guitar-amplifiers

"Over the years, Fender’s glorious Blackface 4 x 10, twin 6L6-powered Super Reverb has graced stages with giants of electric blues from Stevie Ray Vaughan to all three Kings and fusion legend Robben Ford. Just add a Stratocaster and a Tube Screamer and a Blackface Super is an awesome Texas blues machine. A good mid-1960s example is many a blues player’s holy grail, but they can be inconsistent and unreliable without expert attention, so it’s unsurprising that Fender’s current ’65 Super Reverb reissue is a safer option."

"You know the sound of a 1957 ‘narrow panel’ Tweed Champ better than you realise. All over Rolling Stones and ZZ-Top hits and the main guitar sound in Derek And The Dominos’ classic Layla, this small-but-beautiful amp design is one of the most recorded in the history of rock ‘n’ roll and indeed electric blues."

"Confusingly, 1962 is the model number, rather than the year that this amplifier was born. That was in 1965, when a young Eric Patrick Clapton requested that Jim Marshall make him a combo amplifier with tremolo that would fit in the boot of his car for use with John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers. Based on a JTM45, unlike later Marshalls, Clapton’s amp was powered by KT66 valves. In combination with a Les Paul, it sounded outrageous. For some, Clapton’s work on The Bluesbreakers’ ‘Beano’ album in 1966 is still the high watermark for electric blues."

"The Blackstar range combines classic looks with contemporary features. [...] Blackstar has built one of the most extensive product lines in its relatively short existence, and it offers something for everyone, from compact acoustic amps to bass rigs to 100-watt stacks. It may not have the heritage of established brands like Marshall and Fender or offer the boutique components of Hughes and Kettner or Mesa/Boogie, but as far as bang for your buck is concerned, this is a brand that deserves consideration."

"By the early 1970s, Orange amplifiers were making waves with their distinctive vintage aesthetic, rugged design, and iconic British tone. They've since earned a strong reputation among rock and indie players, not just in their native U.K. but all over the world, helped by famous proponents including Stevie Wonder and Jimmy Page. [...] Across its comprehensive range of guitar and bass amps, Orange is consistent in its hand-built quality and vintage style that endears it to its legions of fans. While the brand is undoubtedly successful, you get the feeling that each product is made with care as a bespoke piece of electrical engineering that is relatively simple in its construction but highly effective in its performance."

"Orange guitar amps are the most distinctive in the business, by both sight and sound."

"[Vox's] most successful amplifier is the AC30 combo, which provides 30 watts of power via two 2x12 Celestion Greenback speakers. Despite its compact size, this all-valve unit is surprisingly powerful and can be seen gracing the backlines of some of the world's largest stages."

"Although Vox typically conjures up images of ‘60s pop and retro jangle, plenty of raunchy blues tones on Brian Jones-era Rolling Stones records came courtesy of an AC15, while an AC30 in combination with a Dallas Rangemaster treble booster was the mainstay of Rory Gallagher’s fiery signature sound."

"Line 6 first received widespread attention after the release of its POD, a plug-and-play kidney bean-shaped amp, effect, and cabinet emulator that replicated the rigs and tones of many famed players and manufacturers. This technology has since been applied to its combo amps and stacks, and Line 6 continues to push the boundaries of sonic possibilities in its California laboratories."

"The Mark Series initially formed the basis for modern cascaded high-gain circuits, and with the advent of channel and mode switching (a Mesa/Boogie patent) and wattage switching (yep, that too!) became a powerful and flexible studio tool for generations of musicians."

"For all the plethora of Boogie amplifiers these days, it’s the hugely versatile Mark Series that began with the Mark I way back in 1972 that still best epitomises the ‘small amp, high power, huge tone’ philosophy on which the company’s reputation was built. These days, due to the phenomenal success of the Dual Rectifier, the ill-informed might dismiss Boogies as machines for heavy metal alone. Five minutes with the new Mark Five combo and it’s clear that they couldn’t be more wrong. If you want a compendium of awesome blues, roots and classic and modern rock tones with the power and versatility to handle virtually any gig, the Mark Five is tough to beat. Not just a great blues amplifier, but a killer amp in almost any context."

"It’s bubble bursting time. You’ll almost certainly never play through a genuine Dumble, let alone own one. With fewer than 300 of Alexander ‘Howard’ Dumble’s amplifiers in existence, all custom-built for A-listers and the extremely well-heeled, the Dumble legend is shrouded in myth and mystery."

"Like several names among the boutique crowd, Dave Friedman established his reputation by modifying and hot-rodding amps, particularly Marshalls, and had several prominent clients (Steve Stevens and Edward Van Halen among them) before establishing his own line of ground-up amp designs. As you might expect, Friedman’s offerings therefore follow a generally Marshall-inspired theme, often incorporating as standard equipment the modifications that he added to original amps for more than 25 years."

"Any amp company that puts out models with names like Ecstasy, Uberschall, and Shiva is wearing its high-gain heart on its sleeve, and Bogner goes all-in and then some where heavy rocking is concerned. [...] From the start, the company was known for stacking up searing gain stages to suit the needs of shred maniacs and heavy rockers, and the above-named amps fit the bill to a "T.""

