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Rig Rundown: Black Mountain's Stephen McBean

This Vancouver psych-rock quintet is building quite a buzz with its vibey grooves, so we decided to find out which gear gives bandleader McBean his 6-string buzz.

Perry Bean
By Perry BeanJun 29, 2016
Perry Bean

Perry Bean cut his teeth touring and playing in punk rock and hardcore bands, before he got his start in film. He worked his way up from lowly production assistant to become a producer, art director, and most recently, a music video director nominated for ACM, CMT, and CMA awards. Being Premier Guitar's Chief Videographer was a perfect fit for him, combining his two favorite things—guitars and cameras. Perry doesn't have free time, but his massive dog Beef pays his rent by being Perry's intern.

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McBean uses a dual-amp rig that combines an early silverface Fender Super Reverb and a 1981 Hiwatt DR504 head driving a Marshall 4x12. He also brings a 1973 Marshall Super Bass 100 head along as a backup and switches it out with the Hiwatt every now and then. The cab McBean pairs with his 50-watt Hiwatt and ’73 Super Bass is an ’80s Marshall 1960 with Celestion 70 speakers. 

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