Gibson GA17RVT Scout

1964 in great condition.Very simple. Hi and Low input, volume, reverb and tremolo.Footswitchable tremolo and reverb.Versatile enough for pop,country,jazz, blues and light rock.With a good distortion pedal it can do classic rock.The amp came with a 10 inch Jensen C10R speaker.It was ok sounding but a little shrill.So I hooked it up to a Celestion Alnico Blue 12" 8 ohm and it sounded incredible. I removed the original baffle (very simple to do)and made a new one out of 3/4" plywood for the Blue. Big difference!
An expensive upgrade to be sure but well worth it.

G&L Asat Classic semi-hollow guitar with traditional tele style G&L pick ups. Well suited for playing everything I like to play. Whenever reverb was selected it would hum .Fortunately just a bad cap. Much better now but a little hissy.Tremolo is good.Breaks up nice with volume around 7. As a previous review (Cam) noted this is definitely the sweet spot for these amps.Great practice amp or for recording. This is not a shredding amp. Just a beautiful sounding amp for pretty well most styles of music.

So far so good, just the issue with the reverb cap leaking and having to be replaced. I kept the original tubes but restocked with NOS tubes just for fun.4 years later and still going strong.Had a 3 prong plug installed also.

Found an excellent local tech who swears it's the nicest looking and sounding Gibson from the 60's he has ever serviced. He says its a bit difficult to work on but actually a fairly simple amp.Obviously no longer under warranty.

With the Celestion Blue the low end is more pronounced and focused and it has a very chimey high end without being brittle. Teles, Les Pauls and semi-acoustics such as 335s sound great through this amp. Strats are ok but not exceptional.All in all, a great light weight and versatile little amp for most styles of music.

Dont let my rating of 5 in this category be a negative sign. I actually prefer less features. 1964. Single channel with two inputs Normal and Bright. Loudness, Reverberation, Vibrato Speed and ON/OFF knobs. I play all types of music., but I use this mainly for Jazz, Blues and Surf. All tube amp with hard to find tubes. THis amp is only 17 watts but it is pretty loud. I use it mainly for home practice, recording, and small gigs.

Myself and a few of my friends are vintage tube amp buffs and we were all shocked at the tone of this amp. The tremolo is phantastic as well as the reverb which is a two spring. Like all tube amps if you crank it it sounds perfect. In the normal input it has light breakup, but in the bright input it has great gritty blues tone. If you play with humbuckers it breaks up easy, if you use a tele its a bit harder to get. This amp is perfect for anything you need a real vintage tone for. It sounds like you are taking it right off a recording of the Zombies or Beach Boys. This amp makes a huge ocean like roar when the reverb is on while warming up. I actually recorded this roar before and looped it and it sounded like I was on a beach. When I play I usually turn all the knobs all the way and its perfect. The only bad side is that the reverb and Loudness work together as a saturation setting. Its hard to get a ton of reverb at high volume and at low volume you han still hear notes 5 min later.

I would play a gig with this without a backup. I know its nuts but this thing is solid. When I recieved it one tube was missing. I found a local ham radio guy and he had the tube I needed for some $7. The tubes are a bit harded to come by for this amp.

I easily found scematics online for this amp.

I have been playing since I was young and I always love tube amps. I have a few old fender amps that give me problems left and right but never this one. If I had lost this I would try to find another but they arent at every corner store. I love the tone, but wish it was a bit louder. I just use mics.

