15 watt amp but not loud enough for gigs though I have used it for jam sessions and works great.

I generally play a Fender Esquire through this amp and it breaks up at 4-6 on the volume. At 8 and up it turns into ZZ Top, fat and creamy.

The only thing changed is the main filter which after 44 years is not much in the way of repairs. It came to me with the original Gibson branded tubes and Jensen P12R speaker. I did replace the power tubes with NOS Mazda 6V6 and it perked the amp up a little but I left the Gibson preamp tubes alone since they sound great.

This is a vintage amp and I would use a local tech if a problem arouse.

I have been playing guitar for 42 years and own several vintage amps and guitars and did an A/B test with my 59 Vibrolux and the Gibson has a little more power and bottom end. This is a simple yet toneful amp and recommended.

'57-'58 Gibson GA-6, plastic/brass handle, dk brown cover, 1 mike jack, 3 instrument jacks, mike level, instrument level, 1 tone knob (bass/treble), 2-12ax7's, 2-6v6's(?), transformer stamped GA-20 (???), Jenson P12R speaker, 15 LOUD screaming watts!!!! Nothing fancy.

Gibson's answer to Fender tweeds. Early break-up, crunchy, screaming, growling little amp! '70's LP Custom w Fralins sounds incredible, warm, woody, awsome tone! '58 LP Jr. w P-90 is absolute TONE HEAVEN. Relic Strat w Fralins sound great too! Only amp I play straight thru.....no effects!

Needed new caps, but after 45 years....its allowed! Nothing fancy to break down. This little beast has its battle-scars, but it doesn't skip a beat. Could survive a healthy drop-kick. Have taken it out without a backup and it's never let me down.

Wut?

Playing for 35+ years. It has a permanent place next to my Matchless, BF Vibrolux and '58 Fender tweed. Lightweight, simple, reliable, awwwwwwwsome sound! Attracts a crowd of tone-freaks when I take it out! Theft of this amp would push me over the edge....

My amp is made in the middle of 50s, maybe 55 or 56. Four inputs, one for microphone, three for guitar inputs. Three pots, one for microphone volume, guitar volume and finally guitar tone.
15 watts all tube. Very loud. Not many features...who cares?
Original Jensen 12" speaker!

This amp is really a blues amp. Cranks up early. Volume pot at 9 o'clock gives great blues tone and from 11 o'clock to 5 o'clock amp doesn't really come any louder.
This amp has the real HOLY GRAIL tone!

well...

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I have two Gison GA-6's-one 55 and one 56. Basically, a brown face and a silver face if you know old Gibson's. Two channels-mic and inst. Bridgeable with patch cord in case you need more gain at same volume level. No effects. One tone for both channels. 10-12 watts. P12R Jensen Bell.

The sounds are incredible. Very very very close to a Fender 5C3. Raw power tube distortion at very early levels. I play through a 57 strat and a EH 150. It is by far the best club amp I have ever heard or owned. I run two for the semi large venues and mic them. Not clean unless you are recording with them and you really control the volume on your guitar. They are both grid leak input types so...no effects pedals. P-90's drive them very well but 490's just have too much input. Many GA-6 fans change over to cathode bias pre amp type. Cleans it up and gives it more headroom. The PT will handle a low grade i.e. 6l6g tube and a 5u4 rectifier. HAVE to change the OT though!!!! Fuller sound with the 6l6's. Less compression. All in all, like I said the best club amp ever in my opinion.

Like a rock. No issues if you maintain them i.e. do not store it in a basement. Make sure the caps and resistors are in good shape.

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Reagrdless of the rating on features, which even though I love it I have to rate low, the GA-6 is the best sounding amp I have ever heard. And I have owned and played as a professional a 59 Bassman, 65 Deluxe Reverb, a 65 Vibrolux and a 66 SR. None can offer the sounds (w/o pedals now) that the GA-6 can in a club setting. And, for 250.00, it is a steal any way you look at it. Remember, it is for all practical purposes, a Fender 5C3 minus a resistor value or two.

Of course this is depending on what you play, but for me and my style, I find the amp to have just enough room to play with and not get overwhelmed. I play pre 1970 blues. By connecting the mic and instrument channel with a patch cord, you are able to get many more sounds. Not as versatile as say a vibrolux reverb, but that was 18 yrs later too.

Wish it had a presence control. 12 watts is plenty for me. I play through two in larger venues.

I play with a early (84)USA 57 RI. Sounds awesome. Mine is a bit noisy but that is due to a weakening tube. My buddy has one that is perfectly quiet. Nice warm overdrive past the halfway point. Tone is not not sparkly like a fender but just plain warm and dirty. Think Lightnin Hopkins.

Never ever have had a problem. Mine is a 56. Replaced 6v6's just b/c I wanted to hear some different tones. Very lightweight but very strong cabinet.

None to be heard of.

Even though I rated an 8 on the first category, I will definitely place this at a 10. For the price, you cannot find a better deal on amp that sounds soooooo good at any level through any pu. Reliability is excellent. Very light and portable. A harp sounds great through it also so, if you are at a jam your harp buddy can use it. Besides the lack of a presence control, the amp is perfect. Way more economical than a deluxe of the same year and sounds just as good or better.

Not really much for features. Has a control knob for Instrument Volume, Mic Volume, and Tone. Four inputs. 12" Jensen speaker, two 12ax7 tubes, pair of 6v6gt power tubes - probably around 15 watts. Late 50's tweed covering, boxy cabinet, rear top mounted controls - like a Gibson copy of an old Fender narrow panel Deluxe. Not at all versatile, but it does what it does very well.

I play Strats and LP's and this amp seems to like humbuckers better than single coils, which should be expected, I guess. But everything I plug into it sounds good. This is a good example of the "less is more" school of thought. Sound stays clean up to about half volume, then gets a dirty overdriven sound. But the tubes make a big difference on this. Using some NOS tubes, the headroom increases. It has a surprising amount of volume for a light portable unit. Easy to pick up and carry to a jam or small venue. Holds its own in a reasonable setting.

This is well used, but still going strongl. Doesn't get a lot of abuse from me. The fact that it's still working well all the way from the 50's means that it has to be pretty tough.

Huh?

Neat old unit that fills a need. Great for vintage sounds, obviously. Cool retro looks, and 50's vibe. Not as collectable as the Fenders, so they're not nearly as expensive.