1966 Gibson GA-5 Skylark - Mods DEMO

Dan0h

Dan0h

Well-known member
I’ve been on the look out for a Ga-5 for a while and one showed up on Christmas sale at the local guitar shop in great condition for $400. Had the three prong cord and new caps.

I realized quickly why these normally go for around $500, they were designed for 1960’s Les Pauls which are pretty dark. This thing was the definition of Ice Pick sound, the controls were pretty much useless and the sound was very thin until you dimed it then it sounded amazing, but loud as hell.

I decided to make some changes and surprisingly all the stuff I learned on this forum and over the last few years tweaking tube pedals came in handy. I changed up almost all the preamp section caps to more “fenderize” it and allow more bass to come through. I removed the input cap which was really choking out the frequencies and installed a Trainwreck type 3 Master Volume. Putting the knob in the back. For $400 plus $20 in parts this thing punches WAY above its cost. Insane that these Skylarks are so cheap and only really need a few tweaks and they sound as good as anything else. Also, this version is actually 14.5 watts using two el84s. Anyway, just wanted to share with you dudes. Keep an eye out for these, 100% worth it.
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Demo
 
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Dan0h said:
I’ve been on the look out for a Ga-5 for a while and one showed up on Christmas sale at the local guitar shop in great condition for $400. Had the three prong cord and new caps.

I realized quickly why these normally go for around $500, they were designed for 1960’s Les Pauls which are pretty dark. This thing was the definition of Ice Pick sound, the controls were pretty much useless and the sound was very thin until you dimed it then it sounded amazing, but loud as hell.

I decided to make some changes and surprisingly all the stuff I learned on this forum and over the last few years tweaking tube pedals came in handy. I changed up almost all the preamp section caps to more “fenderize” it and allow more bass to come through. I removed the input cap which was really choking out the frequencies and installed a Trainwreck type 3 Master Volume. Putting the knob in the back. For $400 plus $20 in parts this thing punches WAY above its cost. Insane that these Skylarks are so cheap and only really need a few tweaks and they sound as good as anything else. Also, this version is actually 14.5 watts using two el84s. Anyway, just wanted to share with you dudes. Keep an eye out for these, 100% worth it.
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Nice score and fix!
I just refurbished my friends GA-5T and had the same assessment. He plays an old Les Paul so I kept it stock. I like your mods.
Great job!
 
Great score and looks to be in very nice shape. The only one I’ve ever worked on looked like it had been in a barn for 40+ years. Bonus: whoever did the caps used nice ones.
 
Beautiful amp, and your mods are tasteful :)

The transformer PI is interesting, I assume it’s choke size, how much smaller than the OT?

My first tube amp when I was a kid was some champ like pawnshop Kalamazoo, and seeing this one brings fond memories.
 
Zanshin said:
Beautiful amp, and your mods are tasteful :)

The transformer PI is interesting, I assume it’s choke size, how much smaller than the OT?

My first tube amp when I was a kid was some champ like pawnshop Kalamazoo, and seeing this one brings fond memories.
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Exactly. It’s smaller. It’s a cool idea as it also acts to block dc so there is now coupling cap after the last tube stage. Pretty cool.
 
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