A young Albert Collins met his hero Gatemouth Brown and asked what that thing was Gate was using. Gate said you have to start using the "choker" it will help you find your identity. I think it did!!! If I remember correctly, on the instructional video Albert made he tells Keith Wyatt (tremendous player, instructor) that when he met Gatemouth he (Collins) was playing an "Eptiphone" and Gatemouth was playing an Esquire . Shortly thereafter Albert swapted his Epiphone out for an Esquire. It's funny in the video because Collins when he's first telling the story does pronounce it "Eptiphone" but Wyatt pronounces it correctly and then Albert does pronounce it correctly there after.
@@kevindean1327 I was lucky enough to see Gatemouth Brown in 1988 or so. He played with so much swing. Wonderful player and absolute master of the stage.
When I was a teen and I saw guys with Marshall stacks I thought that’s what I needed to be happy but as an adult I realized a small fender combo amp was not only what I needed but what sounded the best to me too.
When I got my Tweed Princeton in L.A. it was in 1988. I paid $250 for it, and I was thrilled. But this was the heyday of the spandex poodle head glam metal bands, and everybody who saw the ol' Princeton laughed at it and said it was a "Grandpa amp," and "What the hell are you planning on doing with that piece of junk?" It sounded fine, but everybody was listening with their eyes and making fun of the size. 33 years later, I am vindicated. I routinely turn down offers of $2000-$3000, but I tell them, "if you want to commission me to build you one, I can duplicate it for about half of what you're offering me, and it'll be identical. So far, no takers, but who cares? I'm still rockin' the '56 Princeton and having a ball. It's one of my most prized possessions because it loves any guitar you plug into it. It's impossible to get a bad sound. The essence of simplicity.
Hear you. I still use my 79 Vibro Champ S I did in the 80s like you. And pushed with any boost and miked close, it’s an absolute festival killer. Small amps can get you to that magical liminal land where overdrive and fuzz make friends.
@@ricardorodriguez5549 yeah, not only that, but your hands become the master control for how much break-up you want, and the volume knob just kinda sets the limit on the headroom. It makes you want to play till your fingers fall off.
Really !!!!!! Fell into the wall of amp back in the late 60s to 71. Either Sunn or Marshall. Leasing for shows. Then one day the lease fell thru and I borrowed a Twin Reverb from a local music store. That was the last of the Wall Of Amp!!!!! When I finally came to the end professionally I was down to a Deluxe Reverb and DJBL. Covered everything with the PA if needed. What I keep in my studio is a Fender BDR, Bassbreaker 15 and VOX AC15. The stacks were nothing but Hype !!!
Yep. Try the Tonemaster Twin if you still want to push some air, but want an amp you can literally lift with one finger. And it sounds pretty darn good.
In the late 60s and early '70s, I saw Johnny Winter, Creedence Clearwater Revival, ZZTOP, Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry, Freddie King, B.B. King, Elvis Presley, Charlie Daniels, and many others, and some of those amps and stacks were very high and tall. Some of the band members would park their drinks and/or various other things on top.... sometimes reaching higher than their head. John Fogerty comes to mind in doing this.🎸
I knew Dick Dale for many years. He always told the story about how Leo Fender could not understand why he kept blowing up amps and needed more power. Then one day he went to the Rendezvous Ball Room to see Dick play and heard how the crowd of 4000 screaming teenagers sucked up the sound. Fender started working on more powerful amps eventually producing the Dual Showman. I believe Dick was using 85 watt power Transformers with 2x15” JBL speakers. He was still using those original cabinets the last time I saw him , shortly before he died.
I also read about that....Leo went to the gig with an engineer and pretty much was blown away by the 'SOUND' . . .that is when they beefed up the output xfmr's and redesigned the speakers......R.I.P. Dick Dale !
Interesting stuff! I used to live quite close to Eric Clapton and he would occasionally play local gigs for free and self enjoyment. I remember seeing him one night in a village hall in a place called Cranliegh, he was paying a Telecaster through an AC30 both of which he’d borrowed from the other band that was playing. I was amazed! He sounded great, that Clapton tone was all there, as they say “ it’s in the fingers “
When I started building amps, I got hooked on the 1959 Tweed Princeton. I opted for the 10" speaker cutout. Using a Jensen P10R was pure Heaven! The sound is incredible. Initially I bought the amp as a kit (minus tubes and speaker). I substituted Jupiter tone caps, Sprague electrolytics, and NOS carbon composition resistors. The wire was upgraded from 22 gauge to 20 gauge. Love this stuff. Great video, and keep up the good work!!
It amuses me that last night I used a low output Tele neck pickup through the padded input of a Champ 600. Apparently a Tele bridge pickup into the normal input of a 5 Watt amp is now too much for me. What a long, strange trip it's been.
(Just saw your Thumbs album!)Too Cool!!! I was in a band with Elvis’ side guy Charlie Hodge for 13 years & Charlie told me that he sold Thumbs his last car. He said he never got paid because Thumbs passed away. Charlie also said he never got the car back either. Loved Thumbs! I have many of the books that you have on your shelf. The Jimmy autographed album is Awesome! I actually have the old Japanese copy of that album. (My favorite Princeton amp that I ever owned was my 63 with white knobs. It growled like an animal. Always enjoy your videos..
Great episode Zach. When I was gigging, several years ago, I would aim my amp across stage so I could hear it. And not mess with front of house volume. Another thing, I saw Jimmy Eat World open for green day there at Bridgestone. All they had was 3 combo amps, I was blown away, they didn’t have to lug a bunch of gear from show to show.
One person is almost entirely responsible for the present popularity of small amps - Jimmy Page. I lived through the era of amps getting bigger and bigger, more and more powerful, as players chased the HUGE sound they heard on records and radio. When, some years well into this arms race of amplification, it was learned that Page got his TITANIC sound using a breadbox-sized Supro cleverly miked and enhanced in post-recording production - the jig was up. People sniffing around for more answers soon discovered that others (like Clapton) were using Champs and Princetons on dozens of hits - and the only reason most folks needed anything bigger than a Twin was in performance in a large venue. Thanks, Jimmy!
Page layered guitar on top of guitar in order to get him sound - Eric didn't need to do that and - he would never record something he couldn't play live as well or better -
@godfrey. Page certainly had an influence on people with the story of his small Supro being on Zeppelin records but there were many other factors as well. I think most people over the years found bigger amps too loud for the gigs they do and too heavy to carry to a show that probably doesn't need that much power. As to your last comment a Fender Twin is actually a large amp (in power and volume) in spite of its somewhat compact size. A blackface or later silverface Twin easily keeps up with a 50w or 100w head with a 4x12 cab. Maybe you never cranked up a Twin because it's actually a really loud amp.
@godfreydaniel6278 My point was that the Fender Twin is certainly in the top tier of amplifiers as loudness goes. You seemed to be implying that it isn't in this class as you talk about people not needing an amp that is louder when in reality The Twin is one of the loudest amps out there. Duh.
Great episode! I remember back in the early ‘80 having to have a Laney AOR50 half stack to be taken seriously. I had much rather used my old black face Deluxe Reverb, but no, you would have been laughed out of the band. I sold that Laney, bought a small Vox, kept the Deluxe Reverb, and have used small amps ever since. For one of the latest church gigs, I even used a Suhr Corso, 4 watts! I had to keep stage volume down and it did perfect. I congratulate Fender for their resurgence of the small amps. I recently added a Carr Mercury V to the herd and it’s been my go to amp for now. Thanks Zac
Great history thanks for the review. Also don't forget the "show" portion, monster amp on stage and the guitar is really goin through a "small" and or amp sim. Then there is the case that I've expereinced when the Fender amps are on stage but the speakers are disconnect and they are powering isolation box speakers behind the stage which are in turn mic'ed to the Front Of House PA, creating a quiet stage with IEM's and individual IEM mixes. A lot easier on the ears and looks the part for the audience.
