My great-grandfather, Thomas Jennings, founded Vox... I never got to meet him, but my god would we have a lot to talk about. Very proud of that legacy - they might not be the best amplifiers but they played a huge role in the development of rock and the 60s sound :)
Wow, yeah, you should be proud, no doubt! They’re my favorite « amp sound ». Vox nailed something special. When I got back into electric guitar after a 10 year hiatus, I ended up buying a Vox AC10c1 for home use and a Vox AC30s1 for playing with friends. Nothing came close for what I wanted and at a non-insane price from anybody else.
The fact Vox had to outsource to keep up with demand, shows just how great those Dartford made amps were. I used to walk past the Vox factory on my way to school in the 60’s.
I had a Marshall 100 watt valve head and a 4 x 12 cabinet in the early 80's. The head blew a valve. My mum took me, I didn't drive at that time, to the Marshall factory in Bletchley, England on Saturday, it was about 20 miles away from where we lived. They repaired it while we were there and they told us stories about the famous musicians who brought their gear into to be tweaked, repaired or modified. We had a tour and watched as they repaired it! Fun times. The story that sticks in my mind was Angus Young from AC/DC would wander round the factory playing his guitar with the volume on full!
Tim, I LOVE your commitment to "I don't endorse anything just because i get paid". This is the cornerstone of your credibility as a musicians and a person. Thank you. PS: LOVE all your playing!
Everybody forgets the ac30 was built for Hank Marvin and The Shadows who were touring the world on 15watts at that time. VOX basically had to double the power which was the best they could do at that time and it was not without its reliability issues. The Shadows are the reason the ac30 was built, they were the first on the road using them. And I believe that the ac30 was designed after Hanks request for more power as they were struggling for SPL at most venues.
Good info! Speaking of the reliability issues...when I finally got ahold of an old ac30 the first thing that struck me was that it seemed to be the only amp I've ever seen designed to not let any heat escape. I'm kinda surprised any of them have survived this long without bursting into flames.
lamejohn plenty did exactly that. And I believe that Brian May has blown them frequently but to be fair all his are turned to full that’s part of how he gets his sound, great amps very versatile when you think about it. Hank Marvin & Brian May two very different and distinctive sounds but both fantastic.
The fact the AC30 gets so hot and doesn’t lose heat was used by THE SHADOWS to heat their van on the way home after gigs in the late 50’s and early 60’s!! Just like a modern day storage heater…..lol
RobVoyles oh dont talk stupid,fingers do not make the tone of an amp sorry. i bet he wouldnt have that lovely tone without the amp. if he played it unplugged do you think it would sound that nice because of his fingers, no it wouldnt, so his fingers dont make the tone. Just stand a mic in front of the guitar and then listen to the true tone of it, people talk such rubbish and pass it as fact.
@@dabluzedabluze260 Indeed, if tone were truly "in the fingers," you could walk out on stage without any gear whatsoever and play the greatest show ever! Tone comes from the sum total of everything involved in the playing process: what you do with your hands; what brand and gauge strings you use; the design and construction of, and the electronics in, your guitar itself; the quality and length of your cables; which effects you use; which amp you use, and even HOW you use the amp! For example, I have a nifty little 4 watt, pure Class A Vox AC4C1-12, and I always use it with an angled amp stand because to my ears, it sounds BOTH bigger/better when I get it up off the floor. (Sound guys absolutely love me, too!)
That was one of the best interviews I have seen. Being a part time amp tech from learning vacuum tubes in high school in the seventies, this really hit home. I learned a lot from this video. Tim's guitar tone was amazing. And the smell of the old tube amps don't smell anything like the new tube amps. Thank you!
I was lucky enough, to meet Jim Marshall, who took me and my friends to lunch and told us how he taught 60 students per week,one of which was Mitch Mitchell and how he taught during the week and made 4x12's in his garage on the weekend! Genius of a guy!
Loved that. Good questions from Tim, and John Tucci seems like an extremely humble, down-to-earth, honest, intelligent and interesting man. I could listen to him talk for hours. Have him on again, Tim. Thank you.
Tim, I've been watching your videos for a while, and dude I just got to say this. Every time I see you surrounded by all that equipment it makes me smile and chuckle just a bit--in a good way of course. I love all your videos, and thanks for brightening up my days.
Man, I LOVE your playing! Fifty-three years I’ve been trying to translate what I hear up here (points to head) to what comes out there (points to cab,) and am closing in on the tone, but the playing? Not even on your planet. You, sir, are an exceedingly listenable guitarist. I am incredibly envious of your ability and will never give up!
Absolutely love Fender amps. Their clean sound is the "Gold Standard" for cleans. So buttery smooth, and resonantly full. I love Marshalls dirt sound, but can't justify buying one solely for that sound. Especially when if I just have to have "that sound," I can place a "Marshall-in-a-box" type pedal in front of my clean Fender amp. Boom! There it is, or at least close enough that most wouldn't know. With that said, I don't usually try to mimic that sound, and prefer to sound just a little different than everybody else. I actually love the way Fender Distortion sounds, as it works for my styles, and what I'm trying to achieve. I wish I could like Vox, but it's just red hot icepicks to my ears. Probably just an issue with me though. 😝 I've always found it weird how different people make different amps sound compared to others. I know people that can't seem to get a good sound out of a Fender, or Marshall, but can make a Supro sound amazingly lush. I somehow make a Supro sound like a cereal box with a Piezo speaker attached with bubblegum. Again, probably a problem with me. Yet I can play Heavy Metal on a Fender amp, with a Fender Strat, and have it sound great, then turn around and play lush sounding Blues on that same amp. Definitely a personal thing when it comes to our gear choices, but I also think that maybe there might be some crazy equation in the background that drives us toward those choices.
