Hey everyone! Ben Fargen here from Fargen Custom Amps & Mods. I was asked to write a post for MyRareGuitars.com, so I thought I’d write about some famous songs and amplifiers. I’m really looking forward to your comments, so let me know which songs and amps you would include in this list. Thanks!

10. Fender Showman (Blonde Brownface)

Song: Miserlou
Artist: Dick Dale
The unmistakable sound of surf guitar was created by Dick Dale’s Fender stratocaster and a Fender Showman amp. One of the most important pieces of his signature sound was a custom Fender reverb unit (built by Leo Fender and given to Dick Dale as a prototype) driving a cranked up dual showman into 2 X 15-inch JBL D1 30 speakers. On the opening low E run from Dick Dale’s version of Miserlou you knew surf guitar was born, and that super cool reverb-laden sound would change the history of instrumental guitar music.

Dick Dale’s 1965 Fender Showman Amp at the Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix, AZ

9. Marshall JTM 45 Combo (Series 2, Model #1962)

Song: Hideaway
Artist: Eric Clapton (John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers)
In the mid 60’s – after Eric Clapton left the Yardbirds – he joined with the John Mayall Bluesbreakers. Within one year earned a huge reputation and the nickname “Slowhand”. The Bluesbreakers recorded the Beano album in April 1966 and Clapton used a Marshall Series 2 1962 JTM 45 combo with KT 66 tubes. This amp coupled with the Les Paul guitar created a new kind of sound no one had ever heard before in blues. Some dubbed this the “woman” tone, and players have been chasing it for decades.

The Marshall Bluesbreaker: The Story of Marshall’s First Combo

8. Fender Deluxe Reverb

Song: Sweet Dreams
Artist: Roy Buchanan
Roy Buchanan and his trusty, well-weathered 50’s telecaster never abused a finer vintage amp than the Fender Deluxe Reverb. Roy was known for cranking his Fender Deluxe Reverb full blast and facing it toward the back of the stage to cut the stage volume. Roy gave his fans one screaming note after another and some of the sweetest tear-jerking blues you’ve ever heard. If there was ever a player that could wring blood, sweat and tears from a guitar, it was the late, great Roy Buchanan.

1960’s Blackface Fender Deluxe Reverb Amp

7. Fender Bassman (Blonde Brownface)

Song: Rock This Town
Artist: Brian Setzer

Brian setzer is the king of cool when it come to rockabilly guitar style. He brought 50’s style blues/jazz guitar back in a time when AOR rock and new wave ruled the airwaves. One of the secret weapons in his tone is a Roland RE-201 Space Echo between his Gretsch guitar and two blonde Fender Bassman amps. That setup creates a great rowdy slap back echo which has become part of his signature tone.

Brian Setzer’s Blonde Brownface Fender Bassman 6G6-B Amps setup with Roland Space Echo

6. Fender Tweed Deluxe

Song: Like A Hurricane
Artist: Neil Young
Neil Young is the godfather of grunge. bands like Pearl Jam and Nirvana pay tribute to Neil’s wild, unleashed crunchy chords and ruckus feedback swirls in many of their songs. Neil sports his worn black beauty Les Paul, feeding his 1959 Tweed Deluxe on many of his classic tunes live and in the studio. One amazing part of Neil’s rig is the Whizzer. In order to access the Deluxe’s varying degrees of overdrive and gain, Young uses a custom-made amp-control switching device known simply as “the Whizzer,” which consists of 2 parts: the foot pedal and the mechanical switching device that physically turns the amp’s knobs. The Whizzer allows Young to stomp a footswitch on the floor to command the unit to twist the Deluxe’s volume and tone controls to any of a number of determined preset positions. This allows Neil to run a pure tone set up: guitar-cord-amp. No booster, overdrive, or distortion pedals are needed to achieve his classic agro-tone…just the little 50’s Fender Tweed Deluxe and the Whizzer.

