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On my second day there, I fielded a call from Jim Kelley of Active Guitar Electronics. His shop was in Tustin, California, which was roughly an hour away, and he needed tubes immediately. Somebody had to deliver them, and that turned out to be me. When I arrived at Jim’s shop, I noticed two units on the bench. One was a combo that resembled a 4x10 Bassman with a wicker-cane grill and one was an Active Guitar Electronics attenuator unit—which, in my opinion, was the finest attenuator made during that era, because it didn’t shave off critical high frequencies like so many other units did back then.
That was the first time I played through a Jim Kelley amplifier, and it sounded amazing. It had a very smooth, even tone with great string-to-string separation. It reminded me of sipping a rich and creamy chocolate milkshake.
The Kelley FACS (Foot Activated Channel Switching) amplifier runs four 6V6s in its output tube section and is known for its extremely high plate voltages— 485 volts! That’s about 20 volts hotter than a modern-day Marshall head. An old blackface Fender Deluxe runs about 430 volts on its 6V6s, so you can see just how brutal that 485-volts reading is to the FACS’ output tubes.
You can switch the FACS’ output from 30 watts to 60 watts. In the 30-watt mode, only two output tubes are active, whereas all four output tubes are active in the 60-watt setting. The amp’s massively over-designed power transformer is rated at 135 watts RMS, which guarantees it an easy life, even when you drive the amplifier at full power. The FACS also sports active-shelving EQ controls, which sound very open, breathy, and natural. These amps have tremendous reverb circuits as well, with a deep, rich tone. Operating a FACS combo or head is very straightforward, because the front panel has only three controls: Gain (which has a pull-out Presence function), Treble (with a pull-out Bright setting), and Bass (with a pull-out Mid-boost function).
Bonnie Raitt onstage with her Jim Kelley FACS 1x12 combo (right) and Active Guitar Electronics
attenuator unit during her 1982 Green Light tour. Photo courtesy of Jim Kelley
One key element of the FACS circuit is that the tone controls boost and cut from the noon position. Adjusting counterclockwise from 12 o’clock cuts the setting, while adjusting clockwise past 12 o’ clock boosts it. It’s a brilliant design. I ended up playing through a couple of Jim Kelley amps for nearly 20 years. Many consider this gem of an amp “the other Dumble.” Why? Because it doesn’t have one iota of harshness in it.
Dean Farley is chief designer of Snake Oil Brand Strings, and his ideas have had a significant influence on contemporary string design. He is also known as a great source of guitar, amp, and gear lore. For more information, visit snakeoilstrings.com.
For over five decades, audiences worldwide have marveled at Baxter’s inimitable and instantly recognizable guitar playing and generational songcraft. His output spans classic records as a founding member of Steely Dan and member of the Doobie Brothers in addition to hundreds of recordings with the likes of Donna Summer, Cher, Joni Mitchell, Rod Stewart, Dolly Parton, and many more. During 2022, he initially unveiled Speed of Heat, showcasing yet another side of his creative identity and introducing himself as a solo artist.
On the Storytellers Edition, his fascinating commentary pulls the curtain back on both the process and the message of the music. This version traces the journey to Speed of Heat and its core inspirations as shared directly by Baxter in the form of detailed anecdotes, candid stories, and insightful commentary on every track.
The 12-songalbum, co-produced by Baxter and CJ Vanston, is a riveting and rewarding musical experience that features a host of brilliantly crafted originals co-written by the guitarist and Vanston, as well as inspired versions of some of the great classics. Along the way, Baxter is joined by guest vocalists and songwriters Michael McDonald, Clint Black, Jonny Lang and Rick Livingstone. Baxter notably handled lead vocals on his rendition of Steely Dan’s “My Old School.” Other standouts include "Bad Move" co-written by Baxter, Clint Black, and CJ Vanston, and “My Place In The Sun”, sung by Michael McDonald and co-authored by McDonald, Baxter and Vanston.
As one of the most recorded guitarists of his generation, Baxter’s creative and versatile playing has been heard on some of the most iconic songs in music history, including “9 to 5” by Dolly Parton and “Hot Stuff” by Donna Summer.
The stunningly diverse collection of material on Speed of Heat presents a 360-degree view of the uniquely gifted musician.
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If 3 Were 6
With six times the controls found on the 1 and 2 versions (if you discount the original’s on/off slider switch,) the LPB-3’s control complement offers pre-gain, boost, mid freq, bass, treble, and mid knobs, with a center detent on the latter three so you can find the midpoint easily. A mini-toggle labeled “max” selects between 20 dB and 33 dB of maximum gain, and another labeled “Q” flips the resonance of the mid EQ between high and low. Obviously, this represents a significant expansion of the LPB’s capabilities.
More than just a booster with a passive tone, the LPB-3 boasts a genuine active EQ stage plus parametric midrange section, comprising the two knobs with shaded legends, mid freq and mid level. The gain stages have also been reimagined to include a pre-gain stage before the EQ, which enables up to 20 dB of input gain. The boost stage that follows the EQ is essentially a level control with gain to allow for up to 33 dB of gain through the LPB-3 when the “max” mini toggle is set to 33dB
A slider switch accessible inside the pedal selects between buffered or true bypass for the hard-latch footswitch. An AC adapter is included, which supplies 200mA of DC at 9.6 volts to the center-negative power input, and EHX specifies that nothing supplying less than 120mA or more than 12 volts should be used. There’s no space for an internal battery.
Power-Boosted
The LPB-3 reveals boatloads of range that betters many linear boosts on the market. There’s lots of tone-shaping power here. Uncolored boost is available when you want it, and the preamp gain knob colors and fattens your signal as you crank it up—even before you tap into the massive flexibility in the EQ stage.
“The preamp gain knob colors and fattens your signal as you crank it up—even before you tap into the massive flexibility in the EQ stage.”
I found the two mid controls work best when used judiciously, and my guitars and amps preferred subtle changes pretty close to the midpoint on each. However, there are still tremendous variations in your mid boost (or scoop, for that matter) within just 15 or 20 percent range in either direction from the center detent. Pushing the boost and pre-gain too far, particularly with the 33 dB setting engaged, can lead to some harsh sounds, but they are easy to avoid and might even be desirable for some users that like to work at more creative extremes.
The Verdict
The new LPB-3 has much, much more range than its predecessors, providing flexible preamp, boost, and overdrive sounds that can be reshaped in significant ways via the powerful EQ. It gives precise tone-tuning flexibility to sticklers that like to match a guitar and amp to a song in a very precise way, but also opens up more radical paths for experimentalists. That it does all this at a $129 price is beyond reasonable.
Electro-Harmonix Lpb-3 Linear Power Booster & Eq Effect Pedal Silver And Blue
