
Welcome to the tube zoo, where you’ll get to know about the nature and habits of output and preamp tubes. And how they perform in the wilds of amplification—and in your own amp.
Of all the tonally tweakable elements in the extensive chain of components that define your sound as a guitarist, the tubes tucked into your amplifier might be the most enigmatic. Working symbiotically with the circuits and transformers housed alongside them, these tubes help to determine the way your playing is translated, from the signal produced at the guitar’s pickups to the sound waves ultimately pumped into the air by the speaker and broadcast to listeners’ ears. Given their role in the signal chain, tubes can greatly influence the feel of your playing, as well as the sound.
Alternative guitar amp options have threatened to bury tubes for six decades—since the arrival of solid-state amps in the 1960s to the proliferation for modeling amps in recent years. Yet the rumors of the tube amp’s death have been greatly exaggerated, and they continue to be used by more pro and hobby players around the world than any other type of amplifier. Even the sounds of modeling rigs are based on the tone and playing feel of myriad classic tube circuits.
Didacts will occasionally argue that tubes themselves don’t have a sound. Certainly, that’s true as far as the silence you’ll hear if you unplug a tube and hold it up to your ear. So, sure, the design and circuit of the amp in which any tube is used sets the foundation of its overall tone. But tubes do very much enhance or define certain sonic characteristics of amps, which is something you discover pretty quickly when you swap one tube type for another (in amps that allow this)—only to discover a distinct shift in your amp’s tonal personality.
“A survey of many classic and boutique amps usually reveals specific tube types enhancing distinct sonic characteristics time and again.”
It’s probably best, therefore, to think of many classic amps and traditional tube types as working hand-in-hand to present familiar sonic templates. For that reason, throughout this guide we’ll nod to a handful of familiar amplifier makes and models when referencing many tubes—and output tubes in particular, since the most common preamp tubes are often interchangeable between drastically different amp designs.
Also, while it might be true that a good amp designer can coax nearly any tone out of any conventional type of output tube, a survey of many classic and boutique amps usually reveals specific tube types enhancing distinct sonic characteristics time and again. For example, Dick Denney might have built the most famous iterations of the Vox AC15 and AC30 around EL84s, because they were plentiful and affordable, but now that those sounds have been blueprinted, we know which tubes to turn to for consistently achieving them.
Let’s start our guide with a look at the main output tube types used in guitar amps, then we’ll move on to common preamp tubes. Per-tube prices quoted are for current or recently manufactured examples made in Russia, Eastern Europe, and China, as surveyed at reputable dealers such as Mojotone, Antique Electronic Supply, Sweetwater, Telefunken, the Tube Doctor, EHX, and the Tube Store. Tags for special or limited versions of tubes are typically a little higher.
Output Tubes
Output tubes (also called power tubes) are the larger of the tube types within your amp and are usually found toward the opposite end of the chassis from the amp’s input. These tubes receive the guitar signal that the preamp tubes have already amplified slightly and amplify it much more, into a signal that can be pumped through a speaker via an output transformer. Let’s take a family-by-family look at these tubes
6L6 Types
Tone Template: Big American
Price: $25 to $50 street
Courtesy of The Tube Doctor
Used in pairs for 35 to 50 watts or quads for 80 to 100 watts, 6L6s are the classic big American tube, probably best defined by the sound of the larger, legendary Fender amps of the ’50s and ’60s: the tweed Bassman, the black-panel Twin Reverb, the Super Reverb, and more. This tube has a bold, solid voice with firm lows and prominent highs. The sound can almost be strident in loud, clean amps that were designed for maximum headroom, or silkier and more rounded in smaller amps—like many of the tweed era—that allow for easier and earlier clipping.
Different 6L6s offer varying types of tonal performance. The 6L6GB and 6L6GC, for example, are a little softer/rounder and firmer/bolder, respectively, while the latter is also capable of handling higher voltages and delivers later breakup with increased headroom. (Note: These aren’t better/best distinctions. Either tube may be preferable according to your sonic needs, or might be required by your amp’s specifications.) A “W” designation on either of these denotes a more rugged tube originally intended for military use.
“6L6s are the classic big American tube, probably best defined by the sound of the larger, legendary Fender amps of the ’50s and ’60s.”
The original 5881 tubes manufactured in the U.S. in the ’50s and ’60s are a tougher sibling of the 6L6. They put out a little less power and break up a little earlier than the 6L6GC. Currently manufactured 5881s, however, are usually 6L6 types that have been relabeled, and therefore don’t vary greatly in their characteristics. If you’re lucky, you might find some new old stock (NOS) originals (see sidebar at bottom of page).
In many amps, all of the tubes mentioned in this 6L6 section can be swapped for each other, with some caveats. Always refer to your amp manufacturer’s instructions before doing so, and be aware that higher-powered amps designed with 6L6GCs in mind might run at voltages too high for 6L6GBs or 5881s.
For a further sonic reference point, 6L6 types also appear in many vintage Gibson, Silvertone, Danelectro, and Valco amps, plus early Marshall JTM45s, many Mesa/Boogie Mark Series models, Dumbles, many powerful Soldano and Bogner amps, and boutique favorites like the Carr Rambler and Dr. Z Z-28 MkII.
EL34s
Tone Template: British Stack
Price: $23 to $50 street
Photo courtesy of Telefunken
EL34s, used in pairs for 45 to 60 watts or quads for 100 to 120 watts, are responsible for the archetypal 50- and 100-watt tone from across the Atlantic, as delivered by the classic Marshall plexi variations. It is characteristically thick and mid-forward, with round lows, crispy highs, and a slightly granular texture overall—and smoothly compressed and aggressive when driven hard. The EL34 can also deliver tighter and bone-crunchingly punchy sounds to arena-rock stages in amps that can be pushed up to 120 watts with sets of four tubes, such as the Hiwatt DR103. That’s thanks to this tube’s ability to handle very high plate voltages.
