1965 GIBSON FALCON MODS - FACE MELTING Tone!
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- Опубликовано: 10 фев 2025
- In this video we'll follow the service of a vintage 1965 Gibson GA19-RVT Falcon tube guitar amplifier. The owner wanted a full service and a check of the non-working reverb. He also wanted me to modify the amp by removing the "tone-sucking network" also known as the Sprague couplet. This is a tone-shaping R/C network that shapes the tone in these amps to keep them clean with Gibson style humbuckers, but also robs the amp of gain and tone. We'll remove this network and work on beefing up the weak reverb as much as we can. At the end, we'll demo the amp and show why these are some of the most RIPPING sleeper amps of the 1960s.
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BrIlliant on You for this video 2 fill years before big return of the Falcon amps
If Gibson really wanted to reissue these properly, they would have called me.
@@TheGuitologist Gibson's real modo is we want your money and we don't care how shitty our stuff is you paid for it oh well
Good to see youre back brad. I mean that with love.
What could be more perfect for my birthday, off work, tinkering with my own gear and repairing a small amp for a friend, and a new live amp Video from Brad? I'm 44 today and pretty darn happy I made it this far with no more dents and scratches than I have, rock on Mr. Linzy!
Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday 🎉🎉🎉
Happy Birthday Mr. 44
Happy birthday, my fellow 1977 baby.
@@TheGuitologist Me too! I'm 77 man.
Hi Brad, I've never commented on any of your videos, but over time I always spend time in your videos, I learned a lot from you and I ended up finding out about your situation, I'm from Portugal. I hope you get well as soon as possible.
Thanks for that, Paulo. I appreciate the well wishes and any prayers you care to send my way. All the best to you and yours.
@@TheGuitologist Thank you Brad
Sweet. This is the perfect decompression after a long shift at the restaurant where i am employed. Thanks for posting this!
Bro', I am glad the Brad I started watching years ago is back on your channel.
You look great, stay positive, keep safe!
This may not have been the case with this Falcon but I thought I’d put this out there.
I’ve been through a bunch of these early 60’s to ‘66 Gibson & Epiphone’s and a few had weak reverb.
I found heavy corrosion on the inside of the ground lugs on the RCA jacks - weak ground weak signal.
This stuff had to be scraped off with a very small flat blade screwdriver & brushed with a stainless brush, then sprayed with deoxit.
It was tedious, the lugs needed to be pinched back down and I coated the grounds on the tank with a conductive grease.
I also gently cleaned the inside of the signal inputs on the tank with a small torch tip cleaning tool, then sprayed it with deoxit.
This brought that awesome Gibson ‘Verb back to life.
Thanks for all you do!
Great channel, you’re my go to amp channel & even more so with your fight for America.
Glad to see you back in action, Brad!
I wish I had 1/10 your knowledge with these old amps! They sure sound good!
Brad, great point on the annual budget. Reminds me of my county and our "city"... Road projects will fall by the wayside til November... when they rush to spend all the budget before years end.
One November they started placing road signs EVERYWHERE... Redundant signs, flashing lights to warn of an upcoming stop sign on BOTH SIDES of the small streets, and a bunch of redundant "turn ahead" "wrong way" "traffic light ahead, etc, all on both sides of the highway. In one 100 yard section I counted 14 signs... so many in the median it blocked the view from the turning lanes of oncoming traffic...
Turns out that the county needed to burn a bunch of budget money, so they ordered thousands of signs and started putting them anywhere they could, needed or not...
Then there was the time they let the main road through town turn into a cratered mess before finally paving it, then a month later cut it all up to replace water lines, patched it, leaving it full of ruts and craters again... all based on budget timing...
Good ole government funds hard at work
One of our main highways here has been under construction for 20 years.
