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Rock Star
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TL;DR: Divided by 13 JRT 9/15
Long (but very cool) story:
I had this amp for a while and played some memorable shows with it that I have a lot of sentimental feelings about. But I did a major gear purge where I sold just about everything I own to a local GC and it went with that.
As soon as I started thinking about getting an amp again it was the first amp that came to mind. I’ve been thinking about this amp and missing it since the moment I let it go.
So Friday I was about to go buy a different amp when I opened Facebook and happened to see this was just listed and the guy lived close to the GC where I’d sold mine. I contacted him and asked if he happened to buy it at that GC and he had.
This was my exact amp!
Started talking to this guy and learned he used to be a Nashville player and he knows Fred! He and another guitarist were about to start a national tour supporting a Nashville artist and Fred told them he had a new design he thought would be perfect for them. Turns out it was some of the first JRT 9/15’s!
Fred gave them a few to use for the tour, and this guy told me he’s thought about that amp ever since, and then one day he was in GC and saw one sitting there so he grabbed it.
He told me he called up Fred and told him he just found one of his amps in a GC. Fred plays every amp he’s ever built and rates them and keeps a list. Fred remembered this exact amp and said it’s one of the best. He rated it a 9.5 and said he’s only made a few 10’s in his career.
This guy told me every time friends of his from Nashville are in town on a tour they come hang out at his studio and this is everyone’s favorite amp to play.
So since it left me this amp has been getting recorded in sessions and played by all the Nashville cats coming through town.
The thing I love so much is that this is an amp that was hand built by a master craftsman, and it’s got a story. It’s not just another amp that came out of a factory. That sort of thing means a lot to me. An amp like this, it feels like I’m just its caretaker for a while, it will go on to create music long after I’m gone, but I get to be part of its story for a while.
I love that it actually is coming back to me with an even better story than it left me with! And I met a very cool guy out of the deal who I’ll most likely be doing some projects with in the future. He’s doing some amazing work to establish the local music scene that I didn’t even know about before, but now I can’t wait to be a part of.
Anyway, this amp is amazing. It is the best amp I’ve ever had. People talk about the famous Matchless top end; with Fred’s amps it’s the mids that are pure magic. They sit so perfectly in a mix.
This one is like the best Fender I’ve ever heard and it also does a great Voxy el84 thing!
For those not familiar with it, it’s got dual 5879 based preamps that you can blend. One is brighter and cleaner and the other is warmer and grittier. The second one has a rotary tone control and there is a cut control. There are dual power sections, one is 6v6 based and the other is el84 based
Long (but very cool) story:
I had this amp for a while and played some memorable shows with it that I have a lot of sentimental feelings about. But I did a major gear purge where I sold just about everything I own to a local GC and it went with that.
As soon as I started thinking about getting an amp again it was the first amp that came to mind. I’ve been thinking about this amp and missing it since the moment I let it go.
So Friday I was about to go buy a different amp when I opened Facebook and happened to see this was just listed and the guy lived close to the GC where I’d sold mine. I contacted him and asked if he happened to buy it at that GC and he had.
This was my exact amp!
Started talking to this guy and learned he used to be a Nashville player and he knows Fred! He and another guitarist were about to start a national tour supporting a Nashville artist and Fred told them he had a new design he thought would be perfect for them. Turns out it was some of the first JRT 9/15’s!
Fred gave them a few to use for the tour, and this guy told me he’s thought about that amp ever since, and then one day he was in GC and saw one sitting there so he grabbed it.
He told me he called up Fred and told him he just found one of his amps in a GC. Fred plays every amp he’s ever built and rates them and keeps a list. Fred remembered this exact amp and said it’s one of the best. He rated it a 9.5 and said he’s only made a few 10’s in his career.
This guy told me every time friends of his from Nashville are in town on a tour they come hang out at his studio and this is everyone’s favorite amp to play.
So since it left me this amp has been getting recorded in sessions and played by all the Nashville cats coming through town.
The thing I love so much is that this is an amp that was hand built by a master craftsman, and it’s got a story. It’s not just another amp that came out of a factory. That sort of thing means a lot to me. An amp like this, it feels like I’m just its caretaker for a while, it will go on to create music long after I’m gone, but I get to be part of its story for a while.
I love that it actually is coming back to me with an even better story than it left me with! And I met a very cool guy out of the deal who I’ll most likely be doing some projects with in the future. He’s doing some amazing work to establish the local music scene that I didn’t even know about before, but now I can’t wait to be a part of.
Anyway, this amp is amazing. It is the best amp I’ve ever had. People talk about the famous Matchless top end; with Fred’s amps it’s the mids that are pure magic. They sit so perfectly in a mix.
This one is like the best Fender I’ve ever heard and it also does a great Voxy el84 thing!
For those not familiar with it, it’s got dual 5879 based preamps that you can blend. One is brighter and cleaner and the other is warmer and grittier. The second one has a rotary tone control and there is a cut control. There are dual power sections, one is 6v6 based and the other is el84 based
