Gibson GA19RVT

i think the amp was made in 63-64....it has the small knobs w red arrows and the elephant skin like grey tolex......ok...when i purchase the amp it was arfull..i had to understand it plus my playing changed caus..."IT GIVES YOU WHAT YOU FEED HIM" REALLY TRANSPARENT....SPECIALLY WITH MY 72 STRATOCASTER.....MIUM MIUM.....I LOVE TO MESS AROUND WITH TONE A LOT...AND I LOVE THE MONITOR OUT JACK....you can take the preamp of the falcon with his ..UNIQUE TWILIGHT ZONE REVERB AND BEST TREMOLO EVER (BIAS VARY)...AND FEED ANOTHER , MORE POWERFUL AMP...WHAT I DO IS I FEED THE AUX OF MY BOGEN CHALLENGER 50...AND BELEIVE ME IT ROCKS BIG TIME.."UNIQUE STUFF"
there is 2 chanel inpuut with "bass" "treble" 1 tone knob..
OK SOME PEOPLE WONT AGREE WITH WHAT I FEED HIM BUT INSTEAD OF THE X1,"Y3, X2 " V6'S , (POWER STAGE) I DID A LOT OF COMBINATION TO NOT HAVE HIM GO TOO HOT
( TRANSFO) SO IF U WANT THE BEST TONE OF IT..X1,.5AU4, 2X, (5881 TUNG SOLS N.O.S)
AND THE OTHERS ARE PERFECT..(DONT CHANGE THE PREAMP ONES FOR 12 AX7...BELEIVE ME.....NOW YOU GOT A MONSTER MY FRIEND...WAY WARMER..NOT THAT MUCH MORE POWER.....DONT NEED TO REBIAS.....HAVE FUN...(IF YOU WANNA PUT REGULAR 6L6'S ITS YOUR CALL BUT WATCH YOUR TRANSFO ONES IN A WHILE ..AND""DONT LEAVE THE 5Y3...IT GIVE HIM ****....
Y3,X2".V6'S"

LIKE I SAID I USE 72 STRAT AND A 57 REISSUE STRATOCASTER...AND A 83 SQ JAPAN TELECASTER WITH EMG'S IN IT..( BOUGH IT THAT WAY) A BIT TOO STERILE...THE EMGS...
I GIG WITH IT WITHOUT BACK UP....(FOR A WHILE NOW) AND THE 15 WATTER IS WAY ENOUGH FOR PRETTY MUCH EVRYTHING...CAUS IT HAS HIS "OWN" FREQUENCIES..(IT DOESNT GO IN THE BASS DEPARTMENT.....BUT ANYWAYS I RUN THE MON OUT THROUGH MY BOGEN AND A 4X10 MARSHALL FROM THE 70'S
VERY VERSATILE FROM JAZZ(big time) , too CLASSIC ROCK(with some tube screamer)..to country for sure
MAGIC..
THE AMP DONT DISTORT....I COMBINE A BOSS DISTORTION (AS A LEAD BOOSTER) AND A 808...TUBE SCREAMER...CREAMY

MMMM...ITS NOT THE BEST CONTRUCTED AMP ..BUT IT MAKE THE AMP RESONATE WAY BETTER THAT WAY AND ITS TOTALLY PORTABLE...LIKE 15-20 POUNDS ROUGHLY...

BUT I GIG WITHOUT BACKUP....IM A BIT CRAZY MAYBEE...LOL...
SERIOUSLY IT DOES THE JOB...RIGHT...AND SOLID FOR 6 YEARS WITH THE 5881...IMAGINE SO ITS A TANK

i dont even try to mess with them....they probably not even know they made this amp...

i play for about 30 years and im on the road for 15 at least so i know what a good amp should do...(make you forget about it...and throw you in some other spaces...lol)
ok...if it were stolen i would be in trouble.....caus use to own pretty much evry fender amps( i had a collection in vancouver)...and i guess i would try to find the schematics and build one myself.....if not able to buy another...
i compare it a very bit with a fender princton 64 (original ) but the 12 inch add some ..

