As you can probably guess, we see a lot of amplifiers here at Premier Guitar. Combos, heads, cabinets, stacks of various sizes – it seems that they filter in and out in an endless queue, a new tolex-wrapped box always replacing the one that was there before. And while we certainly aren’t complaining, there is a certain monotony to it all that most people don’t realize. Our offices are lined with vinyl-covered, rectangular boxes, all of them blending into each other. Black vinyl, blue vinyl, crème vinyl. It’s enough to send both aesthetes and PVC fetishists into convulsions (for different reasons, of course).
Don’t get me wrong – tolex has been battle-tested and proven as one of the great upholstery successes of our time. It’s great when you’re on the road, humping a half-stack from club to club and bumping it into every door frame and banister you can find – what material holds up as well? But the fact is that most of us are not on tour anymore; those halcyon days have transformed into children and a mortgage. And while you may have once taken pride in that towering Marshall stack, leaving it on proud display in your bachelor pad, your wife likely has other ideas now – namely a living room set. Most married men will tell you that the stack rarely wins.
"Formed in 2007 by Steve and Scott Campbell, two accomplished cabinet makers and lifelong musicians, Trillium Amplifier Company has been born into the middle of an amazingly creative boutique scene"
Fortunately for those maturing gearheads stuck in the furniture-gear gambit, the boutique market has spawned a variety of amplification options that merge the worlds of form and function. Models from companies like Ark Amplifiers and Red Iron Amps have proven that you can have solid tone and a design that aspires for something more than the status quo. These amps trade tolex for enclosures made of exotic, decorative hardwoods and with painstaking attention to detail. It’s certainly not a new idea – Ken Fischer’s Trainwreck amps were long ago encased in beautiful wood cabinetry that matched their legendary sound – but it seems that more manufacturers have finally wised up to the fact that a sizable percentage of guitarists need an amp that can be tolerated outside the studio.
Formed in 2007 by Steve and Scott Campbell, two accomplished cabinet makers and lifelong musicians, Trillium Amplifier Company has been born into the middle of an amazingly creative boutique scene. While no one would mistake these amps as recreations of the wheel - both designs in the Archetype Series are single channel, low-wattage amps - the company brings an exciting Art Deco flourish to the proceedings. Featuring finely figured woods and curvaceous lines, the company''s top-of-the-line Empyrean and Seraph combos are completely custom-built and promise to be spouse approved.
The Empyrean (em-puh-ree-uh-n) stands as the company''s flagship model, and for good reason. The 2x12 combo has an imposing, broad shouldered frame, standing 29” high and 27” wide; at the top of three gradually shrinking sections, the amp features a stylized Art Deco explosion of tube-generated heat, giving the entire thing a Dick Tracey meets Palm Beach feel. The Empyrean is available in a variety of exotic woods and striking veneers – I suspect one will feel as if they are buying a fine piece of furniture. Our review model featured nothing less than a cabinet constructed with quilted walnut and maple veneers. The front panel, made of laser-etched cream pearloid, keeps things simple, running three knobs – Volume, Treble and Bass – horizontally across its face. Two 12” Weber 50-watt ceramic speakers sit diminutively inside the cabinet. At 45 pounds, the Empyrean features geometric, wooden handles at its side, which actually functioned better than I anticipated; the combo felt manageable and easy to tote.
 |
The finishing work on the Archetype Series is fairly stunning – the joinery work is uniformly great, and each amp comes with a crushed velvet cover – which makes you scratch your head over some of the minor oddities you find. The Seraph’s power switch sits all the way near the bottom of the amp’s rear panel, hiding underneath the power cord, requiring you to reach over the amp and grope around awkwardly when you’re done playing. While this may be a minor complaint, I tend to (unknowingly) do things like that with an eight pound guitar hanging from my neck. With so much of this amp comprised of premium hardwoods, it frequently made me nervous to hit the switch.
Also of note was the Seraph’s front panel design. Vertically positioned, the top knob is Bass, followed by Treble and finally Volume. It would have been nice to have the Volume knob first, as that’s where I tend to do most of my tweaking [Trillium responds that they are limited to one chassis for now, although it may be addressed in future models]. One of the Seraph’s front panel knobs was missing; two of the knobs on the Empyrean were looser than I would have liked. None of these points were big – nothing that couldn’t be fixed or ignored – but it did make me wonder how they slipped through the design process unnoticed.
