Green Day bassist Mike Dirnt is said to have got his stage name from his habit of playing air bass with a pick and muttering ‘dirnt, dirnt, dirnt’. Once up and running in the renowned power trio, he found a superb, scooped tone that cut clearly through guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong’s riffs.

Shedding the rock-opera theatrics and dramatic orchestration of their albums of the 2000s, Dirnt, alongside Armstrong and drummer Tré Cool, took it back to their punk-rock roots as a trio in 2016 and effectively created the band's best album since – dare we say it – 1994's Dookie.

Featuring 12 tracks that could each be radio singles, Revolution Radio showcased Dirnt's signature, rabid-picking bass tone, which holds up the foundation whether he's riff doubling, chugging along with Cool's manic kick, or stepping out into the forefront with his speedy counter-melodies.

“For Revolution Radio it was simple,” Dirnt told Bass Player back in 2016. “Use the right bass and design the right amp, and Fender delivered on both counts.

“I knew the sound I wanted, I had it in my head, and I worked with Fender until we got it. In that sense, I guess it wasn't simple. The amp part took a lot of work.”

Working with Fender to build a rig that would satisfy his taste for a gritty yet balanced sound, Dirnt helped introduce the Bassman 800 series of amps, which produced his ideal tone while allowing him to ditch distortion pedals altogether.

“I wanted a distortion that would go anywhere from Norman Greenbaum’s Spirit in the Sky to Metallica’s Anesthesia Pulling Teeth, but I didn't want to use pedals because I'm sick of losing my signal through the chain. Fender built in vintage overdrive and preamp channels, and problem solved!

“The amp has a LOW pull-knob that drops my sound to a whole other world. It also has a clean top end that never gets muddy and enables you to hear the click from my pick. The results were so good I ended up using only the Bassman 800 and my signature Precision for that whole record.”

Some of your tone must come from your heavy picking style.

Absolutely; a lot of my sound comes from my wrists. It also has to do with Billie and I picking the same way together for so many years. He's a master of downstrokes, but I've come to be able to mimic his downstrokes perfectly using alternating up- and downstrokes. It prevents me from having pain in my wrists.

I see a lot of bass players trying to play our stuff using all downstrokes, and I think to myself, ‘You're going to ruin your arm.’

That actually happened to the first bass player in American Idiot on Broadway, He was playing all downstrokes because he thought I did, and he hurt his arm. I told him, ‘Naw, man, that's Dee Dee Ramone, not me!’

How is your bass playing different on Revolution Radio?

I caught myself wandering more and ending up somewhere new, from riff to riff. I deviated a lot throughout the album – more than ever before. I was taking a sort of John Entwistle approach – not that I could ever play like him.

At this point I don't question myself. When your arm and your wrist are bouncing along and you're not thinking about it, that's when the magic happens.

You went back to recording as a trio. Did that give you more freedom?

Playing in a trio is great for a lot of reasons, but mainly because it's easier to call band practices! What I like most about it is the opportunity to carry a full load and to be able to play a part that picks up the slack rhythmically and harmonically.

It doesn't matter if I'm playing an intricate run, or even the little eyebrow-raise I do on When I Come Around. Those are just my personal touches. And if those touches are hooks, that's all the better. Good songwriting to me is like sticking your hand into a tackle box: just hooks everywhere.

One of the most ambitious tracks is the near-seven-minute Forever Now.

That song comes from us knowing an album should have a journey. A lot of our favorite records throw the kitchen sink out of the bedroom window, and we wanted that. Recording a song like that in the studio, you have to let out the little kid in you and picture yourself doing cartwheels onstage.

It takes the band back to your early punk roots. Was that intentional?

It wasn't a conscious decision; I think getting together when we were inspired led to everything falling into place naturally, and the results were explosive.

It's the picking style; it's Tré riding on top of the beat, and all of us driving at full speed. We just plugged in and let it rip, which is what gives the album a punk-roots feel.

What is it?

The Fender Bassman is one of only a handful of historic amplifiers that have shaped the sound of the electric guitar as we know and love it. Since its release in 1952, the unmistakable throaty authority of the tweed 4x10 combo amp has had top players including such luminaries as Michael Bloomfield, Buddy Guy, Paul McCartney, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Eric Clapton enthralled.

The amp was so ubiquitous that Marshall used its two-channel, four-input design as a jumping off point for other classic amps in our hypothetical historic handful, starting with the JTM45.

Ken Bran leaned heavily into the Bassman’s circuit, albeit with UK valves and a UK-voiced tone stack, achieving a more aggressive midrange than Leo Fender would have ever allowed to leave the Fullerton factory. However, there are other things in heaven and on earth that Leo Fender may never have dreamed of, and perhaps the technological possibility of a fully digital Bassman may be one of them.

Fender has set a high bar here to produce a perfect replication of the original Bassman with modern enhancements. To that end, behold a beautifully lacquered tweed cabinet made of lightweight solid pine, loaded with a handsome set of grey-blue enamelled Alnico Jensen speakers, all topped off with a familiar chrome faceplate.

Visually, this amp is every bit as believable and authentic looking as its valve counterpart, save for the digital goodies on the back panel. Pick it up, however, and it’s a very different story: it’s so light you’d think they forgot the speakers. Lightweight is a very nice by-product of a valve-less, D2- design, not least for the ageing rockers among us. But that’s all well and good only if it sings!

Usability and sounds

Firing up in standby mode, the corresponding jewel light changes colour from amber to green to indicate the amp is ‘warmed up’ (read: booted up) and we begin plugged into the Normal channel’s low-gain input with all the tone controls in the mid position. This neutral start point helps us establish what the cab and speakers are delivering.

Sat beside this new model here in our testing room we have a genuine vintage tweed Bassman as reference. We’re immediately impressed by the Tone Master’s valve-like top-end shimmer with a Strat. The ability to dial in a dose of spring reverb is a welcome feature never before afforded to this amp model. It’s a great-sounding emulation of a spring, though we noted that it didn’t perhaps extend to the fully wet drip some valve-driven reverbs exhibit.

Overall, tonally, the Tone Master has more brightness available than the original, which sounds darker and woolier with matched settings. That said, we actually enjoyed the slightly more articulate top-end available from the Tone Master.

While the vintage Bassman power stage starts to sag and saturate subtly at volumes over 3, the Tone Master still pumps out bold power, albeit with a valve-like compression that begs for a few heavy-duty Stevie Ray Vaughan riffs.

A big advantage of the digital version is the ability to juggle the output power against the gain control to achieve your desired blend of saturation at any volume level. Further tailoring of the output by way of the back-panel mounted Vintage-Tight switch brings a touch of focus and definition, more useful at higher volumes.

The original Bassman is known for getting along with all types of guitars and pedals, and this modern counterpart is a chip off the old block. It’s gratifying to learn that the ability to jumper the two channels together via a patch cable has been replicated here, allowing for all the tone-blending capability that brings.

The smooth character of the overdrive available belies its digital architecture and would surely outwit many valve purists in a blind test. The integration of an effects loop is a great addition to this amp, allowing for a connection to your time-based effects.

The Bright channel’s normal gain input reveals the extra potential of the Bassman to saturate in all kinds of pleasing ways, and this new model does exactly that. It’s a kind of classic overdrive mostly heard on the ’60s and ’70s recordings of the American blues greats, a softer midrange roar without the more pointed mids of the UK amps.

We had a chance to use this amp on stage for a theatre gig and it was immediately loved by the sound technician who got a great front-of-house sound by simply plugging his XLR lead into the cab IR output, sparing time for mic’ing up and the sound-spill that inevitably brings.

A difference in response between the Class D power and a valve power section could be marginally felt, though not particularly heard. The spread of the four speakers provided a gratifying dispersal of sound that filled just the right amount of stage.

Verdict

In many ways, this amp is far more versatile than its valve counterpart and we found it had much wider tonal versatility, too, especially thanks to the reverb that surely every original Bassman owner would put on their wishlist.

Digital power has come a long way, and certainly at lower volumes this amp can behave just as you might expect a tube amp to. It may be argued that it doesn’t collapse under sound pressure exactly like valves, but this isn’t perhaps an amp that will be run on 11 in any case. The authentic pine and tweed cabinet, meanwhile, is certainly everything it should be, with its broad sound dispersal.

It’s worth noting that for an extra $600/£640 (and an extra 9.54kg!) Fender’s all-valve version is available, but you won’t have access to the cab IRs, reverb or power scaling we find on the Tone Master.

Guitar World verdict: Fender has produced a fantastic‑sounding, lightweight amp for stage, studio and home that brings the Bassman tone into the digital age. What’s more, the package is largely indiscernible from its mid-century forebear: this amp combines vintage sound and looks with digital features and convenience.

Specs

PRICE: $1,499/£1,429 (inc cover)
ORIGIN: China
TYPE: Digital combo amplifier
VALVES: None
OUTPUT: 45W (Class D) with power-scaling down to 0.5W
DIMENSIONS: 235 (w) x 269 (d) x 569mm (h)
WEIGHT (kg/lb): 14.5/32
CABINET: Lightweight solid pine w/ lacquered tweed covering
LOUDSPEAKER: 4x 10” Jensen P-10R Alnico speakers
CHANNELS: Normal and Bright channels, each with dual inputs
CONTROLS: Normal Volume, Bright Volume, Treble, Bass, Middle, Presence, Reverb
FOOTSWITCH: 2-button footswitch included
ADDITIONAL FEATURES: Effects loop, Vintage/Tight switch, line output w/ level control, 3-way IR cabinet simulation, 6-way power attenuation switch, USB port for firmware updates
OPTIONS: None
RANGE OPTIONS: The Tone Master range includes: Princeton Reverb (£829), Deluxe Reverb (£999), Deluxe Reverb Blonde (£1,059), Twin Reverb (£1,129), Twin Reverb Blonde (£1,309) and Super Reverb (£1,459)
CONTACT: Fender

Hands-on videos

Guitarist

Fender

Brett Kingman

• Fender Tone Master Princeton Reverb review

Fender has lifted the curtain on its biggest Tone Master Pro update yet, ushering in a range of functional and tonal tweaks that make the firm’s flagship digital amp modeler multi-effects more competitive than ever.

When it hit the scene last year, the Tone Master Pro quickly became one of the stand-out models in the fiercely contested amp modeler market, and was catapulted to the front of the race alongside the likes of the Line 6 Helix and Neural DSP Quad Cortex.

In some regards – such as UI and usability – it even surpassed the established competition, but despite its impressive early advances, there were still a few gripes that held it back, and prevented it from becoming an all-round all-in-one rig for electric guitar and bass guitar players.

The new update looks to fix that, though, adding for the first time since the Tone Master Pro’s unveiling dedicated bass amp models, bass cabs, and bass effects.

Specifically, Fender has added the ’59 Bassman Custom and Fender Super Bassman amps, with that latter amp divided into Vintage and Overdrive options to harness its two distinct channels.

Not only that, the update also adds the Rampage Blueline – an unofficial model of the Ampeg SVT Blue Line – and the ’66 Flip Top – which is seemingly based on the Ampeg B-15 – to its new bass amp roster.

Joining the above are five bass cabs – 4x10 ‘59 Greenback, 4x10 Bassman Pro Neo, 8x10 Bassman Pro Neo, 8x10 Rampage Bass and 1x15 Bassman Pro Neo – and the pedal’s first Bass Overdrive.

Naturally, Fender is keen to stress the significance that this update will have on bassists, and the firm has no doubt done a fine job of (finally) catering to amp-less bassists who no longer play through physical amps.

Having said that, it’s certainly no secret that Bassman amps have also been widely adored by electric guitarists, too, so the arrival of these Bassmans seem to effectively and cleverly cater to a wider pool of players.

Speaking of guitarists, Fender has also expanded its effects pedal arsenal with both the Greenbox 10 and Mythic Drive II – two new units inspired by arguably the most famous overdrive pedals of them all: the Ibanez Tube Screamer and Klon Centaur.

A Stereo Harmonic Tremolo inspired by 1960s ‘brown panel’ amps, a Virtual Capo that allows for transpositions up or down 12 semitones, and a Glooper – a brand-new effect type that doesn’t take inspiration from any existing pedal – also make the cut.

In practice, the Glooper works by creating several simultaneous loops at different speeds, which in turn can be adjusted, pitch shifted, frozen and reversed.

All of these new bells and whistles are also joined by other performance upgrades, including a new sought-after Scenes function (which behaves similarly to Line 6 Snapshots), improved preset import/export abilities, and more.

It seems that the Tone Master Pro platform has been robustly established now, and has reached a point where the Big F might start looking for new ways to grow its amp modeler lineup.

Could these software advances be foreshadowing a downsized Tone Master modeler at some point in the future? We wouldn’t bet against it.

The free Tone Master Pro update is available now.

Visit Fender to find out more.

Boss has unveiled a comphrensive firmware update for its flagship touchscreen GX-100 amp modeler multi-effects pedal. It offers “a bevy of new features and enhancements” for “endless tonal possibilities” via new amps and seven fresh effects.

The touchscreen-bestowed amp modeler was hailed as Boss’ “leanest, meanest multi-effects floorboard yet” in GW's 2022 review. Two years later, it’s been given some TLC to keep it competitive in an ever-growing market that includes the Quad Cortex and Fender's Tone Master Pro.

A total of 32 Augmented Impulse Response Dynamics (AIRD) amplifiers and over 170 Boss effects lie under its hood. The three new additions to its guitar amp roster are “driven by the same innovative MDP technology” of the firm's X Series of pedals.

The trio are all high-gain amps – the X-Optima, X-Titan, and X-Ultra – which boast an “extended dynamic response that’s not possible with traditional analog designs”.

Version 2.0 also rolls out six new bass amp models, with “vintage classics and modern favorites” included. The Dark DRV models Darkglass' B7K preamp, the Silver Tube mimics a Fender Bassman, and the Solid Stack takes inspiration from a Gallien-Krueger 800RB head.

Seven more effects have been thrown into the mix, too, including the DS-1 Distortion, SD-1 Super Overdrive, and the Humanizer wah pedal.

Boss has also worked hard to provide an “enhanced experience” via expanded options for onboard speaker cabinets, streamlined workflow improvements and eight new presets that showcase the new features.

And, as an added bonus, the Boss Tone Studio app for MacOS/Windows now allows users to download Livesets and share patches with the Boss community. The new firmware follows a major update for the GX-100's sibling, the GT-1000. Now, several of those benefits have been extended to this more affordable version.

Head to Boss for more information about the update and how to download it.

Fender’s ongoing summer showcase has continued apace with the unveiling of the Bassman effects pedal family, which has been designed specifically for bass guitar players.

Comprising five stompboxes that cover all, erm, bases, the Bassman pedal lineup notably takes inspiration from the vintage amps from which it got its name, using both digital and analog circuitry to deliver Driver, Fuzz, Delay, Reverb and Compressor tools.

As Fender explains, “Drawing inspiration from the original tube amp line that laid way for Fender’s sub-sonic signal processing, the Bassman pedal line hosts a collection of meticulously crafted analog and digital circuits all curated from the ground up for bass-centric tonal expansion.”

We imagine the Bassman range will prove to be particularly tempting to those looking to get into the world of bass effects, or players who are looking to expand their existing pedalboard on a budget.

The compressor, fuzz and drive units all weigh in at $99.99, making them rather keenly priced indeed.

Electric guitar players will be more than familiar with the likes of JHS Pedals’ $99 3 Series, and Walrus Audio’s $99 Fundamentals catalog, so a collection of affordable, no-nonsense workhorse pedals, designed specifically for bassists, that can cover a wave of must-have tones is a smart move.

To our eyes, these could very much be Fender’s bass guitar answer to those ranges – perhaps they spotted a gap in the market here? – especially since all pedals arrive with the same uniform control configurations.

To that end, the delay and reverb units are slightly more expensive at $199, but that increased cost comes as a result of the various DSP algorithms that have been “tailored specifically for bass instruments” and loaded into the pedals.

As mentioned, all pedals are the same size, and feature the same control layout comprising three parameters, two toggle switches and one bypass footswitch.

Level and Blend controls are consistent across the fuzz, delay and compressor pedals, which otherwise have effect-specific knobs to round out their parameter set.

As for switches, the Bassman Fuzz has a Voice toggle that goes between vintage fuzz and a touch-sensitive modern alternative, as well as a three-position Focus switch that pinpoints which frequencies are fuzzed.

Elsewhere, the Driver has a two-position voice option that goes between modern distortion and a pushed Bassman tone, and a Comp switch, while the Compressor pedal has Attack and Release toggle switches.

Controls are equally intuitive for the Delay – Time, Level and Feedback knobs, as well as a Low Cut switch, and a toggle for analog or digital-inspired delays – and the Reverb, which offers Time, Level, Low Cut, Type and Pre-Delay parameters.

The Bassman pedal range will become available later this year.

Keep your eyes peeled on Fender for more details in the meantime.

