Cranking a Massive Vintage Fender Tube Amp 

God bless your neighbour.

Wear ear plugs folks. You dont want to end up being a deaf musician. Trust me, I'm 65 and speaking from experience.👍

Even aside from the sound, the image of a player holding a Strat next to a stack nearly as tall as he is is just the platonic ideal of "guitar."

Matt, this is your neighbor in Kentucky. You woke grandpa up from a nap again. He loved it.

People say nothing is perfect. I then tell them to listen to the tone in this video.

Okay. This has to be one of the coolest tones EVER! That Firebird sounded great, but that amp was MADE for a Strat!

It's so choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up. - F. Bueller

I've got this amp's BIGGEST brother, the insane Fender 400PS. A 90 pound head, 435 watts RMS all tube. I've dimed it, it takes three speaker cabinets to handle the power, and it's just NUTS...but sounds wonderful.

I thought playing my 40 watt Marshall combo in a small room was absolutely deafening, can’t even imagine what this is like hahaha

Got One, With 2 2x15 Bottoms, My "Buddy" Bought It "New" In the Spring of '73. Helped Him Drag It from the Pickup to the Garage - "Mine Now" - Great Amp!!!!

It would probably be so cool to just sit on that couch, chill, and listen....

As for ear plugs, some shun them for the sound being more dull (ironic that that will cause your hearing to becom omre dull earlier forever) - there are specifically made ear plugs for listening to music, which dampen more evenly over the spetrum than some run off the mill plugs.

Thank You for telling everyone You wore earplugs, Your level of expertise and transparency are unparalleled. Long live You! God bless 🙏🏻

Absolute YES in regards to earplugs. The first drummer of the band I'm in kept ignoring the rest of us repeatedly telling him to get some earplugs. Part of the reason he quit was because he said he was struggling to hear us talking between songs at rehearsals and was generally losing his hearing. At that time he was in his early thirties. It's really no joke. I don't have high quality earplugs at all (cost less than £10) but I can stand right next to a PA speaker at a gig and have little to zero ringing in my ears afterwards. I will invest in some proper music earplugs that are moulded to my ears at some point, but while live music is still absolutely dead, I can't really justify it.

Holy shit that tone is like a dream. That amp could probably blow the roof off your house if you wanted it to

A Chris Buck/Matthew Scott collab would be awesome one day!

There was a time where this was the norm. It wasn't usual to see people playing full Marshall Stacks in a small pub.

using this amp is like my theory on playing drums, I’m in as long as I don’t have to move ‘em

I really appreciate you adding the earplugs disclaimer. I wish more fellow players had harped on that when I was younger!

I'm listening to this on the speaker of a 75 dollar moto walmart phone and it still sounds dope as fuck. More importantly, I can see you vibing to the tone and letting it direct you. You're so overtaken and in that zone and it's such a hard feeling to explain but yet here we are with you making me feel it.

Apparently 50+ years of amp development has done nothing to improve amp tone. Quite the opposite, in fact. Great vid. Thank you.

Many of us 60+ year old players have to play that loud just to be able to hear the sound,when you blow your hearing out it is definitely not fun,yelling at each other just to have a conversation sucks,and your advice is important,wear hearing protection,it only took one loud gig to blow my good ear out,not only do I suffer from ringing in the ears occasionally but I've lost the ability to hear certain frequencys,year's of tree work didn't help much either,chippers,chasawsawect.can effect your hearing too,one day of sustained loudness and you like me could suffer forever after,plug up kids.

Saw The Pink Fairies at the old Kensington Town Hall, with Gong opening for them, at Christmas 1973 and Larry Wallace played through a Dual Showman with matching cab. It was UNBELIEVABLY loud :-)

That Firebird is special! It cuts right through while staying warm. Unmistakable sound.

hey matt! its the guy that bought the '65 super reverb off of ya not long ago. she sings!!!

1:35 Strat with pu on 4 on a crancked clean Fender amp, there's nothing in the world that can beat that tone....

Amen with the earplugs thing. For those of you who don't think you need to worry while you're young - I started playing in bands age 18 - the ringing in my ears that started and never stopped began one night when I was only 25.

In 1969 I was doing what you are doing now. You can look forward hearing loss and tinnitus. Take my word for it.

