Fourteen years after their Grammy-winning debut, Raising Sand, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss followed up with Raise the Roof—which was nominated for three more Grammys. Now on tour, the duo also has a new band that includes bassist Viktor Krauss, guitarist JD McPherson, and utility player Stuart Duncan. But before they hit the road, Krause, Duncan, and McPherson—and their techs Paul Ackling and Kevin Devogel— invited the PG team to a rehearsal at Soundcheck Nashville for a look behind the gear curtain. Here’s a sampling of what our team of John Bohlinger, Chris Kies, and Perry Bean saw. Watch the Rundown for the whole picture.
Brought to you by D’Addario XPND Pedalboard.
Fender Bender
This Fender Squier Telecaster—property of Stuart Duncan—has a palm bender for a steel-like effect, and wears Ernie Ball M Steel 2915s, gauged .010–.052.
Brown Silver
Duncan’s vintage Silvertone is strung with Ernie Ball Power Slinky nickelwound 2220 strings, gauged .011–.048.
Lil’ Git
Stuart’s Yamaha Guitalele uses Ernie Ball Ernesto Palla 2403 classical-style guitar strings. Also in his acoustic line-up is a Gibson J-45 and a Martin D-28, which both take Ernie Ball Earthwood phosphor bronze strings.
The Giraffe
This Gibson long-neck banjo uses Ernie Ball 5-string Banjo Frailing strings gauged at .010–.024, with loop ends.
Resophonic Rouser
Duncan’s Gold Tone Paul Beard Signature Series Resonator wears Ernie Ball bronze-alloy Earthwood light acoustic strings.
Stuart Duncan's Pedalboard
This comparatively stripped board does the job for Duncan. It’s got two Boss TU-3 tuners, an IndyGuitarist Effects custom OD, a Carl Martin TremO’vibe, and a Benado multi-effects with a Steel-Verb, Echo-Zen delay, and NutraDrive OD.
Tone Tools
Victor Krauss has a distinctive sonic setup, since he covers both bass and guitar in the band. One of his main instruments is this 1967 Galanti Grand Prix.
Towers
And a Yamaha RA-200R rotating speaker cabinet driven by a Groove Tubes GT Trio preamp.
Meet the
Here’s Krauss’ stock 1964 Gibson SG Standard.
Solid Guitars
He also plays a high-mileage 1961 Gibson Les Paul—a double-cutaway from the era before this body design became tagged as the SG.
Get Shorty!
This ’60s Vox Octave 12—a short-scale instrument also called a mando-guitar—has been modified to a 6 string.
Dano Dancer
Among his other vintage instruments is a 1957 Danelectro UB-2 6-string bass that’s still stock.
Twang Thang
One of the few new axes in his arsenal is this 2022 Gretsch Duane Eddy Bass VI.
The Organic
For acoustic, Kraus chases two options: this 1943 Gibson LG-2.
Fantastics
And the other is a velvety 1953 Martin 0-18.
Viktor Krauss' Pedalboard
From his hands and instruments’ strings, the signal goes to a Boss TU-3W tuner, an Xotic EP Booster, a Guyatone ST2 compressor, another EP Booster, a Boss LS-2 Line Selector (with a send/return to an EHX Pitch Fork and a Danelectro Back Talk), a Nobles ODR-1, a Mostortion MT10, a Boss NS-2 Noise Suppressor, a Klon KTR, a Game Changer Audio Plus Sustain (controlling a Boss RE-2 Space Echo), a Fulltone Supa-Trem2, a Strymon Volante, a Hologram Microcosm Granular Looper & Glitch pedal, a Line 6 DL4 MkII delay, a Strymon blueSky, and an Ernie Ball volume pedal for the Yamaha RA-200R, another Strymon blueSky, and a Demeter VTDB-2B Tube DI for the Danelectro.
Pink Panther
This Fender Jazzmaster features some custom work by guitar maker TK Smith and the Fender Custom Shop. All JD’s guitars are strung with D’Addarios.
Flex-Able Flyer
This Supro Dual Tone stays dropped down a half-step.
This custom TK Smith 6-string has long been one of McPherson’s favorites. Groove on those pickup covers and that whammy bar!
The Rest of the Best
The remaining gunslingers in McPherson's holster including a Fender Custom Shop Tele, a Gretsch G6134T-58 Vintage Select '58 Penguin with Bigsby, and a pair of TK Smith creations (right side)
Amp Trinity
McPherson plays through a Fender tweed Pro-Amp reissue and a ’68 Vibrolux, while a Texotica Presidio 15 hangs in as a backup, but gets used as his main sound source when he does his own opening set.
JD McPherson's Pedalboard
McPherson runs his guitars into a D’Addario tuner. From there, the signal hits an Echoplex preamp, a Fender ’65 Deluxe pedal, a Crowther Hot Cake, a Way Huge Havelina Fuzz, a Tsakalis AudioWorks Six, an MXR Tremolo, a Fender MTG Tube tremolo, an Echoplex delay, an EHX Stereo Memory Man with Hazarai, and a Dr. Scientist Reverberator and Reverberato—all into a Live Wire Solutions ABY box leading to JD’s amps.
Super Duper Two-In-One
When I say “both amps,” I mean it. We’re not talking channel switching or some tricky circuit-swapping architecture. Inside the head are two discrete steel chassis, each with its own transformers, tubes, and power supply.
We reviewed the 50/22 with its matching 2x12, semi-open-backed cabinet, which lets you run both amps in true stereo. The cabinet features two contrasting Celestion speakers (a G12 Alnico Gold and a ceramic-magnet G12-T75). You can route either amp to either speaker, or run either through one or both speakers. It’s a clever and versatile arrangement.