You’re really doing a tremendous services with these videos. I love all of them. This one is especially profound as I have the most old school stripped down band you could imagine and many sound-men have a difficult time dialing us in correctly. Love the part about the Jazz Kits of the 50s/60s..
When I started gigging way back in the day, I played rock and metal but never could afford a stack, so I used what I could afford. Low wattage tube amps like Silvertone and I used an Ampeg Reverberocket for a decade. Just cranked and pushed em. Always had a brutal sound. Still use the same low watt style amps today but I’m a country player these days. It all worked out.
Great segment. It wasn't just the in ears crowd who helped move things towards smaller amps. In the mid to late 80's bands with more than one singer playing in clubs also realized if they were gonna hear the monitors smaller were gonna have to be part of things.
Due to the position where I stood on stage for years with me and my 100-watt stack 30 years ago my left ear is really damaged. I can really tell with earphones or earbuds. Sure was an experience to have your guitar screaming loud enough to feel in your chest though.
This a topic near and dear. Back when was younger man with a bigger ego I would scoff at anything that wasn’t a Marshall half stack. So heavy, rarely ever got the amp past 1.5 on the volume knob. For the last 10 years or so I’ve pretty much only used low wattage amps 15-20 watt range and I’ve settled on a 20 watt Friedman Dirty Shirley mini and a 1x12 cab and I’ve never been happier with my sound. Being told to turn up rather than down has been a nice change of pace!
Zac your playing continues to inspire. I have started waking up early and playing before work and it really changes my day.And on the drive in I run thru the circle of 5th and review my major and minor scales.Not enough time to play all I want but I'm gonna use all I can.Love your channel!
So glad to hear when someone talks about Vox amps recognize mention Cliff and The Shadows, the importance they played (especially Hank Marvin) in the development of the AC15 to the AC30 and top boost development all prior to the beatles.
What a great video. I’m not always lucky enough to be afforded an amp microphone at gigs, but I’m thankful for the ability to attenuate my amp from 4 - 40w to suit the room without sacrificing any of that tube amp mojo.
Zac, the playing you did at the beginning is some of the prettiest tone you've recorded. My favorite tonalities are near the first position, because open strings, and near the center of the strings. Say 10th to 14th frets. I don't know why, but playing in that range is really pleasing to my ears. Using capo you kind of had both at the same time. I have a Shubb like you're using. I really like it, and I like my Paige too. Elliott is supposed to be the gold standard, but $$$. I've only ever had three amps, only one was seriously powerful. I have a Classic 20 from the 90s that I need to get a checkup on. Great sounding amp except for the tube rattle. I never took it to a pro to have that addressed. But I'll never need more volume. Its 15 watts is more than enough to piss off the whole cul-de-sac.
Feel odd commenting on a few of your vids in one day, but this reminds me. In 2015 I was playing a lot in Austin up and down 6th street with a band. I started out using an Orange Rockerverb 50 with a matching 2x12 cabinet which was heavy and not always liked on stage. It sucked moving it back to San Marcos as the sun was getting ready to come up, and it sucked having to the sound guy just turn me off. Eventually, by the time we started playing Stubbs, I moved to just playing what was my small amp. An Orange Rocker 30. It worked, it didn't sound as amazing on stage but in the house? That Orange Rocker 30 was the biggest sounding amp of anyone playing due to having great sound guys. I'd see these bands with Twins, Marshall 100 watts, and Sunn amps (at the time they were trendy in Austin) that you'd only hear near the stage versus my little Orange that was cranked up enough with any competent sound guy making it sound good followed by and easy loud in and out. I have a Vox AC15TBX and the Rocker 30 these days, they sound great and are much easier to move around than my former Twins and Rockerverbs. Learned that small amps are great the hard way! At the most you just have to get over your drummer!
There used to be a pedal demo guy on TH-cam who told a story about finding a Fender Deluxe tweed amp in the dumpster of his apartment complex in the '90s. He said it looked ratty but sounded great, so he kept it. Good call.
I worked in a popular rock and roll music store in the 70's. Then played in bands into the 80's. IMHO two things happened that changed stuff almost overnight. Crown DC300's and multiple Altec A7's or the JBL Pro series speakers. 3 or 4 DC 300's with 4 Altec A7's could provide a clean sound in a club with up to 3-400 people. "Rich" bands might have 4 bi amped Crown DC300's with sub woofers could easily fill a hall with 500 plus folks. Then prices went down and QSC and others started producing higher watts for less bucks. Then the hi tech speaker arrays went way down in price. Finally smart live venues would attract better bands for less money if they had a killer house PA. It got back breaking and expensive to have to hire roadies for bands that didn't have a record deal but were still a popular live draw.
The Capo is such a flexible tool, used way more on the electric guitar than is widely understood - I have heard some misguided souls claim the Capo is a 'crutch' for the novice, absolute rubbish! Nice presentation Zac, you continue to get smoother man.
I don't understand the negativity that the capo gets. There's a video of Albert Collins, Roy Buchanan, and Lonnie Mack at Carnegie Hall. One poster on the video says "Collins and Mack are good but Buchanan is way better because he doesn't use a capo". That's a common mentality amongst guitarists that is baseless! The capo is only noticed by other guitarists in an audience. Capo's are really a songwriters best friend!
You're so right about the capo. My bass player always gives me a hard time and thinks it's a crutch. Nope - changes the voicing and can be inspiring as a result!
I played in indie rock bands in the very early 90s then started mixing live sound for other bands and grunge has a lot to answer for: bands playing to 20 friends midweek in a venue that could hold 500 with Marshall 100 watt heads and quadboxes and bassplayers with Ampeg 8x10 fridges. Just overkill.
It's my recollection that the Derek and the Dominoes album was recorded on Fender Tweed Champs, which opened my eyes to what a big sound could be gotten out of a "small" amp.
Many years ago , I had a sound guy in Toronto suggest side-washing my amplifier so I could run a louder stage volume without messing with the front of the house mix. Doesn't look as cool but it works great.
Very interesting. I am older and just a hobbyist, but I like the sound and size of small amps. I am becoming a fan of 10 inch speakers as well. I also agree about the Clapton show. I had terrible seats that were very expensive, but the sound was excellent and he is still quite good. Big fan of Vaughan as well.
My Buddy saw Cream in 67 at the Shrine in LA in 67. He said both Eric and Jack were playing through 2 Marshall stacks. No mikes. He said the PA for vocals were 2 Fender Dual Showman amps. He said it was kind of a joke because you could not hear ANY vocals. I know they were both playing through both Marshalls because I have a bootleg recording of Cream at the Ricky Tick in London I believe, and one of Claptons' Marshalls blows up. He says to the crowd that he is sorry that he is down to playing one amp. No wonder Ginger got so mad about the stage volume. Can you blame him.
Between in ear monitors and no stage monitors were stage monitors. Woodstock music festival changed everything! Mick Jagger and Jeff Beck came to the USA and found the big venues had added stage monitors. They could now hear the vocals and instruments, on stage! Some were just an extra set of PA speakers on each side of the stage pointing inward. Some were guitar amps in front of the stage to hear your guitar. The real change came when power amps and mixing boards got bigger. Then came stage monitors. 2-4 small cabinets in front of the stage with 12” or15” speakers with all of the band being miked and mixed to hear everyone! That was the norm until in ear monitors became the norm. A great show, as usual, Zac! I built my first monitor in the middle 70s and now I use in ear. Love from NW Colorado. Thanxz
I think one of the reasons for the evolution of smaller amps to bigger ones and then back to smaller ones is the role of distortion in popular music. The goal in '50s and much of the '60s was for the sound to be clean. Think of The Shadows as a prime example. The Beatles could be shrill, but didn't really deliberately aim for distortion until the "Rubber Soul" album. Being both clean AND "loud enough" demanded more power and headroom, and big speakers that could handle more power. As more and more music, and especially guitarists, aimed for a warm distorted tone, though, smaller amps became desirable again, because one could achieve those overdriven tones without having to aim for unreasonable volume. I know my band got asked to leave a gig because we were too loud, and I can't imagine we were alone in that. In the early '70s we started to see more amps having master volume controls. Heck, I bought my first "good" amp (a first-issue Peavey Classic) *because* it had a master volume. Again, the goal was to be able to get overdriven tones without requiring massive volume. And even though lower-wattage amps have once again become popular, even they have started to come with options for even *lower* power (1W anyone?).
