1. The rare Sound City Concord. This dual EL34 2x12 combo even sports an output level meter. 2. Yow! This tube socket has high-voltage burn marks between the pins, so it will need to be replaced. 3. The view from behind reveals a pair of square-magnet Eminence 12s with manufacturing date codes from 1972.
This month, rather than answer one of your questions (which, by the way, I am very thankful for and look forward to), I’m going to dedicate this column to a project that’s been on the back burner for a while. Okay—10 or 15 years, but who’s counting?
A customer brought this amp to me for repair and I don’t remember if it had been given to him after it failed or if the failure occurred while he owned it, but after seeing the damage he decided that it was simply not worth the effort and expense to bring the beast back to life. Not living near a landfill, he left it with me to use as a boat anchor. Seeing as how I didn’t own a boat, I initially thought I might just hang on to it as a source of parts. After thinking on it further, I decided to just store it away in the hopes that someday I might scar an apprentice for life with the task of resuscitating this corpse, I mean combo.
Well, I never found it in my heart to bestow this overwhelming task upon anyone, so I’ve finally decided to take it on myself. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Concord! This rather strange and unique combo was produced by Dallas Arbiter under the Sound City moniker in the late ’60s and early ’70s. Here goes my attempt at resurrecting this rare example of British history. Let the fun begin.
In case you’ve never seen one—and it’s unlikely you have—the Concord is a 2-channel, 2x12 combo with reverb. Each channel has two inputs (low gain and high gain), volume, treble, and bass controls, and a brilliant switch. There’s also a master “reverb volume” control and to top it all off, an output level meter. (I guess that feature was added for the deaf player. Nice touch.)
Examining the speakers, I found the square-magnet 12s were manufactured by Eminence in the 36th week of 1972 (67- 7236), and since they appear to be the original matched pair, this discovery should serve to date the amp. This Concord contains a pair of EL34 output tubes and five preamp tubes—three 12AX7s and two 12AT7s. By looking at the Partridge transformers, my guess is that this is a 35- to 40-watt amp.
Covered in typical black vinyl with a very tasty cream-and-oxblood grille cloth, the cabinet sports some uniquely rounded bottom corners. From a production standpoint, this is definitely a manufacturing irritant, yet it offers a way-cool retro vibe.
But even more unusual are this amp’s controls, which are not your typical rotary type. All the volume, bass, treble, and reverb controls are sliders, and in following the typical upside-down British design (for example, where down is “on” for power switches), on these sliders up is minimum and down is maximum. And if that weren’t odd enough, foreseeing Spinal Tap and not to be outdone, all controls go to 12! Because it’s one more than 11.
So much for the aesthetic—let’s see what it takes to get this piece of history up and running.
Upon initial inspection, I found that the rear-panel fuse had blown. Probably a good thing, I reasoned, as this should have stopped any catastrophic internal failure. (I’d soon be forced to retract that statement.) The first suspect for a fuse failure in a tube amp is an output tube, so out they came. After I removed the tubes, I saw that a tube socket had high-voltage burn marks between the pins, so it would need to be replaced.
Okay, no problem—I’ve seen this a hundred times. High voltage can wreak havoc under the wrong conditions, and the base of the tube showed the same damage, so the amp will need a new pair of output tubes. Replace the output tube sockets, install and bias a new pair of output tubes, and the amp should be good to go.
A unique feature in the circuit design of this amp is that it has separate biasadjustment pots for each output tube. A nice touch, as the amp preceded the mass availability of matched output tubes that are so ubiquitous today. Tolerances in tube manufacturing at that time had started to drift (presumably from lack of equipment maintenance, as everybody knew that tubes would soon become obsolete and be replaced by the transistor), and tubes were becoming less and less matched within production runs. This amp’s bias feature would let you individually set the desired idle current for each tube. Actually, it’s a much better method than the “balance” method adopted by Fender during this period.
So, assuming the speakers were in good working order, I figured the cost of replacing the sockets and installing new tubes would be reasonable enough to prevent this amp from becoming a doorstop. I decided to proceed as normal with the repair.
When I continue next month, you’ll get to see what I found when I pulled the chassis! Jaw-dropping to say the least. See you then.
