Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Hi folks -

From pics I've seen, it looks like John is plugged into a '61-62 Brownface "Concert" or "Bandmaster". George is plugged into a '61 Piggyback Blonde "Tremolux". Paul is plugged into a single 15 Blonde "Showman". As I read, these were supposedly the house amps at that time. Quite high quality, I think. For years I had assumed those were Vox's on the recordings - but was surprised to find those great tones came from Fender's.

http://beatlesource.com/savage/1962/62. ... rclub.html

http://beatlesource.com/savage/1962/62. ... rclub.html

It's interesting that these amps are left off the Beatles Gear discussion, when they were probably plugged into them quite a bit. Anyone else have more info on them? I guess it's not really important exactly which model each is, I just found it interesting.

Those Star Club recordings, believe it or not, are some of my favorite Beatle recordings - and to me, are the epitome of racous early rock tones. Fantastic playing too. I'd say that's some of the best early rock and roll music I've heard. That is, it really "rocked".

Owen, i've just received a copy of the Star club tapes on CD, (did have the album back in the seventies), and you are spot -on! Those recordings give the feeling of one, although rough, hot band!

Actually, Fender Bassman 50 amps make great guitar amps -- so much so that when Crosby, Stills & Nash first toured in 1969, they had a wall of Bassman amps behind them. The Bassman has a great warm quality when overdriven, and its Bandmaster, Vibrolux and Tremolux cousins do also. Since they're only 50 watts, they overdrive pretty easily but the distortion is a very smooth tube distortion. Remember that 50 watts was a lot of power in the late 1950s and early 1960s. I played bass for the first 15 years of my career starting in 1965 with nothing more than a 50 watt Bassman head and a 2 x 15 cabinet. Then everyone went power and volume crazy and things got ugly. By 1971 I had to go to a 300 watt head because everything but bass was being put through the PA system.

Haha...good one!

Yeah, I've always really liked the playing on these recordings - it's just balls to the wall rock and roll. It's a great album where John's rhythm work is really up in the mix. It's a LOUD, live performance, unlike those later seen on TV, where the mixes were more subdued. And as a tone head, I've always liked the sounds they got. I looked at the pics a little more closely - John may be playing a Super or Vibrolux, and Paul and George look like they might have Bassmans with 2x12's. Really hard to tell.

http://beatlesource.com/savage/1962/62. ... /02/01.jpg

I guess I could try and focus in on whose guitar cord is going where - but anyway, it just looks like they are playing Brown/Blonde Fenders on the Star-Club album. It's always been a favorite of mine. I had always wondered what amps they used. I knew it wasn't their early set up, and I didn't know if that gig was special and they dressed up special and brought their Vox amps.

brammy wrote:

beatles-gen-1358.jpg

You mean that thing on Pete's head is his hair?

The Fenders were owned by the Star Club and were the backline for nearly any act that played there, as mentioned. They do sound really good too. This is my favorite period in their history.