@@jamesball5743 True, but the desire for small amps that could break up nicely at reasonable volumes was more a desire for that tone, rather than what the club could provide. Keep in mind that a Fender Twin was the go-to amp for a great many players for many years. Did they need that power? Nah. What they wanted was the ability to play clean at whatever volume was required. The first Mesa Boogie amps were expressly for the purpose of being able to dial in intense-but-smooth overdrive in a modest (1 x 12") package.
@@joncole4918 Hmmmm, I dunno. Feedback? Yes, clearly. But nothing as overt as the fuzz bass on "Think for Yourself". Now, whether one wants to classify the shrill bite of a Rickenbacker through a Vox amp turned up loud as "distortion" is a matter for debate. It *will* have more harmonic content, but not really enough to qualify as distortion. Overdrive at best and even that is doubtful. Maybe "breakup" is a better descriptor. Certainly gave things a "live show" feel.
Great topic Zac, I've always wondered about the crazy rise of the listing prices of the Princeton amps and similar as opposed to the value of Twins and Super Reverb amps, which is steady for years.
All great information. I remember listening to Dr. Bob Heil telling stories of his early days of PA's and creating the big PA systems for The Who, etc. BTW, I think Bob Heil is the only sound guy that is in the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio for his innovative work in creating those big PA systems.......Thanks again Zac for educating us. ....Russell D.
Bob Heil was supposedly the first sound technician who created the “fold back” (monitor) system when The Who asked if they could “have the same sound as the audience directed at the band.” The idea was pretty radical at the time but he developed it, which started also the battle with feedback and the further development of separate monitor consoles and EQ.
I used to love the lush sound of my Twin Reverb back in the early 80’s … but I was carrying it into a club gig up the fire escape steps to the third floor. I swung it around 90 degrees at the top of the steps - but didn’t move my legs. Heard a slight tear and felt a sharp pain … 2 hours later I was in an ambulance on the way to hospital. In those days, you had to lay on a flat surface with a disc injury - it took months … but 40 years on I’m still in [occasional] trouble with that same back injury. I sold that Twin pretty quickly and bought the world’s greatest amplifier… a nice clean 1965 Deluxe Reverb for $100. Never looked back.
I can pick up my Tonemaster Twin with one finger, Bob (and I am no weight lifter). You might give it a try. Fun to push some air without pushing vertebrae!
@@eastbaystreet1242 I really wish they’d been around in 1984 … I wouldn’t be crippled with back problems 😩 Crazy thing is, I never played a gig where I needed the power of a Twin Reverb … Even more crazy is the fact I still have a blackface Pro Reverb - but it’s in a flight case and easier to move around.
I will say, most rock shows I go to in clubs over the last 5 years have been a drag because the amps aren't moving any air. Every once in a while I go to a small room and there's no mics on the amps and it's amazing. I love small amps for sure, but I keep hoping for a middle ground.
In my opinion, the best option is to go big. Nowadays there are dozens of really good transparent attenuators on the market. I actually prefer the tone of a 100W Marshall Super Lead with a Tone King Iron Man 2 knocking off a few dBs. It has all the mojo and fatness of the 100W Marshall, but you can get it in your bedroom if you want.
It is kind of rare. At the Dallas Guitar Show a few years back, Greg Martin had his Burst thru a Category 5 plexi-style amp and it was a little window into that old era where it physically hits you in the chest.
Led Zeppelin were probably the first band to start micing the whole band on their "Led Zeppelin 3" world tour which I saw in Auckland NZ in '74, Jimmy Page was using two Quads side by side with one angled to the other side of the stage and one facing forward and Marshall heads on both. It was the first time I had ever seen a studio mic up on a live drumkit as opposed to a single overhead.
2000s Epiphone introduced 5W and I believe it started the low watt craze. Key to good sound is twin power tubes. Hard to find decent sound with one power tube. It will always sound thin. Lockard 8W is a good one. NOS. (I have two) Fargen Mini-Plex 12W two EL34s.
I started collecting small amps too late and missed the days of $100 BF Princeton .;) my current lineup is ‘64 DR, ‘64 DR RI, ‘62 BRown Face Princeton, ‘’57 Fender custom shop Pro RI 115, ‘57 Custom Shop RI Champ, ‘57 Custom Shop Deluxe head RI, and a Tone King mkII imperial . I have not problem buying amp, can never sell them ;)
16:30 unbelievable - the holy grail amp Billy Gibbons played on the first records. And it was in Texas. I wish i had a time machine now. Buy me a container full of that stuff.
Dude, Zac, since I discovered your channel (I have been following you since you where interviewing session musicians from the scene there in Nashville), I've been enjoying it with a cup of coffe almost every morning before getting down to work, just to relax and enjoy myself as a quiet guy who happens to play guitar, and enjoy every hair of geekness within the music realm (especially within the electric guitar territory). So I just wanted to express that. And also make you a humble request: please, do not change the format of the videos too much in behalf of the "youtube algorithm". Pd.: If you end up doing so for monetary and economical reasons, I will not be the one to judge you, I get it. It is simply that I will miss the old times with Zac haha. Cheers from Barcelona, all the best!
Another great episode! I remember when I got my first tube amp (Music Man 210/65 in early 90s) I thought it was too small. A few years later I upgraded to a silver face Pro Reverb then my dream amp a Super Reverb. But not only was it heavy I couldn’t get it past 2 without someone telling me to turn down. My biggest amp now is a 68 Custom Vibrolux and that’s the amp I should have had all along. I wish I could go back in a time machine when I could get a Blackface for $800 in the late 90s when I had the chance.
Small amps got big for me as my back got older! In my younger days I drug around a black face Twin, in those days I thought the tone was worth the weight. When I got a little older I moved to a Vibrolux, smaller speakers, less weight..... these days I'm down to the Princeton, so much easier to lug in and out of a gig, and between it and the mic I use with it, I'm more than happy with the sound, especially when I have to heft it up into the truck at the end of the night!
This is the real reason. 😂 I started with a Bandmaster head and cabinet in the 70's, moved to a 1-12 combo in the 80's (which I still have). We lugged a heavy PA around with huge speakers. I have a Vox Pathfinder 15R for practice. If I were still gigging, I'd get a Deluxe Reverb Tonemaster. Good to hear you're still playing out, even with a bad back.
I have 5 marshalls from a 68 plxi 50 watt to early 100 w dsl but i still love my delux reverb 68 and 74 champ the champ is great for pedals and with whearhouse 8 inch speaker is a little monster
Great episode, Zac.I truly enjoy the information you share each week. (FWIW, I miss the extra bars in your opening instrument since you redid it. Always a joy to hear you play-even in the intro to each video.)
