Gibson GA20

My Gibson GA-20 was made in 1953. This amplifier hits the nail on the head with gusto. I am in tone heaven. I've played through a lot of amplifiers in my guitar playing life and NOTHING matches this. I play a style of my own which encorporates first era jazz, country & western, and blues. Not that wailing white boy blues, but the real stuff. I mostly play finger style with just a thumb pick, but have been known to wield a flat pick from time to time. My number one guitar is a 1950 Gibson L-7CED.

I play archtop guitars and use single coil pickups ONLY. The ones in the L-7CED are in the McCarty pick guard and I think they are made by Rowe. They do the job very well. I've been a P-90 man for most of my guitar playing days.
This amplifier suits my music style perfectly. There's nothing more I could ever want. Those people spending thousands of dollars on boutique amplifiers are suckers. I was almost going to go into the boutique realm, but the price tags are retarded. All I wanted was an amplifier with about 15 watts, AlNiCo speaker, and a solid wood cabinet. With controls for volume and tone...THAT'S IT. It seems like these days that's just asking too much. I've been in every music store around and they all said I need to build my own or go boutique. I digress.
My music style is just a little bit of everything made before 1960. In my mind, by then recorded music was already reaching saturation and people were having a hard time coming up with original ideas. That were worth listening to, anyhow. I play a little western swing, Country & Western, Blues, Jump Blues, Jazz, and Rockabilly (wild stuff).
This amplifier isn't noisy at all. When I got it the thing didn't work. A few Sprague Atoms, Orange Drops, and carbon films later, along with some quality solder time, and this thing sings. I'm sure that if I were under a flourescent light it would be buzzing like the devil, but all you have to do is turn them lights off. Problem solved. People work on solving the wrong problem all the time. They try to fix the guitar or amplifier and all they had to do was control the environment better. It blows the mind.
This amp can make angels hide their face in shame and the laymen stop mid-bite and stare. And that's with one strum of a chord. I'm not joking. Of course the guitar has a lot to do with it, but it sounds better than anything I've ever heard. I've been using a vintage Fender Pro Reverb, and a highly modified Fender Blues Junior as of late. But this is the sound that'll drive other tone fanatics up the walls. So, to wrap this answer up, it can make a slouch sound like they know what they are doing. I would know. It's clean, crisp, and above all...loud. Another thing that bothers me about modern day guitar amplifiers is the fact that everyone (but me) seems to think that clipping is something you want?! I, on the other hand, want clean tone for as far as I can turn the volume knob. Whatever happened to just crystal clean, articulate tone?
I haven't turned the amplifier up louder than I've needed just to see if it distorts. I see no point in that. It's loud enough. End of story.
Distortion's for kids and girls.

Reliability? Are you kidding. Everything I own in the house is from the turn of the century until mid-century and everything will outlast me. You can take that to the bank and cash it. I'd depend on this amp before a new amplifier any time. There's no reason why this amplifier would not outlast me. I'm not a kid and do not abuse equipment. All my gear has the best home and gentle usage. Things that were built back then were built to last or be easily serviced. They were not disposable.
Backup amplifier...Right!
The amplifier came to me non-fuctional. It came down to the fact that nobody had ever serviced it...ever. Original tubes and all. All it needed was some love and attention and it'll impress the most tonaly elite.

I've not dealt with the Gibson company on any issues. Especially on an amplifier this old. I'm perfectly capable of handling anything that may arise with this thing.

I've been playing for 17 years. I don't have much other gear any longer. A few other archtops lying around. I used to think that you needed a lot of 'gear'. That's was a long time ago. Now I realize that you only need a little bit of gear that's high quality. That's the ticket. This is my ONLY amplifier. I sold everything else. That'll tell you something about the tone.
If it were lost or stolen I'd find another one somehow. Either that or I'd build a replica. Now that the schematic is etched into my memory. I'm not going to lose an amplifier. It's not like it's a set of car keys. So that just leaves someone stealing it. If someone steals it I'd be very surprised because:
a) The kind of low-life who would steal in the first place wouldn't be where I'd be playing typically.
b) Anyone who would want an amplifier like this would more than likely not have to steal it. They have integrity most of the time and will just tell me how lucky I am and ask if they can play through it. Which I would most likely be happy to accomodate.
It compares only to other late 1940's and early 1950's amplifiers. Unfortunately, I haven't had the chance to sit in a room full of old amplifiers and A/B them. I'd say that the closest this amplifier comes is maybe a Fender Deluxe, Princeton, or Bandmaster. The earliest examples of course.
I love everything about the amplifier and there's nothing I hate. I only hate that it's taken me this long to get one.

