Everyone knows the name Gibson. The second they hear it, a number of things pop into their heads. Les Paul. SG. Hummingbird. Flying V. Explorer. J-45. Everyone knows their guitars, but not everyone knows their amps.
Developed by Trace Elliot as the Velocette series, and renamed after Gibson bought up the company in 1998, the Goldtone series consist of the bare-bones GA-15, the reverb-adept GA-15RV and the comparatively maxed out GA-30RVS. Each amp was based on a 15-watt Class A circuit powered by EL-84 tubes, and came with nattily attired in soft brown leatherette with gold hardware.
Although it was the series’ flagship, the GA-30RVS offered just a trio of knobs (volume, tone, and reverb) to perform most of the work. It’s really deceptively simple, though, because each control covers a wide range of territory. The volume knob can be pulled out for a hearty gain boost, and the tone control engages two potentiometers, allowing the bass setting to have a midrange boost that becomes scooped as the knob is turned toward treble. The resulting range is enormous, and useful at every point.
The “pseudo-stereo,” three-spring Accutronics reverb can be controlled by a footswitch and is well voiced and quite strong. Most players will find it useful in small doses, but ambient addicts could thrive on its cloud cover. Other features in the GA-30RVS include a bright switch, a hi input, a lo/link input that allows you to link in parallel to another amp and a stereo effects loop that operates in series or parallel and whose spread can be enhanced with the stereo outputs.
If we had any gripes, they were with the Goldtone’s controls, which are located on the amps back panel. If you’re a “set-it-and-forget-it” kind of player, then you’ll understand all the praise the Gibson Goldtone series received.
This amp shows just a few signs of use, and the letter N in the Gibson badge is broken off. It's pretty heavy, so if we're shipping it, it ain't gonna be cheap! But it'll be packed up snug as a bug in a rug.
Feel free to give us a call with any questions you may have about it!