We recently covered the 6CA7 over on WoodyTone.com, so here’ we’ll just deal with the other two.

To find out more about thee tubes, I talked to Bob Pletka at Eurotubes, who works closely with JJ. My first question to him was a generic one: Why did you request these tubes be made – were they in response to specific customer requests for particular tonal goals? Here’s what he said:

“The EL844 was something I was working with JJ to produce for several years, to give players who use EL84 amps earlier break-up and the nice, tight, focused sound they needed. I felt there was a nice niche in the market.

“The 6550 was later on the list, and I was actually a little bit surprised they got it done as quickly and as good as they did. We wanted the 6550 to get a big-bottle sound in amps that didn’t have [enough] spacing between the sockets [for KT88s].”

Now to each tube individually. All quotes are from Bob.

6550

AmpGAS: Why a new 6550? Doesn’t seem like many folks use them these days, including manufacturers.

Bob: One of the strongholds for 6550s is a lot of guys who own the old 800 series Marshalls and don’t really want to make a change [to EL34s – many JCM800s sent to America were given 6550s because of EL34 issues at the time – I think I got that right!].

Also, a lot of bass amps, like Ampeg SVTs, run on 6550s so that’s a standard.

What does the new 6550 sound like?

The best way I can say it is that it has a growl to it when it breaks up – kind of a Billy Gibbons thing [Gibbons?! Marshall?! Love it!]. They sound really musical. They don’t have that rattier type of break-up.

Take some of them and stick them in a 50- or 100-watter and crank it, and it’s pretty impressive. It does something that no other tube that we have does. It has a pretty unique sound to it, and so far everyone who’s tried them has been blown away.

It does that 6550 clean thing – big, fat, sparkly – too, but that growl….

We were probably most taken aback by the 6550 out of all three [new] tubes for how unique it is.

Other than Slash and Ace Frehley, I’m not familiar with anyone else who has used 6550 tubes for a signature rock tone. So what tones would you recommend this tube for reproducing?

Well, there was a short period of time when SRV was using them. He used them a few different times and was fairly impressed with how they were when he really got them cranking.

But I’d say lot of people used 6550s [in JCM800s] who didn’t know they were using 6550s. A lot of 800 Marshalls came with 6550s in them and they were decent 6550s – a lot were American-made. I think a lot more people have used them and didn’t know it [and thus we don't either!].

How does a 6550 sound different than a 6L6?

I’d say if you want nothing but a clean sound with a great top end sparkle and lot of warmth and your mission is not to overdrive, stick with 6L6s. But if you want to slap a pair of tubes in a 50-watter and want a really good clean – better than with EL34s – and a growl when really cranked, the 6550 contender for that.

EL844

AmpGAS: The new EL844 – how does it sound different than an EL84?

Bob: The mission was to get it to sound as close as possible. Over the last almost 3 years JJ has been working with the design and sending us prototypes, it was actually quite a different tube. Now it’s so close to an EL84 that if I had to pin a difference it just makes less power, breaks up earlier and seems to be a little bit more focused when you really drive it hard.

What’s the best way to use this tube?

We get guys that call us all day long, every day. Some say, “I’m playing through my [Fender] Blues Junior and it’s not loud enough. I need 2 times as much power, what tubes do I need?” I tell them go fish [laughs].

On the other hand more say their Blues Junior is so loud the wife is throwing stuff at them. So those bedroom, basement players like to get their amps up to that sweet spot, but 15w is pretty loud, especially if you’re playing for a number of hours. So our mission was to get a tube that sounded like an EL84 but made less power.

We wanted to see if we could make an EL84 substitute that makes 5w. We ended up with protoypes that make 9w, 25% less power, that you could plug in and not worry about the bias. That was the biggest thing, that they’d fall into a range useable in [amps like a Blues Junior, a little Bad Cat, a Peavey Classic or even a Vox AC30] without having to worry about it.

JJs

AmpGAS: Many touring musicians now favor JJs because of their tone and also hardiness on the road. What’s the secret sauce here – is it just manufacturing consistency or…?

Bob: I’d say it’s the time they take to do it right, and also the glass they use is thicker than you’ll find on almost any tube out there. I really think that has something to do with how robust everything is.

