JOHN BROWNE | AMPLIFIER HISTORY AND COLLECTION 

I met John at Pierre’s in Ft Wayne and he’s a super great guy and a standout super creative and original player!

Started with the trash Peavey Rage 108 and moved up to a Marshall 8080 a few years later. When I started gigging regularly, I opted for a Marshall 8100 with a pair of 4x12s and a Marshall Shredmaster pedal in front. That was my sound for years until I fell on hard times and had to sell most of my gear. Got my first 7 string several years ago and a Marshall Code 50 as a practice amp. Finally started playing "pro" again in 2019 and got myself a Peavey 6505+ with a Laney Ironheart cab and later, a Marshall 1960A I got for $100 when the band's practice space closed down. Recently acquired an Engl Savage 120 Mark II and a Mesa standard Recto cab and that combined with an Apex Preamp used as an OD and gate is now my main recording sound. Love your demos, man.

I really appreciate how humble and nice this dude is. Went through some tough stuff and now is just killin it and making me feel bad about my rhythm playing lol

loving the videos lately!

I started with a fender mustang 2, then I bought a peavey 6505+ 112 combo which sounded like shit through the sheffield speaker. Then I bought a bugera 1990 which is a jcm900 dual reverb clone paired with a harley benton 212 with v30s and I think it sounds monstrous with lower tunings, as well as on lead stuff. Now I have a peavey 6505+ head with a marshall 4x12 1960a cab with g12t75s in it. This rig sounds just huge. I can't wait to pair the peavey with a mesa oversized cab. I heard they sound even better.

Awesome video man, very well produced and interesting to watch and listen. You got me very curious about the VHT's

This is really an amazing and an informative video. I think all guitar players could relate to the journey you wenr through, to get your sound.

"i bought the ENGL because I thought it looks cool" thanks for making me feel better about my financial decisions. Looking to get an ENGL Ritchie Blackmore soon, or a Fireball 60, didn't decide yet.

i bought the Laney IRT studio after seeing you use one on the EMG TV videos. An awesome studio and home recording tool.

I love your videos, man! Could you do some videos about how you go about writing riffs, songs, how you dial in tones?

Man, great video! I’m a long time Laney VH100R user, incredible amps. I’m now running a Laney VC50 which is a 50watt combo version of the VH100R, it’s just as ridiculous!

Squier 15 watt amp, Fender Frontman 15, Line 6 Spider 212, Fender DeVille 410, Line 6 POD X3, EVH 5150 III, Peavey 6505+, Fender Frontman 25R, Line 6 HX Stomp, Orange PPC 412-C cab, and Orange PPC 112... Been a journey, but I LOVE my gear now.

My first amp was a Cox 10W combo. Then I got a Laney PL100 Bass which I still own. Then I bought a Mesa Boogie Walkabout Scout 112 which I regret selling. Now I own a Mesa Boogie M9 Carbine with a Darkglass 2x10 cab.

Ace vid John, I had the Marshall G30 and still have the Peavey 112 bandit. Great amp the Peavey, but so much feedback!! SKWEEEEEEE

My first amp was a Pignose! The legendary 7-100 .. Bought in '76 .. Still have it and it does work!

I had a VH100R until recently. It ended up living at a friends house so I never used it, and I traded it for a synth. But man, it's such a monster of an amp. I'd love to own one again one day.

Awesome video! I love seeing the journey people go through with their tone. My history isn't quite as big impressive, but I'm happy nonetheless. I started with the 30 Watt Line 6 Spider IV. After saving up a bit and asking my parents I had the chance to buy the Laney IRT 15 Head with Laney's 1x12 cab around my birthday. Later on i got myself a Boss GT-100 for effects and have been using it in conjunction with the ironheart for about 2 years and I absolutely love certain tones I can achieve with it. Especially the cab sounds very aggressive and responsive compared to other 1x12 cabs I've tried. My next plan is to get the AX 8 by Fractal and sell the GT-100 to hopefully get a bit more options when it comes to amp sounds since I like to go all over the place.

Ive owned multiple Marshall, line 6, and a few other brands here and there in the past. Current collection is the 5150iii stealth, 5150 script, and mesa dual rec rev G. The Mesa is hands down my favorite out of everything I've owned. Something about the feel that I love. Wish I started with a dual-rec from the get-go!!!

