Joe M

Ok, after owning the amp for a little more than one week, here are my thoughts and observations.... First, let's talk about probably the two most controversial things about the amps; price and "hand wired". As far as price is concerned, unless I've missed it, I can't think of any amp, THAT HAS EXACTLY THE SAME FEATURES, for any less money. Please, if anyone knows of one, let me know. I know there are several that come close, but none, that I know of, that are the same. Fender's PRRI comes real close; reverb, trem, cover, fs, but it's made in Mexico, where wages are much cheaper than in the US. It also usually has a 10" speaker, even though you can buy one with a 12", but that's an upcharge. IMHO, that amp sounds best with a 10" anyway. How bout a Supro Amulet?? It does, literally, have exactly the same features as the Gibson, but wait....no cover, no footswitch, and, dang....made in China. You don't care if you have a cover or fs?? Many users do, and if you do want them, figure on another $100 or so to buy them; the Falcon has those two things included. Lastly, for those of you that build your own amps, which I have great respect for, please don't tell me you could build a better model of the Falcon for a lot less, unless you figure in the man-hours you need to make it, not just the price of the parts. Now, the real bugaboo, is it handwired? I guess, as many have said in another thread, that it technically is, it's all semantics anyway. Honestly, I personally don't care. If it sounds good, I really don't care how it's made; humans, robots, monkeys, whatever. I have never opened up an amp to see what the insides look like, and I never will. If it fails, that's what warranties are for. In all fairness, I may not be the type of user that would be hard on an amp anyway. I don't gig out anymore and the only movement that any of my amps have is to move a few feet one way or the other in my music room when I fire up a different amp. Perhaps reliability could be a factor if you were regularly gigging with the amp, no one can know for sure, I sure don't. Now what I really like about the amp....it sounds great for the purpose that I use an amp. The trem and reverb are excellent, different than a Fender, but still very usable. The speaker sounds great in this amp, I see no reason to swap it out for anything else. It's very light, around 30 pounds, so if I do ever have to move it, it's easy to do. And it looks cool. Should that be a factor in evaluating an amp? To me it is, along with a very nice cover and footswitch. Gets real gritty in the 1 watt mode, if that's your thing. I usually leave it in the full power mode since I play mostly clean. What I don't like about the amp...the control panel sucks; the highly polished chrome is very difficult to read unless you're in just the right position. I really don't like top-mounted controls either, hard to see and get to, especially if you have the amp on a stand, which I usually do. Oh, and sometimes there's a pop when you use the fs to turn on and off the reverb or trem.....horrors....don't know how I can live with that. Bottom line....I really like the amp, the way it looks, and, more importantly, the way it sounds. I don't regret one minute buying it and I'm sure it'll give me a lot of enjoyment. Is it expensive? Yes, but as I said in my first paragraph, if you can find an equivalent amp, with the same features, for less money, please let me know what it is, I'd like to check it out. EDIT TO ADD: I almost forgot two other things....the amp has a fan, and you can hear it if you listen real, real, real, real close....again, I don't know what I'm gonna do with that horrible noise??? And, last, like the fs, sometimes the standby switch pops when you turn it off; another terrible, terrible thing....

FWIW, I bought a Falcon 20 a little more than a week ago and have been playing it since every day. Short comment....IMO, it's a great amp. If anyone would like a more detailed review, ask away.....

Thanks for that, Phil, I missed it completely.....

Unless I missed it, can’t believe there’s been no talk about the new Falcon amps from Gibson? Anyone seen or played one? Comments???

I’m with you 100%, love the Keystones, detest Grovers, that seem to come on too many Gibson’s.

I brought home the same model last week and it is perfect in every way possible. Didn't have to tweak it one bit. Maybe you just got a dud??

Title says it all.

I don't even want to think about my yard.....

Roger, stopped back at Huber's yesterday and bought one just like yours. And, like your experience, it sounded even better than it did when I played one a few weeks ago. I don't think I've ever heard a low E string rumble like this one does. Honestly, I just wish I would have bought it in the first place. Unfortunately, I made a couple of rash buys since the first experience that have turned out to be not-so-good. If I had bought the J-50 right away, I would have saved myself a lot of needless effort and money.

