A true dream amp. One of the most amazing and unique amps ever made. The Selmer Thunderbird Twin 30. Thanks to Ruler John for letting me spend time with it!!!!! No pedals were used in this video..........................
Funny in the mid 60´s they were quite common in Europe, and we didn´t fancy them much. Most guitarists had a Selmer Treble´n´Bass 50w head as a ´life saver´. Fender were almost unobtainable, VOX and Marshalls a little easier, but expensive. Many of us had to go with Teisco or Dynacord if you had a little more to spend. Or local clones of the Big Three. And if you were really broke you had to do with an Italien green Geloso :-) They said 100w in the spec sheets, but probably did about 10w or so.
Josh knows his gear. His fuzz, the Myriad, is the best fuzz I’ve ever played and I sold about 6 other fuzzes because it covered everything. Silicon & Germanium tones, ripping Velcro tones to a beautiful clean up. Would love to hear that fuzz through this magical Selmar which had some mean gain tones all on its own .
'So as you can hear the base tone of the amp...' As played by a chickenpicker. Chickenpicking being such an extreme attack staccato form of playing (with no breathing sustained chords)... That how is it that we are meant to hear the base tone of the amp? All we is hearing is the base tone of chickenpicking. Nevermind .. guess it's the first time you thought about quite how to present a video on 'the sound' of an amp. Everything being singular far as you is concerned. And I'm comment number 111... Lucky me.
Dude, that part of the jam between about 30 and 50 seconds of the video is that magical shit I love you for. That R&B style with the Hendrix/Mayfield style inversions and embellishments is just god-tier stuff. Thanks for the inspiring playing Josh!
killer sounding amp! even when it’s breaking up with a certain compression happening, it still has such an uncompressed, ‘cleanness’ to the attack. it almost sounds like a clean amp and a cranked amp mixed parallel.
Josh.....MAN you've just let the genie out of the bottle on this one.....you are one lucky dude. Hav'nt been this excited listening to a vid for ever.....❤❤❤❤❤👍👍👍👍......HELL YES.
Absolutely stunning amp, thanks for sharing. It shits your style perfectly. As a side note, this channel absolutely needs more subscribers, it's mandatory for any guitarist regardless of style of music in my humble opinion.
Hey Josh, great stuff man i really dig this amp it's awesome and i can tell your excited to play it! Nice licks at the very end, i here some john mayer licks from the live album. This song " out of my mind" i think, what a masterpeace i've been wondering how to play this stuff for a while thanks to you i have a hint!! You got great phrasing and rythm i love your stuff! Happy new year !!
That sounds great! Loved it with the humbuckers. Some of the bass channels kind of had a Kossoff vibe to them. I've seen a few Selmers around but never actually played one. I need to try some.
Very cool stuff Josh!! Unique and great tones!! I got an Excelsior, which is very unique Accordion amp with the Pre and Power Amp sections divided top and bottom also; 5 speakers, 17" tank, wet/dry in separation in one box. Fun for days. HNY, looking forward to this weekends blues summit at bV!! Keep on Rockin' Bruddah!
Thanks for the great demo. I think WEM also released some models with the pushbutton preset features; at the time, these units were readily available from electronics suppliers, and everything else (8 tracks?) was being offered with 'push button controls', so it probably seemed like a natural. I'm sure there were players who got the most from it; this is my first time hearing it for any length of time.
..if I only lived closer. I'd have you testing and trying all kinda tones lol. Awesome piece! I have wanted one for a long time. There has always been a cool old fender in it's way.
I had a Selmer Twin Selector-Tone, bought as 'dead' for the speakers, but the amp worked ok 'til the o/p tx fritzed. It had the reverb tank connectors but the tank was missing. It used KT88s and had the same 2-part pre/power amp config with an umbilical + multi-connector between. AFAICR the connector was centre pin keyed radial, like a larger valve base, a military type seen on a lot war surplus stuff. It also came with a 2 button f/s which I still have around. IIRC it was hard wired and didn't have a plug.