The EL34 is featured in post-1967 Marshalls like the JMP50 and JMP100 plexi and metal-panel amps, later Master Model 2203s and 2204s, JCM800s, and the majority of modern models. These tubes are also used by (as mentioned) Hiwatt, Orange, and Sound City, and in Vox’s AC50 and AC100, as well as several amps from Selmer and Traynor. Contemporary makers seeking that Brit-stack kerrang! at full volume usually turn to EL34s, so they are also part of the formulation of high-gain-design builds from Rivera, Bogner, Friedman, and Mesa/Boogie, as well as the Matchless Clubman, TopHat Emplexador, and Komet K60.
KT66s
Tone Template: Bold British
Price: $45 to $70 street
Courtesy of The Tube Doctor
This large, imposing Coke-bottle of a tube was Britain’s response to the American 6L6. As such, it has broadly similar characteristics and produces roughly the same wattage in pairs and quads, although it can handle higher voltages and adds its own sonic personality to the brew. Given this, the KT66 can be used in place of 6L6GCs in many amps, although you should check your manufacturer’s guidelines just to be safe.
The KT66 is probably best known, in vintage amps, for its use in many Marshall JTM45s of the early ’60s, which started with 6L6s and 5881s (following their inspiration of Fender’s tweed Bassman circuit) before moving to the British-made tube when the American “valves,” as the Brits call tubes, became scarce in the U.K. In recent decades, the KT66 has been rediscovered by many boutique amp makers. It’s the tube of choice for the Dr. Z Route 66 and the original single-ended Carr Mercury, among others. Along with its good balance and clarity throughout the frequency range, the KT66 generally offers a slightly bolder low end than the 6L6, and what some players hear as a sweeter, juicier midrange response—making it something of a good blend of the 6L6GC and the EL34.
6550s and KT88s
Tone Template: Punchy, Powerful, and Surprisingly Versatile
Price: $50 to $80 street
Courtesy of Telefunken
A big, powerful tube capable of producing massive wattage in the right circuit, the 6550 has also been used somewhat against type by a surprising number of creative boutique amp makers. In the late ’60s and ’70s, the 6550 was more likely to be found in bass amps—six of them created the original Ampeg SVT’s stadium-rumbling tones—but was also used, for a time, in Marshall guitar amps exported to the U.S. because its ruggedness and greater availability eased servicing issues.
Sonically, the 6550 is bold, clear, tight, and well-composed, with very little compression when pushed, but an aggressive, muscular crunch when it does begin to break up. Some makers—George Alessandro, for one—have cleverly used it to achieve more nuanced tones, but usually it’s a tube that’s employed when massive wattage is the ultimate goal.
Courtesy of The Tube Doctor
Although not identical to the 6550, the KT88 is a common substitute that presents many of the same characteristics. Sonically, it leans somewhere between the 6550 and EL34, but with the tighter low end and massive output of the former. It can usually be swapped directly for a 6550, and often for an EL34, with some slight modifications (as ever, consult your manufacturer or a good amp tech). The mighty 200-watt Marshall Major is the best vintage reference point for this output tube, but it has also been used more recently in the RedPlate BluesMachine and Fryette Sig:X, among others—generally amps seeking either high headroom or a greater proportion of preamp-tube overdrive to output-tube distortion.
“If you’re curious about the sonic effects of variations in 12AX7s that can be used in your amp, it’s worth trying a few to check out the phenomenon for yourself.”
6V6GTs
Tone Template: Juicy, Smaller American
Price: $22 to $55 per tube
Courtesy of Telefunken
Originally an American-made tube (though later produced elsewhere), the 6V6 is often thought of as the little brother of the 6L6. But, despite its use in the smaller- to medium-sized amps made by golden-age American companies of the ’50s and ’60s—who used 6L6s in their larger amps, it really has a sonic signature all its own. A pair will generate around 15 to 18 watts in a cathode-biased amp (think tweed Deluxe) or upwards of 22 watts in a fixed-bias circuit (Deluxe Reverb), and they were also sometimes used in quads to produce 30 to 50 watts. Their sonic personality? Round, rich cleans and a juicy, relatively mid-forward sound when pushed into distortion, with notable compression and a hint of granularity at the core.
In addition to the notable Fender models the 6V6 appeared in, these tubes were also deployed in the most popular Gibson amps of the ’50s and have been used in near-countless reissue and boutique models over the past couple of decades. The Tone King Imperial, Bogner Goldfinger 45, Carr Mercury V and Skylark, Divided By 13 CJ 11, and Victoria Silver Sonic all used 6V6s in their output stages.
EL84
Tone Template: British Chime
Price: $17 to $38 per tube
Courtesy of Electro-Harmonix
In something of a parallel to the American 6V6, the EL84 (originally a British and European tube) is often talked of as a “junior EL34,” although, again, it has a personality very much its own. This tube is notable for being the only 9-pin (noval) tube in our selection (most tubes are octal, having 8 pins), and it can look much like a taller preamp tube. The EL84 delivers around 15 to 18 watts in pairs, or from 30 to 36 watts in quads.
Far and away most famous for its use in the Vox AC15 and AC30, the EL84 is known for its sweet, bright, chimey clean tones and succulent, textured, harmonically saturated overdrive. “Shimmer” and “bloom” are among the adjectives players use to describe EL84s in the sweet spot, just at the edge of breakup. In addition to the archetypal original Vox amps and later reissues, the EL84 has been popular with a long list of other companies, including boutique builders who clearly take their inspiration from the British classics.