Milkman’s Jerry Garcia-style JG-40 combo.
Entire books about the Grateful Dead’s gear have been written, so we can’t cover it all here. Garcia tinkered with all facets of his sound from about 1971 until 1978, when his signal path reached stability. By then, his On-Board Effects Loop—an innovation he developed to control how much signal reached his effects—was dialed in, his backline firm, and his choice of effects pedals solidified. Even then, adjustments were made, especially when MIDI arrived or when technology like in-ear monitoring was used. Here are some basics.
Scarlet Fire’s recreation of Garcia’s Wolf, originally built by Doug Irwin.
It starts with guitars. For players wanting to get their Jerry on, there’s a wide range of Garcia-esque instruments—with just as wide a range of prices—out there. Recreations of the Doug Irwin guitars and the Fender Alligator Strat abound. China-built models from companies likePhred Instruments can go for as little as $700 or so. Luthier Thomas Lieber apprenticed with Irwin long ago, and his Lieber Guitars will deliver a copy of a variety of Garcia models. Leo Elliott’sScarlet Fire Guitars out of Dallas, Texas, takes things in another direction. Elliott builds Doug Irwin replicas that start at $20,000 and go up from there, with a current wait time of about 18 months for an instrument. He’s outfitted many of the top Garcia guitarists today, including Tom Hamilton Jr. and Jeff Mattson. Elliott says, “I’m a self-taught luthier; I didn’t really build my first guitar until 2010. I understood a little bit about woodworking before I got started, but I learned by reading books and through trial and error. I started building replicas of Doug Irwin’s Wolf guitar right away, which is sort of like building a car and starting with a Ferrari. I didn’t know any better. Then, eventually I got to know Doug Irwin and collaborated with him. So, I got to hold Garcia’s Tiger guitar and get to know it really well, and by 2015, I had built replicas of that guitar. There’s one guy who helps me around the shop, but otherwise, I am building these guitars on my own. I’m collaborating with Doug Irwin on a new series of Tiger guitars, which will retail for 50 grand each.” That’s one way to get your Jerry going.
The JBL-inspired Milkman K-140.
Garcia’s choice of amplifiers is another matter. He preferred Fender Twin Reverbs loaded with JBL Alnico speakers, which were popular amongst many rock bands in the 1970s. The details get complicated; Garcia’s amps were heavily modified, and the Fender Twin served as a preamp that ran to a McIntosh MC-3500 power amp.
It’s hard to find vintage JBL speakers today—at least ones in good shape. San Francisco’s Milkman Sound, founded by Tim Marcus, has created a faithful reproduction of those classic JBLsthey call the K-140. They’re coupling those speakers with a Garcia-style recreation of his Fender Twin that Marcus named the JG-40. “I think 75 percent of Jerry’s tone is in the JBL speakers,” Milkman’s founder says. “But when you start to analyze the other 25 percent, you kind of have to start withDon Rich. [Editor’s Note: Rich was the guitar player in Buck Owens’ band, pioneers of the Bakersfield Sound.] That’s Jerry’s tone, too, but the difference is Garcia’s midrange was a bit throatier. It sounds clean, but really, it’s not clean at the same time. Especially his tone in the late ’70s. There is something about running that Fender Twin Reverb through the McIntosh that would just completely blow out the tone in a really interesting way.”
Garcia colored his tone with off-the-shelf effects. This was, after all, long before the days of boutique pedals. By 1978 and beyond, you’d hear him playing through an MXR Distortion+, an MXR Analog Delay, and an MXR Phase 100. He often used auto wahs, preferring the Musitronics Mu-Tron envelope filter as well as a Mu-Tron Octave Divider and a Mu-Tron combination volume and wah pedal.
When I asked Jeff Mattson, Bella Rayne, and Tom Hamilton Jr. exactly how orthodox they are about using the kind of gear that Garcia did, I got three different answers.
Mattson tells me that because Dark Star Orchestra is doing something very specific, he really has to tailor his sound as carefully to Garcia’s as he can. “Some folks get too hung up on small things, like what kind of cable to use and things like that, and I don’t go that far. But it’s important for Dark Star Orchestra to get Jerry’s sound right because we are covering different eras and different shows. In 2022, for example, we went to Europe and recreated shows from the Dead’s famous Europe ’72 tour, so you have to pay close attention to what kind of gear they were using to do that right.”