Fender has been having a busy week, having already launched its first-ever tweed Tone Master amp, the Micro-sized Telepath wireless guitar system, and a suite of experimental American Performer Timber models.

On the Squier front, it's also radically expanded its Affinity series of electric guitars, and debuted the range's first six-string Jazz Bass VI.

Fender has expanded its guitar amp range by unveiling its first-ever tweed Tone Master model, the ‘59 Bassman.

The Big F’s Tone Master collection was first introduced back in 2019, and has since been steadily bolstered to include digital repros of a handful of the firm’s most cherished amps, from the Princeton Reverb to the Twin Reverb and Super Reverb.

The objective for the range is simple: to revive classic Fender amps in a modern form by ditching traditional tubes in favor of DSP modeling, in order to deliver like-for-like historic guitar tones at a fraction of the price (and weight) of their source material.

So far, Fender’s attention has been almost exclusively tuned to Black Panel amps, with only a couple of Blonde-finished models proving to be exceptions to the black-on-black rule. Now, the firm is finally venturing into its back catalog of tweed amps.

It’s a great way to start, too. The Bassman is up there with the likes of the Twin Reverb as one of Fender’s most iconic guitar amps, having first arrived as a bass guitar amp – hence the name – in the ‘50s.

The 4x10” ‘59 model, specifically, is an especially sought-after vintage amp, and is widely regarded as the best-sounding Fender amp of all time.

So, now it’s back, but it’s back with a big twist: it uses huge digital processing power to model the original’s circuitry and 45-watt power output, as well as a class D power amp to achieve “the headroom and dynamics of the tube amp.”

Given it’s a Tone Master amp, the ‘59 Bassman has been given some 21st century tweaks in the form of an Impulse Response XLR line output for cab sims, a mute switch, an output power selector for full power and five attenuated settings, and a lightweight pine cabinet.

There’s also a convolution spring reverb, a Vintage/Tight switch for a smoother bass response, and a post-power amp effects loop. The original’s 4x10” configuration is honored here, too, with Fender utilizing a quartet of Jensen P-10R speakers that promise plenty of sparkle and touch sensitivity.

“The results,” Fender says, “is pure Bassman tone that’s virtually indistinguishable from the original.”

Of course, the Tone Master ‘59 Bassman isn’t only significant for the amp it revives via digital electronics, but also for the precedent it sets.

Five years on from the Tone Master's debut, we finally have our first tweed amp, and it stands to reason that more tweed amps will follow suit. What could be next? Tone Master Silverface amps? Some Tone Master heads? We certainly wouldn’t rule it out.

Indeed, Fender’s Justin Norvell spoke of the range's bright future in a recent interview with Guitar World, during which he said: “I think that we’re not done on the amplifier side of the Tone Master – we’re gonna continue to do [head/combo format] amps, including tweeds, on that platform, as well.”

The Tone Master ‘59 Bassman will be available in October for $1,499.

Visit Fender to find out more.

Gilby Clarke has launched a Reverb store featuring a “cache of beautiful gear the guitarist used in the studio and on tour with Guns N' Roses, Heart, and more.”

The guitarist – who replaced Izzy Stradlin in GNR during the Use Your Illusion tour in 1991 – has listed over 60 items, including mint condition guitars, guitar amps, and stomped-on effects pedals.

Two standout listings include a custom-made ESP Telecaster-style guitar, modeled after Clarke's much-loved '68 Telecaster, and a pristine condition 1975 Gretsch White Falcon. Notably, the ESP was used by Clarke during his Guns N’ Roses and Slash's Snakepit days, and also starred in the former's performances of Wild Horses.

There's another Snakepit axe in the form of an ESP Custom Shop Hybrid II that Clarke played on the Late Show with David Letterman. It features a bridge humbucker and a “typical Fender-style” neck pickup. 

“It's an interesting combo,” says the listing, “but it sounds great.”

There are several Fender amps listed, including a Deluxe combo and multiple Bassman heads, though the one that Clarke used during Heart's '03 tour has already sold. 

18 pedals had also been put up for sale, but they have already been sold. The list included a Dunlop 535Q Cry Baby, an Electro-Harmonix Screaming Bird, and a Coffin Case BDFX-1 Blood Drive “used on many recordings in Gilby's studio.” 

If blowing your life savings on a '70s Thinline Tele isn't your bag, cheaper listings still available include a Kustom '72 Coupe ($690) – because who doesn't want an amp on wheels?! – and a signed poster ($400).

Check out the full listings over on Reverb. 

Kiko Loureiro also recently opened up a Reverb store to sell off a load of his Megadeth equipment.

DSM Humboldt has announced the Simplifier X – a pedal it’s calling “the most advanced analog amp simulator ever made”.  

A zero-watt all-analog dual pedal amp, it features 20 control knobs and six switches for a wealth of tone-shaping possibilities. Inside the pedal are two independent amplifiers, each featuring their own inputs, outputs, preamps, power amps, cabinets, and effects loops .

Amp B takes the same all-analog and natural feel of its Simplifier MK-II 'amp in a box' pedal, while Amp A offers higher gain versions of its counterpart. 

Of the preamps, the 'AC Brit' minimizes the Mid Control for a Vox AC30-styled tone, with the 'American USA' honoring a '59 Fender Bassman, and the 'MS Brit' replicating a hot-rodded Marshall Plexi. 

The pedal can be run in full parallel, creating a stereo live rig within a pedal, while the A/B amp and stereo cab option allows users to toggle between the two amplifiers, utilizing different cab and effects loop configurations on each side for a “fuller, 3D sound”. 

There is also a dual mono option, with two different amp/cab/effects setups available at the press of its A/B switch.  

“We know it can look a bit intimidating at first glance,” says Daniel Schwartz, Engineering Director and Founder of DSM Humboldt. “But, if you know how to use an amp, you'll intuitively know how to use every feature.”

He's got a point. Each side has preamp parameters for Bass, Mid, Treble, and Gain, with power amp controls for Resonance, Presence, and Power Drive, alongside switches for flicking between different preamp and power amp options. 

That accounts for 14 of the knobs and four of the pedal's switches. The remaining controls, again mirrored on each side for each amp, are for tweaking Reverb, Speaker Color, Cab Type, and Master Level. Not so scary after all. 

Its full stereo reverb offers a trio of styles – Room, Plate, and Long – and each side can be tweaked independently. There is also a handy mono loop switch for applying mono effects to both channels, without being restricted to the full parallel mode. 

Despite that overwhelming first glance, the pedal is designed for user-friendly versatility. As such, the Simplifier X also benefits from zero latency, a menu-free design, an “ultra-realistic sound and feel” and a transparent, “what you see is what you get” delivery.  

It's worth noting the Simplifier X is going up against some serious competition in the pedal amp market, and will have to contend with some established favorites – including Strymon's beloved Iridium and Universal Audio's Edge-approved range of Amp Emulator pedals.

It looks to have features and tones on its side, though, and enough analog bells and whistles to tempt players and set it apart. Plus, “the most advanced analog amp simulator ever made”? We're intrigued.

The pedal is encased in a heavy-duty anodized aluminum case with a sandblasted, frosted black finish. It’s available for a discounted release price of $469 and will later rise to $499. 

Head over to DSM Humboldt for more details. 

The Boss IR-2 takes the guitar amp and speaker emulation facility of Boss’s twin-footswitch IR-200 and makes it available in a compact pedal format.

Plenty of players have got used to working without amps these days, with the consistent quality of sound and sheer convenience of digital winning out in many situations. If we’re talking convenience, few amp modelers come close to the practicality of this new IR-2 – the amount of functionality Boss has packed into a Compact series pedal is just staggering.

What you’re getting here is a pedal that can supply the signature sound of 11 different amp types – a mix of some named favourites and some more generic Boss creations – each of which with an associated cab IR from Celestion Digital, although you can load alternative IRs into the pedal using the free, dedicated IR-2 IR Loader app for Mac OS and Windows. 

Each amp can be adjusted with Level, Gain, Middle, Treble and Bass knobs, and an ambience knob adds in a choice of either Room, Hall or Plate Reverb. Connection is via a mono input with a choice of mono or stereo output, and there’s also a mono or stereo send and return loop so that you can bring other pedals into the signal path after the amp emulation.

While the default option is connection to a line-level device, there is a range of options for calibrating the IR-2 for optimum use with different amps. For a bit of silent practice, there’s also a mini-jack stereo headphone socket. Besides loading IRs, a USB input allows the pedal to function as an audio interface so you can easily connect to a DAW for recording.

The amps are tactile to play through, nicely dynamic and react well to boost pedals placed in front. The 11 amps have been chosen to cover a range of musical genres, and the named models (Fender Twin and Bassman, Vox AC30, Marshall ‘Plexi’, Soldano SLO-100 and Mesa/Boogie Rectifier) would probably be enough for many players.

However, there are also some really good tones delivered by the proprietary models as Boss uses its Multi-Dimensional Processing (MDP) to positive effect for crunch and high-gain sounds that retain great string clarity.

These models are useful for live scenarios because you get instant access to two channels, each with a different amp or the same amp with altered settings (perhaps more gain), which are toggled between with the footswitch (a press and hold is needed for bypass). There’s also a provision to add an external footswitch for the channel switching.

If you don’t want amp and cab together then you’re able to turn the other on or off. For example, you may wish to turn the cab off so you can use an amp’s sound as a drive pedal in front of your amp, or perhaps use the Celestion IRs to complement another favoured amp‑in-a-box pedal.

Specs

• PRICE: $199 / £179
• ORIGIN: Malaysia
• TYPE: Amp & cabinet simulation pedal
• FEATURES: Buffered bypass
• MODES: Clean, Twin, Tweed, Diamond, Crunch, Brit, Hi-Gain, Soldano, Brown, Modded, Rectifier
• CONTROLS: Ambience, Level, Gain, Bass, Middle, Treble, Mode selector, Bypass footswitch
• CONNECTIONS: Standard input, standard outputs (A/Mono, B), standard CH Select input, standard Send, standard, Return, Phones, USB
• POWER: 9V battery or 9V DC adaptor 160 mA
• DIMENSIONS: 73 (w) x 129 (d) x 59mm (h)
• CONTACT: Boss

Justin Norvell has one of the biggest jobs in the guitar industry. Put simply, he is the person who decides what Fender does – or does not – make.

He started where we all did, as a player. For Norvell, though, that hobby has turned into a responsibility: one that sees him tasked with holding up the legacy of Fender’s historic and commercial position as the world’s number one guitar firm.

As EVP of Product, he reports directly to FMIC CEO Andy Mooney and is therefore the de facto guardian of the list of stars written in the brain of every guitarist: the Strat, the Tele, the Mustang, the Jazzmaster, the Fender Deluxe, the Twin, the Bassman – the list runs on and on.

Having begun life at Fender in a customer service role in 1996, Norvell worked his way up to running the Squier line in 2005 and eventually, took over all Fender product, in 2018.

From the lavish recreation of the Mike McCready Strat, through to the (as he explains below) somewhat fraught development and launch of the firm’s game-changing Tone Master Pro modeling amp last year and even its burgeoning effects line – none of it happens without Norvell’s say so.

As such, his decisions have the ability to make or break the central pillar of the awe-inspiringly vast Fender Musical Instruments Corporation – a business worth somewhere between $2-3 billion dollars. 

It’s going well – and, 70 years on from the launch of the Strat, the Fender of 2024 remains in rude health, but it’s not been without challenge. Since 2020 alone, Fender has weathered the vast peaks and troughs of the pandemic playing boom, navigated the worst supply chain crisis since WWII and undertaken it’s biggest and most complex product launch yet, with the arrival of the aforementioned Tone Master Pro.

On top of all of that, we are, collectively, at a huge crossroads in technology and music-making approaches, too. When a player owning an amp is no longer a given and, nor for that matter, is jamming with other people – or even a human writing music. 

So how is Fender dealing with all of the above? And what does Norvell think will happen next? 

We’ve got more than a few questions for him. So step up for a guided tour around the mind of one of the guitar industry’s biggest decision-makers – from the Tone Master Pro’s development and what is next for the lauded modeler, to the trouble with tubes, price rises and why, even as Fender celebrates the Strat’s 70th anniversary, the longevity of the world’s most iconic electric guitar is not necessarily “a given”...

You've been with Fender for almost 30 years. When it comes to deciding the guitars and products that actually make it into production at Fender, how has that changed in your time at the company?

“I would say the aperture has widened and we're more cognizant of pacing and timing... I've been at Fender 28 years and it was a much narrower berth [when I started]. We were mostly doing Strats and Teles. I think there was one Jazzmaster in the lineup, no Mustang at the time and amps were all tube amps. 

“Looking at the makeup of our amp department is probably the most analogous way [to illustrate how] things have changed. Now it's not even, ‘Oh, do we do a digital amp? Do we do an analog amp?’ 

“The way that people play now, the [whole] idea of an amp – and even the idea of being in a garage band and getting together and playing – for a lot of people, that's probably not the norm anymore. It's more people in front of a laptop sending stuff back and forth.” 

GarageBand on the laptop…

“Even at the highly professional level. And so, now it’s thinking about use cases and evolving. You can keep that Deluxe Reverb tone, but it gets delivered differently – in a way that's more [suited to] the usage of a player. 

“It’s like how people say that when rail travel ended, and air travel came in, the rail companies could have owned all the airlines if they thought they were in the transportation business – but they were in the ‘rail business’, so they were thinking smaller.

“So, yes, we make Stratocasters, we make Telecasters, we make these iconic things, but we're really about serving musicians – and form factors change, delivery systems change. 

“We're not overly precious and that's one of the things that helps retain relevance as you go forward. You don’t want just a ream of people playing Buddy Holly and that's what a Fender is for. Buddy Holly's fantastic, but it needs to be this thing that keeps moving.”

Tackling the Tone Master Pro

This brings us on to the headline product for Fender of the last year, the Tone Master Pro modeler. It was in development (and kept secret) for years. How did it come together – and how did you feel in the weeks running up to the launch? 

“It was probably four or five [years in the making]. It started when we did the first Tone Master amps and digitized the tube amp [with the Twin]… There was a lot of trepidation there, even back in those days, of like, ‘How is this gonna be received?’ 

“These are sacred, holy items and I think breaking through that and being well-received gave us a boost of confidence. We knew that the bedrock of our tones [on the TM Pro] would be these iconic amps. 

“We’re uniquely positioned because a lot of the products in this world are tech companies, basically. The vehicle is the product, whether it's Kemper, Helix, or any of them – those are tech companies, and then they fill it with the sounds of amps. 

“But we are one of the amp companies and we have those people in our midst – and they are next door to the person that's doing the [digital] wireframe. When we come up with a sound, we can A/B it against the real thing right there – and have the analog engineer and the digital engineer next to each other. So we knew that was a distinct advantage of ours.”

What did you want to do different with the Tone Master Pro?

“We definitely didn't want to just enter that market and be a ‘me too’ product or just be like, ‘And now here's Fender’. One of the things that we wanted to do was democratize it. 

“The idea of a Fender amp, especially a black panel or tweed, is ‘it's five knobs and the truth’. It's not a ton of dip switches and knobs. It's intuitive and user-friendly. And our goal was not to ‘take out’ the other [modeling] companies. It was really to expand that market.

“Because there is a sect of players that are highly technical and they get all into it. And then there's this other massive audience that looks at that and goes, ‘That looks really cool. But it's intimidating and it's probably too complicated for me.’ 

“We were like, ‘Could we bring Fender simplicity to this and open up the market, so that it grows the whole thing?’ So I think that was a big charge of ours. 

“But yeah, I mean, in the weeks up to it, of course, we [were nervous]. It's probably the biggest product we've ever done. It was so dense, it was so deep. And it got redone a bunch of times over those four years.” 

What kind of setbacks did you face in developing the Tone Master Pro?

“It wasn't just four years of straight development. We used AKM [digital to analog converter chips] for our codecs, then the AKM factory caught fire in Asia and they stopped making them; so we had to switch something else.

“Then, in the chip shortages of the pandemic, we had to switch a couple of different things and relay our boards. There was a lot of it. It was almost like an action film, you had to be like completely, ‘Okay, now what?’ when we were having to navigate this course. 

“But in the end [it’s worth it because], it's a platform, not a product. I have great tube amps that I love – but you get a tube amp, and that's what it is. Maybe the cabinet dries out, maybe the speaker plays in and gets sweeter. But it is what it is. And it's going to do that forever. 

“The Tone Master Pro will continue to have firmware updates and add features. If you bought one this year, in two years, your product will get better and it will do more – and that's super-exciting.”

Expanding the Tone Master 

What can we expect from the Tone Master Pro updates down the line? I know there's talk of an app at some point. 

“Yeah. I mean, if you just look at a very base level, there's different delivery systems [in terms of the physical unit]: is there an expanded one? Is there a smaller footprint version? Is there a native version? You know, all of these things. You end up with a modular beast. 

“And then, of course, there's more voices, more sounds, more tones, all that stuff, but then there's a list that's sheets and sheets long of new things that can continue to be added. So, right now, we're kind of battling through prioritizing what those things are going to be.

