Amplifier Links

So we've looked at guitars, and of course, that is the first port of call for any budding Rockstar, but how many people will hear your awesome noodlings with an AMPLIFIER? (or 27, as Yngwie has available!!)

Therefore, I thought I'd put in a short section about some of the amps out there, and who uses them, so you can listen and judge for yourselves what sound you wanna generate.

Enjoy! 

What cam be said about Marshall that hasn't already? They have, for so many decades, been the industry standard and been used by so many axemen from Hendrix, to Slash, to Vai (and pretty well every point in between!) There's just something so satisfying about seeing a wall of Marshall stacks on stage, making the floor creak with the weight, and your ears buzz with the air pressure!

Marshall users are also a tenacious breed, and I think you'll find Jeff Hanneman's sentiments repeated by most;

"I use Marshall because it's the most intense amp ever. I would not play anything else. If I had to play anything else I'd set it on fire and destroy it."

Well, I perhaps wouldn't go so far as to "destroy by fire" any other amp, but I agree that Marshall are hard to beat! Also, they've been bringing out many new models in the last ten years, so if you want "face melting" volume, check out the new YJM and Slash signature amps!

Laney are the other big, British Amp maker of the last 40 years and, while not so well known as Marshall, they still produce rockin' gear that's worth a listen! So what do they sound like? Well, if HEAVY is your thing, check out;

• Sharlee D'Angelo - Arch Enemy (they don't come a LOT heavier!)

Or if doomy and intricate is more your bag try;

• John 5 (Marilyn Manson)
• Tony Iommi (Black Sabbath)
  

Then again, perhaps virtuostic and noodly is your thing? So check ou;

• Paul Gilbert (Racer X/Mr. Big)
• Frank Gambale (in particular the "Great Explorers" Album)

Carvin are that rarest of things, a Guitar maker who makes Amps too! I have to admit that, while I was aware of their pedigree as Guitar makers, I paid very little attention to them for anything else; then Carvin signed probably their biggest endorsement of the century, STEVE VAI!

Steve is, by his own admission, "PICKY" (after all, you don't get to play like THAT if you're not a perfectionist!) so I am certain there were many grey hairs up at Carvin R&D before they released the perfect, Vai approved, Amp...The Carvin "Legacy".

Steve Vai has been using his new "babies" for a while now, so if you check out any of his most recent stuff, you are bound to hear the Carvins. (along with a host of self-designed stomp boxes, and of course, the JEM guitar!)

Carvin have a suprisingly wide variety of endorsers though, ranging from Jazz-meister and sweeper extraordinaire, Frank Gambale, to Metal Monster John Comprix.

All in all, well worth a look!

Peavey have been making gear for many, many years, but I never really looked into what they do, beyond an experiment with their "Pro-fex II" rackmount almost 20 years ago now! However in recent years they have become well know as "nasty amp" makers; gaining first an endorsement from Eddie Van Halen for the 5150 amp (truly a NASTY amp, in a good way!) and more recently with Joe Satriani for the "JSX" series.

If you read my earlier piece on Vai and the Carvin Legacy, you'll know that players like this are hard to please, and I'm sure Joe was no exception.....after all, he's not about to put his name to something he doesn't like! Oddly though, his recent album "Black Swans and Wormhole Wizards"was recorded on Marshall Amps!

I suppose you will just have to check them out for yourself, and see what you think. After all, isn't that half the fun?

Mesa Boogie are an amp manufacturer that I've had something of a "love/hate" relationship with for many, many years! My first experience of actually hearing one LIVE was at a Boogie clinic in Doncaster, about 15 or so years ago. They were AWFUL! The guy who demoed them (I'll keep him annonymous, to spare his blushes) kept banging on about how LOUD they were, and sure, a 40 watt combo would happily fill a room containing some 200 people, AND give us temporary tinitus for 3 days afterwards! But the tone of them, through a Paul Reed Smith 22 fret custom was absolutely appalling! Now, you'd think, "American hand-made amp, through American hand-made Guitar" would equal BRILLIANT sound, but no. The sound was nasal and tinny, and frankly hurt my ears. Then we were told that the combo he'd been playing through was £1,400!!!! One Thousand, Four hundred pounds? For a 40 watt COMBO, and at a time when you could comfortably by a Marshall 100 watt HALF STACK (Head and A cab) for that money? Ludicrous!!! I was very disappointed.

So where's the "love" part, you ask? Well, then you hear Mesa's in the hands of people who can REALLY set them up, and play them properly; and you've got a totally different animal! To give you just three sworn users;

• John Petrucci
• Kirk Hammett
• James Hetfield

Listen to any Dream Theatre or Metallica album over the last 20 years and you'll hear a totally different sound to the one I described earlier. The sound is rich, sustaining, smooth (when needed) and RAW when desired! They also have the heaviest gain of any recorded amp I think I've ever heard.....a sound that has been emulated in the latest round of Effects pedals as the "Dual Recto" distortion! (Digitech RP1000 switching floor processor)

Check out the Mesa Boogie website, and the Artists' videos in particular, and you'll see Kirk Hammett talking with great reverence about these amps, and what they can do. He even calls them a;

quote: "completely different level of tone."

Based on the recordings ONLY, I'd agree. So if you've got the dosh (and they AREN'T cheap....a quick google search reveals that you can pay £1,600 for a basic head, & £3k for a half stack!) check 'em out!

Feel free to email me with your OWN experiences of these "Marmite" amps.

Ashdown Bass Amps are not one that I know that much about really, but I have a student who tells me every week just how awesome they are, so I thought it worth including them here, for people to take note of and check out.

Having done a little research on their website, they have a very impressive lineup of endorsers;

• Mark King (level 42)
• Trey Gunn (King Crimson)
• John Entwistle (The Who)
• Rudy Sarzo (Whitesnake, Ozzy)
• Roger Waters 

I think anyone would agree that these are all demanding Bassists who won't accept less than the best, so if you're looking for a cool looking Bass amp (and they DO look cool!) Why not check them out, and let me know how you get on!

I'm happy to post people's experiences of any gear you've tried in future Gear Pages; under "Users' reviews"