Yes, for sure, certain "touches" on the guitar lend themselves to certain amps, no question. I truly adore certain Fender sounds (like Steve Howe's tone on Yessongs, Neil Young's cranked Deluxe tone, SRV), but never quite got along with them somehow...I think I just never met the right one. And not all Fender distortion is created equal, not by a long shot, depending on model, etc. (talk about red hot icepicks, there are some terrible Fender models that can deliver that!). Marshall--now that's an amp (esp the early ones) _I_ can get along with! They just "agree" with my playing, my touch(?), I don't know. But I've heard otherwise great players seemingly unable to get a decent tone out of a good Marshall, while another guy can plug into the same amp and boom--it's instant Dickey Betts. It's as you said regarding a Supro: I have an old 60's one that I adore, but I have a blues-rock Strat playing friend who I _know_ would never be able to get along with that amp. Vox? In the right hands, a Tele and vintage AC-30 is a match made in heaven! Maybe that "crazy equation" is a combination of what I call "digital embouchure" ("your tone is in your hands/fingers") + what one's own ears/brain need to "hear" coming out of an amp + how that interaction inspires one to play = a circular feedback (no pun) loop...something like that... ;)
Jim Marshall actually owned two music stores in West London. His drum store was in Ealing where he’d employed a young drum salesman, Mitch Mitchell who’d also taken drum lessons from Marshall. Jimi Hendrix walked in one day. Looking to form his own group, Mitch eventually got the gig as his drummer. Marshall’s other shop was down the road in Hanwell Broadway where he sold guitars. Deciding to move into amps as well, he’d make the enclosures at his then home in Southall; take them to the store where his amp guy would fit the amps and speaker/s. A local band from Acton came in to check out his amps. That was The Who who’d started using them but coming back asking for more powerful amps with larger speaker cabs as they’d wanted to be the loudest band gigging around.
The fact that Dick Denney designed the Vox to amplify a Telecaster explains why the sound of a Tele through a Vox is one of the best sounds in all of music. Makes me want to dive back into the session where I had a guitarist playing his Tele through an AC-15 with some distortion on the signal!
There was one more element to the JTM45 sound: the first preamp tube. The Bassman used a 12AY7 in that position, and AX7s in the other 2. In 1962, 12AY7s weren't as readily available in England, so Jim just used a third AX, which gave it more gain than a stock Bassman.
@@elainericketts8820 and man I love a good bassman. I have a 62 blond bassman I paid 175.00 for in Gillette wyo. In the eighties when Marshall mania was on. It's so fat and delicious.i have a fender 4 by 12 cab that sucks with my 72 park 75,( a killer 50 amp Marshall) and a Quickrod splawn. But with that little bassman oh my!!!!!
I love how the history of all this stuff comes from a practical perspective first. We now can look back and admire , pick n choose favorites and be picky but at the time the gear just needed to work and not break down, so much of it was a happy accident
70’s 50w Marshall’s, pretty much indestructible. Twin Reverbs were the same. Pretty rare to have a problem. Just packed an extra fuse in case of a beer incident back then. These days I always bring two amps but I am seriously considering that Strymon thing for a backup. So much cool stuff now. It’s a golden age for motor heads and guitar players.
Talk about some good stuff. First - what a pleasure to watch/hear Tim play - the joy he expresses and the lovely music is just inspiring. That L5 tone is sublime. Great content, insight, etc.... thank you!
I have been playing since 1975 when an uncle bought me a copy of Jeff Beck's Blow by Blow, and your guitar is so beautiful-sounding.. It is reminiscent of Larry Carlton, or idk... It is guitar in its most primitive beauty. I will end it at that.
Ur playing is amazing it really reminds me of my grand father.. his ears were sonically amazing, but taught himself to read music. Because he was obsessed with getting is right. He would play Chet stile mixed in with a little les Paul. ✌️🎸🎼🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🇺🇸
Hello Tim, Congrats on your L5. A wonderful 1952's with a fantastic sound. The most characterful guitar in your stable. With John you have an absolute expert at your side. I learned a lot today. Thank you!
The best thing I’ve ever done is mix a Marshall stack with a vox amp. We set it up so that the Marshall produces the our dirty sound and vox is the clean and when we put em together with the ABY pedal it’s like dirt with a glow. Just a perfect blend.
Good grief!!! That L5 and whatever you've got it playing through is the smoothest and butteriest I've ever heard. That jazzy stuff to me has never been my thing but your rig there is on a different level. I love it. Don't ever sell it. That's a rare thing when they sound that good. Glad you got it and enjoy.
I was 12 years old in 1981 and my guitar teacher had an L-5. I loved it even then when I was a big Iron Maiden and Rainbow fan. Well, I'm still an Iron Maiden and Rainbow fan, but you get it. Thanks for the great video.
I love coming back to this video and watching it again. It's great! It's probably one of my favorites. I'm bummed that I can only give it one like, though.