This is actually a mid-sixties Epiphone Galaxie(EA33RVT)which I wanted to review here so y'all would know that its circuitry, cabinet dimensions, etc. are IDENTICAL to the Scout--looking at the schematics of the two amps, the only thing that is different is the designation # for the speaker--I'm assuming that the Gibson was probably a bit better speaker or perhaps voiced differently. That and the face plate cosmetics are the only differences. Same complement of tubes, electronics values, reverb tank, transformers, etc.
Anyway, two inputs, one hotter than the other, a volume knob, a reverb knob and a trem "frequency" knob (both footswitch controlled for on/off), plus on/off switch. Very simple amp and circuitry and pure tube tone which is wicked great for rockabilly, 50s-60s R&R, soul, blues, surf etc. Add some some outboard effects to cover styles after that. Oh, and a 1x10" speaker.
I've been using this amp at rehearsals and it's got enough power to be heard against another guitar, a bass, keyboards and drums; I also plan to gig out with it at a smaller place in a couple of weeks(I'm bringing a mic just in case). It's supposedly rated at 17 watts, but I have no clue if it really puts out that much or not (I don't think so--probably more like 10-15 watts). Like I say, it's loud enough for rehearsal--I crank it but sometimes I actually have to back off a bit so I'm not too loud.
I'm giving it a 10 for features based on its being "very versatile" for myriad styles of music and, due to its GREAT TONE, with pedals, it's even more versatile.

I just had a cap job done on it and also had to replace the speaker. It originally came with alnico but this amp I purchased (at least third hand) 20 years ago and I just come to find out it actually had a 10" home stereo woofer in it!!!! The foam surround of the speaker had rotted off and so needed replaced. I agonized for a long time over whether I should put alnico in it or not, but, as this is a very bright amp on its own, I decided to go with a new speaker from eminence: the Hemp Cone "Lil' Buddy", an 8 ohm speaker which with this amp is absolutely fantastic!!! It's smooth, punchy, throaty and warm, yet, since it's rated at 99.1 db sensitivity, it really amplifies those approximately 17 watts--seriously, it sounds more like a 1x12" than a 1x10", with plenty of tight bass and upper register chime. In fact, it sounds better every time I play it as the speaker breaks in. I'm glad I chose the Lil' Buddy for it as it has tamed the high end and made for a really rich and clear sound.
I use either my Les Paul with Duncan Antiquities or my Strat with "Fat 50s" pickups and they both sound great with this amp. Although, you do get more volume and fullness and drive from the humbuckers, which is natural.
I can't stress enough how great the sound of this amp is, it's got great clarity and immediacy, it's very responsive to touch and never gets muddy even when naturally overdriven (i.e. volume pegged)even with humbuckers. I think T-Bone Walker would've loved this amp, but so would Keef or Billy Gibbons, or anyone else who loves great vintage tube tone. Like most of the Gibson/Epiphone amps of this era, it reaches its sweet spot at about 7 on the dial, beyond that, more breakup with a little bit of a bump in volume. The reverb is lush and surfy and actually drives the amp a bit as you can notice when you turn it up with the volume "off"--you can still hear it and actually turn it louder (not anywhere near the volume of the amp though).
The tremolo is good too, but at its slowest setting, it is quite fast, it doesn't do the slow and trippy, only the medium slow and trippy to the fast pulsating taser trippy.

40 + years and still kickin'! It just needed some caps and one tube (the 12ax7 reverb driver). As for the rest of the tubes, they are sylvania and RCAs. It does run hot, especially in a kick back stand which hinders the dissipation of the heat. I'm going to get a fan to circulate some air back/under there. I'm going to bring it to the gig, but I'll definitely bring a back-up. It is 40+ years and something might go wrong with it.

??

I've been at it off and on for quite a few years. I currently play in a contemporary praise and worship band (for the past 8-9 years)and do some playing out at clubs on the rare occasion. If it were lost or pinched I would be quite upset to say the least. I payed 50.00 for it originally and just put another 150.00 into it--with tone this good, that is a "Fantastic Value!" It's the type of amp that boutique builders seek to recreate (i.e. point-to-point all tube, simple circuitry). If you find one in anywhere near playable condition, snatch it up before I do--you can fix that baybe up for not much $ AND HAVE A KILLER TONE.