1962 Falcon with original Tweed covering.
Blues, country, blues rock.
1 channel.
Jamming, practicing and playing out. Has plenty of power when you mic it to a PA.

Fender Strat and Tele and Fender and Martin acoustics with passive transducers. The tone cannot be matched with a $2000 new amp. And I have all of $100 in it. Awsome for that true blues tone.

Never an issue

N/A

I have played for 30 years and I keep putting away my $700 Peavey to play through this amp. The only thing I wish it had was a twin but I can't justify spending the grand that the one sold for on ebay. I just love the tone with my Strat and Tele.

Gibson Falcon GA19RVT Two inputs, Monitor out, Volume, Tone, Reverb, depth and frequency controls plus foot switch. Of course it is all tube and has a Tweed cabinet.

I am not sure what year ths amp was manufactured. My father bought it for me in 1964. It was used at the time. He also bought me a new Gibson SG Special at the same time. I still have both the amp and the guitar. I played the guitar and amp through college (Kent State 1970) then basically put them away while working and raisng a family. Twenty some years later I started playing again.

I have always thought the amp was perfect for me. I have never played in a real band. I use it entirely at home. 90% of the time I play by myself. I have had the amp in the repair shop only twice in 44 years. I play a little of everything, Rock, Blues, Jazz, country.

Since resuming my guitar playing I have added the following guitars and amplifiers: Gibson ES335 (1982) Ovation Elite (1990) and a Fender Stratocaster VG (2007). I have also added a Gibson Lancer GA35RVT, a Marshall 8080, and a Fender GDEC. In my mind there is no comparison in sound quality to the Falcon GA19RVT. It has the sweetest cleanest sound I have ever heard. The reverb is so deep and mellow. The amp can reproduce that old Duane Eddy twangy sound to perfection. When sitting idle the amp is very quiet yet when turned up it does not distort. It makes all my guitars sound great.

I have only had it in the shop twice in 44 years. Of course I don't play it in bands and it did sit mostly idle for about twenty years while I was raising a family.

I had it repaired a couple of times, nothing major. Once it had a buzz that turned out to be a bad solder joint, loose ground. The only modification ever made to the amp was a grounded AC cord.

The foot switch has never failed. Extremely rugged.

I have never dealt with Gibson but I did find a schematic for the amp on their website.

I have been playing guitar since about 1962. I listed my other guitars and amplifiers under Sound Quality. My amp stolen or lost? Heaven forbid! Where would I find another one? What do I love about it? The sound of course.

1962 Crestline, blah blah blah (you can read the rest). 5 knobs, volume/tone/reverb/depth (tremolo)/speed (tremolo). And I was skeptical about only having one tone knob, more on that below. I'd like two tone knobs, but otherwise it's just fine. This was the 60's, remember. Footswitch is very nice and very sturdy though. Great switch really.

For what it is, it is perfect. You put the reverb on 5-8, have a little tremolo going (or a lot if you need it - the tremolo is legendary amongst amp lovers), keep the tone somewhere in the middle, and adjust sound to taste. This is 10-15 watts (depending on who you ask) of some of the cleanest sound you will ever hear, and even with the volume on 10, it doesn't hardly break up. Some people hate that, I absolutely love it. The louder this gets, the better it sounds.

In short, this amp is the ultimate (besides upper class 60's Fenders, although I think this is really close and is also $1,000 cheaper) clean amp.

Also takes pedals extremely well. With a good OD pedal (or even a good distortion pedal) you can easily get into the crunchy rock range. VERY easily.

Definitely not as reliable as a Fender. But I had the best amp tech in the country rebuild mine, so I'm not too worried about it.

They'll give you the schematic if you want it. So I guess 10/10. But for rating purposes, N/A.

I use a Gibson Les Paul with Duncan 59n/PGb set, a Gibson Melody Maker with the stock pups (for now), a Gretsch Duo Jet with TV Jones ClassicN/SupertronB, a Fender Tele with Texas Specials, and a few other various guitars. I play cowpunkabilly (think Chet Atkins meets Setzer, meets Bad Religion). This fills all those roles. Takes to pedals very well, and I've got my OD pedals that push those 6V6's into a perfect overdrive.