Fender components were actually 10% not 20%, if you read any period schematic from Fender (which are freely distributed) it will say in the notice section in the top or bottom margin: "All resistors 1/2 watt 10% tolerance if not specified." The 20% figure is for the voltmeter readings which says: ""Voltages read to ground with electronic voltmeter values show + or - 20%". Another point of contention, working on Fenders is not as easy as it seems. There are a TON of under-board wiring jumpers that were actually the legs of components so, in other words you would have to clip the component to pull it because it ran under the board to another part of the circuit to make a connection, essentially serving a dual function. This can be seen on the plate resistors for v2 on any AB763 (and others, ie AA165 AB165) amplifier. The b-side plate load resistor leg goes all the way up to the B+ supply for the plate essentially serving as the under-board jumper for the high voltage supply to that tube. It is incredibly difficult to remove this resistor without cutting it off at the eyelet because the leg is so long and makes such a weird turn to get to the b+ supply eyelet. Many other parts of the circuit exemplify this 2 for 1 type of cost/time saving efficiency (the filter cap board under the doghouse is quite similar). He was quite clever in saving money and speeding up the assembly process.
Tim - gonna fanboy for a minute, first of all - I discovered you on the Living in Oz album, at a time when so many guitarists were just flashy, your playing had such a ridiculous sense of melody and structure, it affected the way I play, even up till now. Also - I am so grateful for your videos - not only do they make me rethink how I approach the guitar, but so informative, and well stated. Thank you - for all that you do - be well.
Oh man, GREAT topic! I've always thought of amps the same way- the three major voices being Fender, Marshall, and Vox. I've owned (and currently own) all three, and FOR ME it's the Fender that allows me to achieve what I'm after and IS guitar tone. I LOVE Marshall and Vox, but Fender has my heart, and it's for the exact reason Tim mentions: the overdrive is more "spread out" and less focused than the others. Also, Fenders integrate with OD pedals the best, so you can use a Fender as your base clean sound and use pretty much any overdrive/distortion your heart desires. Fender plays very nice with others! lol
I use to own a Vox Super Beatle. Bought back around 1967-68. The MRB (mid-range-boost) button was great! Hauling around the 4-12" cabinet was a pain. Took great care of it. Some years later some ass stole the head. One of the saddest days of my life.
Never been into Marshall, always been a Fender guy. Got 5 Fender amps including a 62 Princeton and a 67 Twin and love them. So reliable, plenty of head room, and easy to fix. Just picked up a Vox and anxious to compare.
.... - AND Orange! 🍀 for me, they are the 'big four', the four corners of tone, the cardinal points of electric sound... Big love and best regards from the UK 🍀
Best amp I've ever had is my current Marshall DSL100HR with 2 1x12 orange cabs. It an amp that does it all and does it all really well. Might not be vintage but its a perfect showcase of every great Marshall. The plexi, jcm800, and hot rodded plexi/800 etc.
The Holy Grail Vox is the Trainwreck Liverpool 30. The Trainwreck Rocket was also a Vox style amp. Of course, these amps are extremely rare and expensive (if you can even find one for sale). Ken Fischer was a good friend of mine and taught me everything I know. Really miss him. Best Regards.
yeah? the liverpool sounds so gainy to me, but ive never tried one... i built a rocket but i think the secrets on that one aren't totally out. it doesn't sound as good as a vox to me but its polite compared to express type gain.
Cheers Tim, yep the sounds that those different amps have as inherent is the thing. For me Marshall comes down to Clapton playing 'It Hurts to Be In Love' 'Rollin' and Tumblin' 'Key to Love' or ' Bernard Jenkins' and Fender is anything clean from the USA in the '50s/60s..........Vox and it's the Beatles sound which was round and luscious......chimey with the alnico Celestions.
Yes Tim, Marshall changed the filter supply in the 2203 JCM 800 in 1985 to save money (they never changed the 50w 2204), and that change made those 2203's sound brittle and harsh compared to the earlier versions (and they weren't as loud). Fortunately, the post-85 2203 can be distinguished by the horizontal input jacks mounted directly to the PC board (which is never a good idea). Love the post, Best Regards
Amazing equipment and you certainly know how to use it. Thanks for the history information on Fender, Vox, and Marshall. It was really interesting. 👍👍👍
I love my Matchless, and it's worth every penny. But I found it funny when Tim said you could buy one for a reasonable price. I think for most common players they're probably a bit our of mosts pricerange.
Great video, you guys should do more videos like this one, just shooting the shit. Such a wealth of knowledge, I could listen to you guys all day....awesome!
Hi @Tim Pierce Guitar: Im the lucky owner off a 1976 Marshall JCM800 Bass Series Amp, its amazing for bass players, my problem is the speakers, I found them 10/12inch speakers "to thin", so im building 2 cab`s, with 1-K145 Alnico-cone JBL speakers in each, later the cabinets will be "adjusted" with 10/12 inch speakers to get some more "attack" - - - wish me luck, - LOL Great video, give us more off this stuff - really like Tim = great hearing a humble PRO. Just subscibed - and 1 like coming up - see U
My most prized possession is my 1983 Marshall 2203...with the EL34s. I bought it from a music store that had no idea what it had when I was 16. Lol. I can scare away large predators it’s so loud. Love that thing. I know EXACTLY what you mean about the difference between distortion from a Marshall and Fender.
The Brown Deluxe is about $3K. Just worked on one. I have a '68 Reissue Princeton Reverb and it is just at home with a D'Angelico archtop as with a Telecaster.
Hahahaha, Tim the car bought from your Mom is brilliant! I bought my Dad's Datsun B-210 and pulled the back seats our to haul my 1975 50 watt JMP and 4x12 to gigs (and 2 guitars etc). It was like the clown car joke, as I'd pick up the singer and then pull all this gear our of this little car LOL All I can say is that I must have been allot stronger back then, as all I can manage now is a 2x12 :-(
Tim Pierce has his own sound, like all the great guitar players do. Even though he plays all sorts of different music, you can always tell it's Tim playing, just like you can tell Hendrix, Clapton, etc... I think Tim likes that L-5CES, which sounds sweet to me too (nice to have friends like Norm looking out for you)! The new custom shop L5CES goes for over $10K new, so if that vintage one was in that ballpark, a great deal indeed. If those are PAF pickups, that era is worth considerably more, of course. Good to see a real player playing the old girl, who seems to be well preserved, and well played.
