That was my first amp as well, in 1989. Paired with a 3/4 size Kay Les Paul knockoff. You can imagine how awesome Nothin But a Good Time sounded on that. Bless my parents and their patience.
I played my old rig the other day and you know what it sounded pretty damn good. A lot of it seems to be understanding how to eq properly. These old solid states sound PHENONENAL if you know what to do with them.
I've heard that those old Gorilla amps were an in-house brand of Guitar Center that failed. Supposedly they were based on the Roland Jazz Chorus, minus the effects. It had that 80's D.I. clean sound, so much so that EMG actually used these amps in their factory to test their pickups! Also, the distortion was seemingly modeled after some type of Fuzz or earl non-master volume power-amp distortion. This kind of sound was definitely not in vogue in the 80's, what-not with hot-rodded Marshalls and other high-gain amps (Soldano, Mesa Boogie, etc.) so their tagline "Nothing screams like a Gorilla" really fell flat with players. They rectified this with the later "Tube-Cruncher" series that replaced the fuzz with British-style distortion. Johan Segeborn has a video showing how great those versions can sound! A small bonus on some models is that they came with a real spring reverb! \m/ P.S. -It's funny how you profess to stay away from anything modeler or multi-effect, as those have almost completely taken over the Metal world that I am more familiar with! Keep on Rocking Everyone! \m/ (nice Krishna poster btw)
For a cheap amp it actually had a decent clean sound. "Distortion" was find of fuzzy, but better than nothing if you are a kid starting out. No footswitch though, had to twist the knobs.
If you want a first kiss, get out of your bedroom stage, go out and meet some girls or guys, whatever you like. Second thought, do kids still go outside or do they have apps to meet up in real life? Use that. Yes, I'm years old.
Teenhood Rig: 1987-ish...the "amp" was a homemade stereo speaker my brother made connected to a distortion pedal...the Blade was a Sunburst Hondo Les Paul (rip)... flashforward to 2012 and my 2nd rig is a Behringer amp with a red and black Magnum Strat copy. Good times.
My First Rig: Genesis Series Stratocaster Copy (Japan) Cassette Player Speaker + Vintage Cassette-Karaoke Machine + Denio Distortion Pedal Well, Just Something to Plug my Guitar & Pedal, Not To Bring Up on Any Occasion, That Karaoke System is God Damn Heavy
I dont know how well it plays but that prop telecaster sounds amazing! I read somewhere tho that Telecasters were like the original parts guitars, due to the way they were designed, if you find the right parts then even a cheap one can sound absolutely killerbcoz theres so little to go wrong on them, unlike a Strat which has all the balanceing act with the strings you need ed good quality components. Good video. Cheers!!!
Yes. Anyone paying more than $500 for a Tele is fooling themselves. If you know a luthier or are good with tools, you can make a decent kit Telecaster sound excellent. Like you say, not too much to go wrong with them, mostly comes down to quality of the wood, neck, pickups and the setup.
2001 Affinity Strat that I got from the side of the road and an old solid state Marshal with a spring reverb. Wild times. I didn't know how to get an overdrive tone for at least a year or two. Still have that guitar but it needs some big setup work and the amp lives at my dads house buried in the attic.
My first guitar rig, 1974ish Antoria Les Paul bass and a 1978 JHS 5w transistor practice amp, the bass was fantastic and in 1979 I thought I was the dogs all I had to do then was learn how to play.
Mine was a marshall valvestate and a zoom g1x four for effects. With a cheap trashed guitar I repaired. Everything Didn't cost much and still sounds awesome.
First rig: Squire Telecaster and an Orange mini amp. Current rig: Yamaha Pacifica 611HFM Line 6 Catalyst 200watts Boss blues drive Still want a pedalboard 😅
I had one of these, got it in 1986 new. Used to run it clean and use a Rat2, 1987 model, for distortion. That is, until I got a mid-70s Fender Champ I picked up in a pawn shop for $90. Wish I still had all that stuff, my new stuff sounds great, but still.....
True thing! My first amp was a shitty BB 10 Watt Blaster paired with a HSS Squier Strat. I bust the BB Blaster, and the Squier still exists, and works.
I would consider the iPhone mic part of the rig considering you used it to show your playing. Would be funny to see how far you can take like, some bin iphone 4 or whatever you had, I'm sure it colored the sound back in the day
My first act was a 2011 Squier Strat combo kit, still have it, and it still plays well. The guitar, not the amp. My first and more serious amp was a Crate Flexwave 120 head and cab, but I sold that some time ago and just use an Acoustic G100FX. It's a capable amp, but not exactly as nice as a Boss Katana or something similar.
