Vintage 1964 Gibson Mercury Medalist Guitar Tube Amplifier Combo

1964 Gibson Mercury Medalist Guitar Tube Amp Combo
Hand Wired, 35 Watts, Two Channels, Tremolo, 15" and 10" speakers

This Gibson Amp is Oooozing with Mojo!  Made by Gibson in Kalamazoo, Michigan in 1964 during the Space Race, it was named after NASA's Mercury Program - this was the program to put the first American into space. The Mercury Medalist is a 35 Watt Combo with two channels and 15" and 10" speakers. It's hand wired of course, as was standard back in the day. If you want to know what else was going on in 1964, check the end of this listing!

Rarity: Gibson only made this amp from '64 to '67. Total production was 327 units. Assuming most of those are out of commission, means there are only about 100 or so of these left that are still in working order. That's rare! This amp will only go up in value.

Date Code and Age: The transformer serial number of 606429 indicates it was built in the 29th week of 1964. This amp is 61 years old and still going strong!

History of this Particular Amp: We bought this amp locally from the estate of the original owner, who bought it new in 1964. He was a guitarist in several local bands and gigged around the beach towns of southern California for decades. His main guitar was blonde Tele that looked like it had been gigged for 50 years (which it had!). The owner passed away last year and we bought the amp from his son, who told us this was his dad's pride and joy and he played it almost every day for 60 years!

Condition: This amp is 61 years old and is in very good condition considering its age. It was played and loved for six decades by the original owner. It has its share of nicks in the vinyl covering as you would expect. The grill cloth is in surprisingly good condition and appears to be original. Also all the knobs appear to be original. Comes with the original footswitch. Please see photos.

Recent Service: Functionally and sonically this amp is in excellent condition. We had it serviced and it's ready to play! It has new electrolytic caps and a new Hammond power transformer. Tubes have been replaced with a good set of vintage (new old stock) tubes, which have been tested to be within specs. All work was professionally done using top quality components.

Tremolo: The tremolo circuit does not work.

Features and Specs:

• Brand: Gibson
• Model: Mercury Medalist
• SN: 702192
• Year: 1964
• Place of manufacture: Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA
• Type: Guitar Tube Amp Combo
• Construction: Hand wired
• Output power: 35 Watts
• Speakers: 15" and 10" (16 Ohms each)
• Channels: 2 (Normal, Tremolo)
• Effects: Built in tremolo (non-functioning)
• Footswitch: Includes original footswitch for tremolo
• Dimensions: 30” x 26.5” x 11” (W x H x D)
• Weight: 75 lbs

Tube compliment:

• Output tubes: 6L6GC x 2
• Preamp tubes: 6EU7 x 3, 6FQ7, 6C4, OA2
• The 6EU7 preamp tubes are a hi-fi (low noise) version of a 12AX7

Sound: It sounds really good. It's a very usable 35 Watts and breaks up at reasonable volume. The speakers sound great. Mixing of two different sized speakers gives richer tone with lots of thump from the 15" and good articulation from the 10".

Speakers: The 15" is a vintage Eminence and the 10" is a new Jensen. Each speaker is 16 Ohms, which is what this amp was designed for. The 15" and 10" speaker provide more piston area than a 2x12 and combined they have more frequency range.

Cross-over: The internal cross-over sends lower frequencies to the 15" speaker and higher frequencies to the 10" speaker. This helps each speaker operate within its optimized frequency range and improves clarity and reduces stress on each speaker. It's a 2nd order filter with an inductor and capacitor for each speaker. This sends frequencies below about 600 Hz to the 15" and those above about 600 Hz to the 10". Cross-overs are common in hi-fi speakers, but this is the first one we've seen in a guitar amp. Sort of makes sense though given the different size speakers with one better at lower frequencies and one better at higher frequencies. A guitar's frequency range spans from around 80 Hz to 15 kHz including overtones and harmonics. So say the 15" speaker handles 80 Hz to 600 Hz and the 10" handles 600 Hz to 15 kHz. If nothing else, its a cool feature that the audio engineers of the 1960's were bold enough to implement in this amp, which was cutting edge at the time.

Size: This is a big amp. It measures 30” x 26.5” x 11”, or about the size of a Marshall 4x12. And it's pretty heavy at 75 lbs, it weighs about as much as a Fender Twin. If you want to use this to gig, you're gonna get a work out. However, if you want a vintage amp for your home or studio, this could be a good choice. Move it once, then enjoy the sound from the 15" and 10" speakers and the huge sealed cabinet.

Shipping and Returns: This amp will be expensive to pack and ship. We prefer local pickup, but are willing to ship for the fee shown in the listing. Please make sure you understand what this amp is and are committed to it before you agree to purchase. Please read the listing, review photos, and ask questions if in doubt. We will not be able to offer a free return if you change your mind. We generally will accept a return in special circumstances, but expect the buyer pay shipping (both ways) and a restocking fee to cover our time. For this amp, that will be expensive if you change your mind.

Dr. T's Tone Factory, the fine print...