This was found from ebay @82$, and was without speaker and a hole in tremolo pot place. It travelled to Finland. It got got a new mains transformer, and a new loudspeaker Eminence V102 alnico (which seemed to be a GOOOD choice). A bit rusty outside, but shiny inside. Crstline Gibson amps are very often a bit rusty outside. Simple to use; only volume, reverb and tremolo speed.

Wiring and components placing is a bit messy, but after some improvements in grounding makes this amp very quiet. Output transformer is below output tubes, so it doesn?t run muddy after a hour, because transformer winding runs little cooler.

This amp (after slight eq modification) is really nice and smooth. It has "only one" voice department, but it really identifies different guitars. I removed the eq chip ( 3 pin red component which cuts some middle frequncies at 1 khz) to get more mellow sound. I also reduced the coupling cap size after 1st tube to 2,2 nF to avoid slight farting/buzzing when overdriven. Now it?s in balance, because of the great eminence v102 with huge human low register.

It?s been use in studio, and miked with 57 in center of speaker, it only needs low cut. NO EQ needed from the desk! Amazing with amp having no eq! It loves strat to croon, or with Les Paul it runs from sigh to roam. It also accepts different distortion pedals if needed, and colors and tailors their sound in a very musical way.

Now I?m able to have soundcheck with only using mobile phone text message: no eq needed. And did I say it spreads the sound much wider than amp with 12" speakers.

If you really need touch sensitive amp with tonal balance, this is it.

Years hadn?t been gentle to it, but parts inside were amazingly good condition. I changed the electrolytes for improved reliability, and mains transformer for 230 volts... Tubes run fine, and tube tester secured this.

It has a structure to last 40 years more. As earlier said, output transformer placement is better than in Falcon. Simple enough even to make new windings to transformer.

It?s a sharp wolf, which looks like rusty lamb. No circuit boards with stuttering weldings. It shall work when the reissues have become to pit.

PS It?s a good improvement to lower the backwall 1/2" to increase ventilation.

Schematics avalable. That?s enough. Warranty ended probably at mid sixties. Still runs. Best support is to make strong and reliable products...

I?ve played from early seventies. I have 9 guitars, mostly electric. I?ve played probably all most dominant tube market amps from supro/marshalls/metaltronix/VHT/hiwatt/fenders/magnatone/engl/mesa/ampeg/bogner/musicman/matchlesses/hagstrom/flotatones/oranges/ 1 dumble OD!!/kasha/sundown/etc, modified a bit some of them.
There is no other tube amp which is so human, and in balance with no eq. Tiny friendly lightweight amp. I could not imagine life without it.

1963 or 64...1 10" speaker...reverb and trem (a great trem...so-so verb)...not sure how many watts, but the output tubes are 2 6aq5's (which are like 6V6's from what i've read)...GREAT tone...killer crunch. Super recording and/or practice/jamming amp....wish it had an extension speaker out and a tone control

a bunch of gits...sounds super with humbuckers and singles...great for country and (especially) blues. wonderful crunch and drive/gain. sounds much bigger than a 10" speaker...good bottom...

over 40 years old...just needed caps...new tubes

been playing almost 30 (gulp) years. i would bu another of these, yes. Gibsons are, along with some others, one of the great secrets of the vintage amp world. This and my Hawk are great amps...

Gibson GA-17 RVT Scout. Built, I'm guessing, in 1964. I play mostly alt. country, blues and rock and there isn't much gain in the amp but you won't miss it if you use a decent overdrive pedal. It has 3 knobs, loudness (volume), reverb, rate (for the tremelo) and an on/off switch. No tone or EQ and again you'll never miss them. Just twist the tone knobs on your guitar. It responds exactly as you would expect it to. It is all tube (6CA4 rectifier, 2 6AQ5 power, 2 6EU7 pre, 12AX7 reverb), point-to-point. The tubes are a little esoteric but they aren't terribly expensive or hard to find but don't think you are gonna run down to your local intrument shop and pick up some 6AQ5's. Be prepared. No boards anywhere in it. I use it mainly in my garage and it has plenty of power for me. If I were playing with a drummer on full tilt I might be worried about it's ability to keep up but at that point I'd probably be getting arrest for disturbing the peace anyway. I'm gonna give it an 8 because a depth adjustment for the tremelo would have been nice.