I remember when you guys came to Oakland in 2013 supporting Scale the Summit, you guys kicked ass and you and Ollie were running the Laney Ironheart heads through a full Mesa Boogie 4x12 backline. It was thunderous

My first ever amp was a Crate GX65. I loved it at the time, but looking back it was awful lol. I then graduated to a Peavey 6505 with a Peavey Triple XXX 4x12. I used it with a boss GE7 and an Ibanez TS9. It was massive sounding and still one of the best tones I've ever had. Wish I had stuck with it. Sold that and got a Randall RM20. It was a 20watt head from their modular series. I used the 1086 module(the Dan Donegan signature). The RM20 differed from the others because it only had a single module, but it had a built in gain/boost circuit. I loved it, but it was a one trick pony and I was just discovering my love for clean tones. I then bought a Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier. I used this amp for years with my Mesa rectifier 2x12(which I still have). I sold that amp and went through a slew of odd ball amps like a Jet City JCA100, a Jet City JCA100HDM, and a couple Fender Prosonics(a head and a 2x10 combo). Sold all of them lol. After all these I stumbled across my holy grail amp. A Mesa Boogie Electra Dyne 1x12 combo. I plugged it into my 2x12 and boosted it with an MXR Zakk Wylde overdrive. It was in between Lamb of God and Between The Buried And Me as far as tone! It is damn near a perfect sound! I still have it, but I've been trying to sell it. Debating whether I should or not. Somewhere along the line I felt the need to have a Peavey 6505+ and another Mesa Dual Rectifier. I have since sold both of those lol. I have a love hate relationship with those amps. Then out of nowhere I got a Badcat Cougar 50. It was there attempt at a Chinese made amp. It was great just not for me. As a birthday present a few years later, my father got me a Paul Reed Smith Archon. I still have it and I'm keeping It lol! It is so perfect in so many ways. I just gel with this amp so well. But, it's one glaring flaw is that damn effects loop being noisey and dropping my volume. My most recent acquisition was another Peavey 6505+. I got it second hand for really cheap. This particular one sounds like it already has an overdrive in front of it. It almost sounds like an EVH 5150iii stealth. It has to have been modded, but it's original owner swears it isn't. So past amps: Crate GX65 Peavey 6505 & the + Randall RM20 Mesa Dual Rec. X2(I really want to like these amps, but we just don't gel) Jet City JCA100 & HDM Fender Prosonic(head and combo) Badcat Cougar 50 Current amps: Mesa Boogie Electra Dyne 1x12 combo Peavey 6505+ PRS Archon

Thanks for the video John! My amp history is short, as I've actually owned only two amps: A Roland Microcube and ENGL Fireball 60 watt going into a Framus 2x12 cab (I fell in love with the sound when I heard Jeff Loomis play one). Currently hoping to get some pedals and a Torpedo Reload to go with the ENGL, wouldn't want to get evicted!

John Browne, I hope you read this. I just bought a Mess Rectifier Recording Preamp and 2:90 and it is hands down the greatest amp I have ever played.

I’m glad you said that about the 6505, I’m quite attached to my 5150 but always thought it felt odd to play though although I love the tone when bands use it

I had the original headphone vox amp that only worked when you taped the power button down, from that I got a fender mustang 25 when I was 14 and still had no clue how to dial it in from there I got the boss katana along with my first "real" guitar and it changed my entire life.

Awesome video. My first amp was 15 watt Fender Frontman back in 2003. Pretty soon I wanted better higain amplifier to match my heavier taste and acquired good old Marshall 8080 which I ended up using for almost three years with our garage level thrash metal band, before I bought my first modeler, Line 6 XT Live. At the same time I also bought my first seven string, Ibanez RG1527. I used Line6 for a while, but after couple of years and bands later I decided to go full on and bought H&K TriAmp MKII. That damn thing cost some serious money even as a second hand. Well, band at the time didn't last that long and ended trading TriAmp for Mesa Boogie F30. Eventually did some more downgrading and bought used X3 Live. Since then I've been mostly using modelers like Eleven Rack, Pod HD etc. Nowadays using Atomic Amplifire, which is kinda okay, but still having serious G.A.S. over Line6 Helix.

Hi John, first of all well done on a great youtube chanel! I've really enjoyed the content you've put out. My history of amps goes as follows: Marshall mg15, then marshall dsl40c, mesa mark V 25, fender 65 princeton reverb, and now Friedman Be-100. It took me a while to figure out what sound I was after but I can't think of anything bad of the friedman, it is just a magical amp. Cheers

My very first amp was a tiny Marshall 1 watt that i got with my first guitar from Argos haha. I then had a 15 watt Fender practice amp, line 6 Spider 2, Vox 5 watt modeller practice amp, Peavey Envoy 110, Blackstar HT 5 Metal combo. My current set up is a Laney Ironheart Irt Studio 15H (Previously Owned by Yourself) Zilla Fatboy 212 and a Line 6 Pod HD500X

I used to have a 5150, but just like you Limp Bizkit's ~2000 tone has always been THE tone for me, so I sold it and got a 2 channel rev. G, couldn't be happier :)

Got my first modeller the other day to experiment with, it's a pod x3 bean. I know there is a steep learning curve to get good sounds out of it but looking forward to the challenge.