Neil Young’s 1959 Fender Tweed Deluxe Amp

5. VOX AC30

Song: Bad
Arist: The Edge (U2)

The Edge is one of my all time favorite guitarists. He created a signature sound early on in his career with a Fender Stratocaster, Electro Harmonix Memory Man delay pedal and a VOX AC30 on albums such as WAR and The Unforgettable Fire. This winning combination has served him well from the early days all the way through recent records and live work. The Edge creates complex echo manipulations coupled with the airy chime of the Vox AC30. The Edge has used a massive catalog of guitars and multi FX units over the years, but the AC30 has remained a staple regardless of the other changes. These gear details coupled with his brilliant parts make U2’s catalog of songs distinguishable with just one note of the Edge’s guitar. Very few guitar players in history have created such a powerful and recognizable signature sound like The Edge.

The Edge’s 1964 Vox AC30TB (Top Boost) Amp [’64 chassis in a 70’s cabinet

4. Supro Thunderbolt

Song: Communication Breakdown
Artist: Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin)
There has been a lot of speculation over the years regarding the amps that Jimmy Page used in the studio during the groundbreaking debut release Led Zeppelin. Jimmy will neither confirm nor deny which amp(s) were used in the studio, and there are no known photos in the archives to corroborate my story. But…based on the tones heard on the record, it is entirely possible that the Supro Thunderbolt was used. So in keeping with the mythical ethos of Led Zeppelin, I added it in to the mix.

Supro Thunderbolt Amp (front)

Supro Thunderbolt Amp (back)

Now, just to add to the mystery, here’s the Supro amp that Jimmy page gave to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It’s actually a Supro 1690T Coronado, but the features of the amp do not match up with details Jimmy previously provided when questioned about the Supro amp he used on Led Zeppelin. And the mystery continues…

The Supro 1690T Coronado that Jimmy Page gave to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Supro 1690T Coronado Amp (catalog ad)

3. Marshall Bass 50w #1986 (Head)

Song: Statesboro Blues
Artist: Duane Allman (Allman Brothers Band)
Anyone that loves electric guitar cannot deny the impact Duanne Allman had on the legacy of blues slide guitar. His liquid lines and fluid tone seem to jump from the neck of his Gibson Les Paul without effort. He used a simple rig of two 50 Watt Marshall heads into two 4 x 12-inch cabs. His tone on the legendary Allman Brothers recording Live at the Filmore East is a destination for anyone wanting to capture the ultimate blues tone. Nobody plays it the way Duane did. If you don’t own a copy of this record, I recommend you head to the record store and pick it up immediately because you are missing out on a legendary sound and performance.

Marshall Bass 50w Head Model #1986

Duane Allman’s Last Show (Oct. 1971, Los Angeles)

2. Dumble Overdrive Special

Song: Josie
Artist: Larry Carlton (Steely Dan)
During the 1970’s and 80’s Mr. 335 laid down over 500 tracks a year as a session player and on his own records. He is definitely one of LA’s guitar royalty. Armed with his trusty ’68 Gibson ES-335 and two Dumble Overdrive Special amps, his monster jazz fusion guitar line are unmistakable and can be heard all over popular music. Steely Dan’s 6th release, Aja, employed a huge jazz influence and was their most guitar heavy record to date. This was mostly in part to the amazingly tasty tones and licks from Larry Carlton. Aja is one of Steely Dan’s best and most popular records for sure. Mr. 335 obviously helped push that record to the top.

Larry Carlton’s Dumble Overdrive Special Amps (2005)

1. Marshall Super Lead #1959 (12,000 Series Metal Panel Plexi 100-Watt)

Song: Running With The Devil
Artist: Eddie Van Halen
With the release of Van Halen I in 1978, the world of rock was changed forever. Edward Van Halen hit the scene with a new guitar sound that was so fast and furious no one had ever heard anything like it before. Eddie was a do-it-yourself kind of guy, always tweaking around with modded guitar pickups, different fx pedals on the floor and different ways to drive his Marshall amplifier into saturated overdrive. In the legend of EVH, many myths about how he created his early guitar tone have run rampant for decades. Speculation about DIY mods like power resistors across the power tubes plates, AC variacs to raise or lower the input voltage of the amp, and large resistant power loads over the speaker out have spawned endless articles and arguments on forums about how the legendary early EVH sound was created. Sketchy details from the era and no solid proof of what was used from EVH or his camp during those days continue to feed the tone chasers fuel tanks. And to this day the holy grail tone from Van Halen 1 has players frothing at the mouth. But you and I know the only real truth: The tone is 95% in the hands, and Eddie’s legendary sound has more to do with the notes he played rather than the tone in which he played it with.

