Imagine, for a moment, a well-to-do executive who has a nice house and a big Mercedes sedan parked in the garage not too far from his office in New York City .  Now envision this same person flying down to his beach home in Charleston, SC where a small Mercedes SUV is parked on the premises for use during vacations.  The SUV is made by the same company as the bigger sedan.  It has all of the quality and attention to detail of the big car, and the lessons learned in engineering the large sedan have been passed down to the smaller vehicle.

The SUV might not be the optimum mode of transport from an image standpoint to carry the executive to his big board meetings back in the city , but it is more than adequate to fulfill his needs at the beach with a sense of utility and style.  While perhaps lacking the panache of the larger and more expensive sedan, the SUV nevertheless costs enough to reflect its stellar engineering heritage and it still offers performance worthy of those aspiring to own something with the brand name on it.  There will be those who scoff at paying a premium for the small Mercedes when a cheaper Toyota could get one from point A to point B; but which driver will be having more fun getting to his destination?

The new Carr Mercury amplifier reminds me of such an analogy.  Steve Carr has established his company as one of the most innovative and visible manufacturers in the ever-crowded boutique guitar amplifier market.  Think of his highly-praised Slant 6, Imperial and El Moto models as the big sedans on the "Carr lot" while the Rambler and Hammerhead units would be the sporty mid-size cars.  The Mercury strikes me as the equivalent to the SUV-  it has all of the quality of the larger models and is packed with some capabilities that even the big sedans don't have, yet it might not make it to the bigger meetings (i.e.: gigs in large venues or the big stages)-  though I might add that Steve himself gigs out with a Mercury (without a stage monitor mix no less) in a five-piece band complete with keyboards.

I intentionally steered away from referring to the Mercury as the "econo-Carr" because for one thing, it is not the entry level model price-wise, nor does it skimp on features.  The only spec that might implicate the Mercury as a "lower" offering in the lineup would be in the wattage department, as it is the least powerful of the Carrs; however that would be doing the amp a disservice.  There is nothing "econo" about this Carr and that could be interpreted in either a positive or negative manner by guitarists.

Plainly put, the Mercury is a low-power 1x12 Class A combo designed to offer power tube distortion and rich clean tones at quiet volume levels while still being able to get louder when desired.  The single-ended fixed-biased amp features one KT-66 tube in its output stage and an expansive-sounding reverb.  What really sets the Mercury apart from many amps is a built-in 4-way power attenuator which lets the guitarist choose from 1/10th of a watt all the way up to 8 watts of power output to the speaker!

Guitar amps usually sound their best when they are pushed to healthy output levels.  Unfortunately, they can be so loud as to preclude late night playing unless of course you don't mind disturbing the neighbors or other family members.  Carr set out to address this problem and come up with an alternative that would not sacrifice boutique-quality tone and craftsmanship despite the relatively low power ratings.  A recent father for the first time, Steve decided he wanted an amp that would let him get some rockin' tones around the house without waking the new arrival.

Keeping this mission in mind, let's put the Steelbender Spotlight on the Carr Mercury...
 

Here are some convenient links to points in this article or you may view everything in order by simply scrolling down the page:
 
 

Here is the owner's manual in Carr Amplifiers'  own words...
 

                    Mercury Instructions

                     Volume - Adjusts the loudness of the amplifier.

                    3 Position Boost -

                          Position 1 - 60s American sound with great warmth
                          Position 2 - Increases gain by defeating the tone controls(Treble and Bass) while
                          trimming low end for a focused overdrive tone
                          Position 3 - Further increases gain from the tone stack and reverb circuit while the
                          low-end focus is refined. Tone controls are defeated.

                    Treble - varies top end from dark to bright when Boost setting 1 selected- bypassed
                          on Boost setting 2 and 3 - Use Cut Switch(see below) to adjust treble with boost
                          settings 2 and 3.

                    Bass - varies low end from lean to full when Boost setting 1 is selected-bypassed
                          on boost setting 2 and 3

                    Reverb - controls amount of reverb sound from off to deep and lush.