“We're also starting to hear, now that they're out there in the wild, what players want. And so really, we want to make this community and we want to crowdsource what's important to people, instead of just giving them what we think. Whether that’s being able to do rooms and stuff like that, and, you know, a bunch of different things…”

The Tone Master Pro also marked the first time that EVH Gear agreed to license a digital model of its amps. What were those conversations like?

“It was important to us. EVH's tones are always the most sought after on anything that approximates [that time]. Whether it's the ‘brown sound’ or other, later sounds, like the 5150s. And that, we felt, would be something that as a benchmark, people could really go, ‘OK. They did the work.’

“It was a very big thing, and I think it opens a door for EVH [Gear] as a brand, to kind of step into the digital realm and I think that that's something that's very interesting, but of course, the camp is very protective, and has extremely high standards. So it's gotta be great. It's not just like, ‘Hey, we're friends. Put my name on this.’ That's not how it works. So it was a definite back and forth, a lot of listening and styling and tweaking.”

“[But the effort upfront has been worth it]. I think that's been an awesome thing, whether it's Satriani on The Howard Stern Show or just seeing this pop up fast [elsewhere]. It's not having to do six months or a year in someone's home environment till they feel confident with it.

“They don't have to spend six months programming it arduously in some dark room. Literally, people would get one, and in 48 hours they were using it and had dialed in the sounds they needed. So I think that that's huge.”

It's telling, as well, that some of those players are tube devotees and this is the first time that they've really taken out a modeler. It’s a crossover point.

“I think it's like when I talked about different vehicles or vessels. It's not binary now: it's not, ‘You play this or you play tube amps.’ It's, ‘What works for this use case, or in this environment?’

“Like, ‘I'm going to do this short run of dates that are fly dates, and I'm going to take this thing with me. But when I do my major thing, I'm going to use my tube amps. Or if I'm demoing, I use this thing, because I can quickly dial stuff up and USB-C out of the back, right into my DAW.’

“The expectation is not that it replaces everything for everyone with an iron fist. It's really just another tool, you know, and a very versatile one. But however it ends up being used, it's awesome. 

“All of us [have been experimenting]. One of the main guys who designed it, Max Gutnik, played his first gig with it and even his wife was like, ‘Are you gonna bring your amp?’ Like, just in case, or as an A/B box – and he was like, ‘No, I'm just going and I'm gonna do it!’ 

“I did my first gig with it and, initially, when I played it, I was like, ‘It feels weird to not have the amps and everything there.’ But it was awesome. And it was so easy that it’s probably all I'm ever gonna do [from now].”

When Fender first showed us the TM Pro, one of the things that caused the biggest stir in the room was the amp-styled FRFR speaker. It seemed so obvious, once we'd seen it, but we were left thinking, ‘Why on Earth hasn’t a big firm made a full-range speaker that looks like a guitar cab before?’

“Yeah, guitar is interesting. There's a lot of – ‘traditionalism’ is too negative a term. That sounds closed off – but there's a reverence for the iconic stuff. And just because it's a full-range, full-frequency speaker, it doesn't mean it has to look like a PA. 

“To us, it just made a lot of sense. And we definitely thought of it as not only pairing with a Tone Master Pro – this is obviously a viable category [in its own right] and it's obviously something that people are using.

“It made sense, too [from a design perspective] – it makes you feel less unmoored, when you're dipping into this technological realm. Like, I used two of them when I was playing and even though your tones are dialed in on the unit, in different rooms or with a couple guitar players, you just want to go over to the thing and not have to be tapping screens and changing your patches, when you could just cut a couple of frequencies, or boost something. It makes it feel like you're still playing analog amps.

“So it’s looks, it’s performance and how we use it. And, while we just did the Tone Master Pro, one of the most successful things we’ve done in guitars in the last couple of years was the American Vintage II. So there's this combination [where] people could play the most dense, techy rig, but they're still gonna play a ’51 Tele reissue through it.” 

Just finally on the Tone Master/FRFR speaker front. Is a tweed cabinet option in the pipeline? 

“Definitely. That's definitely on the list and in the conversations, for sure. And I think that we’re not done on the amplifier side of the Tone Master – we’re gonna continue to do [head/combo format] amps, including tweeds, on that platform, as well. So yes.”

Wars, tariffs and... tube amps

The next question is what this means for Fender’s tube amp plans. It seems safe to assume tube builds will continue to feature in the upper echelons of Fender's lines. But what does the future hold for the mass-market tube amp? 

“I think that the tube amp, the best thing I could equate it to is vinyl against streaming. For purity of form, it is the original thing – and the way that it responds and works and everything. But we're also getting into a lot of lower volume environments. So the [time] where a stack or a half-stack was the norm [is over]... 

“But we're gonna make tube amps as long as there are tubes – and that includes NOS tubes, or whatever are available. The supply of tubes is really going to be the thing that drives it.

“It is our origin story. Even before we get to guitars, amps were our first thing and we're committed to them as long as we can make them. But it's continuing to get niche-y, because it's just for the upper echelon – the cognoscenti. 

“There was, at one point, no substitute for a tube amp but as digital gets better and better that part is kind of out [of the argument]. Now it's really about the experience of a tube amp. 

“Your iPhone tells you what time it is, but there are people that love a mechanical watch. You don't need that. You can tell time a million ways, but you like a watch and you like what it represents and you like all the craftsmanship. That's where tube amps are, I think.”

Can you outline your experience in trying to get hold of tubes in the past few years?

“For sure. There's really like three or four places that make tubes. There's Eastern Europe, there's Russia, there's China – and, actually, the Western Electric Company is starting to make them [as a considerably pricer US-made alternative - Ed]. So there could be people that start to make them. 

“We have our supply pretty dialed. However, yeah, it is increasingly challenging and it depends on the global supply chain. When we had concerns during the supply chain [crisis], it would be like the factory could make tubes, but the glass comes from Germany, and they couldn't get the glass – and that's goes back up the tree to the silicon that makes the glass.

“When things were really disrupted, it was really problematic, because there could be one small thing that was preventing us from getting anything. And that's tough. Or you’d get a ton of preamp tubes and no power tubes.

“So balancing that's really hard, but the industry has kind of settled. I don't think there's enough volume [or demand] for four more factories to start making tubes. They're really hard to make, it's not a clean process and you can't make them everywhere, you know?

“So tariffs, wars, all of those things in those areas are problematic. We get most of ours from Slovakia. But when we think five years out: ‘What will the state of tubes be?’ has been on that list for the last 25 years… keeping us up at night.”

From pandemic to premium offshore

Relatedly, I want to discuss changing prices in the guitar market. Last year, Fender’s CFO revealed the firm had $100 million in retail sales canceled in 2022, which it successfully navigated to have its second-best year on record. Where did that hit hardest? Was it that post-Covid drop in entry-level guitar demand?

“Yes. The pandemic was a boon across the whole thing [in terms of sales]. But, overall, it was really focused on the low-end. [At the start] no-one was shipping and, if you had a guitar, it was sold.

“And then everyone started shipping and so literally, if you're a store, [you’ve suddenly got] 18-wheelers backing up from the factory with a truck full, like, 'Hey, these are the guitars you asked for...’ And it's like, ‘I didn't need all of them all at once!’, you know? 

“So that was problematic. Then, into 2022 and ’23, you get the middle [tier demand] soften a little bit and the high-end's strong and the low end rebalanced itself. It's a tide that kind of goes in and out and it ebbs and flows.

“The inflation thing is hyper-real. And I know that there's commentary about our prices over the years. [But equally] it's amazing how inexpensive guitars continue to be compared to other things that are crafted the way they are. 

“If anyone took an inflation calculator and ran what a ’54 Strat was with a case, in ’54 it would be double the price of an American Professional. So even though there have been recent price increases, keeping guitars affordable and in the hands of people has been a massive priority and challenge of ours.

“There's just been a period where, really, we were able to not increase things for many years and people get used to that. And then at some point, it's wood, it's metal, it's labor – wanting to pay the people who build our guitars more – and all of these things come together, and create that environment. But I would say, across the board, as far as looking at it over time, we're in a really good spot.”

One of the big trends that really became apparent last year was this idea of the ‘premium offshore’ build. Fender has been, in some ways, ahead of the curve on this. You've had the Ensenada facility in Mexico for decades, plus Fender Japan. Why do you think we’ve seen this rise in high-spec foreign builds?

“At its simplest level… people have just, over time, improved. [There’s been] continuous improvement of the process of the craftsmanship, using similar machinery. Good wood and a CNC machine – and the right finishing and setup – has democratized some of that. 

“The country of origin is important, especially with certain manufacturers, like us, where it's the soul of [it] – ‘The American-made Fender’ in California hits you in the soul as much as it hits you in the build. But I think that there's an advantage in an owned factory, where you can control your own improvements and things that are specific to your style of build. 

“So there's an in between. Like us having Mexico. We have people that go from [California]. Master Builders will drive the three hours down there and they can impart all kinds of wisdom and keep moving that ball forward. 

“If I think of a Mexico guitar from 1987 and the Mike McCready [Strat], it is completely light years away… So I think that just opens the aperture: premium offshore stuff just gives people another choice.”

70 years of the Stratocaster – and a healthy paranoia

I can't let you go without talking about the 70th anniversary of the Strat. How is Fender thinking about that as 2024 rolls out?

“Well, we never ran into an anniversary we didn't like! But the thing that I like about an anniversary is it is not just the history lesson and the harking back, it's the opportunity to revisit this form. Most things, 70 years on, look way different and the idea that this unspoiled design endures and retains relevance is super interesting. 

“Why is a Strat killer? Because you can play country, punk, metal, funk, blues, whatever on a Stratocaster. You sound like a Stratocaster. But you sound like yourself. You can hear Stevie Ray Vaughan, you can hear David Gilmour, you can hear any amount of people. And you'd be like, ‘I know who that is, but I also know it's on a Strat.’ That transparency and that beauty [means] it continues to be a relevant tool.

“And we’re not just making the same Strat that we used to – I mean, we do in the Vintage Series – but an Ultra Luxe is not, by any stretch of the imagination, the same as a ’54 Strat. 

“So there’s all kinds of stuff that’s coming out that throughout the year that will kind of tap on [the Strat format]: a really state-of-the-art Strat, a really vintage-focused Strat and different elements within that design language – celebrating Antigua in the ’70s, to a ’54 Strat, to new, crazy finishes at our highest level that we haven't done before. All of the different permutations that a Strat can take, but still be this thing.

“It’s the most popular, most copied, most identifiable, most versatile-sounding and looking instrument and it's had so many lives. It’s gone in and out of vogue. No-one was looking at the Strat when Yngwie picked one up in ’86, you know? Everybody had left the Strat behind after Hendrix.

“It’s just this thing that just continues to reinvent [itself] and get rediscovered. I think that’s awesome and it’s a great metaphor or analogy for guitar playing and the industry as a whole.”

Finally, it's the Strat – for all the reasons you said – but, just like the railroads you mentioned, history is full of businesses that mistakenly thought there would be ever-lasting demand for their products. Is the Strat’s longevity just a given in Fender’s discussions at this point? 

“No! No, it’s important [to say]: I have under my desk in the office the C.B.S. letters – the metal letters from the building from the ’70s – that were on the Fender factory. We don't take anything for granted. That's what I think drives us. 

“We could just be doing vintage reissues and be focused that way. But we're always talking to new artists, new players, like, ‘What do you like? What do you not like? How do you use it? What doesn’t work? What does work?’

“It is a very delicate dance. The term we use is ‘coloring inside the lines’. Because you don't want to upend the design and the things that people love about it. So how do you evolve it? Sometimes if you just move the volume knob, like a little closer or farther away, people will cry blasphemy! 

“So we are always cognizant of everything that's great about the Strat, but we don't take anything for granted in terms of it just being a given. And that's what gets us out of bed every morning: how do we continue to iterate on this platform that we're so honored and lucky to work on? 

“The heavy work is how do you avoid being in the next coffee table book where it's like, ‘And then these years arrived and things went that way…’ That's the paranoia that keeps us healthy!

“But [the Strat] is just a great tool that works. I wasn't alive [when it was created] – none of us can claim a hand in the invention of it – but we can claim a hand in the continued stewardship of it.”

To browse the full extent of the extensive current catalog overseen by Norvell, head to Fender.

Boss has announced the IR-2 Amp & Cabinet pedal – a streamlined, stompbox-sized version of its fully fledged tube amp and cab sim pedal that could offer a tempting alternative to some the pedal amp market's most popular products.

Back in 2021, Boss bolstered its 200 Series with the IR-200, which represented yet another option for guitarists looking to ditch their tube amps, and who were on the hunt for a pedalboard-friendly unit that offered class-leading Impulse Responses and models in their place.

Now, the Japanese effects specialist has condensed this amp and cab catalog even further and placed it into the IR-2 – a compact impulse response loader stompbox with a standard Boss pedal form factor.

Promising “the inspiring sounds of classic tube amps and mic’d speaker cabinets in a standard stompbox”, the IR-2 comes loaded with 11 amp types and cabinet Impulse Responses from Celestion Digital.

It’s worth noting that, though these factor IRs and amp models are ready-matched by Boss, users can draft in third party IRs using the IR-2 IR Loader. For its smallest-ever amp pedal, Boss has also recruited an advanced DSP, 32-bit floating point processor and 96kHz sampling rate.

Particular highlights from the amp and cab list include Twin (which is inspired by a Fender Twin Reverb), Tweed (which is inspired by a ‘59 Fender Bassman) and Diamond (which takes cues from the Vox AC30).

Other classic amp models include the ‘59 Marshall Super Lead-inspired Brit, the Soldano SLO-100-based SLDN and the RFIER, which is modeled after the second channel of a Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier.

The list is completed by five Boss originals: Clean, Crunch, Hi-Gain, Brown and Modded. Each of the above is paired with a range of 4x12” Celestion IRs, which includes Vintage 30, G12M-Heritage, G12K-100 and others.

The amp models can be selected by way of a master control knob, which shares the top panel with three double-function parameters that are responsible for Gain, Treble, Level, Middle, Ambience and Bass.

Joining the 11 amp and cab models is a generous suite of connectivity options. As well as IR loading, the USB-C can be used to send the sound of a complete rig to recording software, while a rear-mounted headphones output also allows for easy sound monitoring.

There’s also a send/return loop for placing modulation, delay and reverb effects after the amp sounds if desired, a TRS return jack for supporting stereo operation, and a Channel Select input for using a third-party pedal to switch between two amp/cab tones. You can use the onboard footswitch to swap between sounds, while holding it down bypasses the unit completely.

Certainly, the IR-2 offers a pretty impressive feature set for those who might be looking for a smaller amp and cab pedal to squeeze into their rig, and at $199, it's also temptingly affordable – more affordable, notably, than the $399 Strymon Iridium.

The IR-2 is available now. Head over to Boss to find out more.

As its name implies, the Fender Bassman was designed with the electric bass guitar in mind – specifically, the Precision Bass – though it has been wholeheartedly adopted by guitarists. Indeed, Fender’s current ’59 Bassman LTD amp is aimed at the six-string market, featuring in the ‘Guitar Amplifiers’ section of its website. 

This 45-watt reissue-style amp harks back to the game-changing 5F6-A circuit (one of many versions the Bassman has appeared in since its 1952 introduction) that was the basis of Marshall’s 1962 debut JTM45 amps. 

Although these designs are extremely similar in terms of electronics, Marshall’s 12-inch Celestion-loaded, closed-back speaker cabinets create a markedly different sound to the quad of 10-inch Jensens found in 1950s open-back Bassman combos. But the Bassman’s set of Jensen P10R speakers (superseded by the P10Q in 1959) is a far cry from its original single 15-inch Jensen format. 

Soon after the groundbreaking Precision Bass appeared in 1951, Fender developed its partner amplifier. Initially, the 18-watt 1x15 Pro-Amp was the most powerful amp in the line able to be called upon for bass duties, but the Bassman appeared the following year with an original design that included a bass-friendly ported back panel and 26 watts of power. 

Sporting a single channel with two inputs along with volume and tone controls, this 5B6 circuit Bassman was originally decked out in the ‘TV front’ style of tweed amps and changed to the ‘wide panel’ style in ’53. In both instances, the chassis was mounted to the bottom of the cabinet, attached to the top-mounted control panel by an ‘umbilical cord’ of wire.

In late 1954, Fender redesigned the Bassman and introduced some major improvements with the ‘narrow panel’ 5D6 version. This ushered in not only the 4x10 layout but also a fixed bias output stage – meaning greater headroom and a clearer-sounding bottom-end – and dual rectification, courtesy of a pair of 5Y3GT rectifier valves.

Early the following year, the 5E6 version appeared sporting dual 5U4GA rectifier valves. These twin-channel (Normal and Bright) amps feature an extended control array comprising knobs labelled ‘Presence’, ‘Bass’, ‘Treble’, ‘Volume-1’ and ‘Volume-2’.

