I'm Getting ANOTHER Les Paul

[ajay]

After 33 years away from having a Les Paul to play, I made up for it, and I got two in one week. Now after having two Les Pauls for about a month, I'm getting ANOTHER Les Paul. Shocking, I know, but it's going down.

This time, my Les Paul is going to be...........AN AMPLIFIER!

I'm getting a 2005 Gibson GA-5 Les Paul Amplifier, Five Watts of Hot tube butt kickin' Class A TUBE POWER! My Brother has an original 50's GA-5 Tube Amp. He was going to give it to me. Unfortunately, He moved all over the world for years as an Army Lieutenant Colonel, and it appears that it was lost in the shuffle somewhere. Our birthdays are one day apart in July, and He told me today to be looking on my front porch next week, because a mint, barely used GA-5 is going to find it's way to my porch this week. He's an awesome Brother, and He pulls this sort of thing all of the time. He's a GREAT Brother, that's for sure.

He still has a Gretsch Country Gentleman hollow body, and no amp, so I'm sending him my Cube 40GX so that He'll have a jam box. He doesn't know that I'm sending him my CUBE, so paybacks are hell. It's so cool of Him to do that. Although, He's not only my Brother, but He's my Best Friend too. What a guy!

[brantobrien]

Enjoy it Gibby amps have never quite caught on for me... EXCEPT the Lab 9. Something about that 15" for clean sounds really blew me away.

[ajay]

The guy that I'm buying it from put an upgrade Jensen Speaker in it. He said that the GiBson speaker started hi gain with the Amp volume at 3, and with the Jensen there's more usable clear room on the amp setting. I have a Roland Cube 40GX if I want some clear headroom. I just wanted the little Gibson to try some different tubes and stuff to see how much fun I can have. Plus, I think it's cool that Gibson put the vintage amp out again, so I wanted to get one while there are some really nice examples available. It's cool that He chosen the best Jensen speaker available, because my Brotkher's Vîntage GA-5 had a cool-looking blue Jensen onboard, and this Jensen is blue, and just gives me a feeling like playing his when it was still our "house" guitar amp. I have a Roland Micro Cube Bass amp, so my next direction is going to be a Mesa Boogie with 2-12's and at least 50 watts, and hopefully100 watts. It sure is fun stepping back into electric guitars again. I forgot how much fun You can have with the variety of tones after playing non-amplified acoustic for 30+ years other than several miked Acoustics at the occasional gig with the old band from the 70's and 80's. I have missed playing my LP from way back when, and next time I go back home we will have some fun jamming, and maybe pull off a gig or two. Everyone from the old band survived to play another day, and I'm really looking forward to it.

[sparquelito]

Jensen makes really good speakers.

 

I replaced the old (original) paper cone speaker in one of my smaller Fender practice amps a few seasons ago with a Jensen, and I must confess, the amp sounds SO much better.

Louder, brighter, and much less muddy.

 

I had undertaken the project that summer to tear apart that Fender amp along with another old amp, a Marshall.

I cleaned, polished, and spritzed electrical contact cleaner/lubricant into all the pots, and turned the knobs over and over again to eliminate all the scratchy and crackly sounds that both old amps had been making during volume/tone adjustments.

 

Replaced the speaker in the Fender with the Jensen, and the old Celestion in the Marshall with a brand NEW Celestion, put everything back together, and boy oh boy!

New life for two old amplifiers.

 

Routine care and maintenance;

It's not just for cars and motorcycles.

Amplifiers need love too!

[HEADKNOCKER]

Don't keep it bottled up inside!!

Unleash the Lesters & Play Play Play till your fingers bleed & keep the super glue handy

 

Congrats again ajay

[ajay]

I'll follow Your recipe Sparq, and thanks HEADKNOCKER! I have two Roland's, and now this Gibby. I think that I'd best keep the CUBES. They're so versatile. My Micro Cube Bass amp makes the best YouTube sound system. I just plug it in, and all music videos turn into instant concerts. The Cube 40 GX is about 15 amps in one. If only it was a tube amp. That's what the Les Paul amp will provide. I'm going to try Groove Tubes and see what's in there. Now I have to wait a week.The guy that I bought it from had given it to hid Dad for a living room amp (He must have been a COOL Dad!) His Dad passed away last year, so he I'd parting with the Gibson, but I think that his Dadh had twoo Rivieras, so He'll keep them. I'll take over for his Rockin' Daddy. I kind of feel honored to get it.