This sounds great. Love that bass and contra bass setting. A pal has the little 1 watt lunchbox sized Selmer that he got off a Jumble Sale (flea market) for £50 ($70). Killer little amp.
Awesome video Josh. A friend of mine hipped me to Selmer earlier this year. He has a few of them. A treble & bass and a zodiac. He also has some smaller ones too. His daughter lives in England an searches them out for him! He also told me that the Beatles used Selmer's prior to their manager signing a deal for them to only use vox!
I've loved these amps since my bandmate got one 40(!) years ago. He px'd an H&H transistor combo for it with a real nice old guy, who also had a beige original AC30 he wouldn't part with, along with a vintage motorcycle he was rebuilding on his dining room table! As well as the wild looks it had an absolutely fantastic punchy tone with his Telecaster. It had the earlier gold filigree front cloth & most of it's original knobs & by luck we found the missing ones in a market stall. Then later the castors as well. Boy it was loud, but It did blow up spectacularly once on stage in a shower of sparks! We were completely gutted when it was stolen. Now they are crazy money but a hell of an amp.
Been playing my Zodiac 50 for 25 yrs. These croc skin Zodiacs and Thunderbirds are truly magic. The trem is unbelievable. Recently picked up a 70's 100w T&B, different beast but just as cool. Selmer for the win!!!!
@@aronhallam6449 In my case they were not known yet, but somehow I knew, and, while they were not known about, I had a gut feeling and acquired. The prices were fair! Now everything is a right kidney, or both. I could never afford them at today's prices, especially at dealer prices!
Unbelievable!!!!! 😳 This is probably (one of???) the best amp(s) I've ever heard! I've always wanted a Selmer amp, but just because they looked so cool. I never actually ever heard one. Not that I know of anyway. Wouldn't it be great if you could get your own signature amp, based upon this one? Damn, I didn't expect this! 😃👍
Weren’t the earliest Vox AC30s also EL34s with EF86 preamp tubes? They changed because of problems with the chassis fitting with the twin speakers. A similar configuration to this, perhaps? Sounds great. A Selmer Zodiac was one of the first guitar amps I ever saw as a kid. I still remember the label script and the faux crocodile tolex.
Hi Josh, thanks so much for this video! I have one of these amps which I'm looking to sell to the right buyer, and your video highlights just how amazing this amp is. I inherited the amp from my late best friend David Duhig who was the lead guitarist with the band Jade Warrior. I'm a bass player myself and have jammed with David on many occasions when he played through this amp, and I was absolutely blown away with the sound. Fantastic playing by the way! Wishing you all the very best and thanks again 🌟
Whooo! Really ruling is right! I liked every sound. Wanted some humbucker action and you delivered! That guitar is a trip! Exdaner LOL! It reminded me of this one time I saw this girl walking her dog and I had to stop and ask,”miss, I gotta ask! is that what I think it is? is that…a pit-weenie?”! She was like,”yes”! We both laughed!
Hey Josh. A cross between the Brit's Marshall and Vox with Fender-like reverb and crazy tremolo. "Mama says he's Bona fide!" What an assortment of sounds, wow. I own a '66 Gibson Lancer GA-35RVT. Its tremolo & reverb are similar, but I need a host of pedals to boost gain & color. "Bona fide defined!" Adjective: genuine; real. Adverb: sincerely; without intention to deceive.
Back in the early 60's I had a Selmer Truevoice Selectatone It was Cream & Red 25watts with a 15 inch Jensen Speaker The same input & tone switches layout as that Thunderbird
I have a Selmer Croc . It's a Selmer Truvoice Concorde 8. 1 x 12 combo with 'Magic Eye' trem. Currently being recapped. Looking forward to hearing it singe again.
