New Gibson amps

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HamishR

Well-known member
Is it bad to repost a Reddit pic here?


new-gibson-falcon-guts-v0-5hg0vkcmw8dc1.jpg

Made by Mesa Boogie. Apparently there's a fan to keep the tubes cool. But why put them smack bang in the middle of the PCB? Seems crazy to me. I don't mind PCB, I don't mind the overall build, I like that the pots are chassis mounted and flown to the board... But putting the preamp tubes on the board like that seems a silly move. Heat will obviously be an issue, though at least the power tubes are mounted outside. Changing preamp tubes will be an issue and not necessarily good for the PCB and putting filament voltage on a PCB seems to be flirting with danger. I can only assume they rectified the filament current otherwise it's a hum disaster. Even Fender at least chassis mount the preamp tubes in their RI amps, and they cost less than these don't they?

And do we really need to see CC resistors on there in 2024??

I really don't want to bag Gibson because (a) everyone else does already and (b) I love my Gibson guitars. I REALLY love them. They can make a great guitar. But for what these amps cost they can do better. Suhr do. Every demo I've heard of these they sound, um, ordinary.

Has anyone actually played one? Tell me they sound fantastic!
 
I saw that but didn't want to draw attention to it.

These amps are selling for a lotta $$ here and I would much rather buy a Suhr Hombre which is priced lower and is much better built. It also sounds fantastic
 
You can get a vintage Epiphone amp which are the same circuit (with the exception of admittedly hard to find 6eu7 preamp tubes) for waaaaay less
https://reverb.com/item/77186069-1963-epiphone-ea-50-pacemaker-tube-combo-amp
I have a 65 epi pathfinder which would be the same as the skylark 20 minus the modern power scaling and it is a great clean amp. Even at max volume there is really only a hint of crunch with my 335, but that’s what they were designed to be. I paid $300 for mine
 
All you had to say was, "Made by Mesa Boogie". Ever try to work on those? Gotta take half the amp apart for repairs on the few I've touched.

It's like they are banking on service calls for these. At least it's dual purpose, you can slide a hot pocket inside while you play a winter gig in the middle of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan at the Gay Bar and Grill. Oh man, why'd that remind me of Pastys?!?!?! 🤪
 
That’s a steep price for sure. I would rather buy a Mesa Fillmore (I know, similar problems, but they sound fantastic).
 
Eh. Gibson was never know. For their amps. They made a great jazz amp; the GA-50. I like Gibson…the way in that some families are Ford families, and some are GM families (GM family here…and Gibson too). I wish Gibson would try and move on, though. They are too conservative. They are pushing the “classics,” cause that market is still active…though not for much longer. Younger generations have a different opinion of the brand…

Here’s my idea: Gibson buys a place in Kalamazoo, calls it the Origin Factory. They build Gibson “Origin” guitars; the classics, at affordable-for-Gibson prices…nothing over $1200. They should also have an Epiphone Origin shop for the US Epi’s. Amp-wise, they should go SS/Modeler, but do it in a fun new way…like the Tone Master amps…

And all I’d want in return for my million dollar idea is a few guitars, and maybe a neat shirt…
 
I have been wanting an old skylark for a while now so I was excited to watch the YouTube blast when these came out. But then the price… no thanks. Might as well just get a boogie.
 
Overpriced for sure. I built a Ga-18T clone last year for easily less than 1/2 the cost of an original. Mines a head though and not the combo.
 
5 watt falcon $1500
5 watt Vibro champ $899
25watt Supro black magik $1500

I could continue. I get the American made premium, I get the Gibson name price increase. But I choose not to pay it. I dig their sound but not their price.
 
Coda said:
Eh. Gibson was never know. For their amps. They made a great jazz amp; the GA-50. I like Gibson…the way in that some families are Ford families, and some are GM families (GM family here…and Gibson too). I wish Gibson would try and move on, though. They are too conservative. They are pushing the “classics,” cause that market is still active…though not for much longer. Younger generations have a different opinion of the brand…

Here’s my idea: Gibson buys a place in Kalamazoo, calls it the Origin Factory. They build Gibson “Origin” guitars; the classics, at affordable-for-Gibson prices…nothing over $1200. They should also have an Epiphone Origin shop for the US Epi’s. Amp-wise, they should go SS/Modeler, but do it in a fun new way…like the Tone Master amps…

And all I’d want in return for my million dollar idea is a few guitars, and maybe a neat shirt…
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Didn't BB King play a SS Gibson, I think they called it the Lab series, maybe L5?
 
I couldn't see a fan but apparently it's just out of frame.

@Coda I also have a recent USA Epiphone Casino and it's an absolute cracker! Really well finished, has a perfect neck plays as well as any guitar I've ever had and sounds amazing. One of the best guitars I've owned. And I have owned an embarrassing number of guitars.
 
Yes, pcb mount tubes seems like a fairly bad decision. Whether it's actually bad or not doesn't really matter, they should damn well know it will be perceived as bad and therefore get a bad rep. And a fan... Come on
 
I’m not impressed either. I’d rather buy a Santana style Mesa boogie if I was going to spend that kind of mo eh.
 
Aentons said:
Yes, pcb mount tubes seems like a fairly bad decision. Whether it's actually bad or not doesn't really matter, they should damn well know it will be perceived as bad and therefore get a bad rep. And a fan... Come on
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It’s funny they tout hand wired. When I think hand wired I think totally with eyelet or turret boards. No PCB. I think PCB’s are OK if thick and designed correctly, but that’s not usually the case. A fan is a good idea, especially with this layout. Low voltage with a separate power supply, ran slow, works well with no noise.
 
Blooze said:
It’s funny they tout hand wired. When I think hand wired I think totally with eyelet or turret boards. No PCB. I think PCB’s are OK if thick and designed correctly, but that’s not usually the case. A fan is a good idea, especially with this layout. Low voltage with a separate power supply, ran slow, works well with no noise.
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Why not design it to not need a fan like almost everything else? Seems like a no brainer.

Right, Pcb amps with a good design are fine but this doesn't give me the warm fuzzies

This is supposed to be a rebirth and they should have known not taken any chances with first impressions.
 
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There's nothing wrong with a PCB based amplifier, but don't call it hand wired just because some pots are wired offboard. That's bullshit and they know it. They know what people expect from a handwired amp regarding the construction. They could have designed the PCB better so they didn't have the horizontally oriented tubes with the sockets directly soldered to the board or need a fan. It's so damned lazy when you compare it to other manufacturers even more boutique than Gibson/Mesa. You don't see that kind of shit from Dr Z or Suhr.
 
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