That was my first amp too! My first guitar was a cheap Les Paul Special II that I paid way too much for at the pawn shop because I didn't know any better. I expected to play Metallica and Def Leppard and boy was I wrong and frustrated.
yo , i have that same fender champion 20, but i cant get a good tone out of it, would you mind replying to this comment with the settings you used for the video?
I’ve been a professional guitar player for the last 30 years believe it or not that gorilla amp you have. I have the same one. It was my wife’s sample when she played guitar as a kid that gorilla amp sounds great. I used to use it as my rehearsal amplifier in a band that was in The thing with that amplifier is the distortion circuit sounds great as long as you don’t turn it up too much you give your a dirty clean sound and then you put your overdrives on top and your set up is completely backwards. Your mid range is way too spiky. That’s why you’re having the problems. I take that mid rain down from nine. That’s why I may be a four and then you’ll have a better tone you gotta know how to use your equipment. You can get a great sound at any amp. I used to use an extension cabinet with that gorilla and it sounded awesome. I also had a Zoom 505. One of the original ones. I got some of the best sounds at that thing secret was never ever ever use their equalizer just use the effect sounds and you’ll get a good sound out of that thing I used to have guys coming up to me what are you using? You have a great sound and when I would see the gear they were like I can’t believe that sounded so good. Learn your gear and you can make anything sound good and then when you get good gear, it sounds phenomenal. You’ll figure it out. You seem like you have the ambition to do that.
I agree that you should spend more money on a nicer amp, but you need to make sure the guitar is well set up or else it will be harder to play and then you’ll be more likely to quit
Got a gorilla amp very similar to yours 2nd hand, I believe I sold it for 5 bux to a pawn shop to fund a coke habit, I don't believe it got me very far. From Australia too, small world
my first gear was a first act black and white strat i got for 50 bucks and some amp with no name on it for 10 lmfao the amp gave out and guitar broke eventually though
4:10 believe it or not that’s the best distortion I’ve ever heard from Mikey
I was gonna say 0:10. 😂
That was my first amp as well, in 1989. Paired with a 3/4 size Kay Les Paul knockoff. You can imagine how awesome Nothin But a Good Time sounded on that. Bless my parents and their patience.
True guitar enlightenment is hearing potential in all those guitar tones and thinking about how to use them.
Rarely, if ever, can a newbie do that though.
I started a band a few months ago and we started getting gigs and your videos have helped me with guitar tone so much. Thanks Mike!!
I played my old rig the other day and you know what it sounded pretty damn good. A lot of it seems to be understanding how to eq properly. These old solid states sound PHENONENAL if you know what to do with them.
Gorillas were the cheap amps all beginners used to have in the late 80s.
Crate were the next brand most upgraded to, before splashing out on higher end brands!
I've heard that those old Gorilla amps were an in-house brand of Guitar Center that failed. Supposedly they were based on the Roland Jazz Chorus, minus the effects. It had that 80's D.I. clean sound, so much so that EMG actually used these amps in their factory to test their pickups! Also, the distortion was seemingly modeled after some type of Fuzz or earl non-master volume power-amp distortion. This kind of sound was definitely not in vogue in the 80's, what-not with hot-rodded Marshalls and other high-gain amps (Soldano, Mesa Boogie, etc.) so their tagline "Nothing screams like a Gorilla" really fell flat with players. They rectified this with the later "Tube-Cruncher" series that replaced the fuzz with British-style distortion. Johan Segeborn has a video showing how great those versions can sound! A small bonus on some models is that they came with a real spring reverb! \m/
P.S. -It's funny how you profess to stay away from anything modeler or multi-effect, as those have almost completely taken over the Metal world that I am more familiar with! Keep on Rocking Everyone! \m/ (nice Krishna poster btw)
For a cheap amp it actually had a decent clean sound. "Distortion" was find of fuzzy, but better than nothing if you are a kid starting out. No footswitch though, had to twist the knobs.
I still have my first guitar rig and i havent had a first kiss. I started guitar like 9 months ago.
If you want a first kiss, get out of your bedroom stage, go out and meet some girls or guys, whatever you like.
Second thought, do kids still go outside or do they have apps to meet up in real life? Use that.
Yes, I'm years old.
lol - this brings back memories!
That Gorilla was my first amp as well, around 30 years ago.
I hated it. I haven’t seen one in a long long time.
