Here is a gorgeous 1941 Gibson EH-150 Amplifier that has been kept in near mint condition. Gibson began producing these amps in 1936 during a time when Hawaiin guitar music was in it's pinnacle of popularity.
Upon the development of electrified guitars being produced by competing guitar makers such as Rickenbacker and Epiphone, Gibson decided it was time to enter the electric guitar market and these amps were sold as a combo package along with a very nice lap steel guitar featuring a magnetic pickup favored by Jazz guitarist Charlie Christian. The Gibson EH-150 was the first amplifier to feature a tone control and are known to be the very first musical instrument amplifier.
These amps produce approximately 15 watts of power and have an incredible tone. This particular model is referred to by some as type 4 of the EH-150 line. Features a microphone input, 2 instrument inputs, 1 instrument volume, 1 microphone volume, and a treble/bass control knob (a.k.a. the first ever tone control). This version of the amp also began using a tube phase inverter, with a twin-triode 6N7 replacing the transformer. Also new were the 5U4 rectifier and the three 6SQ7 high-mu triodes.
An interesting placement of tubes on the amp features the power tubes on either side of the rectifier tube, not standard anywhere else in the world of amps, but logical for this design. The amp also features a nice 12" field coil speaker and shares the same circuit as the later more powerful EH-185.
