Squire's amplification history

walker · Post by **walker** » Fri Jul 13, 2007 2:56 am

Being a bit of an audio-engineering nut, I've studied up on the different amps & cabs that Chris Squire used over the years. I know that the Vox AC 100 and various Marshalls were used in the early days, and in recent years the gear has become more "sophisticated"... anybody here have good info on what amps were used on corresponding albums?

elysrand · Post by **elysrand** » Fri Jul 13, 2007 3:31 am

Well, when he chose to buy his RM1999 in 1965 using his employee discount at Boosey and Hawkes, he did so because he liked the Rickenbacker guitar. But he has been quoted as saying he did not like the Rickenbacker amps, and chose instead when he was in Syn to buy a Vox AC-30 lead amp with two Vox cabinets. The Vox had a treble-boosing circuit on it that he liked. In the 1980s, he said it was still one of the best amps in the studio to use, and he was still using it to record in the studio. He bought a Marshall 100 watt when Yes was being formed, then switched to Fender Dual Showmans with four Fender 15-inch cabs and then to Sunn 6x12s. This lasted him until the Sunn days began at the start of the first US tour. I clearly remember him using a Sunn Coliseum Lead head in 1973-1974 because that made me go right out and buy a couple myself, and he always used the newest brightest-sounding Rotosounds I had ever heard. He used the Taurus (Moog) bass pedals (after the no-name kit organ pedal) and a Cry Baby wah pedal, but except for those not much else in terms of special effects pedals (of course, it was amp tremelo on ST). I think he used both the RM1999 and the 1970 MG 21-fretter 4001, but that was too many dead braincells ago to be sure. He reportedly did not even use the bridge pickup on the RM1999, but I am not sure about the 21-fretter, I am instead pretty sure he ran that in stereo. I have always been amazed at the thought that The Yes Album sounds all came just from the neck pickup, and am convinced he had to have been running his Rickenbackers in full stereo

Another denizen of the factory forum a couple of years ago, from Rome Italy, reported he saw Chris over there do a local show using a Fender Dual Showman in April 1974 with 2x15s, but does not recall any other amps he used. Others clearly remember a Maestro Bass Brassmaster fuzz on Close To The Edge into the Sunn head, and they were under the impression he was running the bridge pickup through it (this was the one with the octave effect voiced for bass, like the octavia). We know now from an observation John Hall made in 2005 on the RIC forum that it was unlikely he ever used the bridge pickup of the RM1999 because in 2005, when it was being serviced at the RIC factory, they found the bridge pickup completely disconnected inside the bass, and instead was bi-amping the neck pickup even then instead of running it stereo. I have also heard that he clearly ran it stereo starting in the 1960s, which implies he did use the bridge pickup at least through the 70s. Electrically, it would have been easy for Chris to separate the pickups and convert the single mono jack on the RM1999 into a stereo-only jack (I know because I have done it myself to a 1963 Rick bass that I own which was originally mono). That is something we may need to ask Chris about to settle once and for all

What I do know is, that in an interview for GP mag, Chris stated the following, which seems to prove he was running both pickups in stereo:

<i>"My sound is a combination of the amp controls, the guitar's controls, and the volume we're playing at." The settings on the Sunn Coliseum Lead head, which Chris states without hesitation, are 6 on the volume levels, 4 on the low freq control, 3 on the high freq control, 5 on the mid-freq, and 10 on the treble. On the Rick, the volume and tome controls on the treble (bridge) pickup are run wide open. The bass (neck) pickup volume is near full and the tone knob sits on 4.</i>

You can see on his current website a picture of his current setup. If you zoom in on the left photo you can see the two Marshall Super Bass heads and his favorite settings, which happily for us are clearly indicated on strips of masking tape across the head faces (perhaps for the roadies' comfort?) The EQ seems to be boosted on medium to high frequencies. This setup makes it clear he gets the "Chris Squire Sound" from the neck pickup only

Here is the text from the current site:

Chris' current stage setup includes a Marshall 100 watt Super Bass Amp and Marshall 4 X12 cabinet, two SVT-2 pro heads and two 8x10 SVT-810e cabinets, which sit behind him on stage (left).

The bass pedals are amplified by an SWR SM-500 head driving an Energy 2x15 cabinet, which is located under the drum riser.

revolver323 · Post by **revolver323** » Fri Jul 13, 2007 4:59 am

I'm sure Chris used some other brand of bass pedals until the Moog Taurus arrived in 1974 or so. I can't recall what brand, but they were not Moog. Maybe Chris will clear this up. The Maestro Bass Brassmaster was used also. I found one in Cincinnati in late '73 and snapped it up because my band covered a lot of Yes. It's the "Starship Trooper" fuzz sound, I believe. Sunn Coliseum guitar, not bass, heads and, if I recall correctly, their 6 x 12 cabs were also being used on the "Fragile" tour.

elysrand · Post by **elysrand** » Fri Jul 13, 2007 5:15 am

Chris gave an interview back in the 80s for Guitar Player Magazine, in which he said that (before the Moog) he used a no-name kit bass pedal, similar to what organists play with their feet, that was found in kit form in Europe by the Yes equipment manager - who put it together for Chris. It was tuned to the deepest organ tones for extra depth and had a sustain switch built in. Chris also used a graphic equalizer with it to boost various frequencies to compensate for differences in halls that Yes played back then.

Yep, the Coliseum Lead head was, by definition, a guitar head. Chris started out with a Marshall 100 watt amp in 1969 when the band was being formed. He switched to two Fender Dual Showman amps with four Fender speaker cabs. He liked the size of the unit, and was used to it, but he was not used to the 15-inch speaker sound. That was when he went out and bought two Sunn cabs with 6x12s in each cab to use with the Fender heads. For their first US tour, still using Fender amps, he was given a Sunn Coliseum Bass amp and a set of Sunn 4x12 cabs, but he did not like the bass head's sound. So, he played the first US tour using the Sunn Coliseum Lead guitar amp instead.