Teenhood Rig: 1987-ish...the "amp" was a homemade stereo speaker my brother made connected to a distortion pedal...the Blade was a Sunburst Hondo Les Paul (rip)... flashforward to 2012 and my 2nd rig is a Behringer amp with a red and black Magnum Strat copy. Good times.
My First Rig:
Genesis Series Stratocaster Copy (Japan) Cassette Player Speaker + Vintage Cassette-Karaoke Machine + Denio Distortion Pedal
Well, Just Something to Plug my Guitar & Pedal, Not To Bring Up on Any Occasion, That Karaoke System is God Damn Heavy
I dont know how well it plays but that prop telecaster sounds amazing!
I read somewhere tho that Telecasters were like the original parts guitars, due to the way they were designed, if you find the right parts then even a cheap one can sound absolutely killerbcoz theres so little to go wrong on them, unlike a Strat which has all the balanceing act with the strings you need ed good quality components.
Good video.
Cheers!!!
Yes. Anyone paying more than $500 for a Tele is fooling themselves. If you know a luthier or are good with tools, you can make a decent kit Telecaster sound excellent. Like you say, not too much to go wrong with them, mostly comes down to quality of the wood, neck, pickups and the setup.
Squier Strat with Frontman 10G. I still have them and still use them and I gotta say, they aged well
There's precedent for vertical sure m57 for tonal purposes, like a natural band eq depending on the microphones direction
2001 Affinity Strat that I got from the side of the road and an old solid state Marshal with a spring reverb. Wild times. I didn't know how to get an overdrive tone for at least a year or two. Still have that guitar but it needs some big setup work and the amp lives at my dads house buried in the attic.
My first guitar rig, 1974ish Antoria Les Paul bass and a 1978 JHS 5w transistor practice amp, the bass was fantastic and in 1979 I thought I was the dogs all I had to do then was learn how to play.
Honestly, it has its own charm. It's pretty cool in its own way.
6:05 this riff is absolute fire
I had that same amp back in 1988. I've been trying to find one that that still works.
“Yoda’s sick”
Mine was a marshall valvestate and a zoom g1x four for effects. With a cheap trashed guitar I repaired.
Everything Didn't cost much and still sounds awesome.
I love valvestate
There was a million of those amps. It was the equivalent of the line 6 spider back in the day
saved up for 1,5 years (played accoustic before) and bought a Rocktile Diy SG and a Blackstar modeling Amp with 40Watts.
First rig would have been a Crate chorus amp and a blue crackle GTX guitar. Kinda wish I had that GTX back
That was fun, wait until things change another 10years 😵💫
My intro guitar was a blue squier strat with squier amp. That amp had no usable tones lol. The saddle height screws were all tall and sharp too lmao
glad you have your first electric guitar / amp :)
First rig: Squire Telecaster and an Orange mini amp.
Current rig:
Yamaha Pacifica 611HFM
Line 6 Catalyst 200watts
Boss blues drive
Still want a pedalboard 😅
My brother had a Gorilla and a Peavey T-15.. When he wasnt around I snuck in and played his guitar.
I had one of these, got it in 1986 new. Used to run it clean and use a Rat2, 1987 model, for distortion. That is, until I got a mid-70s Fender Champ I picked up in a pawn shop for $90. Wish I still had all that stuff, my new stuff sounds great, but still.....
True thing!
My first amp was a shitty BB 10 Watt Blaster paired with a HSS Squier Strat.
I bust the BB Blaster, and the Squier still exists, and works.
I would consider the iPhone mic part of the rig considering you used it to show your playing.
Would be funny to see how far you can take like, some bin iphone 4 or whatever you had, I'm sure it colored the sound back in the day
2017...so long ago. cant believe that pedal still works. its ancient
My first act was a 2011 Squier Strat combo kit, still have it, and it still plays well. The guitar, not the amp. My first and more serious amp was a Crate Flexwave 120 head and cab, but I sold that some time ago and just use an Acoustic G100FX. It's a capable amp, but not exactly as nice as a Boss Katana or something similar.
I had the Gorilla. You had to turn on the TUBESTACK for it to not sound as bad as it was.
I’ve been playing for 10 months so I still have my first electric and acoustic I have a tekecaster
I WAS BEGGING FOR THIS TOO HAPPEN!
I also say Star Track! So does nearly everyone I know. It’s the NY/NJ thing to do, lol. 😂😂😂
THE BEST DAMN AMP E V E R
That was my first amp too! My first guitar was a cheap Les Paul Special II that I paid way too much for at the pawn shop because I didn't know any better. I expected to play Metallica and Def Leppard and boy was I wrong and frustrated.