Libraries have been in operation since Mesopotamia. I honestly think these large budgets are slush funds for friends & fam of the politicians. Fun fact, where I grew up, they had a highway they built between OKC & Tulsa. (Turner Turnpike) they made it a toll road, to "pay for the road"(the other alternative was old Route 66, which is a fun drive, but it winds through every small town between the 2 cities.) Well I was a young child when it opened the toll was 25c one way. After decades of hundreds of thousands, of people taking the road, it was nearly paid off. The politicians in OKC (knowing a cash cows udders were about to dry up) decided that, until ALL the toll roads in the state were paid for, they'd continue to charge a toll (A lot more than 25c). Guess what? They started building more toll roads, all over the state. Some are under construction right now. I left there in 1975, so glad I did. They're a crooked bunch, IMO
Lol... Man Brad, I love that you leave in the little moments that many of us have shared, like letting the reverb tank get sucked into the magnet. You actually jumped a little on that one. Classic! Still wishing you well. Thx for the new repair video!
If Gibson cared so much about the musician, they'd reissue this amp, you did a great job unleashing the sounds of the little beast, Bradley. Even Nashville amp gurus burn on guitar! 🎸 👈 👍
Didn’t they just buy Mesa Boogie
@@codystrader7594 yes, Gibson bought Mesa Engineering and Bradley hates working on those rats nests, simpler is better.... 😁 AKA, the old Gibby Falcon
@gearmeister - +1. Your average Mesa tech could knock one off in their lunch break, as therapy for dealing with those super-dense Boogie circuit boards the rest of the time.
I’d be very interested in having one of these, and I bet a whole load of other folk would, too. Fingers crossed for a NAMM announcement. I’d love a point-to-point version like the oldies, but I don’t need a second mortgage right now. Just had to sell a chunk of gear as it is. ☹️
Well Gibson listened cause they are putting out new Falcons. Lol
@@jasonulrich3818 nice!!!
Brad, that's interesting. I actually bought one of these from my local Guitar Center after having watched one of your videos. One of the issues it had was a non functioning reverb. Long story short, I replaced the failed reverb transformer with a 20 dollar fender style one and it works great!
I have a 65 like this and same thing reverb isn't working. I will either test the tubes somehow...I don't have a tester or just buy a spare EU7 and the other one he mentioned. ..if they can be found without being too expensive. I will clean everything like Brad did too. Don't worry I know how to not get shocked and discharge caps etc. Seems its very common for these amps to have reverb problems.
In the 60's I gigged with that amp (and an ES-125)! Well over a decade ago I bought a mint condition '64 GA-19RVT as a nostalgia amp, but use it over other amps I have- LOL (I do all my own amp and other electronics repair being an ex-electronics tech for USAF) - But I did not "beef it up" or tune it to run "hot," I run it spec - I think it sounds BEST stock (other than re-capping)! Use as jazz and blues mainly with archtops (e.g., ES-335's)
PS On these amps, ALL GA-19RVT's, reverb can be used 100 % wet (input vol = 0) and LOUD: You SHOULD be able to turn the volume all the way DOWN (zero) and the Reverb knob/control then controls 100% reverb ONLY out and "level" (which is all wet) - it's actually a "feature." Bottomline the reverb is NEVER weak on these, or even close to being weak - something else is WRONG if you are only getting little to even moderate reverb!
They can sound great stock with Gibson humbuckers. They tend to be on the thin side with single coils.
Whoa! Bubba got a haircut! Looking sharp. Ready to charm that lady judge 😘
Awesome vid bro and that sounded sick in the demo
Thanks Mike. Hope you had a great birthday.
54 minutes of digging into a 1960s amplifier? Ohhh yes!
Great content :D
Unrelated, but you're looking very sharp, too :)
Damn Brad, you clean up pretty good when you fight for justice. Keep up the good work.
I did this mod to my 1964 Falcon because of this video. My amp sounds waaaaaaay better than it did previously.
I traded a Marshall MG half stack for a falcon a few years ago. I only gave 200 for the Marshall. He bought it from a trash man who saved it from being thrown away. 1963 in excellent condition, all original except I put new caps in it. It sounds perfect.
Someone’s been practicing. Sounds great! Hope all is well!!
You brought that lovely amp back to life. It sounds awesome!
