Pete Thorn - Dialing In An Amp 

This is a cool video with a bunch of great tips for dialing in a bunch of great amps I’ll never, ever be able to afford. Shout out to all the other basement rockstar dads out there.

Pete just seems like such a cool freakin' guy.

Great reminder of what a real rock and roll amp sounds like. That Marshall is a beast

I've had a '79 Lead 50 since the early 80's which has exactly the same controls as the JMP. Pete has just shown me where I've been going completely wrong for far too long. Top man

Love these Pete Thorn/TC videos - He certainly knows how to tweak a tone!

Man, this is the best Marshall tone I have seen in a long time, thanks Pete Thorn!

Man, the Honey Pot through cleanish Marshall is KILLER! Totally stealing Pete's line about edge of breakup depending on "what school you're from."

RU-vid can not capture the power and scariness of a 100 watt head and a 4x12 rig but Two great sounding amps!! Good job Pete!! 🤘

that Marshall tone is damn inspiring

This is the only channel content I've come across that explains amplifier gain with such direct simplicity. So many channels with people using beautiful vintage amps on low settings, then stomping on a pedal to display gain characteristics or featuring a pedal this way.This does no justice to the true character and performance of a vintage tube amp or the pedal for that matter. My 65' Bandmaster at 4 with an overdrive is nothing like going straight through on 8. Thank you again for doing these demo's as well as the Fender combo one!

Aw man. I haven’t heard a Marshall sound that good for ages. I always learn something watching Pete. Good work guys.

Pete... Your playing is amazing and your enthusiasm is infectious but the fact that you share your knowledge is really appreciated.

Pete has to be one of the best players for dialing in a great tone with just about everything he touches! Solid video

Pete is the best. Great player and top notch guy. He's Canadian to boot!

Pete is the tone master! What a wealth of knowledge this guy has!

Thanks for this video! There's a shit ton of players who do not realize that Master volume on an amp is essentially the volume for the Power tubes whereas Channel volume is volume for the Preamp tubes. The two sets of tubes have their own volume. With the master all the way up and channel volume low...you get this spongy sound that's way more akin to Rock/blues. With the master down and the channel volume up is more high gain for like Metal and it tightens up the sound. There's so many players that do not realize the reasons why there are master/channel volumes. Master volume is for loudness coming out of the power tubes. Channel volume or in this case preamp volume is for the EQ and gain stage volume. Experimenting with these two volumes can have incredible results on your playing!

9:35 "I'm a wolf child girl, And I'm howling' for you-ah, Wild Flower"!!

That AC sounds absolutely incredible man I could die.

Some of my favorite amps! Amazing sound.

The gain is so rich with both amps. Will have to look at adding some more chime to my marshall tones at some point : )

This is the culmination of my search for tone. Thank you!!!

Man Im havin to do this as a loner. Your music sounds just like I can imagine it , good! The more I listen it tells me how hard ill have to work to be as good. Thanks for your work.

I have a 1978 JMP 2203 I got put back to stock. This vid has really helped confirm my amp tech has done a great job with how Pete went through all the controls. Master on 4 is way loud though.

2 years after it still the best sound I've ever listened to...

For a minute I thought I was watching the Food Network. Learning how to cook up some tasty jams.

Man that JMP sounds killer, sounds like an old '77 I had, God I miss that amp.

Holy shit the sound of that Marshall!

Pete is the man!!! The only thing I would like is for Pete to warm people about the problems amps turned up this loud can produce to your hearing. Search for tinnitus, hyperacusis and sensorineural hearing loss to see what problem you might get if you don't protect your hearing. The amps sound amazing but we need this kind of tone at safer volumes.

I swear that a lot of the "classic plexi" tones that folks rave about are actually these JMPs and 800s. Such a great sounding amp - though I think I may have to get a Pete Thorn installed on mine.

Ladies and gentleman, the reason why I’m going to pursue a career in guitar. ROCK N ROLL PETE!!

That Rush riff...just took me away to a different place :-) Great tones!

Just bought a vintage JCM 800, so this is so helpful.

I come back to this video every few months - reminds me why I play Marshalls and Greenbacks!!