                    4 position Attenuator - Selects power output to the speaker. The Mercury is always
                          makings its full 8 watts, but by selecting 8, 2, 1/2, 1/10 th watt setting, the power that
                          reaches the speaker is varied.

                    Cut Switch -rolls off the high frequencies for a more mellow tone when the switch
                          baton is down - this works especially well when Boost positions 2 and 3 are in use.

                    Standby - Set amp to standby(switch baton down) to allow the tubes to warm up
                          after the amp is initially turned on(see On-Off-On below). After 1 minute of warm up,
                          switch Standby baton up, and the amp is ready to be played. Using the Standby
                          switch every time the amp is played will prolong tube life.

                    On - Off - On - Selects between two ON positions which are reverse phase of each
                          other and the OFF position. If you receive a shock from another piece of equipment,
                          a microphone or another amp, or hear line noise static, switch to the opposing ON
                          position.
 
 
 

                    Recommended Settings
 
 

                   Clean
 

                    Warm 60s American single coil:
                     Volume: 11 o'clock  Boost: 1  Treble: 12 o'clock  Bass: 2 o'clock
                     Reverb: 11 o'clock
                     Attenuator: 8 watts or lower depending on overall volume desired
                     Cut: up for bright down for smooth

                    Surf single coil or Humbucker:
                     Volume: 1 o'clock  Boost: 1  Treble: 2 o'clock  Bass: 11 o'clock
                     Reverb: full
                     Attenuator: 8 watts or lower depending on overall volume desired
                     Cut: up for bright down for smooth

                    Warm 60s American Humbucker:
                     Volume: 10 o'clock  Boost: 1  Treble: 12 o'clock  Bass: 12 o'clock
                     Reverb: 11 o'clock
                     Attenuator: 8 watts or lower depending on overall volume desired
                     Cut: up for bright down for smooth
 
 

                     Mild Overdrive
 

                     Edgy single coil 70s British:
                     Volume: 2 o'clock  Boost: 2  Treble: NA  Bass: NA
                     Reverb: 9 o'clock
                     Attenuator: 8 watts or lower depending on overall volume desired
                     Cut: up for bright down for smooth

                     Punchy Humbucker:
                     Volume: 2 o'clock  Boost: 1  Treble: 2 o'clock  Bass: 10 o'clock
                     Reverb: 8 o'clock
                     Attenuator: 8 watts or lower depending on overall volume desired
                          Cut: up for bright down for smooth

                    70s British bridge Humbucker:
                     Volume: 12 o'clock  Boost: 2  Treble: NA  Bass: NA
                     Reverb: 8 o'clock
                     Attenuator: 8 watts or lower depending on overall volume desired
                     Cut: up for bright down for smooth
 
 

                    Heavy Overdrive
 

                     Screaming Blues single coil:
                     Volume: 3 o'clock  Boost: 3  Treble: NA  Bass: NA
                     Reverb: off
                     Attenuator: 8 watts or lower depending on overall volume desired
                     Cut: up for bright down for smooth

                      Crunchy Humbucker:
                     Volume: 10 o'clock  Boost: 3  Treble: NA  Bass: NA
                     Reverb: off
                     Attenuator: 8 watts or lower depending on overall volume desired
                     Cut: up for bright down for smooth

                      Heavy Modern Humbucker:
                     Volume: 2 o'clock  Boost: 3  Treble: NA  Bass: NA
                     Reverb: 9 o'clock
                     Attenuator: 8 watts or lower depending on overall volume desired
                     Cut: up for bright down for smooth

                      Buttered Brick bridge Humbucker:
                     Volume: Full  Boost: 3  Treble: NA  Bass: NA
                     Reverb: 8 o'clock
                     Attenuator: 8 watts or lower depending on overall volume desired
                     Cut: up for bright down for smooth
 
 

                     Biasing Your Mercury

                          The Mercury is a Fixed Bias amplifier and requires a Bias adjustment any time the
                          power tube is replaced. Any large octal Pentode or Beam power tube will function in
                          the Mercury though the amplifier has been optimized for the KT-66 tube. The
                          following tube types are compatible with the Mercury after Bias adjustment: KT-66,
                          6L6, KT-88, 6550, and EL-34. Note: Do not use 6V6 power tubes in the Mercury, the
                          internal voltages and current levels are not compatible with 6V6s.

