Guitar Tone
George uses a variety of Marshall amps from the 1960's, 1970's, 1980's and 1990's all running through Marshall 4x12 cabinets loaded with 75 Watt Celestion speakers. Each of these amps contain different types of tubes and are all setup uniquely from one another. George prefers very little gain in an effort to have pristine clarity on note articulations. As seen in the amp settings below, the gain on each amp is set very low. Sometimes a Tube Screamer is used for rhythms or lead lines, but not always. The following is a detailed list of George's favorite amps and their respective settings.
Marshall MKII 50 Watt Plexi Head
This amp is a 1976 Marshall MKII 50 watt Plexi head. This amp first appeared on George's album "Mind Over Matter" and has been used extensively on many releases after that. This amp is loaded with JJ 6550 power tubes and an NOS Raytheon 12AX7a preamp tube in V1. The channels are not jumped and input one is always used. The capacitors have been replaced and it has the original transformer.
Amp Settings
- Presence: 5
- Bass: 5
- Middle: 5
- Treble: 5
- Volume I: 3
- Volume II: 0
Marshall JCM 800 100 Watt Head
This amp is a Marshall JCM 800 100 watt head. This amp first appeared on George's album "The Dawn of Time" and has also been used on other albums after that. This amp is loaded with JJ EL34 power tubes (sometimes JJ E34L's) and JJ ECC83 preamp tubes in V1-V3. The high sensitiviy input is almost always used. The capacitors have been replaced and it is not modded in any way
Amp Settings
- Presence: 5
- Bass: 5
- Middle: 5
- Treble: 5
- Master: 3
- Pre-Amp: 6
Marshall JCM 900 100 Watt Head
This amp is a Marshall JCM 900 100 watt head. This amp first appeared on George's album "Venomous Fingers' and has been used on numerous releases since then. This amp is loaded with JJ 5881 power tubes and a rare NOS JAN-Philips ECG 8652 12AX7WA preamp tube in V1 and a JJ ECC83 in V3. Channel B is always used for gain and Channel A is occasionally used for clean tones. The capacitors have been replaced and it is not modded in any way.
Amp Settings
- Volume B: 2.8
- Reverb B: 0
- Volume A: 0
- Reverb B: 0
- Presence: 5
- Bass: 6.8
- Middle: 8
- Treble: 6.8
- Pre-Amp B: 5.7
- Pre-Amp A: 0
Marshall 1959 Super Lead 100 Watt Plexi Head
This amp is a Marshall 1959 Super Lead MKII 100 watt Plexi head. This is by far the loudest amp in George's arsenal. This is a non-master volume amp and has its volume set at an ear-blistering four. This is a slightly higher gain stage than the 50 watt plexi as it is 100 watts and breaks up later. This amp is loaded with JJ EL34 power tubes and a rare NOS JAN-Philips ECG 8652 12AX7WA preamp tube in V1 and a JJ ECC83 in V3. The channels are not jumped and input one is primarily used. This amp is not modded in any way.
Amp Settings
- Presence: 5
- Bass: 5
- Middle: 5
- Treble: 5
- Volume I: 4
- Volume II: 0
Tube Screamers
George uses a variety of Tube Screamers. The Tube Screamer used is highly dependent on the guitar and amp combination that are being used. The Tube Screamers range from stock TS9's to a Keeley modified Turbo Tube Screamer to boutique Tube Screamers custom built for George by Nokina Designs. The custom built Tube Screamers all contain an assortment of rare vintage chips and modern chips – these are one of a kind and not available to the public. The following pic contains some of George's Tube Screamers.