Popular amps like the Matchless Lightning, Spitfire and DC-30; Dr. Z Carmen Ghia and Maz (the latter has two equivalent 6N14Ns power tubes); 65amps London and Soho; TopHat Club Royale; Friedman JJ Junior; Mesa/Boogie Mark Five: 25 and 35; and Fender Blues Junior and Pro Junior all use this tube.
Preamp Tubes
Generally speaking, preamp tubes are less likely to define the foundational sound of any given amplifier, although swapping one for another—even of the same type, but a variation or a tube from a different maker—can still impose a noticeable change on your tone. One reason we think of preamp tubes as less of a defining element in most guitar amps is because the vast majority of amps use the same preamp tube types. The 12AX7 is far and away the most common preamp tube and has been since the early ’50s. Again, variations on makes of 12AX7s can still stamp elements of their own personality on the sound of any amp, and swapping one manufacturer’s 12AX7 for another might produce dramatic sonic changes, but not the same sort of tectonic shift in the basic characteristics of any given amp as output tubes.
If you’re curious about the sonic effects of variations in 12AX7s that can be used in your amp, it’s worth trying a few to check out the phenomenon for yourself, in order to select a favorite. Otherwise, it’s probably more informative to discuss their different levels of gain available via various preamp tubes. That will alter the sound and feel of most amps, since the proportions of clean and overdriven sound, the point on the volume control at which distortion sets in, and other gain-related factors all play a big part in shaping what we think of as our tone.
Each major type of preamp tube exhibits what we call a “gain factor,” and the relative comparison of this spec gives us some indication of how hard that tube will drive the preamp stage of any amp. To that end, despite the 12AX7’s domination of the market, let’s also look at a few other tubes, too. (Note: We’re only discussing common 9-pin (noval) preamp tubes here, but the lesser-used, octal-based preamp tubes, more common up until the early to mid-’50s, are still enjoyed by some players.)
Dual-Triode Preamp Tubes
12AX7s (aka ECC83s), 5751s, 12AT7s, 12AY7s
Price: $18 to $35
Each of these tube types contains two triode gain stages within one bottle—hence, the “dual-triode” name—and they can perform their duties in two parts of the preamp circuit simultaneously using each triode. [Each triode gain stage consists of three electrodes: a cathode filament, anode plate, and control grid. For more background, check out Dan Formosa’s article “Tube-Amp Basics for Beginners,” in the June 2021 issue, or at premierguitar.com.] In theory, any one of these tubes—listed above in descending gain levels—can be substituted for each other with little chance of damage to your amplifier. Technically, the 12AT7 is usually biased differently than the others, so might not perform optimally in a circuit set up for a 12AX7, but you’re unlikely to damage your amp by trying it out. (If you’re curious, swap it in for a short period of time, and if you like the results, check with your amp’s manufacturer or a good tech before using it full-time.)
By the way, here are the specific gain factor ratings—the measures for how much a tube amplifies the input signal—for these tubes:
12AX7: 100
Courtesy of the Tube Doctor
5751: 70
Courtesy of Electro-Harmonix
12AT7: 60
Courtesy of Electro-Harmonix
12AY7: 40
Courtesy of The Tube Doctor
The main effect of swapping between these tubes of descending gain factors will be increased headroom and a later onset of distortion as you run down through the ranks. Each comes with its own nuanced sonic characteristics, too, which are difficult to define when divorced from the specific circuit in which they are used. Note, however, that many players find the 12AT7 (most commonly seen in reverb and phase-inverter positions) to be a little dull or cold-sounding, even as compared to the lower-gain 12AY7.
The 12AY7 is notable for its use in the first gain stage of most tweed Fender amps of around 1952 to ’60. Over the years, many players have swapped these for more common 12AX7s, which delivers earlier breakup and is desirable for some playing styles. This hotter tube can lead to a somewhat “fizzier” distortion when pushed hard in this type of circuit, though, and the 12AY7 is still considered to deliver the proper tone of classics like the 5E3 Deluxe, 5F4 Super, and 5F6-A Bassman.
Pentode Preamp Tubes
EF86, 5879
Price: $35 to $200
Courtesy of The Tube Doctor
Seen far less often but still beloved by some players, the pentode preamp tube houses a single pentode gain stage within a glass envelope that’s otherwise identical to the 12AX7 and the others above. As you might guess, pentode tubes have five electrodes, with screen and suppressor grids added to the 12AX7 family’s three. These are not, however, interchangeable for dual-triode tubes, so don’t even try it!
The most common pentode preamp tube is the EF86 (aka 6267), found in the classic iteration of the early ’60s Vox AC15. This tube reputedly has an even higher gain factor than the 12AX7—although the exact number is debated—and is characterized by a fat, rich sound. It’s prone to less self-distortion than the dual-triodes, too, meaning it passes a full-frequency signal along to the next stage in the amp without adding much of its own fizz or sizzle, although it can certainly contribute to tube overdrive. It also resists collapsing into mush when hit by an overdrive pedal in front of the amp. Boutique amps that employ the EF86 include the Matchless DC-30 (in channel 2, for high gain), the Dr. Z Z-28, and the Matchless DC-30.
Another pentode tube is the American-made 5879, which has similar characteristics to the EF86, although it also has different internal pin connections and therefore cannot be used in place of it. Probably best known for its use in the Gibson GA-40 Les Paul amp of the late ’50s, this one has most notably been employed in several current models from Divided By 13.
The Skinny
Okay, now you know all the basics about tubes. Use it as you will—to experiment, to hold your own in debates with fellow gear nerds, or as another stepping stone on your path to becoming a tone sensei.