Here I thought I really wasn't sure where I should be! I was surprised to find that I was pretty close to where you would be! Great video! 😀

Hi Pete ….Thx again for your awesome videos....they stand tall against the rest out there....I accidently came across this video.....I have a '79 2203 with EL34s, a '77 2204 with 6550s, and yes, I have a Handwired Vox AC30, so this video here was made for me.....Anyway, just wanted to thank you again for your insight, I've been running the 2204 A/B with the AC30 and I think I found what I feel was missing from my sound, those two amps compliment each other so well, we played an outdoor show this weekend and I can't put into words how my sound cut thru and how full it was, without drowning out anyone else....we had a great soundman as well running the show.....I took your suggested settings, tweaked little to my ears...and...I'm there man.

thanks for the vid Pete. awesome advice for getting into rock playing

It’s important to understand that the tonestack impedes signal when the tone controls are less than wide open. I always turn all tone controls wide open to start and then back down the frequency range that is too much. The end result is that one of the three (treble, middle, bass) is always wide open which gives you more of what the amp has to offer.

Like always, a great lesson!!! Thanks for share your knowledge with us!!!!

When done right with little to zero effects in the way of the amps sound; it's hard on any given day to match the sound of a proper Marshall Amp. And that goes back to the early JTM45s all the way to to the JVMs of today. ALL of their tube amps are amazing and produce that classic hard rock crunch that can crack your rib cage into powder. Great video!

I’ve played through a lot of modellers and plugins since the original Line 6 Pod. They all do a pretty convincing job at “sounding” like a cranked tube amp but I’ve yet to play one that “feels” like a cranked tube amp. Being in the room with a dimed Marshall or AC30 is a really unique experience.

Excellent video. Back in the day, everyone went to see live bands. Bands fought to get the attention of local radio stations. Success equalled a packed house. If popular enough, radio stations shared music between cities. All fought to create their own unique "sound" and national exposure, record deals, and tours. It led to entirely different genres of music. It was driven by fans, not studios. Today, music is written in studios and is controlled by those who own the distribution channels. Radio stations are no longer truly local. In fact, most just play prescibed lists with no real decision making driven by listeners. Sattelite sources that let you choose playlists don't count. Most youth don't even see the bands they like live. If they do, its usually a massive, overproduced show that likely is more about dancers and light shows than musical talent. With auto-tune and similar tools, we don't even hear natural/real vocals anymore. Those in control have been morphing music so all the genres get bent towards one form of "pop music". I think the industry has set itself up to fail. Its getting repetetive, stagnant, and uninspiring. Fortunately, multiple musicians have figured out they can produce and distribute their own music. I suspect that is going to take hold much like TV channels are dying and independant sources are winning. Studios went too far. Looking forward to those musicians who get back to playing live, writing original music (inspired by the tones they get from their equipment) who publish and distribute it. Society is craving it.

Pete is one cool dude put'n out some of the best guitar gear content on RU-vid! I actually have that JMP amp and he's right about dialing in the sweet spot as I use his same settings, except for the preamp that I tend open up for the style of music I dwell on.

i feel ya Pete, it's hard to not start playing that ACDC stuff when u get that sound!!

Oh yeah Pete goes Old School! Rock and Roll will never die!

Awesome Pete! I'd love to hear you do one with a dual rectifier or similar.

your tone dialing in is just how i would do it:)

Pete knows tone. While some just go with diming an amp, or have all of the tone controls on 5, Pete dials it in with his ears and not his eyes. I was told almost 40 years ago that on a Marshall, keep the tone controls all below 5 or 6. This is what Pete does.

Great video Pete - your attention to detail and musical wisdom greatly appreciated.

Pete doing the Billy Corgan fuzz trick on the low input!

That was simply pure fun. Thanks Pete. I think you are spot on when saying the classic 'great' riffs were likely inspired by amps like these doing what they were designed to do... WORK. Thanks for all you do for the music community.

Love these practical application videos. I used to think that unless you had a high end brand amp, good tone was impossible. I met a recording engineer several years ago that could make anything sound great and he essentially was doing what you're doing here. He just sat down and started playing open strings and palm mutes for a couple minutes and then voila, perfect tone. Thanks for the great videos.

Those two amps really are amazing together! Forgot how much you need to crank those JMP/2204's to get the goods.

This tone is perfect, really love the Darkness riffs. Just need to figure out how to get this out of my Helix!!!

My first and always loyal love,... the 1979 MARSHALL "JMP Mk2 Master Model 100w Lead".

best amp you can buy, get a used one for under £700 and you can't go wrong. I have an 83 2204 and it's killer

That marshall sounds great. Back in the day when they were really affordable I played through some that were probably not properly maintained and thought they sounded crappy and harsh. Shows that when these amps are cared for, then they sound awesome.

The 'Lo-Gain' option explains how Andy Summers used Marshall's. EXPLAINED. A BIG thank you from a Fender/Vox pedal-holic gal who finds herself cursing at the rehearsal studio where ALL the working amps are Marshalls/rectifiers. LOL

So far for 'everything on 10 (or 11..) on any Marshall'.. great video, very educational and a lot of fun!