@The Guitologist: CADL also stands for California Drivers License. It's quite common to mark belongings in Calif. with your license number. Just sayin'
Good point. The library angle might be a red herring. But it was a fun tangent anyway.
@@TheGuitologist I'm going to agree with Robert W. The CADL looks like the number for a California Drivers license. In the 70s and 80s (at least in California) there was a push by law enforcement to etch your DL# on valuables, so you'd have a better chance of recovering them, if they were stolen, especially for electronics.
I’m curious….
Would there be any way to look up that old DL number? That is, if it is from the 70/80’s. I mean, there might an interesting story behind the amp.
@@TheGuitologist Very interesting actually.
@@KevinBingham Yep. 100%
Great amp video, great amp, and best of all, a Bradley who looks like he's decided to take on the world again. God bless my friend, and I hope court is fair and just!
Peace, Keith in RVA!!!
Hey Brad love your podcast don't stop believing.
Getting harder, but I'm still here.
Watch out for that speaker magnet - it'll getcha every time. Welcome back man.
Sounds killer if I had money I would own a stack of them
They are worth looking at if you're in the market for a vintage amp.
@@TheGuitologist They are about a grand on Reverb. The Epiphone Pathfinder is pretty consistently a couple hundred bucks less. I saw a couple around $700 - $800. Great video btw. Always love your demo licks. Have you ever considered doing a video on your right-hand technique?
I do prefer tube amp I have a boss katana now it gets the job done for what I do not really good enough to play with a band but I am good enough at drums is where I always end up at
Out here in California, CADL stands for "California Driver's License". The numbers following CADL on the speaker magnet also fit the California license number format. Did a prior owner carve his driver's license number on that magnet to ID the amp if stolen?
I have a early 70's Rickenbacker 4001 Bass with my NCDL# on the output jack out there somewhere.
Was born in the 90s but that doesn’t stop me from feeling nostalgic about old Gibson amps.
True
I was born in 98, and these old gibsons are some of my favorite amps.
There was a video you did maybe 4-6 months ago where you were visiting your friend’s awesome guitar shop. In that video as he was taking you thru different rooms you pointed to a Gibson amp (GA 20, 40, 50???) - I can’t remember - and you were raving that it was one of the best amps you could ever have. What specific amp model was that?
EDIT: Ah-HAH! I found the video. It was from NINE months go. The GA-77.
Sounds great Brad. Somehow these obscure amps have the mojo or a little bit of magic that kicks ass. Same can be said of your mods. Very cool!
I’m shocked, you look normal again! Welcome back!
These are the videos I enjoy Brad 😉. Bless you!!!
I may not like this demo, but i really enjoy this channel, i have learned a lot.
Very informative video. I dig the new look you’re sporting also!
That’s some saucy playing my friend.
Dude, the trick with shaving is you gotta keep doing it!
My Dad used to check-out a VCR from the state library back in the 80's. They were still relatively new at the time. A very strange looking "commercial grade" VCR. He thought very highly of himself for discovering this "loophole" in the VCR market.
Brad, we love your work Buddy! Would you consider working on a Gibson G-20 solid state amp from early 70's? Still has a tube like tone! Thanks, BluesFully, DW🎶🎵🎷😎
I’ve started this videos 3 times already but haven’t been able to finish it because I’m at work lol I used to have a 1968 Gibson Lancer GA35 RVT. I loved that amp, especially the reverb sound. But man, I know what you mean about their wiring being a mess. It looked like someone dumped spaghetti inside. I wish I still had that amp. I was 16-17 when I had it and was lost when it came to wiring so I traded it off because it was so staticky and would randomly just make god awful VAAAAAP sounds lol Watching your videos on old Gibson’s makes me want another one so bad
If it was the black tolex one with trapezoidal top, those were poorly wired. Lots of good bones there though.
@@TheGuitologist you nailed it, that’s the one I had. The board inside was warped from the heat of the tubes and it had lots of cold solder joints. That’s where I think all the hisses and buzzes came from. Not to mention bad caps. I still miss the trem and reverb it had though.