This 1956 GA 20 has been my friend since 1994. My brother had the guts of this amp and built a homemade cabinet for it. Didn't fully appreciate how good it is until another human friend, who happens to be a professional musician, showed me a couple things of this wonderful amp. Since then, I lucked into a GA 20 cabinet at a garage sale and it fit right in. There are 2 channels and you can use one to effect the other. Plays best with the volume at 8 and mess around with the other channel to tweek the sound. GREAT distortion.

I use a Taco-caster that sounds great. Also an 1964 Guild X-50 Granada, that has a warm wonderful sound. Wish I could play jazz better! The amp has a little noise at low volumes, but who cares?

Never, never, never failed me. They sure knew how to make them. I did have a tech go through and recap it and put a 3 pronger on it. I would drive this amp to California tomorrow.

Played for 35 years, and still not worth a crap, but I love the old amps. I would buy another one.

1950 Gibson GA-20, Instrument and Microphone volume and 1-shared Tone. Four inputs, 1-Mic. and 3-Inst. Original Jensen Alnico5 P-12R. Tubes are 2-6V6GT's 2-6SJ7's 1-6SL7 and 1-5Y3. I play my Epiphone Les Paul '56 reissue goldtop with the P-90's. Pure tone man. I heard single coils are better for this amp and I have also played a '78 Strat through it and if my memory serves me, the Strat was brighter. For blues, country/rock, this is very sim. to a tweed Deluxe. Probably more "bassey". 12-14 watts of pure vintage crunch. The mic. input is the hottest and it's strong enough for small venues or home dilly-dally.

I have always loved that crunchy Neil Young sound. With thes two channel amps, the seperate volume controls are interfaced, in other words the gain can be adjusted by adjusting the volume control of the input not in use. For example, if you are pluged into one of the inst. inputs and adjust the mic. volume, you will get changes in volume and tone. VERY COOL. No reverb, but with this thing, who needs it. I have tried Fender Blues Jr's and they are too shrill for me. This thing is ORGANIC!!!! I dont know if Fender copied this because my Gibson is a 1950 and the earliest Fender Deluxe's I am aware of are '54 or so. Very, very, very quiet even with the P-90's.......I LOVE THIS THING TO BE SURE!!!!!!!

Being a 54 year old amp and being it was serviced by Nashville Amplifier Service (when???) I have alot of confidence in this thing. Probably newer tubes and some of the innards. Amp has been very well kept up. Thanks go out to all aho have previously owned and cared for this little gem!!!

Guess it's out of warranty........ Nashville Amplifier Service is pretty darn good from what I can tell.

I've been playing off and on for some 25 years and in the past 10 years I have been a vintage tube amp man. Why anybody would mess with soild state, except for a over-the-top metal sound, is a mystery to me. Tubes are so warm and natural. If you can get your hands on one of these and are keen on tweed Deluxe's, jump on it. For 400.00-500.00, these are about 1/4 what you would pay for a Deluxe in like condition. If it were stolen, they better hide good. I had tried to find one these for over a year and a very nice guy sold it to me off ebay. The tone can be a little bit on the muddy side for open chords, but for lead riffs and power chords, not much if anything compares.

Made in 1953 at the old Kalamazoo factory. 2 channels instrument and microphone, and 4 inputs. Other wise it has the original Jensen P12R, original RCA 6v6's, and 2 metal tubes and one glass preamp tube with the original RCA 5y3 rectifier. Somewhere around 12 - 15 watts. Also has two volume controls and a tone control. Plenty of features but the best one is TONE!!!

I use a guitar also made in the old Kalamazoo plant, a beautiful Heritage 150CM with Duncan Antiquity pickups. The sound of this combination is RICH and FULL, almost piano like. The natural overdriven character of the amp is also absolutely phenomenal. Also its not a brutally loud volume when pushed, its just right. Best sounding amp I've ever had.

Well its almost 51 years old already. I definitely am careful with it, but its already lasted this long, so I don't really foresee many issues coming up in the future.

Warranty is definitely expired on this guy.

