Gretsch 6164

Pretty basic tone fectures-volume, bass, treble controls, and a cool vibrato. It's true vibrato with pitch shift, not fender vibrato with a simple volume cut.

Absolutely beautiful sound. 30 or so LOUD watts. It sounds incredible. It can be bassy for jazz players, and it can be screaming trebly twang for tele players. I only wish it had reverb, but this amp sounds great. Very nice warm tube tone. Mine has the original RCA's in it, so I'm sure that helps.

Valco-made, and it seems very well made. I gig with it. No problams yet.

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I'd give this amp a 9.5-there is no such thing as a perfect amp (nothing in this world is perfect!), but this one comes close.

2 channels, vol and tone each, 2 jensen p12ps's, cathode biased for around 30 watts or so. really wonderful tremolo, and very unlike a fender. amp is as described by the other posters here. the tone control increases treble and adds gain above 7, like a tweed deluxe does. very subtle, useable range of sounds throughout it's rotation.

this amp has been in storage since i bought it in 1990. it was brought up to spec and the jensens (basically a p12n with a smaller magnet structure)were reconed correctly. i originally bought it for the speakers and never gave much thought to the amp itself. boy was i wrong, as this amp is kinda unique in my experience. it's quite low gain but all there in the tone department. if it's run wide open it just starts to distort and is not all that loud. but this is an advantage, as i'll explain. i run it wide open and control it all from the guitar and it responds wonderfully this way. but, hit the front end with a good healthy amount of clean boost (an mxr micro amp, been on my pedal board forever) and it gets a LOT louder without falling apart or getting too overly gainy. wow! i used it on a blues gig recently with a kay archtop fitted with 3 p-90's and a modded mij 50's strat and i was just blown away by the tone. it's plenty loud for any gig i do set up in this way, and i'm in a couple of pretty
loud bands. one interesting thing we found was that half of a 12ax7 on the bass channel was left unhooked at the factory; whether this was intentional or not we don't know. but we'll solder it in for a little more oomph when i want it because the unused bass channel adds some body to the guitar channel when it's volume is turned up. the cathode biasing really helps give it that bouncy, singing-but-still-clean thing i that love. it never gets shrill on any pickup setting, even very bright strat bridge pup tones. wow.

it was gone over very thoroghly, no worries. but i would like to have someone build a tube cage for the power amp, as it sits on the bottom. this will now become a primary gigging amp so a little protection will be welcome. the preamp is up top, connected by a multi-pin cable. build quality is excellent, as befits a supro/valco/gretsch. also quite lightweight for a 2-12, a nice bonus.

playing professionally for 20 years, in various trad blues and roots bands. strats, teles and a lot of oddball 50's and 60's guitars. black and tweed bassmen, 59 tweed deluxe with a p12n, heavily modded deluxe reverb, with both 1-12 and 2-10 baffles.

this amp is a real surprise and unlike anything else i've owned. if i were to describe it i'd say similar to a great tweed deluxe (though not nearly as gainy) but with more clean headroom and body with the 2-12's. but it's not a deluxe, it has it's own personality. an absolute keeper.

1961 'Supro' same as 6164 Gretch: 35watt 2x12 jensen speakers.
an accordian and two guitar and bass inputs each.
had it modified so i could use other inputs as pre-amps; this added a bit more mid-range and volume and distortion of course.
sounds best when played between 8 and 10.
has a tremlo that brings fear to the eyes of epileptics.
more than loud enough for small clubs and home and studio.

i play a G&L SC-3 (three single-coil pickups)
this is a very warm, rich, versatile amp, not very noisy, not that i care.
it slides into distortion nicely yet efvery string sounds.
can get bright and nasty, too.

bought it used almost nine years ago for $500 u.s.
i don't thhink i coulda got it for less on accounta the salesman twigged how much i loved it...haven't had a problem which is pretty good considering how old it is.
it had been well cared for; is in great condition.

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this guitar and amp combination is the sound i've been searching for.
and with the 'Supro' insignia it looks real swell.
it can sound like the opening chords of 'Sway' off Sticky Fingers...
i would die if ever it was stolen or broken.