CADL that's the library system in my home town, I never knew they offered that service. Crazy Got the hell out of the Mitten though!
sounds great brad great playing
The Guitologist: [Uses DuckDuckGo in video]
Computer guys: Why are you using Bing?
At times I find Duck/Bing and Google results equally useless.
My dad worked for a company in Ann Arbor Michigan. And in the 60s and early 70s, they sold Gibson other capacitors tubes switches in pots.
Glad to see you looking good and in fighting shape, Brad. You have support out here.
This episode must have been in the can. You just shaved your beard a couple of days ago! Love the video! Rock on bro!
BTW, sounds freakin awesome, mate!!
Like the shorn look. We all need to get that “sharp” look going.
yaay! back to amps!!
Well what school is Jimmy Herring, my old guitar teacher, is he'll use one amp with Reverb and him he'll use one amplifier clean and sometimes that maybe even a solid state power amp. Anywho that gives you the huge sound and it makes the Reverb sounds so much better so that's cool you brought that out sometimes your TMI dude but I like watching you just so you know I have some amps that I need fixed man I have one from 1947 I think you'll love. Anywho thank you for the entertainment as well.
physical books are extremely important these days. With censorship and changing the definition of certain words. The web is destroying as fast as it's creating.
Old books smell wonderful. 😁
Very true....
@@daddydothang8635 They certainly do! I've got multiple bookcases full of engineering, electronics, etc related books and volumes, the oldest from the 1860s! Often find handwritten notes scrawled in them, newspaper clippings commenting on society at the time in a humerous and sassy manner, funny clippings used as bookmarks etc.
One is a detailed overview of radar and how it works, with all manner of math used to turn the output into something useable, diagrams, how to build your own limited equipment, the resonant cavity magnetron etc that was released when radar was made public in the UK in 1942.
There's even more interesting stuff here, too :D
After watching this video, makes me want to fiddle with my old Unicord amp.
The Library find was cool, but i think this is actually a California Driver's License. A lot of people used to carve their DL#, or worse their SSN, into things that were likely to get stolen back in the 80's. Letter is first letter of last name, then jumbled DOB. The "-3" means two other people have this license number
I work in Lansing,Michigan where the CADL is . I did not know that you could check out vintage amps like an old book. Thanks for the info
Looks like Brad cleaned up for court. Good job, always follow your lawyer's advice. That's why you pay them...so much. So very, very, much.
Got your video on whilst replacing 4 blown speakers in a Blues Deville (WTF!). Looking 10 years younger there with the haircut and shave!
I have 2 of these amps. Love them! They both are slightly modified to tame the treble and a bit more input gain. Just a bit.
I also have Eminence legend 1250 speakers in them as they are an improvement over the old ones. I overdrive them by using an e.q. pedal with the level turned up.
I have 2 so I have a spare because they are my main gig rig.
They are not very loud for some venues. Just Mic through p.a. or use the SUPER COOL moniter out to a larger amp set clean and now I have a high wattage falcon going on.
Great tone and responce to my touch that I just can't get from more modern designs.
I watched a Uncle Doug video recently that i believe he talks about the Gibson reverbs being weak/inferior ??compared to Fender units.
So maybe they vary in quality??
Wow Brad you sure have got that combo sounding great.
Hi Brad. Appreciate the content on the vintage Gibson amps! Wound you be able to suggest a tubeset (source/manufacturer) for a 1964 Gibson Hawk? All the valves are missing from the one I grabbed off eBay... :-((
Awesome video packed with great info. Not a big fan of trem, but dig reverb. Go figure. That mod info was the ducks guts. Cheers from Utah!
I have two of these and Skip Simmons did his series of fixes to them - they both have this amazing tone you did in the video. BTWI this CADL # is likely a California Drivers License number. In the 60's /70's we did operation identification in California and the ID number was your CA DL # ! Obviously before identity theft....