I know you’re just highlighting an unappreciated old amp, but I think you could squeeze out great tone from just about any amp? You hear what you’re getting and adjust your playing. Plus you’ve got a lot of miles in the business. You know what frequencies cut through. And, YOU ARE TRULY AN AWESOME PLAYER! 😎 That said, it does have some great tones! I can hear a bunch of things that are pretty unique about the EQ curves/tube structure? It would definitely get you some unique tones in the studio, but your Morgans smoke it for versatility (...with your pedal board), tone, and presence. -- If I were going to save my coin for an expensive amp, I would probably get a modern boutique one?
I bought one of these, used and beaten-up, for about £50, in 1979, from a guy my dad worked with at London Underground, formerly London Transport. According to my dad, the guy's name was Alan Cartwright, ex Procul Harum! Unfortunately, I couldn't really use it, as it needed a complete overhaul, and at 16, I had no money. I did use it in a hall for band rehearsal once, where it gave me an electric shock, but it was WAY too loud for my bedroom. I wish I still had it ☹️
Goddamn that really is a split between a Vox and a Marshall but also has a Fendery reverb. Damn, that could along with a Supro be the ultimate amp for blues rock. Looks amazing too and so original.
Well I owned it's smaller 15 watt 12" little brother in about 1961. There was quite a few Selmers in circulation at that time - but remember in the UK this was pre Marshal and because of import restriction almost no Fender (guitars and amps). These weren't cheap - pretty much in the zone of Fenders and Marshalls as they became available - and when they did that was it - players just went to more powerful Marshalls - as I did. (Should have kept that Marshall amp as it was probably about number 10 built!!)And if you put a Vox AC30 next to it - well that's louder and more rock/pop than the Selmer. But these absolutely have a voice of their own and listening to this took me back nearly 60 years. These amps never seemed to develop on from this one - just seemed to die out. Anyone know why?
I am using the Zodiac 50 MK II - here it’s possible to combine the tone presets, for example high + contrabass. I guess it would work with this one too.
Hi Josh, this is the best vidéo about a selmer amp i've ever seen !! Those amps are just uniques ! here's some additionnal informations for the technical freaks: i don't think this amp use an ef86 as the zodiac Twin 30 does. The confusion may come from the 6br8 tube wich is a triode /penthode tube. (ecc tubes are 2 differents triodes in one tube. Ef86 are one penthode in one tube. So a triode/penthode like 6br8 is almost like half of an ecc + one ef86 type in the same tube) The triode side is use in the "normal channel" and the penthode side (wich sounds close to a ef86) is use in the multi selector channel. For the power part, the 30W with el34 doesn't come from an underrated power transformer, it's the way they are bias wich make the el34's run far under their max. In this amp they are "cathode bias" wich is common with most el84 amps (vox ac30 for example) but very rare with el34 amps. The preamp is one of a kind, so is power amp and all of this contribute to make those amps the most underrated amps !
I may be wrong ! The first run of thunderbird's amp were loaded with 2 ef86 but had KT88 as power tubes and then change to el'34's and 6br8 at one point but i don't know if they change the preamp and power amp tubes at the same time so maybe there is thunderbirds with ef86 AND el34's (to my knowledge there's is no schematic available with the ef86 preamp and i would love to see one). So i was thinking that if the amp of your friend really have 2xef86 it means that it could have been converted to el34's at one point or built somewhere in the transition from ef86 + KT88 to 6br8+EL34. A good tech that know vintage amps could probably see if some components or wiring could have been change to convert it to el34's...
In old photos of bands in england in the 60's you see selmer amps all day long a verry big brand back then until vox selmer was king this amp you have is a classic
Hey, great video/demo, Josh! Weird quick question; what step up transformer are you using? I definitely need one but scared to buy one that might give up the ghost on me. Thanks! 🥰
My mate's std single coil Tele could cut through steel at 50 paces with his Selmer, it used to freak sound techs out at gigs! More treble it didn't need. I think the humbuckers are driving the preamp quite a bit harder.