Follow Your NOS
Courtesy of the Tube Store
Courtesy of the Tube Store
Courtesy of the Tube Store
As you get deeper into the world of replacement tubes for guitar amplifiers, and particularly if you fuel your knowledge by perusing online forums, you’re likely to come across the term “NOS” again and again, along with the recommendation that those are the tubes you need to buy. Short for “new old stock,” NOS tubes are those that were manufactured many years ago—usually during the golden age of American and European tube production—but have never been used. They are old stock, but are essentially new because they have never been installed in an amplifier.
The demise of the vacuum tube industry in the U.S. and Europe began in the late 1960s and early ’70s, when transistors took the reins for just about all amplification duties other than those of guitar amps. Production dwindled through the ’70s and all but disappeared after, although a few tubes were made in the U.S. (the 6550, in particular) in relatively small numbers right up until 1993. More to our point, though, since the early ’80s all new tubes have been manufactured in Eastern Europe and China, particularly because these regions still needed them for use in military equipment that was slower to update to new tech. It’s worth remembering that once the technology in military and consumer electronics moved forward, the guitar-amp and audiophile markets weren’t enough to sustain the tube industry.
Guitarists have been plundering whatever stocks of NOS tubes they could find for a good three decades or more. So, there aren’t a whole lot of genuine NOS tubes left, and those that remain are very expensive. Beyond this, the bigger issue with acquiring NOS tubes today revolves around quality and verification: a lot of sub-par tubes that were rejected during testing over the years have ended up being recycled as NOS, as have a lot of used tubes pulled from old amps and polished up. Buying NOS from a reputable dealer can help mitigate these issues, but, once again, you will pay a premium. For example, we recently spotted an Amperex Bugle Boy 12AX7 for sale at $349.95. Is it that much better than a JJ Electronic 12AX7 for 20 bucks?
No matter how much chat-room pundits rave that you must use NOS tubes, current (or at least recent) tubes provide good tone and excellent reliability in the vast majority of guitar amps in use today. It’s also worth considering the fact that contemporary amp makers are usually designing and fine-tuning their circuits with current-manufacture tubes in mind, so while a rare and expensive NOS substitute might get a little more out of them, that is by no means guaranteed.
Stevie Van Zandt with “Number One,” the ’80s reissue Stratocaster—with custom paisley pickguard from luthier Dave Petillo—that he’s been playing for the last quarter century or so.
With the E Street Band, he’s served as musical consigliere to Bruce Springsteen for most of his musical life. And although he stands next to the Boss onstage, guitar in hand, he’s remained mostly quiet about his work as a player—until now.
I’m stuck in Stevie Van Zandt’s elevator, and the New York City Fire Department has been summoned. It’s early March, and I am trapped on the top floor of a six-story office building in Greenwich Village. On the other side of this intransigent door is Van Zandt’s recording studio, his guitars, amps, and other instruments, his Wicked Cool Records offices, and his man cave. The latter is filled with so much day-glo baby boomer memorabilia that it’s like being dropped into a Milton Glaser-themed fantasy land—a bright, candy-colored chandelier swings into the room from the skylight.
There’s a life-size cameo of a go-go dancer in banana yellow; she’s frozen in mid hip shimmy. One wall displays rock posters and B-movie key art, anchored by a 3D rendering of Cream’s Disraeli Gearsalbum cover that swishes and undulates as you walk past it. Van Zandt’s shelves are stuffed with countless DVDs, from Louis Prima to the J. Geils Band performing on the German TV concert seriesRockpalast. There are three copies ofIggy and the Stooges: Live in Detroit. Videos of the great ’60s-music TV showcases, from Hullabaloo to Dean Martin’s The Hollywood Palace, sit here. Hundreds of books about rock ’n’ roll, from Greil Marcus’s entire output to Nicholas Schaffner’s seminal tome, The Beatles Forever, form a library in the next room.
But I haven’t seen this yet because the elevator is dead, and I am in it. Our trap is tiny, about 5' by 5'. A dolly filled with television production equipment is beside me. There’s a production assistant whom I’ve never met until this morning and another person who’s brand new to me, too, Geoff Sanoff. It turns out that he’s Van Zandt’s engineer—the guy who runs this studio. And as I’ll discover shortly, he’s also one of the several sentinels who watch over Stevie Van Zandt’s guitars.
There’s nothing to do now but wait for the NYFD, so Sanoff and I get acquainted. We discover we’re both from D.C. and know some of the same people in Washington’s music scene. We talk about gear. We talk about this television project. I’m here today assisting an old pal, director Erik Nelson, best known for producing Werner Herzog’s most popular documentaries, like Grizzly Man and Cave of Forgotten Dreams. Van Zandt has agreed to participate in a television pilot about the British Invasion. After about half an hour, the elevator doors suddenly slide open, and we’re rescued, standing face-to-face with three New York City firefighters.
As our camera team sets up the gear, Sanoff beckons me to a closet off the studio’s control room. I get the sense I am about to get a consolation prize for standing trapped in an elevator for the last 30 minutes. He pulls a guitar case off the shelf—it’s stenciled in paint with the words “Little Steven” on its top—snaps open the latches, and instantly I am face to face with Van Zandt’s well-worn 1957 Stratocaster. Sanoff hands it to me, and I’m suddenly holding what may as well be the thunderbolt of Zeus for an E Street Band fan. My jaw drops when he lets me plug it in so he can get some levels on his board, and the clean, snappy quack of the nearly 70-year-old pickups fills the studio. For decades, Springsteen nuts have enjoyed a legendary 1978 filmed performance of “Rosalita” from Phoenix, Arizona, that now lives on YouTube. This is the Stratocaster Van Zandt had slung over his shoulder that night. It’s the same guitar he wields in the famous No Nukes concert film shot at Madison Square Garden a year later, in 1979. My mind races. The British Invasion is all well and essential. But now I’m thinking about Van Zandt’s relationship with his guitars.