When you break down what happens in a tube, basically it’s held into position by how it’s wired up and by the mica spacers in the tube [what you see at the top and bottom, which actually touch the glass]: You can’t hold the guts too tight because the metal will expand at a much greater rate than glass. I think the thicker glass and holding the insides more precisely are that what gives them an edge in how rugged they are.

Note

> Bob knows his sh*t inside and out. Any factual screw-ups are mine – and please note any! Thanks!

AmpGAS: Anything else you’d like to mention or highlight about Mack Amps construction?

Don: Yes. We strive to produce the lowest-cost handmade boutique amps on the planet, but that doesn’t mean we cut corners. Every amp follows a stringent quality process, and we pay attention to fine details when we design our circuits, chassis, circuit boards, and wiring dress and layout.

I’m going to send you some photos [below] that show what some might think is “sloppy” wiring. My response: Aesthetic design and electronic performance are sometimes not compatible.

We’ve all seen interior shots of amps where the wires are tied together in extremely neat bundles and the result is almost a work of art. In those cases I assume that the builder has been painstakingly ensuring that cross talk and electrical interference has been minimized. The reason I say that is because if two wires are run parallel to each other, the possibility of interference between them is greatly increased.

So, neatly bundled wires look very, very good, but unless great care and attention has been invested in precisely determining which wires can co-exist in a bundle where all wires are parallel to one another, chances are the layout has not been optimized to minimize noise and other electronic artifacts that can degrade performance.

In Mack amps we follow the opposite philosophy. For us, internal wiring that minimizes noise, etc. takes precedence over aesthetics. To that end, we actually work hard at having as many wires as possible cross each other – if they have to – at 90 degrees or as close to it as possible. Wires that don’t have to cross, but that are relatively close to each other, are routed so that they are not parallel – by adding a different curve to each wire.

The reason we do this is because whereas parallel wires have a much higher probability of inducing problems, wires that intersect at a right angle or that are not parallel minimize that probability.

Consequently, the internal wiring of our amps doesn’t look as nice as some – and I’m proud of that fact!

[We picked this up after I received the photos.]

As you can see in that photo [above], a number of wires cross each other at near 90 degrees. The white wires at the top are run parallel, but they are shielded cable so in this case that is acceptable. Also note the twisted wires at the top of the photo – that is another way to ensure that interference between conductors is minimized.

In [the above] photo you can see all of the chassis internals with more evidence of ‘sloppy’ wiring.

What kind of wire is that?

We use 22-gauge wire as opposed to the much heavier wire often talked about. And it’s Teflon-coated for heat performance instead of being fabric-coated like vintage amps. Twenty-two-gauge wire has current-carrying capability far in excess of the currents that flow through our amps so the safety margin is very comfortable.

That being the case, we see no need to use other wire for reasons that relate only to popular myth. Back in the day, Fender and Marshall used the wire they could find at the lowest cost that provided acceptable performance – there is nothing magical about cloth-covered wire.

Another thing to point out, now that you’re looking at the guts of one of our amps, is that the circuit board is indeed handwired. On first sight some people believe that we use printed circuit boards in Heatseekers and Skyraiders, but this is an eyelet board where the eyelets were inserted by hand and the components were hand-stuffed and -soldered.

We produce professional, silk-screened boards with component numbers to aid in troubleshooting and repair. Also note the inspection stickers, which are visual indicators of our quality process.

These are just a few examples that hopefully illustrate that while Mack amps may be priced well below traditional boutique amps, they are built with an attention to detail and quality that rival, and in many cases surpass, traditional boutique amps.

What kind of tones were you going for with Mack Amps?

Mack amps are designed for rock and blues players. Having said that we have jazz players that love their full and rich clean tones.

I particularly love power-tube overdrive and distortion, so when you turn up a Mack amp that’s what you hear – warm and lush power-tube distortion.

How long have you been playing guitar?

I’ve been a guitarist for over 35 years now. I’ve gigged in a few bands over the years, though most of that was in my so called “active” period back in my university days.  Since then gigs have been sparse (career, kids, work got in the way), but I still manage to play out every once in a while.

For the most part I’ve played in classic rock cover bands, but for about 3 years I was involved in a jazz fusion band that played Jean Luc-Ponty and Herbie Hancock tunes and the like.

