Vintage 1961 Gibson GA-78 GA-79 Bell Stereo 30 Tube Combo Amp

Here's a rare vintage amp for your consideration - a Gibson-made Bell Stereo 30.  This is the Bell-branded version of the famous GA-79 amp, which was produced for the electronic accordion market. 

Other than the branding, it is identical to its Gibson counterpart.  Same "slantfront" all wood cabinet with two 10 inch speakers and independent stereo input and output.  You can run two separate signals in, and each signal goes to its own speaker.  Or you can select the "mono" mode, where the inputs are summed, and the dry signal goes to one speaker, while the tremolo/vibrato effect goes to the other.  This creates a unique spatial tone sound that is unlike any other vintage amp I have owned.

I have owned at least 25 of these vintage slantfront Gibson amps, and this is a great example.  It is a very early serial number from 1961 (160186).  Some of the components are actually date-coded to 1960.  The speakers are not original to the amp but are 1961 Jensens C10PF's with original cones and sound great.  I added the Jensen stickers, but they can be easily removed.

The amp has been recapped, and the pots have been lubricated and inputs/outputs cleaned.  A heavy duty 3 prong grounded ac cable has been installed.  Everything works fine and the amp sounds great. 

Includes the Tuki padded cover pictured, as well as the original wooden footswitch which turns the tremolo effect on/off.

The original "salt and pepper" covering is a deep gray color with specks of metallic.  It looks very cool.  Since it is a thinner material than Tolex, it is subject to wear, but this example is pretty clean with only a few wear spots as shown.

If you are looking for a cool vintage amp, this is a very cool and rare example. Thanks for looking!

Payment Terms:

Payment due within 3 days of sale. Contact me beforehand to work out any other arrangements.
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NOTE: Shipment west of the Mississippi may incur additional freight costs. Please contact me for a quote , or I can advise you of any adjustment after ordering.