Started with a Fender G-DEC (1st gen). It was a great bedroom amp to start playing, but I couldn't meet my demands after a few months. That's the only amp I've ever had. I then got a GT-10 in 2009, started playing with VSTs in 2014 and then got a Helix a year ago. I love the Helix, I don't see myself switching to something else anytime soon.

Sick vid dude

Here's my little list! 1. Fender Mustang I v2 (2013-present): My first ever amp! Had all the effects I needed at the time. Really loved using it, even though I haven't really used it to it's full potential with the Fuse software. Still love it for cleaner and slightly crunchy tones, but not for high gain. 2. Zoom G1Xn (2014-present): I once used my teacher's effects unit (Zoom 505II), and found it so much easier to use, that I had to get a multi-effects unit! I picked this one up used, and have used it exclusively, be it for small shows or for practice via headphones, until very recently. 3. Palco (cheap local Indian brand) amplifier (2017-present): I got this used last year when I found out that the Mustang isn't really good to put an effects unit in front. Find it really useful for practice and jamming without drums. 4. Line 6 POD X3 Live (2017-present): I got this used just two months ago, and really love it! It has everything I need now, and also acts as my interface for recording. So far, I've been able to get somewhat close to Monuments rhythm and clean tones! ;-)

Dude yesss this is a treat

My first ever amp was the peavey envoy 110 as well and now I currently rock a Mesa Boogie TC-50 with 6L6 tubes into a Mesa 2x12 vertical cab. I also have a Marshall JCM 900 SL-X which is a monster sounding amp but only a single channel not very versatile. The only amp I miss that I got rid of is my Mesa Single Recto 50 watt, it had a tighter sound than the duals and triples but still crazy thick and warm.

My first amp was a 15w Johnson combo.Super cheap but it did the job. Next up I've got a Hiwatt 50watt combo which I used for a long long time. After I sold it off I decided to go full software ampsim. Bought BIAS AMP and FX, a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 and some decent KRK Rokit monitors. Perfectly satisfied with the tones, more than enough for a bedrrom guitar player.

My first good amp was a Line 6 Spider Valve HD 100 with the FBV pedalboard I still have it and it’s an awesome amp but I recently upgraded to an EVH 5150 50 watt. As far as cabinets go I’m using a Mesa 2x12 with V30s.

Great video I’d love to hear a comparaison between the cabs!

I had a Mesa Rec Preamp with a Mesa 2:100, into a road king 4x12. I wasn't blown away. I now have a TC 50 and the road King 4x12. The mesa 2:100 was the loudest damn amp I've ever stood in front of. I never used it up beyond 1/4 volume.

My first amp was the Fender Mustang 3, then a Fender Champ X2, then a Blackheart Hot Head, then a Mesa Boogie Mark V, then a Kemper, then a Blackstar HT5, then a Suhr PT100, then a Mesa Boogie Roadster, then a Jackson Ampworks Fullerton, then a Mesa Boogie Mark IV, then a Jackson Ampworks Britain 30, then a Suhr SL68, and most recently a Peavey Invective.

I gravitated toward Mesa and Diezel type amp tones as my favorite for modern metal sound in my playing. Hot rodded Marshall and Soldano is great for classic rock and classic metal however. So a combo of these amp types works for me in finding my sweet spot of tone nirvana. I don't need crystal clear cleans most of the time and a Roland Jazz Chorus amp fits my clean needs if I have to use it.

My first amp is Ibanez 10G combo. I still have it. Then, I went modeling path and bought cheap Digitech RP55 which i sold after two years and bought Zoom G5, which I currently use for playing live. For home practice, I use LePou plugins (my favourite is Le456).

Past Amps: First one was a Randall RX20 (I think) combo. Decent clean, but the muddiest gain channel ever. Second was my brother's Line 6 Spider 2, 75 watt. Great amp with a lot of different channels and effects and you could save your all your presets. Current Amp: Mesa Boogie Mark V 5:35 combo. My dream amp and after years of saving, I got it. Endless possibilities as far as tone goes and the EQ is icing on the cake. Just incredible. Got a couple of effects pedals as well: Dunlop Crybaby Classic, TC Electronics Hall of Fame 2, and the Keeley DynoMyRoto

First amp that I got was the Hughes&Kettner Blue 30R (30W 1x10 Combo), that I still have today! My first real amp was a Laney IRT 60 with an Peavey Windsor 4x12. I ended up trading the IRT 60 for an IRT Studio. After the band I was playing in broke up I got rid of all the stuff and in 2016 I bought a Kemper Profiling Amp with an Crown XLS 1002! Perfect solution for me.