Nothin like a cranked up Marshall! lol Dang that sounds righteous!!

The Rush riffs slayed! I love the Signals and Grace Under Pressure period.

How did I NOT see this cool video before now? Sure, all you need for great JMP tone is to crank the master up to ear-killing levels!

This video is so valuable.

Finally a vid that seems to be tailor made to me....I have a '71 SuperLead, a '79 JMP 2203, and a handwired Vox AC30.....I am glad I stumbled across this vid....I mainly play through an early JCM800 cab with Celestion G12-65s, but have one cab with Vintage 30s and two cabs with 75s......when I play single channel amps, my leads seem to get lost in the mix....so I play a JCM900 MK III out so I can channel boost....but I've been looking to find the sweet spot on my early Marshalls, and you have given me a great reference......this is very refreshing as opposed to the whackos that don't know what the heck they are doing....thx man...can you refer me to a vid of yours that suggests how to front end a boost to cut through....I have a few different ODs I uses....an Analogman TS9, a Radial Tonebone Hot British, a Reverend Drivetrain II, and an original Marshall Guv'nor…….Thx again for your no nonsense and pro approach....

And now I am hearing that Vox. Good NIGHT!

Fantastic stuff , helped me dial in my jcm 800. Few things I was overlooking! Thanks again, Cheers!

Thx pete !! rarely do demos show you how they r dialing in the sound

You’re the best Man ! Sounds great!

The sound of the two blended is awesome. It still has a good punchy crunch but the tone is meatier sounding. I thought it sounded really cool. 👍✌

Dang that sounds great !!

my inspiration, keep rocking

When you had the master all the way up and used the pre-amp gain as a master volume the amp sounded the best to my ears.

I’ve got one of these master volume JMPs and yeah the EQ controls are basically just for show 😂

Great video pete, and so helpful you make it so easy to follow and understand, many thanks great demo, Cheers

So every dial on all amps somewhere between 4 and 6, lol. Killer video. I loved it!

It would've made the video a good bit longer, but there are good things to be had by jumping channels on that Vox.

I have owned several AC30's and could never get any tones that I liked, the way some famous users of AC30's have done - still a great amp - just not quite there. I did realize that my tone heroes were all using real 60's AC30's and that the new ones just don't sound like that. So, I think that's a point that needs to be made for all those poor souls who love the AC30 sound and shell out their money for one. anyone disagree?

1979/1980 JMP (serial number on faceplate front), but 2-input and master volume instead of 4-input and no master volume Mk2 2203....3 gain stages + Cathode Follower. 2nd gain stage cold clipper and no couping capacitor on the 3rd gain stage with a bright cap across the pot...basically a JCM800.

Pete is one of the absolute best. Thanks!

Analog Man by Rush sounded EXCELLENT as well as all the rest of course. Another GREAT one, Pete! Cheers!

I start with the trebble and turn it up until it sounds sharp but doesn't hurt the ear. Then I go to the bass and turn it up until I can feel the palm mutes shakin' my guts but the overall sound doesn't get muffeld. Then I go to the mids and I still don't really know what they do after 20 years of playing guitar :) I think it kinda is the compromise between sounds good and can be heard in the mix. Gain depends on what kind of music you want to play. But generally less is more. Too much gain destroys everything and doesn't make you sound more heavy at all.

That Rush tone at the end was epic.

That clean sound good

This guy made me go back to the Back in Black album and hear it all day long!

Black Shuck! 🤘

Love this series of vids Pete thanks!

with a $4K guitar it is going to sound great!

finally someone who understands this amp. Great video!

Hey Pete, thank ya. ))

Amps and cabs sounds fantastic!

Fantastic!!

Really good sounding and useful advise!!

Bass is for the bedroom …they sound great with an eq up front (EVH tone) I had one of these for years and tried every pedal EVH nailled it just an EQ up front mid boost and gain boost up front for high gain stuff . Acdc just turn it up setting a 333368 beware 100 watt it’s crazy loud but great there

dude. what a nice dude.

The pre-90's MV's sound best with either with the gain fully dimed, or the master dimed/preamp low as shown here, and they do have a nice clean tone. With a Boss chorus pedal and an MXR delay, it's quite luscious!

That’s how I like my amps to sound!!!

You never indicated whether or not you were using any pedals. Did I miss that? You and I have the same ear for tone! Me, early 80s Scorpions Black Out tone for me! Thanks!

Pete really knows tones

That fucking Marshall..... Sounds SO good!

Great info as always Pete you are one of the best!!!

THE DARKNESS