Chords, chords! Power chords and full chords, strummed and pickingf. Thats how some of us spectrum tone.
another cool video
How many ohms is this amp/speaker? A friend has one and I'd like to try it thru another cab. Thanks!
Some of the other Falcons sounded better on Brads channel. Maybe this one needs a better sounding speaker. Mine does too. I'm looking for speaker recommendations for this amp. Anyone?
Great and informative videos thanks for posting and helping educate. I have a question I'm currently recapping my 65 Falcon and was wondering if you can tell me if you cover the portion where you install the 10uf 450v caps on the tone and volume and what that is achieving in the circuit? Is it in another video I have missed? Cheers keep up the good work!
Glad to see the old Brad back thank goodness you look KOOL
Imagine renting out the library electric guitar and upgrading the electronics, bridge and tuners 😆 "PRANKED BRO!"
Sprague date codes are always WWYY / YYWW or MMYY / YYMM like most old component companies. By the looks of it those are 43 week of 1975.
I've found the red label black butys hold up way longer than the yellow ones, yellow are oil/paper and red are paper/mylar
I couldn't disagree more with your politics, but I sure enjoy your amp videos. Thanks for the knowledge!
I doubt we'd get along very well in person then. I've lost all tolerance for socialists.
Nah, I bet we’d get along. I live in Oklahoma. I’ve got loads of conservative friends. Cheers, bro!
What do you disagree with?
I've seen that amp around Lansing before. I remember it because a buddy of mine has one in Nebraska. This one had been checked out from the library.
Hey Brad, nice job. BTW the Falcon schematic you are referring to is for their tweed falcon only, not the crestline.
Hey Brad, I have the same amp, and did the same mod. Afterward my reverb was weak as well. I even tried moving that green wire to different points in the chain and still no love. I can tell you before the mod this thing had swamp written all over the reverb circuit. Could it be that .02 replacement? I hope you can figure out this anomaly one day..
Hi Brad, did you check the wires from the reverb transformer to the tank? Maybe its cracked
That spruag tone shaping cap could you wire it in such a way where you could take it in or out of the circuit depending if you want or need more gain?
I'm a old Hifi guy and found your description on using a second amp with these amps humorous ( sorry not laughing at you as your very talented at playing and repairing )....i got instantly what was the connections ( i believe lol ) and what they would do....the monitor would always be the final output source ( that goes to the speaker ) to listen to or use to output for recording or in front of you on stage? ..so when that is sent to the second amp...you will get the reverb/tremelo effects ( or whatever your first amp is sending into the speaker )....
Now i believe? If you use the Second input to send to the second amp? Won't that just send what the Guitar ( or Mic etc ..) Is feeding to both amps?? ( not a amp user )..
This would just send the unamplified output of your guitar/mic to both amps equally.... And your Reverb/Vibrato would not go to the second amp....
So a friend bought one of these for me in another state after trying it out, and shipped it to me. After I put the tubes in... it now sounds super quiet (low volume) and thin. Any ideas what this might be... before I take it to a shop? Thanks
Hey Brad, I didn’t read through all the comments so maybe you’ve already heard this but I would think it’s a California Drivers license #. Folks used to love engraving their DL # as a theft deterrent. Excuse this if you’ve already thought of this. Enjoy your videos. Scott
I consider my Maestro GA 2RVT sort of a Deluxe killer with a little less watts. The Falcon sounds good.
What is the two chanel big brother to the falcon, probably 4 10 in speakers. Old buddy had one in the early 1970 awesome sounds
The Epiphone equivalent was the Zephyr. 2 channels, 210s. The Gibson version was called the Hawk.
In many US cities, public libraries have morphed into quasi homeless shelters (ex. SF, MSP). Whether is benefits the community is up for debate however...
Correct.
Interesting. I'm not from the US so forgive any ignorance into the intricacies of societal function over there. What would you say any potential positives or negatives would be for this, and how do you believe this affects the wider local community?
Also feel free to tell me to bugger off if you so desire, too :D
@@nicwilson89 You don't have any videos posted...