Form Meets Function
So it’s safe to say that these amps could easily blend into an otherwise off-limits room. But with seven, single-ended, Class A watts, you’ll want to play these as well. The heart of the Archetype Series lies in the M1-7 amplifier, designed and built by audio/electrical engineer, Art Nace, in Mesa, Arizona. Billed by the company as, “more efficient than any other single-ended, Class A amplifier available,” the amplifier incorporates a proprietary Transflux Power Module (TFPM), which offers an audiophile-quality signal-to-noise ratio of -65 dB. And while I was initially skeptical of the claims (as it tends to happen in this job), after days of playing, I do have to admit that this is one of the quietest amplifiers I’ve played through. Even with my guitar and the amp set at full tilt, removing my hands from the strings rewarded me with a lot of nothing – no hum, no hiss. Only with all of the knobs cranked to the right, including those in the amps’ EQ sections, was there the hint of audible buzz.
The Empyrean shipped with a JJElectronic 6L6 GC inside, while the Seraph featured a 6V6 power section, similarly equipped by JJ-Electronic; both amps featured a single ECC83 tube in the preamp. The amps are exceptionally flexible, capable of hosting a variety of preamp (12AT7, 5751, ECC83 and 12AX7s) and power tubes (6L6, 6V6 and KT66s). Changing the tubes has a substantial effect on the character, response and headroom of each amp. Both models shipped with alternate tubes in packages enthusiastically marked, “Try me!” – more on this in a moment.
 |
While some players might find the amp’s “quick sagless response,” to be a little much at times – with hot single-coils and humbuckers, notes had a noticeably aggressive attack to them – players looking for articulation will find it here in spades. With a cutting top-end, the Empyrean would be suitable for studio work requiring a lot of top-end shimmer and bite. Rhythm playing could get a little stiff at times, but pushing the 6L6s into saturation fattened things out nicely and gave the amp a little more soul. I spent
the most time playing around with a neck-mounted P-90 on a Les Paul; the warm midrange of the pickup complimented the amp’s high-end character well.
Moving to the Seraph was something of a revelation; after playing on the 6L6-equipped Empyrean for more than a few hours, the 6V6 tubes brought a new fatness to the Archetype series. The new tubes helped eliminate some of the excessive bite that was present in the Empyrean, although I still initially struggled to tame the highs when I plugged in the Esquire. The 6V6s retained some of that crystalline edge, but there was a lot more midrange richness to be found. Pushing the amp into overdrive with a combination of P-90s and humbuckers rewarded me with beef; of course, at seven watts, there’s nothing crazy here, but roots rockers will definitely fall in love with the Seraph’s organic disposition.
In fact, I liked the sound of the 6V6s so much that I plugged one of the extra tubes into the Empyrean. It seemed like the right move; there was more body to the sound, it broke up sooner and had a completely different air surrounding it.There was messiness, an organic disorganization in the sound when cranked; the bottom-end loosened up and the “sagless” stiffness I had felt before receded somewhat into the background – perfect for the first few bars of “Last Dance With Mary Jane.” It felt entirely more rock n’ roll and provided an intriguing – and strangely appropriate – juxtaposition to the amp’s finely finished exterior.
The Final Mojo
If you’re seriously looking at Trillium’s Archetype Series, you likely have money to spend, a relentless desire to set yourself apart from everyone else or a spouse with an ultimatum. Either of these amps will fit the bill nicely, giving you a furniture-grade look and a cool, low-noise circuit to match. And if you don’t have five grand to blow on a piece of gear, the company’s Signature and Standard series will allow you to get your hands on some equally good-looking cabinetry and the same M1-7 amplifier design. Either way, you might finally get to keep an amp in the house.
Buy if...
you’re looking for a slick combination of exotic wood cabinetry and crystalline tone
Skip if...
it means dipping into the college fund
Rating...
MSRP Empyrean starting at $6490 Seraph starting at $5790 - Trillium Amplifier Company - trilliumamps.com |
Our expert has stated their case, now we want to hear yours. Share your comments and ratings below.