Great vid Zac! Always keeping your finger on the pulse of tone! My hearing may hold out longer after ditching Marshall half stack for blackface Princeton. The need for crazy stage volume with modern PA’s is a key change & sign of the time in the past 45 years
Remember quite well the mid 80s in Nashville guitar was Peavey Special 130 x2, steel ran dual Nashville 400 rarely saw a Fender least where I played at or went
Great video Zac, really enjoyed it! I do wish I knew about the benefits of small amps sooner. Back in the day, I was playing gigs with a 60W Pignose tube amp. I used it with the internal 12" speaker as well as a 2x12" extension. It sounded fantastic but even with a pretty loud drummer, I never needed to turn it up past 3-4. I can only imagine the two Twins you played through! Also, I finally bought a capo not too long ago - I just wanted to say thanks for your video a while back talking about them. I love it and it's really opening up my playing to some new things I never tried before.
Jeff Beck is a guy who has made great use of small amps.I the 70's he used his Marshall stack but in the last 20 years or so he uses small Fenders set on kill to great effect.
Hey Zach..I have 5 Masco Map 15 ..bad ass..I have mesa and fender to but the little masco everyday and all my peeps want them..I think I got the market cornered..lol..Chet Aktins played it..one of his first amps...sounds so good 👍. Thanks for all the great videos. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your people!
Been using Fender Tonemaster Deluxe Reverb since they were introduced about 2 years ago. Great amp at only 23 pounds! I play in a bit of a punk style so I use Fulltone OCD for distortion. Never been happier‼️😎🎸
I have a Heathkit TA-17; a relic of the late '60s. It is considered a "combo" amp, and has separate input and preamp controls for mic *and* bass, in addition to input and controls for guitar. Far more power than I would EVER need, but the working assumption was that this would be the "sound system" for the entire band, so I guess having plenty of power and headroom would assure that all signal sources could be amplified as loudly as needed, but cleanly.
I came of age in the 80s when PA systems must have been more advanced. I could never figure out why some bands had two drummers. Your video seems to answer that question. Thanks
I was shocked when I first saw Aerosmith in 1993. I had only seen metal bands before, and was used to seeing walls of Marshall stacks on stage. But Joe Perry and Brad Whitford each had small rigs, each containing about 6 different small combo amps, and their tone was amazing. I also remember seeing a funk band in a small club around that time, and it was the first time I had seen a guitar player used a 1 x 10" combo amp onstage instead of at least a half stack, and again, his tone was the best of all the bands that day.
A small correction here, the EF86 isn't a "power tube", it's a small signal pentode, which Vox did use. Probably getting mixed up with the EL84 which was the output pentode Vox are mainly associated with.
My 1959 Tweed deluxe is my go to amp. I have others including a big boy 95 watt Mesa Mk V, but not just because of the sound, I just wanna play the Deluxe.
Went back and listened to the other speakers you tested on your mod vid. I like the celestion blue's the best. The small amp is my choice these days. 2 Orange original Tiny Terror and Rocker 15 Terror, AC 10, Dr Z Zwreck jr love it, Engl FireBall 25, and My favorite Marshall JCM 800 2204 50 watt. Use an Ox to keep things under control. That Stapleton sounds great but there are none to be found. Another great vid that hit the mark.
Thanks. I'm interested in the direct conversation. I know a lot of guys have to do it, but still every great sound I've heard is a real amp somewhere in the chain for styles that aren't just either crystal clean or massively distorted.
My main gigging amp is a 20 Watt 1x12 65 Amps Tupelo, and to make the singer in the band happy, I just switched out the G12H30 Speaker to the less efficient G12-65. The other guitarist has been borrowing my 12 Watt 65 Amps Lil Elvis, because to fits better with the band that his Marshall like Victory Amp. In the 1980s in High School I had the 100 Watt Ampeg V4. My neighbors, ears and back are happier now.
I think, based on my experience with PAs, is that if your mic is going into the amp along with the instrument, then you need the amp in front of you to minimize feedback from the mic. Hence the labeling on the amp would be correct if you had it facing you from the back of the amp, like a current Blues Jr. Doesn’t make much sense otherwise.
I’m wondering what’s the more interesting/intelligent approach? The closed back/top mount design or the Fender open back/front mount? Or the true designs intention? Food for thought! Thanks Zac!
I never realized why those earlier amps have the controls on the back side. I guess I never gave it much thought because it seems obvious now, lol. Great episode Zac. Happy Thanksgiving!
I remember seeing Cheap Trick in Newcastle. Australia and there was a huge bank of Marshall amps across the room but off to the side, I think Rick Nielsen? had two really nice little fenders. The Marshalls were a light show. Total crack up. :)
Might be the wrong time and place for this question, but I figure someone here might know. I bought my beat-up '59 Bassman in '92. Got it for a song ($30 !!!) because one of the P10Rs was missing; blown I suppose. The Presence control, however, is wired such that turning it clockwise *reduces* treble content. I can't see any signs that the amp was ever modified before I got it, and have not tried any others from that production year, so I don't know if mine is anomalous. But my inference was that the objective of that era was to have as clean a tone as possible, so the Presence control was intended to rein in objectionable harmonic content. That would explain why it takes its feed from *after* the output transformer, so as to have an effect on *cumulative* harmonic distortion, and why turning it clockwise "tames" the sound more. So, am I on the right track, or have I been duped by an amp that is wired wrong?
I've got a little orange practice amp and a twin reverb but am looking for something in the middle. Thinking of getting a fender mustang 40 or a marshall 50. I'm not sure. Just want something to play the blues.
Great opener showing the power of the capo! Beautiful playing brother.
Yes, just lovely! Great video once again, Zac
A young Albert Collins met his hero Gatemouth Brown and asked what that thing was Gate was using. Gate said you have to start using the "choker" it will help you find your identity. I think it did!!! If I remember correctly, on the instructional video Albert made he tells Keith Wyatt (tremendous player, instructor) that when he met Gatemouth he (Collins) was playing an "Eptiphone" and Gatemouth was playing an Esquire . Shortly thereafter Albert swapted his Epiphone out for an Esquire. It's funny in the video because Collins when he's first telling the story does pronounce it "Eptiphone" but Wyatt pronounces it correctly and then Albert does pronounce it correctly there after.
Thank you so much, Keith
@@kevindean1327 I was lucky enough to see Gatemouth Brown in 1988 or so. He played with so much swing. Wonderful player and absolute master of the stage.
Hey Keith!
When I was a teen and I saw guys with Marshall stacks I thought that’s what I needed to be happy but as an adult I realized a small fender combo amp was not only what I needed but what sounded the best to me too.
When I got my Tweed Princeton in L.A. it was in 1988. I paid $250 for it, and I was thrilled.
But this was the heyday of the spandex poodle head glam metal bands, and everybody who saw the ol' Princeton laughed at it and said it was a "Grandpa amp," and "What the hell are you planning on doing with that piece of junk?" It sounded fine, but everybody was listening with their eyes and making fun of the size. 33 years later, I am vindicated. I routinely turn down offers of $2000-$3000, but I tell them, "if you want to commission me to build you one, I can duplicate it for about half of what you're offering me, and it'll be identical. So far, no takers, but who cares? I'm still rockin' the '56 Princeton and having a ball. It's one of my most prized possessions because it loves any guitar you plug into it. It's impossible to get a bad sound. The essence of simplicity.
I've built some 1959 5F2A Princeton copies. Best sound ever!!
Love my 61
Hear you. I still use my 79 Vibro Champ S I did in the 80s like you. And pushed with any boost and miked close, it’s an absolute festival killer. Small amps can get you to that magical liminal land where overdrive and fuzz make friends.
@@ricardorodriguez5549 yeah, not only that, but your hands become the master control for how much break-up you want, and the volume knob just kinda sets the limit on the headroom. It makes you want to play till your fingers fall off.
