With a few simple tweaks, you can get any classic Fender amp to cooperate with whatever guitar you like.
I find endless fascination in experimenting with different combinations of guitars and amps. Many of you may also have made surprising discoveries with certain amps and guitars as “killer” combinations. In this column, we’ll delve into the reasons behind these magical pairings, and discuss how you can modify your amp to achieve the elusive tone that lingers in your mind day and night. While having a variety of amps at your disposal is one solution, it’s undeniably an expensive and impractical one. Fortunately, knowledge is a more accessible asset. In my previous column, I explored speaker cabinets that can expand the versatility of your amp. I recommend giving it a read, as it closely ties into this topic.
Let’s begin with the Les Paul. Its mahogany body and neck contribute to a warm tone with exceptional sustain and attack, attributes further enhanced by the fixed bridge and solidbody construction. While most people associate the Les Paul with Marshall amps for classic rock tones, I find its clean tone more intriguing and often overlooked. Recently, I have discovered several live performances by American blues guitarist Mike Welch on YouTube, showcasing a fantastic Les Paul tone: bright and clean, with crucial attack that heightens dynamics and “fingerspitzengefühl”—in short, intuition and sensitivity.
Here’s my approach to achieving a fabulous clean Les Paul tone with classic Fender amps. I’ve found that amps with all EQ controls (bass, mids, treble, and a bright switch) work best for me. This allows me to rein in the bass and add top-end sparkle. For amps lacking a mid control, such as the Princeton, Deluxe, and Pro, I recommend installing a 25k mid pot in the amp’s ground-lift spot. This modification widens the tonal range from extremely icy and scooped to full British warmth. The Les Paul’s humbuckers, with their significant bass and mids, pair well with larger Fender amps that offer clean headroom and a firm low end. Personally, a Twin Reverb or Super Reverb loaded with firm, American-style speakers is my preferred mate for a Les Paul, providing enough attack to prevent muddiness in the tone.
“Hollowbodies pose a challenge, as they can generate unpleasant, squealing feedback when too close to a loud and bass-y amp.”
Now, let’s shift our focus to Gibson’s semi-hollow and hollowbody ES guitars. These guitars exhibit a bit less attack and a more vibrant, acoustic flavor. The semi-hollow ES-335 pairs well with most Fender amps, given there’s enough clarity. However, hollowbodies pose a challenge, as they can generate unpleasant, squealing feedback when too close to a loud and bass-y amp. To counter this, I prefer smaller amps for smaller venues, such as the vibrato channel of the Deluxe Reverb, thanks to its bright cap. The Princeton Reverb and the Deluxe’s left, normal channel lack the sparkle and clarity I prefer with the airy Gibson ES guitars. Since I installed a 100 pF bright cap in my 1966 Princeton Reverb, it has proven to be a perfect match. But newer, brighter speakers can compensate for the missing bright cap, too.
If you predominantly use humbucker guitars with older Fender amps, consider swapping to a low-gain preamp tube to expand the amp’s volume control range. The 5751 tube, with a gain factor of 70–80, makes it easier to dial in a sweet spot, providing more usable span on the volume control than the original 12AX7, with its gain factor of 100. Using the amp’s second, low-impedance input can also lower volume and gain, but keep in mind that you’ll lose a bit of treble in the process. Therefore, reducing the preamp tube gain is a better option.
In the single-coil league, the strategies for achieving a desired tone are almost the opposite of the humbucker league. Here, the focus is on taming brightness and generating enough warmth, especially with Stratocasters that have bright and low-output pickups. Thicker strings and increased pickup height contribute to warmth, but pushing the amp hard enough is equally crucial. This causes it to break up in both the power amp and preamp sections, creating rich harmonics in the upper mid and treble frequencies. These harmonics balance and smooth out the guitar’s scooped tone. With larger Fender amps, I may want to reduce clean headroom by disengaging speakers to increase speaker impedance, or by swapping to less efficient speakers. An easy tube mod involves replacing the 12AT7 phase inverter tube with a 12AX7 to decrease clean headroom in the power amp section. You can find details on these well-known mods in my past columns.
Hopefully, these examples can inspire you to discover golden tones with the amps and guitars you already have.
Boss announces the AC-22LX Acoustic Amplifier, a compact, 10-watt stereo amplifier for pickup-equipped acoustic stringed instruments.
The AC-22LX presents a new concept in acoustic amplification, delivering a full-immersion playing experience realized through advanced BOSS Air Feel technology. Air Feel breathes life into the dry, sterile sound of standard acoustic instrument pickups, recreating the detailed tones captured by stereo acoustic microphone setups in world-class studio settings. From acoustic-electric guitar to ukulele, violin, banjo, and other stringed instruments, the AC-22LX and Air Feel deliver the ultimate personal amplification experience for serious acoustic players.
