Up for sale, a 2015 Vintage 47 VA-185G Classic Series 1x12 combo tube amp in near mint condition and in perfect working order. Prototype #2 of this model, and the first example offered for sale (purchased directly by one of our customers before the amp was even an advertised model), the VA-185G is the Vintage 47 iteration of Gibson's classic EH-185 combo. The EH-185 was made famous in the late 1930s and early '40s by guitar greats such as Django Reinhardt and Charlie Christian, and the amp delivers a distinctive low gain harmonic-rich overdrive with the complex midrange character of an octal valve-driven preamp. In addition to nailing the sonics of the original, the Vintage 47 rounds out the period-correct aesthetics with a lacquered tweed-covered cabinet bisected by a red racing stripe, central rear-mounted chassis with Gibson-style graphics, chicken head knobs, and a leather handle.
The VA-185G is simplicity at its finest, and the point-to-point wired circuit boasts individual Volume and Tone controls for the single channel design, with dual 1/4“ Instrument jacks and a lower gain 1/4“ Mic input. The tube compliment includes a pair of JJ 6L6 power tubes in a Class AB push pull configuration for 15 sweet, all-tube watts. The power tubes are cathode biased (no biasing required), and a GZ34 rectifier, 6SN7 inverter, and a NOS metal jacketed 6SQ7 round out the tube compliment. The speaker is the original Tone Tubby alnico magnet 12" driver, with a clean black frame and V47 foil sticker on the magnet.
Cosmetically, this combo tube amp is in near mint condition. The finger-jointed baltic birch cabinet is covered in lacquered tweed, which is clean as can be, and the silkscreening on the control panel is perfectly preserved with a pair of red chicken head knobs.