By this stage, Fender openly recognised the Bassman’s appeal to guitar players, as the 1955 catalogue attests: “Provides true bass amplification or may also be used for other instruments due to its widely varying tonal character.” (It’s worth noting the same catalogue entry advertises the Bassman as having “50 watts” of power, although various sources, including Fender, quote the power rating as 40 and 45 watts).

In 1957, the 5F6 Bassman version heralded the arrival of yet another significant development in guitar-amplifier design with the long-tailed-pair phase inverter, further enhancing the amp’s power, depth and clarity. At the same time, a Middle tone knob was added to the control panel along with two inputs per channel.

Meanwhile, a single 83 rectifier valve was installed, and the long-standing 6L6 power valves were superseded by dual 5881s. Featuring a GZ34 rectifier valve, the highly influential 5F6-A circuit appeared in 1958, representing what many people consider to be the zenith of the tweed-era Fender Bassman.  

The Evolution of the Fender ‘Tweed’ Bassman

• 1952: Fender Bassman released; 5B6 version; tweed covering; ‘TV front’; 26 watts; 1x15; single channel
• 1953: ‘Wide panel’ cabinet
• 1954: 5D6 version; ‘narrow panel’ cabinet; “50 watts” (advertised); 4x10; dual channel (Normal and Bright)
• 1955: 5E6 version; 5U4GA rectifier valves
• 1957: 5F6 version; 4x inputs (2 per channel); Middle added to Treble and Bass controls; 83 rectifier valve
• 1958: 5F6-A version; GZ34 rectifier valve
• 1959: Rubber ‘dog bone’ handle replaces leather type
• 1960: Discontinued
• 1990: Reissue Series ’59 Bassman
• Current: ’59 Bassman LTD

The tweed Fender 4x10 Bassman combo “may be the best-sounding guitar amp Fender ever made,” wrote Groove Tubes founder Aspen Pittman in The Tube Amp Book. 

That’s a pretty grand statement considering that dozens of Fender amps, including models like the Deluxe/Deluxe Reverb, Dual Professional/Super, Princeton Reverb, Super Reverb, Twin/Twin Reverb and Vibroverb, their tweed, blonde, brown and blackface variants, more obscure, shorter-lived models like the Harvard, 3x10 Bandmaster and Vibro King and even the diminutive tweed Champ all have rabid fans. 

But considering the long and illustrious history of the tweed 4x10 Bassman, particularly its role in the development of the modern guitar amp, it’s hard to argue against that statement.

When guitarists wax poetic about the tweed Bassman, usually they’re referring to the 5F6A circuit that Fender produced from 1958-60. The first Bassman amps introduced in 1952 had a single 15-inch speaker, followed in 1954 Fender by the first Bassman combo with four 10-inch speakers. 

Fender produced four different circuits before refining the legendary 5F6A circuit that Bassman aficionados consider the ultimate version. The magic of this circuit was a combination of alterations, improvements and upgrades made over the years, including a cathode follower tone stack with midrange control, a presence control, a GZ334 tube rectifier and a long-tail-pair phase inverter that provided improved clean headroom. 

A pair of 5881 tubes delivered 45 watts of output, and four 10-inch Jensen alnico speakers kept the bass tight and focused to please its intended customer base, while providing sweet, harmonically rich midrange and crystalline treble that sound great with guitar.

Although Fender dramatically altered the Bassman design in 1960 with the introduction of its first piggyback version featuring the 6G6 circuit, the 5F6A’s immortal status was cemented a few years later in 1962 when Marshall essentially copied the circuit for its first amp, the JTM45. Many amps that have followed over the subsequent decades, including high-gain Soldanos and 5150s, have a lot of 5F6A DNA in their circuits that has remained intact throughout the years.

The tweed Bassman is also immortal for the role that it played in music from the late ’50s onward. It was initially heard in Buddy Holly’s rock ’n’ roll, Buddy Guy’s blues and even country music via Luther Perkins with Johnny Cash.

During the ’70s the tweed Bassman lived on, thanks to players like Roy Buchanan, Howard Leese with Heart, Robbie Robertson, Bruce Springsteen and many others. Jimmie and Steve Ray Vaughan revived the Bassman as the amp du jour for blues enthusiasts during the late ’80s and early ’90s.

In 1990, the 4x10 Bassman became the first tweed model reissued by Fender, kicking off a highly popular revival of Fender tweed amps that continues to this day. While the first reissues had features like a plywood cabinet and solid-state rectifier, the current ’59 Bassman LTD more closely resembles the original, thanks to its four Jensen P10R speakers, finger-jointed solid pine cabinet, lacquered tweed, 5AR4 rectifier, internal bias pot and more. 

The reissues sounded good enough to win over discriminating players like Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Stone Gossard and Mike McCready of Pearl Jam, Tom Petty, Chris Shiflett and many others. 

The reissue tweed Bassman was arguably more popular during the ’90s than the original was during the previous four decades, heard in concert and recordings by artists of numerous styles like grunge, punk, hard rock, blues, rockabilly, country, jazz and much more.

Suggested settings

Yellow Ledbetter clean (Strat with middle/neck pickup setting)

Presence: 7, Middle: 8, Bass: 4,Treble: 5, Vol. Bright: 4, Vol. Normal: 0, Input: Bright 1

Drain You grunge crunch (Fender-style guitar with bridge humbucker)

Presence: 5, Middle: 8, Bass: 6, Treble: 7, Vol. Bright: 8, Vol. Normal: 5, Input: Bright 1

Fender has announced a European-exclusive launch of four FSR (Fender Special Run) products, finished in a highly-desirable limited-edition British Racing Green colorway.

Included in the lineup are two electric guitars and one bass guitar, all of which are part of the firm’s Mexican-made Player Series – namely the HSS Stratocaster, Precision Bass, and Telecaster – as well as a guitar amp in the form of Fender's enduringly popular Blues Junior IV. Alongside the finish, all of the guitars feature upgraded pickups from Seymour Duncan.

For example, the HSS Stratocaster has been upgraded to feature a TB-5 Trembucker at the bridge and two Quarter Pound single-coils in the neck and middle – as opposed to the standard Player Series p’ups. 

Fender describes it as “a pickup set that offers sustain, clarity and dynamic range perfect for almost any genre or playing style.”

Elsewhere, the Telecaster features Seymour Duncan’s Quarter Pound Tele pickup set, which should offer a bit of extra punch and presence over the standard option, while the bass has a split-coil Seymour Duncan Quarter Pound Precision Bass pickup – the latter, says Fender, is “ideal for players who want a heavy, aggressive sound.”

While each of the above has its appeal, the pick of the bunch has to be the Blues Junior IV. There are no clever tweaks or component upgrades, so it still features the Celestion Type-A speaker, tubes, and spring reverb of the much-loved standard model.

However, that Racing Green tolex covering looks superb, and it’s paired with a Bassman grille cloth and a brown leather handle. Given the tweaks are purely cosmetic, it’s also subjected to less of price hike than the other models here, though it’s still around 10 percent over the standard price at £799 (approx. $1,000), as opposed to £719 (approx. $900). 

In terms of prices for the other models, the FSR Limited Edition Player Stratocaster and Telecaster in British Racing Green cost £899 each (approx. $1,120) and the Precision Bass will set you back £979 (approx. $1,220). 

All of the models are available in limited quantities from a range of European retailers. At the time of writing, they are all available direct from the manufacturer, too, but we have already seen some stores sell-out of the amp. This is Racing Green, after all – it tends to shift fast.

For more information on the range, head to Fender.

The rise of pedals, profiling and desktop guitar amps illustrates the flexibility guitar players are now embracing. And it’s desktop practice amps that have the widest appeal and advantages, because they all acknowledge a simple fact: most guitarists are playing at home.

With these diminutive combos packing self-contained virtual rigs inside, we’re spoilt for choice, with the likes of Boss, Yamaha and Positive Grid raising the standards. Now Fender is bringing this refreshed successor for the GT40 to the table/desk. 

And you’ll need a fairly large one: the LT40S is slightly bigger, taller and deeper than Positive Grid’s Spark 40 combo, but the squat dimensions certainly lend themselves to being elevated. We like the mix of clean modern control layout (with the power button position on the top for practical purposes), with a chassis that feels rugged and sturdy.

While some other desktop amps embrace app integration, the LT40S is more self-contained, with a 1.8” colour screen but with the option to upload sounds via a desktop app, on the assumption your computer will be close at hand. There’s no Bluetooth for streaming audio to the amp, which is a shame but is reflected in the price.

The screen might be small, but the menu system to select presets, amp and effects models is a breeze to use, and we prefer it to using a separate app. Alongside a range of drives with familiar names that hint at inspirations including a Klon, Blues Driver and Tube Screamer, there are reverbs, modulations and delays. Though the LT40S’'s 25 effects are not as many as some, it’s still everything you’d need for classic tones, and they’re well voiced.

The ace card here for us is also a Mustang series calling card: the models of classic Fender amps. For us, the foundation of a great clean tone with plenty of headroom for your drive pedals or virtual ones is hard to beat.

The Deluxe, Twin (’50s and ’65), Champ, Bassman, Princeton and spiky Excelsior make for a great selection. The higher-gain fare is good too, though not at the level of the some of the competition’s more metallic offerings.

Amp names like ’70s Rock also make it less clear what the inspiration is (it’s a Marshall Super Lead Plexi), but some digging in (or cheating with the online manual) will reveal tones inspired by the JCM800, Vox AC30, Dual Rectifier, 5150 and OR120.

All in all, there’s plenty to enjoy here at a fair price for a compact 40-watt stereo amp that will keep you inspired.

Specs

• PRICE: $199 / £219
• TYPE: Modelling combo amp
• OUTPUT: 2 x 20W stereo
• CONTROLS: Gain, Volume, Treble, Bass, Master, Encoder button for menu navigation, Utility buttons; Back, Save, Menu and Tap
• FEATURES: Dual 4” full range Fender Special Design speakers, 1.8” colour LCD display, 60 presets (30 pre-loaded), 20 amp models, 25 effects, chromatic tuner, firmware and presets download via Fender Tone desktop app
• CONNECTIONS: Input, footswitch input (Fender Single-Button Economy recommended), headphone in, aux in, mini USB 
• DIMENSIONS: 365mm (W) x 204mm (H) x 210mm (D)
• WEIGHT: 12.25lbs (5.56kg)
• CONTACT: Fender

The JHS Show is adored by guitarists for a variety of reasons: Josh Scott’s unfathomable pedal collection, the zany sense of humor shared by its cast and crew and, of course, those gorgeous tones, all delivered via the Milkman Sound JHS “Loud is More Good” tube amp, which features in the foreground of countless video jams – except that isn’t actually the case.

In a new episode of The JHS Show titled “How the Kemper Replaced My Amp”, Scott reveals he has been using a Kemper amp modeler for the series’ tones since September 2021 – and, as he sagely notes, nobody noticed. Which, in some ways, makes it the most conclusive – and, certainly, the most ambitious – blind test of modeling vs real amps yet undertaken.

“We’ve been just not really turning it on,” Scott explains of the “Loud is More Good” combo’s purely aesthetic presence in the videos.

“We turn it on, but it’s on standby, and if you’ve paid any attention you’ll see that the knobs are down and stuff because we got lazy. The Kemper just let us be lazy; it was more creating, less doing.”

Of course, Scott is a canny marketer, and the video was, in part, created to announce the release of his new amp profile packs, which have been created in collaboration with ToneJunkie TV and are available for Kemper and Line 6 Helix/HX devices.

The Josh’s Favorite Amps Pack includes eight profiles of, well, Josh’s favorite real-world amps, and is available from JHS Pedals for $39 (Kemper) or $25 (Helix). It includes profiles of the following:

• 1993 Fender Blues Deluxe
• 1963 Fender Blonde Bassman Combo
• 1963 Vox AC30
• Marshall JCM 800
• Sovtek Mig 50 Josh’s #1
• Sovtek Mig 50 Josh’s Tone
• Sears Twin Twelve 1484
• Gibson Skylark

But perhaps more excitingly, JHS’s trademark Milkman “Loud is More Good” amp is also available as a completely free download, either as nine Kemper profiles, or one Helix patch with a tone-matched IR. Given Scott describes it as the “perfect pedal platform”, that sounds like a pretty good deal to us.

In his closing thoughts on the concealment and subsequent reveal of his tonal truth, Scott surmises, “I’m not ashamed – I’m not embarrassed that I’ve been using a Kemper for over a year, because all of you enjoyed it, and it was helpful to me: in this situation, where we film, how we do this, it was really, really great to use.

“Is it gonna replace all my favorite amps? No, not at all. Is it gonna replace yours? No, that’s insane. It is, however, a really good tool, and I think you’ll enjoy these profile packs.”

You can get a pretty good idea of how much you’ll enjoy said packs in the video below, where Scott goes on to examine each of the profiles in more detail.

Where this leaves the tubes vs modeling debate remains to be seen, but if you need proof of Scott’s ability to influence the thoughts and minds of guitarists, look no further than Sweetwater’s best-selling effects pedal of all time, which was directly impacted by one of his own videos.

With a background in music and electronics, combined with a somewhat entrepreneurial tendency, Howard Alexander Dumble (who later asked to be known as Alexander) had a future in amplifier design that was almost preordained. Growing up in Bakersfield, California, Dumble sold homemade transistor radios to his school friends and built a 200‑watt PA system for the local junior baseball team.

As an epicentre of progressive rock and electric guitar development, California – particularly Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area – was driven by local bands including Jefferson Airplane, The Grateful Dead, The Byrds, Little Feat and Santana. 

After leaving school, Dumble was introduced to the luthier Semie Moseley in Santa Cruz, who was looking for someone to design an amplifier to complement his Mosrite guitar range. Dumble built 10 or 11 Mosrite amps, but the deal went sour, with Dumble returning to build amps for himself, one at a time. 

His first ‘real’ amp – often considered to be a prototype for the Overdrive Special – was called the Explosion. According to legend, Dumble’s inspiration for the Overdrive Special came from seeing Robben Ford play through a ’60s piggyback Fender Bassman head and cab.

His circuit was loosely based on ’60s Fender ‘black-panel’ designs, with a beefed-up power stage and a clean channel followed by a tone network, followed by a footswitchable overdrive section into which the clean preamp section cascaded.

The cascading gain concept had already been made popular by Mesa Engineering. But Dumble – who was an accomplished guitar and bass player – didn’t care for Mesa’s approach and changed the position of the overdrive section, moving it back after the tone controls. This allowed for a fatter, rounder overdrive tone that was further tweaked with toggle switches for Bright and Deep functions, as well as a Jazz/Rock switch that shifted the amp’s character to a flatter EQ with less gain. 

One By One

Dumble wasn’t interested in mass production; he was happy building his amps one at a time, each one individually tailored to the needs of the artist he was working with. Consequently, they’re all different, with subtle (or not-so-subtle) changes to component values and positioning in order to bring out the desired characteristics. 

The nature of the preamp means there’s an inherent compromise between clean and overdrive sounds because one drives the other with a shared EQ. So this is one area that Dumble would have varied depending on the customer’s needs – we know some ODS models have clean channels that distort earlier, while others stay clean all the way up to 10. 

The circuit was constantly updated and improved, Following the Fender-influenced early designs of the ’70s, a different ‘Skyline’ EQ was added in the ’80s. This was another modification that added a separate internal ‘set and forget’ EQ for the overdrive section – called the ‘HRM’ (‘Hot Rod Marshall’ or ‘Hot Rubber Monkey’, depending on whose books you read) – to address the shared EQ compromise. 

For the Overdrive Specials, Dumble built everything from the aluminium chassis to the hand-drilled eyelet boards, giving him complete control over where the components should be placed. 

This is a fundamental part of the Dumble’s unique tone and dynamic character. In more than one interview, Dumble himself said it wasn’t just the schematic, and that the parts and layout were equally important, which explains why he began covering his preamp boards with epoxy resin ‘goop’ as his reputation grew. 

Private Eye

Dumble was notoriously protective of his work and there are plenty of examples of the infamous contracts he made prospective clients sign. These documents meant people were forbidden to open the chassis, photograph the internal layout or even sell the amplifier on without his permission, although it’s unlikely such stipulations were ever tested in court. 

Nevertheless, several examples have been ‘de-gooped’ and component values and layouts recorded for posterity, one of the most well documented being serial number 124. 

This writer was fortunate to peer inside a gooped example several years ago, revealing a layout and construction typical of many handmade one-off amplifiers, with a mixture of mostly New Old Stock components sitting on a hand-drilled formica eyelet board. It was clear each visible component and wire had been individually selected and precisely placed. 

The ODS was a product of its time – built to last, intended for professional use on big stages, and calibrated to come into sonic focus at high volume. Dumble also built his own cabinets, mostly using semi-closed-back designs with carefully tuned oval ports to enhance the mids and upper mids, teamed with high-sensitivity loudspeakers, such as JBL D140s or Dumble’s favourite, the Electro-Voice EVM12. 