For the Q and A, what tunings do you usually use for 6, 7, and 8 string guitars, along with maybe some of your string gauges? Great video as always, Browne!

My first amp was a cheap little peavy amp, then I switched to a Vox Valvetronix 30W Combo, which I still own and use to play at home. I really enjoyed the 30W Vox, so I bought a used 100W head version of it, which I also stil own. Last year I finally got enough money to make a dream come true, I bought a Mesa Boogie Mini Rectifier. Hands down, Mesa Amps are just the best sounding amps you ca get.

Hahaha, I had a similar conversation: „Mom, if you just let me buy this piece of gear (Zoom G2.1u) I won‘t need any more gear in the future because it can do literally everything I would ever need. Please.“ I got it in the end, but how wrong I was :D My Amp list is pretty short. Started with a 15W Tenson Amp, horrible thing. My second one was a Crate 120W Transistor Amp Head and a Harley Benton 4x12 cab. Speaking of the Crate, I think it is somewhere in the basement. Then I bought a 6505+. For me the best Distortion Sound ever especially through a Mesa Cab. I had a 2x12H Rectifier. But I ended up selling everything (except of the Crate Head that nobody wanted) and got myself an Axe-Fx II a few years ago. So, no „real“ Amp in my house at the moment.

Morning john. Thanks for the history of your rigs. My history is short and sweet. My first amp was a roland cube 40gx. I bough that with my first electric guitar which was a made in mexico strat. I had this for a couple of years before i felt good enough to move away from blues rock and the pentatonic scales.....this is when the progressive metal bug hit me. I discovered Periphery and some ok band called Monuments.....haha....and i needed a new rig. So after months of searching i ordered and ibanez jbm100. Unfortunately the supplier i ordered it from neglected to tell me that the guitar was discontinued and offered me the cheap indonesian model instead....hahaha. fuck no. I wanted a new guitar with the prestige of japanese or american made badge on it. I took this as i sign because i had alreadt begun to second guess myself in the weeks and months after id ordered the jbm. So when it all fell through.....decided to go with my gut and get a 7 string. Cue weeks of searching for reviews and owners opinions. It came down to the mayones duvell elite baritone or the jackson juggernaut ht7.....the ht7 won and i have loved that guitar everyday since i got her. At the same time got myself a kemper profiler rack. Great amp. Love the sound. A little limited in how much u can change and build your own presets. Its more about profiling your ideal rig and tweaking it from there. Unfortunately i had to sell it to move house. And for a while i was stuck trying to play prog metal on the roland again and trying to get free vst's to sound good. (Which i did get just one to work) but the latency was driving me nuts. So i thought fuck it, and even though im still paying for the juggernaut and the kemper, i got myself the line 6 helix rack. Fucking love that box of magic mayhem. And havent looked back since. Now eyeing up a new 8 string....haha

It’s funny, cause my first real amp and modeler were some things you’ve used. Besides the Spider 15 I used growing up, I finally got my first real amp last year when I saved up and got a Laney Ironheart 120 and a Marshall 1960A 4x12. I love it, but once I got a Helix LT, I haven’t used anything else. It just solves all my problems so well. I never thought I wouldn’t want more gear, but here I am.

I had a little 10w marshall combo with a digitech rp20 running into it. Thought it was great. Then I picked up the 6505 mini head and wow is that thing a monster. gave the marshall to a friend and havent regretted it at all. Dead horse OD into the ffront of that 6505MH and itll do whatever you want it to.

1. Cruiser 15w practice amp. (Currently being used as a door stop by my dad) 2. Roland cube 15. 3. Peavey Studio Pro 112 transtube series. (Can get quite a cool metal rhythm sound out of it). 4. (Current) Marshall JCM 2000 TSL 60 w/ 1936 lead 2x12. I'm in love with it, sound awesome! Next amp purchase will most likely be kemper when the time comes, but not right now.

