GA 79RVT

[GA Ampman]

I finely got a GA79RVT it's a 1962 and in 9.5 condition I have been looking over 25 years for a 79RVT to come along. I found my prize at Tall Toad Music in Petaluma CA it is one of the best music stores I have ever been. If you are ever in the wine country of Northern California check them out. The amp sounds amazing from worm Jazz tones to screaming Blues Rock it can do it all. The Reverb and Tremolo are fantastic the amp is dead quite when idling even with a pedal turned on and is excellent for live or studio work. Now here is the surprise Gibson has made stereo guitars since the late 50's and I never under stood why they always seemed like a pain to use. Plug a Gibson stereo guitar into a Gibson GA 79RVT stereo amp with the proper cord and it becomes clear. The sound is amazing turn on the tremolo with a hint of reverb and it sounds like a B3 through a Leslie. The guitar in stereo sends the bridge pickup to one side of the amp and the neck to the other. Then tremolo bounced between the two speakers and channels of the amp and the sound is huge. I knew these amps were very cool and I have read a lot of articles about saying how fantastic they are but this amp has changed me in a way that makes me very happy. If you ever get a chance to try one do not pass it by if you own one and know any cool tricks like delay on one channel pleas chime in.

[Jon S.]

Congrats!

[randyc]

I was a happy owner from 1961 until 1967 (financial difficulties forced a sale). At that time I owned a 1961 SG-style Les Paul (sold not too much later, unhappily) and the combination of the two was unforgettable.

 

I did a very strange experiment with this amplifier one time (couldn't have been achieved with any other amplifier of that era). I connected a 3 inch portable radio speaker to the speaker terminals of channel 1 with a small value of series resistance in the line. I placed the speaker in a coffee can and stuffed cotton all around it. I placed a microphone right next to the speaker cone and stuffed cotton all around it too.

 

After sealing up the coffee can (holes punched in base and lid for cables) I sent the microphone output to the input of channel 2 of the amplifier. With guitar cabled to the input of channel 1 (and a lot of tone control experimentation) overdriving the tiny speaker and then routing the microphoned sound to the other stereo channel produced a VERY unique blend of distortion.

 

I think the combined output of the GA-79RTV (both channels driven by a mono output instrument) was around 30 watts. This was more than adequate to fill small clubs containing many laughing, shouting blues addicts. The electrical design of the GA-79RTV was an order of magnitude more sophisticated than Fender products of the time. (This opinion offered by a retired electrical engineer with over thirty years experience.)

 

You have a very fine amplifier. I saw this one and it brought back many happy memories.)

 

Cheers,

randyc