[HEADKNOCKER]

We have two Peavey Vypyrs one is a Tube60 the other solid state15

They have a lot of effects & have an old tube bass amp for the two basses

 

I haven't seen one of the Les Paul amps YET!!

[ajay]

Way back when I played bass for a Jazz group. Our lead guitarist played a Peavey with two 12's. This was back in the early 70's, and that Peavey was a really sweet lead amp. When He started driving that thing, it was one of the best lead sounds that I ever heard. He played a nice 60's SG, and that was the first guy that I ever played with that had found his tone. He went on to be a professional guitarist. He was GREAT IN High School. I saw him play in Boston after He graduated from Julliard, and He was just monstrous good, and He was still playing the same SG.

['Scales]

I've come to the conclusion that you just can't kill a Peavey. There must be a huge percentage of every Peavey ever made that is still working. Just yesterday I played a rehearsal on bass (bass player is away for gig next week) and used the band's old 'community' Peavey bass amp covered in dust and rust - sounded just fine (in spite of my 'make it up as you go' playing).

 

I have a Peavey twin 160w SS guitar amp from about 1981 which mostly lives at Dad's for when family come to visit and want to play guitrar/bass, but it gets called in whenever an extra amp is needed - the other day I gave it to a friend to use for electronic drums until he gets his Marshall fixed. Neither of those amps is the greatest ever, nor the one you always hoped to own, but they do a job and do it every time, they are both heavy as **** but maybe thats part of overengineering or whatever - they serve a great purpose when required.

 

looking forward to hearing about the Gibson amp Ajay - i can't recall ever seeing one.

[ajay]

That's funny. The guy that I was talking about with the Peavey is pretty big news. His name is Rich Gilbert. If You do a Web search he is all over the web. The last I knew, he was in Boston playing in The Zulus, Uncle Tupelo (one of my favorite bands, and I didn't even know that He played for them). Now He's based out of Nashville, and He's doing a lot of studio work and touring the world with various bands. I dropped him a line, so I may go down to Nashville and see him play. He's a real laid back cat, so I'm sure it would be a kick to hang with him for a few days. We were pretty good friends, and back in Illinois we never forget old friends. One of my friends from 35 years ago could drop me a line and I'd let him crash here on the farm for as long as he wanted, and old girlfriends could stay even longer! It might piss the wife off, but oh well!

[arlum]

Cool.

[arlum]

I've routinely upgraded speakers and tubes whenever I buy a used amplifier. As long as the amp hasn't sat for years in somebodies closet, (which might then require it to have the caps replaced), new tubes and choice speakers can make an old amp sound new or better than new. I too have purchased another used, (32 year old), amp a few days ago and I'm already ordering tubes and speakers before it even arrives. Of note ..... I already one one of this same amp so I know going in what I want.

 

ajay,

Your thread just made me realize the my four best amps were all bought used. Could it be because they're broken in? Nah. I just have expensive taste and a frugal wallet and I've found a way for those idiosyncrasies to co-exist while avoiding acid reflux..

 

So congratulations on your score and I hope it's all you want it to be.

 

arlum

['Scales]

One of my friends from 35 years ago could drop me a line and I'd let him crash here on the farm for as long as he wanted, and old girlfriends could stay even longer! It might piss the wife off, but oh well!

 

- reminds me, our lead singer (approaching 60 and something of a lady killer... in his mind at least) says the other day " you know, most of those hot flower power chicks from when I was young look like they've been hit with Roundup now... " - eloquent as always, but....

[ajay]

That's hilarious! I'd probably look like I swallowed a watermelon whole to them, so it would probably balance out!