Nice to know that even the big ones started with a Zoom pedal in the sound modeling world =)

amazing video!! show us your live set up please

The first amp I bought as a beginner was a vox ad30vt. Had everything I needed that time. Swapped it for a Peavey Valvking MK1 half stack, back then when there were introduced. Horrible amp for metal^^. Got rid of the vk and bought a engl 530 pre into a engl 830 poweramp. Was probably the worst I had so far. Super compressed, not y present mids. Then sold it when the lanez ironheart came out. Got it fairly cheap new because of introduction price. Swapped some better preamp tubes in it and it was good to go. Then I had a highly moded jet city jca 50. Sold both to get a kemper rack. Never looked back since then. Now I wish I had tube amps again to profile them^^. Nice video john

Current rig (dont hate me lol) is a kemper power rack in a custom head case, into a zilla 2x12. First amp was a marshall 10 or 15w combo practice amp, I don't remember which one, its in my attic. Next I had an Orange Tiny Terror for years, which I traded for a Laney IRT Studio. When I decided to start playing guitar again I picked up an OG Pod from eBay and then later a Pod XT Pro. Currently I only have the XT Pro and the Kemper, they keep me happy in my little home studio.

I wouldn’t miss anything under Mesa Boogie, in which I don’t own; yet!! I remember my past amplifier’s( Sunn Beta Lead 410, Mitchell (Mark II Boogie Copy), Legend Rock N’ Roll 50( should’ve kept that one; tube preamp, solid state power amp; very loud but not “fat”). I reflect on them because, making decisions today, it helps to know what they could not do, so having a 3 channel amp (Bugera 333 XL Infinium + ElevenRack), have me not missing any of those amplifier’s, because I have basically all three in one package. I’d say I’m in a good place, thanks to some advances geared towards the betterment of Musical Equipment. We’ve come a long way since 1980( the year that brought Eddie VH, and Randy Rhoads, and many others 👍🏿👍🏿👍🏿👍🏿👍🏿), guitars and accessories could not remain stagnant. With so many directions to go, just make sure you won’t be changing your 6 months later, that’s how fast new developments, along with “copycatter’s”, make choices difficult, because there is really no distinction. The above mentioned guitar gear is 10+ yrs. and I see no need to “run out and buy something” just to be “the first lollipop on the block”(😂😂😂😂), when all I have to do is wait for the improved version, and watch for “steaming 😤 hate( that’s when you know, patience is 🗝). Be a yourself; don’t be a follower( Mesa Boogie; very good, but may not be for everybody.

John, for your FAQ at a later date, would you give us a run down on some 6 and 7 string tunings that you use please. I love the Monuments guitar tone and the tunings. Cheers man!

Past Amps 1) Fender Frontman 15g from a starter pack 2) Peavey Vypyr 30 Current 1) Blackstar Fly 3 w extension cab. (good to keep on the desk, very convenient for low volume). 2) Blackstar HT5HR 3) Bias FX PRO and Bias Amp PRO Wishlist 1) EVH 5150 LBX II 2) Mesa Dual Rectifier (Same reasons, I love Wes Borland). 3) Peavey or EVH 5150 4) High End Modeller, Kemper or Helix hardware 5) Helix Native Plugin

Amps in order: Ibanez starter pack 10watt combo amp, Line 6 spider 3 120w combo, Marshall MG100 half stack, and Orange Dark Terror, sold each to help get the next. Still have the Dark Terror but just bought the Line 6 Helix a year ago. Love that thing! For bass I had a Peavey max115 combo, A peavey half stack that I do not remember the name of but had the Cliff Burton sound and that was all it could do well (which at the time was my only bass ideal so it served its purpose) and finally the Fender Rumble 60 which I will probably sell to get a GK MB212 combo.

Really interesting John. My amp history isn’t that exciting. My first was a 10 watt peavey practice amp that I can’t even remember the name of at all. I got rid of it as quickly as I could. My Dad also lent me his Wem 50 watt amp which had a really great sound for rock stuff. I got a Marshall valvestate 8080 back in 1994 which I still have today. Great bloody amp for what it is. I shudder to think though how godawful I sounded with the distortion channel on full with a metal zone scooped to hell on full as well! I then saved up and bought a Yamaha fx550 effects processor the same year which I used to adore but sold it to fund the next purchase. It was soooo digital but I loved some of the crazy sounds it had in it. I got my first line6 back in 2002/3 which was a podxt. I still adore it to this day but I transferred it all into the podfarm app once I upgraded to a Helix a couple of years ago. I’ve never really had a chance to record myself via an amp so have always been limited to low volumes or DI’ing. One day maybe I’ll be able to crank an amp up really loud and record it though.

Awesome video dude. What was the deal with blackstar amps some years back?

