Product: Gretsch S6820 Thunderbolt 115 Combo
Price Paid: n/a used
Submitted
05/07/2003
at
10:38am
by
UriahT.
Features
:
9
1968 Gretsch 1X15 Combo- Vertical cabinet unlike most Supro Thunderbolts you see. The cab is also a little deeper, closed back (bottom ported), so a little louder/fuller, also. Has the late 60's aqua faceplate with three knobs- Volume, Bass, Treble. Three inputs, all the same impedance.
2x12ax7, 2x6L6. Has only one good sound, volume full up, bass full down, treble full up. Not versatile, but in this setting you can get a shimmering clean picking lightly (or with guitar volume) to very, very satisfying crunch when you dig in. Only starts getting dirty around 8 with most guitars, but on 10 is where to keep it. Plays most clubs with ease since I put a Weber California in there (and this is a loud rock band). Not perfect for everything, but for rock, it's truly amazing.
Sound Quality
:
10
I play mostly with an SG with P-90s and a Tele baritone. Both very full sounding in this amp with very good treble bite (a problem in other amps with the SG). Sounds very much like a Supro Thunderbolt (or its Airline cousins), with the addition of that little more push and different treble/bass knobs.
Can sound harsh compared to an old Marshall/Fender distortion, with more high end bite (not sizzle), but I like it for that- cuts through very well for a 1x15, and will get an almost acoustic tone when on the neck pickup (p-90s, preferably) with a nice full bass.
I have put Teles, SGs, Les Pauls, off brand single coil guitars through this amp, and they all sound great. If you want to hear a similar sound, just listen to Led Zep 1, that's it with a Tele. Always crisp, never muddy. Trick-put a clean boost in front if you want to wet yourself.
Reliability
:
7
Needed new tubes, I rattled one of the caps a little loose, easy fixes, built very well. I had it looked over once professionally, and everything was in tolerance, very good for a 35 yr old amp. Cab built very solidly.
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
Long time gone.
Overall Rating
:
10
The main reason I'm posting here is because I was wondering if anyone else had ever seen one of these amps. To my knowledge, Gretsch never made a thunderbolt, but its printed there as clear as day on the faceplate, right next to the Gretsch logo. It is obvious from the sound and circuit (and the fact that Gretsch amps from this period were made by Supro/Valco), that it is a Thunderbolt. The only difference is the cabinet and seperate bass/treble controls. If anyone else has one of these gems, give me a holler. All in all, a killer amp (its a Thunderbolt), and an interesting piece of Gretsch history.