I THINK THIS PIECE IS A LATE 50'S , IF SO , IT IS IN GREAT SHAPE! IT SOUNDS GREAT ,HAS ALOT OF LOWER END BASS TONE . EVERY THING IS ORIGINAL INCLUDING THE SWEET JENSENS (NO RECONES) . TUBES ARE RCA , I ASSUME THAT IS CORRECT FOR THIS AMP ? IT HAS A MYSTREOUS VIBRATO , BUT DOES NOT REVERB (BUMMER!)

TELE'S STRATS, 335 , T/P 660 RICKY .IT'S PRETTY QUIET FOR A TUBER .

HAVE NOT HAD IT THAT LONG

SEEIN' AS HOW THIS COMPANY WENT OUT OF BUISENESS BE FORE I WAS BORN.NO

I WOULD COMPARE THIS AMP OLDER TWIN. GREAT SOUND WITH WAY COOL OLD VIBE. YES I WOULD SEEK TO FIND ANOTHER IF THIS BABY WERE EVER LOST OR STOLEN!!!!!!!!!!

This is a follow-up from my previous review - the amp has now been fixed ! The output transformer was knackered, and since it has been replaced I have been totally gobsmacked by the tone and power of this amp. It is a VERY loud 35 watts, and I can now truly appreciate the 2 x 12 Jensens. The tonal range of this amp is all I need, from crystal clear 'glassy' to warm rich sustain. Many thanks to Steve at Music Ground Doncaster UK for the repair.

This one is a 1961 combo. 2 channels with 2 inputs each. GTR/Accordian, and Bass. It has an amazing tremelo built in, with depth and rate controls. The 2 12" drivers are the original "Jensens". I believe it is rated at 30watts or so.

I use several Strats with the amp. A '57 reissue, and a standard. This amp breaks up like no other!! Great for power-pop, or British influence music. The amp is extremely quiet, and can give a shimmering clean tone, into a brilliant distortion where every note rings.

It's been very reliable for me, I mostly record with it, but have taken 'her' out on a few gigs. However with it's age, I wouldn't have it as my only amp. I would also have a backup in case. The tubes are all original in it, but replacements could be found(but I've nevered wanted to do that)

1961 Gretch...I think it's out of warranty. =)

This amp is a 10 where no other combo amp I've heard could go. Every guitarist that plays through the amp says the same thing...HOLY S$%#!! And the amp is ALWAYS brought back up in conversation from that point on. This amp is un-replacable, I've played other Gretch's but nothing like this. I own quite a bit of gear, and this would be the last thing I would sell. Take a listen to a Jellyfish record, and you'll hear the amp in action. It was purchased from Eric Dover.

Built in 1963, and labled as an accordian amplifier, it features two channels - one true vibrato, one clear bass - each with two inputs, but alas no reverb. Main power tubes are 6L6's, preamp tubes 12AX7's with 2x12 Jensen Special Design speakers. It is supposed to be 35watts but at the moment is only around 10-15 watts. I bought the amp here in the UK in 1975 and apart from re-coning a speaker and replacing valves it has not had any repairs - hence the 10-15 watts output. I used to use the amp in small clubs/pubs but is now just used for practice as it is not powerful enough for the R&B stuff we play. I am currently looking for someone that I can trust to do a diagnostic on it.

I use a Strat to play Blues and R&B and the tone of this amp is just perfect. It has a clean sound up to about 4(clean but with character), and breaks up between 4 and 6(clean but with nice bite), and between 7 and 10 doesn't get louder but distorts more. The Vibrato adds a really nice shimmer to the clean tones. The bass channel has a great blues/jazz tone that breaks up nice and tight on the higher settings, but, as with the Vibrato channel, never gets fizzy sounding.

I have grown up with this amp and it has been moved around a lot since I bought it in 1975(well used), but it is very ruggedly constructed and has never broken down. I have been advised that the current low power problem may just be that the caps need replacing - something which I know hasn't been done in the past.

I've never dealt with the company, and I have found it very difficult to find any info on the amp. I am very paranoid about giving this amp to someone to repair it as I don't want it 'butchered' or 'modernised'.

I have been playing since 1973 and have used various amps such as Vox AC30's and small Marshall combos and none have compared well to the tone of this amp. I would have a serious problem in replacing it and the only amps comparable would be Fender Bassman/Super Reverb kind of thing. I am desparate to get it repaired - properly - and the only thing missing is reverb.