I'm using a cheap ass Dean with dual humbuckers. Laugh if you want but I like the way it sounds and I love the way it sounds through the Gibson. I bought the Scout as a basket case on ebay for $75. I probably paid too much but now that I have it working I don't care. I have invested another $100 to make it work, doing all the work myself. This was my first foray into tube amp repair and after reading all the horror stories about how you could die as a result of working inside a tube amp I threw caution to the wind and went about replacing all the caps (since half of them were missing anyway and the ones that were there were laying in the bottom of the case when it arrived), adding a 3 prong cord, and adding a front panel switch for the tremelo in a hole some idiot had drilled for a speaker out. I added a switch for the tremelo because the footswitch that was originally hardwired to the amp was missing as was the reverb pan. I'll get around to replacing the reverb pan one of these days and then wire a footswitch like it was originally to control the tremelo and reverb. I also replaced the blown and shredded 10" alnico that was in it with a 12" Jensen ceramic. I'm gonna hold on to the alnico and maybe one of these days try my hand at reconing it. As I stated before, it doesn't have much in the way of gain but what it does do flawlessly is produce a sumptuous tone that is deliciously compressed and rich. Like butter. The tremelo only has a rate knob, no depth, and it is almost useless until you get to around 4 or 5 on the dial and then it is the most gorgeous thing you have ever heard. Perfectly producing that rockabilly trembling lead. Past six and on up the dial the tremelo produces an almost chorus like effect that is beautiful on open chords. Can't comment on the reverb since, as I said, the reverb tank was missing when the amp arrived but I don't really miss it since I get a pretty cool natural reverb in my garage anyway. Let me reiterate, the tone is to die for. For the money I have invested I couldn't get anywhere near this sound. A Blues Jr. won't do it. A Classic 20 won't do it. There isn't a "new" small tube amp (15 watts or less) that can touch it. You'd have to go way up the small boutique amp ladder to get this tone. But then you would have spent at least 10 times the money. There really is no contest.

I think I can depend on it now. It's got all new caps and tubes and I have straightend out all the bogus wiring the former owner screwed up. I can't imagine it breaking down and if it does, come on, it's a tube amp. There aren't a lot of things it could be. Drag out the schematic and fix it. Just don't electrocute yourself.

Yeah, Ok. Next time I really need a laugh I think I'll call up Gibson and ask them about their warranty policy on 41 year old amps. That would be funny.

No, I haven't been playing guitar very long so you can take my opinion with a grain of salt but I have been in bands off and on for the last 15 years as a vocalist and I know what a good guitar sound is. Sure, you can spend a lot more money and yes you can definitely get a louder amp but you'll be hard pressed to convince me that you can get a better tone out of anything up to 5 or 10 times the money I have invested. Yes, it sounds that good. If it were lost or stolen I'd cry and mope around and try my best to find and severely mangle the person who took it and if I couldn't get it back I'd immediately start trolling ebay for another one. I may get another anyway. For some reason these Scouts go for a lot less than the Skylarks and I can't for the life of me understand why. You know what, on second thought don't buy one. They suck. You won't like it. Just leave them all to me. Keep buying the Skylarks and Falcons but leave the GA-17 Scouts alone. (Insert evil laugh here...)

This is a 1962 or 1963 Scout. Input 1 essentially equates to being a 'bright' input while input 2 would be deemed 'normal'. Think Fender Bassman on that configuration. More than enough power in this too for studio use. Would be nice if it had an external speaker out like the Discoverer of the same era does. A 12" speaker might add a bit more as well, but the existing 10" does the job.