Eddie Van Halen’s Marshall Super Lead #1959 100-watt Plexi

Eddie Van Halen’s Marshall Super Lead #1959 100-watt Plexi

Eddie Van Halen’s Marshall Super Lead #1959 100-watt Plexi

10 Classic Guitar Amps & The Songs That Made Them Famous from MyRareGuitars.com

Peavey Delta Blues Guitar Amp

#1: Peavey Delta Blues

$550 new, used from $300 to $400

Lush reverb and tremolo, a quartet of EL 84’s a very nice sounding tight Eminence 15″ guitar speaker. This is one of the only affordable 15 inch speaker guitar amps that is not a steel guitar amp. Although it is outfitted with four EL 84’s, its no AC-30. To its credit the Delta Blues is its own man. Very road worthy and consistent. When they first came out they were using Chinese power tubes and they sounded good. Later on Peavey, through its dealers, started selling Russian (Sovtek) tubes as replacements, but these tubes biased a lot cooler then the Chinese ones did. And unlike many other EL 84 combos the Delta is not cathode biased, so when you change tubes the amp must be rebased. Not a real big deal, but a deal just the same. Also if you want the amp to sound good all night long, have a tech install a fan to cool off those overworked power tubes. Peavey told me awhile back that 6 months of steady use and you should change the tubes. I agree whole heartedly!

Gibson Lab Series Guitar Amp

#2: Gibson Lab Series

Used price- $400 or less

These Moog designed amps were very well made and quite dependable, but probably misunderstood for its time. Lots of different eq settings were available, which made many guitarists feel (yours truly included) a bit overwhelmed. Old Bob Moog did not realize that he was a few years ahead of the amp-tweaking rack-friendly guitarist. My favorite of all of these was the L9 model outfitted with a JBL 15 inch guitar speaker in an open back cabinet. Great reverb too! I would say you could get a Twin Reverbesque sound plus! I also very much liked the L5, a 2×12 inch version. This amp was used by BB King for many years and it sounded great. Also good for funk rhythm with a good on-board compressor.

These amps are very reasonably priced, but make sure you also get a service manual as this will confuse many an amp tech once he gets it open.

1970s Fender Twin Reverb Guitar Amp (Silverface)

#3: Any Silverface Fenders (1968 to about 1980)

From $250 to $750

It’s a hardwired amp for less then a grand, what else needs to be said. In the hands of a capable tech it can be easily modified to Blackface specs for about 250 dollars. Some Fenderphiles will also want to have their tech upgrade to the Blackface correct solid core cloth covered wire. I will say again, the Blackface are the crowning achievement of Leo Fender Amp legacy. No Doubt.

I highly recommend modding the high power Twins and Supers from the late 70’s they have an very desirable headroom, especially when Blackfaced. And for God’s sake get rid of that stupid master volume!

Traynor Guitar Amp

#4: Traynor amps circa 1960’s through 1970’s

These Canadian made hardwired amps are an unbelievable value. They are built like a Sherman tank, have very high quality transformers, and the quality of the handwiring rivals any era Fender.

The Bass Master series of Traynor heads are going up in value, but they are very, very close to being JTM45 clones, which we all know are pretty much 59 Bassman copies. I also love their Reverbmate guitar combo amps. Online right now you can find many hardwired Traynors for under $400, some as low as $200.

If you are a want to be amp tech looking for his or her first project try a Traynor.

Peavey Classic 50 (4x10) Guitar Amp

#5: Peavey Classic 50 (4×10)

New about $600, used from $300 to $450

Another Peavey standard bearer amp for sure. 50 watts out of an open back 4×10 cab housing some very well suited Eminence ceramic speakers. Forget the Master volume and dirty channel – use this amp as if if were a non master Super or reissue Bassman (w/ reverb) and get your distortion from a pedal you like. Great blues and rock amp, I also think it’s a good country amp although I think a bit more presence would help for a real country twang. Unlike its smaller sibling the aforementioned Delta Blues this amp can go years without power tube change. I dunno I think this amp could actually live up to its name.