Whenever possible, please give up a rear view with them tubes a'glowin' (?) (Inquiring mindless obsessive gear nerds wanna know) Thanx Josh. Happy New Year and... cheers
If you get a chance, try a 50w model with the Celestions. I have a '64 Thunderbird 50 Twin, looks exactly like that but the ceramic speakers really open up the sound even more IMO. The Zodiac gets all the love but it's missing out on that really lush reverb. Great amps, and you covered them well, thanks.
I have played a 30W Zodiac (not a Thunderbird 30, which are pretty rare), and they sound great. No idea if they're Class-A circuit (I doubt it, Vox was one of the only true Class-A amps back in those days), but they overdrive more easily than the Thunderbird, not just because of wattage but the alnico speakers versus ceramic Goodmans. Both are great amps and the Thunderbird isn't that much louder, but it's a little more versatile from my experience, with the lush reverb and cleaner top end. Ideally I'd love to own one of each. @@Eldorado66779
Hi Josh, have you experienced any amps that sound similar to this lovely Thunderbird? I've been unable to find any in my area considering it's rarity but I'd love to own something that sounds like this!
@@user-ll7cw6kt7g "We tracked on 1" analog tape using a Studer A-80 8-track," says Watson. "Jack used two amps for the sessions-his Fender Twin Reverb and a Selmer Truvoice Zodiac Twin 30. The Selmer took the place of his Silvertone amp, which he didn't want to ship to England. I close-miked the amps with Shure 545 and AKG D25 mics in various configurations. For acoustic-guitar tracks, a borrowed Martin was miked with a single STC 4038 ribbon mic. [A Burns acoustic was used for "It's True That We Love One Another."] Jack wanted to mic the acoustic in stereo for 'You've Got Her in Your Pocket,' and I never really do that. I had to pull out my BBC recording manual from the late '50s and look up some stereo-miking techniques! "My mixer is a Calrec M Series broadcast console from the early '80s. The company is more famous for its microphones, but they've been making mixing desks since the '60s-mainly for the BBC. I think they're better than Neve boards. "I realize my studio only appeals to a certain type of musician. I mean, we only used one piece of outboard gear for the entire Elephant album, and that was a Urei 1176 compressor for one vocal track. I have no problem with computers-I've heard good albums made that way-but they don't interest me, and you really don't need all that stuff. Up until 1968, there wasn't a studio in Britain that had more than four tracks, and think about all the great records by the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and others that were made during that time."
I had one in 1966 and I played a Harmony Stratatone H49 Jupiter through it…it had a crocodile skin and the magic eye was green…I used to kick it to get the reverb to sound like thunder when we played Jack the Ripper as our Roadie used to go through the audience with a scary mask and a cape on.😂 It had an awesome sound but it was heavy…or maybe I was just a weakling?
Clapton and Peter Green both started on Selmer's (I'm sure there are others too). Clapton and Gary Moore talked about Peter Greens Selmer use, saying he was the only one to make them sound good (which I recon sparked this entire video, or the opinions that sparked this video). Check out 'Peter B's Looners - Jodrell Blues' for Peter getting a real tasty tone out of his Selmer
Didn't Mark Knoffler use a Selmer Amp in recording Sultans of Swing, as a pose to a Brown Fender Vibrolux. To my ear I can hear that vibe in that record. Super sounds.
The house of the rising sun amp! I miss mine terribly had it stolen got it back and then was stolen (to order so I'm told) again Also used on the White stripes Elephant album too
btw the black magic really comes when you bridge to two channels !!! Then You can mix some contrariant tones like hightreble or contrabass switches with the classic tone stack... and get something good from the 5th dimension.
It sounds pretty good but for some reason I always thought they would sound better because they look so damn cool and the tubes they run on. With EF86 and El34's you think it would be even better than what it is. At least I do. I went to buy one of these and didn't buy it because I was expecting it to sound better. Again it's not bad. Maybe some boutique amp company could take these ingredients and circuit and make it a little better. I think it could be better than it is. Especially one with celestion alnico's.