                          To adjust bias you will need a Volt Ohm Meter. These are readily available for as
                          little as $10 from any electronics supply store.

                         Look at the amp from the back. You will find two test points on the bottom of the
                          chassis to the left of the power tube. Insert the red meter probe into the red test
                          point and the black probe into the black test point. Set the meter to Volts DC. Turn
                         the amp on, let it warm up in the standby position then turn the amp to play.

                          You will see the meter read the voltage over a 1-ohm resistor in the power tube
                          cathode circuit. On the inside back of the chassis near the middle you will find a
                          raised pan with the shaft of a potentiometer sticking out - this is the bias pot and
                          what you will turn to vary the bias. As you turn it one way the meter will read more
                          voltage and as you turn it the other way you will see the voltage decrease.

                          We recommend settings from .040Vdc for a clearer, leaner sound to .050Vdc for a
                          thick tone. The factory bias point is .050Vdc with 120Vac on the mains line (wall
                          voltage). Note: some low current draw EL-34s which have quite different bias needs
                          than the KT-66 may not be able to be biased to .040 and should not be used, a
                          higher current draw EL-34 should be selected. NOTE: The bias pot can be
                          inadvertently turned if you are reaching up into the back of the cabinet. If you think
                          you may have turned the bias pot by mistake simply follow the above directions to
                          rebias the Mercury.

                          If you are uncomfortable with the above instructions please see a qualified
                          electronics tech for bias adjustments.
 

The Carr Mercury is a lightweight and easy-to-carry 1x12 combo tipping the scales at 35 lbs.  Measurements are  21"wide  x 17.5" high  x  10" deep (about the size of a Rambler).   The first thing the observer notices about the amp from a cosmetic standpoint is the retro-looking round speaker hole in the front.  The grill cloth is a tasteful and understated wheat-colored variety that might feel equally at home on an old Fender.  This is the stock offering on all current Carr models.  A top-mounted control panel is extremely legible thanks to a sharp black text on white background faceplate.  Attention to detail is evident in the classy piping that runs vertically around both corners of the amp.  A yellow jewel pilot-light next to the on/off switch is a nice touch and deviates from the standard green pilot-lights offered on the rest of the Carr products.  The Mercury can be ordered with standard black or cream tolex colors in addition to a  variety of custom coverings for an upcharge.
 
 

Looking at the back of the Mercury, one immediately focuses on a port displaying the big KT-66 tube with the Carr logo on it. Another nicely-executed feature is the long hospital-grade power plug which extends from the chassis.  A dovetailed pine cabinet rounds out the Mercury's cosmetic resume.
 
 

To say that a Carr amp is point-to-point wired is like calling Aretha Franklin a soulful singer.  You will have a difficult time finding an amp with more meticulous internal wiring than any Carr model.  The Mercury is completely hand-wired with no printed circuit boards in sight.  The labor and human touch involved with every Carr amp contribute to a higher price point than many alternatives, however there are more expensive amps on the market that do not compare favorably to the Carrs on a workmanship (or tonal) level.   The Mercury's quality is top-notch all the way.
 
 

One of the attractive things about cranked amps in general is the fullness and immediacy of response they provide from working the power tubes hard, especially when overdrive and distortion tones are attained.  Preamp distortion  from an amp itself, or from an outboard device such as a pedal hitting the front-end, is often a good and useful thing.  However, there is something about power tubes going into natural overdrive that has seduced guitarists since the early days of amplifiers.  Normally, any amp, even so-called lower-powered ones, can be prohibitively loud for certain situations when pushing them into their optimal tonal range.

Modern day attenuators have attempted to maintain the feel and sounds of louder amplifiers while "attenuating" and taming the volume readings.  Usually, this has involved purchasing an outboard unit and inserting it between the amp and the speaker cabinet. Steve Carr engineered a built-in attenuator for the Mercury which gives the guitarist the option of choosing from four power settings:  1/10 watt, 1/2 watt, 2 watts and 8 watts  (the Mercury is rated somewhere between 8-12 watts at maximum power).  Even at the lower settings, the Mercury continues to produce its maximum 8 watts.  The difference between the attenuated positions is in how much of that power is transferred through the speaker.  It is through the use of this attenuation that the mission of providing the player with satisfying power tube distortion sounds at low volume levels is fulfilled.  Clean tones are not sacrificed at the expense of the gain sounds, though, which is very refreshing to find on an amp of this size and power rating.