The telecaster can be used for anything. Simple elegance, the intro to this video says so much
Really !!!!!! Fell into the wall of amp back in the late 60s to 71. Either Sunn or Marshall. Leasing for shows. Then one day the lease fell thru and I borrowed a Twin Reverb
from a local music store. That was the last of the Wall Of Amp!!!!! When I finally came to the end professionally I was down to a Deluxe Reverb and DJBL. Covered everything
with the PA if needed. What I keep in my studio is a Fender BDR, Bassbreaker 15 and VOX AC15. The stacks were nothing but Hype !!!
As someone who grew up in the age of Marshall stacks, my first question about a new amp is not "how many watts is it?" "But, How much does it weigh?"
Me too!! 😎🎸👍
@@doctorskull8197 I'm 67 and my spine is trashed from carrying a 2-15" Bassman cabinet. I bought it in 1969 and still have it!!!
@@richardmerriam7044 I bet it still kicks ass and sounds killer! You can’t go wrong with a good ole Fender!
AMEN!
Yep. Try the Tonemaster Twin if you still want to push some air, but want an amp you can literally lift with one finger. And it sounds pretty darn good.
In the late 60s and early '70s, I saw Johnny Winter, Creedence Clearwater Revival, ZZTOP, Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry, Freddie King, B.B. King, Elvis Presley, Charlie Daniels, and many others, and some of those amps and stacks were very high and tall.
Some of the band members would park
their drinks and/or various other things on top.... sometimes
reaching higher than their head. John Fogerty comes to mind in doing this.🎸
I knew Dick Dale for many years. He always told the story about how Leo Fender could not understand why he kept blowing up amps and needed more power. Then one day he went to the Rendezvous Ball Room to see Dick play and heard how the crowd of 4000 screaming teenagers sucked up the sound. Fender started working on more powerful amps eventually producing the Dual Showman.
I believe Dick was using 85 watt power Transformers with 2x15”
JBL speakers. He was still using those original cabinets the last time I saw him , shortly before he died.
I also read about that....Leo went to the gig with an engineer and pretty much was blown away by the 'SOUND' . . .that is when they beefed up the output xfmr's and redesigned the speakers......R.I.P. Dick Dale !
Don't forget Pete Townsend asking Marshal to make his amps bigger....that's how the 100 watt Marshall came about.
The Showman 1-15" cab was designed by the engineers at JBL exclusively for bass. The internal design is stunning. Two baffles for bass enhancement.
Dick Dale said Dick Dale needed more power.
Got it with the Dual Showman.
Dick’s reverb units were suspended by ropes because his amps were so bleeding loud. I’m here to tell. RIP. Legend
I picked up a 5 watt Bugera that’s modeled after an early Fender Champ & it’s all I need; I did upgrade the speaker & tubes
Interesting stuff! I used to live quite close to Eric Clapton and he would occasionally play local gigs for free and self enjoyment. I remember seeing him one night in a village hall in a place called Cranliegh, he was paying a Telecaster through an AC30 both of which he’d borrowed from the other band that was playing. I was amazed! He sounded great, that Clapton tone was all there, as they say “ it’s in the fingers “
Lucky you mate ! Sounds fun
I'll second THAT emotion!@@mariannwatt2678
When I started building amps, I got hooked on the 1959 Tweed Princeton. I opted for the 10" speaker cutout. Using a Jensen P10R was pure Heaven! The sound is incredible. Initially I bought the amp as a kit (minus tubes and speaker). I substituted Jupiter tone caps, Sprague electrolytics, and NOS carbon composition resistors. The wire was upgraded from 22 gauge to 20 gauge. Love this stuff. Great video, and keep up the good work!!
It amuses me that last night I used a low output Tele neck pickup through the padded input of a Champ 600. Apparently a Tele bridge pickup into the normal input of a 5 Watt amp is now too much for me. What a long, strange trip it's been.
What is meant by "Padded input"?
(Just saw your Thumbs album!)Too Cool!!! I was in a band with Elvis’ side guy Charlie Hodge for 13 years & Charlie told me that he sold Thumbs his last car. He said he never got paid because Thumbs passed away. Charlie also said he never got the car back either. Loved Thumbs! I have many of the books that you have on your shelf. The Jimmy autographed album is Awesome! I actually have the old Japanese copy of that album. (My favorite Princeton amp that I ever owned was my 63 with white knobs. It growled like an animal. Always enjoy your videos..
Great episode Zach. When I was gigging, several years ago, I would aim my amp across stage so I could hear it. And not mess with front of house volume. Another thing, I saw Jimmy Eat World open for green day there at Bridgestone. All they had was 3 combo amps, I was blown away, they didn’t have to lug a bunch of gear from show to show.
Sweet sounding rig!! Jimmie Vaughan and Slowhand show!! Lucky you! Pure heaven!!
One person is almost entirely responsible for the present popularity of small amps - Jimmy Page. I lived through the era of amps getting bigger and bigger, more and more powerful, as players chased the HUGE sound they heard on records and radio. When, some years well into this arms race of amplification, it was learned that Page got his TITANIC sound using a breadbox-sized Supro cleverly miked and enhanced in post-recording production - the jig was up. People sniffing around for more answers soon discovered that others (like Clapton) were using Champs and Princetons on dozens of hits - and the only reason most folks needed anything bigger than a Twin was in performance in a large venue. Thanks, Jimmy!
Page layered guitar on top of guitar in order to get him sound - Eric didn't need to do that and - he would never record something he couldn't play live as well or better -
@godfrey. Page certainly had an influence on people with the story of his small Supro being on Zeppelin records but there were many other factors as well.
I think most people over the years found bigger amps too loud for the gigs they do and too heavy to carry to a show that probably doesn't need that much power.
As to your last comment a Fender Twin is actually a large amp (in power and volume) in spite of its somewhat compact size.
A blackface or later silverface Twin easily keeps up with a 50w or 100w head with a 4x12 cab. Maybe you never cranked up a Twin because it's actually a really loud amp.
@@7171jay Yes - a Twin is loud - that's why I said one rarely needs something bigger than that. Duh...
@godfreydaniel6278 My point was that the Fender Twin is certainly in the top tier of amplifiers as loudness goes.
You seemed to be implying that it isn't in this class as you talk about people not needing an amp that is louder when in reality The Twin is one of the loudest amps out there.
Duh.
Great episode! I remember back in the early ‘80 having to have a Laney AOR50 half stack to be taken seriously. I had much rather used my old black face Deluxe Reverb, but no, you would have been laughed out of the band. I sold that Laney, bought a small Vox, kept the Deluxe Reverb, and have used small amps ever since. For one of the latest church gigs, I even used a Suhr Corso, 4 watts! I had to keep stage volume down and it did perfect. I congratulate Fender for their resurgence of the small amps. I recently added a Carr Mercury V to the herd and it’s been my go to amp for now. Thanks Zac
I've been having dreams about a Vox AC4 I played the other day!
Great history thanks for the review. Also don't forget the "show" portion, monster amp on stage and the guitar is really goin through a "small" and or amp sim. Then there is the case that I've expereinced when the Fender amps are on stage but the speakers are disconnect and they are powering isolation box speakers behind the stage which are in turn mic'ed to the Front Of House PA, creating a quiet stage with IEM's and individual IEM mixes. A lot easier on the ears and looks the part for the audience.
You’re really doing a tremendous services with these videos. I love all of them. This one is especially profound as I have the most old school stripped down band you could imagine and many sound-men have a difficult time dialing us in correctly. Love the part about the Jazz Kits of the 50s/60s..
When I started gigging way back in the day, I played rock and metal but never could afford a stack, so I used what I could afford. Low wattage tube amps like Silvertone and I used an Ampeg Reverberocket for a decade. Just cranked and pushed em.
Always had a brutal sound. Still use the same low watt style amps today but I’m a country player these days. It all worked out.
Great segment. It wasn't just the in ears crowd who helped move things towards smaller amps. In the mid to late 80's bands with more than one singer playing in clubs also realized if they were gonna hear the monitors smaller were gonna have to be part of things.
