barrymclark Posted February 13, 2015 Posted February 13, 2015 So... I had another post about a GA19... turns out my buddy was mistaken... but this is just fine too. It is a Tweed Gibson GA-20T. We are just starting so... outside of it being a general rebuild... there aren't much details. The cab will get rewrapped. New grillcloth. Probably gonna try to find a new Gibson badge. Maybe not period perfect... but... little about this amp will be period restoration.
TalismanRich Posted February 13, 2015 Posted February 13, 2015 Dude! Ain't those old geetar amps supposed to like, have ... like TUBES or somethin' in 'em? Or a speaker? Maybe even a knob? Seriously, though. First step would be to get that 2 wire power plug converted to 3 wire, and make sure that the transformers are in good shape. Don't worry about a little rust. From what I've read, it doesn't really hurt a transformer to be rusty, as long as the windings are intact. Good luck with the restoration. Old amps can be super cool!
barrymclark Posted February 14, 2015 Author Posted February 14, 2015 Cool I know! RIght?! Dude! Ain't those old geetar amps supposed to like, have ... like TUBES or somethin' in 'em? Or a speaker? Maybe even a knob? Seriously, though. First step would be to get that 2 wire power plug converted to 3 wire, and make sure that the transformers are in good shape. Don't worry about a little rust. From what I've read, it doesn't really hurt a transformer to be rusty, as long as the windings are intact. Good luck with the restoration. Old amps can be super cool! Yup! My old buddy at Bailey Sound in Alpharetta, GA is taking care of 'those' parts. I am going to snag the chassis and body in the near future to figure out what to do there. The control face of the chassis is just jacked. It can be cleaned up... but the printing on it will be gone. Not sure what I am going to there. I may get a 'plexi' cover for the control face made with art work. It will be better protected and likely last a bit longer. Dunno.... we shall see. A complete rebuild is in order and with that will be a 3-pronger. Good looking out though!
Kuz Posted February 14, 2015 Posted February 14, 2015 you have to be careful that the cost of the restoration doesn't exceed the value of the amp. You might be able to buy one for less, that is in great to mint shape. When you re-cover (tolex) the cabinet or buy aftermarket products you are greatly hurting the resale value. The first thing I would do is check to make sure the transformers are original and working. If you have to replace them, then this amp probably won't sound as good as an all-original and value wise will be very low. I am not trying to pee on your parade, just give you some cautionary advice (check those transformers before going any farther). If they are working & original then restoration will be worth it if you can get the restoration at a fair (low) price. My '67 Vibrolux Rev & '62 Deluxe are re-covered (tolex) but the iron is all original with matching numbers. Yes these amps are worth about $300 less than if they were restored but they look great and (most importantly) sound amazing.
barrymclark Posted February 14, 2015 Author Posted February 14, 2015 you have to be careful that the cost of the restoration doesn't exceed the value of the amp. You might be able to buy one for less, that is in great to mint shape. When you re-cover (tolex) the cabinet or buy aftermarket products you are greatly hurting the resale value. The first thing I would do is check to make sure the transformers are original and working. If you have to replace them, then this amp probably won't sound as good as an all-original and value wise will be very low. I am not trying to pee on your parade, just give you some cautionary advice (check those transformers before going any farther). If they are working & original then restoration will be worth it if you can get the restoration at a fair (low) price. My '67 Vibrolux Rev & '62 Deluxe are re-covered (tolex) but the iron is all original with matching numbers. Yes these amps are worth about $300 less than if they were restored but they look great and (most importantly) sound amazing. Not worried about resale in the slightest. None of my guitars or amps are meant for resale. I EASILY spent more than 3 times my Gretsch's worth getting where I wanted. Gibson amps, despite their quality, are not an investment amp of any sort really. Not in a general sense anyways. What I plan to do to this will absolutely kill any historic value it might have. And the notion that I won't get as good a sounding transformer as the old iron....well... so long as it sounds as bad as a Swart can... I'll take it.
Kuz Posted February 14, 2015 Posted February 14, 2015 I was just offering that since Gibson amps are still reasonably priced, you might be able to pick up an "all original" GT20 for the cost of your restoration and not worry about losing a dime. Something to look into, if not enjoy the resto and Rock it out!!!
barrymclark Posted February 14, 2015 Author Posted February 14, 2015 I was just offering that since Gibson amps are still reasonably priced, you might be able to pick up an "all original" GT20 for the cost of your restoration and not worry about losing a dime. Something to look into, if not enjoy the resto and Rock it out!!! I'm certain of it. This though. ...isn't going to be a faithful resto... much like the Gretsch. Jon should be getting back to me over the next few weeks to let me know what can and can't be saved. He says some of the old guts can likely be saved but the iron he isn't as sure of. We'll see. Thinking of maybe reconing the old Jensen with a hemp cone. Dunno. This is what I think is an old P12R. Seems appropriate. 25w speaker on a 14w amp.