Daaaaaamn you shoulda kept that savage! First amp was my dads bass amp. Then I saved and bought a Marshall AVT from a pawn shop. Then I wanted a tube amp so I got a old crate blue Voodoo 60 with the blue tolex. The speaker and combo cab were shit so I played that combo through a rack parametric EQ and an old Acoustic brand 4x12 that is massively oversized and I still use that. Then I saved and saved for a year and a half and bought a splawn promod. This is still probably my favorite amp I’ve owned and I regret selling it. Then I decided I wasn’t going to play metal anymore and if I wanted to I can get a pedal. So I traded that Splawn for a Bruno Cowtipper 22 which is probably the “nicest” amp I ever had. Had amazing cleans and light dirty and seriously the best sounding reverb you could imagine. It handled the metal okay with pedals too. Then I started another metal band and I knew the Bruno wouldn’t produce the right tones I wanted so I traded it for a top end Mexican strat plus cash. After all I strats I’ve played that ones still my favorite. I financed a EVH 5153 50w from American musical supply and had that a good long time. I really enjoyed all the channels on that amp but there was a huge volume jump between the green (clean) channel and blue (gain 1) channel and those were the two sounds I stuck with. This made it impossible to gig with for what I wanted. So that band broke up and I thought I’d try clean amps again. Traded that for a brand new at the time Fender Hot Rod Deville. For what it is it’s a great little amp and loud as Hell but it couldn’t be a versatile as I wanted and amp to be. So I traded that for a early nineties Strat Ultra which is sick. Then I bought a Mesa Boogie Mark V:25 which I really really loved everything about but I joined a new metal band and at the volumes we were playing and practicing I could just tell that 25 watts didn’t have the right headroom I wanted. So I traded that for a beat up old Mesa Mark IV which is my current amp. I can’t decide if I like this amp or not. Some days it slays and others it’s dull and uninspiring. I am constantly on the fence about selling it for something that fits my needs better or simply keeping it and finding ways to tune it up or boost that sound. If anyone has a recommendation for an amp that can do inspired cleans + pushed tones, a nice tight metal rhythm tone and an amazing lead tone that can play good quiet and loud enough to keep its tightness at volume for around 1200 bucks let me know. I’ve been thinking about a VHT SigX or one of those new Hughes& Kettners with the attenuators built in.

the first amp i used was a roland cube, then i got an orange 1x8 practice amp, then i got a line 6 spider 4 (garb), then i got an evh 5150iii, sold my 5150iii to get a helix. havent looked back since. currently i have an orange 2x12 vab

would love to see a video of you dialling in your clean tones

Make a video about tour survival tips! Thank you!

First amp was a Peavey Vypyr 2, traded it for 2X12 Spider 4 which i kept twice as long. Was going for H&k Grandmeister or laney 40w but aftet i played yhe Blackstar id 150 head through the Diezel straight cab at GC, sold

I like these videos :D I started out on one of my fathers amps and an ARIA Distortion Pedal from waaaaay before I was born. The Amp was "Rock", I guess originally intented to amplify keyboards or something like that. No Low-End whatsoever. Then I "upgraded" and bought a SQUIER 15 watts practice amp with the shittiest overdrive channel known to men XD Just a mush of random overdriven pulp, but fairly acceptable with the right EQ settings and the ARIA pedal. NOTE: I used a cheap Tele copy and later a cheap Strat, both with single-coils. Then a neighbour, former keyboardist, was giving away some amp combo, 2x12 I think, just a power-switch, volume, bass and treble knob. Sounded like shit with my cheap V copy and the god awefull humbuckers, but guess what? I plucked the guitar into the ARIA Distortion, went into the Squier practice amp, sculpted the clean channel with the EQ and used the headphone-jack to connect to the 2x12 :D Still sounded like shit, but was loud and had low-end. Then a friend bought a DIGITECH Metal Master Pedal and lended it to me. In hindsight still no really usable sound but leagues above the shitty ARIA Pedal. That must've been a pretty oldschool deathmetal sound. Then came the time of the first Band activities. I played the gigs using whatever gear was available in the backline or lending something like a Rath-Amp Stagemaster or something from a friend. Then I bought the first "propper" amplifier: a Fender FM212. Good for the stuff I was doing at the time yet completely useless for metal tones. Then the first usable amp: a Peavey Vypyr 75 modeling amp. Used it live, recorded a CD with it and loved the things sound. Lacked low-end and volume due to the 75 watts and the one 12" speaker it had. Then I bought my first head: a Peavey Valveking. Sold that one off to afford an ENGL Fireball 60 that I still use. My setup is pretty straight forward: Guitar->Polytune->Noise-Gate->Ibanez WD7-Wah->ENGL->shitty 4x12 in the rehearsal room. But what more do you need for Thrash Metal? :D Sorry for the long post. Keep it up!

Had that peavey envoy!! Liked it too, but its broken now. lol.