Good insight!
I tune to C standard and use a Fender Rumble 40 on tour across the US. I never have a problem getting heard
Lovely opening playing. Gordon Kennedy is a legend. Oh to have his ear for an hour!
Due to the position where I stood on stage for years with me and my 100-watt stack 30 years ago my left ear is really damaged. I can really tell with earphones or earbuds. Sure was an experience to have your guitar screaming loud enough to feel in your chest though.
This a topic near and dear. Back when was younger man with a bigger ego I would scoff at anything that wasn’t a Marshall half stack. So heavy, rarely ever got the amp past 1.5 on the volume knob. For the last 10 years or so I’ve pretty much only used low wattage amps 15-20 watt range and I’ve settled on a 20 watt Friedman Dirty Shirley mini and a 1x12 cab and I’ve never been happier with my sound. Being told to turn up rather than down has been a nice change of pace!
Zac your playing continues to inspire. I have started waking up early and playing before work and it really changes my day.And on the drive in I run thru the circle of 5th and review my major and minor scales.Not enough time to play all I want but I'm gonna use all I can.Love your channel!
That's a great tip about 2 delays! Great overview of how amps evolved in the last several decades. Thanks!
Glad it was helpful!
So glad to hear when someone talks about Vox amps recognize mention Cliff and The Shadows, the importance they played (especially Hank Marvin) in the development of the AC15 to the AC30 and top boost development all prior to the beatles.
What a great video. I’m not always lucky enough to be afforded an amp microphone at gigs, but I’m thankful for the ability to attenuate my amp from 4 - 40w to suit the room without sacrificing any of that tube amp mojo.
Zac, the playing you did at the beginning is some of the prettiest tone you've recorded. My favorite tonalities are near the first position, because open strings, and near the center of the strings. Say 10th to 14th frets. I don't know why, but playing in that range is really pleasing to my ears. Using capo you kind of had both at the same time. I have a Shubb like you're using. I really like it, and I like my Paige too. Elliott is supposed to be the gold standard, but $$$.
I've only ever had three amps, only one was seriously powerful. I have a Classic 20 from the 90s that I need to get a checkup on. Great sounding amp except for the tube rattle. I never took it to a pro to have that addressed. But I'll never need more volume. Its 15 watts is more than enough to piss off the whole cul-de-sac.
Feel odd commenting on a few of your vids in one day, but this reminds me.
In 2015 I was playing a lot in Austin up and down 6th street with a band. I started out using an Orange Rockerverb 50 with a matching 2x12 cabinet which was heavy and not always liked on stage. It sucked moving it back to San Marcos as the sun was getting ready to come up, and it sucked having to the sound guy just turn me off. Eventually, by the time we started playing Stubbs, I moved to just playing what was my small amp. An Orange Rocker 30. It worked, it didn't sound as amazing on stage but in the house? That Orange Rocker 30 was the biggest sounding amp of anyone playing due to having great sound guys. I'd see these bands with Twins, Marshall 100 watts, and Sunn amps (at the time they were trendy in Austin) that you'd only hear near the stage versus my little Orange that was cranked up enough with any competent sound guy making it sound good followed by and easy loud in and out.
I have a Vox AC15TBX and the Rocker 30 these days, they sound great and are much easier to move around than my former Twins and Rockerverbs. Learned that small amps are great the hard way! At the most you just have to get over your drummer!
There used to be a pedal demo guy on TH-cam who told a story about finding a Fender Deluxe tweed amp in the dumpster of his apartment complex in the '90s. He said it looked ratty but sounded great, so he kept it. Good call.
I noticed springsteen still plays a Marshall half stack but the cabinet is pointing straight up in the air it's almost laying on its back. Love it
I worked in a popular rock and roll music store in the 70's. Then played in bands into the 80's. IMHO two things happened that changed stuff almost overnight. Crown DC300's and multiple Altec A7's or the JBL Pro series speakers. 3 or 4 DC 300's with 4 Altec A7's could provide a clean sound in a club with up to 3-400 people. "Rich" bands might have 4 bi amped Crown DC300's with sub woofers could easily fill a hall with 500 plus folks. Then prices went down and QSC and others started producing higher watts for less bucks. Then the hi tech speaker arrays went way down in price. Finally smart live venues would attract better bands for less money if they had a killer house PA. It got back breaking and expensive to have to hire roadies for bands that didn't have a record deal but were still a popular live draw.
The Capo is such a flexible tool, used way more on the electric guitar than is widely understood - I have heard some misguided souls claim the Capo is a 'crutch' for the novice, absolute rubbish! Nice presentation Zac, you continue to get smoother man.
Cool, thanks!
I don't understand the negativity that the capo gets. There's a video of Albert Collins, Roy Buchanan, and Lonnie Mack at Carnegie Hall. One poster on the video says "Collins and Mack are good but Buchanan is way better because he doesn't use a capo". That's a common mentality amongst guitarists that is baseless! The capo is only noticed by other guitarists in an audience. Capo's are really a songwriters best friend!
You're so right about the capo. My bass player always gives me a hard time and thinks it's a crutch. Nope - changes the voicing and can be inspiring as a result!
@@Creaulx capo argument is pointless
Cool Episode Zac!
Re Fender back in the day, Dick Dale & Leo Fender made for a formidable duo!
I played in indie rock bands in the very early 90s then started mixing live sound for other bands and grunge has a lot to answer for: bands playing to 20 friends midweek in a venue that could hold 500 with Marshall 100 watt heads and quadboxes and bassplayers with Ampeg 8x10 fridges. Just overkill.
Don’t see many guitar you tubers using capos these days. Love it!
I am not afraid.
It's my recollection that the Derek and the Dominoes album was recorded on Fender Tweed Champs, which opened my eyes to what a big sound could be gotten out of a "small" amp.
“Embrace the small amps”….. Hello FiveWattWorld😎 Great topic and insights, Zac, and outstanding playing as usual!
Many years ago , I had a sound guy in Toronto suggest side-washing my amplifier so I could run a louder stage volume without messing with the front of the house mix. Doesn't look as cool but it works great.
Very interesting. I am older and just a hobbyist, but I like the sound and size of small amps. I am becoming a fan of 10 inch speakers as well. I also agree about the Clapton show. I had terrible seats that were very expensive, but the sound was excellent and he is still quite good. Big fan of Vaughan as well.
My Buddy saw Cream in 67 at the Shrine in LA in 67. He said both Eric and Jack were playing through 2 Marshall stacks. No mikes. He said the PA for vocals were 2 Fender Dual Showman amps. He said it was kind of a joke because you could not hear ANY vocals. I know they were both playing through both Marshalls because I have a bootleg recording of Cream at the Ricky Tick in London I believe, and one of Claptons' Marshalls blows up. He says to the crowd that he is sorry that he is down to playing one amp. No wonder Ginger got so mad about the stage volume. Can you blame him.
Between in ear monitors and no stage monitors were stage monitors. Woodstock music festival changed everything! Mick Jagger and Jeff Beck came to the USA and found the big venues had added stage monitors. They could now hear the vocals and instruments, on stage! Some were just an extra set of PA speakers on each side of the stage pointing inward. Some were guitar amps in front of the stage to hear your guitar. The real change came when power amps and mixing boards got bigger. Then came stage monitors. 2-4 small cabinets in front of the stage with 12” or15” speakers with all of the band being miked and mixed to hear everyone! That was the norm until in ear monitors became the norm. A great show, as usual, Zac! I built my first monitor in the middle 70s and now I use in ear. Love from NW Colorado. Thanxz
I think one of the reasons for the evolution of smaller amps to bigger ones and then back to smaller ones is the role of distortion in popular music. The goal in '50s and much of the '60s was for the sound to be clean. Think of The Shadows as a prime example. The Beatles could be shrill, but didn't really deliberately aim for distortion until the "Rubber Soul" album. Being both clean AND "loud enough" demanded more power and headroom, and big speakers that could handle more power. As more and more music, and especially guitarists, aimed for a warm distorted tone, though, smaller amps became desirable again, because one could achieve those overdriven tones without having to aim for unreasonable volume. I know my band got asked to leave a gig because we were too loud, and I can't imagine we were alone in that. In the early '70s we started to see more amps having master volume controls. Heck, I bought my first "good" amp (a first-issue Peavey Classic) *because* it had a master volume. Again, the goal was to be able to get overdriven tones without requiring massive volume. And even though lower-wattage amps have once again become popular, even they have started to come with options for even *lower* power (1W anyone?).