I’ve always been an extreme gear head.  n fact, I collaborated with a local luthier in the late ’70s and helped build my first real electric guitar. Since then I’ve put together a few parts guitars and always did my own repairs and setups.

Didn’t you tell me once you were an electrical engineer?

That’s right. Unlike many boutique amp builders, I was never an amp tech nor did I attempt to build my own amps. Rather, when I decided to found Mack Amps I relied on my electrical engineering education and 12 years of experience designing electronic control systems – and a lot of research – to guide my designs and our manufacturing processes. My business experience definitely helped Mack produce fully commercialized products right from the start. The very first Heatseeker prototype received rave reviews from local Toronto players and I haven’t looked back since.

One more item: I checked out your website, and it says the 36w and 30w heads are sold out – does that mean you’re not going to make them anymore? [I asked this because I've had my eye on both of those heads (EL84 and 6V6)!]

Those models are discontinued and will be replaced with a new, dual EL34 model to be launched in December/January. Sounds great!

More

> Check out the Mack Amps website here.

End of part 2 of 2

Mack Amps has always billed itself as one of the most affordable boutique amps out there. And this year the company announced it lowered prices even more. How’s that possible? I wanted to know, so I asked. Here’s some info from the press release:

> Until now, Mack amps were sold via its own web site and several online and storefront dealers. “Exclusively selling direct to guitarists means we can reduce our prices,” said Mack Amps founder Don Mackrill. ”That’s important because enabling as many guitarists as possible to own a boutique amp is what Mack is all about.”

> Mack’s new direct selling strategy takes full advantage of the company’s very low overhead costs that had only a limited effect on pricing when selling through dealers. “Mack has great relationships with some excellent dealers,” Mackrill said. “However, we could no longer ignore how much selling direct would benefit our customers.”

> Plus, selling direct fits perfectly with why Mack Amps was created in 2005. “I’ve never been able to justify the high price of traditional boutique guitar amplifiers, so I started Mack to make boutique amps that are as affordable as possible,” added Mackrill. “By selling direct, Mack Amps has taken a big step closer to reaching that goal.”

So there’s some of the how and why. I had more questions, got in touch with Don for the following interview. It’ll run in two parts because Don – aka “Mack” – likes to talk amps!

AmpGAS: Why did you take this step? Was it just to lower the prices of your amplifiers?

Don: The decision was made to help us achieve our primary mission: offer the lowest-cost, handmade boutique amps possible. That’s the reason I started the company. And since selling direct allows us to provide the best value to customers, it was the logical next step for Mack.

Is there any disadvantage to not selling through dealers?

Sure – customers can’t demo an amp live before they buy it. However, we’ll soon be launching a new marketing initiative using video clips on our website that will provide a wealth of very detailed information to help prospective customers decide if they want to buy a Mack amp. Our objective is to show website visitors more than they could ever learn by demoing an amp for 5 minutes in a music store.

We believe that plus our 100% risk-free guarantee – return an amp within 14 days of its delivery, no questions asked and get all your money back including return shipping, and we’ll pay you $50 for your time – will make buying an amp online a compelling experience.

Have you changed the components or manufacturing at all to be able to lower your prices 25%?

Nothing whatsoever has changed in the design or manufacturing of our amps. We offer exactly the same product direct as we did through dealers.

Are these amps handwired?

Heatseekers and Skyraiders are built with handmade eyelet-type circuit boards that are hand-stuffed and hand-soldered. Gems are made with printed circuit boards that are hand-stuffed, wave-soldered and then hand-assembled with wiring that connects from the chassis to the PCB being hand-soldered. Cabs are hand made using pine and birch with dovetail joints.

Are they still 100% made and assembled in Canada?

Everything is 100% handmade and assembled in the Toronto area.

Why is it so important to you to make these amps as low-priced as possible?

Because that’s the reason I started the company! For most of my 35+ years as a guitarist I always lusted after one amp or another. [Don, I just don't know what you mean.... ] Early on it was various Fender or Marshall models. As I became more experienced, I began to follow the budding boutique amp phenomenon. And the more I became familiar with what was possible when a passionate builder designed an amp with the foremost objective being high-quality tone, the more I became fascinated.

The problem was that initially I could never afford such an amp. And later, when my business career afforded me a bit more disposable income, I could never justify the high price of traditional boutique amps.