I still have mine. It’s a fender Squier bullet Strat and a crate. I think it’s called a G 10 amplifier still have both.
What’s the song at 2:50?
0:01 black classical guitar
My first rig was a red Dixon Strat and a 60 watt gorilla amp, back in 1986.
Does that say Phillip Keller on the tele headstock?
6:43 got me dying 🤣🤣🤣🤣 where’d the note go??
I like the sound of fresh strings as well but for some reason jazz players love dead strings
At least you had an electric guitar and amp when you were young to learn on
That gorilla amp was my first one 😢
Mine was a cheap laney amplifier (lx12), 10 watts 6' or 8' speaker, and a cheap stratocaster copy.
the older i get the less "gain" i use. these "beginer" amps get great tones. its all in the hands and settings 💯 :) gg
Great vid
yo , i have that same fender champion 20, but i cant get a good tone out of it, would you mind replying to this comment with the settings you used for the video?
my first pedal was a rocktron heart attack
I’m still using my first guitar rig
OMG that was my first amplifier when I was 15!!!!!!!!😂
I checked the news and I'm pretty sure I am in 2505.
Got to tell you, the hand me down rig when playing blues breakers literally smoked the rest 🤷♂️
my og guitar rig was a rockwood pro strat with a $60 amp that I forgot which brand it was
I’ve been a professional guitar player for the last 30 years believe it or not that gorilla amp you have. I have the same one. It was my wife’s sample when she played guitar as a kid that gorilla amp sounds great. I used to use it as my rehearsal amplifier in a band that was in The thing with that amplifier is the distortion circuit sounds great as long as you don’t turn it up too much you give your a dirty clean sound and then you put your overdrives on top and your set up is completely backwards. Your mid range is way too spiky. That’s why you’re having the problems. I take that mid rain down from nine. That’s why I may be a four and then you’ll have a better tone you gotta know how to use your equipment. You can get a great sound at any amp. I used to use an extension cabinet with that gorilla and it sounded awesome. I also had a Zoom 505. One of the original ones. I got some of the best sounds at that thing secret was never ever ever use their equalizer just use the effect sounds and you’ll get a good sound out of that thing I used to have guys coming up to me what are you using? You have a great sound and when I would see the gear they were like I can’t believe that sounded so good. Learn your gear and you can make anything sound good and then when you get good gear, it sounds phenomenal. You’ll figure it out. You seem like you have the ambition to do that.
I agree that you should spend more money on a nicer amp, but you need to make sure the guitar is well set up or else it will be harder to play and then you’ll be more likely to quit
Got a gorilla amp very similar to yours 2nd hand, I believe I sold it for 5 bux to a pawn shop to fund a coke habit, I don't believe it got me very far. From Australia too, small world
my first rig was a squire strat and fender frontman 10g 🤢. my current rig is a fender jagstang ran through multiple pedals into a fender mustang lt25.
who else is watching in 2050?
My first guitar was a supper old Denver acoustic guitar
Im still a starter ( started on September 27 '24)
2:39 song?
Manic Depression - Hendrix
@randall9000 awesome thank you
The DOD American Metal Pedal though a GORILLA sounds like Neil's Journey Lead Sound.
Sup boys?
oh my good god my bands other guitarist uses that same exact Nux multi fx
Still remember?
Still have it
I thought the champion 20 was your 1st amp
Show us your part’s caster
I have one of these gorilla amps !!! I found it in a junk store for 10 dollars its so auuguuhhgh
Hello brother
I see a Gorilla amp and a cheap tele copy. So, did you say to yourself, " Thank god I set that amp and guitar on fire"?
my first gear was a first act black and white strat i got for 50 bucks and some amp with no name on it for 10 lmfao the amp gave out and guitar broke eventually though
Yes, nothing screams like a gorilla
7 yrs ago is not back in the day
Squire strat pack.
who is watching in 2024
Nah I'm in 2056
Damn, time traveler in the chat.
We all are dumbass
@@childishbeast2806 its 2025 here in somalia
@@childishbeast2806here in North Korea its year 113
Bro is Hindu ????
Lmao I’m playing on a gorilla bass amp with my guitar and my laptop for tones 😭
Hey there I am from India and I am the only person who saw that poster of hindu GODS and GODESS 🤨?
It's from Jimmy Hendrix
second
Is that a Hindu poster???????
First. Pls pin 🎸 🔥
Vote trump 2024
so you only know how to play pentatonic scales and blues, but not jazz.
I’m using my first🫨
Whos watching in 2025