Stevie Van Zandt's Gear
Van Zandt’s guitar concierge Andy Babiuk helped him plunge deeper down the Rickenbacker rabbit hole. Currently, Van Zandt has six Rickenbackers backstage: two 6-strings and four 12-strings.
Guitars
- 1957 Fender Stratocaster (studio only)
- ’80s Fender ’57 Stratocaster reissue “Number One”
- Gretsch Tennessean
- 1955 Gibson Les Paul Custom “Black Beauty” (studio only)
- Rickenbacker Fab Gear 2024 Limited Edition ’60s Style 360 Model (candy apple green)
- Rickenbacker Fab Gear 2023 Limited Edition ’60s Style 360 Model (snowglo)
- Rickenbacker 2018 Limited Edition ’60s Style 360 Fab Gear (jetglo)
- Two Rickenbacker 1993Plus 12-strings (candy apple purple and SVZ blue)
- Rickenbacker 360/12C63 12-string (fireglo)
- Vox Teardrop (owned by Andy Babiuk)
Amps
- Two Vox AC30s
- Two Vox 2x12 cabinets
Effects
- Boss Space Echo
- Boss Tremolo
- Boss Rotary Ensemble
- Durham Electronics Sex Drive
- Durham Electronics Mucho Busto
- Durham Electronics Zia Drive
- Electro-Harmonix Satisfaction
- Ibanez Tube Screamer
- Voodoo Labs Ground Control Pro switcher
Strings and Picks
- D’Addario (.095–.44)
- D’Andrea Heavy
Van Zandt has reached a stage of reflection in his career. Besides the Grammy-nominated HBO film, Stevie Van Zandt: Disciple, which came out in 2024, he recently wrote and published his autobiography, Unrequited Infatuations (2021), a rollicking read in which he pulls no punches and makes clear he still strives to do meaningful things in music and life.
His laurels would weigh him down if they were actually wrapped around his neck. In the E Street Band, Van Zandt has participated in arguably the most incredible live group in rock ’n’ roll history. And don’t forget Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes or Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul. He created both the Underground Garage and Outlaw Country radio channels on Sirius/XM. He started a music curriculum program called TeachRock that provides no-cost resources and other programs to schools across the country. Then there’s the politics. Via his 1985 record, Sun City, Van Zandt is credited with blasting many of the load-bearing bricks that brought the walls of South African apartheid tumbling into dust. He also acted in arguably the greatest television drama in American history, with his turn as Silvio Dante in The Sopranos.
Puzzlingly, Van Zandt’s autobiography lacks any detail on his relationship with the electric guitar. And Sanoff warns me that Van Zandt is “not a gearhead.” Instead he has an organization in place to keep his guitar life spinning like plates on the end of pointed sticks. Besides Sanoff, there are three others: Ben Newberry has been Van Zandt’s guitar tech since the beginning of 1982. Andy Babiuk, owner of Rochester, New York, guitar shop Fab Gear and author of essential collector reference books Beatles Gear and Rolling Stones Gear (the latter co-authored by Greg Prevost) functions as Van Zandt’s guitar concierge. Lastly, luthier Dave Petillo, based in Asbury Park, New Jersey, oversees all the maintenance and customization on Van Zandt’s axes.
“I took one lesson, and they start to teach you the notes. I don’t care about the notes.” —Stevie Van Zandt
I crawl onto Zoom with Van Zandt for a marathon session and come away from our 90 minutes with the sense that he is a man of dichotomies. Sure, he’s a guitar slinger, but he considers his biggest strengths to be as an arranger, producer, and songwriter. “I don’t feel that being a guitar player is my identity,” he tells me. “For 40 years, ever since I made my first solo record, I just have not felt that I express myself as a guitar player. I still enjoy it when I do it; I’m not ambivalent. When I play a solo, I am in all the way, and I play a solo like I would like to hear if I were in the audience. But the guitar part is really part of the song’s arrangement. And a great solo is a composed solo. Great solos are ones you can sing, like Jimi Hendrix’s solo in ‘All Along the Watchtower.’”
In his autobiography, Van Zandt mentions that his first guitar was an acoustic belonging to his grandfather. “I took one lesson, and they start to teach you the notes. I don’t care about the notes,” Van Zandt tells me. “The teacher said I had natural ability. I’m thinking, if I got natural ability, then what the fuck do I need you for? So I never went back. After that, I got my first electric, an Epiphone. It was about slowing down the records to figure out with my ear what they were doing. It was seeing live bands and standing in front of that guitar player and watching what they were doing. It was praying when a band went on TV that the cameraman would occasionally go to the right place and show what the guitar player was doing instead of putting the camera on the lead singer all the time. And I’m sure it was the same for everybody. There was no concept of rock ’n’ roll lessons. School of Rock wouldn’t exist for another 30 years. So, you had to go to school yourself.”
By the end of the 1960s, Van Zandt tells me he had made a conscious decision about what kind of player he wanted to be. “I realized that I really wasn’t that interested in becoming a virtuoso guitar player, per se. I was more interested in making sure I could play the guitar solo that would complement the song. I got more into the songs than the nature of musicianship.”