Hotone Wong Press
Cory Wong Signature Volume/Wah/Expression Pedal
Renowned international funk guitar maestro and 63rd Grammy nominee Cory Wong is celebrated for his unique playing style and unmistakable crisp tone. Known for his expressive technique, he’s been acclaimed across the globe by all audiences for his unique blend of energy and soul. In 2022, Cory discovered the multi-functional Soul Press II pedal from Hotone and instantly fell in love. Since then, it has become his go-to pedal for live performances.
Now, two years later, the Hotone team has meticulously crafted the Wong Press, a pedal tailored specifically for Cory Wong. Building on the multi-functional design philosophy of the Soul Press series, this new pedal includes Cory’s custom requests: a signature blue and white color scheme, a customized volume pedal curve, an adjustable wah Q value range, and travel lights that indicate both pedal position and working mode.
Cory’s near-perfect pursuit of tone and pedal feel presented a significant challenge for our development team. After countless adjustments to the Q value range, Hotone engineers achieved the precise WAH tone Cory desired while minimizing the risk of accidental Q value changes affecting the sound. Additionally, based on Cory’s feedback, the volume control was fine-tuned for a smoother, more musical transition, enhancing the overall feel of volume swells. The team also upgraded the iconic travel lights of the Soul Press II to dual-color travel lights—blue for Wah mode and green for Volume mode—making live performances more intuitive and visually striking!
In line with the Hotone Design Inspiration philosophy, the Wong Press represents the perfect blend of design and inspiration. Now, musicians can channel their inner Cory Wong and enjoy the freedom and joy of playing with the Wong Press!
For the first time in the band’s history, the Dawes lineup for Oh Brother consisted of just Griffin and Taylor Goldsmith (left and right).
Goldsmith’s lyrics spoke to me the loudest, with lines like “Well, you can judge the whole world on the sparkle that you think it lacks / Yes, you can stare into the abyss, but it’s starin’ right back” (a casual Nietzsche paraphrase); and “Oh, the snowfall this time of year / It’s not what Birmingham is used to / I get the feeling that I brought it here / And now I’m taking it away.” The way his words painted a portrait of the sincere, sentimental man behind them, along with his cozy, unassuming guitar work and the band’s four-part harmonies, had me hooked.
Nothing Is Wrong and Stories Don’t End came next, and I happily gobbled up more folksy fodder in tracks like “If I Wanted,” “Most People,” and “From a Window Seat.” But 2015’s All Your Favorite Bands, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Folk Albumschart, didn’t land with me, and by the time 2016’s We’re All Gonna Die was released, it was clear that Goldsmith had shifted thematically in his writing. A friend drew a thoughtful Warren Zevon comparison to the single, “When the Tequila Runs Out”—a commentary on vapid, conceited, American-socialite party culture—but it still didn’t really do it for me. I fell off the Dawes train a bit, and became somewhat oblivious to their three full-lengths that followed.
Oh Brotheris Goldsmith’s latest addition to the Dawes songbook, and I’m grateful to say that it’s brought me back. After having done some catching up, I’d posit that it’s the second work in the third act, or fall season, of his songwriting—where 2022’s Misadventures of Doomscrollercracked open the door, Oh Brother swings it wide. And it doesn’t have much more than Dawes’ meat and potatoes, per se, in common with acts one or two. Some moodiness has stayed—as well as societal disgruntlement and the arrangement elements that first had me intoxicated. But then there’s the 7/4 section in the middle of “Front Row Seat”; the gently unwinding, quiet, intimate jazz-club feel of “Surprise!”; the experimentally percussive, soft-spoken “Enough Already”; and the unexpected, dare I say, Danny Elfman-esque harmonic twists and turns in the closing track, “Hilarity Ensues.”
The main engine behind Dawes, the Goldsmith brothers are both native “Angelinos,” having been born and raised in the L.A. area. Taylor is still proud to call the city his home.
Photo by Jon Chu
“I have this working hypothesis that who you are as a songwriter through the years is pretty close to who you are in a dinner conversation,” Goldsmith tells me in an interview, as I ask him about that thematic shift. “When I was 23, if I was invited to dinner with grownups [laughs], or just friends or whatever, and they say, ‘How you doin’, Taylor?’ I probably wouldn’t think twice to be like, ‘I’m not that good. There’s this girl, and … I don’t know where things are at—can I share this with you? Is that okay?’ I would just go in in a way that’s fairly indiscreet! And I’m grateful to that version of me, especially as a writer, because that’s what I wanted to hear, so that’s what I was making at the time.