That’s why, in 2005, I founded Mack Amps. Our mission is to offer the lowest-cost, fully-commercialized boutique amps on the market.

What does ‘fully-commercialized’ mean?

It means that our amps are completely finished, professionally designed-and-built consumer electronic products that adhere to North American electrical codes, and come with full factory support.

For example, each amp is electrically certified and carries a UL/CSA-equivalent sticker, and our chassis are fully enclosed, anodized aluminum with professional silk-screened graphics – front and back – including safety warnings. No bare metal on the back of the chassis with stick-on labels! Plus, we only sell our amps in a proper cabinet to ensure that they are used safely – we won’t sell a chassis by itself. Those are just a few features that illustrate our commitment to providing a professional, handmade product.

On our website I say, “I could never afford a boutique amp. I started Mack Amps so you can.” That is absolutely a true statement. I entered the boutique amp biz to provide a handmade, boutique product at a price that makes them accessible to as many guitarists as possible that have always wanted one, but could never afford it – like me!

End of part 1 of 2

_____
Not the best vid, but you can hear the range of one of Don’s 15-watters

More

> Check out the Mack Amps website here.

I chased him down for a brief interview, with that tone as a starting point. Here we go.

> Note that Curt and his amps will be at the Southeastern Guitar and Amp Show in Raleigh this weekend.

AmpGAS: You seem to be an EVH fan. True?

Curt: Absolutely. I first heard Eddie in 1979. I didn’t immediately latch on to his playing because I was just beginning to discover music and what it was really about. I was into KISS, Boston and Journey. After my mom died in 1980 I spent a lot more time listening to music, mostly in the afternoon after school. My first real exposure was the Women and Children First album. Then in 1981 I started riding to school with a neighbor and he would blast Diver Down everyday and I fell in love with Eddie’s playing, as well as Van Halen as a band.

When I started playing guitar the next year, I immediately started trying to learn Eddie’s music. Back then there was no internet or tab, so it was all by ear, which is something I think a lot today’s guitarist are lacking – ear training.

When did you start to try to get his sound through amps of your own, and is that why you undertook amp-building in the first place?

I suppose subconsciously I developed an ear for his tone, but I never intentionally set out to build a Van Halen amp. I love the old plexis and early ’70s metal-panel amps. I bought a 1973 Marshall Super Bass for $300 in 1990, and started modding it. They’re very versatile amps.

During that time I played in a hard rock/metal band and used to run an ADA-MP1 right into the input. I used to get really great tones, especially for the type music we were playing. But as I got older, I started appreciating the less-gain approach. High-gain amps have their place, but too many guitarist use them to hide their mistakes and poor technique. And when you really listen to Van Halen’s early stuff, the tone sounds huge, but it’s still very articulate, dynamic and focused.

I have a degree in electronics, so I really built my first amp just to see if I could. It wasn’t even a plexi-type amp – it was a Tweed Deluxe clone. Great-sounding amp, by the way. I still have it.

How did you get from modding to producing your own amps? And how long have you been making Grangers?

I finally decided to attempt to build an amp in 2006. It was just a matter of finding the time to do it since I’ve always had a full plate with various bands and recording projects, as well as an 8 to 5 job with AT&T up until the summer of 2009. After I built my fourth amp and a local guitarist heard it and wanted to buy it, I realized I might be able to make money on the side. I used to do web design on the side too and had reached a point where I was burned out on it, so the amp-building business was very appealing. I sold my first Granger amp in 2007, and I’ve built nearly 60 since then, with the business steadily growing each year.

Back to Ed: What do you think is the key, amp-wise, for getting Ed’s tone?

Any good plexi-type amp really, but it has to be cranked! So many guys neglect the effect the speakers have in creating that tone. You’ve got to get the mids turned up as well. If your mids are set below 6, it’ll never happen.

Also, do not overlook the production aspect. Ted Templeman and Donn Landee did so much for getting Eddie’s raw sound down to tape in a way that made it sound fabulous.

Finally, and I really hate to say this, but you’ve got to be able to play like Eddie. The guy had incredibly strong hands, and just man-handled the guitar. You can hear it in his playing.