For me, at this point in my playing career, this amp is as close to perfect as I've found. I think that everyone could use this amp somewhere in their lineup - even if it's just for screwing around in your basement. It's THAT good.

I bought mine for $240, plus a complete overhaul which was $350. But I'm starting to see more and more on eBay approach the $1,000 range. Buy them NOW before they go through the roof in price!

1962-63 First year of the "Crestline" models with the smooth brown tolex. It has a mic and instrument channel, as well as a monitor output.Loudness, Tone, Reverberation, Depth and frequency, all you needed in the Kennedy era to get going. Of course it is all tubeand hand wired, that's how they rolled in '62. Tube compliment: (3) 6eu7, (1)6c4, (2)6v6,(1)5y3. It puts out about 15 watts and is loud enough to play smaller rooms with, mic it for larger ones. I have used this for rock, blues, soul, country and jazz. I've owned it for 10 years.

This amp has a nice warm tone. THE REVERB ON THIS AMP IS INSANE! I used to own a reissue fender outboard unit and this thing makes that unit seem tame. This amp can take you thru the twilight zone with film noir weirdness via it's strange reverb and top notch tremolo. When it's dimed, the drive reminds me of an old super reverb I used to have, More soulful than rip snortin. It has embellished every guitar plugged in with inspiring tube tone. My favorite guitars are a P90 equipped Gibson and a Barden equipped Tele.NO ICE PICK IN YOUR EAR TONES WITH THIS AMP! You tele players will appreciate this. It's 45 years old and still has the 2 prong, original 6eu7's and could stand a cap job.It has a reissue Jensen C12 that I wish was a 15' for more bottom. It's going to the tech and I'm sure it will sound different when I get it back. I wanted to do a review before service, because one done afterward is for the merits of the individual technician's skills. I am fortunate enough to have a few of the best close by.

As mentioned above, it is time for a tune up.Any tube amp should have a 2 year check up. It has however seen regular gigging duty while in my possession (2x week for 7 months). I am too lazy to bring a backup amp and very fortunate to not have needed one. That being said , it's still going after 45 years. There is a reason so many of us believe vintage is better- No pcb and simple layout.

I would be surprised if anyone working the phones at their customer support had any knowledge on this amp. Word on the street is that Gibson customer service SUCKS.

There is NO WAY I am old enought to have been playing for 23 years! Oh Sshit, I got old. I ended up buying a few older instruments before the vintage market got stupid expensive. I snagged: A couple of "69 Teles, '58 Junior, Gibson 135 and a few vint. Gibson amps: '59 Les Paul GA 40( All time Fav), '58 GA5, Repro '59 Fender tweed Pro. This amp is the closest thing i have to blackface tone and I got it for a fair price. I am thinking of converting the monitor jack to an ext. speaker jack, I think this thing would KILL with a 15. This is a great entry fotr those of you thinking of buying a vintage fender deluxe reverb but don't have $$$$$. It is underappreciated (even for a Gibson),which makes it a great buy (until the world catches on). The space age control panel is pretty cool as well.

1964 Gibson Falcon RVT 19 (Crestline) -- 100% orig.; IMPORTANT!!! The tube chart in the owner's manual reads 6EU7, 7199, 6EU7, 6EU7, 6V6GTA x2, 5Y3GTA -- THIS IS INCORRECT!!! A 7199 is an 8-pin tube, a 6C4 is a 7-pin tube which is what the circuit requires in V3, NOT V2!!! Luckily a 6C4 is 1/2 the price of a 7199. Quick discusion of features is point to point wiring, 1-channel with 2x inputs and mic input with an extension cab input on the back panel, reverb and tremolo via footswitch. Really, what more do you need?