Tim just wanted to say Thanks for showing close ups while you play, For those that don't know on the lower right side of the video screen there is a gear looking symbol, One can click on that symbol and slow the video's down 25%/50%75% to help improve one playing skill's So again thank you Great content Tim!! Great stuff!!!! Peace!!!
Charles Smyth I have an AC30-TBX 1993, Korg, made at Marshall factory, probably the first ones sent to USA and I only opened it once to change tubes. It hums occasionally . Was told that’s how cox amps are. 😊. Love it and never gave me any trouble.
Thanks much (and love your guitar sound/playing). What's interesting about this to me is I've owned a Digitech RP-500 (now obsolete) for about 12 years and I used it mostly as stomp box multi effect unit. And just in the past few weeks, I decided to fool around with the Amp Modeling (which I thought would be really cheesy as digital reenactments of the whole series of amps from Vox to Marshall to Hiwatt to Mesa Boogie etc.) Literally like 50 different amps from the earliest years to the newest. And I was chasing around comparing the sound through a straight Gallien Krueger clean adjusted amp with 2-10's from the 70s to a bunch of RUclips's testing out the actual amps. I was so pleasantly surprised at just how close the digital modeling was to the actual tube amp. And it's been a lot of fun. I also have an old Fender Princeton, probably from the 60s, that had the original Fender speaker that was fairly weak but it would break up really nice at higher volumes. Sort of a combination of the amp break up but mostly it was speaker break up. Then I decided, on a lark, to put in a pricier bigger magnet Neodymium speaker and, as a result, the amp is much louder and it's nearly impossible to break it up unless I go close to full blast. So I've been a bit torn between the lesser power and the breaking up and the 50% louder and mostly clean.
Would LOVE to hear -even just a big chord -from each amp. Mic’d w/a Unidyne II 57 on the edge of the cap thru a 312A or 1073 pre. Tele or SG. LP or Strat. No added EQ in post would be 😍
I had a Gibson 160 watt combo tube amp with 4 10s, weighed a ton. Best reverb I ever had. It was dark ,like a Marshall. Wish I still had it.This was 50 years ago.
My great-grandfather, Thomas Jennings, founded Vox... I never got to meet him, but my god would we have a lot to talk about. Very proud of that legacy - they might not be the best amplifiers but they played a huge role in the development of rock and the 60s sound :)
Wow, yeah, you should be proud, no doubt! They’re my favorite « amp sound ». Vox nailed something special. When I got back into electric guitar after a 10 year hiatus, I ended up buying a Vox AC10c1 for home use and a Vox AC30s1 for playing with friends. Nothing came close for what I wanted and at a non-insane price from anybody else.
Might not be the best? You say that like it is some tiny company most people have never heard of. It’s a legendary company!
You should be very proud of it. Voxes are GREAT amps!
The fact Vox had to outsource to keep up with demand, shows just how great those Dartford made amps were. I used to walk past the Vox factory
on my way to school in the 60’s.
Always lovedVOX still do & still have couple amps✌
Tim, that L5 sounds like a dream now Im looking for one! Amazing video dude!!
Tilly is gonna mess you up!
I had a Marshall 100 watt valve head and a 4 x 12 cabinet in the early 80's. The head blew a valve. My mum took me, I didn't drive at that time, to the Marshall factory in Bletchley, England on Saturday, it was about 20 miles away from where we lived. They repaired it while we were there and they told us stories about the famous musicians who brought their gear into to be tweaked, repaired or modified. We had a tour and watched as they repaired it! Fun times. The story that sticks in my mind was Angus Young from AC/DC would wander round the factory playing his guitar with the volume on full!
Angus must have had a VERY long lead ? . . . lol
Tim, I LOVE your commitment to "I don't endorse anything just because i get paid". This is the cornerstone of your credibility as a musicians and a person. Thank you. PS: LOVE all your playing!
I could watch stuff like this all day every day. The history is absolutely captivating.
one of my favorite videos of this channel. SO GOOD. thanks Tim!
Agreed
This one in particular needs a part 2.
Yeah that would be great
This video uas to be one of my favorite videos of Tims
Well, for someone who loves "dirt", those playing segments are pretty darn clean .... and beautiful.
Everybody forgets the ac30 was built for Hank Marvin and The Shadows who were touring the world on 15watts at that time. VOX basically had to double the power which was the best they could do at that time and it was not without its reliability issues. The Shadows are the reason the ac30 was built, they were the first on the road using them. And I believe that the ac30 was designed after Hanks request for more power as they were struggling for SPL at most venues.
Good info! Speaking of the reliability issues...when I finally got ahold of an old ac30 the first thing that struck me was that it seemed to be the only amp I've ever seen designed to not let any heat escape. I'm kinda surprised any of them have survived this long without bursting into flames.
lamejohn plenty did exactly that. And I believe that Brian May has blown them frequently but to be fair all his are turned to full that’s part of how he gets his sound, great amps very versatile when you think about it. Hank Marvin & Brian May two very different and distinctive sounds but both fantastic.
The fact the AC30 gets so hot and doesn’t lose heat was used by THE SHADOWS to heat their van on the way home after gigs in the late 50’s and early 60’s!! Just like a modern day storage heater…..lol
two of the lovliest guys I have ever seen on YT! Such a pleasure listen to you talking together with so much respect.
