New Amp! Sweet Score!

Gearjoneser

Gearjoneser

Gear Ho
I picked up a British made Gibson Goldtone 30RVS for $540 tonight. It's been a long time since I've had an EL-84 combo, and this one has a spectacular tone and beautiful reverb......no wonder Joe Perry endorsed them! This one is dead mint, besides the fact that the right speaker cloth needs to be tightened with a staple gun. The picture makes it look discolored, but it's not, it's just loose.
Otherwise, it's flawless, top to bottom, and has a footswitch for reverb and volume boost.

Also, on the way back, I stopped at my friend Todd's recording studio/Ebay warehouse to pick up a quartet of JJ EL-84's. If you ever need tubes or other amp accessories, talk to Todd... www.revolutionguitar.com
If you think I'm a gearhead, you gotta see Todd's Ebay warehouse and personal collection. He's finishing his pro grade recording studio, and he gave me a tour.
Talk about AMPS!!! He's got every killer Marshall you ever wanted...about 10 of the best Marshalls you ever saw! Then, a whole slew of Fargens, GT's, Nick Greers, etc. Tubes, pedals, covers, speakers....you name it.

Well, here's my new amp!
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:dance: :dance: :dance: :dance: :dance: :dance: :dance: :dance: :dance:
 
Re: New Amp! Sweet Score!

It's 1:35 AM, and I just pulled it all apart, lemon oiled everything, tightened up the cloth, installed all JJ's and 1 Telefunken driver tube, and put it back together. At normal volumes with the Goldtop LP/Brobucker/Jazz, it's a gorgeous-room filling clean. Tomorrow, when I can crank it with an OD pedal, it'll be tone city....I can tell already! I'm so glad it came with Celestion Vintage 30's, because that's what's in all my cabs.

I've sold off any American toned amps I have. British tone is where it's at.
Bogner - EL-34's
Matchless- EL-34's
Marshall - EL-34's
Gibson Goldtone EL-84's.
Vox Valvetronix SS w/British tones

I sold off the Fender Bassman LTD and Concert 4-10 and don't miss them a bit. Once you go EL....you never go back!
 
Re: New Amp! Sweet Score!

Looks so great Gear!!
Congrats!
Gotta love EL-84's.
I have been restoring my SP-AC-15 head, now it is small but fat and very sweet, lovely tone from the EL-84's.
Got nothing but old Telefunken and Siemens tubes in mine right now.
Niels
Damn could you get us a clip of that baby??
 
Re: New Amp! Sweet Score!

Yeah, I'm going to start getting some clips together. I get lazy about that stuff, if I'm not doing actual songs/instrumentals, and it's one of my biggest faults. For the past few months, I've been doing cartoon music for Warner Bros. that is music I can't post since it's not owned by me......it's for cartoon pilots and I'd be in serious trouble if I released it. I'm done with that, so now I can focus on real music again. I'm anxious to get busy with some new tunes, that showcases what I do best with amps that sound nice. Some of the stuff I've done this past year is totally ridiculous overdubs on hiphop music for urban flavored cartoons. It pays, but it sucks, and what it is is mostly effects over rap style music. hahahaha That's where L6 becomes my sound! hahaha
 
Re: New Amp! Sweet Score!

After listening to RID's clip....

Yep, it's that unmistakeable chimey, glassy, Class A clang. And when it's pushed, it goes into that REM, Queen, U2 breakup that sounds like a miniature, boxy sounding EL-34 amp sound. I know it was made by Trace Elliot for Gibson, but I noticed that the output transformer has a sticker on it that says it was wound by Demeter. I'm assuming it's stock, but that surprised me. Demeter is the king of high end audio. It looks like the original transformers, so I wonder if Trace Elliot bought custom wound trannies from Demeter?? The amp sounds great, and it has a 9.8 sound rating on harmony-central.
 
Re: New Amp! Sweet Score!

Wait until you hear some real GEC KT-66 tubes, not the cheap immitations being made now, but the originals.

Much better than EL-34, unless those are Mullard EL-34, then it's a close tie.
 
Re: New Amp! Sweet Score!

It's a Trace Elliott. Nice amps. i've looked at the a long time. A huge +1009 on styling. I'm not too hot about the controls on the bottom back edge, but I suppose you get used to it. I always wanted one of the 10-12's they have out. I've never seen the inside so I've not been able to determine if this is one of those amps that have good thick circuit boards (ala Bogner and Rivera) or if it's the cheap crappy stuff like Fender uses.

+1 on Todd at Revolution. Good guy to do business with. And a forum member to boot! One time I ordered some tubes off his site and used his automated check out. The computer system ended up charging me 5 bucks too much. To my suprise, there was a 5 dollar bill sitting in the box with my tubes.
 
Re: New Amp! Sweet Score!