After the Beatles and the Stones broke the British Invasion wide open, bands like Cream and the Yardbirds most influenced him. “George Harrison would have that perfect 22-second guitar solo,” Van Zandt remembers. “Keith Richards. Dave Davies. Then, the harder stuff started coming. Jeff Beck in the Yardbirds. Eric Clapton with things like ‘White Room.’ But the songs stayed in a pop configuration, three minutes each or so. You’d have this cool guitar-based song with a 15-second, really amazing Jeff Beck solo in it. That’s what I liked. Later, the jam bands came, but I was not into that. My attention deficit disorder was not working for the longer solos,” he jokes. Watch a YouTube video of any recent E Street Band performance where Van Zandt solos, and the punch and impact of his approach and attack are apparent. At Nationals Park in Washington, D.C., last year, his solo on “Rosalita” was 13 powerful seconds.
Van Zandt and Bruce Springsteen’s relationship goes back to their earliest days on the Jersey shore. “Everybody had a different guitar; your guitar was your identity,” recalls Van Zandt. “At some point, a couple of years later, I remember Bruce calling me and asking me for my permission to switch to Telecaster. At that point, I was ready to switch to Stratocaster.”
Photo by Pamela Springsteen
Van Zandt left his Epiphone behind for his first Fender. “I started to notice that the guitar superstars at the time were playing Telecasters. Mike Bloomfield. Jeff Beck. Even Eric Clapton played one for a while,” he tells me. “I went down to Jack’s Music Shop in Red Bank, New Jersey, because he had the first Telecaster in our area and couldn’t sell it; it was just sitting there. I bought it for 90 bucks.”
In those days, and around those parts, players only had one guitar. Van Zandt recalls, “Everybody had a different guitar; your guitar was your identity. At some point, a couple of years later, I remember Bruce calling me and asking me for my permission to switch to Telecaster. At that point, I was ready to switch to Stratocaster, because Jimi Hendrix had come in and Jeff Beck had switched to a Strat. They all kind of went from Telecaster to Les Pauls. And then some of them went on to the Stratocaster. For me, the Les Paul was just too out of reach. It was too expensive, and it was just too heavy. So I said, I’m going to switch to a Stratocaster. It felt a little bit more versatile.”
Van Zandt still employs Stratocasters, and besides the 1957 I strummed, he was seen with several throughout the ’80s and ’90s. But for the last 20 or 25 years, Van Zandt has mainly wielded a black Fender ’57 Strat reissue from the ’80s with a maple fretboard and a gray pearloid pickguard. He still uses that Strat—dubbed “Number One”—but the pickguard has been switched to one sporting a purple paisley pattern that was custom-made by Dave Petillo.
Petillo comes from New Jersey luthier royalty and followed in the footsteps of his late father, Phil Petillo. At a young age, the elder Petillo became an apprentice to legendary New York builder John D’Angelico. Later, he sold Bruce Springsteen the iconic Fender Esquire that’s seen on the Born to Run album cover and maintained and modified that guitar and all of Bruce’s other axes until he passed away in 2010. Phil worked out of a studio in the basement of their home, not far from Asbury Park. Artists dropped in, and Petillo has childhood memories of playing pick-up basketball games in his backyard with members of the E Street Band. (He also recalls showing his Lincoln Logs to Johnny Cash and once mistaking Jerry Garcia for Santa Claus.)
“I was more interested in making sure I could play the guitar solo that would complement the song. I got more into the songs than the nature of musicianship.” —Stevie Van Zandt
“I’ve known Stevie Van Zandt my whole life,” says Petillo. “My dad used to work on his 1957 Strat. That guitar today has updated tuners, a bone nut, new string trees, and a refret that was done by Dad long ago. I think one volume pot may have been changed. But it still has the original pickups.” Petillo is responsible for a lot of the aesthetic flair seen on Van Zandt’s instruments. He continues, “Stevie is so much fun to work with. I love incorporating colors into things, and Stevie gets that. When you talk to a traditional Telecaster or Strat player, and you say, ‘I want to do a tulip paisley pickguard in neon blue-green,’ they’re like, ‘Holy cow, that’s too much!’ But for Stevie, it’s just natural. So I always text him with pickguard designs, asking him, ‘Which one do you like?’ And he calls me a wild man; he says, ‘I don’t have that many Strats to put them on!’ But I’ll go to Ben Newberry and say, ‘Ben, I made these pickguards; let’s get them on the guitar. And I’ll go backstage, and we’ll put them on. I just love that relationship; Stevie is down for it.”
Petillo takes care of the electronics on Van Zandt’s guitars. Almost all of the Strats are modified with an internal Alembic Stratoblaster preamp circuit, which Van Zandt can physically toggle on and off using a switch housed just above the input jack. Van Zandt tells me, “That came because I got annoyed with the whole pedal thing. I’m a performer onstage, and I’m integrated with the audience and I like the freedom to move. And if I’m across the stage and all of a sudden Bruce nods to me to take a solo, or there’s a bit in the song that requires a little bit of distortion, it’s just easier to have that; sometimes, I’ll need that extra little boost for a part I’m throwing in, and it’s convenient.”
In recent times, Van Zandt has branched out from the Stratocaster, which has a lot to do with Andy Babiuk's influence. The two met 20 years ago, and Babiuk’s band, the Chesterfield Kings, is on Van Zandt’s Wicked Cool Records. “He’d call me up and ask me things like, ‘What’s Brian Jones using on this song?’” explains Babiuk. “When I’d ask him why, he’d tell me, ‘Because I want to have that guitar.’ It’s a common thing for me to get calls and texts from him like that. And there’s something many people overlook that Stevie doesn’t advertise: He’s a ripping guitar player. People think of him as playing chords and singing backup for Bruce, but the guy rips. And not just on guitar, on multiple instruments.”
