1954 Gibson GA40 Les Paul two-tone combo 12”

Very cool, serviced 1954 Gibson GA40 "Les Paul" amp with the LP logo in the center and the "Les Paul" script logo as found on all Gibson Les Paul guitar headstocks on the front-side. 

It has the original Jensen P12Q 220422 (week 22, 1954) 12inch Alnico speaker, 110V Power transformer, GA-30C 285409 transformer (week 9, 1954), E-I896 166412 transformer (week 12, 1954) and a replacement Mojotone 1155-1010 6051326 Output Transformer. Tubes are 5V4G rectifier, 6V6GT tremolo, 6V6GT output, 6V6GT output, 6SN7GT phase inverter/tremolo, 6SJ7 driver, 6SJ7 inst. preamp, 6SJ7 mic. preamp. It runs perfectly on 110V and comes with an external 230-110V power adapter.

The Gibson GA40 Les Paul amp debuted in 1952 alongside the signature goldtop guitar, and remained in the catalog until early 1963 when Les Paul terminated his deal with Gibson and the legendary Les Paul name disappeared from the Gibson production line until its resurrection in 1968.

While few vintage amps have attained the values of the better-known guitars that were their contemporaries, the GA40 Les Paul is an interesting and desirable combo that has become something of a classic in its own right in recent years. 

For many contemporary players who have enjoyed the sonic charms of the most popular rendition of the GA40 from the mid to late ’50s, the rather unusual 6SJ7 preamp tube plays a big part in forming the amp’s unique character. Rather than being a dual-triode tube like the more common ECC83/12AX7 and its brethren, the 6SJ7 is an octal pentode, which means it uses five elements within the tube to get the amplification job done, much like many output tubes, rather than merely three.

What really matters though is the bountiful goods the octal tube delivers tonally. Whereas the familiar 12AX7 leans bright, is a bit biting, and goes slightly fizzy in the high end as it starts to break up, the octal is warm, thick, meaty, rich, and bold.

What does all this translate to when you plug your guitar of choice into the front of a good GA40 and let it rip? The Les Paul combo leans into a rich, thick, meaty, and predominantly warm tone, but with enough clarity and definition to help individual notes cut through - at least relative to the general performance of amps from that era. When pushed into overdrive, it exudes a creamy, throaty growl that makes it a great lead amp for trenchant blues, roots rock, or garage rock, and really packs a lot of girth around the notes.

The GA40’s desirability has led to escalating prices over the past decades, so they aren’t quite the easy-money finds they used to be. So you better grab the ones available as they wont stay for sale for long...