Nice amp, Joe! I've been yearnin' to try one of those Gibson's after reading comments about them from you and a few other forum members in the past. I'll bet it sounds sweet.

Congrats!

....Bob
 
Re: New Amp! Sweet Score!

Hosting one of the blues jams at the bar that I work in this guy came to sit in with one of those Goldtones just like yours. Man what a killer tone the guy was getting. He was an alright player, but the tone made him seem a lot better. After the jam he let me tinker around with the amp and his Les Paul.....made me want those tones again and had me seriously thinkin about sellin a couple of my fenders to get a les paul again :) GREAT score! I thought I did good with my mesa/boogie dc-2 for $360 but this one's got me beat :)
 
Re: New Amp! Sweet Score!

Yup....hot little amps:bigok:

I also don't like the controls on the back, but that's just me:dunno:

I love EL84s....right now my EL84 amp is a Burriss Amps 18/25w plexi-type clone. With the Plexitone pedal, MASSIVE saturation at liveable volumes :D
 
Re: New Amp! Sweet Score!

I'm noticing that the 3 knobs on back don't really bother me because they might just stay the same all the time. Since it looks like an old stereo speaker designed as furniture, I've decided to put this one in the livingroom under a rustic pine sofa table. It's kinda nice to not see the knobs, yet I can still leave the cable plugged into it, tossed behind the amp. It's one of the few amps that looks nice enough to have out in the livingroom.
 
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Re: New Amp! Sweet Score!

Is that the one that was in RECYCLER?

I had my eye on it, but I had yet to hear them. GC had one, and like all their amps on show - something is always wrong, or not working. They actually had their Ecstasy classic teetering on a pile of amps about to fall if anything is moved. Class act!

LOOKS COOL AS HELL!
You need black and white photos with that thing. Give you the old school look. Add a 175, 335, 125, 355 or some kinda hollowbody - instant Chuck Berry (I love Chuck Berry - oh, and I love BuckCherry, too)
 
Re: New Amp! Sweet Score!

I loved the Trace Velocettes. As usual, the best amps Gibson makes exist simply because they bought them from someone who knows what they're doing, and then pretend like it's "theirs" by putting their name on it. :clap:

Anyway cranked those things are addictive. Definitely try it with other cabinets. It really adapts to the cabinet well. It's almost as varied as swapping power amp tube types or something. It's like it does such a good job of linking and responding to the speaker load that cab swapping is more rewarding than with a typical "high gain half stack" style amp.
 
Re: New Amp! Sweet Score!

Yeah, that was the one in the recycler, and I had to drive all the way to Long Beach to get it.

I've finally dialed it in with all GE pre's and JJ EL-84's. The Vintage 30's give it a lot more of a Marshall flavor, and for a non-master amp, it's got a lot more gain than I expected!.....which is probably why Joe Perry loves them. It nails that early Aero and ZZ Top sound. It's so cool that it's got that footswitch for boost, because when it's off it sounds just like the handwired 18W Marshall. When it's on, it gets that early ZZ Top lead sound, and when I roll the tone back, it's more like Brian May. I'm serious, this is one of the best sounding amps out there, and it sounds like a $1700 boutique amp. I can't believe I only paid the price of a Crate for it.
 
Re: New Amp! Sweet Score!

Yeah, I'd say that amp will nail early Aerosmith and ZZ Top. Big fat authoritative 70's rock tone. Probably great for Jazz, too. But I wouldn't know, every time I've played one, I set it for caranked power chrods with dripping sweet reverb.

I don't really wan't to post too often anymore on those, cause the secret is getting out.

I played the head version of the Goldtone with their cab and that is one bad amp, too.
 
Re: New Amp! Sweet Score!

Now that I've spent the weekend messing with tubes and cranking it, I'm amazed at how much gain this sucker puts out....nice powertube breakup.
Most EL-84 amps sound more chimey and Vox-like. This thing is like a mini Marshall and gives up the goods at a nice useable volume.

After messing with preamp tubes more, I've changed that 1st postion GE out for a GT 12AX7M. I really like the GT Mullard for non master volume amps since it's a fairly hot and fat sounding pre tube. I haven't even used an OD pedal on this amp yet, since I'm enjoying it's natural gain.

I'd recommend the Goldtone 15RVS or 30RVS to anyone looking for a great sounding amp for a decent price. I know Skarekrough has owned a few, and always uses his 15RVS. If I ever saw the 15, I'd jump on it, since they cost about the same as a Blues Jr.

Also, look at the sticker on the back of my amp. It says #1, and then the main serial number below it says 101. I'm wondering if it's possible that the first 100 were used for prototypes and endorsement, and then mine is the first of the batch that got sold? It's a nice thought, but I wonder why mine was marked #1???
 
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