silvertone

Rig Rundown: Hermanos Gutiérrez

Witness how this Ecuadorian-via-Switzerland duo evokes everything that’s beautiful and bleak from the desert, using hollowbodies, a serendipitous Strymon, and rhythmic hypnosis to paint an Ennio Morricone soundscape.

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With the smooth, slightly serrated tone that comes from his Silvertone 1484 and custom Daddy Mojo guitar, Rev. Peyton has plenty to smile about.

How an old Silvertone 1484 became the foundation of this roots-guitar power player's sound.

Roots-guitar badass Rev. Peyton plays with the intensity of a charging bison. That ferocity comes from his fast, hyper-accurate picking hand blended with dexterous fretting, and it gets juiced by dirty crushed-velvet tones from a variety of evocative guitars: custom Nationals and a mother-of-pearl covered Daddy Mojo, an original 1954 Supro Dual Tone prototype, a Kay Speed Demon, and more. But the foundation for his retro-modern sound is a workhorse from 1964: a Silvertone 1484 head, which drives his 2x12 Ted Weber custom cabinet.

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This Silvertone 1482 looks like it may have suffered some water damage or excessive dampness. Take an amp with this kind of staining and erosion to a tech before plugging in, since it is a potential shock or fire hazard.

How to know when a vintage amp is worth rescuing.

I'll bet most of us have experienced this: You're en route to the grocery store on a pleasant Sunday morning, not a care in the world except getting home for breakfast in a timely manner … and then it happens. You see someone staking a garage sale sign at the corner. Your mind begins racing as you do the math. The person with the sign looks old enough to have cool stuff and I'm the first to see this sign. Will it be me who finds the mint '59 Bassman and Les Paul that must certainly be waiting there?

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