You offer different tube choices and have recommended different tubes for getting the EVH tone. What are the differences tone- and response-wise between EL34, E34L, KT77 and 6CA7 power tubes?

All very subtle. The E34L and KT77 have a little more headroom. The KT77 sounds a little rounder – the highs are a little softer. Nobody makes a really great 6CA7 anymore.

Have you ever used 6CA7s, including the newer Electro-Harmonix ones?

I’ve tried the big-bottle Electro-Harmonix 6CA7s, but didn’t think they were anything special. Maybe it was just what I had for lunch that day!

Which tube do you prefer for getting EVH tone?

I like JJs and Winged Cs. The JJ EL34 seems to have the best tone, as well as being very rugged. I’ve never burned up a JJ or had one fail yet. They take very high plate voltages, red plate, and keep on going. They keep a more consistent tone through their lifespan than others too, so less frequent tube changes.

How about for other classic rock tones?

The same. I’ve got a pair of Winged Cs in one of my amps, and they sound great too.

More

> Check out Curt’s site at grangeramp.com.

I love the EVH-like “clank” of this tone.

Not really pertinent but funny!

Times are hard, man. They are, else I would be snapping up great amps left and right!

It’s also a good time to be making sure your current investments in amps remain good investments – especially if you have cats, kids or even…gig.

In that spirit, here is the ultimate budget amp cover. In this case, pictures say about 100 words or less because that’s all you’ll need.

Click to see it bigger – if you need to!

Ditto!

Note: These photos have been kicking around my desktop for a while – I have no idea where I found them. So if you want to claim the photos and the idea (and that chair!), great. Just let me know by leaving a comment below.

All I need is a couple more amps....

A few weeks ago, I ran across this blurb somewhere on the web:

“Owning top name music products just got easier, with new financing programs from several leading brands. From now until Sept. 15, 2010, consumers [that means people!] purchasing a new product over $499 from brands such as Korg, Marshall and Vox, from an authorized dealer in the U.S., can receive 6 months of 0% financing. The program is being offered in partnership with GE Money. Full terms and conditions can be found at authorized dealers or by visiting www.voxamps.com or www.marshallamps.com [and, if you're so inclined, korg.com].”

Interesting. This seems to be a program that these presumably related companies are trying in order to goose sales. But six months? That’s it? Guitar Center, where you can buy the above new products, already offers 12 months of 0% (“no-interest”) financing if you use its Preferred Player Card (I don’t have one, don’t know anyone who does, can’t comment on it).

But assuming you qualify for said financing, why do it? The only reason is to defer paying for something you gotta have now. I get that. BUT would you be better off waiting a little, saving a little longer and getting a truly killer amp for a killer deal. Because said deals are are ALL OVER the place.

I’m not necessarily talking about Craigslist, though you can find some good deals there. Not pawn shops, many of which now try to overcharge. I’m talking about the venerable “evil-Bay,” as so many folks call it, and forums like thegearpage.net, mylespaul.com, seymourduncan.com and many others. Holy crap some great deals are out there! IF you know exactly what you want, and if you feel you’re buying from a reputable seller.

I’ve seen $2,800 Fuchs amps go on eBay for $1,000. Seriously. I’ve watched killer Reinhardt literally-better-than-90+%-of-Marshalls heads go for $1,200, basically new heads that would cost $1,800 new. Compare that to the cost of a new Marshall.

These are great deals, folks! [Wish I had the coin!]

I’ve also seen amazing boutique amps not sell on pages like thegearpage.net, even at outrageously low prices. Crazy!

In view of the above, I’m going not going anywhere close to out on a limb when I say: NOW is the best time to buy an amp.

And who knows? With business slow, maybe some of the amazing boutique manufacturers out there would be willing to make a deal too!

Bottom line: Not having a few $K lying around is killing me, man!

(Tube Tramp photo, click to see it bigger.)

WTF is a Thor amp? That would’ve been my reaction before I ran across a recent thread at the Metroamps board. The thread is authored by tubetramp, more properly known as Terry Kilgore, who grew up with Ed Van Halen, is friends with him, was in DLR’s band for a bit and no doubt has done more of note.

Here’s the story, according to Terry, edited for readability and brevity:

“Stray Dog was one of my favorite groups in ’73. They were discovered by Emerson Lake and Palmer. This band hailed out of Texas and was most definitely ahead of the pack in guitar tone and skill, not to mention hard rock content that boggled the mind.