"Surprised and delighted" is a great way to describe this! Thanks for having John on to share his knowledge.
Tim the tone of this guitar is amazing.
I would agree wholeheartedly. As soon as he started playing, I was like that sounds beautiful.
RobVoyles oh dont talk stupid,fingers do not make the tone of an amp sorry. i bet he wouldnt have that lovely tone without the amp. if he played it unplugged do you think it would sound that nice because of his fingers, no it wouldnt, so his fingers dont make the tone. Just stand a mic in front of the guitar and then listen to the true tone of it, people talk such rubbish and pass it as fact.
@@dabluzedabluze260 Indeed, if tone were truly "in the fingers," you could walk out on stage without any gear whatsoever and play the greatest show ever!
Tone comes from the sum total of everything involved in the playing process: what you do with your hands; what brand and gauge strings you use; the design and construction of, and the electronics in, your guitar itself; the quality and length of your cables; which effects you use; which amp you use, and even HOW you use the amp!
For example, I have a nifty little 4 watt, pure Class A Vox AC4C1-12, and I always use it with an angled amp stand because to my ears, it sounds BOTH bigger/better when I get it up off the floor. (Sound guys absolutely love me, too!)
“Let me just watch a few minutes of this”... 20 minutes later.
This is my 5th time in a row watching.
Haha, same thing happened to me and I’m glad it did
100%
Beee-u-ty-full..
Guitar
Same here 😂😂
Your playing always blows me away. So melodic and so much feel and innovation in your playing.
That was one of the best interviews I have seen. Being a part time amp tech from learning vacuum tubes in high school in the seventies, this really hit home. I learned a lot from this video. Tim's guitar tone was amazing. And the smell of the old tube amps don't smell anything like the new tube amps. Thank you!
I SO LOVE your musical interludes between the chats!
so much taste in phrasing!
I was lucky enough, to meet Jim Marshall, who took me and my friends to lunch and told us how he taught 60 students per week,one of which was Mitch Mitchell and how he taught during the week and made 4x12's in his garage on the weekend! Genius of a guy!
"It's all preference" - That's a *real* expert.
yep,
Absolutely
The guitar and amp combo, that’s magical. Equaled by his playing
The sound..
The Effing sound!
Loved that. Good questions from Tim, and John Tucci seems like an extremely humble, down-to-earth, honest, intelligent and interesting man. I could listen to him talk for hours. Have him on again, Tim. Thank you.
Tim, I've been watching your videos for a while, and dude I just got to say this. Every time I see you surrounded by all that equipment it makes me smile and chuckle just a bit--in a good way of course. I love all your videos, and thanks for brightening up my days.
Being a Vox guy myself, and loving old Gibson tube amps, this was a very, very cool video to watch. Super informative. Thanks for this! Cheers
Man, I LOVE your playing! Fifty-three years I’ve been trying to translate what I hear up here (points to head) to what comes out there (points to cab,) and am closing in on the tone, but the playing? Not even on your planet. You, sir, are an exceedingly listenable guitarist. I am incredibly envious of your ability and will never give up!
Absolutely love Fender amps. Their clean sound is the "Gold Standard" for cleans. So buttery smooth, and resonantly full. I love Marshalls dirt sound, but can't justify buying one solely for that sound. Especially when if I just have to have "that sound," I can place a "Marshall-in-a-box" type pedal in front of my clean Fender amp. Boom! There it is, or at least close enough that most wouldn't know. With that said, I don't usually try to mimic that sound, and prefer to sound just a little different than everybody else. I actually love the way Fender Distortion sounds, as it works for my styles, and what I'm trying to achieve. I wish I could like Vox, but it's just red hot icepicks to my ears. Probably just an issue with me though. 😝 I've always found it weird how different people make different amps sound compared to others. I know people that can't seem to get a good sound out of a Fender, or Marshall, but can make a Supro sound amazingly lush. I somehow make a Supro sound like a cereal box with a Piezo speaker attached with bubblegum. Again, probably a problem with me. Yet I can play Heavy Metal on a Fender amp, with a Fender Strat, and have it sound great, then turn around and play lush sounding Blues on that same amp. Definitely a personal thing when it comes to our gear choices, but I also think that maybe there might be some crazy equation in the background that drives us toward those choices.
Yes, for sure, certain "touches" on the guitar lend themselves to certain amps, no question. I truly adore certain Fender sounds (like Steve Howe's tone on Yessongs, Neil Young's cranked Deluxe tone, SRV), but never quite got along with them somehow...I think I just never met the right one. And not all Fender distortion is created equal, not by a long shot, depending on model, etc. (talk about red hot icepicks, there are some terrible Fender models that can deliver that!). Marshall--now that's an amp (esp the early ones) _I_ can get along with! They just "agree" with my playing, my touch(?), I don't know. But I've heard otherwise great players seemingly unable to get a decent tone out of a good Marshall, while another guy can plug into the same amp and boom--it's instant Dickey Betts. It's as you said regarding a Supro: I have an old 60's one that I adore, but I have a blues-rock Strat playing friend who I _know_ would never be able to get along with that amp. Vox? In the right hands, a Tele and vintage AC-30 is a match made in heaven! Maybe that "crazy equation" is a combination of what I call "digital embouchure" ("your tone is in your hands/fingers") + what one's own ears/brain need to "hear" coming out of an amp + how that interaction inspires one to play = a circular feedback (no pun) loop...something like that... ;)
Adjusted for inflation, $13,000,000.00 in 1965 is equal to $104,680,416.67 in 2019.