Dumbles didn’t have a proper effects loop; there was a pair of insert jacks between the preamp and power amp sections intended to be used with a standalone buffered effects loop circuit with variable send and return level controls, called the Dumbleator. Some later amps had the Dumbleator circuit built in. Most Overdrive Specials didn’t include reverb, but a few were made and called Overdrive Reverbs. 

Dumble used the 6L6 power valve for most of his amps, although later there was a run of EL34-powered ODSes, including serial number 183, which is another frequently copied design. 

Other famous Dumbles include Larry Carlton’s 6V6-powered model, one of two owned by the LA session legend and commissioned for use in smaller clubs – and, of course, Robben Ford’s celebrated serial number 102, possibly the most coveted of all Dumbles.

Slightly less well-known perhaps, serial number 75 was owned by session guitarist Steve Farris of Mr Mister fame and is responsible for some of the best recorded examples of higher-gain Dumble tones, as heard on the 1985 album Welcome To The Real World. 

Of course, Dumble didn’t just build Overdrive Specials. Alongside earlier designs including the Dumbleland and Winterland, his other most well-known design is the Steel String Singer, a single-channel high-headroom 100-watt head used by Stevie Ray Vaughan, John Mayer, Eric Johnson, Jackson Browne and David Lindley, to name just a few. 

To our knowledge, SSS serial number 1 was commissioned and is still owned by avant-garde experimentalist Henry Kaiser, who owns several other Dumbles. SSS number 2 was commissioned by Jackson Browne and we believe currently lives with John Mayer, who also owns several other Dumbles. 

Besides building his own designs from scratch, Dumble also modified several Fender and Marshall amps for various artists including Eric Clapton and Kenny Wayne Shepherd. There were customised tweed Deluxes he renamed ‘Tweedle Dees’ and, to our knowledge, a one-off based on a tweed Bassman called the ‘Manzamp’, which was commissioned and is presumably still owned by Bonnie Raitt. 

D-Style Tone

With fewer than 300 real Dumble amps in circulation, supply will always be vastly outstripped by demand, so it’s hardly surprising that many amp builders have tapped into this market. Some are similar to Dumble: small one- or two-person operations building high-quality replicas, often of specific ODS or SSS serial numbered amps. 

Bludotone’s Brandon Montgomery is one such builder whose products have found their way into the rigs of users including Carlos Santana, Jon Herington and Larry Carlton. Other well-known names in this category include Amplified Nation, Louis Electric and Jelle Welagen. 

Meanwhile, amp builders such as Fuchs Audio Technology, Two-Rock and 633 Amplification have taken the Dumble as their inspiration and extended its capabilities, producing new designs that are perhaps more relevant to today’s demands. 

For those of us on a budget who crave that Dumble tone, there are many pedals that can get you into the ballpark. Standout mentions would include the Ethos Overdrive, Van Weelden’s Royal Overdrive and Wampler’s Euphoria, while there are various kits available in the burgeoning DIY market, the most well known being Malaysia’s Ceriatone. 

With Dumble’s departure, opportunities to see and hear the real thing may become even more limited as they’re likely to spend more time in bank vaults than on stages. Though, thankfully, there are plenty of alternatives at all price points. While Alexander Dumble may have taken a lot of irreplaceable guitar amp knowledge with him, he’s left behind a sonic legacy that will likely last forever.  

• Those looking to indulge themselves further in the work of the master amp builder will do well to seek out Jesse Schwarz’s rare and definitive A Dumble Book, published in 2009.

Barefaced have built up an enviable reputation for their bass cabs over the last 13 years, particularly among a new generation of younger, tech-savvy players.

This success has largely been driven by the many positive reviews, and comments from the owners and players themselves, via online forums and social media platforms.

Here, we're looking at the company's latest design: the ultra-compact One10T.

Build Quality

At first glance, the One10T cab looks as if it could have been made at any time within the past 60 years. The black tolex covering, chrome hardware and black cloth grille with its white piping have a classic aesthetic; silver cloth and black steel grilles are also available.

The new logo badge, which looks almost comically outsized on such a small cab, has the Barefaced name in a similar font to that of the old Fender Bassman amp heads, reinforcing the vintage vibe. However, under its vinyl skin, the Barefaced cab is anything but old-fashioned.

The tuned ‘hybrid resonator’ enclosure is made from relatively thin 1/3” (9mm) dual-density ply which, in itself, isn’t the strongest of materials, but here the cabinet is built around an internal structure of interlocking panels. This not only makes the whole thing super-rigid, but also incredibly light. It’s designed to dampen the mid-bass frequencies and fatten the deep lows with two controlled resonances working in unison. 

This complex internal design also optimizes the efficiency of the custom-designed 10CR Eminence speaker, while increasing the bandwidth. The 250-watt 10” driver is designed specifically for the cab by engineer Alex Claber and the guys at Eminence speakers.

Baffle-mounted above the speaker is a high quality, low distortion tweeter: this and the driver are fed from a crossover designed specifically for the purpose in-house at Barefaced. 

Sounds and Playability

With the One10T hooked up to an 800-watt Class D amp and a passive Mike Lull five-string plugged in, the sound is immediate and focused, and the wide, flat bandwidth gives an accurate recreation of the bass. It sounds huge – and comparing what you’re hearing with the tiny black box that you’re looking at just doesn’t compute! 

Turning the cab on its side gives you a subtly different tonal delivery, with an even smoother, extended low end noticeable at higher volumes. Pushing the little rig too hard would have upset the neighbors, so the next stop was into the trunk of the car for that night’s gig – an open-air festival stage with a jazz big band for which I was using both electric and double bass.

The tiny Barefaced One10T performed perfectly. No – that’s not fair. It exceeded every expectation, confounding what should have been possible on a gig where I was just a few feet away from the drummer – and his wedge monitor.

Even when listening a little off-axis, the perfectly rendered sound was a real revelation: I’ve rarely heard my double bass sound so good through an amp and speaker. It’s freakishly loud, with no discernible distortion. 

If you’re using your backline purely for onstage sound or personal monitoring, or if most of your gigs are in small, intimate venues at relatively low volumes, it’s hard to imagine a scenario that one or possibly two Barefaced One10Ts wouldn’t completely dominate. It really is that good.

Conclusion

The ‘standard’ 110 cab – in other words, without the high-frequency unit – doesn’t have the accuracy of some of the Barefaced range, but this gives it a unique tonal character that always made it the best choice for acoustic instruments or double bass. 

It reminds me of those classic little BBC LS3/5A hifi monitors – tiny speakers that were designed to make a specific sound, the human voice in the case of radio, as realistic as possible. The standard One10’s suitability for acoustic and double bass still holds true, but for me the tonal accuracy of the cab means that with a good quality pickup and perhaps a tiny bit of EQ, the One10T is even better. 

With the increasing popularity of bassists using in-ear monitors on larger stages, small, lightweight bass speakers for backline are making more and more sense. If you want the smallest, lightest, and best-sounding bass cabs available today, you really should check out these and the rest of the Barefaced range. 

Specs

• PRICE: $730 (fitted cover and silver grille cloth available at extra cost) 
• SPEAKER: 1x10” 250w custom Eminence 
• CROSSOVER: Custom Barefaced
• CONNECTIONS: 2 x 1/4” + SpeakON combi jacks (parallel)
• POWER: 250w RMS (500w clean)
• FREQUENCY RANGE: 30hz to 20khz
• MAX OUTPUT: -119db 
• IMPEDANCE: Nominal 8 ohms
• DIMENSIONS: HxWxD: 15” x 11.4” X 11”
• WEIGHT: 17lbs
• CONTACT: Barefaced Audio

Beatles fans were disappointed last year when director Peter Jackson announced that his long-awaited Beatles documentary film Get Back wouldn’t be released in time for the 50th anniversary of the Let It Be album and film. Get Back is the director’s edit of more than 60 hours of film footage and 150 hours of audio, most of which had never been seen or heard before.

The footage and audio were captured between January 2-31, 1969, at Twickenham Film Studios and the basement recording studio at Apple Corps in London. The footage also includes the Beatles’ legendary final 42-minute live performance on the rooftop of the Apple Corps building on January 30. 

The film promises to offer a more positive spin on the interpersonal relationships of the members of the Beatles during a very tumultuous period where the band was splitting apart at the seams.

For musicians who could care less about the drama, the film provides a much closer look at the creative process and the gear that the Beatles were using as they entered the band’s final chapter. The Rickenbacker and Gretsch guitars that defined the band’s “Beatlemania” sound were gone (although McCartney’s Hofner 500/1 bass reappeared) as were the once ubiquitous Vox amps, replaced a mostly new lineup of instruments that went on to become iconic in their own right.

The following is a trainspotter's guide to the various guitars, basses and amps seen in Get Back. Most of this gear later played an important role in the making of the album that many critics consider the Beatles’ true swan song, Abbey Road, recorded a few months after the Get Back sessions.

1968 Fender Rosewood Telecaster prototype 

George Harrison played this Fender Rosewood Telecaster for only about a year, but because it was the instrument he played during the Beatles’ final live performance on January 30, 1969, on the rooftop of the Apple Corps headquarters at 3 Savile Row in London, it has become an iconic Beatles guitar. 

In addition to its usage at that performance, this Telecaster also played a prominent role during the Get Back sessions in January 1969 and the Abbey Road sessions that took place from February through August 1969. Harrison played this Tele on several latter-day Beatles favorites, including Get Back, Don’t Let Me Down, I’ve Got a Feeling and Let It Be (single version).

The Rosewood Telecaster was part of a promotional “care package” that Fender provided to the Beatles, which also included a Bass VI, Jazz Bass, Bassman and Twin Reverb amps, Rhodes electric pianos and a PA system, although the Tele arrived later, occupying a seat on a cross-Atlantic flight in December 1968.

Fender’s director of sales, Don Randall, previously met with Paul McCartney and John Lennon at Apple Corps during July 1968 hoping to land an official endorsement from the Beatles, and, encouraged by their positive response, he decided to sweeten the deal by giving a special instrument to the band’s lead guitarist. 

Fender had already planned to introduce new Telecaster and Stratocaster models constructed of rosewood, and Randall thought that presenting a prototype of the Tele to Harrison and a prototype of the Strat to Jimi Hendrix would help promote the new models. Both were designed and built by Roger Rossmeisl and Philip Kubicki, who made two prototypes of each.

The best example of each model was to be selected and given to the respective artists, although Hendrix died before Fender could arrange the guitar’s delivery to him, a few months after Fender completed the Strat prototype in April 1970.

Interestingly, Rossmeisl already had an indirect relationship with the Beatles through his previous association with Rickenbacker, where he designed the body shapes and styles for the 325 and 360/12 guitars and 4001 bass played by Lennon, Harrison and McCartney, respectively, although Rossmeisl left Rickenbacker in 1962 before the onset of Beatlemania.

The Fender Rosewood Telecaster was not a particularly radical departure from the standard Telecaster design. The biggest differences were the two-piece rosewood neck and the body construction, which consisted of individual two-piece top and back slabs of Indian rosewood with a thin, contrasting layer of maple in between. A clear satin finish preserved the rosewood’s natural grain pattern and root beer brown color. 

The high density of the rosewood material also resulted in a total weight exceeding 10 pounds. Ironically, Rossmeisl’s most recent design for Fender preceding the Rosewood Telecaster was the Telecaster Thinline, which was developed primarily as a lightweight alternative to the Telecaster.

The first Rosewood Telecaster production models released later in 1969 featured similar solid construction to Harrison’s prototype, but eventually Fender adopted a chambered design to partially compensate for the excess weight.

Harrison’s love affair with the Rosewood Telecaster was short-lived. In December 1969, he gave the guitar to Delaney Bramlett while briefly touring as a member of Delaney & Bonnie. Bramlett made several modifications to the guitar over the next few decades before he sold it at auction in 2003. 

The legendary Rosewood Telecaster finally returned to the Harrison estate when actor Ed Begley Jr. successfully won the bidding on behalf of Harrison’s widow, Olivia. George’s son Dhani subsequently restored the guitar to its original condition.

1965 Epiphone E230TD Casino 

Unlike his bandmate Harrison, who adopted an ever-evolving arsenal of electric guitars during the Beatles’ latter days, John Lennon remained mostly faithful to his 1965 Epiphone E230TD Casino thinline hollowbody ever since he first acquired it in early 1966. He did make a few modifications to the instrument, however, including replacing the Kluson tuners with Grovers and removing the pickguard. 

In mid-1968, he had the body’s finish professionally stripped down to the natural wood to improve the guitar’s resonance and tonal response, a modification that Donovan recommended to Lennon. The results were good enough to convince Harrison to do the same with the Epiphone Casino that he also owned.

Although the Beatles frequently swapped guitars between each other while working in the studio, it appears that Lennon’s sole electric (with one non-Spanish exception, the Fender Bass VI) during the Get Back sessions was his Epiphone Casino. The guitar in its natural maple state became an icon thanks to its appearance in the Beatles final rooftop performance featured in the film Let It Be.

Harrison, Lennon and McCartney each owned individual Casino guitars. McCartney was the first to play one starting in 1964, using a Bigsby-equipped 1962 model that he modified for left-handed playing. Harrison’s 1965 Casino also had an aftermarket Bigsby vibrato tailpiece, while Lennon’s featured a standard trapeze tailpiece. 

A Casino is heard on numerous Beatles’ songs from the fills of Ticket to Ride to the solos of Taxman through The End. Since the model was played by all three of the band’s guitarists on dozens of songs, it remains the quintessential Beatles guitar.  

1968 Gibson J-200 

George Harrison acquired a brand new Gibson J-200 in 1968 during the White Album sessions, and it quickly became a favorite option for both Harrison and Lennon while recording acoustic rhythm parts. The guitar is probably best known for its dulcet tones that are the instrumental centerpiece of Here Comes the Sun on Abbey Road.

However, in the Get Back footage, the J-200 actually appears more frequently in Lennon’s hands, where he uses it to perform Maggie Mae and Two of Us. Harrison’s use of the J-200 is limited to his rhythm guitar part for For You Blue.

The Tune-O-Matic adjustable bridge fitted into the top is a distinguishing feature of '60s J-200s. This unusual feature is often derided by acoustic purists who prefer the tone of a J-200 guitar with a traditional saddle. However, many of the best known J-200 recordings were made with a '60s-era, Tune-O-Matic-equipped instrument, including the Who’s Pinball Wizard and Led Zeppelin’s Babe I’m Gonna Leave You.

It’s commonly rumored that Harrison gave the J-200 to his good friend Bob Dylan. Some historians say that it’s the guitar Dylan is seen holding on the cover of Nashville Skyline, while others claim that Harrison gifted the J-200 to Dylan before the Isle of Wight Festival. However, the timeline and photographic evidence proves that neither scenario is true.

Harrison’s first known use of the J-200 was during the White Album sessions from July through October 1968, which is well documented in photos shot by Linda Eastman.

When Harrison visited Dylan’s Woodstock home in late November 1968, Pattie Boyd shot a photo of him at Albert Grossman’s (Dylan’s manager) house playing a J-200. It’s unlikely that Harrison brought his J-200 with him, and instead the guitar was a similar one that belonged to Dylan. Harrison’s J-200 is present at the Get Back sessions throughout January 1969, so he couldn’t have given it to Dylan during the Woodstock visit. 

Next, Dylan is photographed in February or March 1969 by Elliott Landy posing with a J-200 in a shot that became the cover of Nashville Skyline. Outtake photos clearly show pick scratches and chips that exposed unfinished maple along the soundhole above the low E string. 

When Harrison is photographed in July and August of 1969 with his J-200 during the Abbey Road sessions, no such wear is visible. Similarly, the J-200 that Dylan is seen playing at the Isle of Wight Festival on August 31, 1969, shows no visible signs of wear at the soundhole.

Did Harrison gift his J-200 to Dylan after the folk legend’s Isle of Wight performance? Probably not, as Harrison’s J-200 appeared once again in photos taken shortly afterwards, in the hands of John Lennon when Harrison participated in the January 27, 1970, recording session for the Plastic Ono Band’s Instant Karma! The most logical conclusion is that Dylan and Harrison both owned nearly identical 1968 J-200 guitars, and Harrison only loaned Dylan his J-200 for the Isle of Wight Festival.

Martin D-28 dreadnoughts 

A pair of Martin D-28 dreadnoughts appear throughout the Get Back sessions. One example with its finish and pickguard removed is seen at Lennon’s feet during the performance of Let It Be as well as in his hands during a few brief moments, and the other is played by McCartney during Two of Us and Maggie Mae.

These Martins are the same guitars that Lennon and McCartney took to India in February 1968. Lennon appears to be the first to acquire a D-28, as he was seen with one in the promotional film for Hello Goodbye filmed November 10, 1967. His guitar was a used 1965 model.

McCartney apparently followed suit shortly afterwards, purchasing a new 1967 D-28. McCartney’s Martin was a standard right-hand model that he flipped over, restrung and replaced the nut for left-hand playing. Later he also had the saddle modified for a left-hand configuration.

