Over the years i've probably used about every amp on the planet. I've tried to put them in some kind of chronological order.
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1953 - Found out how to plug guitar into the back of the family radio! I seem to remember it was a valve model Bush radio that took around 3-4 minutes to warm up! After blowing it up at least twice, I was banned from using it !
1955 - Elpico 4 Watt Yes! 4 whole watts! It had a 6 inch speaker but it was amazing for the time! 1956 - Selmer Truvoice 10 watt. Heaven! 1959 - Watkins Dominator. The one with that funny triangular shape. Shared between me and the bass player - well, we were hard up! 1962 - Burns 30 watt. Ican't remember the model but it had an odd convex front and it was one of the first transistor amps that Jim Burns ever made. Also it was the famous amp that nearly electrocuted me! 1963 - Vox AC30 - the old stalwart. 1966 - Fender Bassman 50 watt - separate head and cabinet. 1967 - Fender 2x12 cabinet with Marshall 50 watt head. Marshall 8x10 cabinet with 50 watt head. 1969 - Marshall 100 heads x 2 + 4x 4x12 cabinets linked (which must have been where I first found the joys of mild tinnitus!) 1970 - Marshall 100 watt stack 2x4x12 cabinets. 1983 - Yamaha 2x12 combo. 1988 - Marshall Plexiglass combo. 1989 - Dean-Markley 40 watt combos linked x 2 + Alesis Quadreverb effects. 1993 - Marshall Midi Preamp linked with Rocktron Intellifex Guitar effects processor |
1994 - Marshall 8240 Stereo Chorus 80 watt combo
1999 - AER "Bingo" acoustic amp plus Zoom Acoustic 504 Acoustic Guitar Processor 2000 - Marshall AVT 275 150 Watt combo amp with built in digital effects: the best they’ve come up with yet! 2002 - Fender Cyber Deluxe 100 watt combo amp, again with digital effects. I use this in conjunction with a Boss GT8 floor effects unit. I am still using the Boss GT8 for studio and stage work: it's most especially handy for when I work in Europe as I have the unit programmed for all my favourite sounds. Of course, as we are never sure which amplifiers we will be given at any one gig, believe me it is a very useful tool as at least I get to keep my own sounds regardless of what type or make of amplifier. 2009 Custom 100 watt 2 x 12 amp with effects 2010- Roland G10 Even better than the GT8 ! 2015 Roland GT100 I use this as a main floor board for various effects. Unbelievable stuff from Roland, yet again. 2015 Roland GT001 - The mini version of the GT100, and it fits very neatly and squarely within my recording desk equipment and produces basically all the sounds that I could ever want. Plus, it's vital for me when doing vocals as it has on it extra vocal effects that are not available on the GT100. 2016 Hughes & Kettner Edition Blue 30W with Digital FX - Unbelievable sounds from this really neat piece of kit. |
As I've mentioned many times before, those clever people at Roland just keep coming up with more and more goodies, and this time I have added to my arsenal: the Roland DR880, which enables me to have some bass and drum backing for when I'm doing solo gigs. The great thing about this is that I don't have any arguments from crazy drummers and argumentative bass players! Only kidding, lads - come back all is forgiven! Again thanks to Roland, cheers guys - good work!