lol Welcome my 7th tube amp in the last year, a 1962 Gibson Falcon!

[BigAlTheBird]

lol I don't know what my problem lately is. I've been spending all my money on old amps. I still have the Minuteman, which I haven't even played yet, and I still bought another amp. The nice thing is that if I sell either of them, I am absolutely guaranteed to make a profit. These are the recent sale prices of the Gibson Falcon on eBay:
$376.50
$360.00
$310.00
$455.51

I bought mine for $290! Not only was it only $290, the original owner replaced the speaker with a Jensen AlNiCo Vintage (the original speaker is pretty bad from what I've read), and he added a 3 prong ground cord, and he replaced the original 2 way On/Off switch with a 3 way polarity On/Off/On switch. I like these a lot.

Down to the details though, this is a 15 Watt amp, with only 5 controls: Volume, Tone, Reverb, Depth and Frequency. I'm a sucker for these simple old amps, but apparently the defining feature of the Falcon is it's amazing Reverb and Vibrato. Apparently, the Reverb and Vibrato on these are some of the best Gibson ever made.

So in short, it's an ugly, simple little amp, but I think I'm gonna love it. And if I don't, I sell it in a few weeks and make $50! I'm a bastard like that.

Last but not least, the picture!

 

[BigAlTheBird]

Re: lol Welcome my 7th tube amp in the last year, a 1962 Gibson Falcon!

By the way, I've got a lot of damn amps to buy to catch up to BBent or Joneser!

 

[Imp]

Re: lol Welcome my 7th tube amp in the last year, a 1962 Gibson Falcon!

the price drop is because there's a non-original speaker and the wiring's been changed

just to be safe, take a quick look at the wiring job inside the amp first - especially the power lead conversion.

still, good shot man! nice score!

 

[BigAlTheBird]

Re: lol Welcome my 7th tube amp in the last year, a 1962 Gibson Falcon!

Actually, most (maybe all actually) of the amps had a three prong ground cord put on, since nobody likes shocks. And the three way On/Off/On switch shouldn't drop the value, should it? Lastly, he's including the original speaker, so the added speaker (which is a $70 value new, so maybe $35 used) is just a bous. Actually why it was so cheap is that he only accepts Personal Checks, and everybody hates writing checks.

Thank you for your tip on checking out the wiring, will do. And thanks dude!

 

[cream123]

Re: lol Welcome my 7th tube amp in the last year, a 1962 Gibson Falcon!

I like it. It's not ugly at all. It's beautiful, just in an ugly way.

 

[BigAlTheBird]

Re: lol Welcome my 7th tube amp in the last year, a 1962 Gibson Falcon!

Thanks dude! I love the little coat of arms type logo, the red one, pretty cool.

 

[cream123]

Re: lol Welcome my 7th tube amp in the last year, a 1962 Gibson Falcon!

That is pretty sweet.

 

[The Golden Boy]

Re: lol Welcome my 7th tube amp in the last year, a 1962 Gibson Falcon!

Actually, I think yours is a between 63 and 65- unless it's a really late 62- the bark- like tolex is the giveaway. In 65 they went to the black tolex.

Be careful with those knobs- the lips on the upper edge tend to break- I just got some later Gibson amp knobs that I'm going to replace mine with. I just had the 3 prong plug done a couple of weeks ago.

Awesome amp- and good score!!

 

[The Golden Boy]

Re: lol Welcome my 7th tube amp in the last year, a 1962 Gibson Falcon!

BTW- the speaker rules!

 

[BigAlTheBird]

Re: lol Welcome my 7th tube amp in the last year, a 1962 Gibson Falcon!

I'll believe you on that Golden. The dude said it was a 62, but you're probably right. He wasn't the original owner, not by a long shot, so some owner along the way probably just got their info mixed up. And are you saying you like the original speaker Golden? I know they came originally with Jensens, but from what I've read they were ceramic and not Alnico.

How long hve you had yours? What are your impressions of it? Thanks!

 

[skyydogg01]

Re: lol Welcome my 7th tube amp in the last year, a 1962 Gibson Falcon!

nice score

I think your gloss should be "UglyAmpOlogist"

lol

 

[BigAlTheBird]

Re: lol Welcome my 7th tube amp in the last year, a 1962 Gibson Falcon!

lol You guys with your ideas, you're gonna jinx it, and I'm never gonna get it!

I have had some decent looking amps though.

My Vintage Club 20 was beautiful, with the white tolex and brown leather handle. My favorite looking amp, and also maybe my favorite playing. Gonna get another one soon.

My rarest amp, the Peavey "The Classic" wasn't too ugly in person. No balls though, and a busted speakers. So rare that it's impossible to find pictures online. This is from the manual.

Then came the V1512, great amp. Will own another one eventually. Pretty cool looking too.

The Blues Jr. you know pretty well Skyy!

And then finally the Gibsons, the Minuteman and the Falcon. I think the Minuteman is actually pretty cool looking, the Falcon not so much.

 

[Jeffrec]

Re: lol Welcome my 7th tube amp in the last year, a 1962 Gibson Falcon!

Very nice. When you get a chance, post a few sound samples. These amps were covered recently in Vintage Guitar. Great article.

 

[The Golden Boy]

Re: lol Welcome my 7th tube amp in the last year, a 1962 Gibson Falcon!

How long hve you had yours? What are your impressions of it? Thanks!

I got mine in 91 or 92. It's a great sounding amp that IS the 6v6 sound to me.

It records really well, but it doesn't work well for what I'm looking for in a live context. But a 57 right on the grill is magic (or golden, as the case may be).

 

[BigAlTheBird]

Re: lol Welcome my 7th tube amp in the last year, a 1962 Gibson Falcon!

Thanks dude! Sound clips you say, eh? Well it'll be two weeks before I can even turn it on, and I have no real way to record. I'll see what I can do though, the best possible is to bring a digital camera in. My only mic is a USB one, but where I'll be playing there's no computer (out in my garage).

 

[BigAlTheBird]

Re: lol Welcome my 7th tube amp in the last year, a 1962 Gibson Falcon!

I got mine in 91 or 92. It's a great sounding amp that IS the 6v6 sound to me.

It records really well, but it doesn't work well for what I'm looking for in a live context. But a 57 right on the grill is magic (or golden, as the case may be).

Thanks! I'm glad it gets the Golden seal of approval. Original speaker in yours?

 

[The Golden Boy]

Re: lol Welcome my 7th tube amp in the last year, a 1962 Gibson Falcon!

Thanks! I'm glad it gets the Golden seal of approval. Original speaker in yours?

As far as I'm aware.

This amp dimed and a Telecaster are awesome together.

 

[BigAlTheBird]

Re: lol Welcome my 7th tube amp in the last year, a 1962 Gibson Falcon!

Yeah I can't wait to try my Tele through it. Should be a good match.

 

[The Golden Boy]

Re: lol Welcome my 7th tube amp in the last year, a 1962 Gibson Falcon!

Do you have another 6v6 amp?

 

[BigAlTheBird]

Re: lol Welcome my 7th tube amp in the last year, a 1962 Gibson Falcon!

No, I think this might be my first. The Peavey "The Classic" had 6L6 output tubes, which I kinda liked. All of the other ones have had EL84's. They're alright I guess. I'm really looking forward to trying out the 6V6's in this, and the 12AU7's in the Minuteman (which has EL84's).