McCartney still owns his original Martin D-28. Lennon gave his Martin to rockabilly legend Ronnie Hawkins in December 1969 when Lennon and Yoko Ono visited Canada during their campaign to promote world peace. Unfortunately, one of Hawkins’ acquaintances later surreptitiously swapped it for a 1972 D-28, so the whereabouts of Lennon’s D-28 are unknown.

Hofner 500/1 basses 

Paul McCartney’s bass of choice from 1966 onwards was a left-handed Rickenbacker 4001S model, but because McCartney envisioned Get Back as a return to the band’s rock and roll roots he decided to dust off his trusty Hofner 550/1 basses and play them once again. McCartney brought both his 1961 and 1963 Hofners to the sessions, but he was only seen playing the ’63 500/1 in the studio and rooftop performance footage. 

This was the last time McCartney’s ’61 Hofner was seen in public as it was stolen along with one of Harrison’s Rickenbacker 360-12 12-string electrics and his Gretsch Tennessean from EMI’s Abbey Road studios a short time afterwards. Hofner recently announced a campaign to recover the bass, but to date no credible leads have surfaced.

McCartney briefly decorated his 1963 500/1 with a Bassman sticker that he removed from the 2x12 speaker cabinet that Fender had sent the band. Eagle-eyed fans who viewed the Let It Be film in 1970 were surprised to see that the bass still had the set list from the Beatles final concert in 1966 taped to its side.   

1968 Fender Bass VI 

In a “blink and you’ll miss it” shot from the Get Back footage, the distinctive maple headstock of a Fender guitar can be seen leaning on Billy Preston’s Fender Rhodes electric piano. This split-second shot got the hearts of fans of Lennon and Harrison’s famous pair of 1961 Sonic Blue Stratocasters fluttering, as the Strats were thought to be absent from the January 1969 Get Back sessions (although Harrison was photographed in the studio with his ’61 “Rocky” Strat with psychedelic Day-Glo paint job during the later Let It Be sessions). 

However, closer examination reveals that it’s actually a large CBS-era headstock (not the smaller headstock of '50s and early '60s Strats) and white fretboard binding is visible, so the instrument in question is most likely the Fender Bass VI that Lennon played on Dig It, Let It Be and The Long and Winding Road and Harrison played on Two of Us.

Harrison and Lennon both previously played the Fender Bass VI during the White Album sessions. Although Fender sent a right-handed Jazz Bass to the band in 1968, both guitarists seemed to prefer the wider sonic range of the Bass VI as well as its potential for playing standard guitar chords (as Lennon did on Dig It), even though both usually ended up using the Bass VI to play traditional bass lines during the Get Back sessions. Lennon or Harrison used the Bass VI plugged into a Fender Bassman head with 2x12 speaker cabinet when McCartney was playing either piano or guitar.

Hofner 5140 Hawaiian Standard  

One guitar from the Get Back sessions that often gets overlooked is the Hofner 5140 Hawaiian Standard lap steel that John Lennon plays on For You Blue. The 5140 was a decent student model produced in the mid-'60s. Catalog copy vaguely describes the body being made of “solid wood,” and other details include a Nova-Sonic double-pole single-coil pickup, tone and volume controls and mirror-finish plated metal tailpiece with string guard.

In addition to Lennon’s unorthodox playing style of not damping behind the bar, Lennon also used an unorthodox slide bar to play the lap steel. The round shape, red color and brass end led many to assume that he was using a shotgun shell, while others argued it was a lipstick tube.

Closer examination reveals a silver metal protrusion cupped by Lennon’s palm, which means that he was actually using a cigarette lighter. Certainly the Beatles always had a lighter in close reach to ignite their jazz cigarettes.

One question that doesn’t get asked often enough is what tuning was Lennon using. The answer? Open D7: DADF#CD.

Fender Twin Reverb and Bassman amps 

Vox amps played such an important role during the Beatles’ early and mid-'60s recordings that it’s difficult to imagine them recording with anything else, but when the sessions for the White Album began in late May 1968 Vox amps were nowhere to be found. Instead, John, Paul and George switched their allegiances to Fender amps, with an occasional Selmer in the mix when Paul played a solo or two.

Fender was certainly thrilled with this development when Don Randall approached the band in July 1968, and he repaid their devotion in kind by sending several brand new 85-watt Fender Twin Reverb combos and a 50-watt export model Bassman head with a 2x12 speaker cabinet. After the new gear arrived in England, the Beatles immediately put them to use during the Get Back sessions. 

Three Twin Reverb amps are seen both in the studio and live rooftop performance footage. Harrison and Lennon plugged into the side-by-side pair, while the third Twin amp on the far right was provided to amplify a Hohner Pianet N electric piano that was a never-used backup to Billy Preston’s Fender Rhodes Mark I Suitcase 73 (which was amplified by its built-in 50-watt amp and speaker cabinet base).

Lennon plugged his Casino into the Twin Reverb’s Normal channel, while Harrison preferred the added versatility of the Vibrato channel, occasionally dialing in a touch of spring reverb.

Leslie 147RV 

Another frequently overlooked but essential item in the Beatles’ gear arsenal during the Get Back sessions is the Leslie rotating speaker cabinet that Harrison often used to add a distinctive warbling texture to his guitar solos, particularly on the single version of Let It Be.

Harrison previously plugged into a Leslie that was on hand at the EMI Abbey Road studios, but since the Get Back sessions were held at Twickenham Film Studios and the studio at Apple Corps, the Beatles lead guitarist faced the prospect of working without his favored sound-shaping tool. 

Fortunately, Eric Clapton came to the rescue shortly before the sessions began, giving Harrison a Leslie 147RV cabinet. The Leslie was also put to good use when Billy Preston played the Hammond L100 organ.

Electro-Harmonix has resurrected the classic Sovtek MIG-50 guitar amp under its own name.

A fairly straightforward recreation – aside from some 21st century enhancements to make the amp, in EHX's words, "bulletproof" – the new MIG-50 head features a pair of channels (normal and bright/high gain), each with its own volume control.

Power on the NYC-made amp comes by way of a pair of Tung-Sol 5881 power tubes, and an individual Mullard 12AX7 and two Tung-Sol 12AX7 preamp tubes, while controls come in the form of treble, middle, bass and presence knobs. An external bias adjustment for the power tubes also comes aboard. 

Tonally, the amp aims to duplicate the richness of its Sovtek predecessor, with some of the sweetness of a tweed Fender Bassman.

The Electro-Harmonix MIG-50 is shipping now for $638.40. For more info, point your browser over to Electro-Harmonix.

Billy Zoom remains one of the most fascinating figures of the early punk rock scene, mainly because he never truly fit the mold of the typical punk guitarist. 

Inspired by Johnny Ramone, he adopted a similar spread-eagle stance on stage and unleashed a brutal wall of distorted powerchords, but his beatific smile contrasted the de rigueur punk scowl, and his gleaming vintage Gretsch 6129 Silver Jet was downright upscale compared to the pawn shop prizes most punk players preferred. 

Perhaps most unusual of all is that Zoom is an absolute brainiac when it comes to amplifiers. He can design and build amps from the ground up, whereas most of his peers could barely find the power switch.

Even before Zoom joined X, he ran an amp repair shop in Hollywood and sold custom amps long before the boutique craze began, and he still builds custom amps to this day.

On stage during the early days of X, he played through a brownface Fender Custom that he hot-rodded himself, moving on to a hot-rodded Quad Reverb followed by his own custom high-power half stacks and his current 20-watt “cowboy” amp. 

Zoom’s stage amps were far too loud for the studio, so when X recorded their first albums during the early '80s, he borrowed a Traynor YBA-1 Bass Master head from bassist John Doe.

Featuring a circuit based on the tweed Fender 5F6A Bassman (also the basis for the Marshall JTM45), the Traynor YBA-1 is known as the “Canadian plexi”. 

Thanks to their stalwart Hammond transformers and 6CA7 tubes (the American equivalent of the EL34), early YBA-1 amps deliver tight bottom-end crunch, smoothly compressed midrange and crisp treble cut, which was just perfect for Zoom’s punchy power chords and neo-rockabilly riffs.

Like he did with his playing, Zoom opted for a “less is more” approach with his rig, plugging his Silver Jet directly to the amp with all of the controls all of the way up, allowing the aged DeArmond pickups to grind menacingly. 

While many great rock rhythm guitar tracks have been recorded with Gretsch guitars (AC/DC, The Cult, The Who, etc.), Zoom is one of the few players to prefer single-coil DeArmonds over Filter’tron humbuckers.

Get the sound, cheap!

Gretsch G5230T Electromatic Jet with Bigsby

TV Jones T-Armond bridge pickup

Traynor YGL1

Tone tip: Set the Traynor’s mode switch to “Pure” to bypass the tone stack for an aggressive midrange boost.

If there’s one overdrive pedal that’s been used by pros but has slipped under the popular radar, it’s the ODR-1. 

Finished in a similar green hue to the Tube Screamer, the ODR-1 came about because designer Kai Tachibana was not keen on the fact that the Ibanez and other overdrives featured a strong middle hump. 

Instead, he wanted a drive pedal that did what his bluesy sounding 40-watt black-panel Fender Bassman did, reacting to the volume pot on his guitar, where the overdrive increased slowly and evenly without changing the basic tonal character. 

And so the ODR-1 was born. Since it’s original launch in the '90s, the pedal has gone on to become a favorite with many respected players, particularly in the Nashville session scene where it’s currently the go-to pedal for the likes of Guthrie Trapp and Tim Pierce. 

This latest ODR-1 Natural Overdrive we have on review is not dissimilar to a Boss pedal in its form factor and features some new revisions. It also has a mini version, which we’ll look at here, too.

Nobels ODR-1 BC

The latest ODR-1 can now run from 18 volts for extra headroom, and in response to requests from some humbucker users who found the bottom-end a little too heavy it now has a bass-cut DIP switch (hence the ‘BC’ in the model number) on the circuit board that’s easily accessed via the top-loading battery compartment’s hinged cover.

While it’s a very effective tonal tweak, tightening up the real low-end for those who want it, we preferred the standard sound with its full-bodied warmth. Plus there’s no overt molestation of your tone except for some natural enhancement via the Spectrum knob, which simultaneously adjusts treble and lower mids to add crispness to the clarity or to mellow things down. 

The pedal is capable of a fully driven sound but we liked the magic that happens in the lower reaches of the drive knob where you find early break-up and low-level crunch that can add just the right amount of grit to a clean amp for core tone or as a solo booster.

Specs

• PRICE: $119 / £99
• ORIGIN: China
• TYPE: Overdrive pedal
• FEATURES: True bypass, remote momentary operation, luminous knob markings, integral pedalboard mounting plates
• CONTROLS: Drive, Spectrum, Level, internal bass cut switch, Bypass footswitch
• CONNECTIONS: Standard input, standard output, Remote
• POWER: 9V battery or 9V-18V DC adaptor (not supplied) 11mA
• DIMENSIONS: 74 (w) x 126 (d) x 58mm (h)

Nobels ODR-mini

If you want the ODR-1 sound but need something a little more compact for your pedalboard, here’s the ODR-mini. 

Following the standard form factor of this size of pedal with offset jacks, it has the same three knobs as its larger sibling with the ‘glow in the dark’ pointers, albeit with no legending around the knobs. 

The Spectrum knob, though, does have a notched center detente position and in an A/B test with that knob in its detented position the sound matches the larger pedal (without its bass cut switch engaged) when that pedal’s Spectrum knob is set to about 4.

Further tweaking of the knobs, however, shows that both are capable of the same tonal range and that the mini model cleans up very naturally with guitar volume just like its bigger sibling.

Both versions of the pedal work really well with a Telecaster; they are a perfect complement to a Fender amp if you play country but there’s also plenty for blues players in a pedal that can push an amp in a very natural way.

Specs

• PRICE: $79 / £69
• ORIGIN: China
• TYPE: Overdrive pedal
• FEATURES: True bypass, luminous knob markings
• CONTROLS: Drive, Spectrum, Level, Bypass footswitch
• CONNECTIONS: Standard input, standard output
• POWER: 9V-18V DC adaptor (not supplied) 15mA
• DIMENSIONS: 53 (w) x 94 (d) x 48mm (h)
• CONTACT: Nobels

When Buddy Guy recorded Damn Right, I’ve Got the Blues in 1991, he had not been in a studio to record his own music for nearly a decade. 

Even though numerous guitar legends like Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Johnny Winter had praised him as a primary influence, Guy missed out on the Eighties blues revival, seeming content to slug it out on the club circuit or occasionally make guest appearances on bigger stages. 

With Damn Right, I’ve Got the Blues, Silvertone Records and producer John Porter sought to finally earn Guy the acclaim he deserved with a proper “comeback” recording that showcased him at his finest. 

Appropriate for an electric blues guitarist with a classic Chicago pedigree, Guy used a bare-bones, stripped-down rig consisting of just a couple of tweed Fender amps and a Fender Stratocaster. 

“When I first worked with Buddy, I brought my own battered ’58 tweed Bassman and tweed Deluxe to the sessions,” recalls John Porter. “As far as guitars go, I called the Fender guys in London and asked them to send a couple of Strats to the studio. Buddy was playing a Guild at the time, but I always considered him and Otis Rush as the two guys who made the Strat an iconic blues guitar.

“Perhaps I shouldn’t have interfered, but I wanted him to have that sound. Fender sent over two Strats, including an Eric Clapton model with a blonde finish and tortoiseshell pickguard, which is the one that Buddy used. He told Fender that he dug it and took it home with him after the sessions. I believe it became the basis for his signature model that Fender introduced a few years later.”

For the album’s title track, Guy plugged the Clapton Strat directly into the 1958 Fender Bassman and turned every control way up except for the bass, which was set around 2.

Those settings combined with additional boosted treble from the Clapton Strat’s TBX tone circuit gave Guy a very aggressive, cutting tone that slices right to the front of the mix.

Guy started the intro by playing through the neck pickup, but at key moments during the solos he switched to the bridge pickup for enhanced percussive attack, particularly during his second solo just past the three-minute mark. 

He also manipulated the volume control almost continuously, backing off for fills during the verses. 

With a guitar rig this stripped down and simple, the true key to reproducing Guy’s tone lies with a very aggressive pick attack and firm pressure from the fretting hand, particularly when bending notes and performing pull-offs and hammer-ons

Get the sound, cheap!

Fender Buddy Guy Standard Stratocaster

Fender Blues Deluxe Reissue

TONE TIP: Although the Buddy Guy Standard Stratocaster does not have the Clapton Strat’s TBX and Active Mid Boost features, these tones can be replicated by a slight gain boost on the amp via the Drive control and keeping the bass tone control setting low for enhanced treble cut.

Original gear

GUITAR: 1988 Fender Custom Shop Eric Clapton Stratocaster with Lace Sensor Gold pickups (individual neck and bridge pickup settings used throughout), Volume: setting varies, but mostly at 10, TBX Tone: 7, Active Mid Boost: 2

AMPS: 1958 Fender Bassman (Presence: 12, Middle: 12, Bass: 2, Treble: 11, Vol. Bright: 10, Vol. Normal: 0, Bright 1 input) with four Jensen P10R alnico 10-inch speakers

EFFECTS: none

STRINGS/TUNING: Ernie Ball Power Slinky .011 - .048/Standard

PICK: Jim Dunlop celluloid Triangle heavy

Bass players are understandably infatuated with the bass itself. Get a group of bass players in a room, and the conversation will eventually circle toward basses. It’s standard-issue shoptalk, and it’s often remarkably well informed.

But then the conversation turns to bass amps. Maybe because of their relative complexity compared to basses, or the challenge of verbalizing technology’s connection to sound, bass players are generally less fluent amp-wise. The same player who extols the special virtues of ash-body mid-’70s Jazz Basses will often clam up if asked to describe what it is exactly that makes his amp sound good … or bad.

If innovation is a good catalyst for conversation, amps give us much more to talk about. While there have been many stabs at revolutionary change, the bass guitar has basically stayed the same since it was invented. There’s a body. There’s a neck. There are strings and some way of converting the strings’ vibration into an electrical output. Sure, there are many approaches to each facet, but to change any one would essentially reorient the very instrument itself. Amps, on the other hand, are a venue for truly radical change. At the core, an amp needs to make a bass loud. This raw fact has never altered, but the means of achieving this goal are in a constant state of flux, and the last decade has been perhaps the most exciting.

This article will outline the progression of amplifier technology through the years, explain the latest developments, and illuminate some of the technology behind the sound.

In The Beginning

When Fender debuted the first mass-produced bass guitar in 1951, the Precision Bass, it was quickly clear that a purpose-built bass amp would be necessary. After all, one of the chief motives for the development of the bass guitar, besides portability, was its ability to be heard in the increasingly loud world of electrified music, and existing guitar amps weren’t up to the task.