John, please upload your Boss GEQ 7 and the TS 9 settings when you were using it at the past i'm so curious with that....,,

Awesome history! Just thought I'd point out (just because you didn't mention it, so I'm not certain if you knew) that VHT cab isn't a part of the famous VHT amps/cabs and "dry" tone they are famous for. That cab was made after they sold the copyright for the name "VHT" and they changed names to Fryette.

gear envy!! :-D

Actually I really miss your LANEY era. It was brutal as hell. Your IBANEZ+EQ+NS2+OD+LANEY IRT.. it was so good. I'll gonna buy IRT by the way.

СПАСИБО !!!!!!!!!!

I gotta just say: your picking hand is unreeeeeeal.

used to have that same iteration of the Bandit... never could play with the gain past 2

I've had quite a few amps I regret letting go of. My issue was that I kept getting good sounding amps and then trading them off thinking I could find something better. Seems like I have had the best luck with Mesa Boogie so I kept going back to their stuff. Ones I really regret letting go of.. *Splawn Super Comp *VHT Pittbull 100 CL *VHT Deliverance I had a block letter 5150 and a signature style logo 5150 at the same time. I believe the block letter thing is hype. I couldn't tell a bit of difference between them.

It would very cool to see the sound you can get out of the Laney VH100r.

How do you run your Helix and amps live? It would be great to know the configuration, signal chain. I have bought Helix rack myself few month ago, but I couldn't get a dicent dirty, metal sound out of it (have tried with houndreads different IR's as well). Now I have bought EVH5150III and I'm using it with a load box from two notes (Captor) plugged into my Helix, but this is not a good solution. The signal level comming out from DI of my Loadbox is too high, I need to find some other solution. Any ideas from your experience would be much appreciated :). BTW: I have been a big fan of your band Fellsilent and I'm a big fan of Monuments - hope to here some new material soon.

Many agree that Line 6 Helix tends towards a more digital kind of sound specially distortion when compared to axe fx 2 being more towards natural, maybe due to the price difference and different manufacturers. However, your overall setup with amps and presets makes the sound pretty heavy and unique to my notice.

My first amp was a Marshall mg30 dfx which I played until I had my first ever amp head: a Mesa Triple Rec. Didn't like how the Mesa so i traded the amp for an Engl Powerball 2 (which I currently have). I'm not totally happy with the Engl either: it's a great sounding amp (a bit too dark imho) but in a live scenario or in a mix it' doesn't cut through , no matter how I eq the amp. After watching the TC videos and demos, the idea of going back to Mesa is very tempting. I'm really looking forward too hear your thoughts on the 100w version.

Right now I have an eleven rack and a marshall mg30. I honestly prefer the marshall. I should have bit the bullet and bought a mark 5 like I really wanted at the time. Now I cant afford it. I'm tonally challenged, so to speak.

Q&A request!: what are some tips you have for recording bass in such low tunings as drop F?

Had a Roland micro cube to a peavey Viper to a PRS Archon 100 adding on an EVH 5153 , a Supro black magick reverb and a Friedman BE 100 DLX and going to add a Soldano SLO 100

its 2024 and im still using line6 UX1 and toneport from 2005 for all my recordings lol.

Cardboard 70s "no name" amp, Traynor Practice Combo, Marshall AVT 100 half-stack (sold), Orange Rockerverb 50 MK I (sold), Orange PPC 212 with V30s (still own), Orange Dark Terror (sold), PRS Archon 100 (main head), Captor with WOS

vox valvetronix ad30vt-xl - the only amp i've ever had for the last 10+ years. John, maybe you can convince Mesa Boogie to send me one of their amps haha. Really dig the Mark V 1x12 combo.

Clothes history next!

Hey John, I have the TC-50 right now with EL34 going to an Engl XXL Pro 4x12 cab and I used to play with Mesa cabs but recently got a deal for an Engl Cab. I like the tighter bottom end and sparkling sounds but it seems that since I changed the Engl cab my overall gain sound with the TC-50 dropped... I'm wondering if with 6L6 it would be a better combination with the Engl 4x12. What do you recommend? Great video by the way and I am really digging your music also! Cheers

I would love to see your workflow, how you right and record a song. Maybe something like Devin T. did...?