"Sure, we can discuss which amp was the biggest gamechanger. But just imagine hearing this amp paired with a Tube Screamer back in the early 1980s. The tone was unlike anything ever heard at the time. The original variants featured only one channel. But being a specially designed tube-driven amp, JCM800 entered some super-heavy territories when paired with appropriate overdrive pedals."

"Played by Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton and Pete Townshend - among countless other electric guitar innovators - the 1959 Super Lead helped shape rock and roll as we know it. [...] The amplifier can be famously seen being played by Jimi Hendrix at Woodstock. It’s been highly sought after ever since."

"Eddie Van Halen famously used a Variac transformer with a stock 100-watt Marshall Super Lead head unit to create his "brown sound.""

"There aren’t many guitarists out there who haven’t drooled at the thought of owning a proper Twin."

"You'll often hear [the 5150[] in heavy [music] genres like rock, metal and hardcore. The most influential example could be Machine Head's "Burn My Eyes" from 1994, which pretty much defines the mid-90s metal guitar sound."

"The list of musicians who are (or who have been) in love with their vintage Fender Bassman amps - especially the 4x10 tweed variety made between 1957 and 1960 - is pretty much endless. Just for starters (past and present), there's Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, Mike Campbell, Mike Bloomfield, Jimmie Vaughan, John Fogerty, Josh Homme, Brian Setzer, the guy up the street from me... Again, this is just the tip of the iceberg, people. After all, many professional music industry analysts have heralded Fifties 4×10 Bassman amps as the greatest amps - ever."

"It’s no secret that one of the greatest and most influential electric guitar amplifier designs in history began life intended as a companion to Fender’s Precision Bass. But it didn’t take long for guitar players to get wise to the fact that the 4 x 10 Tweed Bassman combo of the late 1950s sounded truly glorious in combination with their six-string electric of choice. Indeed, the Bassman’s place in the history of rock ‘n’ roll was further cemented when Jim Marshall cloned the 5F6A circuit with British components and created the JTM45, which, with a few tweaks, would provide Eric Clapton with the firepower to define the sound of British electric blues in 1966."

"Maybe the most well known amplifier released under the Peavey name, the 5150 is the result of a collaboration between Peavey and Eddie Van Halen. [...] It has become an industry standard for modern metal bands such as Chimaira, August Burns Red, All That Remains and others."

"Beloved of Keith Richards and erm, Steven Seagal amongst many others, Fender’s 1950s Tweed Twins are the connoisseur’s choice: loud, creamy and sophisticated."

"Throughout the decades, these sought-after tone machines have turned up in the rigs of countless guitarists. [...] The Fender Twin Reverb is considered a standard model for players seeking a clean sound, and it is especially known for the quality of its built-in spring reverb."

"If you can plug your guitar into an amp and make it sound good, that’s what it’s all about. The amp I really enjoy playing, especially when I’m traveling, is the Fender ’65 Twin Reverb. It’s got everything you need for live playing and it has great tone. That amp just works for me and it’s real trustworthy. When I travel on the road, I do use a little digital delay and maybe a little chorus, but I just like the sound of the guitar and playing something that I think people will appreciate and understand."

"Notable not only as one of the first high-powered amplifiers, Fender’s tweed Twin of 1958 is also a gutsy tone monster."

"One of the most popular amplifiers ever made, the original Fender ‘65 Deluxe Reverb has appeared on countless records over the years. It’s an iconic amplifier [but] vintage versions are prohibitively expensive."

"Amongst the most-recorded studio amps in history, the Deluxe Reverb’s modest power stage is perfect for driving hard on club stages, but deceptively loud nonetheless. Guaranteed to win a MusicRadar office straw poll regarding amps most likely to induce misty-eyed GAS symptoms, Deluxes are just plain desirable. And with street prices for the reissue under £900 at the time of writing, the great news is that it’s one of the most affordable amps."

"With a pair of 6V6 tubes in its power amp, it brings those traditional American tones, perfectly suited for blues and jazz."

"From its beginnings in 1970, Mesa/Boogie was beloved for its small-but-powerful Mark series amps; in 1989, however, the company decided to take its game to a new audience. The result was the Rectifier range of bigger and beefier Dual and Triple Rectifier amps. Since then, the Dual Rectifier has become one of the most popular rock amps on the planet."

"The Multi-Watt Dual (and indeed Triple) Rectifiers neatly encompass all that is great about the Mesa/Boogie heritage."

"It's an absolute beast of an amp, featuring three channels and some serious tone-shaping options."

"Inspired by amps like Soldano’s SLO (itself derived from earlier Mark Series Boogies) the bigger, brasher Rectifier range redefined high gain in the ‘90s, inspiring a wall-of-sound approach that dominated guitar music for over a decade."

"There's probably not a genre that Dual Rectifier can't handle."

"With the newly introduced Master Volume feature, the JCM800 allowed for crunchy, sizzling distortion at low output levels, making it the amplifier of choice for heaps of hard rock and metal players, including Slayer’s Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman and Slash of Guns N’ Roses."