“But then as I got older, it became, ‘Oh, maybe that’s not an appropriate way to answer the question of how I’m doing.’ Or, ‘Maybe I’ve spent enough years thinking about me! What does it feel like to turn the lens around?’” he continues, naming Elvis Costello and Paul Simon as inspirations along the way through that self-evolution. “Also, trying to be mindful of—I had strengths then that I don’t have now, but I have strengths now that I didn’t have then. And now it’s time to celebrate those. Even in just a physical way, like hearing Frank Zappa talking about how his agility as a guitar player was waning as he got older. It’s like, that just means that you showcase different aspects of your skills.
“I am a changing person. It would be weird if I was still writing the same way I was when I was 23. There would probably be some weird implications there as to who I’d be becoming as a human [laughs].”
Taylor Goldsmith considers Oh Brother, the ninth full-length in Dawes’ catalog, to be the beginning of a new phase of Dawes, containing some of his most unfiltered, unedited songwriting.
Since its inception, the engine behind Dawes has been the brothers Goldsmith, with Taylor on guitar and vocals and Griffin on drums and sometimes vocal harmonies. But they’ve always had consistent backup. For the first several years, that was Wylie Gelber on bass and Tay Strathairn on keyboards. On We’re All Gonna Die, Lee Pardini replaced Strathairn and has been with the band since. Oh Brother, however, marks the departure of Gelber and Pardini.
“We were like, ‘Wow, this is an intense time; this is a vulnerable time,’” remarks Goldsmith, who says that their parting was supportive and loving, but still rocked him and Griffin. “You get a glimpse of your vulnerability in a way that you haven’t felt in a long time when things are just up and running. For a second there, we’re like, ‘We’re getting a little rattled—how do we survive this?’”
They decided to pair up with producer Mike Viola, a close family friend, who has also worked with Mandy Moore—Taylor’s spouse—along with Panic! At the Disco, Andrew Bird, and Jenny Lewis. “[We knew that] he understands all of the parameters of that raw state. And, you know, I always show Mike my songs, so he was aware of what we had cookin’,” says Goldsmith.
Griffin stayed behind the kit, but Taylor took over on bass and keys, the latter of which he has more experience with than he’s displayed on past releases. “We’ve made records where it’s very tempting to appeal to your strengths, where it’s like, ‘Oh, I know how to do this, I’m just gonna nail it,’” he says. “Then there’s records that we make where we really push ourselves into territories where we aren’t comfortable. That contributed to [Misadventures of Doomscroller] feeling like a living, breathing thing—very reactive, very urgent, very aware. We were paying very close attention. And I would say the same goes for this.”
That new terrain, says Goldsmith, “forced us to react to each other and react to the music in new ways, and all of a sudden, we’re exploring new corners of what we do. I’m really excited in that sense, because it’s like this is the first album of a new phase.”
“That forced us to react to each other and react to the music in new ways, and all of a sudden, we’re exploring new corners of what we do.”
In proper folk (or even folk-rock) tradition, the music of Dawes isn’t exactly riddled with guitar solos, but that’s not to say that Goldsmith doesn’t show off his chops when the timing is right. Just listen to the languid, fluent lick on “Surprise!”, the shamelessly prog-inspired riff in the bridge of “Front Row Seat,” and the tactful, articulate line that threads through “Enough Already.” Goldsmith has a strong, individual sense of phrasing, where his improvised melodies can be just as biting as his catalog’s occasional lyrical jabs at presumably toxic ex-girlfriends, and just as melancholy as his self-reflective metaphors, all the while without drawing too much attention to himself over the song.
Of course, most of our conversation revolves around songwriting, as that’s the craft that’s the truest and closest to his identity. “There’s an openness, a goofiness—I even struggle to say it now, but—an earnestness that goes along with who I am, not only as a writer but as a person,” Goldsmith elaborates. “And I think it’s important that those two things reflect one another. ’Cause when you meet someone and they don’t, I get a little bit weirded out, like, ‘What have I been listening to? Are you lying to me?’” he says with a smile.
Taylor Goldsmith's Gear
Pictured here performing live in 2014, Taylor Goldsmith has been the primary songwriter for all of Dawes' records, beginning with 2009’s North Hills.