[Guest Farnsbarns]

I'm thinking about building an amp on the ga-5 circuit with a few mods of my own. It's either that or a blues junior with some changes inspired by Dan Torres.

[ajay]

I took one semester of electronics in High School. I wish that I would have stuck with it long enough to be able to wire an amplifier. That would be a great retirement business. I wonder if they even teach anything using Vîntage components anymore. There's a New York State (SUNY) university fifteen miles from my farm. If they had courses I'd sign up tomorrow.

[ajay]

Here's my New Les Paul GA-5! All in it was $390 shipped, and the condition is MINT. He replaced the speaker with a $90 Blue Jensen P8R 25W. The original Gibson speaker was a Weber with an Alnico magnet, and Gibson put their name on it. Having a Blue Jensen is REALLY cool because not only is it a big upgrade, but My Brother's '59 GA-5 has a Blue Jensen stock from the factory. Plus, When Brian mailed it to me, He included two new sets of tubes, one new set of JJ's and a brand new set of Groove Tubes. It sounds great. It's great when a bargain eBay purchase is a Gibson product. I can't wait to hear it with the Groove Tubes installed. This amp is a keeper for sure. Most of them are listed for around $600 plus shipping, and I think that $600 would be a good deal considering the Class A quality and sound. Under $400 shipped is highway robbery!

[sparquelito]

That is fantastic, ajay.

 

I'm really happy for you.

 

Happy playing!

[HEADKNOCKER]

My Two Peavey Vypyrs bow down before your itty bitty Gibson Les Paul 5 watt amp

SWEET!

[ajay]

Thanks sparquelito! It's always a great day when a piece of hardware name Gibson becomes a part of Your life.

HEADKNOCKER, I'll trade You even up right now! It is a tiny thing, but it packs a punch! High volume doesn't work in my house. My Golden Retriever goes nuts when I crank it too loud, so this has all of the volume that I can use. Also, I am a HUGE fan of Peavey Amps. Give me a Peavey or a Mesa Boogie for my serious power and I'll have all that I need and more! That 40 watt Roland is way louder than I'll ever need, but a Peavey with two twelves and about 50 watts? I'll just have to make an exception and take it out to the barn and heat those twelves up! This Les Paul Amp is a cute little booger though! It grew on me the second that the tubes warmed up and that sweet, rich sound came rolling out of that little 8 inch speaker. I had to play some Tom Petty, just because I like Tom a lot, and I can play enough of his stuff with my eyes closed. I just closed my eyes and played, and it instantly became a friend. Then a little ZZ Top, and I knew that it carried the jewels to handle a small gig. And like I said, if You want to trade.... I do appreciate the bow, but We both know that it's for Gibson and Les Paul and not the power. It will be fun to work with! Thanks HEADKNOCKER. You are a true Gentleman.

[HEADKNOCKER]

"Lets get to the Point" You know the rest..

Last Dance with Who?

I like Tom Petty Too!!

ZZ Top? Who Doesn't..

 

I of my Peavey Vypyrs is a 15watt with effects for days

The other is a Vypyr Tube 60 with even more effects & stomp boxes & has true Tube tone & is so freekin loud it's never been up over 3

 

I really like the little Gibson Les Paul GA-5

[ajay]

HEADKNOCKER- My birthday is coming up in a week or so. I'm getting an Electro-Harmonix Pitch Fork. Please take the time to check it out on YouTube. If I'm not running that Gibson Amp through the PA at our next gig, I'm going to set up the GA-5 dedicated to the Pitch Fork for one of my soloes. Using multiple octaves it's areal Synthy sound, and if I experiment with it I think it would really turn some heads. That rich sound from the "Little Giant" should really sing through that Pitch Fork. I've really never heard anything quite like it. And no one gets a price deal on that one. Every single place sells it for the exact same price ($158.20). Almost as if it's a patent kind of deal, and since no one else has a comparable effect, it's like Electro-Harmonix is declaring a "fair trade on it. All that I know is that I want that effect, and the GA-5 is the perfect amp for it.