Would love to hear you mess with some David Gilmour tones...! A little out of your realm - but Id like to imagine you would dig his screaming fuzz tones from Dark Side, or his hammering big muff tones. Great tunes, really love your style and playing.

Sounds great as usual, Matt! Funny you ask about bringing a rig like this to your local open mic.. A local guy used to show up with a Marshall stack to a small bar/ restaurant open mic. We'd have Princetons, Deluxes, Blues Juniors, etc. that were plenty loud for the place. Didn't take too many times before the owner told him to never bring that thing back again! 😆

In 1978 my rig in high school was an 85watt Fender Showman head w 4 6L6's run through an 8x10 Marshall Hot Dog cabinet. My uncle got it from his guitar player who had bridged the channels together and stuck a master volume into one of the 1/4" inputs. I had a really small Decca amp that couldn't cut it, so he said "here use this". That rig absolutely SCREAMED. I played a bolt neck Bradley Les Paul copy through it. Suffered 30% hearing loss in my right ear because of that rig.

I had a dual showman non reverb in the early 70’s! Two JBL D130 speakers, four 6L6GC power tubes! Sweet!

I borrowed one of these amps in the mid 70's from Kosmic Sounds, Perth Western Australia after I had blown up three Marshall 100w heads in short time. First gig was a long narrow room and I had trouble hearing the amp. Then I looked down the room - the crowd was "plastered" to the back wall.

There’s a drip edge 68 dual showman reverb head 20 miles away from me on Facebook marketplace... really tempting me

Wow. I would love to live beside you!

You knew how great this was going to sound. I have a 68 Fender Bandmaster, 200 watts, going to two 4x12 cabinets, the feedback is legendary, I took years saving and building this thing and love it!! Jimmy Hendrix would dig this rig!

Matthew, I know your Strat is a classic monster and your tried-and-true but that Firebird in your hands really gives a young player like you a distinctive look. It's unusual and unique and at least over RU-vid, sounds pretty damn good, too.

If i were your neighbor i would plan my week by the sounds coming from your house. Every day it would be like, Mathew is doing another RU-vid video, time to call in sick and be amazed today. I'm glad i live in Canada because if i lived next to you i wouldn't have a job.

2/2023: You just can't beat a 1969 Dual Showman! I loved them "back then" and still do. No tiny amps in those days. I've been a drummer since 1964 and guitar player also. I'd love to have one. Excellent "toy" and great playing. My first guitar player had a 1964 or 65 Gibson Firebird. I Just bought a '65 Super Reverb Reissue. Best Regards to you, as always.

I spent alot of years playing a 73 P-bass thru the matching silverface Bassman 2x15 stack...and I can personally testify that not only my hearing, but my back suffered serious damage because of it. However...no other amp before or since can produce THAT TONE!

That's one of the most powerful guitar sounds I've heard online for sure. Sounds amazing. When you turned on the fuzz holy crap. That wah sounds great too. I can't imagine what it was like in the room. And obviously none of that sounds good without a fantastic player such as yourself!

Thats why I play with an acoustic guitar player and a stand up bass.

Who thumbs downs this....? That just baffles me. The joy of hearing someone blow theirs and our faces off with a loud and GIANT Fender amp is just awesome!! Props and cheers to you man! Great Video!

A fellow named Dick Dale was the inspiration for the creation of that amp and cabinet.His contribution to popular music is hugely overlooked.

You people keep talking about his neighbors. Maybe he lives in the country like me. No neighbors for miles, no problem with cranking up.

Love your playing style man keep shredding!!!!!!

My mom's boyfriend was a jazz bass player, and he used to play a standup bass through a Dual Showman. He used to cram a standup bass, the 2X15 cab, and the head into an old 60's BMW. I remember seeing this thing with equipment hanging out of the windows and trunk, but he made it work. His band did a lot of Oscar Peterson, and to hear a standup bass through a Duall Showman was a sound to behold.

Back in the day we all carried stuff like that. I used to have Two Dual Showman enclosures with Altec D-140s in them powered by a Twin Reverb. Our lead guitarist played twin Vox Super Beatles. Our bass player had twin Sunn Enclosures.