Photo by Tim Bugbee/Tinnitus Photography
Guitars
- Fender Telecaster
- Gibson ES-345
- Radocaster (made by Wylie Gelber)
Amps
- ’64 Fender Deluxe
- Matchless Laurel Canyon
Effects
- 29 Pedals EUNA
- Jackson Audio Bloom
- Ibanez Tube Screamer with Keeley mod
- Vintage Boss Chorus
- Vintage Boss VB-2 Vibrato
- Strymon Flint
- Strymon El Capistan
Strings
- Ernie Ball .010s
In Goldsmith’s songwriting process, he explains that he’s learned to lean away from the inclination towards perfectionism. Paraphrasing something he heard Father John Misty share about Leonard Cohen, he says, “People think you’re cultivating these songs, or, ‘I wouldn’t deign to write something that’s beneath me,’ but the reality is, ‘I’m a rat, and I’ll take whatever I can possibly get, and then I’ll just try to get the best of it.’
“Ever since Misadventures of Doomscroller,” he adds, “I’ve enjoyed this quality of, rather than try to be a minimalist, I want to be a maximalist. I want to see how much a song can handle.” For the songs on Oh Brother, that meant that he decided to continue adding “more observations within the universe” of “Surprise!”, ultimately writing six verses. A similar approach to “King of the Never-Wills,” a ballad about a character suffering from alcoholism, resulted in four verses.
“The economy of songwriting that we’re all taught would buck that,” says Goldsmith. “It would insist that I only keep the very best and shed something that isn’t as good. But I’m not going to think economically. I’m not going to think, ‘Is this self-indulgent?’
Goldsmith’s songwriting has shifted thematically over the years, from more personal, introspective expression to more social commentary and, at times, even satire, in songs like We’re All Gonna Die’s “When the Tequila Runs Out.”
Photo by Mike White
“I don’t abide that term being applied to music. Because if there’s a concern about self-indulgence, then you’d have to dismiss all of jazz. All of it. You’d have to dismiss so many of my most favorite songs. Because in a weird way, I feel like that’s the whole point—self-indulgence. And then obviously relating to someone else, to another human being.” (He elaborates that, if Bob Dylan had trimmed back any of the verses on “Desolation Row,” it would have deprived him of the unique experience it creates for him when he listens to it.)
One of the joys of speaking with Goldsmith is just listening to his thought processes. When I ask him a question, he seems compelled to share every backstory to every detail that’s going through his head, in an effort to both do his insights justice and to generously provide me with the most complete answer. That makes him a bit verbose, but not in a bad way, because he never rambles. There is an endpoint to his thoughts. When he’s done, however, it takes me a second to realize that it’s then my turn to speak.
To his point on artistic self-indulgence, I offer that there’s no need for artists to feel “icky” about self-promotion—that to promote your art is to celebrate it, and to create a shared experience with your audience.
“I hear what you’re saying loud and clear; I couldn’t agree more,” Goldsmith replies. “But I also try to be mindful of this when I’m writing, like if I’m going to drag you through the mud of, ‘She left today, she’s not coming back, I’m a piece of shit, what’s wrong with me, the end’.... That might be relatable, that might evoke a response, but I don’t know if that’s necessarily helpful … other than dragging someone else through the shit with me.
“In a weird way, I feel like that’s the whole point—self-indulgence. And then obviously relating to someone else, to another human being.”
“So, if I’m going to share, I want there to be something to offer, something that feels like: ‘Here’s a path that’s helped me through this, or here’s an observation that has changed how I see this particular experience.’ It’s so hard to delineate between the two, but I feel like there is a difference.”
Naming the opening track “Mister Los Angeles,” “King of the Never-Wills,” and even the title track to his 2015 chart-topper, “All Your Favorite Bands,” he remarks, “I wouldn’t call these songs ‘cool.’ Like, when I hear what cool music is, I wouldn’t put those songs next to them [laughs]. But maybe this record was my strongest dose of just letting me be me, and recognizing what that essence is rather than trying to force out certain aspects of who I am, and force in certain aspects of what I’m not. I think a big part of writing these songs was just self-acceptance,” he concludes, laughing, “and just a whole lot of fishing.”
YouTube It
Led by Goldsmith, Dawes infuses more rock power into their folk sound live at the Los Angeles Ace Hotel in 2023.