@@savvysymbiont Nah, they're all set to private. I used to make and share videos on electronics projects, high voltage stuff, etc, with some other people dong the same in that 'circle' back in the day. These days they're not of anywhere near the quality I'd want to leave them there. I'll take it that it's a 'bugger off' then. Message received :)
I wasn't taking one side or the other on the library matter. I'm not a US citizen and don't live in these communities so I can't take a position of support behind either approach.
I was gifted a free Falcon and a Harmony Rocket guitar by a neighbor when I was a kid. I loaned the Falcon to a friend and his mom sold it in a garage sale while he was in the army because she was moving didn't know it was mine and thought it was just old junk...
Hey Brad hey where can I get a knob for a champion 110 Fender amp? I got the amp for $20 and all it needed was a input jack so I installed an input jack in it and I just realized that the headphone jack isn't working either and it's probably just the Jack itself needs to be replaced as well, and I have one of those to replace it but I need a knob for the Reverb and I can't find one have any idea where I can get one? Thank you sir,
Your guitar playing is just so so cool. I hope Gibson end up reissuing amps like this, what is it that makes it just sound vintage? The transformers or speakers or the actual circuit? Its just heavenly to hear you play through it, like takes you back in time for sure.
Mojotone will probably make them if they do, much like the GoldTone Gibson amps a number of years ago.
Nothing special with the circuit, it's similar to Fender 5E3 Deluxe. Mostly the tiny output tranny combined with old speaker and resistors/caps drifting off spec, I'd say.
I'd guess the reverb issue is a bad input transducer on the tank, assuming it's the original tank.
Has that J Winter byte/punch thang. Hang in there brother!
Lansing is the State Capital of Michigan and it's in Ingham County, so that library must be in Lansing somewhere. I live 35 mns south of there so this amp was exciting to see.
It could be that the CADL # is a California Driver's License number to show identification of the person who owned it. Some people will inscribe their drivers license on property so if it is lost or stolen, it can be traced back if located. Just a thought.
John Jackson
I agree Brad...the reverb isnt all that on this one. I played on one years ago and like you say.. it seems like it should be a little richer with more depth. Here and there in the demo it sounds like its trying to come out more but then it chokes a bit. Still a playable amp though.
I live within that Library District. Believe it. They ooze money.
Well done!
Hello Brad. Hope you’re doing well. Thank you for your channel I have a question. Are you going to do ask an amp tech again? How do I size ma choke in a circuit for a Geetar Amp. Can I with a multimeter? Thanks again for your contact. It’s good to see you growing. Thanks again, JM
The Reverb kind of sounded intermittent during the demo. Some points in the take it seemed to be strong, other times not there at all. If I was your customer I would definitely replace the tank.
The camera mic has compression. It sometimes cuts off the reverb trails, other times it raises them in volume.
@@TheGuitologist probably that. How did it sound in the room?
CADL = California Drivers license
I have one just like this one. same gray tolex, knobs on mine are round . mine is missing the gibson logo, and the footswitch is missing.
So….speaking of Maestro products….
What’s your opinion on them? Once in a while, I’ll see a Maestro guitar pop up for sale.
Any Maestro stuff made after the late 60s is something you should avoid. It was turned into a beginner brand by Gibson after a point.
@@TheGuitologist
Thanks!
That's what I was thinking. Looking at it, holding it gave me a "cheap" vibe. I hadn't realized that Brand had been around that long, so wasn't sure if I was missing out on anything, etc.
I have one of these amps. It would be cool to have a switch to bypass the “tonesuckcurcuit” and also turn it back on?
I just realized my Gibson Falcon has an extra knob for the tremolo frequency.
Did you ever try hooking up another amp through the monitor out to see how the reverb sounded that way maybe a lil more spacey
Love ❤️ the tone of those old Gibbys
Especially with your chops coming through ✌️
A close cousin is the Epiphone Pacemaker. I sold it. Dumb mistake. They can still be found in used shops, and arent a grand like an old Champ. Its has 6AQ5s x 2 power tubes that sing when cranked.