Sounds great with humbuckers or single coil pick-ups. It's a bright amp in the '59 Tweed Fender Bassman or Matchless (Badcat) vein. Full up, there's just a bit of grit- not gain- and sounds very sincere. Front neck pick-up with a single-coil can yield a Stevie Ray Vaughan tone, but most immediately, the overall character of the amp reminded me of those guitar tones from XTC's "Black Sea" album. Entirely clangy and trashcan sounding. Nice harmonic content.

Having bought this amp in a complete state of dis-repair off ebay, $80 of tech work and some cosmetic TLC has redeemed it in spades. The entire head was covered in rust and plain steel wool removed most of it. The tech work took care of some caps and I ordered and installed some new tubes and it's up and running. Eventually, a new cabinet will be built as this came with a completely homespun cabinet that is less-than-adequate. The amp head itself is very easy to work and there's little inside or outside. The speaker was blown and replaced with a new Italian made Jensen C10Q. The tubes 12AX7, 6EU7, 6AQ5 and 6CA4 are all very, very easy to come by on ebay as NOS and this has RCA and Sylvania tubes throughout. The output tubes are a matched pair. Considering the simiplicity of this design, there's little that can go wrong with any kind of financial consequence. One can feel safe in owning this as it won't be a money-soak. Blue book, should you find one in good condition or restore the one you get, should be around $400-$500.

Wouldn't attempt to contact Gibson about this, but I do have a reliable tube amp guy that loves these Class A amps. Parts are available from many sources. Being the vintage piece, there is no warranty either.

I produce and engineer records for a living and this will get used regularly on sessions that require this type of clean tone. Having used many vintage pieces in the past from the Tweed '59 Bassman, Tweed '50's Bandmaster, Tweed '50's Twin, Matchless DC30, various Vox amps, Marshalls and Badcat amps, these early '60's Gibsons hold their own in substantial company!!

Amp was made in '63. It has two 6EU7 preamp tubes, 12AX7 (reverb), two 6AQ5 output tubes and a 6CA4 rectifier. The tremolo and spring reverb work quite well with the spring reverb sound close to a Princeton Reverb quality. The tremolo is a reasonable but I wished it had a slower vibe. Hi and low input jack. Probably around 12 watts. I modded this one because the bright tone was too bright. Between V2A pin6 (plate) and V2B pin 8 (grid), I removed the Scout cicuitry and installed the tone and volume circuit from a GA-16T Viscount. It was perfectly compatible using the .02 coupling cap.
The tone control is 1M and was installed where the 2nd input jack is.
The 2nd input jack was installed below the 1st one after drilling a hole directly below it. It looks like it came this way originally at first glance. (I lacquered the front chassis panel given it was rusty). Other mod is that all preamp and reverb tube cathodes have 25uf/50v cathode caps. The original had a .1uf cap on V2B pin 9 which contributed to the glaring brightness of the amp. Increasing the cap to 25uf helped increase the warmth. Last mod was a Jensen Re-issue P-12R alnico speaker was added after enlarging the baffle to fit the 12 inch speaker.

Tele guitars. Blues, R&B, traditional rock&roll, blues-jazz fusion and some country. The amp is dead quiet at idle with reverb on or off. (I changed the grounding to buss grounding and grounded the preamp and power separately. I also added two 100ohm resistors to the heater system for an artificial ground. See Hoffmanamp.com library of information) The tremolo on gives a slight sound but it is very very faint. With the mods the amp now is much warmer sounding than my Princeton Reverb. The reverb is as lush. The tremolo is not as nice as the PR vibrato. The Scout now has a VERY warm but clean overdriven sound that is not at all muddy at any volume. It begins to overdrive nicely at 5 and at 7 and beyond on volume is pretty incredible with overdrive. Again, it is a warm clean (non-distorted) overdrive that allows all the notes to sound clearly even with barre chords. Lead work tonally for blues is superb! I would describe the Princeton Reverb as edgier with more versatility and the Scout the easy winner for warm overdriven blues. With the described mods, it is more mid-ly than the scooped mid Fender sound. The mods are very easy to do with only a few hours labor and now give you a tone control that works perfectly. While the Scout does not have the clean headroom of a PR, it did not get muddy even when fully cranked. I very seldom use effects pedals so I am not sure how effects friendly the amp is, I would suspect that it is just fine in that regard?