Love a strat, but that bird through that stack sprouted wings and flew.

Sounds incredible Matthew! I dig the power of the Firebird, but I prefer that beautiful, pure Strat wail. Thank you for your videos. They bring me lots of joy.

Literally bought a 1968 Fender Showman Reverb yesterday, with matching cab. It’s amazing.

I won't apologize here for what was, for what is or for what will be, but, I wish everyone would understand what it means to stand in this cloud of sound, this experience is unique, 🤷‍♂️ sorry, I have it not made up, but I was there!!! 😂 Rooooooaaaarrrr....THX Matthew 🔥.. It's just wonderful

I had one just like yours, back in 69" to 74'. When Bo Diddley used to tour in the early 70's he'd travel alone, with just his guitar. The club/venue would hire a cover band to learn his sets, then they had to supply him with an amp. His fave was a Dual Showman Reverb. So this Boston venue rented mine for the weekend. Yes I did meet Bo. All he said is that he wished he could tour with my amp. It was virtually new. You forgot one of the all time great guitarists who toured with Dual Showman Reverbs. Peter Green, Fleetwood Mac, used them in the late 60's. Saw them at the Boston Tea Party two of the three nights they recorded that infamous live album. Front row both nights. One the best shows I've ever seen.

Awesome, all the pedals sound great, that' ts 10 my favorite. Can't wait to hear what your working on in the studio. Thanks for keeping the blues alive!

Not really my bag stylewise or tonewise but it definitely nails that style 100%. I love seeing people enjoying vintage equipment and using it the way it was intended instead of collecting dust in a display.

Omg I'm grinning!!! You entered a time machine and were transported back to 1975. I'm soooooo happy for you and jealous too. Congratulations, keep rocking!!!😊👍❤

Incredible tones!! Would’ve loved to hear a good Les Paul cranked through this massive stack too though… Would certainly be a surreal experience to be in the room and feel all that air being pushed by the 15”s as each note resonates….

“Clean tone” 🤟🏻 sounds wicked man! 😂🎸

I've got one sitting in my dining room. I've only gotten to bless my neighbors with it a little bit so far but their Time is Gonna Come. 😂

I always find myself laughing out loud at your playing and tone because the whole package is so badass.

I'm glad to hear that you wore ear plugs!

I recently got a new budget amp but my skill level can't do the damn thing justice xD It's the Fender Champion 50XL It's a good ol' thing

4 - 6L6's..... jeez. I used to be a roadie for a band years ago and we had a box of them. They are a premium now. Nothing better than a tube amp. The old Marshall's were awesome but love the Fender and a Rheem

I've always liked those old big Fender amps. It's just at the end of the gig at 4 am when you have to get them in your car that you don't like them !! LOL

Johnny Winter and Stevie Ray approved ✌🏽✌🏼❤️🇺🇸💙

I'm a Stratocaster fan until the day I die, but this Gibson tempts me.

I have the same rig in my bedroom the dual showman stack and a jtm45/100 with the 2 4x12 cabs loaded with greenbacks for lower volume I used a blackface Vibrolux reverb all are awesome amps! it’s funny to hear a drummer play a couple houses over and I listen to him and jam to what he’s playing even though we never met lol

In my situation I can only crank an old tweed amp. But if you have the chance try it out. Playing a tube amp flat out changes everything. In one word it’s dynamics. You have total control over everything. It makes volume and tone controls so much more useful. The sound is obviously so different when tubes, transformers and speaker are all working hard. It’s another experience to what we typically have with low volume with pedals.

As a bassist I can say “ If it’s too loud, your too old”. AMPEG

Was setting up my Mesa Bass gear one night in a country pub in Ireland. A wee old lady said to me " Is that very loud"? I am no chicken myself and said " I suppose it depends where you live"

Hey Matt, that thing screams! I have loved Twins since my childhood, In the 1980's, playing through my Pop's 66' Twin Reverb. He was an SRV clone before it was even a THING! So loud and clean and chunky. More power to you my brother, spread the good word of the Blues...

Back in the late 60's, early 70's..I had a Fender Bandmaster, and a Dual Showman, the same Vox you have, a 1967 Rickenbacker 12 string that I used as a 6 string, and, a 1969 Gibson ES335 12 string, cherry...got married in '73, like a foo, sold it all to a pawn shop in Dayton Ohio....

