Carr AMPLIFIERS Mercury Owner`s Manual

CARR AMPLIFIERS

OWNER’S MANUAL

Revised 23 Feb 2012

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Mercury Instructions

Thank you for purchasing a Carr Mercury. The Mercury is an astonishingly versatile
amplifier—especially when it comes to home and studio use. The unique built-in attenuator
allows full output tube overdrive to be used at real world home volumes, freeing you to
enjoy the visceral sound and feel of a cranked, overdriven power section. Along with this
ability, the Mercury offers beautiful 60s American clean tones—a combination rarely found
in any amplifier. Please take time to familiarize yourself with this manual.

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 (

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 and Bass) while

Treble – Varies the top end from dark to bright when Boost position 1 is selected. The
Treble control is bypassed on Boost positions 2 and 3. Use the

Cut Switch (see below) to

adjust the treble with Boost positions 2 and 3.

Bass – Varies the low end from lean to full when Boost position 1 is selected. The Bass
control is bypassed on Boost positions 2 and 3.

Reverb – Controls the amount of reverb from none to deep and lush.

4 position Attenuator (“Output”) – Selects power output to the speaker. The Mercury is

th

always making its full 8 watts, but by selecting 8, 2, ½, or 1/10

watt, the amount of power
that reaches the speaker is varied. The lower power settings allow you to achieve the tonal
characteristics of high volume control settings at quieter listening levels.

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) before turning on the power switch (see
On-Off-On below). After 1 minute of warm up, switch the Standby baton up. The amp is

ready to be played. Using the Standby switch every time the amp is turned on will prolong
tube life.

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