This amp is pure roots rock (jazz, blues, country, rockabilly, raggae etc...). If you want hard rock, grunge, nu metal whatever, look elsewhere. I absolutely agree with everyone's opinion on the tonal quality of this amp against the styles I've mentioned in the raves below -- this amp is a sonic monster!!! "Round and full," crisp (articulate) and spungy (nice sag). I loved the tone of this amp so much that I needed it in a higher wattage (ala the '62 Crestline GA 77 -- yes, same as Scotty Moore's). If you want more oomph/volume I recommnd getting the RIGHT Weber speaker (tell him to strengthen the magnet) and get a 12" extension cab with another same Weber. The tremelo is very dynamic with great user control and sounds fantastic!!! The reverb, and I don't say this lightly, is the most lush reverb I've ever heard and, again with great user control; might I add that I PREFER it to an early 60s Fender Reverb Tank. Dime this little monster and you get a nice breakup.

Like any amp when you first get it, ensure a TRUSTED tech. goes over it. Ensure she's up to spec. and then my guess is you can ride her hard with just a yearly/bi-yearly checkup.

Today's Gibson Corp. is just as bad as today's Fender Corp.

Don't hesitate -- buy one now off E-bay or Gbase mall as soon as you can (JUST MAKE SURE THE CIRCUIT AND CABINET ARE ORIGINAL); you will want to get a new 12" speaker that will be more efficient than your old 40-yr. + paper cone (ceramic is fine, you don't need an AlNiCo).

Features already covered. This one came with an OEM Jensen that sounds fantastic. Outstanding tremelo and reverb, among the best. My rating based on the quality of construction (great cabinet, point-point handwired). Has what you need. As others have noted the monitor out is very handy useful feature. Pretty nice and light, too.

Killer clean tones, nice drive when dimed. Plenty loud and defined. Very flexible amp. Quite killer for blues, country, jazz, indie rock. For more drive, use a pedal.

Still works like it was new, even though its about 40 years old. Can't get much more reliable. Easy to maintain and work on w/ the point-point wiring whether you do it yourself or have an amp tech do it.

I wrote Gibson 3 times requesting a schematic becuz i do a lot of my own work on it.Never any response.They don't care.They suck.

Been playing a long, long time and have played or owned a ton of amps, vintage and modern--Vox, Fender, Traynor, Silvertone & more. I got no time to write alot about amps. But these are truly fine ones, and rate among the best. Cost is pretty good compare to what other stuff runs these days.

Mine is a '64. 2 inputs and a monitor jack (allows you to either run signal into another amp or just use the Falcon as a reverb tank for another amp. Loudness, tone, reverberation, speed, and intensity, and on/off switch. This is about a 12 watt amp, although when it was first tested, it was about 8 watts. My tech modified mine a bit to increase the gain and open it up a bit. I also put a Weber C12N in it, and that made a huge difference in volume. Mine came with a horribly cheap little replacement Celestion that was pitiful at best. I've gigged with this and a Fender Vibro Champ in stereo, and played at a hair over half volume. It's not my main amp, but in certain clubs, it's perfect and I love playing through it.

I play a Les Paul w/SD JB-4 at bridge and '59 at the neck. I've also played a '64 strat through this and it was absolutely gorgeous. I play R&B, blues, and classic rock, and this amp works very well for those. For heavier stuff, I use either my Banzai Fireball or Chandler Tube Driver. This is one of the funnest amps that I've ever played through. Terrific sag and responsiveness, even at very low volumes. It stays pretty clean up until about 1/2 volume, and after that, it goes from gritty to quite dirty when dimed. Whatever my tech did to this thing really made it scream! The reverb is way deep and lush, and the tremolo is thick and pulsating. It's a very cool little amp. Just a beautiful blues tone from this thing.

It's been completely overhauled, and yes I gig with it, although not without a backup. I just got the amp up and running a couple months ago, but it's been solid as a rock for me.

Gibson sent me a schematic and owner's manual when I requested it. However, my amp had a slightly different tube arrangement than the schematic that they had. Mine has a 6CN tube. Nobody on the net had this schematic. A few weeks after I picked mine up from the shop, my tech called and told me that somebody had brought in the exact same model as mine, and he had the original owner's manual WITH schematic! So, I scanned a copy of it and uploaded it to Gibson's customer service dept. for posterity!