Standard of Care:  We strive to meet our clients’ expectations, and we want you to be happy with your purchase.  However, please keep in mind that amps get nicks and dents when used, and cosmetic wear is normal.  If you want an amp in “perfect” or “flawless” condition, we advise you to buy new from an authorized dealer or buy locally so you can inspect it in person. Also, please keep in mind that our Dr. T’s Tone Factory and Weber brand amps are hand-built one at a time, not mass-produced in an ISO 9000 factory.  Our hand-built amps may have artifacts that some people might view as flaws.  We do not guarantee that our amplifiers will be cosmetically flawless, and we don’t accept returns or give partial refunds due to cosmetic imperfections.  The amp you will get is the one in the photos and described in the listing.  If you have questions or concerns, please ask before agreeing to buy.

Condition Ratings: We rate each amp’s condition using guidelines outlined by Reverb.  Please refer to that section of Reverb to better understand what each condition means.

Shipping:  We ship amps via UPS ground. The fee shown includes shipping within the contiguous USA with insurance. It also includes packaging materials and our time to pack and drop at UPS.  Shipping costs are usually controlled by box size and insurance is based on value.  

Local Pickup:  We offer free pickup at our shop in San Diego County.  If you’re close, consider paying us a visit.

Delivery Time:  We do our best to get your amp boxed and shipped ASAP. However, sometimes this can take a few days depending on our current workload and other factors. Once UPS receives your amp, they will estimate a delivery date, which you can access via Reverb. UPS will typically deliver your amp within 2 to 7 business days after they receive it. Delivery time will vary depending on your distance from Southern California. If you're in a hurry, please let us know and we’ll do our best to accommodate you, or at least we can advise you of the estimated wait, so you can decide if you need to make other arrangements.

Damage Claims: Although rare, sometimes amps are damaged during shipping. If you receive an amp that is damaged, please let us know immediately so we can open a claim. We will ask you to send the following photos: overall view of the amp; damaged areas of the amp; overall view of the box; view showing the shipping label; view looking down into the top of the box with the amp and packaging the way it was when you opened it; and view showing any damaged areas of the box. Important - Please keep the box and all packaging in case the carrier requires it for inspection. We will do our best to get this resolved ASAP, but please be patient, as we have no control over the time it takes the carrier to process the claim. Once the claim is approved, you will ship the amp back to us with the return label we provide, and we will process your refund.

Returns and Canceled Orders:  We are a small business and can’t afford to offer free returns like the big guys. There is a lot of time, effort and cost involved with processing your order, pulling your amp from inventory, preparing, packing and shipping it. Please make sure you want the amp before you agree to buy it. If we agree to a return or to cancel your order, you will be responsible for all incurred shipping costs (both ways) and a restocking fee to cover our time.  Shipping amps is expensive, so this may be costly.

Dr. T's Tone Factory & Del Mar Lutherie, Message from the Owner:  We are a small shop in San Diego County, California.  We’re 80 miles from Fender USA in Corona and 120 miles from the Fender Mexico in Ensenada, Baja California. We are huge fans of Leo Fender and his brilliant designs.  We are part of the local guitar community (Fender, Taylor, Kiesel) and build custom electric guitars, custom tube amps, and do mods and setups. We also buy, sell and trade vintage and used instruments. Our owner is a guitar enthusiast, wood worker and professional designer and engineer. We've been doing this type of work since 1999 and have hundreds of happy customers. We are a Reverb Preferred Seller, and our approval rating is 99.9%. 

Best wishes and happy strumming!

Dr T.

Project Mercury was the first human spaceflight program of the United States, running from 1958 through 1963. An early highlight of the Space Race, its goal was to put a man into Earth orbit and return him safely, ideally before the Soviet Union. Taken over from the U.S. Air Force by the newly created civilian space agency NASA, it conducted 20 uncrewed developmental flights (some using animals), and six successful flights by astronauts. The program, which took its name from Roman mythology, cost $2.8 billion (adjusted for inflation). The astronauts were collectively known as the "Mercury Seven", and each spacecraft was given a name ending with a "7" by its pilot.

The Space Race began with the 1957 launch of the Soviet satellite Sputnik. This came as a shock to the American public, and led to the creation of NASA. After the successful launch of the Explorer 1 satellite in 1958, crewed spaceflight became the next goal. The Soviet Union put the first human, cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, into a single orbit on April 12, 1961. Shortly after, on May 5, the US launched its first astronaut, Alan Shepard, on a suborbital flight. Soviet Gherman Titov followed with a day-long orbital flight in August 1961. The US reached its orbital goal on February 20, 1962, when John Glenn made three orbits around the Earth. When the Mercury program ended in May 1963, both nations had sent six people into space, but the Soviets led the US in total time spent in space.

The Mercury program gained popularity, and its missions were followed by millions on radio and TV around the world. Its success laid the groundwork for Project Gemini, which carried two astronauts in each capsule and perfected space docking maneuvers essential for crewed landings on the moon. The subsequent Apollo program was announced a few weeks after the first crewed Mercury flight in 1961.