Moving from left to right on the control panel, the Mercury has a volume knob, 3-position boost control, a treble dial, bass dial and one-knob reverb.  A "cut" toggle switch allows for treble frequencies to be rolled off in all amp settings.  The 4-position attenuator knob is next, followed by the standby and off/on switches.

A midrange control is notably absent from the Mercury.  Some might not be affected by this, especially in light of the fact that the tone stack is removed from the boost settings on the amp anyway.  Others might still wish to have more control over the frequency range that a midrange pot could provide.  Despite this, I find the Mercury's bass and treble controls to be very effective when the stack is engaged and any initial desires  to have a midrange control went out the window when I heard the amp's full-bodied warm tones. Steve Carr addresses his philosophy on the amp's tone stack with these thoughts:

"The passive tone sections we are used to seeing in guitar amps work by building
the guitar signal up to a high level then throwing most of that gain
away while allowing you to mix back in Bass, Mids, or Treble - though
even with tone controls up all the way you never approach the original
signal level.  Also the blackface style tone stack that we use creates a
fairly big midrange dip.  By knocking out the tone stack we liberate the
lost gain and boost the mids for a nice punchy Overdrive tone.  We could
have left the tone stack in and added another gain stage but I prefer
the Overdrive sound and simplicity of this approach.   I like the
challenge of efficiency in circuitry and the purity of fewer pre amp
gain stages - thus relying on the output tube for most of the
overdrive.  For historical tonal cousins of this style sound think of
the Tweed amps, early Matamps, and Supro/Valco designs."

Tonally-speaking, let's first discuss the overall affect of the power settings on the volume levels (this applies generally to all clean and boost settings).  At 8 watts, the Mercury is actually a fairly loud amp that could be used in small clubs for certain gigs where enormous clean headroom is not required.  Don't confuse this with the fact that the Mercury does have dynamic clean sounds that can be very rewarding at home or in the studio.  There is a lot of headroom for the wattage; but we are still talking about 8 watts on the whole.  That translates differently in a larger venue where other instruments are involved.

Good results could be obtained by miking the amp and using a competent monitoring system; so to immediately write the Mercury off as an unsuitable gigging amp would be inappropriate (remember, Steve uses it live).  Pure stage volume and clean headroom from the amp itself might be compromised a bit by the low power.  It all depends on your application.  At home, this amp should be plenty loud for anyone.  For comparison, the 30+ watt Carr Rambler has more clean headroom and is louder all-around as its ratings would dictate.  My initial guess is that I would still feel better about using a Rambler and pedals with a live band where louder clean sounds are necessary.

The 2-watt setting on the Mercury is my favorite for home use and it will probably be the one that most guitarists choose for normal daily playing when unaccompanied.  It retains the warmth and fullness of the 8-watt setting while not being as loud.  Obviously, decreasing the attenuator settings will reduce the overall volume.  One of the great things about the Mercury is that the core tone does not change much as the attenuator is adjusted.  Even at the lowest level, the character and color of the tone changes very minimally.  Again, this applies to both clean and boosted sounds.

Moving down to 1/2 watt results in an even greater volume reduction.  It is at this point that some of the girth and presence are not as noticeable, which would be expected due to the volume drop. Nevertheless, it remains a very well-rounded tone at all volume knob positions (not to be confused with the attenuator).  The volume knob seems to influence how much grit and grain is present as it is increased, in addition to its obvious function as a level control.  However, the 2 and 8 watts settings definitely jump out at the listener much more.  The distortion tones are still squawky and full of attitude at 1/2 watt.