“Edward comes to mind because he turned me on to them. Unfortunately, when they played the Whisky a Go Go for four nights in a row [back in the day], I couldn’t catch their set. I was one block a way at Bill Gazzari’s doing six nights…. In those days you could work 20 days a month if you alternated just a few clubs week to week. Van Halen generally would do two weeks a month there in the early days, then Barnacle Bills in Duarte and some other sh*thole in Covina.

“Anyhow, Ed came down one night and watched [Stray Dog], and then hopped down the street to see us. I asked him on the break what sort of amp this guy [guitarist Snuffy Walden] used – his tone was so off the hook [that] any guitar player that had a set of gonads would have asked that first. [The answer was] Thor Amps. Hmmmm.

“Never seen one, not even a glimpse, ’til 3 days ago. I found this in Downey, CA on craigslist. No one wanted it. It is a Thor 100 – four EL34s. I was surprised I ever found one in operating condition. Then I come to find out that Jim Marshall’s eldest son [ironically named Terry] was behind them.

“I have not been able to stop lightin’ it up since I got it. Four-input, two channel with the knob on the far right called Attenuation. What a tone.

“The guitarist in the band’s name was Snuffy Walden. Google him. We’ve pretty much been hearing him on a huge number of television [shows] and movies for years.

“The Tramp has another white elephant that does remarkable stuff. If anyone has anything to add to the Thor story, please pipe in. Edward Van Halen may possibly be the only other person I’ve ever known that knew of them.”

Anyone out there know anything about these puppies? Ever seen one in person?

Notable

> Terry, on the lack of knowledge of various British tube amps (edited):

Thor guts (Tube Tramp photo, click to see it bigger).

“Few automobile companies in America ever got over the big three, if you know what I mean. [Look at] Elgen and Burman and several other English amps that never came to providence and very truthfully never got distribution. I have examples of those as well and they would be the only ones I kept over a vast collection of 100-watt British artillery pieces I’ve been screwy enough to collect over the last three decades.

“Even the well known amps like Simms, Watts, Selmer, Vamp…were names I barely knew 10 years ago.

“I promise I will map this [circuit] out. The thing that stands out about this thing is the dial to the far left labeled Attenuation. Every quarter-sweep makes the whole tone stack do a different kind of loco. Certainly ranks high in the 100-watt tone department.

“I’ve had many vintage Marshalls and Hiwatts that couldn’t touch this thing.

“It was made in sub-assemblies, like a machine gun.”
_____

(Yes, I did Google and eBay-search Thor, came up donuts except for a small bass amp, I believe. Have fun looking!)

Here's the MetroAmp kit (MetroAmp photo).

Do you hear “it” in this vid? “It” of course being a bit of EVH.

This is a ’68 spec Metro Amp kit, which refers to a 1968 Marshall Super Lead-spec – a la EVH’s prized Marshall plexi head…and it certainly sounds like it.

What’s remarkable about this clip is that it’s live, played with other instruments and the amp is a kit! – meaning anyone can build it to get the same tone (bearing in mind that you have to play Ed-like to get “it”).

The flip side of that is that everyone who builds the kit and leaves the spec the same has the same amp. This may not bother you, but just bear in mind that you are buying George Metropoulos‘ ears – meaning, since just about every ’60s Marshall was different, you are buying someone’s opinion of what the best one of any particular model sounded like or “should” sound like. Sometimes that works out for folks, sometimes not.

But I can assure you that I’ve heard these amps in person and they SMOKE! One day….

Can't miss the Mace in this shot.

I got thinking about the Peavey Mace – at one time an amp I pursued (a little) – from a recent WoodyTone post on Neal Schon’s early gear. In the late ’70s into ’80, Neal was a Mace user which like the old Music Man amps had a solid state preamp and a tube power amp.

But while the Music Mans had at most four 6L6 tubes, Maces had six! It seems the bands at the time – notably Skynyrd – liked that the amps could preamp-distort at lower volumes and go up to insane volumes for ’70s stages. (Skynyrd, which altered their Maces, at one point actually tried to make the amps louder!)