Acoustic 360/361 Ampeg and Fender quickly dominated the burgeoning bass amp industry. The earliest bass amp, 1949’s Ampeg Super 800, was designed to complement Ampeg’s innovative acoustic bass pickup, but the seeds for bass guitar amplification were sown. On the heels of the P-Bass debut was the 1952 release of the Fender Bassman, a 50-watt amp with a single 15" speaker. In 1954, Fender updated the Bassman with a 4x10 speaker configuration and an upgraded circuit. Meanwhile, Ampeg continued to evolve its lineup, culminating in one of the most important amps of all time, 1960’s B-15 Portaflex.

During the mid ’60s, other manufacturers started making their own amps. England’s Marshall and Hiwatt were early pioneers in high-output amplification, and the loud rock bands of the mid to late ’60s quickly took to their 50- and 100-watt heads and large 4x12 cabinets.

The Birth Of Solid-State

Although the transistor had been integrated into radios and other small amplifiers since the early ’50s, it wasn’t until the mid-tolate ’60s that solid-state amps began to steal market-share from the all-tube predecessors mentioned above. Solid-state amplifiers have important advantages over tubes (which in Britain are called valves), particularly their durability and portability. Instead of relatively hot and fragile vacuum tubes, solid-state amps use small, rugged transistors. They’re also generally lighter than tube amps of comparable power, because solid-state amps don’t require an output transformer, often the heaviest component in a tube amp.

Vox released one of the earliest solid-state bass amps, the T.60. The company had engineers on staff experienced with transistor technology because of the Vox Continental Organ, so it was well poised to make the leap to solid-state. The T.60’s 40 watts powered an innovative closed-back 1x15 + 1x12 speaker cabinet, which included a crossover to filter low frequencies out of the 12" speaker’s output. Although the T.60 developed a reputation for unreliability, Vox continued to be an important solid-state brand through the ’60s, in part because of brilliant endorsement deals with major acts of the day, including the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and James Brown.

By the mid to late ’60s, a few other manufacturers joined the solid-state bass amp fray, including Univox, Kustom, Sears Silvertone, Acoustic Control Corporation, and more. Many of these amps were deemed unreliable, but the technology was developing rapidly. In 1968, RCA—then among the world’s most influential electrical engineering firms—released a paper describing important developments in solid-state amplifiers, helping the technology flourish even further among smaller amp manufacturers.

The ’60s was also the decade when many iconic bass-amp innovators started their careers, including Russ Allee and Roger Smith of AMP and Steve Rabe, founder of SWR. Bob Gallien, the man behind Gallien-Krueger, designed one of the decade’s most powerful solid-state amps, the GMT 226B. When the owner of the local music store where Gallien worked suggested that he focus on bass amps instead of the much more crowded guitar amp field, Gallien saw the opportunity. His innovative concepts and rugged engineering would yield some of the most important amps in history.

Showdown: Tubes Vs. Transistors

As with the music the amps were used for, the 1970s would be a critical decade in the bass’s evolution. The Ampeg SVT, released in 1969, would prove to be the dominant amp of the ’70s, and to its many fans, it continues this dominance today. The SVT (short for Super Valve Technology) was leagues ahead of its all-tube contemporaries. Bill Hughes’ design offered 300 watts of power at a time when most amps struggled to eclipse 100, and its accompanying cabinet featured eight 10" speakers in an innovative sealed and baffled design. It was the first amp to really allow bass players the volume and projection to compete with the screaming electric guitars and thunderous drums of the era’s rock music.

Fender, Sunn, and Acoustic were the decade’s other dominant bass amp manufacturers, some with designs originally released in the late ’60s. The Fender Dual Showman, while not technically a purpose-built bass amp, found much favor for its sweet tone, large 2x15 cabinet, and durability. Sunn’s Coliseum head, an all-tube monstrosity that rivaled the SVT for girth and complexity, could be seen on many loud stages, especially among the era’s top British bands. On the other side of the technological spectrum was Acoustic’s 360 stack, consisting of the Model 360 preamp and 361 powered cabinet. Released in late 1968, the solid-state Acoustic stack was one of the most coveted rigs among period bass players. While not as powerful as the Ampeg and Sunn amps, the Acoustic’s clever design, solid-state immediacy, and unusual tone-shaping circuit helped it stand out. The 361 cabinet was at least as important as the 360 preamp to the rig’s unique sound: It included a rear-firing horn and single 18" speaker, and was legendary for its projection into large rooms. It would become a key part of the tone of bass greats like John Paul Jones, Larry Graham, and Jaco Pastorius.

The Rise Of Hi-Fi

By the end of the ’70s and into the ’80s, solid-state technology had come a long way from its unreliable beginnings. Engineers were extracting unprecedented levels of power from amps, with much of the early effort focused on PA-style power amps. PA (public address) amps must be powerful enough to drive full-bandwidth sound through large arrays of speakers, and solid-state amps offered enough power, plus substantially increased reliability and portability compared to tube amps. Meanwhile, the bass’s role in music changed substantially; the advent of synthesizers, the emergence of electronic dance music, and the dawn of digital recording all had a huge impact on the instrument’s tone as well as players’ techniques. Many bassists who had been content with the rich and thick sound of their SVTs, B-15s, and Acoustic 360s now craved greater clarity, speed, and power to better suit the era’s music. The same fidelity that marked the period’s popular hi-fi home stereo gear became an increasing priority for bass players.

Many manufacturers flourished in the ’80s, contributing essential amps to the industry. Former Acoustic Control Corporation engineer Russ Allee formed AMP (Amplified Musical Products) in 1981, soon hiring fellow Acoustic cohort Steve Rabe to help design the AMP 420 bass head. While not a huge seller at the time, AMP’s modern approach to solid-state design would be hugely influential, and Allee would continue to be a major figure in bass amp design for years to come.

Mesa/Boogie Bass 400+ Steve Rabe founded SWR in 1984. His mission was for a bass amp that mimicked the full-range, detailed sound of studio monitors. Building on the solid-state experience he gained at Acoustic and AMP, Rabe’s first amplifier, the PB-200, could be described as one of the earliest truly modern bass heads, with many features that continue to be commonplace in today’s heads. A “hybrid” amp, the PB-200 employed a single 12AX7 tube in its preamp section, for buffering and driving the input. It incorporated an “Aural Enhancer” circuit, a variable EQ contour controlled by a single knob that boosts lows and highs and cuts mids as it’s turned up. It also boasted a semi-parametric EQ section, a bi-amp function (allowing highs and lows to be amplified separately), and a balanced xlr output.

Realizing that SWR needed a bass cabinet to sell alongside its hot new head, Rabe turned to David Nordschow of Eden Electronics for assistance. Then better known for PA-style cabinets, the first Eden design for SWR would radically change cabinet design through the decade. The Goliath I cabinet, with its 4x10 + horn configuration, was capable of high volume—but it was also articulate, quick, and blessed with extended high-frequency response thanks to its built-in tweeter. Subsequent Goliath speaker designs would move in-house, but Nordschow’s early influence was critical to their development.

Nordschow saw an opportunity for Eden to expand into amplifier design. An early partnership with famed audio engineer James Demeter yielded the VT-40 head, a kind of hybrid of Demeter’s VTB-201s preamp and a 400-watt solid-state power amp. Eden continues to be a major force in bass amps today, as does DNA (David Nordschow Amplification), which Nordschow launched after his split from Eden.

After its early success and innovation with the 226B, Gallien- Krueger had more tricks up its sleeve. In 1982 it debuted the 800RB, an iconic head renowned for its durability and clever circuit, which included a built in DI and bi-amp capabilities. It also introduced the essential feature set that would characterize GK’s later, more powerful designs.

Mesa/Boogie was also an emergent powerhouse during the ’80s, first gaining fame with its complex and flexible line of alltube guitar combo amps. It also released one of the few truly innovative all-tube bass heads of the ’80s, the Bass 400, and its more powerful successor, the Bass 400+.

The Modern Age

Until the 1990s, the evolution of the bass amp featured just a handful of key players. Applying the same scrutiny to the explosion of bass amp manufacturers in the ’90s and beyond would take up most of this magazine. Rather than illuminate the history of each of these important contributors, let’s focus instead on the technological developments that characterize today’s bass amps.

Six landmark high-powered heads (clockwise from left): Gallien-Kreuger 800RB, Eden WT-800, Ashdown ABM 1000, Carvin B1500, Traynor YBA 200, and Hartke LH500. From the ’90s onward, solid-state amps became the vastly dominant technology. While many manufacturers continued to produce all-tube models, the advantages of solid-state were significant, especially when power, durability, and cost were factors. There were also new entrants into the industry, plus legacy companies that began to make a bigger presence in bass. A bass player could choose amps from a multitude of manufacturers— companies like Aguilar Amplification, Ashdown Engineering, EBS, Genz-Benz, Epifani, Euphonic Audio, Hartke, Ibanez, MarkBass, Peavey, Orange, Tech 21, Traynor, Warwick, Yamaha, Phil Jones Bass, TC Electronic, and more.

The biggest technological advances in bass amplification address the age-old problem of weight and portability. For decades, loud amps were heavy, and so were the cabinets capable of contending with their high output. Now, it is not uncommon to find 1,000- watt heads weighing less than ten pounds. Let’s take a closer look at the technology behind the weight savings.

Light Amps: Class D & SMPS

Ultralight amps predominantly make use of two key pieces of technology. First, the power amps generally operate in a Class D topology. Peavey was a big innovator in this realm, releasing the first Class D amp for live audio applications in 1984. Class D amps achieve much greater efficiency than conventional Class AB amplifiers, so less output power is wasted as heat, and more of the input power is converted directly into sound. The resulting amps require fewer output devices, less heat-sinking, and a physically smaller power supply. The industry approached the technology tentatively in the early 2000s, but now virtually every manufacturer (except for the hardcore all-tube specialists) makes at least one bass head that utilizes a Class D power amp.

A new breed of featherweight heads (clockwise from left): Warwick LWA 1000, TC Electronic RH750, Orange Terror Bass, Fender Rumble 200, Aguilar Tone Hammer 500, EBS Reidmar. The other critical component of today’s ultra-lightweight amps is the switched-mode power supply (SMPS). All amplifiers require a section of the circuit dedicated to converting the line power (from the wall) to the appropriate voltage, current, and phase for the operation of the amp; this conversion is done by the power supply. In a traditional linear power supply, AC (alternating current) line power is regulated at the frequency it exits the wall, 60Hz in America. To contend with this low-frequency power, a large power transformer, consisting of iron laminations and copper windings, is required. Additionally, an array of other discrete components, like high-voltage capacitors, resistors, and inductors are required to filter and smooth the power for distribution through the amp. Linear power supplies are not particularly efficient, losing energy as heat and as a consequence of voltage regulation.

SMPS designs take a different route. First, an SMPS rectifies the AC line power into DC (direct current). Then, a “chopper circuit” or “switching regulator” converts the DC signal back into AC, but at a much higher frequency than its original 60Hz. This frequency is typically above the audible spectrum (20kHz) and can go as high as 100kHz in some SMPS amps. Finally, the high-frequency current hits a transformer again to step the voltage down or up for appropriate use in the amp. The trick is that since the power is at such a high frequency, a much smaller power transformer is necessary than the bulky iron anchors used in linear power supplies. The reasons get deep into physics-class territory, but suffice it to say that an SMPS can nearly eliminate the weight a transformer contributes to the overall heft of a bass head. Coupled with a lightweight and efficient Class D power amp, you get the insanely lightweight heads of today. Today's bass amps are smaller, lighter, and more powerful than ever before. So are speaker cabinets, which now make extensive use of lightweight neodymium magnets. Innovation may be a constant, but the current crop of technology feels like it's at a point of temporary stasis, with the focus going toward further refinement and cost reduction. Given how capable today's amps are, it's a wonder what may come next

Amplification 101 How Do Tubes Work?

To put the emergence of solid-state amplifiers into context, it’s important to understand the technology behind an all-tube amplifier. Prior to amplification, electrical devices were passive, only able to subtract from a signal. Vacuum tubes allowed electronic devices to add gain (amplification) to a signal, resulting in some of the 20th century’s most important inventions. These included radio, radar, recording devices, and yes, bass amps—all devices that require gain to operate, and therefore required vacuum tubes, until the transistor’s invention in 1947.

A vacuum tube consists of a sealed envelope, usually glass, which contains a number of elements. The air is removed from the tube to allow the free flow of electricity between the components. The simplest tubes contain three elements: an anode (also called the “plate”), cathode, and heater. Naming conventions ignore the heater as an element, since nearly all tubes contain one. Thus, the simple two-element tube (plate and cathode) is called a “diode” (short for “dielectrode”). The cathode is made of a material that sheds electrons when heated. Electrons have a negative charge, so when the cathode is heated and a positive charge is applied to the anode, electrons flow from the cathode to the anode. Critically, electrons do not flow from the anode to the cathode. Thus, a diode allows current to flow in only one direction.

What’s the point, you may ask? A diode is a critical component of an amplifier’s power supply, the part of an amp that manages the power coming from the wall. Wall power emerges from a socket as an alternating current (AC), the polarity of which changes 60 times per second. If plotted on a graph, the power would look like a sine wave, with peaks and valleys equidistant from a centerline. One way to imagine AC as compared to direct current (DC) is that AC flows forward and backward, while DC flows in only one direction. Since diodes only allow current to flow in one direction, a diode can convert the AC from the wall into DC. When used this way, a diode tube is called a “rectifier” (the conversion of AC to DC is called rectification). Tube amps need DC to function, so a rectifier creates this type of current for use throughout the amp. It performs this function in concert with other components in the power supply, including a transformer for modulating the voltage of the wall power, and filter capacitors that help smooth out the DC emerging from the rectifier. In contemporary tube amps, tube diodes are often replaced by solid-state components that perform the same function, but some players still prefer the sound of a tube rectifier.

The other role of a tube in an amplifier is amplification itself. Whereas rectifier tubes simply convert AC to DC, the rest of the tubes in an amp add gain to the signal. They accomplish this by adding an additional element to the tube, a control grid. The control grid is placed between the anode and the cathode, regulating the flow of electrons from the cathode to the anode. When an appropriate negative voltage is applied to the grid, it can effectively “turn off” the tube, preventing electrons from making their way to the anode. (This voltage is a tube’s bias.) When an AC signal is applied to the grid, however, the grid allows electrons to flow. Since the output of a bass pickup is AC (in fact, all audio signals are AC), applying a small audio signal to the grid results in a much larger fluctuation in the anode current. A small signal voltage is controlling the creation of a large current; this is amplification. The simplest amplifier tube is a triode, so called because of its three active components (anode, cathode, and grid). Some tubes, called tetrodes and pentodes, add additional grids to further filter and regulate the flow of current.

Hartley Peavey with an early Class D amplifier.Amplification 101 Amplifier Class

There are a number of methods for designing an amplifier’s output section, whether it’s tube or solid-state. Each type or “topology” is categorized according to its output class. In bass amps, the primary output classes in use are Class AB and Class D (the latter used only in solid-state amps). To understand Class AB power amps, let’s take a quick look at the simplest power amp topology, Class A.

In a Class A amp, the active amplifying component—whether tube or transistor—remains conducting at all times. The component is idling or “biased” such that its base level of operation is roughly half of the operating current. That means that even at low signal levels, a significant amount of the power-supply voltage must be applied to the tube or transistor. This makes Class A amps inefficient and their accompanying power supplies large and hot. They have a cult following among some guitar players and hi-fi purists for their perceived higher-fidelity sound, but at the output levels required for bass, they’re of little practical use.

Until the dawn of Class D, Class AB was by far the most prominent amp topology in bass amps. In a Class AB amp, the audio signal is divided into two halves. An audio signal being a form of alternating current, it has positive and negative phases. A section of the amp called the phase inverter divides the audio signal and sends the positive side to one or more output devices (solid-state or tube) and the negative half to another set of output devices. Since each array of output devices is only responsible for amplifying half the audio signal, it can spend half of its time in a low-power state. The resulting DC signals are then recombined to constitute an amplified audio signal proportional to the input signal. This process introduces some distortion, but the distortion is mitigated in a well-designed Class AB output stage. Class AB topologies are also referred to as “push–pull” amps, because of the phase inversion integral to their operation.

Class D amps exclusively use solid-state output devices, typically MOSFETs, a specially designed form of transistor. Through a function called pulse-width modulation (PWM), Class D amps produce a high-frequency series of pulses, the duration of each being proportional to the input signal’s level at that moment. In this way, a high-frequency signal can act as a “carrier” for the low-frequency bass signal. Because this signal consists of on-and-off pulses only, and not the complex undulations of a typical analog audio signal, the output devices can operate like switches, either fully on or fully off. This results in extremely high efficiency. After the amplification, a lowpass filter removes the high-frequency content to reveal the low-frequency audio.

Tone spotters and gear geeks frequently rely on photos and videos of live and television performances when trying to decode the recorded tones of famous players, but this can often be a misleading pursuit. One great example of why that is so is Pete Townshend.

