Gibson EH-150 112 Combo

This is a great amp for blues, soul and rock. The real deal, sounds incredible. Really cool looking tweed in a suitcase that has a handle on top. You take the back off when you play.

I have a lot of good gear--68 Paul Custom, 85 Broadcaster, Dr. Z Mazarati Jr., 59 Bassman, Concert Reverb, 56 Martin D28, 51 Gibson LG-1, 335, and others. Been playing for 40 years and love this amp.

The amp was made in 1938 one way to tell is the tone toggle switch the later ones use a pot with a knob. The amp was given to me by a friend who bought it at a garage sell. When i first saw it i thought it was original but it was rewired for more gain. So i had a amp builder rewire it back to its original specs,that cost me 385.00. It really is a nice sounding amp. The guitar channel is real mellow sounding compared to the microphone channel. For recording it would be a little too much hum on the mic channel. When i went too pick it up from the shop the amp tec was playing a paul reed smith through it, he had a grin and said if he ever goes back in the studio he wants to borrow it, it really sounds good. The amp has plenty of power for practicing around the house and it will really drive on the mic channel.the original tube set up was two 6l6gca,four ns7n and a rectifier tube.

I use a tele with it and it sounds bright and crisp. the les paul actually has more of the blues sound that the amp really shines on. the speaker which is a 12 inch elctro magnetic sounds good but it does have a bark too it if you drive it too hard.

it has been reliable it runs hot and the amp controls are in the back which makes it hard to adjust the sound but there isnt a lot of adjusting its limited on control.if the polarity on the electric plug is reversed it will get that a.c. hum other wise it sounds pretty good very faint hum.

i have never dealt with gibson for any advice or service so I cant rate them for service.

Ive been playin for 41 years and im still learnig all the time.I have some vintage fender amps twin, champ, showman, d140f great acoustic amp. traynor head y3 real clean not much low end. mcgowen tube p.a.amp not theres a sleeper try oneyou wont believe the tone it has.if I lost the eh 150 i probably could live without it but i would miss it cause it looks real cool as a center piece.

This amp is circa 1938-1940. They were originally sold as sets wiht either EH-150 lap steels or ES-150 "Charley Christian" guitars. It has two channels: an instrument channel with two inputs and a second channel for a microphone. The second channel is quite a bit hotter than the first to accomodate the old fashioned, low-output mics that were around when these things were made. The two channels have seperate volume controls and are meant to be able to be used at the same time. This amp is something like 10 watts I believe. It's not very loud, anyway. The only tone control is a toggle switch that boosts the bass. Overall, extremely simple but clever considering that these were one of the first widely distrubted guitar amps.

I play mostly jazz, blues, and western swing through it, and it works great for that late-1930's sound. I play a 30's Gibson L-5 with a floating Dearmond pickup most of the time, but sometimes I play my 1938 es-150 CC. It has one of the sweetest tones of any amp of any era that I have ever heard. It is mellow and full and has a lot of warmth in it. If you really crank it or use the extra hot mic channel you can even get a super raunchy blues sound, however the person who wants that sound frequently probably should look for a different amp. The mic channel on these amps usually has a pretty audible hum or buzz due to the configurations of the components inside the amp. Also, I've owned two of these and played a few and they each sound a bit different and perform differently even after having a good technician fix it up.

As with any amp from the 1930's, you may want to have a backup handy. I've never had one break down, but you have to care for them and remember that they are fragile now even if they were originally built like little tanks and still weigh as much as one. Be careful when carrying them by the handle, as the old leather can be especially fragile, or worse yet, the glue that holds the top to the sides of the case can weaken and leave you with the tweed covering holding the thing together. Most decent service guys will understand the workings of these and be able to fix them. It would be worth your while to find the one guy in town who really loves these things, as you may need a little work done more frequently than newer amps.

I've never dealt with Gibson, but then again, I believe the warranty is probably up anyway.

It's the amp that Charley Christian used to really popularize the electric guitar and it still sounds great today. Plus they look great with the tweed and orange & black racing stripe. The suitcase-type removal back is fun too. Great for home, recording, and even small gigs if you mic it.