Amp Advice?

Draco_V_Ecliptic

I intend on getting a Fender Player Tele for Christmas/New Year as a present to myself, and was planning on looking for a reasonably priced Gibson Amp to go with it, any advice on whether the guitar would match the amp or not? I was mainly interested, as Bill Frisell, another jazz/tele player I am interested in has a Gibson in his collection and is quite fond of it I believe. What is the sound like compared to, say a Fender Twin? Thanks in advance.

jellybelly

Gibson aren't really known for their amps - in fact I'm not sure they have any in production now at all. Do you happen to know the model? Might be something similar others can recommend. 

What's your budget and intended use? If you're new to playing you dont necessarily need the size and power of a gigging amp to begin with, and you don't necessarily want to commit to a particular sound if you end up liking something you wouldn't necessarily expect. Is jazz your main genre or do you like playing lots of different styles?

bertie

well according to one of those "gear hound"  sites   Bill has

1 Vox AC10-C
2 Fender Princetons
1 Fender Deluxe Reverb
1 Carr Sportsman
and the Gibson GA18  - which are about £2k  on the used market 

TBH I dont think I know anyone that has/plays a Gibson amp 

Dontgiveupyourdayjob

Trace Elliott did a range called the 'Velocette', which was a clone of the Gibson GA-15 I believe. Should get you pretty darned close without breaking the bank. 

There's one on here for sale (no affiliation):

https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/253086/trace-elliot-vellocette-12r-reduced

RickLucas

The 50s Gibson tweed amps like the GA20 are fantastic.

jellybelly

Dontgiveupyourdayjob said:

Trace Elliott did a range called the 'Velocette', which was a clone of the Gibson GA-15 I believe. Should get you pretty darned close without breaking the bank. 

There's one on here for sale (no affiliation):

https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/253086/trace-elliot-vellocette-12r-reduced

Tbf that's a great deal. Ignore what I said. Get that. 

(But keep in mind valve amps require some upkeep and maintenance.)

The Fender Deluxe and Princeton amps Bill also appears to use have both valve versions ('65s), rockier versions ('68s) and digital light-weight versions with built in attenuators (ToneMaster). All would be a) quite expensive but b) hold their value and c) make excellent gigging or home amps, and take pedals well too

ICBM

Dontgiveupyourdayjob said:

Trace Elliott did a range called the 'Velocette', which was a clone of the Gibson GA-15 I believe.

The other way round - the Trace Elliot came first, then Gibson bought the company and re-released the amp (with substantial build quality improvements, but double the price) as the Goldtone GA-15. The Trace Elliots do have quite a few issues, but most will have been repaired and possibly upgraded now, and they do sound great. Be aware that the control position at the bottom on the back is massively annoying though!

Draco_V_Ecliptic

jellybelly said:

Gibson aren't really known for their amps - in fact I'm not sure they have any in production now at all. Do you happen to know the model? Might be something similar others can recommend. 

What's your budget and intended use? If you're new to playing you dont necessarily need the size and power of a gigging amp to begin with, and you don't necessarily want to commit to a particular sound if you end up liking something you wouldn't necessarily expect. Is jazz your main genre or do you like playing lots of different styles?

Jazz is my main genre, but I mostly play two sub-genres within that: Free Jazz & Fusion. Budget would probably be between £300-£1000, I have seen Gibson amps for around that price online, but, as others have said they are often more expensive, but the model varies, I am not foo fussed with regard to model, I don't think they have any in production right now, I could only find used ones online.

Draco_V_Ecliptic

Dontgiveupyourdayjob said:

Trace Elliott did a range called the 'Velocette', which was a clone of the Gibson GA-15 I believe. Should get you pretty darned close without breaking the bank. 

There's one on here for sale (no affiliation):

https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/253086/trace-elliot-vellocette-12r-reduced

That sounds like a great deal, thanks.

Draco_V_Ecliptic

ICBM said:

Dontgiveupyourdayjob said:

Trace Elliott did a range called the 'Velocette', which was a clone of the Gibson GA-15 I believe.

The other way round - the Trace Elliot came first, then Gibson bought the company and re-released the amp (with substantial build quality improvements, but double the price) as the Goldtone GA-15. The Trace Elliots do have quite a few issues, but most will have been repaired and possibly upgraded now, and they do sound great. Be aware that the control position at the bottom on the back is massively annoying though!

Thanks, I'll bear that in mind.

Jazzy_Jake

A slightly left field suggestion/idea: You could get an Award Session 5E3 extra, chassis only, for 200 quid (https://www.award-session.com/5E3-EXTRA_chassisonly.php) and then get someone like Mark at AF Custom Cabs to build you a Gibson-style cabinet. You could even go wild and get a cab with a 12" and 8" speaker like those really cool old Gibson GA-50 amps Jim Hall and Bill played (look at the 'Gibson style cab' here: https://afcustomcabinets.weebly.com/custom-cabinets.html).

The slightly odd/outdated baffle design with the circular cutout for the speaker apparently contributes to the sound of these old Gibson amps.