I do not like the layout of the Scout. It is like trying to work on an amp inside a suitcase with the suitcase only partially opened. IT is all point to point and the original wiring is well soldered and wrapped around the terminals. Probably pretty durable, but not much fun to change resistors and caps out compared to Fender which is flat and has a board with components. Having said that, it is reasonable to work on. Fender Princeton Reverb components such as power trans, output trans and reverb trans (with appropriate reverb tank) can be used if parts are gone. Yes, I have substitued a Fender OT and rever trans on a Scout and they worked fine. Hoffmanamps.com or other amp part suppliers can provide parts. The wiring layout is very odd and takes some time to decipher and trace out with reading a schematic. However, the simple mods I have done were relatively easy to do and only a few hours of work.

Don't know? Did my own work. (note* amps and amp filter caps carry high voltage which can discharge and be lethal)

This is a great amp with the mods. If I had a choice to buy a Princeton Reverb or a Scout and modify it, I would easily choose the Scout. I prefer it's sound with the mods over the PR. Prior to the mods, I found the Scout to sound somewhat thin and too bright and was not impressed with it. It does not sound like the same amp. I should mention that the 6AQ5 output tubes seem to have harmonics more like an EL84 than a 6V6 yet they function more like a 6V6 in all other charecteristics. Doing it over, I'd change the 6EU7's to 12AX7's since they have the same characteristics and are both 9 pin tubes. But, I would keep the 6AQ5 even though it might be fun to rewire it with a new socket and try the EL84's which are more plentiful. I'd rate it as a great Blues or jazz amp with the warmth and overdrive. Yeah, if stolen I'd get another one.

This amp is a '62 Scout 17RVT. 12AX7 (reverb), 6EU7 (preamp), 6EU7 (tremelo), two 6AQ5 power tubes (think EL84 in a 7 pinsocket) & 6CA4 rectifier tube. Volume, Reverb, and Tremolo are the only controls. No tone control. Two inputs with uniquely different sound. The amp is superb for traditional R&B, blues or jazz. Pretty loud for 10 (maybe 12) watts. Fine for small venues or when miked. This amp had many caps, resistors replaced as well as some transformers on it. However, every replaced part was as close to schematic and original specs as possible. More re-built vs. modded. Bought this for $117 and sunk $300 into it to get it back like new. Not sure where you could find something in a new amp that sounds this good for the same price range?

It sounds fantastic!! The 6AQ5 output tubes sound like an EL84 (6BQ5). So this amp at 2/3rds volume on up has incredible compression and harmonics. The tremolo has a slower vibe to it than a Princeton Reverb and the reverb is quite lush. I use effects sparingly anyway, but the sound of this amp is so good that I am not sure an effects could improve the sound (IMO)? It truly has that traditional 60's blues, R&B vibe to it that you've heard on 100's of tunes. The amp sounds more overdriven than distorted when cranked and the notes are sustained, compressed with nice harmonics and cut thru great without ever sounding mushy. Moderate to bright sounding. If you like Steve Cropper's "Green Onions" sound this amp can nail that perfectly. (Not a hard rock/metal amp)
Really cranked it sounds a little like a Matchless to me.

This was purchased off E-bay in a disastarous condition. It is not as easy to work on as a Fender but it did have excellent quality original caps in it. You can find parts to replace anything on it and it is reasonably easy to work on. It could easily be converted to use EL84s by replace the 7 pin 6AQ5 socket to a 9 pin. Besides re-wiring it, nothing else would probably need changing as those tubes are so similar. It is cathode-biased. It is probably a little less durable than a Princeton Reverb which would be a close Fender comparison due to the chassis layout.