Vox AC-30CC Guitar Amp

#6: Vox AC-30CC

New w/ AlNiCo Blues $1500, std model $1000

The amp I am recommending is the currently available Chinese made Vox AC-30 combo with the AlNiCo Blue Celestions in the 2×12 configuration with a street price of about $1500. Now that’s a significant amount of scratch I know, but I believe this amp to be a real bargain once you see what you get for the $. The standard speaker version is also a steal @ $1000 but to my ears the stock speakers are not efficient enough to reproduce accurately the many subtle possibilities of this amp. It is not a reissue although it looks like one. Vox basically took all the mods and options from all the model variants over the past forty years and put them into one amp. It also lets you run the power tubes hotter or colder as well as the voltage going to the filter caps, this option gives you the option of running the amp tighter or with a bit more sag. It has a master volume and you can combine the two distictincly different sounding channels with a flick of a mini toggle. I also love the versatile reverb controls.

All in all this amp is a great deal for the $, but you better work out before you bring it to your gig, it will make your Twin Reverb feel like a Pignose.

1974 Marshall 18-watt combo amp

#7: Marshall 1974X HW

New about $2250

This amp is a faithful reissue of the 18 watt single 12 inch combo from the late sixties. The amp has two channels which sound virtually the same, one of which sports a great sounding tremolo. Let me say it right away this is not a versatile amp it has basically one sound, and depending on the volume it gets crunchier as you turn it up. This is the deal, put a Les Paul through it and you will sound like Jimmy Page. Plug in an SG toggle to the back pickup and you will cop the Tony Iommi Sabbath sound perfectly. I personally think that if you want the same response with a single coil guitar you will have to drive the preamp a bit harder using a clean boost like an MXR Micro-Amp.

I use this amp exclusively as my dirty amp that I keep on at all times in my live setup combined with either an AC-30, Super Reverb, or Twin Reverb as the clean amp according to the size of the venue. And funny as it may seem it stands up even to the Twin.

Again, this amp is expensive but when you can get a piece of history with a warrantee I believe its worth it.

1960s Maestro Guitar Amp

#8: Maestro and Gibson amps circa 1960’s
Used price from $250 to $550

Now if you cannot afford the Marshall but want an ass kickin little combo try one of these little devils. They are usually around 20 watts or so, powered by a duo of 6V6’s. I have been told by my amp tech the great man himself Bill Carruth( Montpelier, Vermont) that the wiring in these amps leaves a lot to be desired, I have seen the inside and can tell you that they look like a twister hit a spaghetti factory But when up and running they sound great, and the reverb is to die for. It is set up like the old Ampeg reverbs at the end of the circuit, unlike Fenders which is in the middle of the circuit. The tremolo is fantastic, very strong and controlled with the same hardwired footswitch that controls the reverb.

My two faves are the 22 watt Maestro which features a single 15 inch Jensen C15N ceramic and the single 12 Gibson Falcon. Check em out Sport!

Roland JC-120 Jazz Chorus Guitar Amp

#9: Roland Jazz Chorus JC-120

Used from $250 to $400

This amp has a great sound, we all know this and remember having one back in the 80’s and thinking “my God I will never get rid of this amp”. And guess what, you should not have. But you know what happened you woke up one day and realized nobody wanted to sound like they were playing in the Fixx anymore. Fender started reissuing (not really) the Bassman and that was that.

But a good amp then is a good amp now. They were dependable, they sounded full yet never loud, the speakers were very unguitarlike but the friggin amp was amazing. The chorus was the best period, and the vibrato was also very cool although I always thought you should be able to footswitch between the two. Tons of treble and low end, and everyone in the band loved it ( big deal!) The reverb was lush and very useable. It had very good casters and a cool kind of industrial look to them, that even when they get old and beat up they still look cool, very much unlike many other 80’s icons. There are tons of these things out there as we know Roland made zillions of them, but as a testament to their value you rarely see a used one in a music store.

That’s my list of great amps for the money. Please send me your selections I love hearing from you all.

The Best Guitar Amps for the Bucks from MyRareGuitars.com