Maces had a built-in phaser – tremolo on the earlier (’76-’77?) ones – that some people love to this day, built-in reverb that most people can’t stand, an input that bridged the channels, and other bells and whistles. Thanks to the eventual Black Widow speakers, the amp also was HEAVY (70+ pounds? $70-$100 to ship on ebay).

Not surprisingly, the people who keep the Mace flame alive are mostly Skynyrd fans, a few Southern country twangers too. In fact, most of the decent info on the amp (which ain’t much) is on the lynyrdskynyrddixie.com forum. Here’s some info from user “Hell House” (the name of the shack Skynyrd used to practice in) on that forum:

> Those were/are actually very good amps, and [as] with all Peavey stuff, rugged as a tank! Their drawback was that they are EXTREMELY loud. They are every bit as loud as the old 200w Marshall Major heads….

> They were great as a concert amp – they could fill a stadium with guitar sound and that is why Skynyrd stuck with them [conjecture?]. Plus they had the solid state preamp, which made the amp much more reliable [did it?].

> Early on, someone showed [Skynyrd] how they could get more volume from them by bridging the power transformer taps and it worked, but unfortunately, only for a short time. “Well, it looks like we done blowed up another amp,” said RVZ on One More From the Road. And that is what they did, blow up. And frequently. Not long after the Fox [One More From the Road] show, they stopped with that mod and soon realized [the amps] were loud enough and less expensive!

“Hell House” and other Skynyrd fans swear by Maces – and their close cousins the Deuce and Heritage VTX – for getting Skynyrd tones. User Hell House again, talking about the Heritage: “Same circuit and tone stack as the Mace with master volume, but much softer power amps…. You can get the classic Skynyrd tone DEAD ON with these amps.”

(He notes that Skynyrd used JBL D-120′s in their cabs because “they just didn’t fart out at higher cranked volumes like the Peavey speakers.”)

GAS?

Is this another case of an amp being semi-sought-after because famous players used it? Is it good? Does it really “sound like Skynyrd/Schon?”

Can’t tell you because I’ve never played one – yet! Chime in below if you have.

If you have GAS for this amp, you should only pay $150-$300 or so, and be prepared to shell out another $100-200 to have a qualified tech take a look at it.

Notable

> Allen Collins, at least, apparently had his Mace rewired to be more like a Marshall, possibly just for recording.

> In case you have one of these and are wondering what to make of it, you can download an older (pre-phaser) manual and slightly newer than that user guide here.

Here’s some good old Mace tone (and Allen Collins playing) from Skynyrd’s two-guitar Old Grey Whistle Test performance in 1975.

Here’s Neal Schon and Journey live, 1980, Japan. I’m assuming he’s using a Mace because other footage from this year show Peaveys onstage. Cool blues jam at the beginning.

Here's a Neutron in "bass boat" silver (click to see it bigger, Satellite photo).

In the final part of this interview series with Satellite Amplification‘s Adam Grimm, he talks about why his amps are embraced by punk rock guys (it’s the vintage in them), his “bass boat” tolex (my term for it) and amp pricing. He’s a great interview, and you will be seeing more from him in the future.

AmpGAS: How do your amps get that sweet feedback? Is that what you wanted and dialed it in, or is it just a byproduct of the circuit?

Adam: That amp [the Atom, which is the model I played] is exactly what I wanted. At one point I thought I’d discontinue everything and just make that amp. That is my favorite, the one I love to play all the time.

And I don’t do very well leaving things alone. I do revisit it every once in a while, to try to tweak the circuit and make it better, but have not been able to from my personal tonal standpoint.

That being said, there are a lot of people who like all the other models of amps I do as well. The other ones make me happy too, but the Atom is just my personal favorite.

Why do you think your amps have been embraced by punk musicians?

Part of it is that’s what I grew up playing and it’s what I like. A lot of these guys are my childhood heroes. It so weird to me – I’m blown away that these guys are so happy with my amps. It’s awesome.

Punk rock has gone through a number of different stages over the years. But one of the things tonally most guys go back to is vintage gear.

One reason is because [in the early days of punk] that’s all they could afford. Back in the day, a ’59 [Les Paul] Junior was an old, used guitar nobody wanted. Same for an old, beat-up Marshall. So they were using whatever they could to sound as mean and pissed off as they could. And most times [the amps were] run wide open.