Schematics and parts are available to repair and rebuild. Transformers (output, power and reverb) for a Princeton Reverb are pretty similar. Haven't tried to contact Gibson as I do my own work.

Been playing 35 years. I'd be totally ill if it were stolen or lost and look into restoring another one immediately. It has a comparable incredible tone to my '73 Princeton Reverb but with more compression and harmonics. I think it has a better rhythym sound but I give my Princeton Reverb the edge for lead and I like the reverb on the PR better (although the Scout's reverb is excellent). I wished it had a tone knob although I've always set the tone knobs on my amps and then never change them. I tend to switch pickups on my guitar or use the tone knob on my guitar to switch sounds. Really a great blues amp! (which is my favorite gig). The tone never gets muddy when overdrive and every note sounds thru just fine. I like that because it allows all the nuances in playing to be heard.

My amp is a 1964 or 1965 model. The earliest ones have brown tolex covering, and later types (mine) have black "basket weave" tolex. The Scout was intended to be a practice amp, and was Gibson's least expensive reverb amp at the time. Features include reverb and tremolo. There are four controls - volume, reverb depth, tremolo speed, and on/off. There are no tone controls. Tone control is handled at the guitar. The speaker is a 10" Gibson. Output power is about 10 watts. Very simple, but good features for the money.

I use the Scout as a practice amp for jazz. I use a Gibson L4-CES, which is basically a fancy ES-175. Normally I only use the neck pickup. The Scout has a very beautiful jazz sound - very warm, clear and smooth, and not too bassy. My amp is not noisy at all. I don't think this amp was used a lot. If your amp is noisy, take it to an amp tech for repairs - it probably needs tubes or caps. The reverb is great. You can get a little "ambience" or turn it up to beyond surf levels. The tremolo sounds great too, although it's best to use it sparingly. Because the Scout is a vintage amp, I probably won't ever "crank" it or run a distortion pedal through it.

The Scout is too small for gigging except at a really small club. Even then, you'd have to mike it. I've only had the amp a few months. I think it will remain reliable if it has up-to-date service, and good tubes in it. I bought NOS tubes for it. They weren't too expensive.
It uses (1) 12AX7, (2) 6 EU7, (2) 6AQ5 power tubes, (1) 6CA4 rectifier.

The schematic was available on the web. Gibson doesn't support these amps any more...remember, they are 30+ years old. It is a vintage amp. Find a good amp tech to keep it in tune and sounding great.

I've been playing about 12 years. I also have a Fender Blues Deluxe, which is a great amp. Gibson amps are really nice for jazz and blues. I don't think they are necessarily choice for rock or country. I hope my Scout is never were stolen or lost. I'd try to find another one. For what this amp does, it's terrific. If you want a Gibson amp with more features or power, then look for a Falcon, Invader, or Vanguard.

The AMP is a 1963 product. It is a very basic practice amp with only Loudness, Reverb and Tremolo controls with one channel and a footswitch for reverb and tremolo. The amp is pretty bright so having at least bass and treble controls would have been nice, but it is only a basic no-fills practice amp. I played in rock bands in the 1970's, had a HIWATT 100 that I sold in 1980 when I got married -- used the money to buy living room furniture. I play rock, jazz, blues, folk. I have a '67 Gibson ES-335. I played without an amp until I broke down and bought myself a modest amp for playing by myself in my bedroom. My wife and kids would have died if I bought something loud. I shopped around for a few months and played new and old amps, tube and solid state. For my needs, the 17 watts of power is perfect (not much really) and the soft warm vintage tone is unmatched by anything else I tried. Even on low volumes (3 or 4) it still gives you that soft overdriven tube sound that just sounds great! Although this amp lacks in features, it makes it up in unmatched 1960's tube tone.

