Gibson GA15RV Goldtone 112 Combo

I thought it was pity to see only one review of my favourite amp (listed as GA-15R), and while it's a particularly accurate and thorough one, I wanted to second J Edgar's praise and add my two cents. My amp is the Gibson Goldtone GA-15RV (non-master 15W class A valve combo) with tan covering and gold hardware and grill made by Trace Elliot in the UK. Note that the range has been re-styled recently, and I believe there are now options for a cloth grill and even black covering on the new Super Goldtones. Sadly, I think the somewhat bold aesthetics of the gold / tan finish, in a world where nearly everything is black or silver, haven't helped the original Goldtone range establish the excellent reputation it deserves. Hopefully, with the more conservative makeover, and the endorsement of people like Eric Johnson and Adrian Legg, they'll really take off. Good news for us however, is that there are some fantastic deals to be had on the original design models here in the UK, if, like me, you think the gold / tan version looks rather distinctive, retro and, dare I say, cool. In fact, I think the original "gold-tans" (bit like "silverface" - gedit?) may even be quite sought after in years to come, not that I ever plan to sell either of mine!

So, in addition to the other review, I'd add that this is an extremely solid and well-built amp, and unlike some other small tube combos I've tried, this *can* be run flat-out, allowing you to ride the gain with the volume of the guitar. No rattles or buzzes, and the 12" driver, a Celestion Vintage 30 takes it all in it's stride. Actually, I understand that Celestion Blues were considered as an option during the design stages, but it was felt that the Vintage was more suited to the characteristics of the amp. I'd have to agree. As an aside, I A/B'd the Goldtone with an AC-15 re-issue fitted with a Blue, and to my ears, while I really like the AC15, the Gibson was slightly sweeter, tighter, and much more focussed in comparison, especially around the all-important mid-range, although we're very much into the realms of personal taste here. Giging the amp with a full band elicited comments from my guitarist pals such as; "rich", "thick", "warm", etc. This amp excels at pure chiming piano-like clean or clean, going on crunch type sounds with plenty of even-order harmonics, and has the elusive break-up characteristics that you normally come to expect from a good quality or boutique class A valve amp costing several times more. This little beauty is much more in a league with something like a Matchless Chieftain, and is certainly loud enough for small club gigs, unless you're a really loud band, in which case have it mic'd up and watch the expression on the sound engineer's face - I've had the good fortune to see several pleasantly surprised after they've heard this amp. For lead or higher gain type sounds, I'd recommend some kind of boost box, or at least something that is reasonably transparent - the Fulltone Fat Boost sounded pretty good to me. Almost goes without saying, but this is a "classic" sounding amp that will appeal to the player who is more into pure tone. And, while the GA-15RV is extremely well-voiced to sit well in a live band mix, I also do solo instrumental gigs with a Gibson Echoplex Digital Pro without any effects, so I'm particularly exposed, tone-wise, in those situations. I can't remember how many guitar players have come up after gigs or during soundchecks to see what magic pedal I was using to "get that sound" and find that I don't actually use any - it's basically just the amp and a fairly standard guitar, a Telecaster with Vintage Noiseless pickups.

I'd also like to mention the "single" tone control. This is actually a really neat idea, utilising a dual-gang pot that boosts mids and cuts treble at one end of it's range, then as you turn it "up" the mids become less prominent and the treble is accentuated. This has a much more pleasing sweep to my ears than a conventional single tone control and sounds similar to the way bass and treble controls seem to interact on a Vox. What's more, it's useable throughout it's entire range, although I'd have to agree that the bright switch is way too much for me. In fact, unless it's a really muddy sounding room, I have the tone all the way "off", and the amp still sounds detailed and clear with my tele - even on the neck pickup. I also tried the amp with a LP Junior Special with P100s and I thought it would make an excellent partner for something more roots / rock oriented with a band, so much so, I intend to buy this guitar because it sounded great through the Goldtone!

Another really handy feature is the ability to link two GA-15RV's via the lo-gain input, giving you twice the firepower / headroom. As I've just bought another one, I had the opportunity to try this recently during a solo gig and it's fantastic to be able to set the amps apart and angle them out to spread your sound a bit more. Also, you get a really nice subtle stereo effect if you dial in some reverb on both amps. Of course, you could consider getting the GA-30RVS - essentially twice this amp plus

I've been giging the amp solid for a year with no problems.

I've only heard good things about their customer support. I've actually visited the Trace Elliot factory in the UK and got to meet the designer and actually see the amps on the production line. This was a real treat (thanks Andy) and increased my confidence in quality and reliability even more.

Finally, I struggled hard to think of something I don't like about this amp. Well, the bright switch doesn't see any use from me, so I could live without that, and I guess the placement of the controls (bottom of rear panel) potentially make mid-set tweaks slightly more tricky, but in all honesty, these are minor quibbles that I can easily live with as neither are a problem for me. All in all, I think this is a visually distinctive, and wonderfully musical "back to basics" gig-worthy / recording amp that won't break the bank or your back. If that sounds like your thing, you should definitely check this one out.

This amp is an 12AX7-EL-84 tube driven Class A Combo with a single 12" Celestion speaker. It has 3 pot controls for Volume, Tone and Reverb. There is also a Bright switch. A very simple layout to say the least. The neat exclusive feature on this Goldtone model is a Pentode/Triode switch that can let the player cut to less than half power and turn up the amp. In the 6 Watt position I could turn this amp up almost all the way and use my volume and preamp controls on my guitar for awesome Blues and Jazz tone. I wasn't looking for Effects Loops or Slave outs when I bought the Goldtone. It had just what I wanted.

I use a Fender Strat Ultra. This guitar has Lace sensors and an Eric Clapton-Model Fender preamp mod that I had added to provide some Midrange boost. I play comtemporary music in Christian Worship Teams. I bought this amp to backup my VG-88 setup, but mostly to jam playing Blues and Jazz.

The Goldtone has awesome, incomparable tone in it's price range for Blues and Jazz. Using picking attack variations I could release excellent clean or bite having just the right tone harmonics whenever I wanted. The tube breakup was just right, especially with my preamp control on my Strat driving the Mids up. No shred style sound available however. The closest I can remember to the Goldtone's saturated sound was the sound of an old Tweed Deluxe I had in the 70s that was similar when turned all the way up. The Reverb is decent enough to play clean Jazz when desired. I had planned to get a Fulltone or other OD pedal to get switchable drive for live settings. For the money I can't think of a better sounding amp for the style I like to play.

Here is the bad part. I've had two of these amps in the last month. I special ordered them both from Guitar Center. The first amp quit putting out sound during the first hour of playing. The second one lasted over a week, but with the same end result. Guitar Center treated me very well in these cases and now has refunded my money. Both Amps seemed to have the same symptoms. They worked fine at first, but suddenly stopped ouputting sound. All the tubes still glowed even when not working. I took the back screen off my 2nd amp and felt a very hot transformer, even after it had been disconnected from 120AC power for 15 minutes. Maybe a bad production run. Without an Owner's Manual I wouldn't try troubleshooting on my own. Since they were new amps they should just work anyhow, without having to find internal Fuses or whatever.

I called Gibson before my 2nd Goldtone died to get an Owner's Manual and Warranty info. They seemed very helpful.

I've been playing for over 20 years. I would buy another Goldtone if I knew they would hold up. I love the tone, simplicity and looks of this amp. I hate the poor reliability that resulted in wasted weeks of my time getting and returning these amps. No dealer in Phoenix carries them in-stock, so I had to special order, sight unseen and sound unheard. If I got one that was reliable, I would have given it a 9 rating.