@@jamesball5743 True, but the desire for small amps that could break up nicely at reasonable volumes was more a desire for that tone, rather than what the club could provide. Keep in mind that a Fender Twin was the go-to amp for a great many players for many years. Did they need that power? Nah. What they wanted was the ability to play clean at whatever volume was required. The first Mesa Boogie amps were expressly for the purpose of being able to dial in intense-but-smooth overdrive in a modest (1 x 12") package.
Beatles were using distortion overtly earlier, see “I Feel Fine” predating Rubber Soul. 🤷♂️🤔
@@joncole4918 Hmmmm, I dunno. Feedback? Yes, clearly. But nothing as overt as the fuzz bass on "Think for Yourself". Now, whether one wants to classify the shrill bite of a Rickenbacker through a Vox amp turned up loud as "distortion" is a matter for debate. It *will* have more harmonic content, but not really enough to qualify as distortion. Overdrive at best and even that is doubtful. Maybe "breakup" is a better descriptor. Certainly gave things a "live show" feel.
Speaking of low power, my Vox head can be turned down to 1/6th of a watt
@@wesleyzimmerman94 - My Laney Iron Heart can chase me out of the room using the
Great topic Zac, I've always wondered about the crazy rise of the listing prices of the Princeton amps and similar as opposed to the value of Twins and Super Reverb amps, which is steady for years.
All great information. I remember listening to Dr. Bob Heil telling stories of his early days of PA's and creating the big PA systems for The Who, etc. BTW, I think Bob Heil is the only sound guy that is in the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio for his innovative work in creating those big PA systems.......Thanks again Zac for educating us. ....Russell D.
Bob Heil was supposedly the first sound technician who created the “fold back” (monitor) system when The Who asked if they could “have the same sound as the audience directed at the band.” The idea was pretty radical at the time but he developed it, which started also the battle with feedback and the further development of separate monitor consoles and EQ.
I used to love the lush sound of my Twin Reverb back in the early 80’s … but I was carrying it into a club gig up the fire escape steps to the third floor.
I swung it around 90 degrees at the top of the steps - but didn’t move my legs. Heard a slight tear and felt a sharp pain … 2 hours later I was in an ambulance on the way to hospital. In those days, you had to lay on a flat surface with a disc injury - it took months … but 40 years on I’m still in [occasional] trouble with that same back injury.
I sold that Twin pretty quickly and bought the world’s greatest amplifier… a nice clean 1965 Deluxe Reverb for $100.
Never looked back.
The best amp! Sorry for the back incident.
I can pick up my Tonemaster Twin with one finger, Bob (and I am no weight lifter). You might give it a try. Fun to push some air without pushing vertebrae!
@@eastbaystreet1242 I really wish they’d been around in 1984 … I wouldn’t be crippled with back problems 😩
Crazy thing is, I never played a gig where I needed the power of a Twin Reverb …
Even more crazy is the fact I still have a blackface Pro Reverb - but it’s in a flight case and easier to move around.
@@bobhewitt5047 very cool amps. I just have the twin for fun. Don't even gig. But I do have a jam barn and the Twin can keep up with a loud drummer.
@@eastbaystreet1242 That’s an ideal situation - wish I had the same … it’s always been my dream to have somewhere for the band to get together.
What an amazing tone! Very "woody", almost a resemblance of an acoustic luth or something in the midrange. Wonderful!
I will say, most rock shows I go to in clubs over the last 5 years have been a drag because the amps aren't moving any air. Every once in a while I go to a small room and there's no mics on the amps and it's amazing. I love small amps for sure, but I keep hoping for a middle ground.
In my opinion, the best option is to go big. Nowadays there are dozens of really good transparent attenuators on the market. I actually prefer the tone of a 100W Marshall Super Lead with a Tone King Iron Man 2 knocking off a few dBs. It has all the mojo and fatness of the 100W Marshall, but you can get it in your bedroom if you want.
It is kind of rare. At the Dallas Guitar Show a few years back, Greg Martin had his Burst thru a Category 5 plexi-style amp and it was a little window into that old era where it physically hits you in the chest.
Led Zeppelin were probably the first band to start micing the whole band on their "Led Zeppelin 3" world tour which I saw in Auckland NZ in '74, Jimmy Page was using two Quads side by side with one angled to the other side of the stage and one facing forward and Marshall heads on both. It was the first time I had ever seen a studio mic up on a live drumkit as opposed to a single overhead.
Ok I’ll go practice! Great channel Zac
2000s Epiphone introduced 5W and I believe it started the low watt craze. Key to good sound is twin power tubes. Hard to find decent sound with one power tube. It will always sound thin. Lockard 8W is a good one. NOS. (I have two) Fargen Mini-Plex 12W two EL34s.
Another great guitar music history lesson! Thank you!
The development of live sound reinforcement, PA systems and stage monitoring meant that you no longer needed big backlines.
I started collecting small amps too late and missed the days of $100 BF Princeton .;) my current lineup is ‘64 DR, ‘64 DR RI, ‘62 BRown Face Princeton, ‘’57 Fender custom shop Pro RI 115, ‘57 Custom Shop RI Champ, ‘57 Custom Shop Deluxe head RI, and a Tone King mkII imperial . I have not problem buying amp, can never sell them ;)
16:30 unbelievable - the holy grail amp Billy Gibbons played on the first records. And it was in Texas. I wish i had a time machine now. Buy me a container full of that stuff.
Dude, Zac, since I discovered your channel (I have been following you since you where interviewing session musicians from the scene there in Nashville), I've been enjoying it with a cup of coffe almost every morning before getting down to work, just to relax and enjoy myself as a quiet guy who happens to play guitar, and enjoy every hair of geekness within the music realm (especially within the electric guitar territory). So I just wanted to express that. And also make you a humble request: please, do not change the format of the videos too much in behalf of the "youtube algorithm".
Pd.: If you end up doing so for monetary and economical reasons, I will not be the one to judge you, I get it. It is simply that I will miss the old times with Zac haha. Cheers from Barcelona, all the best!
I will do my best to keep doing quality, true to me, videos.
Another great episode! I remember when I got my first tube amp (Music Man 210/65 in early 90s) I thought it was too small. A few years later I upgraded to a silver face Pro Reverb then my dream amp a Super Reverb. But not only was it heavy I couldn’t get it past 2 without someone telling me to turn down. My biggest amp now is a 68 Custom Vibrolux and that’s the amp I should have had all along. I wish I could go back in a time machine when I could get a Blackface for $800 in the late 90s when I had the chance.
Always enjoy watching your videos brother. Good music makes a better world!🇺🇸👍🏻
You got that right!
Small amps got big for me as my back got older! In my younger days I drug around a black face Twin, in those days I thought the tone was worth the weight. When I got a little older I moved to a Vibrolux, smaller speakers, less weight..... these days I'm down to the Princeton, so much easier to lug in and out of a gig, and between it and the mic I use with it, I'm more than happy with the sound, especially when I have to heft it up into the truck at the end of the night!