I play rock, jazz, blues, folk. I have a '67 Gibson ES-335 with Humbucking pickups. The amp is as versatile as my styles. It sounds very warm playing soft melody and chord jazz, but it can rock with distortion playing classic 60's and 70's rock tunes. I have a distorion + box, but I find I don't use it often. The warm overdriven tube sound sounds better than any box can produce. The amp is a bit noisy with the reverb on until it warms up after a half hour or so, but the reverb on this little amp is awesome. It also seems to boost the power output. When shopping for other amps, I'd plug in and play for a few mintues but never really "connected" with the amp. When I tried this little Scout, I played for almost 2 hours in the store. The warm tone drew me in. Cranked all the way up, this amp is incredible, but I don't want to abuse it.

This is simply a practice amp. You'd be crazy to use it for a gig, unless you could mic it real well. I don't think it would be industrial strength for regular road shows; it's too old and small. I've had it for a year now without incident. After 37 years (1963 amp), I'd say this little baby is as reliable as it gets if you use it as a practice amp in your bedroom like me. I hope to enjoy it for many years to come.

Not applicable here. Nonetheless, when buying an old vintage amp, make sure you buy it from a reputable vintage dealer with a good name and a good tech; someone you will trust if you need to take it back for repairs at some point! I bought it from a local vintage dealer who is good on his word.

I've been playing for 25 years. I have a '67 Gibson ES-335 and a '63 Martin D18. If my Gibson scout amp were lost or stolen, I'd search and find another one -- nothing can replace the 1963 warm tube sound this amp produces. After one year, I've really become attached to it. This is the best $300 practice amp you will ever own and the vintage tube spirit will always be alive in your soul.

Update of my first post.

Now that I've had it a while, I can better comment. I'm told the amp has 17 watts. I've retubed the whole thing. The hum in the reverb actually goes away if you leave the amp and reverb on for 20 minutes. Tube warming up thing. I don't use tremolo, and this one sounds kinda bad anyway. The amp is very quiet until about 7 or 8, where a bit of static pops up. The sound is clean, but not extremely. There is a very slight hiss when notes are diminishing. My tech says this is probably the old speaker. Still, with the volume around 6 and the reverb on, it gives that classic vintage sound that I love.

Tubes aren't easy to find, but they are out there.

As of now, I have about 225 bucks in this amp. I don't know where you can get this sound for that price. If you want some more features or power, save 200 more and buy an old Fender out of a pawnshop.

This model is late '63 or early '64. Has only volume, reverb, and tremolo. Tone would have been nice as this amp is very, very bright. Everything is tube driven. Foot pedal switches for reverb and tremolo. Original 10" speaker. Replaced the 12ax7 with a sovtek 12ax7wa. Channel 1 is noticeably louder now. Not sure of the power output. The remaining tubes are 2 6eu7's, 2 6aq5's and a 6ca4 which is a rectifier. From a loudness standpoint, I'd guess 20 - 30 watts.

Just got the amp, so I'm still fiddling. Playing through a Tele Special with a humbucker at neck and a texas single at the bridge, and a highly modified Kramer Pacer with 2 singles and a Seymour Duncan Hot Rails at the bottom. This amp plays clean all the way to max volume. Don't get any distortion that I read other similar models get at higher volumes. Very noticeable hiss when the reverb is on, which I'm looking into. Other than that, it is clean and very vintage sounding. The humbuckers are all warm. I use a Danelectro Daddy-O to switch to some distortion. The pedal also has treble, mid and bass, which helps dial in eq just right. This amps sound is really great, although a touch too bright sometimes. The sound has tons of character.

Amps is in real good shape. Checked all the connections and they are fine. Everything is original except for a few of the tubes, so I'm guessing it's very reliable. Built solid.

Not even gonna try calling Gibson. The tubes aren't too common. Wish me luck.

Been playing for several years. A close friend works at a guitar shop, so I've tried lots of amps. I wanted a vintage amp with a quality vintage sound and I got one. I like the brown cover, which is still in great shape. After I bought it and played it for several hours, I went to bed smiling. If I can get the reverb hiss down, they'll bury me with this guy. Unbelievable sound for the buck.