Many elements contribute to the rich, complex sound of acoustic stringed instruments, including the soundboard, body resonances, and more. In recording situations, stereo microphone setups are used to capture this combined sound along with the surrounding room ambiance. Unfortunately, instrument microphones are impractical for most amplified playing situations due to feedback and other issues. Air Feel erases these limitations, bringing authentic studio microphone sound to acoustic amplification for the first time.
Born of intensive Boss sound research and advanced processing technologies, Air Feel transforms a standard acoustic pickup’s sound with richness and dimension never possible until now. Players can plug in and enjoy their instrument’s natural acoustic character at performance volumes—without the need for microphones and audio engineering skills. Easily accessible via a panel knob on the AC-22LX, multiple Air Feel settings recreate the immersive sound of classic stereo microphone techniques, including XY, AB, ORTF, and mid-side.
The AC-22LX’s compact and attractive cabinet is equipped with two custom twin-cone speakers, providing expansive stereo tones for home playing. Along with Air Feel, the Guitar/Instrument channel features a three-band EQ plus reverb and combined reverb/chorus effects. The Mic channel supports an XLR vocal microphone and includes selectable phantom power, two-band EQ, and a dedicated reverb for independent processing. With 15 onboard memories, users can save setups for different songs and instruments. The AC-22LX Editor (macOS/Windows/iOS/Android) provides even deeper control with the ability to change reverb types, access effect parameters, and more.
The AC-22LX also includes a Rhythm Box feature to enhance practice sessions and live performances. Five instrument types include percussion and drum set sounds, all infused with BOSS spatial technology that fills the surrounding space with vibrant rhythmic energy. There are 15 onboard patterns, which users can customize with 119 variations in the AC-22LX Editor.
With its versatile analog and USB connectivity, users can send the AC-22LX’s sound output to a PA system, recorder, or live streaming application, complete with Air Feel processing and spatial rhythm tones. The analog line output supports mono or stereo operation, while the USB connection has a convenient Loopback function for monitoring sounds from a computer.
There are a variety of available options to extend the AC-22LX experience. A rear-panel jack supports up to two footswitches, providing access to rhythm start/stop, control of the onboard looper, and other assignable functions in the AC-22LX Editor. Installing the Bluetooth® Audio MIDI Dual Adaptor unlocks even more possibilities through wireless connectivity, including the ability to stream and play along with music from a mobile device, adjust settings via the iOS/Android version of the editor, and more.
The new AC-22LX Acoustic Amplifier is available now at authorized Boss retailers for $399.99.
For more information, please visit boss.info.
Inspired by the JTM first produced in 1962, the new Marshall Studio JTM is designed to bring the modern player the same legendary, warm, and smooth tone that inspired generations of musicians.
To honor what would have been Jim Marshall’s 100th birthday and to pay homage to the first Marshall amp, our Studio series has a new addition.
The new Studio JTM range comes in four unique but equally distinguished products in the form of a 20Whead, 20W combo amp, 1 x 12” and 2 x 12” cabs all adorned with period-correct aesthetics such as the famous red enamel poured “coffin” logo and luxurious fawn fret.
The original JTM45 was heavily praised by the likes of Gary Moore, Richie Blackmore, and Angus Young for granting more tone, more gain, and more grit to their sound. Today, this same ethos is the driving fuel behind the creation of the Studio JTM, having recreated the sound of the JTM in immaculate detail and being handmade in our world-class UK factory in Milton Keynes.
Terry Marshall, Jim Marshall’s son and creator of the original JTM45 said: “When I was demonstrated the StudioJTM and it took me back to my original JTM45, it was my sound...I feel like it is going to be something special.”
Convenience has also been put at the forefront of the Studio JTM’s design, with a smaller footprint and being more lightweight than its historical counterpart without compromising on sound quality, the amp is a breeze to transport and is suitable for playing in multiple environments.
The Studio JTM features many of the same components that helped define the iconic JTMtone, from the ECC83 preamp values, 5881 power amp valves, ECC83 phase splitter andG12M-65 Creamback Celestion speakers, resulting in a unique blend of warm, growling, and versatile sound that takes you right back to the renaissance of rock and roll.
Marshall ST20H Studio JTM 20-/5-watt Tube Amplifier Head
Studio JTM 5/20W Tube HeadMarshall ST212 Studio JTM 130-watt 2 x 12-inch Extension Cabinet
Studio JTM 130W 2x12" CabST20H 20W head ($1749.99), ST20C 20W combo ($1949.99), ST112 1x12”cabinet ($1099.99), ST212 2x12” cabinet ($1399.99).
For more information, please visit marshall.com.