This is the real reason. 😂 I started with a Bandmaster head and cabinet in the 70's, moved to a 1-12 combo in the 80's (which I still have). We lugged a heavy PA around with huge speakers. I have a Vox Pathfinder 15R for practice. If I were still gigging, I'd get a Deluxe Reverb Tonemaster. Good to hear you're still playing out, even with a bad back.
I have 5 marshalls from a 68 plxi 50 watt to early 100 w dsl but i still love my delux reverb 68 and 74 champ the champ is great for pedals and with whearhouse 8 inch speaker is a little monster
Great episode, Zac.I truly enjoy the information you share each week. (FWIW, I miss the extra bars in your opening instrument since you redid it. Always a joy to hear you play-even in the intro to each video.)
Thanks! Enjoyed the history lesson and really enjoyed hearing you play.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Great vid Zac! Always keeping your finger on the pulse of tone! My hearing may hold out longer after ditching Marshall half stack for blackface Princeton. The need for crazy stage volume with modern PA’s is a key change & sign of the time in the past 45 years
You must admit though, that it was GLORIOUS to play through a pair of AC30s!!
A very interesting discussion here. Of course, there will always be some who love the larger amps, such as J. Mascis.
Remember quite well the mid 80s in Nashville guitar was Peavey Special 130 x2, steel ran dual Nashville 400 rarely saw a Fender least where I played at or went
I love to learn about stuff like this! Thanks for the info and insight!!!
Great video Zac, really enjoyed it! I do wish I knew about the benefits of small amps sooner. Back in the day, I was playing gigs with a 60W Pignose tube amp. I used it with the internal 12" speaker as well as a 2x12" extension. It sounded fantastic but even with a pretty loud drummer, I never needed to turn it up past 3-4. I can only imagine the two Twins you played through!
Also, I finally bought a capo not too long ago - I just wanted to say thanks for your video a while back talking about them. I love it and it's really opening up my playing to some new things I never tried before.
Shout out to Corpus Christi Texas! I grew up there as well.
Jeff Beck is a guy who has made great use of small amps.I the 70's he used his Marshall stack but in the last 20 years or so he uses small Fenders set on kill to great effect.
Hey Zach..I have 5 Masco Map 15 ..bad ass..I have mesa and fender to but the little masco everyday and all my peeps want them..I think I got the market cornered..lol..Chet Aktins played it..one of his first amps...sounds so good 👍. Thanks for all the great videos. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your people!
Been using Fender Tonemaster Deluxe Reverb since they were introduced about 2 years ago. Great amp at only 23 pounds! I play in a bit of a punk style so I use Fulltone OCD for distortion. Never been happier‼️😎🎸
I have a Heathkit TA-17; a relic of the late '60s. It is considered a "combo" amp, and has separate input and preamp controls for mic *and* bass, in addition to input and controls for guitar. Far more power than I would EVER need, but the working assumption was that this would be the "sound system" for the entire band, so I guess having plenty of power and headroom would assure that all signal sources could be amplified as loudly as needed, but cleanly.
Did you build it yourself?
@@jktolford8272 Wish I had, but no. Bought it 2nd hand.
Great episode Zac. I currently own an eight watt, 1x12 Carr Mercury, and a twelve watt, 1x10 Three Monkeys Sock Monkey. Plenty for this old man.
I came of age in the 80s when PA systems must have been more advanced. I could never figure out why some bands had two drummers. Your video seems to answer that question. Thanks
Subscribed! Looking forward to hearing more of your content
Thank you!!!
I was shocked when I first saw Aerosmith in 1993. I had only seen metal bands before, and was used to seeing walls of Marshall stacks on stage. But Joe Perry and Brad Whitford each had small rigs, each containing about 6 different small combo amps, and their tone was amazing. I also remember seeing a funk band in a small club around that time, and it was the first time I had seen a guitar player used a 1 x 10" combo amp onstage instead of at least a half stack, and again, his tone was the best of all the bands that day.
Very well put together, thanks..
Corpus Christi? I'm from there. Graduated from Tuloso-Midway.
Great videos Zac. Keep up the good work.
Awesome!
Also I recommend the Suhr Hombre amp ! A great 20 watts
A small correction here, the EF86 isn't a "power tube", it's a small signal pentode, which Vox did use. Probably getting mixed up with the EL84 which was the output pentode Vox are mainly associated with.
Yes. Thank you
My 1959 Tweed deluxe is my go to amp. I have others including a big boy 95 watt Mesa Mk V, but not just because of the sound, I just wanna play the Deluxe.
Great video!
Great job telling the story, but pictures of what you are describing would bring it home a lot better. Thanks for sharing.
I don't like inserting photos in my show. It makes it less conversational.
Very nice playing at the beginning.
Thank you very much!
Went back and listened to the other speakers you tested on your mod vid. I like the celestion
blue's the best. The small amp is my choice these days. 2 Orange original Tiny Terror and Rocker 15 Terror, AC 10, Dr Z Zwreck jr love it, Engl FireBall 25, and My favorite Marshall JCM
800 2204 50 watt. Use an Ox to keep things under control. That Stapleton sounds great but there are none to be found. Another great vid that hit the mark.
Thanks. I'm interested in the direct conversation. I know a lot of guys have to do it, but still every great sound I've heard is a real amp somewhere in the chain for styles that aren't just either crystal clean or massively distorted.
My main gigging amp is a 20 Watt 1x12 65 Amps Tupelo, and to make the singer in the band happy, I just switched out the G12H30 Speaker to the less efficient G12-65. The other guitarist has been borrowing my 12 Watt 65 Amps Lil Elvis, because to fits better with the band that his Marshall like Victory Amp. In the 1980s in High School I had the 100 Watt Ampeg V4. My neighbors, ears and back are happier now.
I think, based on my experience with PAs, is that if your mic is going into the amp along with the instrument, then you need the amp in front of you to minimize feedback from the mic. Hence the labeling on the amp would be correct if you had it facing you from the back of the amp, like a current Blues Jr. Doesn’t make much sense otherwise.
I’m wondering what’s the more interesting/intelligent approach? The closed back/top mount design or the Fender open back/front mount? Or the true designs intention? Food for thought! Thanks Zac!
I've been using the HX Stomp to great effect. The princeton model is superb
I never realized why those earlier amps have the controls on the back side. I guess I never gave it much thought because it seems obvious now, lol. Great episode Zac. Happy Thanksgiving!
I remember seeing Cheap Trick in Newcastle. Australia and there was a huge bank of Marshall amps across the room but off to the side, I think Rick Nielsen? had two really nice little fenders. The Marshalls were a light show. Total crack up. :)
Really enjoy listening to your stories.
Thanks for listening
My favorite guitarist growing up was David Gilmour. I have learned the hard way that tone is in the hands.lol
Might be the wrong time and place for this question, but I figure someone here might know. I bought my beat-up '59 Bassman in '92. Got it for a song ($30 !!!) because one of the P10Rs was missing; blown I suppose. The Presence control, however, is wired such that turning it clockwise *reduces* treble content. I can't see any signs that the amp was ever modified before I got it, and have not tried any others from that production year, so I don't know if mine is anomalous. But my inference was that the objective of that era was to have as clean a tone as possible, so the Presence control was intended to rein in objectionable harmonic content. That would explain why it takes its feed from *after* the output transformer, so as to have an effect on *cumulative* harmonic distortion, and why turning it clockwise "tames" the sound more. So, am I on the right track, or have I been duped by an amp that is wired wrong?
I've got a little orange practice amp and a twin reverb but am looking for something in the middle. Thinking of getting a fender mustang 40 or a marshall 50. I'm not sure. Just want something to play the blues.
Zac, EF86 is a pre-amp tube. Vox uses EL84's for their power tubes.