A lot of jazz players like the 5E3 extra, Nigel Price uses one. You would then have a very reliable and lightweight modern amp with nice things like an Fx loop and DI out that doesn't require maintenance, gets you the right sound, and looks the biz.

HAL9000

^ I’ve got one of these and can highly recommend. Mine’s the 22W combo version. Does a nice warm clean, but gets a bit gritty once the gain is pushed. Despite the 5E3 moniker it won’t go the full Neil Young - maxing the gain is more into Clapton (post Cream) territory.

Litterick

The Fretboard Journal reveals all:

DB: When you said you had an amp that was “your amp,” what was that?

BF: Like that one over there, that Gibson [Explorer GA-18]. That’s not the exact one, but I’ve had that amp for almost 20 years. And before that I had another one. A really small, sort of old ‘50s Gibson amp that I was just comfortable with.

DB: Didn’t Jim Hall have a Gibson amp that had two different speakers in it?

BF: That’s a GA-50. I actually have one of those. It’s incredibly cool. It has a 12” and an 8” speaker. It’s from the early ‘50s. And there might even be some sort of primitive crossover in there, something. It has a huge bottom end but it’s also real clear. It’s an amazing amp. All those records with Art Farmer, Bill Evans and Sonny Rollins—all those records of the ‘50s and ‘60s—that was the amp. But [these days] it’s also incredibly hard to keep in repair.

ICBM

Litterick said:

BF: That’s a GA-50. I actually have one of those. It’s incredibly cool. It has a 12” and an 8” speaker. It’s from the early ‘50s. And there might even be some sort of primitive crossover in there, something. It has a huge bottom end but it’s also real clear. It’s an amazing amp. All those records with Art Farmer, Bill Evans and Sonny Rollins—all those records of the ‘50s and ‘60s—that was the amp. But [these days] it’s also incredibly hard to keep in repair.

That would suggest he needs a better amp tech… these amps aren’t hard to keep in good repair if you do the job properly the first time. They’re not complicated (even the vibrato version isn’t, by modern standards) and as long as you have the correct valves - which aren’t that rare - then nothing else is going to suddenly die if you've already replaced all the electrolytic caps and any resistors that look suspect.

There’s no crossover shown on the schematic - you don’t really need one with two mismatched guitar speakers, the natural frequency response will take care of the separation.

CaseOfAce

Litterick said:

The Fretboard Journal reveals all:

That's some tasty playing on there. I assume he's got some sort of Dispatch Master / shimmer effect in the chain going on as well?

bertie

his little finger is longer than my index finger  

Winny_Pooh

In short to answer the OP that Gibson amp and similar octal valve amps from the 50's  would sound pretty different to the Fender deluxe reverbs and princetons. Dirtier and more midrangey. 

Gibson don't make amps anymore and few if any make amps like those originals. Closest would perhaps be a clone of a Fender tweed super/twin or an ampeg. Big "perhaps".

If you like Frisell a Princeton or larger deluxe reverb style amp like he uses would do you fine or try some of the Supros, a bit less sterile than a black "face" (panel) Fender.

Draco_V_Ecliptic

Winny_Pooh said:

In short to answer the OP that Gibson amp and similar octal valve amps from the 50's  would sound pretty different to the Fender deluxe reverbs and princetons. Dirtier and more midrangey. 

Gibson don't make amps anymore and few if any make amps like those originals. Closest would perhaps be a clone of a Fender tweed super/twin or an ampeg. Big "perhaps".

If you like Frisell a Princeton or larger deluxe reverb style amp like he uses would do you fine or try some of the Supros, a bit less sterile than a black "face" (panel) Fender.

Thanks, much appreciated.

Draco_V_Ecliptic

Winny_Pooh said:

In short to answer the OP that Gibson amp and similar octal valve amps from the 50's  would sound pretty different to the Fender deluxe reverbs and princetons. Dirtier and more midrangey. 

Gibson don't make amps anymore and few if any make amps like those originals. Closest would perhaps be a clone of a Fender tweed super/twin or an ampeg. Big "perhaps".

If you like Frisell a Princeton or larger deluxe reverb style amp like he uses would do you fine or try some of the Supros, a bit less sterile than a black "face" (panel) Fender.

With further regard to the sound I am looking for, I was thinking along the lines of quite a 'fat' yet clear sound, I don't want so much gain that it sounds like metal, more like rock or fusion, a kind of 'clean distortion'  as much of an oxymoron as that sounds. I was thinking of putting a humbucker on the guitar as well, I use a ProCo You Dirty Rat Pedal, so that should give you some idea of the direction I want to go in. 

andy1839

Did you get sorted in the end?

Randomly I remembered this thread when I saw a Gibson Goldtone GA15RV for sale just up the road in t'Leeds for £450

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/658020102884830/

Draco_V_Ecliptic

andy1839 said:

Did you get sorted in the end?

Randomly I remembered this thread when I saw a Gibson Goldtone GA15RV for sale just up the road in t'Leeds for £450

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/658020102884830/

It's something I'm planning on getting in the future, will review all the advice and make a final decision later.