You have your own distinct sound, which is incredibly difficult to cultivate, your playing sounds different from every other blues guitarist I have heard, your lead runs are unique and potent , which makes it even more amazing, I cant help but turn the volume up when i watch one of your videos, cant wait to hear what your are recording with your band, fantastic playing as always

“We love our new house but we have a amp problem”

nice lil ampy :) - and I started wearing earplugs @age 14, when I started to play drums, and ALWAYS wore and wear them, when rehearsing, when gigging, when going out to disco or live concerts, EVEN IN AIRPLANE, TRAIN and sometimes car! you'll B surprised about how RELAXED you arrive @your destiny with less static 8-)

That firebird & amp might be the best tone I’ve heard on your channel 🤤

Man, you should be giggin' out with another couple of guys: Mayer and Bonamassa.

you have no idea how great we sounded together....on my end..lol

Nothing better than a cranked fender. I dial up my ‘68 drip edge pro and shit get nuts. My neighbors love me!! Lolol.

you have literally one of TH EBST tones ever. i wish my cheap mexican strat sounded that good. i bet it would in your hands (:

This is how I lost 40% of my hearing. We couldn’t afford monitors in the 80s and tended to stand in front of my 1959slp. WEAR PLUGS (or use ear monitors)!

May I call this a Veterans' Day salute to Jimi Hendrix, who was a veteran? Beyond that, having watched several of your vids, you have a bad case of what is called 'rockin' pneumonia, and boogie woogie flu.' Son, there is no cure. Big amps, yes, nothing like it. Chuck Berry put it in every contract 'promoter must supply two Fender Dual Showman amplifiers.' Heaven help the promoter who didn't get the right stuff ,there was a stiff penalty before Chuck would hit the stage. JBL 15" are my favorite too, what we bolted in West Amps cabinets for all Flint Mi production. We knew loud, and you are finding the magic. Thanks,,,

And that is the dual showman 4 6L6 power tubes vs. a Bandmaster that only had 2 6L6 power tubes, A band down the street from me growing up, the lead player had one of the Bandmaster setups, he would blow us out of the room with that, I cannot even imagine the Showman which would be even louder.

Now that is a full body experience playing in front of that amp. You will never get that kind of tone from any modeler or digital amp today. This made my day. Thanks for posting this. Now I want to go buy a used Fender Twin. I had one a while ago but sold it. Great post.

You're very talented and play better than me after three decades. Have a lousy day!

Ever played a Super Six reverb? 6 10" speakers. Crazy ass amp.

You have a great SRV tone there. I have a very similar Fender Bandmaster. I think it have the identical cabinet with two 15" JBL's where the amp locks into the cabinet with two bolts. Other than a small dent on the face, its immaculate with original tubes.

So glad I watched this with headphones in. If you didn't you need to get a pair, come back, and rewatch.

Would you do a tour of your collection of 2020 would really like to see your wepons of huge tone

Question: I looked at your gear list and that’s over $100k worth of guitar and amps. How do you afford all of that? You certainly have the talent but is music your profession or just a hobby?

Love Fender, back in the day I had a Fender tube amp and really wish I'd held onto it. Cheers.

I got a great start on my tinitus standing in front of one of these but with a SG Standard. Great memories

starved of live music, a one man jam will do just fine. Support live music.

Meanwhile i'am afraid to crank my 1977 Fender Vibrochamp..

I used to gig with my ‘73 Bandmaster Reverb back in the ‘80s. 45 watts dimed through a 2x12 cab was enough to kill all the high-frequency hearing in my left ear. I can’t imagine what 100 watts sounds like.

8:37 - I could practically feel that wall of sound crushing my ribcage and sinuses all the way to SoCal. Love it!

I didn’t think this tone was still obtainable! Had to sub immediately. Wow!

I played one of these in high school stage band. I took it out for a benefit for (normal) with the guys from War to play for legalizing pot.....omg that was 41 years ago....rock on 1969.

Great to here the old amplifiers. I still love cranking up my 66 Bassman

Oh hell yeah. To the amp and guitar. I don't know about open mic night, but for a show, hell yeah!