I've been playing for about 25 years. I also have an old Vibro Champ, a bf pro reverb, a '65 bassman, and a blues jr. If it were lost or stolen, I'd be really torn. I would probably get a deluxe reverb, but jeez, I'd miss this thing! It is such a joy to play through! I love all my amps, and I can't really pick a favorite, but this is definitely a sweet, fun ride.

1963 model with Mic and Instrument inputs; Monitor jack; Loudness, Tone, Reverberation, Tremolo Depth and Frequency controls; (1) 5Y3, (2) 6V6, (3) 6EU7, and (1) 6C4 tubes; 1 - 12" Jensen C12R speaker; hardwired footswitch for reverb and tremolo; Hammond 2-spring long pan reverb. All the features that I look for, and plenty loud for band/small club use. The only criticism I have pertains to the reverb - it sounds awesome up to about 3, then it is totally out there. Way too deep and springy for my taste and I own a '65 Fender Reverb Unit!

This amp has a very full, round tone with a preference for higher output pickups. My Fender "Texas Special" single coils, P-90's and humbuckers love this amp! Most people complain that Gibson amps sound "dark" and don't overdrive as much as Fender amps. Well, I own and have owned a few vintage Fenders and I like this Falcon more than any Fender I've had (BF Deluxe Reverb, Princeton, and Vibro-Champ). Nice chimey treble without being shrill. Meaty midrange and tight, full bottom end. The Jensen speaker is incredible - it handles every note at full volume. The amp responds very well to picking dynamics and cleans up with a twist of your volume knob. I often use it in tandem with other amps like my '65 Ampeg Reverberocket or '64 Fender Princeton to add more girth and muscle to my tone - but if I have to play just one amp, this is the one. It seems to cover more of the frequency spectrum than other amps I've used.

Mine is a '63 - all original tubes, speaker, caps, trannies, etc. It's older than I am and in better shape, too!

Gibson will fax/mail you the original schematic and owners manuals, but that is the extent of their "service".

I collect small combo tube amps - the Falcon, a '65 Ampeg Reverberocket, '64 Fender Princeton, '65 Fender Vibro-Champ, '65 Fender Reverb Unit, '63 Magnatone Custom 440, '65 Supro S6416T "Trojan Tremolo", '60's Silvertone 1481 and '70 Silvertone 10XL. Love 'em all, but the Falcon is my fave - the last one I'd sell if I had to!

I've been playing for almost 25 years - I mostly play blues, but really want to improve my jazz chops ala Kenny Burrell and Robben Ford. The Falcon does both flavors very well!

Manufactured 1964. Features are simple by modern standards -- 2 inputs, monitor jack, single volume knob (no separate gain), single tone knob, reverb knob, tremolo depth and frequency, reverb/tremolo pedal switches. But WHAT features!! The quality of sound from both reverb and tremolo alone blows away anything made today.

At 20 watts of tube power with a 12" jensen inside, it's sweet-sounding but a little short of hair for big clubs, but plenty of volume for smaller juke joint venues. Add a touch of crunch with an overdrive pedal and this amp rocks for the song I paid for it.

Well-suited to classic blues, proto-rock, and even surf sound.

I currently play a '96 Fender Tele and a DeArmond M75-T through it. The Tele is a little thin (owing I'm sure to the amp being engineered for humbucker output), but the M75 gets fat and loud tone, and the amp really enhances resposniveness of the instrument, making it much more expressive. I was going to dump the M75 for a Bluesbird or fat Tele, but thanks to this amp, I'm keeping the cheap axe and saving my money.

Only had it a week, but its got all-original parts (except tubes). I would say playing this amp maxed out would blow the Jensen fast, especially if overdriven with a pedal. Feed it fresh tubes and don't crank the "loudness" knob to 10 and it should be reliable.

I think the warrantee expired around my second birthday or so...

Playing various instruments on various solid-state and tube amps for 24 years now, and I've got to say this is the sweetest little find I've made since my Fender Bassman back in '79. If you find one in good shape, snap it up quick, despite the shudder you might get when you look at the butt-ugly control panel.

