Guitar Amps

To paraphrase a great poet, the Black Angels have more amp than Jamaica's got mangoes. And when it comes to mangoes, the Black Angels like theirs dark, spongy, and from the mid-to-late 60s. Boy, did that analogy die quickly.  

So many things get better with age -- cheese, wine, George Clooney -- but did that Ibanez Blazer Bass really attain some magical quality once it hit the two-decade mark? Crosstalk discusses the liberal use of the "vintage" tag and its implications.  

While Bill Webb was too classy to use some of Crosstalk's Britton Wetherald's favorite terms to describe amp modeling, he did weigh in on the subject. Bill notes that some tone tweakers are able to get amazing tones through modeling amps, but as you can probably tell from the amps he builds, he's a tube guy.  

Austin is an enigma of a city in that musically, it's about as significant as your pick of major cities. LUST MURDER bOX talks about how this comes in handy in studio.  

Shoegaze outfit, Dead Leaf Echo, talk about their live gear set up.  

Bill Webb from Fulton-Webb Amplifiers shows us a few more Fulton-Webb models. Each is inspired by some of the more notable classic amps with features thrown in to expand versatility manifold.  

Currently, the Scion car company is running some commercials about how one small tweak makes a major difference. Perhaps they should have consulted with Bill Webb, whose tweaking on a Fender Blackface Super Reverb style circuit turned a classic electric guitar amp into a great acoustic amp.  

Fulton-Webb Amplifiers Deluxe 36 uses a simple tweed circuit design to its advantage. It makes your guitar sound like your guitar, not your amp.  

Remember the KFC commercial where they had that riff was a slightly modified version of "Sweet Home Alabama?" If you do, you'll love Bob DiFazio's demonstration of the Roland Micro Cube -- especially if you prefer Zeppelin to Skynyrd.  

Resident Necro-Sorceror Patrick Ogle heads to Austin, TX for his annual collection of souls. His first victim, Bill Webb of Fulton-Webb amplifiers, tries to fend off Patrick by mesmerizing him with information.  

Join Bob DiFazio, Rick Moranis and the Roland Micro Cube in "Honey, I Shrunk The Amp," an epic tale of a bumbling inventor with a heart of gold and an amplifier that has to avoid the dangers of a gigantic world to be reunited with his parents.  

HipKitty Products has announced that their Kitty Box amplifier is ready to go. Following a line of interesting effects, the Kitty Box gives you something to run those pedals through.  

VOX product specialist Paul Kramer demonstrates the second channel on the AC15H1TV. It's the 12AX7 fueled 1963 Top Boost channel, which has managed to maintain a fresh crunch after 45 years.  

Paul Kramer from Marshall amplification stopped by GW to show off the company's new JVM210C, a 100 Watt two-channel combo so versatile, you'll wonder why anyone would buy a Spider III. Other than the price, I mean.  

Crosstalk has dealt with amp modeling to an almost ludicrous extent, but that didn't stop the Crosstalk gang from diving into it again. The difference is, this time they're responding to Devo's Bob Mothersbaugh.  

Line 6's Micro Spider is shipping, and your local delivery driver recommends that you consider it before buying that all tube full stack.  

Any good guitarist or electric cellist knows that an amp is just as important as your instrument in terms of tone. Alison Chesley aka Helen Money talks about her Fender Showman head.  

Masters is very proud of their new TVA30 amp, and why shouldn't they be? They put a ton of work into it, carefully ensuring quality from the input to the speakers for dynamic, versatile tone.  

In Episode 41 of Crosstalk, Bill almost strangles Britton for excessive use of a vocoder, Musikmesse proves once again to be the greatest show on Earth and the guys finally get to talk about custom analog synths.  

Dave Lenat of Line 6 shows us how to record from the Spider Jam's alternate inputs -- an aux line in and an XLR mic input -- to create fully fleshed-out songs on the fly. He also shows us how to dial in the amp's most important function: making the ladies weep. Or lads. No one's immune to Mr. Lenat's emotive riffage.  

Paul Lacques, guitarist for L.A.'s I See Hawks In L.A. talks about his gear, recording with the band and other stuff.  

Dave Lenat of Line 6 gives us a taste of some of the "Jams" included in the new Spider Jam modeling combo. With over 100 to choose from, you'd think there'd be more than a few country-style loops to play along with, and you'd be right!  

You know, I was going to make the obvious spreadable-condiment-themed joke here, something along the lines of "Line 6's new backing-loop enhanced modeling combo amp not only sounds fantastic and has some innovative features, it also tastes great on marble rye toast," but I'm not going to stoop to that level anymore. Nope, not gonna do it.  

In addition to designing some pretty rad guitars at Specimen Products, Ian Schneller also designs amps and very efficient speaker horns. Ian shows off some of his work in this video.  

For Against has been making music since the mid-1980s and have not stopped. First up for Gearwire is guitarist Harry Dingman III.  

We're not going to kid you -- the Line 6 Spider III is an entry-level modeling amp that would be out of place in a serious musician's live rig. As far as being a first amplifier, however, this thing is gold -- with lots of new features added from the Spider II  

Bell Hollow talk about preproduction and the differences and similarities between their live and studio set ups. They also get a little into their "dream instruments."  

Brooklyn's Bell Hollow talk about their set up and why they use what they do.  

Ben Felker, guitarist for Louisville-based The Fervor, talks about the amps he uses in the studio and live.  

Reinhold Bogner returns from his messianic role in Line 6's Spider Valve to release a new series of Bogner amps -- the Alchemist series -- all in time for Musikmesse. The Alchemist amps are heavy in classic California flavor.