Except for the finish, pretty much the same as the Emmy Lou Harris model from a few years ago..... https://www.sweetwater.com/insync/gibson-acoustic-l-200-emmylou-harris-model-antique-natural-2/

Doggone it Roger, now you’ve gone and done it…..looks like I’m gonna have to stop and double-check those out. 🤪

Roger, I've gone to a couple of the open mic nights, but never participated.....way too much good talent there 😜. And, obviously, there would be plenty of guitars to use if you didn't want to bring yours, but, honestly, I don't know why you wouldn't want to use your own??? They do have PA's and amps to use, so you wouldn't need to bring either of those.....

Roger, I played one of those during Paul’s anniversary celebration a few weeks ago and I agree completely. Just a great playing and sounding guitar. Don Ruffatto, from Gibson, was there at the time and said he thought it was one of the best that he had heard. And, considering that they’re custom shop guitars, they’re very favorably priced. Came really close to taking one home but didn’t. But now that you’ve reminded me about them, I just might have to revisit one…..🤔😉 ,

As the OP of this thread, that has gone completely off the rails, dhanners623, I couldn't agree more. I'm a moderator on another site that continually gets "relic" threads hashed and rehashed. It's a finish option, nothing else. It's like saying "how could anyone like a red guitar, they're hideous". You don't like them? Fine, don't rip on someone who does. In the end, it's all opinion, and we all know what opinions are like.....thanks to the couple of you that gave a direct response to my original question.....oh, and FWIW, I bought the full gloss HB, not the faded model, just because it sounded and played better....

Is it literally just the difference in finishes that separates the faded series models from the gloss finish ones? Wood, bracing, other appointments exactly the same?

I had one of those several years ago; great playing and sounding guitar. Wish I would have kept it.

I had a J-150 several years ago along with a J-200 at the same time. Honestly, I thought the J-150 played and sounded better than the J-200. Of course, YMMV. For that price, if everything checks ok, I say go for it....

Ah, easy one, Pepper, turkey for sure......

HA, Deluxe Reverb is my weight limit now, and even then, sometimes I think too much...

Great job, Roger, Roy would have approved..... After watching your video, it suddenly struck me as to why you look so familiar; many, many years ago, you came to my house and bought a used Twin Reverb that I had advertised on Tradin' Times (remember that mag, before CL??). You may not recall, but I'm pretty positive it was you....just sayin'.....

Same case as far as I can see. Very nice, FWIW, new latches that look and work way better than the old ones. Honestly, I think, if anything, the 50’s model should be priced higher, seems to have more of what a J45 should have, IMO. Another of the great Gibson mysteries…..🤪

I was lucky enough to have a shop with both models and got to play them. As first pointed out, cosmetics are one of the main differences, and, to me the 50's model wins hands down. I've always disliked the Grover tuners on just about any Gibson guitar. And, even though it may be "better", couldn't stand the nut on the regular J45. The aged binding on the 50's model is another winner for me. As was pointed out in the video, the neck shape on each is close, but different enough to be felt. Sound-wise, the 50's sounded, to me, clearer and cleaner than the standard. I played them back and forth for a good 45 minutes and came home with, as you might expect from my comments, the 50's model. The standard was a fine guitar, but I just preferred the look, feel and, especially, the sound of the 50's model. Plus, it was $50 cheaper..... That's my story and I'm sticking to it.....

Thanks for the replies guys, I'm gonna pass on this one. At first I thought the price was too good to be true, and after reading input from you all, especially QuestionMarks', I'm guessing there's a good reason why the guitar has such a low price-tag on it. And, Murph, you're correct, if I had Sal's money, I would have bought it already.....

Just played a 1974 all-original Hummingbird at a local shop that's for sale. Played and sounded great, even with what looked like may be the original strings. Hardly a mark on it that I could see. Priced unbelievably low. Couldn't really figure out why until I looked at the saddle more closely. Very, very low, with hardly any break angle for the strings. Meaning, AFIK, that it probably needs a neck reset. My quandary is this: would the guitar be worth buying and taking the chance that it doesn't need a reset? And, if it does, would the low price still make it worth it to have it done? When I say it's priced low, it's almost half of what a new Custom Shop HB is listed for. I know in the end, it's my decision to make, just looking for some input to either push me over the ledge or pull me back..... Thanks

What's even stranger is that if you click on the ebony version of the guitar, there is no upper strap button.