After Gibson discontinued production of all amplifiers in 1975, Norlin (Gibson's parent company at the time) looked for a new amp to complement their product lineup. They went to Moog, which was a division of Norlin to design a series of amps and in 1978 or 1979, the first Lab Series was born. These amps are all solid-state in design and had no reference to Gibson on them. The first series was met with lukewarm acceptance and the amps were discontinued by the end of 1979 to make way for the Lab Series 2. The second Lab Series was produced in the early 1980s and they feature a Gibson logo in the upper left corner of the grille. The Genesis Series was released at the same time as the Lab Series 2 and Genesis amps were meant to be the practice/entry-level models where the Lab Series were higher end. Information courtesy George Gruhn and Walter Carter, Gruhn's Guide to Vintage Guitars.
Amplifiers and speaker cabinets previously produced in Chicago, IL between 1977 and the early 1980s. Distributed by Gibson.

LAB SERIES Guitar Amplifiers Models

LAB SERIES L2 Image

LAB SERIES L2

- 100W, 1-15 in. speaker cabinet, piggyback bass configuration, solid-state chassis, single channel, front black control panel, two inputs, seven knobs (v, b, freq., m, t, compressor, MV), deep switch, black covering, black grille, mfg. lat...

LAB SERIES L3 Image

LAB SERIES L3

- 60W, 1-12 in. speaker, guitar combo configuration, solid-state chassis, single channel, front black control panel, two inputs, eight knobs (v, b, freq., m, t, r, compressor, MV), bright switch, black covering, black grille, mfg. late 1970...

LAB SERIES B120 Image

LAB SERIES B120

- 120W, 1-15 in. speaker, bass combo or piggyback configuration, solid-state chassis, two channels, mfg. early 1980s.

LAB SERIES L4 Image

LAB SERIES L4

- 200W, 2-15 in. speaker cabinet, piggyback bass configuration, solid-state chassis, two channels, front black control panel, two inputs, 11 knobs (Ch.1: v, b, m, t, Ch. 2: v, b, freq., m, t, compressor, MV), deep switch, black covering, bl...

LAB SERIES L5 Image

LAB SERIES L5

- 100W, 2-12 in. speakers, guitar combo configuration, solid-state chassis, single channel, front black control panel, two inputs, 13 knobs (Ch. 1: v, b, m, t, Ch. 2: v, b, freq., m, t, multifilter, r, compressor, MV), bright switch, black...

LAB SERIES L7 Image

LAB SERIES L7

- 100W, 4-10 in. speakers, guitar combo configuration, solid-state chassis, single channel, front black control panel, two inputs, 13 knobs (Ch. 1: v, b, m, t, Ch. 2: v, b, freq., m, t, multifilter, r, compressor, MV), bright switch, black...

LAB SERIES L9 Image

LAB SERIES L9

- 100W, 1-15 in. speaker, guitar combo configuration, solid-state chassis, single channel, front black control panel, two inputs, 13 knobs (Ch. 1: v, b, m, t, Ch. 2: v, b, freq., m, t, multifilter, r, compressor, MV), bright switch, black c...

LAB SERIES L11 Image

LAB SERIES L11

- 200W, 8-12 in. speakers, guitar piggyback configuration with 2 4-12 in.speaker cabinets, solid-state chassis, single channel, front black control panel, two inputs, 13 knobs (Ch. 1: v, b, m, t, Ch. 2: v, b, freq., m, t, multifilter, r, co...