Best amp I've ever purchased sounds like an early TV front Tweed Deluxe, tons of balls to this little dude.

Mine's a 1952 model, and was built for SOUND! No bells, no whistles, just a mike & an instrument channel, each with its own volume knob, and a tone pot that's shared by both. Aesthetically it's a charmer; nice, modular shape, leather handle, like an old, classy radio. Great carved speaker panel with fuzzy golden grill cloth that covers a 12" jensen. Some real minor scuffs to the tolex. Perfect size for my living room jams with friends, and recording with a mike, though I imagine if tested it'd be able to hold its own in smaller club venues too. From what I can see, very little has been done to it, other than changing of some tubes & basic maintenance. Someone really cared for this one!!

Hands down, INCREDIBLE! Some serious punch & bite!! I play bluesy r&r with a variety of guitars depending on my mood; a '62 custom tele reissue, a '73 mustang, '72 Gibson SG, '69 Guild starfire, '78 Ovation Anniversary. They all sound fab (the tele's bridge pup: CHOMP!!), but the starfire's humbuckers and it really seem to connect. I set the tone just into the treble and get some great rich creamy saturated tones--a nice compressed fuzz from about 5 to 7 setting on the volume in the mic channel. Above that, chords tend to go a little too muddy for me, but single note leads still shine. I also haven't been able to get the Ovation to behave well with it, but I've not given up on it yet! I have an old Princeton that's a great little amp, that combined with some stomp boxes for reverb & extra volume has been my main rig around the house for years. This Gibson is a real contender for my affection! A little more oompf powerwise, and tone that I hate to cloud with reverb or overdrive. Just a real magical vibe!!

It's 51 years old, and still kicking. I think that speaks well enough for its durability. That being said, however, I'll add that it's too classic a piece to drag around and subject to too much abuse from the elements. I'm content on letting it enjoy its golden years rocking on my front porch!!!

Did they need manufacturers' warranties in 1952?! Didn't they just build things to last?
I have a tech who works on my stuff, if ever the need be...

I've been playing on & off for over 20 years. I've owned & sold my share of equipment over that time as analog went digital, and then back again, and various fads waxed & waned. With the price of comparable vintage Fenders going off the charts, these old Gibsons are a most-welcome alternative. Well constructed, quality product that was built to last by some true craftsmen. Great bargain for the price. It was marked at $499, but I traded a SF master volume Twin reverb with two blown speakers for mine, and have NO regrets whatsoever. I was in the market for a Princeton Reverb when the salesperson said, "Hey, check this out." Once I heard it, I was hooked!! We all know vintage Fenders are great amps, and luckily are also a dime a dozen and easy to find if you got the cash. If you want to have the bang of some vintage tweed or blackface, for a lot less money, and are lucky enough to come across one of these old-timers, give it a try; you'll be pleasantly surprised!! If it were stolen, I'd weep long & hard, and wish plague & pestilence upon the thief since I doubt I'd ever find one as well kept as this one has been to replace it.

This 1957 GA 20 amp was magically morphed into a 1951 cabinet for the same amp. I found the brown totally retro amp case at my local guitar shop one day. Add the amp and an new Jensen 12" speaker and voila, a new old amp. It is remarkable for blues distortion type guitar playing. Very simple and reliable.

Sounds best with my Epi dot neck with Humbuckers. Makes a nice distortion sound with bite.

100% reliable. Like the way these oldies work.

My other amp is a Fender Deluxe Reverb, which has more versatility, but the Gibson GA-20 is a nice alternative.

3 knobs: Tone - Instrument Vol.- Microphone Vol. 4 Inputs: 3 Instrument & 1 Microphone 65 watts 1- 12" Jensen "Alnico 5 PM Speaker" 2 6v6's- 5Y3 rectifier- 2 metal & 1 glass preamp tubes(?) This amp is great for the small dives I play in, It's loud and sounds great, just like an old Fender Deluxe. I use a korgAX30 processor thru it sometimes with excellent results. This is my oldest amp, circa 1952. I love it!

I use a strat, a 335, and a 125 Gibson This amp works for any style, unless you want that horrible solid state "tone"

Never Fails! But I always bring a backup, anyway.

Put a new transormer in it after I bought it.

I love the light weight and portability of this amp, and it speaks beautifully at any volume. You can play with it on 10 all night, too. The harmonica player I jam with loves it for harp. he says he likes it's "bite".