HO HO! Got a Gibson Tube amp. Need Help if you wou

[nonamemx]

Hello. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

I just got me another amp. a TUBE amp at that!


Its a Gibson Skylark GA-5T. From the mid-60's. 5 watts, all tube. Even has a neat tremolo feature.

2 imputs, high and low gain, "Loudness" "Treble" "Bass" "Depth" (tremolo) "Rate" (tremolo)

and an On/OFF rotary switch.

Its great [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] GREAT clean sound!

I quickly cranked it. . . startes to break up at about 7-8. [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img] And its not unbearably loud either!

But, I do have some concerns:

1. Simple + and - power cable. No GROUND! This is dangerous! What can I do to make this safe? I dont want to mod it, it want to leave completely mint. Is it possible to make this safer?

2. Input jacks hurt! They'll give you a good handshake. ZAP! Is this because it doesnt have a ground prong? or is this a warning sign that this is fixing to blow some fuses?

3. Can I crank it? [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] I dont want to destroy it, but I do want to get some overdrive from this thing, by actually overdriving it. Will this hurt it? Its only 5 watts.

Thanks! I would get pictures, but, well its a long story. Lost the software for my Digital camera, tried to download it off of fujifilm.com but it doesnt work right (GRR!)

[Jim Shine]

Re: HO HO! Got a Gibson Tube amp. Need Help if you wou

Add a three pronged plug. It wont hurt the value. I would change the whole cord too. Then you can save the old ones in a drawer should these become valuable down the road.

[Ace]

Re: HO HO! Got a Gibson Tube amp. Need Help if you

Yep. Third prong should be grounded to the chassis. Great amp by the way!!

[jazzman]

Re: HO HO! Got a Gibson Tube amp. Need Help if you

I agree with the third prong. It sounds like the amp is pretty sweet.

[nonamemx]

Re: HO HO! Got a Gibson Tube amp. Need Help if you

alright, thanks.

Is it safe to crank?

and are the shocking inputs a result of it not being grounded?

[nonamemx]

Re: HO HO! Got a Gibson Tube amp. Need Help if you

I found a picture of it.

This is just what I google > Image'd

http://www.jdmusic.com/GibGA-5T.jpg

I thought it was actually worth something [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

He only wants $150 for his

[Jim Shine]

Re: HO HO! Got a Gibson Tube amp. Need Help if you

I see those for even less at some guitar shows. Don't worry about the cash value. The intrinsic value is much greater.

Yes, the shocks are a ground issue.

[etaeniura]

Re: HO HO! Got a Gibson Tube amp. Need Help if you

I have a GA 25 RVT and yes, they are cool amps. I'm not sure what the tube config is on the GA 5, but on mine you can replace the 12au7 with a 12ax7 for a little more gain. I did it and did't really notice much difference. I think it is because of the 15" speaker. The clean sound is unreal. The reverb is a little weak, but the tremelo is super cool-I can play Anthrax's "Black Lodge" with it! I found that hitting the input with an OD pedal sounds real good. Turn the volume on the amp down, crank the volume on the pedal, but keep the gain down. THen you can experiment with higher volume or higher gain on the pedal to achieve whatever tone you like. The cord on mine was replaced, and from what I understand, this has no real impact on value since almost all old amps have this done just to make them useable. The gibson support folks sent me a schematic for mine over email, so you may want to shoot them an email. The skylark amps were real popular, so there are quite a few of them out there-shouldn't be hard to find any info you might need. THey are also listed in the vintage guitar bluebook or whatever it is called so you can get a better idea of the going price.

[mm2002]

Re: HO HO! Got a Gibson Tube amp. Need Help if you wou

[ QUOTE ]
"Then you can save the old ones in a drawer should these become valuable down the road."

[/ QUOTE ]

[img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]
Jim, you're not funny very often but this just cracked me up brother! [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/toast.gif[/img]