Gibson Falcon GA19RVT

[gui_tarzan]

A new customer picked this up recently to re-sell. He's not a guitar player, he's into vintage hi-fi but he said he got a good deal on it. It's pristine inside and out. Someone changed a couple of the filter caps on it but other than that it looks original.

Here's the kicker, the parts all date the amp as a 1965 but it has a 6C4 instead of a 7199 and when I compared the circuit to both the '62/63 and '64/65 schematics it is laid out exactly as the earlier model.

Any opinions on this mystery?

[martin manning]

From what I've read Gibson is not known for strict configuration control practices in the amplifiers they produced. In this case I can imagine that a batch of these might have been built to an old drawing. In any case that one looks very clean!

[Phil_S]

All bets are off on any of those Gibson amps. They often made the amp du jour based on whatever was on the shelf that day and didn't document what was made. I am not surprised at all that the older circuit went into the newer cosmetics. That is matches the older circuit so well is a surprise given that it was made in 1965. I would have guessed that by then they'd have run out of the old parts and were making the new ones. Is it possible the amp was a custom order? Who really would know? This is likely to remain a mystery.

If so pristine, you think we can get some gut shots?

[gui_tarzan]

Here you go. The pre-amp tube covers were coated with a white powder, some sort of corrosion but it wiped off with a rag and they look fine. The green arrows point to the date code on the caps: 10 of 1964. This verifies that it was made in late '64 or early '65 but the circuit board and 6C4 are definitely pre-'64. The 7 pin socket is what got my attention at first. This is really cool.

[gui_tarzan]

The other side.

[Phil_S]

That appears to be the original el-cheapo CTS speaker, dated 506, December 1966(?) which would mean production occurred after that date. Maybe made a month later -- so I'd guess made in early 1967. That really begs the question of how it got the old circuit in it. My thinking is they were ready to roll out the whiteface series by then and maybe were using up previous generation stuff to clear the shelves.

Save for the black tape, that really is a fine unmolested example.

[gui_tarzan]

Actually I think that's backwards, it should be the sixth week of '65 according to the code. All the reference material I use says the first digit is the year and the second and third are the week.

In any case the can cap is not right, there isn't a spot to put it on the chassis so I'm going to put individual caps back in it. The pics I've seen of this amp show two dual caps, I guess the closest we have today is the "firecracker" style but I'm going to use the single ones on this one.

[beasleybodyshop]

Guitarzan,

ive just finished recapping and retubing one of these a week ago. Same thing, mine has the 6C4 and has discrepancy with the schematics i have for it. Yours looks to be in much nicer physical shape! I think these things sound pretty decent, and the reverb sounds way different than a fender.

for recapping, i just used individual caps and hot glued them together with a small ziptie - then hot glued it neatly in place inside the amp.

[Phil_S]

Actually I think that's backwards, it should be the sixth week of '65...

Yes, of course Then I suppose early '65 may be early enough that they were using up amps that were built but needed a cab!

Just use single caps. It will work out just fine. When I recapped my Scout (same series) I used radial caps because it was easier to anchor them. Mine doesn't have a board like yours does. Good luck with it.

[chocopower]

I have the same amp. Is called the "Crestline" model.

I attached the schematic.

[gui_tarzan]

Got it back together, tremolo fixed, not bad for a basic amp.