By Mark Grove
I
always get a laugh out of players who want to make big bucks from their
old guitar amps from the 70's and forward. If your amps aren't late
60's and back you won't make much money off an amp you paid in the high 3
figures or low four figures for.Some of the best amps for tone and low level volume are 15 to 30 watts at the most. These were used in session recording situations in the 50's and 60's in Nashville, Los Angeles, New York and Motown. Most players still seem to think they need monstrous wattage and a boat load of accessory gear to get great recordings or live sound. Smaller amps with lower wattage seem to give off a tone that's naturally warmer and purer. A lot of players have problems with their tone on low watt practice amps as well.
I'm a prick aren't I? Some of the best vintage amps have been turned into guitar amps that aren't recognizable anymore because of all the trick outs and renos done to them. Basically, too many state of the art features like overdrive, too many tone controls and compression dials. Drives me nuts when players constantly fiddle with this shit!
Now here's what I think. Some of you are laughing now, and some of you are rolling your eyes. You should learn how to set up and play your vintage guitar amp along with setting up your guitar so they work for you, not against you. The best well known vintage amps are naturally Marshall Blues-Breaker or Fender Princeton which were used for some of the best recordings for Chess and Vee-Jay Records in the 50's and 60's.
I'm actually surprised revamped vintage amps like Fender and Marshall aren't modelling amps which would infuriate me even more. I shouldn't give these people evil and stupid ideas just to make money. Damn marketers!
Vintage Amps Are Even Better For Blues Jam Sessions:
I'll tell you some of the best tones you'll ever hear are from old Vox 30's from the late 60's, and old Dumbles and Hi-Watt low watt rigs. I've listened to some of them at jam sessions here in London,Ontario Canada and Toronto. If you're a player who really has the feel for blues and know how to set up one of these babies, and you really know how to listen to other jammers, you'll play your part just enough without trying to over take the jam, and play like a guy I saw earlier in the year who had the feel of 60's and 70's blues rock like I've never seen before.
If you keep playing you'll be an in demand blues session player here in London, Toronto, Detroit and Chicago. You can do it if you follow these rules for playing and using vintage amps. Send me an email if you think I'm wrong. I think old Mark can take it.
Attaining Great Tone Control on Vintage and Old Amps:
For overdrive and tone control you should know how to set it up with your guitar like I said above, and use your bass and tone controls with your guitar together so when you need extra volume or to back off, you can do it without fiddling with everything. This way you develop a keen sense for building great tone for blues, country and rock.
For more info on Vintage and custom made amps from an expert: Dan Torres is the man!
http://www.torresengineering.com
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