As soon as he returned to London, he went to Sound City to order himself a Sunn just like the one he had used on the US tour. He was told Eric Clapton had been given one like Chris wanted by Sunn, and Eric had sold it to Sound City. So Chris bought that Sunn Coliseum Lead amp right there that day from Sound City in London and took it home.

That head was the one that Chris was still using, as of the date of that Guitar Player interview

(Of course I have a few just like it in my own collection of amps, Dave, purchased in 1974 at Sound City in New Orleans

I will post a photo if you want)

revolver323 · Post by **revolver323** » Fri Jul 13, 2007 6:10 am

Elys: Wow, what a memory! I'm glad to know that mine is still intact, too. In '72-'74, my band was a Yes/Deep Purple/Zeppelin cover band, so I had plenty of time on the Ric. I managed to come close to Chris's sound by using an Acoustic 360 with 1 x 18 cab and a Kustom guitar amp into an Altec midrange horn with a capacitor to cut the lows out. I ran my Ric 4001 in stereo with the front pickup going to the Acoustic and the back pickup to the Kustom. With that setup, Rotos on the Ric and a Herco pick, it was very close. I didn't get Taurus pedals until I had changed bands and we no longer covered Yes. man, those were fun times for a bass player.

revolver323 · Post by **revolver323** » Fri Jul 13, 2007 6:13 am

Just an addition after re-reading your post about how Chris acquired some of his equipment even after the band was famous: Its pretty wild, too, that in those days, acts were still buying equipment instead of having it supplied to them. I wonder how often that happens now?

walker · Post by **walker** » Fri Jul 13, 2007 6:23 am

Just an aside - I also had an Acoustic 360 bass head that I used for years in the 80's & 90's up until the day it was stolen. As much as I loved that head, it was sort of a blessing in disguise when it disappeared. That's when I discovered the SWR-SM400 head that I now use. It has two 12AX7 tubes in the preamp that give a much warmer sound than the 360 ever had.

lucky · Post by **lucky** » Tue Aug 21, 2007 5:30 am

Elys i have tried to enlarge the pic of Chris's Marshall heads to see the settings but have had no joy.What are the settings i know that the sound is in your hands' and how soft or hard you play but i would like to get a bit closer to his sound.Even if this is in setting's on the amp.

On the FOOW dvd Chris mention's that even when he play's his Fender Jazz or his Gibson Thunderbird it still sounds like him.

vincent_gallo · Post by **vincent_gallo** » Tue Aug 21, 2007 6:16 am

An added note to the theories regarding whether Chris did or did not used the bridge pickup on his RM1999. During a conversation I had with Chris regarding various repair work the factory had done for him over the years, Chris told a story of his RM1999’s horseshoe magnets badly needing a re-gauss. He felt his bass wasn’t sounding as it did in the past and that is what was found wrong with it. The factory did a re-gauss of the magnets but when Chris got the bass back he was unhappy with it’s sound. It turned out the re-gauss was too strong and made the pickup unpleasant for Chris. After a bit of time, a year or two Chris felt it sounded good again and like it originally did. Most likely because the magnet’s gauss lowered a bit with time back to what Chris liked. The point is though, that the story reflects Chris’s sensitivity to the Bridge pickup, which may be contrary to his bass sound coming only from the his, bridge pickup. I believe the great Mark Arnquist working at the Rickenbacker factory was the guy who repaired Chris’s RM999’s broken off headstock. I feel it’s one of the greatest repair jobs off all time. Flawless.

lucky · Post by **lucky** » Tue Aug 21, 2007 6:28 am

Did'nt Mike Tobias also do some work on Chris's RM1999.

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Tue Aug 21, 2007 8:29 am

I think he installed a new fret board ... also Chris said somewhere about the bass sound on roundabout had the bridge pickup in there as well ...

The pickups on my old 68 (which Vince now has) had the pickups degauss and mellow a little but not to the point that they needed recharging ... but when I installed 2 4003 high gains in that bass it really sang ... it was loud and full ... lots of bass and lots of mids and a real treble bite ...

If I had kept that bass I would have boxed up the original pickups and left in the 4003 high gains ...

walker · Post by **walker** » Tue Aug 21, 2007 8:57 am

I recently had the HS mags on my '68 bass recharged. It's a noticeable improvement. The volume of the toaster & HS are much better balanced now. Nice full frequency range, too. Plenty of lows & treble snarl. My '64 & '68 aren't as loud as my 79's, especially the V63 with the exceptionally loud reissue pickups, but cranking up the gain on my amp takes care of that difference sufficiently. I still prefer the tone of the older "quieter" basses over the newer basses with the high gain pickups.

johnhall · Post by **johnhall** » Tue Aug 21, 2007 9:00 am

The headstock was originally repaired by Michael Tobias. After it began to fail, Richard Davis, Chris's tech, brought it down to us and Grover Jackson rebroke it, put a new fingerboard and frets on it- restoring it properly to flawless condition.

For what it's worth, Grover and I were rather surprised when it came in to find the treble horseshoe pickup had been completely disconnected. Not just a broken lead, but no lead at all from the pickup. We did recharge it and hooked it back up, so if in fact he'd been using it with bass position pickup disconnected for some time, indeed he would have noticed the difference!

walker · Post by **walker** » Tue Aug 21, 2007 10:34 am

John - when did Grover do the repairs/restoration?

johnhall · Post by **johnhall** » Tue Aug 21, 2007 11:32 am

Wow, that would be tough to pin down, but I'm going to say it was 1998 or 1999. Next time I speak with Grover I'll ask if he remembers any better.