TheGigRig Amp Shootout After spending a wonderful day in the studio with my band and Dave 'The G Bomb' Gregory, we're now releasing the results of our amp shootout. We had 6 great amps that we recorded and filmed for your viewing pleasure.
These were;
Two-Rock Jet Matchless Chieftain Matchless DC-30 65Amps London 62 VOX AC30 with EF86 input Silverface Pro Reverb (BF mods) DONT FORGET! to sign up to our NEWSLETTER so we can let you know when we upload more great clips like these. You can sign up HERE
(Sorry about the poor image and compressed sound quality. This is due to You Tube compression that it sticks on all its clips. The uncompressed quality is superb so I'll find a way to get them out to those who want them in an uncompressed format soon, but for now, enjoy).
TheGigRig Amp Shootout - Jamin with the 'G-Bomb'
At the end of this wonderful day Dave and I turned the amps up and had some fun- me on the Two-Rock Jet and Dave on his Matchless C30. All the amps really had their own thing going on, but these two really stood out for me for various reasons. I now own the first ever made C30 with Reverb made for me by Phil Jamison himself. This and the Two-Rock Jet give me everything I could ever want. I want to thank everyone who was involved in making this happen. Pete at Dacoit studios (UK 07985 106 665), Brian Proffitt for the pics and Ears, Handsome Dave for bringing down the Chieftain and for being so handsome, my band Dougie Mussard (drums) and Mark Kilminster (bass) for being so bloody fantastic - you guys rock!, and of course my hero Dave Gregory for coming down and being involved and for some truly wonderful guitar playing. Thanks for watching everyone. Make sure you check out the rest of the vids below!
Dave Gregory of XTC is my favourite guitar player ever. I'm really honoured that he came down and spent the day with us. He bought his Matchless C30 head and a bunch of incredible guitars and really showed us what this amp is capable of. Here's the first clip of Dave with his 65 non reverse headstock Firebird... brace yourselves!
TheGigRig Amp Shootout - Dave Gregory - Flying V - Matchless C30
Here's Dave with his reissue 58 Flying V made in 82. It so light that I when i picked it up I nearly put it through the ceiling in the studio. Resonant and rocking. Again the C30 shows how it brings the best out of these instruments.
Here's Dave and his famous 63 Strat which was his main guitar in XTC. It can be heard on most of their albums and is an incredible instrument. Paired up with the Matchless C30 head it's a pretty fantastic combination.
TheGigRig Amp Shootout - Dave Gregory - 59' Les Paul Jr - Matchless C30
Here's the man himself with an original 59' Les Paul Jr. This guitar just rocks like nothing else. Once again the Matchless really brings out the tone of this instrument, but you certainly can't overlook the player. Dave sounds wonderful in this clip.
TheGigRig Amp Shootout - 1993 Matchless C30
This amp belongs to Dave Gregory and I'm most grateful for him bringing it down. It's a very special amp. It was running at half power mode using the Pro-14 to switch between the inputs (Ef86 and 12AX7). Has a great vibe to it and was loads of fun to play.
TheGigRig Amp Shootout - 65 Amps London
TheGigRig Amp Shootout - 1962 VOX AC30
Here's the VOX AC30. I do love this amp. It sounds wonderful, but as many vintage VOX fans will tell you, it's so unreliable, and as if to prove this point, as soon as I finished the session the amp developed a loud hum. But really, what can you expect from a piece of electronic equipment that's over 45 years old! So for me, the amp is a wonderful thing to have...at home.
TheGigRig Amp Shootout Matchless Chieftain
If all I had to do was rock out, then this is the amp I'd probably settle on. It really rocks. Handsome Dave bought this one down and we have a clip of him with his 335 in it which is completely different to the racket my Tele makes through it. Remember everything was completely made up on the spur of the moment and as soon as I played the first note through this, I had no choice...but to ROCK
TheGigRig Amp Shootout Two-Rock Jet
I've been using this amp for nearly a year now and I love it. Expensive? Yes. Worth it? For me it's worth every penny. I have settled on the Two-Rock TR65 speakers in an old Bruno 212 cab which sound great. It's all been said before about this amp, it can be unforgiving as this track points out in certain places but when you're on it it's the most rewarding experience out there. A real star
TheGigRig Amp Shootout 1976 Fender Pro Reverb
I've owned this amp for 6 years and in all that time it's never put a foot wrong after over a thousand gigs. I had Simon Law who is an amazing tech do the blackface mods for me. We're still experimenting with speakers. At the moment it's loaded with Fane alnico blues which are nice but I think there's a better speaker choice out there. Anyway, it's a great amp, inexpensive and reliable. Sounds amazing when you use it in conjunction with a Vox as well. The photographer on the day forgot about video camera, so lots of nice shots of Brians back