That’s kind of the same aggressive sound I’m going for with the stuff I build. I ended up expanding the line – a lower-powered amp, one with more clean headroom – but when you dime them they have that pissed-off dimed-amplifier sound.

Nowadays a lot of people are making vintage things. The reason is because a vintage Marshall sounds awesome and is better than anything Marshall is making today. I’m not trying to be insulting to Marshall, it’s just that a late ’60s Marshall is one of those pivotal pieces of music history and they’ve never been able to recreate it with any reissue.

So the reason punk guys are coming after my stuff is that’s the sound I’m going after, the same sound those guys are going after.

I know for a fact that very few of those guys have gotten wealthy off their music, but they love it so they’re still doing it. They’re still going after the ’50s Juniors and early ’60s SGs or whatever because of how they sound.

The other thing I like about the punk rock crowd is they won’t lie to me. If they don’t like it, they’ll tell me it sucks. You can’t buy these people. Everyone paid for their amps. None of those quotes on my website are endorsements. We don’t give amps to anybody.

Jonny 2Bags got rid of his ’68 and ’69 plexis to play my amplifiers. They’re gone – he doesn’t have them anymore – and that just blew my mind. Wow. I probably would have played my amp and kept the plexis, but he got rid of them.

This head just screams "punk" – to me, anyway (Satellite photo).

Your amps are relatively inexpensive for boutique amps. Why is that, and will it last?

Pricing has always been an issue. When I started this business, I had just shut down another business and had some spare cash from it which helped fund the guitar amplifier business. We did the NAMM show right when the whole economy fell apart – that’s right when we really started to push the production line [different amp models].

I had 35 different store [owners] come up to me [at NAMM] who said, “Your amps are amazing, we’d love to have them, but we don’t have the money and there’s no space in my shop. When we have it, we’ll give you a call.” At the time I’d just raised the prices, so I had to figure out what do. Raising prices when everyone has no money doesn’t work, so I figured, Let’s suck it up.

I’ve had to raise prices once since then, and will have to do again soon. So our amps are not cheap products, they’re just inexpensively priced right now.

Every time I raise prices, I’m also trying to bring something out that’s less expensive. The Little Bugger [prototype], which I had at the New York/New Jersey Amp Show, has a retail price right at $1,000.

Most musicians I talk to don’t have $2, $3 or $5,000 to buy an amp, especially in this economy. Most people, if they do that, they’ll do it once. So when all the amps go up $100 [this] month, I’ll put the Little Bugger in the product line.

I have another amplifier probably coming out – it may be at the Nashville Amp Expo – that I’m shooting for a $700 retail price point for, to make it less expensive to get into a Satellite amplifier.

Two other low-wattage amplifiers are in the works as well [at a low price point]. All of these lower-priced options are built just like the rest of the lineup: designed by us, and hand-built by us right here in my shop in San Diego. Nothing is ever outsourced.

Another product coming out is called the Luddite Attenuator. It should be at the Nashville Amp Expo. It’s an all-tube, all-analog attenuation device. It can handle 250 watts being pumped into it.

Cool! I really like the sparkly “bass boat” tolex on the heads. Is that kind of a signature thing?

The sparkly stuff isn’t all we offer, but it’s what I tend to bring to amp shows because it’s more attention-grabbing. The sparkle coverings are usually used as car upholstery fabrics.

Kustom Amplifiers used to do a tuck-and-roll version of their amps with similar cloth. A few other companies have used it as well. We just found a brand new supplier of amp coverings that I’m extremely happy with. Thirty-nine colors and patterns, all extremely durable. Check them out at the Nashville show.

The amp business can be tough, especially with all these cheap Chinese products on the market right now.

Cheap products that are poorly made end up hurting the entire industry, from the maker to the retailer to the player. Foreign-made knockoffs are really just hurting all the innovators they’re stealing from. Even when a major company decides to lower their build quality, it only hurts in the long run.

We know the course we’re going is the right one in the long term. We take a lot of pride in what we do, and we’re very family oriented. The makers, the retailers, even the players – we’re all in this together.

Notable

> No good YouTube videos of these stellar amps, unfortunately. Kind of a bummer. I will try to rectify it soon!

> Here is a description of each Satellite amp model, plus a downloadable price sheet.