As an electric guitar
player of the rock ‘n’ roll
persuasion, nothing serves
to make one’s intentions
clear like a 4x12 cabinet or
two stacked up underneath
a magnificent tube-
powered head. Beyond
the matter of tone and
volume, a rig like this
makes a very powerful
statement from the stage
before it’s even plugged
in. It hearkens back to
the golden age of classic
rock, when Hendrix and
Townshend were chasing
each other in a high-watt
arms race. It also instantly
lets the audience members
know what they’re in for,
inspiring excitement and
anticipation for what they
are about to experience,
and maybe even a little
twinge of fear. If you’ve
ever seen a band like
Sleep live, or if you’ve
caught a recent Dinosaur
Jr. show featuring J.
Mascis’s trio of full stacks,
then you know exactly
what I mean—the stacks
mean business.
Historically, and still in the
modern day (at least in
the dwindling number of
locales where 100-watt-
plus amplifiers are
welcome), the big stack
game has been dominated
by pioneering British
amp brands like Marshall,
Orange, and Hiwatt.
These names were there
at the beginning, building
towering custom cabinets
and unprecedentedly
powerful tube heads
for bands like the Who
and the Jimi Hendrix
Experience to blow minds
and eardrums with. Thus it
is these amps that come to
mind when we think about
the mighty rock rigs of
yore, and it is these amps
that tend to command
the highest prices in the
vintage tube head market. that really enjoys digging
into the minutiae of the
model history, circuitry,
components and that sort
of thing (which I am not),
then there’s only so much
amp lore one can digest.
I just want to play the
damn things, hear what
they sound like, and feel
their noise in person, but
unfortunately old Plexis
are pretty far out of the
range of my meager
budget. Over the years,
though, I have discovered
that there are a number
of alternatives to the
legendary British heads
we all know and lust after,
and that they are often just
as toneful and much more
affordable. Here are a few
of my favorite overlooked
vintage “tops” for old time
rock tones.
As much as I enjoy
drooling over vintage
Plexis and the like, the
truth is that it can be a
little tiresome sometimes.
For one, it has been done
to death at this point.
Unless you’re the type “...THE
STACKS
MEAN
BUSINESS.”
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