Annual inflation over this period was 3.94%.
Which brings up the question: How much would Fender sell for today? Well north of that, I'm sure.
Jim Marshall actually owned two music stores in West London. His drum store was in Ealing where he’d employed a young drum salesman, Mitch Mitchell who’d also taken drum lessons from Marshall. Jimi Hendrix walked in one day. Looking to form his own group, Mitch eventually got the gig as his drummer. Marshall’s other shop was down the road in Hanwell Broadway where he sold guitars. Deciding to move into amps as well, he’d make the enclosures at his then home in Southall; take them to the store where his amp guy would fit the amps and speaker/s. A local band from Acton came in to check out his amps. That was The Who who’d started using them but coming back asking for more powerful amps with larger speaker cabs as they’d wanted to be the loudest band gigging around.
I've read that the first to pull his wallet out was actually Entwistle.
The fact that Dick Denney designed the Vox to amplify a Telecaster explains why the sound of a Tele through a Vox is one of the best sounds in all of music. Makes me want to dive back into the session where I had a guitarist playing his Tele through an AC-15 with some distortion on the signal!
This guy is an encyclopedia of amplifiers. Amazing.
There was one more element to the JTM45 sound: the first preamp tube. The Bassman used a 12AY7 in that position, and AX7s in the other 2. In 1962, 12AY7s weren't as readily available in England, so Jim just used a third AX, which gave it more gain than a stock Bassman.
I spoke to Jim at length about his innovations. He told me he just COPIED the '59 Bassmans circuitry..........PERIOD........
@@elainericketts8820 Oh absolutely it's a bassman. Just done up English style.
@@elainericketts8820 and man I love a good bassman. I have a 62 blond bassman I paid 175.00 for in Gillette wyo. In the eighties when Marshall mania was on. It's so fat and delicious.i have a fender 4 by 12 cab that sucks with my 72 park 75,( a killer 50 amp Marshall) and a Quickrod splawn. But with that little bassman oh my!!!!!
I love how the history of all this stuff comes from a practical perspective first. We now can look back and admire , pick n choose favorites and be picky but at the time the gear just needed to work and not break down, so much of it was a happy accident
Great stories, Tim. You’re teaching us much more than great guitar methods. Thank you.
In my view, Tim is carrying on the TRADITION of guitar culture...and THAT is important,too...just like notes and chords.
Great interview. I could listen to John all day. I own 50 guitars but I still know squat about amps. More, please.
70’s 50w Marshall’s, pretty much indestructible. Twin Reverbs were the same. Pretty rare to have a problem. Just packed an extra fuse in case of a beer incident back then. These days I always bring two amps but I am seriously considering that Strymon thing for a backup. So much cool stuff now. It’s a golden age for motor heads and guitar players.
What a terrific clear concise and informative interview! Great work Tim.
Talk about some good stuff. First - what a pleasure to watch/hear Tim play - the joy he expresses and the lovely music is just inspiring. That L5 tone is sublime. Great content, insight, etc.... thank you!
I still have my first amp, 64 Fender twin I bought for 200 dollars.....never gonna sell it
My gibson tweed falcon is the best sounding amp I've ever owned. My 50 watt '74 Marshall was amazing too. Great video
I have been playing since 1975 when an uncle bought me a copy of Jeff Beck's Blow by Blow, and your guitar is so beautiful-sounding..
It is reminiscent of Larry Carlton, or idk... It is guitar in its most primitive beauty.
I will end it at that.
The tone out of that guitar is making me weep and I'm not ashamed.
I think Tim could make a crap guitar sound great, Hes such a great player.
@@Blackwood260 That's actually a really good idea for a future episode...Tim takes a piece of junk guitar and makes it sound like...???
Ur playing is amazing it really reminds me of my grand father.. his ears were sonically amazing, but taught himself to read music. Because he was obsessed with getting is right. He would play Chet stile mixed in with a little les Paul. ✌️🎸🎼🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🇺🇸
Hello Tim, Congrats on your L5. A wonderful 1952's with a fantastic sound. The most characterful guitar in your stable. With John you have an absolute expert at your side. I learned a lot today. Thank you!
I cant believe what an incredibly warm yet articulate, sparkly neck p/u tone you got around the 4:00 mark. Stellar!
The best thing I’ve ever done is mix a Marshall stack with a vox amp. We set it up so that the Marshall produces the our dirty sound and vox is the clean and when we put em together with the ABY pedal it’s like dirt with a glow. Just a perfect blend.
Great interview! Amp knowledge is on high demand now a days-kids are getting interested in them, especially if they are tube-based.
Good grief!!! That L5 and whatever you've got it playing through is the smoothest and butteriest I've ever heard. That jazzy stuff to me has never been my thing but your rig there is on a different level. I love it. Don't ever sell it. That's a rare thing when they sound that good. Glad you got it and enjoy.
Tim your articles and lessons are so informative. And you seem so likeable. You are totally a Monster player. I wish you continued success. Godspeed.
I was 12 years old in 1981 and my guitar teacher had an L-5. I loved it even then when I was a big Iron Maiden and Rainbow fan. Well, I'm still an Iron Maiden and Rainbow fan, but you get it. Thanks for the great video.
I have to say Tim your playing is like candy to the ears ........ just beautiful
Great video. I Could watch you guys chat about amps all day.
The L5 is just beautiful. The sound is amazing. Great history.
I love coming back to this video and watching it again. It's great! It's probably one of my favorites. I'm bummed that I can only give it one like, though.