The 1/10 watt position is the one to use for extremely low level riffing.  It is so quiet that you can hear the acoustic noise of the strings on the electric guitar being played, even when the volume knob is dimed.  Likewise, it is possible to carry on a conversation with a person while playing (please don't be that rude ) on both clean and distorted settings.  It's not as overtly in-your-face as the other wattage settings from a pure volume perspective, but the Mercury retains all of the heavy saturation possibilities of the higher selections even at such a low level.  If you want to get up at 4am and not wake the baby, then the 1/10th watt setting is your ticket.

As far as tubes are concerned, Steve Carr offers this information:

"We have started working with Groove Tubes and will be using them almost
exclusively in all our amplifiers.  They provide superior screening for
microphonics and other tube problems while giving a fantastic warranty
not only to us but to any of our customers as well (you can deal with
them directly or thru us).  In the Mercury we are using 1 12AX7 EH
Sovtek, 1 12AT7 NOS Philips, 1 12AX7 Chinese, and 1 KT-66 Chinese.
This combination was derived thru listening tests using all current
production tubes.  We order these from Groove Tubes and they have the
Carr Amplifiers logo printed on them."
 

Having run a few various effects pedals through the Mercury, I feel assured in saying that it "receives" them well.  This is a trait I've found common to other Carr models.  Another  thing to consider is that the Mercury is not a channel-switching amp.  For the home or studio musician, this might not be a problem since it's very simple to reach over and make adjustments.  In the heat of "gig battle" though, it could be less convenient to access the different settings in the middle of a song.

The following video samples were recorded by Jason Barker.  Minimal overloading of the camera's microphone might occur at high volume levels; but careful steps were taken to reduce these occurrences.  The file quality has been compressed for easier downloads (which may also result in darkened images); but please be aware that they are still large files intended for high-speed Internet connections.
 
 

Introduction to the Carr Mercury

Back and Top Views

Mercury Control Panel

The Mercury's 4-Way Power Attenuator  (Strat)

Exploring The Reverb (Strat)

The "Cut" Switch (Strat)

Testing the EQ Section (Strat)

Listening to the Mercury's 3-Way Boost System (Strat)

Altering the Gain Structure with the Merc's Volume Knob (Strat)

Using a Les Paul with the Mercury (large file)

Improvising with a Les Paul and the Mercury's Boost

 

I believe a primary issue that prospective buyers of the Mercury might have is its price especially given the amp's low wattage.  With an MSRP of $2095 (see dealers for discounts),  many will simply find it too steep of a price to pay for something that might not be loud enough for all applications.  However, the boutique market consists of many players who are prepared to lay out a good chunk of change for premium gear.  Let's face it, there are manufacturers who cater to the high-end market and others who build lower-priced offerings.  Usually, the latter dictates a more mass-produced approach, though good tone and high-quality amps should not always be equated with a high price tag.

Steve Carr builds handmade amps of the highest order and the Mercury falls squarely into this category.  Like many competitors, there is a high degree of manual labor and love that goes into each amp.  It takes as long to build the low power Mercury as it does an Imperial and therefore it will command a price relative to the boutique market it's positioned in.

So the question is if the Mercury is worth it?  For the guitarist wanting tonal versatility and the ability to get the feel and sound of a loud amp without disturbing others, this amp does bring some very positive things to the table that I haven't encountered in anything else yet.  You could probably still find an original blackface Fender Princeton reverb in great shape for less money and capture a lot of the Mercury's clean-toned vibe.  Pop an overdrive in the front and you might have a very fulfilling dirty tone at your disposal as well, perhaps still for less.  The Mercury, though, is such a well-oiled machine, adeptly melding beautiful clean sounds and organic overdriven textures into one cohesive package, that it should not be overlooked.  Don't forget the important aspect of customer service.  The staff at Carr Amplifiers has a reputation for outstanding service.  It means a lot to me to be able to call up the builder on the phone and have my questions and concerns attended to in a personal manner.

Price notwithstanding, the Carr Mercury is an absolute dream for apartment-dwellers or studio guitarists.  There is no mistaking the quality and tone present in the Mercury.
 

For more information on Carr Amplifiers visit their Web site at: www.carramps.com

or contact them at:

e-mail:  info@carramps.com

phone:  (919)- 545-0747