Hamilton works differently. He’s always preferred a higher-gain signal than Garcia ever did, landing in more of a British or heavy metal tone. (Randy Rhoads was a big influence.) “I’ve always approached it like, ‘What’s the new information we can put into this thing?’” he says. “Not just recreate but pushing in a forward direction. And anytime I’ve played with the guys who played with Garcia back in the day, they always said to me, ‘You’re here because you’re here. Don’t try and do what we did back in 1978 or do it because Garcia did it that way.’ They’ve always encouraged me to be myself.”
Bella Rayne is just wrapping her head around what it really means to try to sound like Garcia. “Besides Jerry, I’m influenced by guitarists like Dickey Betts and Derek Trucks, so my tone tends to be a bit heavier and bluesy,” she explains. “I’m generally running a Stratocaster through a Fender Twin Reverb. But recently, I was doing a show, and a buddy of mine set up a Jerry rig for me, and that was so cool: JBL speakers, McIntosh head, the whole setup. I had never played through one. I didn’t know what the hype was all about. I plugged in, and it was just amazing; there was such a snap, and I was really commanding the band. I can see myself keeping my current rig but adding a Dead-rig to experiment. But honestly, anything is fine; I am not picky. I just want to play the best that I can.”
“The distinctive pickup configurations of these five guitars deliver a versatile tonal platform, whether you’re exploring subtle textures or pushing the envelope. The deep dive into our Narrowfield technology is obvious with this launch. With both the S2 models made in our Maryland factory and the SE models made in Indonesia, our goal has been to create guitars that will inspire you and spark creativity, all at an exceptional value,” said PRS Guitars COO, Jack Higginbotham.
S2 Special Semi-Hollow
The PRS S2 Special Semi-Hollow features a pair of 58/15 LT humbuckers in the bass and treble positions and a PRS Narrowfield in the middle. A 5-way blade switch and two mini-toggles allow players to tap the humbuckers, creating twelve distinct pickup combinations for sonic exploration. The carved maple top and mahogany back encompass a semi-hollow body that adds a natural airiness and depth to the guitar’s tone while enhancing sustain.
S2 Studio
The PRS S2 Studio delivers a wide range of sonic possibilities through its distinctive single-single-hum configuration. Featuring two proprietary PRS Narrowfield pickups in the bass and middle positions and a 58/15 LT humbucker in the treble position, the S2 Studio offers a palette of sounds from single-coil clarity to vocal humbucker tones. This model also has a 5-way blade switch and push/pull tone control.
SE Special Semi-Hollow
The PRS SE Special Semi-Hollow is designed with the versatility of a hum/“single”/hum setup, bringing PRS’s Narrowfield DD pickup design to the SE Series in a classic maple-top guitar. The semi-hollow construction also enhances sustain and resonance, while the f-hole adds a classic aesthetic. The coil-tap switching system unlocks a wide range of tones through a pair of 58/15 LT “S” pickups in the bass and treble positions and a PRS Narrowfield DD “S” in the middle.
SE Studio
The PRS SE Studio’s “single”/”single”/hum pickup configuration provides a wide range of tonal options. This combination of PRS Narrowfield DD “S” bass and middle pickups with a PRS 58/15 LT “S” treble humbucker offers humbucking warmth, single-coil sparkle, and everything in between. The 5-way blade switch and push/pull tone control further enhance its versatility.
SE Studio Standard
The only bolt-on neck in this release group, the PRS SE Studio Standard brings the tone, playability, and versatility of the Studio model to the SE Series and into an all-mahogany design with a vintage-style pickguard aesthetic. At the heart of the SE Studio Standard is its versatile trio of pickups: an 58/15 LT “S” humbucker in the treble position with two Narrowfield DD “S” pickups in the middle and bass positions. The 5-way blade switch and push/pull tone control allow for an array of pickup configurations.
PRS Guitars continues its schedule of launching new products each month in 2025. Stay tuned to see new gear and 40th Anniversary limited-edition guitars throughout the year.