In the early '70s, Townshend was almost always seen on stage with a late-Sixties Gibson SG Standard and massive stacks of Hiwatt amps, but in the studio during this period he rarely used either. Instead, his main guitar rig on classic Who albums like Who’s Next and Quadrophenia was a 1959 Gretsch 6120 plugged into a 1959 Fender Bandmaster amp.

Townshend revealed the details behind this rig to me in a Guitar Player magazine interview in 1993.

“I remember when I gave Joe Walsh an ARP 2600,” he said. “[Joe] went, ‘Pete, I bought you a Gretsch Country Gentleman [actually a 6120 Chet Atkins] like Neil Young uses. I know you don’t really get into them, but you should try this. And I bought you a Fender Bandmaster amplifier with three 10s so the ohmage is crazy, and an Edwards pedal steel volume pedal.’

“I linked it all up, went ‘Ya-a-ang’ and it was there. When I get those three things out and put them in a chain, it’s a sound from paradise.”

The Edwards volume pedal and even a Whirlwind cable (which Townshend later mentioned was also essential) play subtle but critical roles in the finished tone as both roll off some of the harsher high-end frequencies to give the Gretsch more growl than twang.

The 6120’s hollow body, medium-output PAF Filter’tron humbuckers and the Bandmaster’s lowwatt alnico 10-inch speakers deliver a wonderfully boxy, honking midrange. Meanwhile, the Bandmaster’s 26-watt circuit provides glorious tweed-era distortion with tighter bass than a Deluxe and more clarity than a Bassman.

GET THE SOUND, CHEAP!

● Gretsch G2420T Streamliner single cutaway
● TV Jones Classic bridge pickup
● Fender Pro Junior IV

TONE TIP: Back down the Pro Junior’s tone control to tame the twang and crank up the volume to maximum overdrive.

ORIGINAL GEAR

GUITAR: 1959 Gretsch 6120 Chet Atkins with PAF Filter’tron humbucking pickups (bridge pickup), volume: 10, master volume: 10, master tone switch: center (off)
AMP: 1959 Fender Bandmaster combo* with three Jensen P10Q alnico speakers (Mic Volume: 0, Instrument Volume: 10, Treble: 7, Bass: 5, Presence: 5, Instrument input 1)
EFFECTS: Edwards volume pedal
STRINGS/TUNING: Gibson E340 Sonomatic .012, .016, .016**, .032, .044, .056/Standard
PICK: Manny’s Music heavy

*Since Fender tweed amp controls go up to 12, settings here are from 0-12 instead of the usual 0-10
**Townshend used a second B string for the G string

When Brian Setzer recorded “Rock This Town,” he plugged his 1959 Gretsch 6120 directly into Eden Studios’ SSL 4000E console—a technique favored by producer Dave Edmunds, who recorded his own guitar parts for Rockpile’s Seconds of Pleasure album at Eden using the same method just a few months before. The SSL console’s preamps, EQ and compressors helped generate amp-like warmth and body while retaining crystalline clarity, and a touch of vintage ambience came courtesy of a tape echo unit patched into the board.

Since few of us have a fully loaded vintage SSL 4000E at our disposal, for this month’s entry I’m going to make an exception and describe Brian Setzer’s live rig during 1981 at the beginning of the Stray Cats’ rise to fame.

Fortunately, Setzer’s main rig has remained pretty much consistent since then: a 1959 Gretsch 6120 with PAF Filter’tron humbuckers, 1963 Fender Bassman head with matching Fender 2x12 cabinet and an echo/delay unit—initially a Boss DM-2 Analog Delay (or an Electro-Harmonix Memory Man in a few instances) before Setzer adopted his mainstay Roland RE-301 Space Echo in the early Eighties.

The key to Setzer’s tone is pushing the Bassman’s volume up to the limits of its clean headroom where just a slight amount of overdrive emerges. This provides just the right balance of thick, full-bodied tone and the Gretsch’s characteristic jangle and twang. In the early days when he was using analog delay pedals, Setzer plugged into the Bassman’s Bass channel as its higher output gain paired better with pedals, but when he got the RE-301 he switched to the Normal channel as the RE-301’s built-in preamp provided the desirable gain he prefers up front while allowing the amp to maintain a cleaner overall tone. Setzer usually sets his delay to a fast slapback setting (between 60 to 120 milliseconds) with a single repeat. Use up to three repeats if you want more of a reverb-like effect.

ORIGINAL GEAR

● GUITAR: 1959 Gretsch 6120 (both pickups), master tone switch: middle setting (neutral), master, neck and bridge volume controls all at 10 ● AMP: 1963 Fender Bassman head with 6G6-B circuit (Bass channel, Volume: 4.5, Treble: 8, Bass: 5, Presence: 10) ● CABINET: 1963 Fender Bassman 2x12 with Oxford 12L6 12-inch speakers (later changed to Celestion V30s) ● EFFECTS: Boss DM-2 Analog Delay (Repeat Rate/delay time: 4, Echo/mix: 5, Intensity/feedback: 0) ● STRINGS/TUNING: Dean Markley Nickel Steel Regular .010, .013, .017, .026, .036, .046/Standard ● PICK: Fender Medium

GET THE SOUND, CHEAP!

● Gretsch G2420T Streamliner ● TV Jones Brian Setzer Signature pickups ● Fender Blues Junior Lacquered Tweed 1x12 combo ● Boss DM-2W Delay Waza Craft

TONE TIP: The TV Jones Brian Setzer Signature pickups are a key element in reproducing Setzer’s signature crisp treble and growling low midrange punch. If you can afford to spend a few more bucks and want to get even closer to Setzer’s tone, Tavo Vega (thenocturnebrain.com) offers a wide variety of pedals and amps inspired by the man himself.

How about a scary story since we’re so close to Halloween?

There once was a guitar player named Jerry. Creativity struck, but as Jerry reached for his amp’s power switch, he saw a clock on the wall that read 12:00am. He put his guitar away, and when he woke up in the morning his idea was gone forever.

Since I don’t always have the luxury of loud, I wanted to try the Le Clean by the French company Two Notes with my home recording setup. While the pedal works for a slew of applications (D.I. box, pre-amp, headphone amp, overdrive/boost pedal, effects loop), my main interest was to see if it could give my direct recordings a little tube magic when I can’t crank an amp.

Le Clean is one of four different tube preamps from the Le Preamp series. Each preamp has two channels plus Hot and Cold Fusion mode which blends the two channels together for two additional tones.

Channel A is as simple as it gets. The controls are Gain, Volume, Bass and Treble. It reminds me of a no nonsense blackface Fender Bassman.

Channel B gets a bit more complex. The common controls are Gain, Sweep (works with Mid), Volume, Bass, Mid and Treble. Also included in Channel B is the Hot/Cold switch and Fusion knob. These come into play only when you use Fusion mode.

Fusion mode is when both channels are combined. There are two ways to do this. Cold Fusion mode puts both channels in parallel, which adds in the high end clarity that often gets lost in a distorted sound. Hot Fusion mode cascades the two channels making it great to boost your volume for solos.

Clip 1: Here’s a Strat with no amp, just the D.I. out with the Speaker Simulation engaged. I start off clean in Channel A then switch over to Channel B for a little overdrive. The Speaker Simulation gave the audio just enough depth that I didn’t miss a lack of reverb or room sound.

Clip 2: To show off Hot and Cold Fusion modes, I played a Fender American Professional series Telecaster through a Fender Blues Junior amp and ran the Le Clean as you would any overdrive pedal. The rhythm guitar part I have the Le Clean set to Cold Fusion and for the lead part I switch over to Hot Fusion.

Clip 3: As a final test, I had to know if the Le Clean could help tame the infamous brittle tone of a direct acoustic guitar. While it took some fine tuning (the EQ is very sensitive) here’s how my Tacoma acoustic sounds straight into the Le Clean.

Learn more about the Le Clean ($299.99) at twonotes.com.

You can't believe everything you read on the Internet, but Billy Voight is a gear reviewer, bassist and guitarist from Pennsylvania. He has Hartke bass amps and Walden acoustic guitars to thank for supplying some of the finest gear on his musical journey. Need Billy's help in creating noise for your next project? Drop him a line at thisguyonbass@gmail.com.

The following content is related to the July 2013 issue of Guitar World. For the full range of interviews, features, tabs and more, pick up the new issue on newsstands now, or in our online store.

Known to many as the Canadian Plexi, the original Traynor YBA-1 from the late Sixties and early Seventies has developed a cult following in recent years among budget-minded guitarists who seek outstanding tube tone. The original YBA-1 flew under the radar because it was marketed as a bass amp, but its circuit closely resembles the late-Fifties Fender tweed Bassman 5F6A circuit, a perennial guitarist favorite that was the inspiration for the Marshall JTM45.

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of its parent company, Yorkville, Traynor is producing the YBA-1 Bass Master Tribute amp in limited numbers. The YBA-1 accurately reproduces the sounds and features of the amp’s original design and adds a few modern upgrades as well.

Features

The YBA-1 is a 40-watt head featuring two EL34B tubes, three 12AX7WA tubes and a solid-state rectifier. The amp has a two-channel design with individual volume controls for channels I and II. The channels share treble, bass and low- and high-range expander controls, and the amp has no master volume or channel switching, although you can get around the latter with an A/B switch.

Whereas the original YBA-1 had individual Hi and Lo inputs for channels I and II, the Tribute replaces the Hi II input with a Hi input that blends channels I and II together, similar to using a jumper cable. Another new addition is an attenuator with a five-position switch that provides 40-, 20-, 10-, 5- and 2.5-watt settings. The only other features are a pair of 1/4-inch parallel speaker outputs, a four-/eight-ohm impedance switch, and a front-mounted operate/standby switch coupled to a pilot light that changes color from yellow (standby) to red (on).

Performance

The YBA-1’s extremely simple circuit delivers fat, bold and ballsy tone that preserves a guitar’s character and provides exceptionally responsive dynamics. Even at the 2.5-watt setting, the YBA-1 sounds like a big amp, and played side by side with a modern 15- or 30-watt micro amp, it reveals the deficiencies of those designs, even though it’s not much bigger than many micro heads. The amp sounds great with a wide variety of cabinets, but the YBX212, with two Celestion Vintage 30 speakers, is designed for the YBA-1 and makes a particularly good match.

The four inputs generate a wide variety of tones. Low I produces the most clean headroom, along with brilliant treble sparkle, while Low II provides dark, warm clean tones that are best for bass. Hi I delivers crisp overdrive grind, and Hi I/II offers aggressive overdrive and distortion tones with assertive bass. The range expander controls interact with the volume and EQ controls, and when turned up they operate like midrange and presence controls and boost gain.

Cheat Sheet

List Price $899

Manufacturer Traynor Amps, traynoramps.com

A 40-watt two-channel amp with a simple design based on Traynor’s original YBA-1 amps of the Sixties and Seventies, but with upgrades such as a five-position attenuator switch.

The low- and high-range expander controls operate like midrange and presence controls, but they’re more interactive with the EQ settings and boost gain as well.

The Bottom Line

The Traynor YBA-1 Bass Master Tribute is perfect for guitarists who love classic non-master volume tube amp grind, and it makes a great platform for a pedal-based setup.

Throughout his career Stevie Ray Vaughan used a myriad of different amps, often in different configurations with each other. His primary amps were Marshalls and Fenders, though he also used Mesa Boogies and Dumbles.

Vaughan's on-stage amplification differed from his studio set-up. Early in his career, Vaughan used a Marshall 4140 Club & Country with JBL speakers for his clean tone, and two 1964 Fender Vibroverbs for distortion when performing. He eventually traded the Club & Country in and began using Fender Super Reverbs, 200-watt Marshall Plexis and Majors, and a Howard Dumble Steel String Singer.

In the studio, Vaughan's amp use became even more intricate. Still relying on Super Reverbs, Vibroverbs and Dumbles, Vaughan incorporated Marshall and Fender Bassman bass amps, with 4x15 "refrigerator" cabinets. During the 1989 recording for In Step, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble's final studio album, Vaughan became infatuated with a variety of amps, filling the band's rehearsal and studio spaces with 32 models.

Much like his guitars, Stevie Ray's amplifiers were often modified. Noted "amp doctor" Cesar Diaz met Vaughan in 1979 and worked as his amp technician for most of the guitarist's career. Diaz often swapped out transformers, filter caps and tubes, and occasionally reset the amp dials. Vaughan had a superstitious attraction to the number six and would set his amps to this level. Diaz would unscrew the amps and scale the knobs back so they would read six while actually at ten.

Vaughan typically played his amps in conjunction using splitter boxes. His unusual combinations matched with Diaz's modifications make emulating SRV's tone a challenge for the average guitar player, but a Super Reverb and Vibroverb split will get you closest.

No matter how long you’ve been playing guitar, one thing never changes: the desire to acquire the perfect tone.

It's a constant, never-ending quest. There’s always a new pedal, amp, pickup, speaker, tube, set of strings, pick or some other new development that promises to deliver the sound of angels singing as we strike our guitar strings.

One thing I have found that is certain (and less experienced players might find this a bit disheartening): Good tone comes more from a player’s fingers than anywhere else. More experienced players can make any gear sound pretty good, and less experienced players will buy everything under the sun in an attempt to achieve greatness, and still make even the most intoxicated audiences wince at the mere strumming of a simple E chord.

All this being said, gear still matters. After many years of ruining my own ears and the ears of others, I feel I have found a consistent tone that is usually in the ball park.

There are many different types of great tones, but I would like to focus the one I know and love, the one that seems to evade most novice Gretsch guitar player/owners. The tone I've been after, it's no surprise, was greatly influenced by Brian Setzer and his Gretsch 6120 guitar heard on all those early Stray Cats records.

From the moment I heard the sweet bell-like tones with just the right touch of growl, I knew how I wanted to sound. No other guitar looks or sounds anything like a Gretsch, and for me, there is no substitute.

Three major ingredients shape my tone: the pickups, the amp and my preamp pedal.

Firstly, if you're a Gretsch fan, you've heard of TV Jones. TV began to dissect and perfect the sound of the early FilterTron pickups since the late ‘80s. He, along with Rich Modica, Brian Setzer's guitar tech for many years, resurrected the sound of vintage Gretsch guitars.

All versions of TV Jones pickups are stellar, but most prefer the classic FilterTrons. These pickups are that “vintage growl meets sweet tone” that is the driving force of all the great Stray Cats neo-rockabilly. (Indecently, I prefer the PowerTrons, which are wound heavier and have even more growl and midrange, but both types of pickups are fantastic.)

Secondly, you'll need a Fender amp. The ‘59 tweed Bassman and ‘63 blonde Bassman were Setzer's choice, but most tube Fenders will get you pretty close. Depending on the size of places you are playing, choose an amp with the right wattage so you may be able to turn it up to the "sweet spot" and get the natural breakup and sustain you desire. (I use a custom amp by Tavo Vega called a "Blondeshell" which is heavily influenced by the Fender ‘59 Bassman with many added features and upgrades.)

However, an easy amp to find is a ‘65 reissue Twin Reverb or Deluxe Reverb, depending on how loud you need to be. I'll stand by saying the ‘65 reissue Deluxe Reverb is one of the best reissue amps Fender has ever released and always a great choice.

For all of you guys in an uproar over this statement, I'm going to try and stop your attacks by saying there are many great vintage silver and blackface amps by Fender that sound amazing, but these reissues are great and much more accessible to all.

Many pickers will say the only thing you need between a Fender amp and Gretsch guitar to get good tone is a cord. Up until about a year ago, I would have agreed, but there is one pedal I cannot live without. This is the Atomic Brain.

Tavo Vega, I'm very proud to say, is my friend and probably the most passionate guy I know when it comes to great Gretsch tone. I have learned more from him on the subject in one year than I have in all of my past tone quests of the last two decades.

Tavo created the Atomic Brain, which recreates the preamp of an RE301 Space Echo.The Atomic Brain not only adds an organic growl without losing the clean, bell-like tone, but a bit of sparkle and sustain as well. You can turn up the preamp level to add as much or as little natural breakup as needed.

He has also included a second switch to give the pedal a 30 percent volume increase without changing the tone. This pedal has replaced all my other compressors, overdrives and volume boost pedals. The Atomic Brain and an analog delay (which type to use is a whole other blog post), is all I ever need to get the sound I've been looking for. It’s pure Gretsch tone -- nothing sweeter to a roots rocker's and rockabilly lover's ears.

Here are some links to the gear I mentioned. If you email or speak to someone there about gear after reading this, please mention that I sent you, as I am super-appreciative of all these great products and love when I hear that others have been driven to them through my music or endorsements.

Good Luck with the search.

Check out ...

Gretsch Guitars ...

... the Atomic Brain ...

... TV Jones pickups ...

and Fender.

And here's a video about the Atomic Brain:

Buzz Campbell, who is based in San Diego, plays guitar in the Lee Rocker Band and in Buzz Campbell & Hot Rod Lincoln. Check out the new Buzz Campbell solo album, Shivers & Shakes.