OK, got the amp today. Shipped from Zzounds in 5 days free (the thing weighs 75Lbs.) so that was a good deal in itself. The very first thing I noticed is that on the front of the amp in the lower right corner of the control plate it says, and I quote "GA-RVT Limited Edition". The packaging was factory sealed direct from Gibson, all material included, footswitch, warranty, eminence emblem hanging from the corner of the right handle, user manual etc.... The only thing I guess that I didn't agree with was that there was a small plate screwed to the speaker grill on the lower right (made of plastic) that said "Eminence Inside". What do I do if someday I replace a speaker. I guess that if my amp is true to its word I'll install eminence, or don't and remove the plate? Well I have about an hour of playing time on it and man it is sweet. Great breakup with the Les on Mix and Channel 2. Nice cleans on 1. Yeah I've read some complaints about the trem being week, but not with this baby. The freaking thing is huge so when the tremolo is on it litterally pulses through your body, amazing to feel. The tremolo is on par with my 79RVT so they did their homework on this pup. The cabinet as far as I can tell is a couple inches wider, longer, and higher than say a Fender Twin. I haven't measured it yet but I will be soon as I'm ordering a flight case tonight, I'll be posting some pic's with dimentions later on when I get time. My CJ-165 sounds excellent throught almost anything, and this amp is primed for acoustics. Channel 1 is where it's at. Surpases any dedicated acoustic tube amp on the market, hands down. Crisp, deep, lush, exact....wow. Well you may think that I have first day haze, and I may, but let's not forget that I also own an older and respected RVT in top working order and have been playing guitar for over 20 years. I guess what really has me baffled is the price I bought it for, I feel honestly kinda guilty for owning such a damn nice piece of gear for such a fricking low price. Later, I gota go jam some more.

Slamdozeer, how is the reverb on the '42?


peace

Slam, thanks, because i had the 40RVT and i could not hear the slightest bit of reverb when i applied it. the tremelo and the tone are fantastic, but no reverb. i played my first 10 years without reverb and only use a touch now and then, but i didn't think it was working at all, so i sent it back and am waiting for another one. i was just interested in insuring that the reverb actually works, my mesa mark iv has about a 5 on the fender scale, but there is no doubt when it is on. thanks for your input, have you tried using an AB/Y swithch plugged into ch 1 and 2, i liked that slect either or both, rather than having to use the mix, and for me, jazz, its ch 2 80%, 10% on ch 1 and both, a great amp and thanks for your input. Gibson said it should have a deep reverb, hopefully the next one will have a noticeable reverb, 6 on your scale would be acceptable.


peace

I picked up a ga42rvt a couple of weeks ago and I am very happy with it. For me it was an upgrade from a Fender Blues Junior which had just started sounding tinnier and tinnier the more I used it. On the Blues Junior I had upgraded the speaker and the tubes and still couldn't get away from the harshness.

I'm just starting out, having taken guitar lessons long ago (middle school) and now having another go at it on my own.

A local dealer (Russo Music in Trenton, NJ) had the ga42rvt. I tried it along with a Fender '57 Deluxe Reissue, a Mesa Lone Star, a Marshall 1974x, a Fender Princeton and a couple of Orange amps. The Gibson jumped out for me above these others in it's overall sound and tone, along with the range of tones it can make. In general, it seemed to have much more headroom than these other amps.

In playing side by side there's really no comparison between the ga42rvt and the Fender Blues Junior. The BJ sounds small and harsh, I have to turn the treble all the way down on it and that's not enough (I'm using a LP Vintage Mahogany), and the ga42rvt sounds rich and full. If anything I'm having to correct in the opposite direction with the Gibson amp, turning down the bass a bit.

I also got a THD Hot Plate (16 ohm) to go with the Gibson Amp. It's great and works very well for my situation (playing at home.)

Side Note: The Gibson amp I got had been on the floor at the dealer. Based on my visits there, a max of three months at the most. When I brought it home I contacted Gibson to get confirmation as to which speaker jack the internal speaker cable should be plugged into (8 ohm or 16 ohm). I wanted to be sure that no one at the dealer had changed it and I wanted to be sure to get the correct Hot Plate. Well, a few days later Gibson is still trying to get confirmation. They initially said it was 8 ohms but the photo of the back side of the amp on Gibson site shows 16 ohms. The manual and the amp have no indication as to which jack should be used for the internal speakers.

Thanks to Slamdozer, I was able to get confirmation that it's 16 ohms.

If you are in central NJ and want to get away from the Guitar Centerness of the local Guitar Centers Russo Music is a nice low key place and amazing well stocked for a store its size. I have no connection with them - http://www.russomusic.com/index.html .

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8/14 - Gibson confirmed this morning that all of the ga42rvt's in their Pro Audio Showroom are using the 16 ohm port.

I would love to know what's going on with this amp. Is it still possible to get one?

Like I said if you want to hear this amp check out my band http://www.myspace.com/stereocommission .
Read some previous posts here and make your decision.

I snatched one up today from AMS! Cannot wait to hear it.

hey there i am very interested in this amp. i have played fender amps up to this point but have been looking for a reasonably priced amp that is hand wired and tube driven. i like what i have heard about this amp but i read the posts above... i thought that this amp was being sold for 899.00 not 1300. did i misread something? has anyone cracked this egg open to see it's inards? are gibson amps made in the USA or do they do some of this work elsewhere? i know these things seem silly but these are deal sealers for me in the end...thanks for your help.

Well I should recieve mine wednesday or thursday and Ill definately give my opinion. I have been watching AMS for months waiting for them to get one in. It showed them next month but I looked the other day and it said 1 left in stock so I snatched it.

slamdozer I dug your clips... I cant wait to make a few of my own!

Well, mine finally arrived from ZZounds. Although I did not order a b-stock or open box item the amp I received was clearly a customer return and used item. The original shipping sticker on the box was addressed to American Musical Supply. The amp has a build date of 4/2008. I'm still pissed about that and will be calling them today.

So far the amp is pretty nice although I find it pretty noisy and it hums a lot. It is nosier than both of my Mesa Mavericks which are also class A and noisy.

Anyone else have rather loud hum and noise (esp with Single coils)?