Both head and cab reveal top-tier workmanship. They’re garbed in ravishing honey-tinged lacquered tweed, and the speaker cabinet is solid pine. The dual amp chassis are mounted to the bottom surface of the head, tubes and transformers facing up, and everything else encased in metal. The head’s unusual height lets you access the tubes from above (and provides critical ventilation, because these amps runs hot). As on all Little Walter amps, the wiring is strictly point-to-point—they don’t even use turret board, let alone circuit board. The transformers are hefty Hammonds, and the review model arrived stocked with JJ tubes.
Simple, Not Stupid
Both of the Twin’s amps draw inspiration from classic combos of the 1950s, but they’re not retro for retro’s sake. Bradbury and his amps convincingly make a case that the simpler the circuit, the better the tone. There are no master volume controls. No reverb or trem. A single tone control on each amp siphons off treble, but nothing else. These amps are all about sending the loudest, most harmonically rich signal to the power amp tubes, and generating gorgeous distortion there.
That’s the motive for another retro detail common among all Little Walter amps: Bradbury employs strictly octal tubes. That’s no surprise when it comes to the 6V6 and 6L6 power tubes, but it’s an unusual choice for preamp tubes. Octal preamp tubes were common in the 1940s and ’50s, before the advent of nine-pin (“noval”) tubes such as the 12AX7. Octal tubes distort less readily than noval ones, which means less compression, fatter lows, more high-end headroom, and a purer signal to the power amp section. The downside is, they can be harder to source, and relatively large bottles make them prone to microphonics. (It’s almost impossible, for example, to find a non-microphonic replacement for the EF86 tubes that appeared in some early Voxes.) But like early Fender tweed amps, the 50/22 employs 6SC7 preamp tubes. (According to Tube Depot’s Rob Hull, these are in relatively good supply and not terribly expensive.)
The preamp tubes in the review model sounded fine, and you definitely hear their character blasting from the speaker. If the words “power amp distortion” make you salivate, fetch the drool bucket before plugging in.
Nifty 50
The 50-watt 6L6 side sounds glorious. Clean tones crackle and shimmer. Ample headroom provides strong note definition and a sense of “air” around each note. Meanwhile, the stout transformers, streamlined circuitry, and resonant cabinet deliver buff lows. Individual notes and frequencies never leap out too aggressively, even when digging into a bright, single-coil bridge pickup.
While this is the Twin’s “clean side,” distortion sounds equally excellent. Tones grow fatter and smoother as you advance the gain, yet they retain strong attacks. (This thing excels at Stones-style raunch.) The amp is biased hot, though—diming the volume introduces harsh, buzzy distortion. Most players will probably get best results by following builder Bradbury’s recommendation for parking the volume knob somewhere in the middle of its range and shaping the tone via touch and guitar knob adjustments.
Likewise, many players will prefer to leave the tone control maxed. As Bradbury correctly notes, the passive tone circuits in vintage amp amps are strictly subtractive, and you get the maximum signal to the power amp with the circuit wide open. The tone control’s voicing promotes that approach: It nixes highs only modestly throughout most of its range, with a rapid roll-off at the very lowest settings. But with such beautifully balanced tones and graceful treble attenuation at higher volumes, you may never need to fiddle with the tone control.
This amp sounds great through both speakers, together and separately. (As expected, the ceramic-magnet speaker is a bit tighter and crisper than the alnico one.) Why not mike both, and perfect your blend at the mixing board?
Ratings
Pros:
Stellar ’50s-style amp sounds. Superb workmanship. Extraordinarily dynamic and responsive. Great tonal variations via clever cabinet configuration.
Cons:
Did you say five grand?
Tones:
Playability/Ease of Use:
Build/Design:
Value:
Street:
$4,000 (head); cabinet $900 w/ Celestion G12-T75s ($1,000 as reviewed with one G12-T75 and one Celestion G12 Alnico Gold)
Company
littlewaltertubeamps.com
Let’s Get Small
The dual-6V6 22-watt side nails what most players love about early tweed amps— and then some. It distorts gorgeously at relatively low volumes, and reveals many lovely overdrive colors as you advance the volume.
Just as the “clean” amp generates great distortion sounds, the “dirty” 6V6 amp offers fabulous clean tones. They’re not as sparkly as the 50-watt tones—there’s always a bit of “hair” at all but the lowest settings. But you may be startled by how chimy and clear this small amp can sound. (I don’t know if I’ve ever heard such strong pick attack from an overdriven 2x6V6 circuit.) Parking the volume anywhere near the middle of its range puts you in that sought-after sweet spot where you can control the breakup by touch alone.
This tone control feels more linear than that the one on the 50-watt side—there’s a smooth, even roll-off across its range. (Personally, I’d set the tone to max, station the volume at 2 o’clock, and make all tonal adjustments by playing them.)
This amp is small but powerful, simple yet versatile. It sounds as good as any tweed-influenced head I’ve heard.
Plugging into both amps simultaneously via an A/B box sounds as good as you’d hope. You can dial in many useful tones that blend smooth, small-amp overdrive with big-amp definition.
The Verdict
The Twin 50/22’s look, tones, and workmanship are unimpeachable. You don’t need great technique to summon great tones from either amp, but they were clearly designed by and for guitarists who rely on subtleties of touch and technique, and they’re the players likeliest to love the 50/22 the most. Obviously, if you have five grand to play with, there are many other options, including a pair of the antique amps that inspired the Little Walter line. Also, some players who might be attracted to the notion of a true dual amp might wish for a Vox- or Marshall-style side, rather than two Fender-influenced circuits. But recording and touring pros who live and die by the signature sounds of the great mid-century amps will cherish this extraordinary instrument.