Nice amps, how much i would give for a Mesa, haha :D My story is also a rather short one: First amp was a Kustom 16R practice amp together with a third-hand Squier Affinity Strat as my first electric guitar. Both were super shitty. Not only that the guitar was in bad shape, the volume was also always in the way, I rolled it off by accident a thousand times while strumming/right-hand picking, I always scratched on the middle pickup with my pick and the neck was a big chunk. Got rid of both, now I have a Randall RD20 with a Randall 4x12 Cab. My guitar since two years is an Epiphone Les Paul Custom MKH. Both are super awesome, but Im not in a band and the 20W tubehead is way too loud for a practice amp. I like the playability of the LP, but Im looking for something without EMGs, smaller frets and something more lightweighted. Thanks to you im considering an Ibanez 7-String, a POD and a Laney IRT Studio, because of the variety of tones you can get out of it at reasonable volume. And of course I want to make music in the Monuments, Tesseract, The Contortionist area ;) Finally, I want to ask you for a video: Pleeeaasee do a tutorial on Milton Cleans! :D How you track them, how you recreate them live, how you would do a POD patch or how you would recreate the sound on a small budget. Im sure Im not the only who would love to see this ;) I love your videos , as well as your music. After reading in an interview you guys pretty much broke making the album, Im glad I bought The Amanuensis some while ago ;) Gnosis will be next :D Keep making awesome videos and music for us John ;)

Line 6 spider II 1x12" combo was great for years of practicing. 6505 mh into mesa 2x12" with OD/noise gate in front sounds huge for my office. What do you think about the use of the evertune bridge in your style of music? I've been considering getting a guitar with one installed because I hate tuning.

Also, I bought a POD X3 live because I heard a lot of your stuff with the POD that impressed me. I ended up selling it off to get one of those Line6 Spider Valve amps, and boy do I regret it. The thing was more spider than it was valve, to be perfectly honest, and doesn't touch on anything that the POD or vetta stuff before it did. A waste of a cool concept, I'd say.

- Roland Micro Cube - Peavey VYPYR 30 - Laney IRT-Studio (Got it after seeing you playing it :D), got a Zilla Fatboy cab and later a EVH 5153 2x12 And now I've been using the Atomic AmpliFire direct/monitor or through the effects loop of a lot of heads, most of the time it sounded good but I'm planning on picking up a Kemper soon, I don't know if I'll go with a cab or direct/monitor yet, thoughts on this John?

1) Crate G15 / received in 1984 2) Crate G60 3) Hughes & Kettner Attax 200 2x12 combo 4) Mesa Dual Recto Two Channel purchased used in 1998 5) Hughes & Kettner Tubeman through a Carvin acoustic amp 6) Soldano SL 60 7) Engl Fireball 60 8) Randall RM 100 Modular head that has been modded by Jaded Faith mods. Will never get rid of this one. / still have, purchased I think 2010. Has modules Blackface, Plexi Plus, Ultra

What are your thoughts on the kemper? I own one, and have some killer profiles on it.. meshuggah recorded their newest album close by from where I live, so they borrowed it, and I now have all their amp profiles on it including their bass profiles .. which is cool, but Im actually thinking about selling it, cause I still miss something raw.. well its hard to explaine... but maybe a real amp and Two Notes Torpedo?? My touring days are over, and I'll just be a home music maker... but will still need killer sound ... what do you think? .. is it just GAS, or do you have some tips on kemper? Torpedo? .. thanks for your great videos ;) .. Mads

i recently purchased the line 6 POD X3 Live because i feel its not outdated yet and i heard its an upgraded version of thee XT whiich you used to get Monuments tones. I run it in front of a tube clean channel of a Peavey combo. Can you tell me the best amp and cab model I can use to get your dirtty tone? when i first heard "I The Destroyer" I was blown away at how raw and ballzy this tone was, I never heard anything with such attitude and depth.

Hi John, I have your old Savage Special Edition which I bought from you. I've been on & off with guitar over the years but I could never sell it but sold my others, playing it most days now in to a Framus Dragon 4x12.

Do you ever find yourself using the Helix for anything other than effects and clean tones? I know that early on with the POD XT you used it for quite a bit of your heavy sounds. And while I'm sure having a honest to goodness dual rectifier kind of makes using a modeler for that tone a bit moot, I love the Helix's updated twist on the original big bottom model (Badonk in the helix), and their normal Dual rectifier in there as well. Though I tend to use the Badonk a bit more.

I started out with some two notes le preamp pedals, then I moved on to a positive grid bias head and a two notes torpedo

Is that a vocal reflection shield at 11:49? I've never seen that used on a guitar cab before.

John can you elucidate on the 2:90 vs the 2:100 as a power amp for the Rectifier Recording Pre and why you prefer the 2:90 specifically? I have a Rectifier Recording Pre (in limbo at a shop for the past 4 years but that's another story) and a 2:100. I currently use the XT PRO into my 2:100 for live gigs and it's sufficient but I miss my Rec Pre...