Probably a 1964 or '65. Used strictly for harmonica. Has one channel, two inputs and a line-out. A pretty basic amp, just the way I like 'em ... volume, tone, reverb, and tremolo (with depth and frequency knobs). Reverb and trem effects are turned on/off via the original footswitch which was with the amp when I got it and still works just fine. The Falcon has a 12" speaker, which are not generally considered great harp speakers, but this one sounds red hot. Rated at about 12 watts, I'd like a little more stage power. But I use that line-out to run it in tandem with my Fender Princeton Reverb, giving me a bit more power and a nice stereo effect. Someone else mentioned the amp's ugliness. Well, ugly is in the eye of the beholder. Has a cool, retro look, if you ask me, complete with clear plastic suitcase handle.

I generally use an Astatic JT-30vc harp mic for playing blues and rock. My Shure SM57 sounds good too. The Falcon is not one to produce a clean jazzy or country tone at high volumes, but for that bluesy crunch it's great. And from what I've heard, it would me a nice sounding practice amp for most any style of guitar.

This amp was in a shambles when it was given to me. I took it to the good folks at SoFlo Tube Amps in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. and they were able to resurrect it with some minor cabinet work, a second-hand reverb pan, a vintage Rolla speaker, NOS tubes, some new caps and a general tightening of the amp. It seems pretty sturdy, for what that's worth, and I haven't had any problems yet. But I've only had it for a few weeks now.

Gibson has long-since quit making tube amps like this. (Too bad.) But I did send in a request for info about it to the Gibson customer service people in Nashville. A week or so later, I received a Xerox copy of the original owners manual. Very cool on Gibson's part. If it does crap out on me, I'm sure I can have it fixed by any competent tech.

I've owned two other good harp amps (Fender Pro Junior and Princeton Reverb). I liked both but nothing yet can touch the Falcon for crunch. I should also note that this is the only amp I've owned that sounded so damn good with the stock tubes in. Usually, to get good harp tone without a lot of feedback, you need to monkey around with the pre-amp tubes, but not with these 6EU7s. Gibsons of this era seem to abound on the internet and in second-hand shops. And because they're less collected than, say, Fenders, you can usually pick one up at a bargain price.

This amp has limited features as compared to todays multi bells and whisltes amps but it does the job and then some. Basic controls, volume, tone, reverb, depth and frequency. A little history on the amp. The modlel GA19RVT stands for Gibson Amp model 19 with reverb, vibrato and tremelo. This amp was actually manufactured by Thomas organ for Gibson. I acquired this info directly from Gibson.

This amp was made my '62 Fender Jazzmaster. While it will not rock the house it has the sweetest jazz sound going. You should mike it if playing a club. I don't drive it to distortion as I have other amps for that purpose. It was made clean to play clean.

I have never had this amp break down on me at a critical time. I don't play it more than once or twice a month so I would expect it should continue to run.

Support from Gibson is great but this amp is a one of a kind (different kind of dog) I perform all of my own repairs and service and purchased Aspen Pittmans Tube Amp Book to get the schematics. The schematics listed in Mr Pittman's book did not match the Falcon (GA19RVT) I then contacted Gibson and requested a copy of the schematics and found that I received the same one as in the Tube Amp Book. This was when I found out that Thomas Organ actually manufactured the amp and that the circuitry had been changed and that no proper schematics were available. I was able to determine the correct parts and wiring. (the tube chart is incorrect!!!)

This is my second Falcon. I owned one for a number of years and traded it. Kicked myself a many times and looked for six years to locate another. I finally found one about 4 months ago and had to do some work on the wiring but am very happy now. Overall I am very pleased with this amp but it is a specialty amp in my opinion. There is no comparison to the overall flexability of my Fender tweed 4x10 bassman or Super Reverb but then it is 1/10 the price. If you want a smooth sounding blues/jazz amp that loves old soap bar pickups this is the one. If anyone needs info on tube charts or wiring feel free to contact me via email.