Van Zandt tells me he wanted to bring more 12-string to the E Street Band this tour, “just to kind of differentiate the tone.” He explains, “Nils is doing his thing, and Bruce is doing his thing, and I wanted to do more 12-string.” He laughs, “I went full Paul Kantner!” Babiuk helped Van Zandt plunge deeper down the Rickenbacker rabbit hole. Currently, Van Zandt has six Rickenbackers backstage: two 6-strings and four 12-strings. Each 12-string has a modified nut made by Petillo from ancient woolly mammoth tusk, and the D, A, and low E strings are inverted with their octave.
Van Zandt explains this to me: “I find that the strings ring better when the high ones are on top. I’m not sure if that’s how Roger McGuinn did it, but it works for me. I’m also playing a wider neck.”
Babiuk tells me about a unique Rick in Van Zandt’s rack of axes: “I know the guys at Rickenbacker well, and they did a run of 30 basses in candy apple purple for my shop. I showed one to Stevie, and purple is his color; he loves it. He asked me to get him a 12-string in the same color, and I told him, ‘They don’t do one-offs; they don’t have a custom shop,’ but it’s hard to say no to the guy! So I called Rickenbacker and talked them into it. I explained, ‘He’ll play it a lot on this upcoming tour.’ They made him a beautiful one with his OM logo.”
The purple one-off is a 1993Plus model and sports a 1 3/4" wide neck—1/8" wider than a normal Rickenbacker. Van Zandt loved it so much that he had Babiuk wrestle with Rickenbacker again to build another one in baby blue. Petillo has since outfitted them with paisley-festooned custom pickguards. When guitar tech Newberry shows me these unique axes backstage, I can see the input jack on the purple guitar is labeled with serial number 01001.“Some of my drive is based on gratitude,” says Van Zandt, “feeling like we are the luckiest guys in the luckiest generation ever.”
Photo by Rob DeMartin
Van Zandt also currently plays a white Vox Teardrop. That guitar is a prototype owned by Babiuk. “Stevie wanted a Teardrop,” Babiuk tells me, “but I explained that the vintage ones are hit and miss—the ones made in the U.K. were often better than the ones manufactured in Italy. Korg now owns Vox, and I have a new Teardrop prototype from them in my personal collection. When I showed it to him, he loved it and asked me to get him one. I had to tell him, ‘I can’t; it’s a prototype, there’s only one,’ and he asked me to sell him mine,” he chuckles. “I told him, ‘It’s my fucking personal guitar, it’s not for sale!’ So I ended up lending it to him for this tour, and I told him, ‘Remember, this is my guitar; don’t get too happy with it, okay?’
“He asked me why that particular guitar sounds and feels so good. Besides being a prototype built by only one guy, the single-coil pickups’ output is abnormally hot, and the neck feels like a nice ’60s Fender neck. Stevie’s obviously a dear friend of mine, and he can hold onto it for as long as he wants. I’m glad it’s getting played. It was just hanging in my office.”
Van Zandt tells me how Babiuk’s Vox Teardrop sums up everything he wants from his tone, and says, “It’s got a wonderfully clean, powerful sound. Like Brian Jones got on ‘The Last Time.’ That’s my whole thing; that’s the trick—trying to get the power without too much distortion. Bruce and Nils get plenty of distortion; I am trying to be the clean rhythm guitar all the time.”
If Van Zandt has a consigliere like Tony Soprano had Silvio Dante, that’s Newberry. Newberry has tech’d nearly every gig with Van Zandt since 1982. “Bruce shows move fast,” he tells me. “So when there’s a guitar change for Stevie, and there are many of them, I’m at the top of the stairs, and we switch quickly. There’s maybe one or two seconds, and if he needs to tell me something, I hear it. He’s Bruce’s musical director, so he may say something like, ‘Remind me tomorrow to go over the background vocals on “Ghosts,”’ or something like that. And I take notes during the show.”
“Everybody had a different guitar; your guitar was your identity. At some point, a couple of years later, I remember Bruce calling me and asking me for my permission to switch to a Telecaster.” —Stevie Van Zandt
When I ask Newberry how he defines Van Zandt’s relationship to the guitar, he doesn’t hesitate, snapping back, “It’s all in his head. His playing is encyclopedic, whether it’s Bruce or anything else. He may show up at soundcheck and start playing the Byrds, but it’s not ‘Tambourine Man,’ it’s something obscure like ‘Bells of Rhymney.’ People may not get it, but I’ve known him long enough to know what’s happening. He’s got everything already under his fingers. Everything.”
As such, Van Zandt says he never practices. “The only time I touch a guitar between tours is if I’m writing something or maybe arranging backing vocal harmonies on a production,” he tells me.
Before we say goodbye, I tell Van Zandt about my time stuck in his elevator, and his broad grin signals that I may not be the only one to have suffered that particular purgatory. When I ask him about the 1957 Stratocaster I got to play upon my release, he recalls: “Bruce Springsteen gave me that guitar. I’ve only ever had one guitar stolen in my life, and it was in the very early days of my joining the E Street Band. I only joined temporarily for what I thought would be about seven gigs, and in those two weeks or so, my Stratocaster was stolen. It was a 1957 or 1958. Bruce felt bad about that and replaced that lost guitar with this one. So I’ve had it a long, long time. Once that first one was stolen, I decided I would resist having a personal relationship with any one guitar. But that one being a gift from Bruce makes it special. I will never take it back on the road.”
After 50 years of rock ’n’ roll, if there is one word to sum up Stevie Van Zandt, it may be “restless”—an adjective you sense from reading his autobiography. He gets serious and tells me, “I’m always trying to catch up. The beginning of accomplishing something came quite late to me. I feel like I haven’t done nearly enough. What are we on this planet trying to do?” he asks rhetorically. “We’re trying to realize our potential and maybe leave this place one percent better for the next guy. And some of my drive is based on gratitude, feeling like we are the luckiest guys in the luckiest generation ever. That’s what I’m doing: I want to give something back. I feel an obligation.”
