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New Amps on the Wilco Stage


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I was watching the download of the Bonaroo set (which is awesome) and I noticed some different gear up there. Jeff still has his awesome Vox head, but in place of his old Marshall Plexi he'd been rocking he had some other head. The resolution on my screen was incredibly low so I couldn't read the brand except that it starts with an S. Nels has the same brand but his head is red. Anyone notice what kind of amps these are?

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I was wondering the same thing.They must be something special cause that offset head is a fantastic amp.Only 500 made I think.I'll look aroud,might take a minute.

 

Also Glenn is using a different snare.One of those clear plastic deals,like the old vistalites.

 

 

The only thing that came to me was Stephenson amps................? I have no idea.

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I was wondering the same thing.They must be something special cause that offset head is a fantastic amp.Only 500 made I think.I'll look aroud,might take a minute.

 

Also Glenn is using a different snare.One of those clear plastic deals,like the old vistalites.

The only thing that came to me was Stephenson amps................? I have no idea.

 

 

I think Glen was using a Matchless amplifier....Nels might have too... I'm not really sure because I was up in the balcony at the Indy show.

 

They are like 3 grand but are suppose to have the Marshall Distortion with the fender clean

 

 

http://www.matchlessamplifiers.com/match_independence.html

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I was at the Hammerstein show last night and noticed that Jeff and Nels were playing through different amps than I'd seen in photos, videos, etc. So, after the show my friend and I walked toward the stage to get a closer look - the name plate on both of them said "Schroeder" and a google search yielded this: http://www.schroederguitarrepair.com where they mention that Nels and Jeff are playing custom amps on this tour. The other thing I noticed is that Jeff played a guitar i'd never seen before; it the body shape was tele-esque, as were the look of the controls but it had 3 humbuckers and a headstock more like a gibson, it was black with a silver pickguard.

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The other thing I noticed is that Jeff played a guitar i'd never seen before; it the body shape was tele-esque, as were the look of the controls but it had 3 humbuckers and a headstock more like a gibson, it was black with a silver pickguard.

 

That looked like a Les Paul to me, but my view was obscured by the rain.

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Jeff's black guitar is a les paul studio with some stickers on it. It also has a bigsby tremelo. I saw him use it last year in mississippi for hell is chrome. I couldn't figure out why he used it, it couldn't have been the bigsby, because I have seen several telecasters through the years with them (both during jay and after).

 

The only thing I can think of is the humbuckers. That is something that you never really saw onstage with Jeff and Nels. Most of their guitar have some sort of Fender lineage that includes singe coils and P-90's (except for Jeffs love of SG's). The Les Paul Studio is a cheaper offering from Gibson but is a decent guitar. I used to sell them and I am thinking that Jeff caught a real sweet one, that has been known to happen. The neck is really beefier and I just think they have a thicker tone.

 

I figured it was a guitar just for Hell is Chrome, but with the DVD that came with sky blue sky we see Jeff pull it out more. Maybe the Gibson Barney Kessel influenced him, but he has had that since around early 2003 (rolling stone article here).

 

So I guess Jeff is getting into some new tones, and they all sound great.

 

Nels amp looks like a repro of an early marshall j-45. Marshall released them in a limited edition a few years ago and I guess Schroeder is making their own version. Thats great, because they sound sweet.

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Dumb question - are Nels and Jeff heavily into tube amps? I think Marshall's stacks are solid state, right?

 

I'm into tube stereo gear but as far as guitar amps I must plead some ingnorance.

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I've played some awesome Les Paul Studios, and agree that you can find some really sweet ones.

 

I agree, those schroeders are probably jtm45 replicas, or at least nels' is. I wonder how much they cost, since most hand built replicas of old marshalls are way up there in the price range.

 

The guitar I was mentioning, though, isn't the les paul studio but something else - i found some flickr photos that have it in them. And, in the process of posting this i realized i'm pretty sure that it's on of these by Zemaitis - http://www.zemaitis.net/disc-front-zemaitis-guitars.htm

 

http://flickr.com/photos/44708911@N00/637002191/

http://flickr.com/photos/grw95/632557499/

http://flickr.com/photos/44708911@N00/627675933/

 

Anyway, they have sick amounts of incredible equipment, and get great tone. sweet.

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Yeah,thats it.Them things are crazy looking.

 

And Sarchi,almost everything on Wilco's stage is tube driven.Marshall's can be either or,as well as any brand for that matter.Tube amps are almost always prefered.Like hi/fi,we all wan't the sweetest tones we can get.

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Dumb question - are Nels and Jeff heavily into tube amps? I think Marshall's stacks are solid state, right?

 

I'm into tube stereo gear but as far as guitar amps I must plead some ingnorance.

 

Yeah, they definitely like their tube amps.

 

But I am convinced it doesn't matter what kind of amps they have, they're just that kind of guitarist that sounds like themselves no matter what they play through. I mean, I saw Nels when he had that cool white Marshall stack and then later on Sessions @ AOL with that Fender Deluxe Reverb and I could hardly tell the difference.

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Yeah, they definitely like their tube amps.

 

But I am convinced it doesn't matter what kind of amps they have, they're just that kind of guitarist that sounds like themselves no matter what they play through. I mean, I saw Nels when he had that cool white Marshall stack and then later on Sessions @ AOL with that Fender Deluxe Reverb and I could hardly tell the difference.

 

That may be true to an extent, but seems to me Wilco is a band that fusses a lot over their sound. Probably much moreso on studio recordings than live, but still. Music/songwriting first obviously, then performance.. but getting the sound they want down probably isn't too far behind.

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ha! thats the eternal guitar player conundrum... tone. we spend 1000's searching for 'that' tone, whether we play live or record (or both) and find ways to justify another new amp. but at the end of the day, the average punter at a live show cant tell the difference. that said, if a guitar player knows their tone sucks then i am sure the audience picks up on it somehow. in the studio however...

 

as for wilco, i reckon they would be very much into finding the perfect tone for personal happiness... :)

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Yes, but though the average person might come to a concert and say "Well, that lead guitar tone was SICK," people do notice when things for one reason or another, just sound great. This is especially true for opening bands that I don't know ahead of time. If they have some guitar tone that sounds like every other band then I don't really notice, but if something sounds really good, I'll listen a lot more. But then, if you have a wonderful tone and can't play the instrument well.......at least you're doing ONE thing right!

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Yes, but though the average person might come to a concert and say "Well, that lead guitar tone was SICK," people do notice when things for one reason or another, just sound great. This is especially true for opening bands that I don't know ahead of time. If they have some guitar tone that sounds like every other band then I don't really notice, but if something sounds really good, I'll listen a lot more. But then, if you have a wonderful tone and can't play the instrument well.......at least you're doing ONE thing right!

 

 

sure... but you are a guitar player right? i am talking about the average punter.

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The guitar I was mentioning, though, isn't the les paul studio but something else - i found some flickr photos that have it in them. And, in the process of posting this i realized i'm pretty sure that it's on of these by Zemaitis - http://www.zemaitis.net/disc-front-zemaitis-guitars.htm

 

http://flickr.com/photos/44708911@N00/637002191/

http://flickr.com/photos/grw95/632557499/

http://flickr.com/photos/44708911@N00/627675933/

 

 

That is a Zemaitis....those guys are amazing. That wasn't the guitar that I was thinking of, I have never seen Jeff play that one before.

 

Marshalls and solid state...they have a cheap solid state/tube hybrid called valvestate.....they pretty much sound like crap unless you want to be in a nu-metal band.

 

Don't knock the blackface deluxe...they are GREAT amps.

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