Fender components were actually 10% not 20%, if you read any period schematic from Fender (which are freely distributed) it will say in the notice section in the top or bottom margin: "All resistors 1/2 watt 10% tolerance if not specified." The 20% figure is for the voltmeter readings which says: ""Voltages read to ground with electronic voltmeter values show + or - 20%". Another point of contention, working on Fenders is not as easy as it seems. There are a TON of under-board wiring jumpers that were actually the legs of components so, in other words you would have to clip the component to pull it because it ran under the board to another part of the circuit to make a connection, essentially serving a dual function. This can be seen on the plate resistors for v2 on any AB763 (and others, ie AA165 AB165) amplifier. The b-side plate load resistor leg goes all the way up to the B+ supply for the plate essentially serving as the under-board jumper for the high voltage supply to that tube. It is incredibly difficult to remove this resistor without cutting it off at the eyelet because the leg is so long and makes such a weird turn to get to the b+ supply eyelet. Many other parts of the circuit exemplify this 2 for 1 type of cost/time saving efficiency (the filter cap board under the doghouse is quite similar). He was quite clever in saving money and speeding up the assembly process.
Tim, your playing style is great, I could listen to you all day. I am a fender lover though. :)
I'm a Amp technician...The Tubes today will last longer...Major in Fenders and Marshall love my Hobby Loved you video Guys Hope more to Come...Thanks
Tim - gonna fanboy for a minute, first of all - I discovered you on the Living in Oz album, at a time when so many guitarists were just flashy, your playing had such a ridiculous sense of melody and structure, it affected the way I play, even up till now.
Also - I am so grateful for your videos - not only do they make me rethink how I approach the guitar, but so informative, and well stated.
Thank you - for all that you do - be well.
That was really cool. The knowledge that guy has is priceless.
Oh man, GREAT topic! I've always thought of amps the same way- the three major voices being Fender, Marshall, and Vox. I've owned (and currently own) all three, and FOR ME it's the Fender that allows me to achieve what I'm after and IS guitar tone. I LOVE Marshall and Vox, but Fender has my heart, and it's for the exact reason Tim mentions: the overdrive is more "spread out" and less focused than the others. Also, Fenders integrate with OD pedals the best, so you can use a Fender as your base clean sound and use pretty much any overdrive/distortion your heart desires. Fender plays very nice with others! lol
yeah but they will never be the sound of rock !
@@arisl2370 ?????????
i dont much like the VOX AD-120, misusing a 12ax7, but-- it's a big AC-30 cab with blue grillecloth, with a Blue & a Greenback. aint lettin go!
@@albionseed4866 he means Fender is exclusively for butt rock
@@automachinehead Butt rock? Is that like jumbo shrimp or tangible flatulence?
I use to own a Vox Super Beatle. Bought back around 1967-68. The MRB (mid-range-boost) button was great! Hauling around the 4-12" cabinet was a pain. Took great care of it. Some years later some ass stole the head. One of the saddest days of my life.
Endlessly loved this video. Why has Norm had him hidden away for so long? Use this guy's knowledge!
Excellent interview skills. Cool, the way he let his guest speak. Showed respect and made for a richer, more rewarding interview.
Dude you are so freakin cool. I can't get over your playing..
Yikes Tim, that guitar tone sounds crazy good. Tasty licks.
Never been into Marshall, always been a Fender guy. Got 5 Fender amps including a 62 Princeton and a 67 Twin and love them. So reliable, plenty of head room, and easy to fix. Just picked up a Vox and anxious to compare.
so 2 years later... how did it go?
.... - AND Orange! 🍀 for me, they are the 'big four', the four corners of tone, the cardinal points of electric sound... Big love and best regards from the UK 🍀
Always enjoy just watching Tim play
Best amp I've ever had is my current Marshall DSL100HR with 2 1x12 orange cabs. It an amp that does it all and does it all really well. Might not be vintage but its a perfect showcase of every great Marshall. The plexi, jcm800, and hot rodded plexi/800 etc.
The Holy Grail Vox is the Trainwreck Liverpool 30. The Trainwreck Rocket was also a Vox style amp. Of course, these amps are extremely rare and expensive (if you can even find one for sale).
Ken Fischer was a good friend of mine and taught me everything I know. Really miss him.
Best Regards.
yeah? the liverpool sounds so gainy to me, but ive never tried one... i built a rocket but i think the secrets on that one aren't totally out. it doesn't sound as good as a vox to me but its polite compared to express type gain.
Cheers Tim, yep the sounds that those different amps have as inherent is the thing. For me Marshall comes down to Clapton playing 'It Hurts to Be In Love' 'Rollin' and Tumblin' 'Key to Love' or
' Bernard Jenkins' and Fender is anything clean from the USA in the '50s/60s..........Vox and it's the Beatles sound which was round and luscious......chimey with the alnico Celestions.
Amazing wok as always man. Informative with an insight that not a whole lot of us know about. Appreciative of the knowledge
Yes Tim, Marshall changed the filter supply in the 2203 JCM 800 in 1985 to save money (they never changed the 50w 2204), and that change made those 2203's sound brittle and harsh compared to the earlier versions (and they weren't as loud).
Fortunately, the post-85 2203 can be distinguished by the horizontal input jacks mounted directly to the PC board (which is never a good idea).
Love the post,
Best Regards
Amazing equipment and you certainly know how to use it. Thanks for the history information on Fender, Vox, and Marshall. It was really interesting. 👍👍👍
That guitar sounds so sweet, as does your playing!
Love the story on the amp factories
I love the way your studio looks. Very small and sweet. My dream
Amazing interview - how great would it be if Norman’s did a few videos of Jon doing a history of Champs, Deluxes, JTM’s etc.