YouTube It
“Rosalita” is a perennial E Street Band showstopper. Here’s a close-up video from Philadelphia’s Citizens Bank Park last summer. Van Zandt’s brief but commanding guitar spotlight shines just past the 4:30 mark.
Celestion introduces a low-sensitivity, dual voice coil, attenuating speaker.
The Peacekeeper offers guitarists and other amplified musicians a simple and effective way to dial in the coveted "sweet spot" on their amplifiers while still performing at modest volume levels. The Peacekeeper will be on display, alongside a range of Celestion’s key guitar and PA products at the company’s NAMM 2025 booth (Hall C, #6602).
The Peacekeeper is designed to work seamlessly with almost any amplifier, like a conventional guitar speaker, but it’s in-built attenuating technology will significantly reduce output sensitivity. This enables musicians to drive their amplifiers harder while maintaining manageable volume levels.
Key features of the Peacekeeper include:
- Attenuation Technology: The Peacekeeper’s innovative design effectively attenuates the amplifier’s output, compared with conventional speakers, allowing players to achieve their desired sound at lower volumes.
- Uncompromising Tone: Attenuation is achieved “organically” through the natural operation of the loudspeaker, enabling the Peacekeeper to preserve the Celestion tone that musicians love: the attenuation process adds no colouration or compromise.
- Seamless Integration: With its 12” diameter, the Peacekeeper seamlessly integrates with any standard cabinet, offering a hassle-free solution for volume control.
- Widely Compatible: Offering 8Ω impedance and a maximum power rating of 50W, the Peacekeeper is suitable for pairing with a wide range of amplifiers.
- Precision Built in the UK: Peacekeeper drivers are assembled at Celestion’s UK-based loudspeaker research and manufacturing facility, and rigorously tested to meet exacting performance criteria.
For more information on the Peacekeeper, visit: https://celestion.com/product/peacekeeper/
Visit Celestion at The NAMM Show, January 23-25,2025 in Hall C, Booth #6602.
Across Frank Zappa’s monumental body of work, he injected rock-based music with compositional techniques straight out of the modern classical handbook, as well as groundbreaking studio trickery and a teenager’s wit. To match his untamable creativity, he famously demanded an unmatched level of musical dedication from his players, and his own guitar playing balanced that discipline with off-the-rails experimentation.
Across Frank Zappa’s monumental body of work, he injected rock-based music with compositional techniques straight out of the modern classical handbook, as well as groundbreaking studio trickery and a teenager’s wit. To match his untamable creativity, he famously demanded an unmatched level of musical dedication from his players, and his own guitar playing balanced that discipline with off-the-rails experimentation.
When considering Zappa’s legacy as a guitarist, we can’t separate it from his work as a composer, songwriter, producer, and all-around big personality. As a listener, you can love Zappa’s chamber music and simultaneously not be able to handle his lyrics; you can adore his guitar playing but prefer he keep his opinions to himself. Our list of favorite Zappa guitar-centric recordings covers a lot of musical ground but keeps it all about his playing.
Is Frank Zappa to blame for the sound of jam bands? When was Zappa’s best decade? And we’re looking at the connection between Zappa and Phish (who one of us calls “Zappa lite”). In a bonus segment, we’re playing “Did They Get It Right?” and examining the Grammys’ former category for Best Rock Instrumental Performance.
This episode is sponsored by Dunlop.
Learn more: https://www.jimdunlop.com/products/electronics/cry-baby/.
An all-new line of solid body electric guitars, rooted in Eastman’s D’Ambrosio Series.
The FullerTone SC '52 and DC '62 represent the fusion of Eastman’s old-world craftsmanship and modular versatility, featuring their FullerTone two-bolt, long-tenon neck design first pioneered in the highly acclaimed D'Ambrosio Series. This innovative neck-to-body construction delivers more tone, sustain, and stability.
Through collaboration with renowned pickup builders ToneRider, both models deliver pure, pristine tone while maintaining exceptional warmth and projection. The SC '52 single-cutaway and DC '62 double-cutaway models draw inspiration from California's natural beauty, coming in three distinctive colors—Moss Black, Desert Sand, and Ice Blue Metallic—each complemented by industrial anodized aluminum pickguards and Eatman’s signature Truetone Satin Gloss finish, delivering a gust of modern refinement and graceful mojo.
Key features of the Eastman FullerTone Series:
- Eastman’s highly coveted FullerTone two-bolt, long-tenon neck system with three times greater neck-to-body contact, delivering more tone, sustain, and stability
- Custom ToneRider soapbar humbuckers with gold-foil covers and noiseless stacked single coils
- Premium-grade electronics
- Roasted black limba bodies with custom-designed staggered tuners for optimal string pull
“My challenge for this design was simple: to create a modular bolt-on neck system that performed, looked, and felt better than what is commonly seen on the solid body bolt-on market. This led me to explore three-dimensional neck joints in solid-body guitars. The FullerTone neck system integrates a small structural heel and tenon hidden underneath the neck pickup. The matching geometry of the neck and body securely locks the two pieces into place and is mechanically fastened together. This design utilizes the best qualities of its main components,” said Otto D’Ambrosio, Eastman’s master luthier and designer.
"With these guitars we have managed to break through various barriers without cutting any corners. Again, everything is top notch, as we always offer nothing but the best. This one is for everyone, we feel," said Pepijn 't Hart, Eastman’s director of fretted instruments.
The FullerTone Series is available through Eastman Authorized Dealers worldwide, offering unlimited possibilities for players ready to take their creative expression to new levels.