Late ‘50s and early ‘60s Gibson amps have been under the radar for a long time but are by now getting the attention they deserve. While the prices of tweed era Fender amps are steadily rising, Gibson amps are still quite affordable. They are often made with very similar speakers, transformers and components as similar era Fender amps. Although there are differences from model to model Gibson amps could be described as the lovechild of a tweed Fender and an early Vox.

There are some different versions of the Gibsonette around but this Gibson GA8T Gibsonette Tremolo is a 10W amp that is powered by two ECL82 tubes in push-pull configuration. It has a single 10” small magnet Jensen speaker. It’s a single channel amp with bias tremolo that can be switched on/off with the mahogany footswitch. The white Tolex was only used in 1960 and looks very pretty. The tremolo effect is very touchsensitive, as the amp has to work harder the tremolo effect is dimished. So, during loud playing the effect won’t be very strong, yet as notes ring out or during softer played parts the stutter fades in.

The tone is gritty and raunchy, like a baby Marshall JTM45 or early VOX. This amp won't cut it on a large stage but will sound fabulous in the livingroom, studio or maybe for small gigs when mic'ed.

This amp was recently fully serviced and is therefore safe to use and should work fine for many years to come.

Additional specs:

• Model: Gibson GA8T Gibsonette Tremolo (1960)
• Tubes: 1x 12AX7, 1x 5Y3, 2x ECL82, all NOS (ECL82s are fresh unused NOS
• Speaker: Jensen 10”, small ceramic magnet, orignal cone
• Modifications: new filter caps, three-prong power cord, input jacks, volume pot (old parts were saved), baffle logo is missing
• Potmeter codes: wk 15/1960
• Voltage: this amp works at 110V, a suitable 230-110V step-down transformer is included