Awesome content Mr. Pierce! Loved this collaboration! 🤘🏼🤘🏼🤘🏼
What A GREAT conversation! Thanks to both of you.
I think I needed to hear you play that melody for a really long time.
I love my Matchless, and it's worth every penny. But I found it funny when Tim said you could buy one for a reasonable price. I think for most common players they're probably a bit our of mosts pricerange.
I had a 64 Tremolux stack, the 2 x 10 cabinet fit nicely in the back seat of my '74 Camaro
Just love you4 tone on the opening piece. Wow. That's my kind of jazz tone. Woody but not bonky, open, mellow yet can attack. Gorgeous.
Great Video Guys....
Great video, you guys should do more videos like this one, just shooting the shit. Such a wealth of knowledge, I could listen to you guys all day....awesome!
Who doesn't love these behind the curtain, nitty gritty videos? Excellent content as usual Mr. Pierce.
Tim, I loved the licks you were doing on this video!
Hi @Tim Pierce Guitar: Im the lucky owner off a 1976 Marshall JCM800 Bass Series Amp, its amazing for bass players, my problem is the speakers, I found them 10/12inch speakers "to thin", so im building 2 cab`s, with 1-K145 Alnico-cone JBL speakers in each, later the cabinets will be "adjusted" with 10/12 inch speakers to get some more "attack" - - - wish me luck, - LOL
Great video, give us more off this stuff - really like Tim = great hearing a humble PRO.
Just subscibed - and 1 like coming up - see U
Tim, you have some of the most interesting guests...
What an interview..! So informative Thanks
Michael
My most prized possession is my 1983 Marshall 2203...with the EL34s. I bought it from a music store that had no idea what it had when I was 16. Lol. I can scare away large predators it’s so loud. Love that thing. I know EXACTLY what you mean about the difference between distortion from a Marshall and Fender.
my favorite marshall is a hiwatt. great video. learned a lot, thank you
The Brown Deluxe is about $3K. Just worked on one. I have a '68 Reissue Princeton Reverb and it is just at home with a D'Angelico archtop as with a Telecaster.
That was such a really lighthearted production you guys did !
Hahahaha, Tim the car bought from your Mom is brilliant!
I bought my Dad's Datsun B-210 and pulled the back seats our to haul my 1975 50 watt JMP and 4x12 to gigs (and 2 guitars etc).
It was like the clown car joke, as I'd pick up the singer and then pull all this gear our of this little car LOL
All I can say is that I must have been allot stronger back then, as all I can manage now is a 2x12 :-(
Tim Pierce has his own sound, like all the great guitar players do. Even though he plays all sorts of different music, you can always tell it's Tim playing, just like you can tell Hendrix, Clapton, etc...
I think Tim likes that L-5CES, which sounds sweet to me too (nice to have friends like Norm looking out for you)! The new custom shop L5CES goes for over $10K new, so if that vintage one was in that ballpark, a great deal indeed. If those are PAF pickups, that era is worth considerably more, of course. Good to see a real player playing the old girl, who seems to be well preserved, and well played.
excellent video Tim, thanks for taking the time to share it with us!
Tim just wanted to say Thanks for showing close ups while you play, For those that don't know on the lower right side of the video screen there is a gear looking symbol, One can click on that symbol and slow the video's down 25%/50%75% to help improve one playing skill's So again thank you Great content Tim!! Great stuff!!!! Peace!!!
The last AC30 I worked on, was a never ending run of fixing.
Charles Smyth I have an AC30-TBX 1993, Korg, made at Marshall factory, probably the first ones sent to USA and I only opened it once to change tubes. It hums occasionally . Was told that’s how cox amps are. 😊. Love it and never gave me any trouble.
Thanks much (and love your guitar sound/playing). What's interesting about this to me is I've owned a Digitech RP-500 (now obsolete) for about 12 years and I used it mostly as stomp box multi effect unit. And just in the past few weeks, I decided to fool around with the Amp Modeling (which I thought would be really cheesy as digital reenactments of the whole series of amps from Vox to Marshall to Hiwatt to Mesa Boogie etc.) Literally like 50 different amps from the earliest years to the newest. And I was chasing around comparing the sound through a straight Gallien Krueger clean adjusted amp with 2-10's from the 70s to a bunch of RUclips's testing out the actual amps. I was so pleasantly surprised at just how close the digital modeling was to the actual tube amp. And it's been a lot of fun.
I also have an old Fender Princeton, probably from the 60s, that had the original Fender speaker that was fairly weak but it would break up really nice at higher volumes. Sort of a combination of the amp break up but mostly it was speaker break up. Then I decided, on a lark, to put in a pricier bigger magnet Neodymium speaker and, as a result, the amp is much louder and it's nearly impossible to break it up unless I go close to full blast. So I've been a bit torn between the lesser power and the breaking up and the 50% louder and mostly clean.
Would LOVE to hear -even just a big chord -from each amp. Mic’d w/a Unidyne II 57 on the edge of the cap thru a 312A or 1073 pre. Tele or SG. LP or Strat.
No added EQ in post would be 😍
OK. Curtains looking wow...amp sound story really helpful, heard the difference so clearly in your playing, Both Marshall and Vox, wow
Thanks for sharing Tim! I always look forward to your Saturday morning videos. Coffee, guitar and Tim!
I had a Gibson 160 watt combo tube amp with 4 10s, weighed a ton. Best reverb I ever had. It was dark ,like a Marshall. Wish I still had it.This was 50 years ago.