NAMM 2024: Gibson has relaunched its guitar amps line with the Falcon 5 and Falcon 20, a pair of good-looking tube amp combos that have been impressed by a basic ‘60s design, up to date and developed for right this moment’s gamers with the assistance of Randall Smith and his Mesa/Boogie R&D crew.
The Falcon 5 is a compact seven-watter, driving a single 10” Jensen Blackbird 40, whereas the Falcon 20 is rated at 12-watts, driving a 12” Jensen Blackbird.
Energy scaling comes as normal, with the Falcon 5 switchable to three-watts, whereas the Falcon 20’s Multi-Watt tech permits gamers to run it at 12, 5 or perhaps a single watt, making it a viable proposition for the stage, studio and the bed room.
These amps would possibly take some inspiration from the Gibson Skylark of the Nineteen Fifties and ‘60s, however they’ve been comprehensively redesigned from the bottom up, arriving in marine-grade baltic birch cupboards, coated in cream bronco vinyl. An oxblood grille dress completes the look.
Each have been geared up with tube-driven spring reverb, with the bigger Falcon 20 additionally that includes tremolo – each of that are footswitchable.
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Every part else is accessible through the polished metal management panel. An amber jewel gentle illuminates when the ability is on.
The Falcon 20 has dials for Quantity, Tone, and Reverb, with Depth and Frequency for the onboard tremolo. A 3-way change selects your Multi-Watt energy output choices (Full, Half, Low), and also you’ve bought two toggle switches for energy on and standby.
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As on Mesa/Boogie amplifiers, the Multi-Watt know-how will not be merely an attenuator however options Duo-Class know-how, and so the amp presents three totally different wiring choices that change how the ability is dealt with.
The Falcon 5 is a single-ended Class A amplifier and has a lot the identical besides there isn’t any onboard tremolo. It ships with a single 6V6 within the energy part that may be swapped out for a 6L6.
When you go for a 6L6 you’ll have an additional watt of juice to play with. The Falcon 20 will equally take 6L6 energy tubes for a most energy output of 15-watts however ships with a pair of 6V6s. There are 4 12AX7s within the Falcon 20’s preamp part, three in its smaller sibling.
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Talking of measurement, these are each comparatively moveable amps, with the Falcon 20 weighing in at 31lbs (or a hair over 14kg), and the Falcon 5 at 26lbs (11.79 kg).
The Falcons are geared up with a DI output, and you will find a pair of four-ohm and one eight-ohm speaker outputs on the again.
They ship with a slip cowl, and all issues thought of for a pair of amps made in Petaluma, California, the pricing is affordable. The Falcon 5 is priced at $1,499, whereas the Falcon 20 will set you again $1,799 for the Falcon 20.
See Gibson for extra particulars.
