Gibson Titan III Combo

This will be an update of my review as I (Bajaskier) recently purchased the Titan III by the other reviewer (Don).

1964 Gibson Titan III piggy-back amp. Largest of the Gibson piggy-back offerings in 1964. Similar Mercury, Atlas & Gemini lines were less powerful with fewer features.

65 watts, very clean even wide-open. 11 tubes total with 4-6L6 (two parallel) push-pull power tubes in the final.

Two channels: each with Loudness (I love that!), Bass, Mid and Treble controls. Channel Two on both of our heads was weaker than Channel One, which leads me to believe it is by design. Channel One has Gibson's typically marginal LDR controlled tremolo with Rate and Depth control. The tremolo is operated by a hard-wired footswitch that stores via a snap to the inside back of the head. My head was recapped in 2006 and is in mint shape, so I will be using Don's for parts. Standby mode on a four-position switch (Off, Standby, Power, Reverse) disconnects the speakers and main power while keeping the filaments warm.

Speaker configuration is one ported 15", 16-ohm Altec Lansing and two 10", 8-ohm Special Edition Jensens. The unique Titan III speaker configuration has it's own passive crossover network sending the lows to the Altec, the highs to the Jensens. The Jensens are closed-back as they are used for mid & high frequencies only. The cab I bought from Don has a SPDT switch that bypasses the Jensens and sends the load to a large ballast resistor. This allows one to play bass through the amp without fear of blowing the Jensens (remember the backs are sealed) and/or the crossover network. My original '64 Titan III cab (stolen in '85) had no such switch. It is not pictured on any schematic, yet the ballast resistor appears to be original, leading me to think it might have been an addition later in the model year. FYI, the Titan I had two 12" open-back Jensens and the rare Titan V had two 15's (not sure of the brand).


Head Design: Stainless steel control face with Titan and Gibson coat-of-arms decals. Controls are the brown "appliance" knobs with brushed steel "pointers" rather than the round, chrome knobs used on the Gemini and some Atlas models.

Cab: My speaker cab was stolen in '85, so I bought his amp mainly for replacement. The trapezoid cab & head are finished in brown Tolex with an unusual longitudinal pattern that is impossible to replace. Don's cab sported some minor dings that I was able to repair with wood filler and some Tolex harvested from the inside of the speaker cab. Brown vinyl handle on head top and cab top, fixed brushed steel handles on cab sides with aluminum corner protectors at the cab bottom. A local metal polisher brought the trim up to near-new condition. The brown tweed grill cloth is intact. Plastic Gibson logo (replaced) at the top left corner with the Titan III and coat-of-arms decals affixed to a brushed aluminum trim strip over the grill cloth. Four removable castors allow head and cab to tilt back on a stand integrated into the back of the speaker cab. The head utilizes chrome latches (with recessed pockets for the head's feet in the cab) to attach the head to the cab. The more secure "slide-and-lock" system was utilized on later models. There is also a cutout at the bottom of the head to accommodate the cab's top handle. When using any volume, one needs to remove the head as the tubes vibrate violently...and I don't trust the latches anyway! Custom made leather covers for cab & head.

The crossover network lets the 15" carry all the lows providing a very warm, deep tone. The tone controls themselves enable a very wide range of warm tones, especially the Mid control. If volume is what you desire look elsewhere; there is so much headroom in the 6L6's, it is difficult to overdrive. I use the pre-amp section (2 12AX7's) of an old 1950's McGohan PA amp to provide some overdrive, but I harbor no desire to push the nearly 50 year-old speakers. The combination On/Off Polarity Reverse switch and the use of a non-grounded (2 prong) AC plug provides very effective hum elimination. Minimal hiss with treble all the way up.

Other than maintenance re-tubing and new caps this year, no problems. And this amp has gone from below zero in the back station wagon to egg-frying hot (running near wide open)over the span of a few minutes! Built like a tank except for the plastic logo on the speaker cab.

Other than a schematic, Gibson is no help whatsoever. I'm was in a worldwide search to find another Titan III cabinet (in decent shape) with no support from Gibson. One would think they would be interested in this classic.

Guitars used: '65 Melody Maker (came with the amp), '72 Epiphone(Japanese)semi-hollow, '85 Kramer Focus 3000 &'05 Arbor bass. It's just a very cool looking, fantastic sounding amp from a long-gone era in craftsmanship. I was thrilled to replace the cab after 22 years! The mint-conditon original is probably sitting on a front porch somehere in Lubbock, Texas connected to an 8-track!

Showroom condition. 1965 or 1966. Brown stippled vinyl with brushed chrome accents. Brown twill speaker cloth. Both head and amp labeled Titan III.
Two channels using 4 6L6 in push-pull, 11 tubes total. Very, very clean...can only overdrive with external pre-amp. I use the front end of a McGowan PA amp with twin 12ax7s to overdrive it..
Bass, mid and treble controls for both channels. LED driven tremelo on channel one, but is very subtle even with the intensity all the way up. Simple foot switch for the tremelo. Best part is the speakers: one 15", ported Altec Lansing, passive crossover to two 10" concert series Jensens. The tone is primo, cannot duplicate with any other amp. If you want power, look somwhere else. Total output is about 50 watts, Remove the wheels, and the bottom can be tilted back with built-in stand. Head locks to cab, but I remove it when tilting just as a precaution. Anyone out there have another Titan III cab for sale?

I play mostly Beatles, Herman's Hermits and the like, so the sound is appropriate. Using a 1985 Kramer Focus 3000, 1966 Gibson Melody Maker, Applause acoustic and a Ventura bass with it. The bass works fine as the crossover prevents the Jensens from getting overloaded. Channel two tends to have a harmonic overload on certain notes. Taking the head of the cab doesn't make a difference, so it's not a tube vibration problem. I rarely use channel two except for FX returns. Again, the amp will not distort, even wide open because there is so much headroom with 4 6L6s in push-pull. The 12AX7s (4 in the head itself) can get a little noisy as they age, yet it's not distracting.

I've replaced the tremelo tube once. Also replace 1 of the 6L6s, which technically is a faux pas as you are supposed to replace them in pairs. I've run the amp wide open at weddings and such for hours straight with no problem, The back of the head is totally open and the 6L6s are heat sheilded. You could fry and egg on the head, but it hasn't failed yet.

Was able to obtain a schemetic from the Chicago Musical Instrument Company. Gibson has given me a big fat 0 for support, even as rare as this amp is. I had hoped they would help me find a second Titan III cab as it is such a showpiece. They seemed to have no inerest in the classics.

I bought this amp AND the Melody Maker for $125 in 1971! Can you believe it? Again, if anyone has an intact Titan III speaker cab in nice condition, call Tom at 262-255-4047