Kuz Posted February 14, 2015 Posted February 14, 2015 I just read your earlier post about your vision for this amp. I thought you were going for a faithful resto, after reading your customized plans I totally get it. Let us know about the iron and how it turns out.
barrymclark Posted February 15, 2015 Author Posted February 15, 2015 I just read your earlier post about your vision for this amp. I thought you were going for a faithful resto, after reading your customized plans I totally get it. Let us know about the iron and how it turns out. Yeah... the iron is shot. So... MM it is. They already have a replacement but I am getting it oversized. Good times ahead. Oh... the Jensen was rusted out a bit... so... Celestion Gold is the choice. The go ahead has been given on these components. He said that a lot of the old signal caps and resistors are still good so no point in getting rid of those.
rockabilly69 Posted February 16, 2015 Posted February 16, 2015 Although I like a project every now and then, this would have to tempting, knowing the work you're facing... https://reverb.com/item/32386-1959-gibson-ga-20t-amp-very-clean-two-tone
barrymclark Posted February 16, 2015 Author Posted February 16, 2015 Although I like a project every now and then, this would have to tempting, knowing the work you're facing... https://reverb.com/item/32386-1959-gibson-ga-20t-amp-very-clean-two-tone The work and the money isn't the point. It's the journey and the destination. I purposely went after this because it is a basket case and I could do anything I want to it. That....and I will likely be moving to the Vegas area in the next couple of years and I'd like to have an amp from my oldest friend: Jon at Bailey Sound and Orange amps. We've known each other for 30 years and met in fistfight in Ms Gallagher's 4th grade class. I have my basket case guitar (Gretsch) and now I have an amp coming. [emoji3]
DetroitBlues Posted February 16, 2015 Posted February 16, 2015 My only vote is to leave the cab as is... it oozes vintage vibes looking distressed like that.
barrymclark Posted February 16, 2015 Author Posted February 16, 2015 My only vote is to leave the cab as is... it oozes vintage vibes looking distressed like that.Yeah.... that doesn't do it for me. Haha. To me it just looks like it oozes. Haha. No sir. This is getting built up to be a Barry amp. I just don't get into the whole "Mojo" thing. I want first class sound out of a simple yet elegant looking amp. In it's current state of aesthetics, the first one will be doable but no way on the second. The whole point of projects like this is to get what you want.
barrymclark Posted February 17, 2015 Author Posted February 17, 2015 Not a lot to report on really... but some movement has happened. The Gibson logo has been sourced. The oversized iron from Merc-Mags is going to happen. Much of the old signal caps and resistors are still useable. Switches and jacks are all pretty unusable. The speaker will be a Celestion Gold. Going with a black tweed covering. Salt & Pepper grillcloth. A nice leather handle. Chassis will be re-chromed. Although not 100% on this.. I believe I will go with white piping around the grill cloth. I always rather liked the look of the salt and pepper grill cloth with a white piping framing it. Sort of like this Dr. Z cab I once owned. LOVED the look.
rockabilly69 Posted February 17, 2015 Posted February 17, 2015 So basically this will look like a vintage amp but bark like a modern one. For that, I wholeheartledly recommend the Celestion Gold and the Mercury Mag Transformers, although some of the great Gibson compressed sound (Ry Cooder), I think will be lost with the bigger transformer. I too met one of my best friends in a fistfight, in 7th grade though. I hit him with everything I had, and he didn't go down, but instead popped me right back. I didn't go down either, and right after that the teacher broke up the fight! Ha Ha boys will be boys!
barrymclark Posted February 17, 2015 Author Posted February 17, 2015 So basically this will look like a vintage amp but bark like a modern one. For that, I wholeheartledly recommend the Celestion Gold and the Mercury Mag Transformers, although some of the great Gibson compressed sound (Ry Cooder), I think will be lost with the bigger transformer. I too met one of my best friends in a fistfight, in 7th grade though. I hit him with everything I had, and he didn't go down, but instead popped me right back. I didn't go down either, and right after that the teacher broke up the fight! Ha Ha boys will be boys! What I am looking for is a bigger sound at lower volumes and the OS transformer is meant to help address that. Yeah.... I remember doing something that annoyed him, he told me to stop which translates to keep doing it for me.... he popped me... I popped him back and we have been friends ever since. haha.
barrymclark Posted February 23, 2015 Author Posted February 23, 2015 So I picked up the amp cab today. The picture did it undue justice. haha. It is worse off. Once I dig up a good place to send this to for the tweed and grillcloth, it will be on. So far, I have Mojotone willing to do the black tweed for about $315 before grillcloth and shipping. Vintage-Amp Restoration in St. Louis will, if memory serves, do the same thing in $225 but I am waiting to hear back from them. Now that I got the cab, I checked the clearance for the Celestion Gold and, with the bell, it'd JUST clear the back baffle plate....and the bell stays on... because... it's just awesome looking. haha.
rockabilly69 Posted February 23, 2015 Posted February 23, 2015 So I picked up the amp cab today. The picture did it undue justice. haha. It is worse off. Once I dig up a good place to send this to for the tweed and grillcloth, it will be on. So far, I have Mojotone willing to do the black tweed for about $315 before grillcloth and shipping. Vintage-Amp Restoration in St. Louis will, if memory serves, do the same thing in $225 but I am waiting to hear back from them. Now that I got the cab, I checked the clearance for the Celestion Gold and, with the bell, it'd JUST clear the back baffle plate....and the bell stays on... because... it's just awesome looking. haha. I can't wait to hear the clips:)
barrymclark Posted February 23, 2015 Author Posted February 23, 2015 I can't wait to hear the clips:) That makes two of us!
barrymclark Posted February 23, 2015 Author Posted February 23, 2015 I can't wait to hear the clips:) I am going to TRY to get my home recording setup back but this one will be purely for solo recording. Nothing crazy. Just some solid stuff. SM57 for close micing, AT2020 for room. All into a Focusrite Scarlett interface into Garageband (because I already have it with the computer). I have a couple of tunes ready to go.
rockabilly69 Posted February 23, 2015 Posted February 23, 2015 I am going to TRY to get my home recording setup back but this one will be purely for solo recording. Nothing crazy. Just some solid stuff. SM57 for close micing, AT2020 for room. All into a Focusrite Scarlett interface into Garageband (because I already have it with the computer). I have a couple of tunes ready to go. That sounds like a pretty easy setup to record with and should make for some good clips.
barrymclark Posted February 24, 2015 Author Posted February 24, 2015 That sounds like a pretty easy setup to record with and should make for some good clips. I hope so!
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