Bulldog Posted March 8, 2010 Posted March 8, 2010 Good Morning folks, this is my first post to this user group and am excited to participate. I wanted to tap into this group to see if anyone has experience with a Gibson EH-150 amplifier. I'm considering purchasing one, but am not convinced. I play a Heritage 575 custom and play older style music from about that time period. I know the amp is from the mid to late 1930's and it's in wonderful condition. So, my question is this; what are some of your experiences with the Gibson EH-150? Thanks............
Orangepicker Posted March 9, 2010 Posted March 9, 2010 Good Morning folks, this is my first post to this user group and am excited to participate. I wanted to tap into this group to see if anyone has experience with a Gibson EH-150 amplifier. I'm considering purchasing one, but am not convinced. I play a Heritage 575 custom and play older style music from about that time period. I know the amp is from the mid to late 1930's and it's in wonderful condition. So, my question is this; what are some of your experiences with the Gibson EH-150? Thanks............ Wow! Do you really want to use one of these to play out? I have a 1938 EH-150 and a 1939 Charlie Christian, ES-150. I have only plugged this amp in twice. The first time it sounded good and had good tone. I turned it on 3 years later and it has a loud hum now and gets louder than the notes being played. I am a vintage dealer and I have had a ton of old amps. I find that when you are going to play out that you want an amp that you know is going to make it through the gig. I think it is awesome to be able to use one for nastalgic purposes (isn't that why we have them anyway) but I believe that using a newer high quality tube amp will give you more piece of mind on the gig. You can check out valvetrainamp.com, I really like their small amps. I hope this helps! Here is a picture of mine. Dennis
slider313 Posted March 9, 2010 Posted March 9, 2010 I restored one of these a few years ago for someone. It was in mint condition but unusable due to degrading caps and the field coil speaker needing a recone. After the work, the guitar channel wasn't very loud at all and the mic channel, while louder, broke up early. The owner couldn't understand why it wasn't louder. These were made to amplify the guitar when it was strictly a rhythm instrument and the volume wasn't meant to "put it up front". It is what it is. Look for a mid to late 50's GA-40.
Bulldog Posted March 9, 2010 Author Posted March 9, 2010 Excellent feedback, thanks everyone - appreciate the reality check! I actually was not shopping for an amp but came across this one in a music store and thought it was cool and had a good vibe. Typically I use a Fender Twin or run directly into my Bose PAS system with the Tonematch preamp. My thinking was, if the Gibosn is reliable maybe I could mic it. But reliability, cost and sound are all a consideration. For now, I think the Gibson amp will be staying at the store and not come home with me. The asking price was way beyond it's value, I can see that now. So again, thanks everyone I'm grateful. B-dog
gatorblue Posted April 1, 2010 Posted April 1, 2010 Good post. I have many tube amps and my 37 eh-150 is one of my favorites. And, yes, I do play it out all the time. Blows people away. In fact, I'm taking it on my Hwy 61 blues trip from Memphis to Louisiana in May. I play my 68 LP custom thru the mic channel (overdrive) and get the sweetest OD sound you've ever heard--no need for a pedal. You crank the 15 watts all the way and it just smokes with natural tube OD and sustain. Love it. Locally, I use my Dr. Z 18 watt, my 59 bassman and my old concert reverb more, but I still love to let the little tweed go out and soar. And, it fits under the seat when you're flying. Just put in your lap before you land to cushion the shock. --Gator
gatorblue Posted April 1, 2010 Posted April 1, 2010 Good post. I have many tube amps and my 37 eh-150 is one of my favorites. And, yes, I do play it out all the time. Blows people away. In fact, I'm taking it on my Hwy 61 blues trip from Memphis to Louisiana in May. I play my 68 LP custom thru the mic channel (overdrive) and get the sweetest OD sound you've ever heard--no need for a pedal. You crank the 15 watts all the way and it just smokes with natural tube OD and sustain. Love it. Locally, I use my Dr. Z 18 watt, my 59 bassman and my old concert reverb more, but I still love to let the little tweed go out and soar. And, it fits under the seat when you're flying. Just put in your lap before you land to cushion the shock. --Gator
Bulldog Posted May 10, 2010 Author Posted May 10, 2010 OK, a little follow up and update. A while ago I started this thread and have been searching for a small amp for a while. I've finally decided to order a Swart AST and am excited for it's arrival. I certainly found a lot of great informaiton and help from this message board. Thanks to all......... I'll let you know when it arrives. Feels like Christmas and birthday all at the same time. As someone has already said, looking forward to Happy Amp Day! Bulldog
Bulldog Posted May 15, 2010 Author Posted May 15, 2010 OK, so Swart amps are fanstastic! Without question the best amp I've ever owned and played through. It's an absolute pleasure to play, the range of tone from to a tube clean sound to OD blows me away. Since the reverb and tremolo are both tube driven they are warm, smooth and out of this world - Atomic. B-dog
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.