Gibson Falcon 20 1×12 Combo | Overview

MSRP: (UK) £1999  / (US) $TBC

Billed as an ideal mix of classic allure and trendy reliability, the Gibson Falcon 20 1×12 Combo amplifier encompasses a 20-watt all-tube design, delivering heat, wealthy tones with loads of headroom. The only 12-inch customized speaker ensures a full, balanced sound, superb for numerous taking part in kinds. Outfitted with a three-band EQ, reverb, and tremolo controls, the Falcon 20 provides a variety of tonal shaping choices. Its compact, sturdy building makes it a fantastic selection for each stage and studio use. Here is Nick Jennison with the total overview.



When Gibson’s acquisition of Mesa/Boogie was introduced in 2021, I used to be greater than just a little excited. Not solely am I an enormous Mesa/Boogie fan, however I even have a mushy spot for Gibson amps, and I quietly hoped that we’d see some reissues, maybe with the advantage of Mesa’s legendary construct high quality—and that’s precisely what we acquired! Effectively, virtually.

The Gibson Falcon 20 is one in all a trio of recent combos that mark the return of Gibson Amps, designed by legendary designer Randall Smith and handmade in Petaluma, California. It’s an all-new design, however closely impressed by the Falcon amps of the Sixties, each visually and tonally. It’s a single-channel 1×12 combo with a Jensen Blackbird 40 AlNiCo speaker and runs on both a pair of 6V6es or a pair of 6L6es—valve varieties that aren’t normally interchangeable, however combining energy valve varieties is one in all Randall Smith’s logos (just like the older Simul-Class Mark amps). It’s a multi-watt design, switchable between 12W, 5W, and 1W with 6V6es (15W/6W/2W with 6L6es).

This might sound on the low facet, however that’s the purpose. This amp is geared in the direction of early-onset energy amp clipping, which makes for a really harmonically wealthy tone and a fantastic touch-sensitive compression with out deafening everybody inside a mile radius like older 100W amps whenever you crank them up. This capacity to simply push the facility valves, mixed with a really pure sign path (with solely quantity and tone controls), makes for a really inspiring taking part in expertise. It feels very “actual” in a manner that solely a fantastic single-channel amp can, and might go from attractive classic cleans to swampy grind with only a flip of the quantity knob—both the one on the amp or the one in your guitar. Plugging into the “Low” enter will clear issues up considerably and is beneficial in case you have a really high-output instrument that’s just a little an excessive amount of for the “Regular” enter.

The Falcon 20 additionally sports activities foot-switchable spring reverb and tremolo, each of that are valve-driven and fantastically tuned. The spring reverb is lengthy and wealthy with out being tremendous “splashy,” and it overdrives fantastically whenever you push the amp’s quantity up. Typically, overdriven spring reverbs generally is a little obnoxious, however that’s completely not the case right here. The tremolo options each “depth” and “frequency” controls, the latter of which lets you management the pace of the tremolo impact from tremendous sluggish to… nonetheless fairly sluggish. Should you’re on the lookout for uneven, “spy trem” results, this Falcon 20 gained’t go there, nevertheless it’ll do easy and stylish undulation that may be an virtually imperceptible “motion” or a deep old-school throb.

Elegantly packaged in a mid-century impressed cream and oxblood cupboard, the Gibson Falcon 20 is an amp that appears as stunning because it sounds. It provides a few of the most inspiring classic cleans and crunch sounds I’ve heard in a very long time, however in contrast to the Sixties fashions it’s impressed by, it’s constructed like a tank. If classic tones are your factor, it’s essential to test one out!

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