My great-grandfather, Thomas Jennings, founded Vox... I never got to meet him, but my god would we have a lot to talk about. Very proud of that legacy - they might not be the best amplifiers but they played a huge role in the development of rock and the 60s sound :)
Wow, yeah, you should be proud, no doubt! They’re my favorite « amp sound ». Vox nailed something special. When I got back into electric guitar after a 10 year hiatus, I ended up buying a Vox AC10c1 for home use and a Vox AC30s1 for playing with friends. Nothing came close for what I wanted and at a non-insane price from anybody else.
The fact Vox had to outsource to keep up with demand, shows just how great those Dartford made amps were. I used to walk past the Vox factory on my way to school in the 60’s.
I had a Marshall 100 watt valve head and a 4 x 12 cabinet in the early 80's. The head blew a valve. My mum took me, I didn't drive at that time, to the Marshall factory in Bletchley, England on Saturday, it was about 20 miles away from where we lived. They repaired it while we were there and they told us stories about the famous musicians who brought their gear into to be tweaked, repaired or modified. We had a tour and watched as they repaired it! Fun times. The story that sticks in my mind was Angus Young from AC/DC would wander round the factory playing his guitar with the volume on full!
Tim, I LOVE your commitment to "I don't endorse anything just because i get paid". This is the cornerstone of your credibility as a musicians and a person. Thank you. PS: LOVE all your playing!
I was lucky enough, to meet Jim Marshall, who took me and my friends to lunch and told us how he taught 60 students per week,one of which was Mitch Mitchell and how he taught during the week and made 4x12's in his garage on the weekend! Genius of a guy!
RobVoyles oh dont talk stupid,fingers do not make the tone of an amp sorry. i bet he wouldnt have that lovely tone without the amp. if he played it unplugged do you think it would sound that nice because of his fingers, no it wouldnt, so his fingers dont make the tone. Just stand a mic in front of the guitar and then listen to the true tone of it, people talk such rubbish and pass it as fact.
@@dabluzedabluze260 Indeed, if tone were truly "in the fingers," you could walk out on stage without any gear whatsoever and play the greatest show ever! Tone comes from the sum total of everything involved in the playing process: what you do with your hands; what brand and gauge strings you use; the design and construction of, and the electronics in, your guitar itself; the quality and length of your cables; which effects you use; which amp you use, and even HOW you use the amp! For example, I have a nifty little 4 watt, pure Class A Vox AC4C1-12, and I always use it with an angled amp stand because to my ears, it sounds BOTH bigger/better when I get it up off the floor. (Sound guys absolutely love me, too!)
Tim, I've been watching your videos for a while, and dude I just got to say this. Every time I see you surrounded by all that equipment it makes me smile and chuckle just a bit--in a good way of course. I love all your videos, and thanks for brightening up my days.
That was one of the best interviews I have seen. Being a part time amp tech from learning vacuum tubes in high school in the seventies, this really hit home. I learned a lot from this video. Tim's guitar tone was amazing. And the smell of the old tube amps don't smell anything like the new tube amps. Thank you!
Loved that. Good questions from Tim, and John Tucci seems like an extremely humble, down-to-earth, honest, intelligent and interesting man. I could listen to him talk for hours. Have him on again, Tim. Thank you.
Talk about some good stuff. First - what a pleasure to watch/hear Tim play - the joy he expresses and the lovely music is just inspiring. That L5 tone is sublime. Great content, insight, etc.... thank you!
Man, I LOVE your playing! Fifty-three years I’ve been trying to translate what I hear up here (points to head) to what comes out there (points to cab,) and am closing in on the tone, but the playing? Not even on your planet. You, sir, are an exceedingly listenable guitarist. I am incredibly envious of your ability and will never give up!
Hello Tim, Congrats on your L5. A wonderful 1952's with a fantastic sound. The most characterful guitar in your stable. With John you have an absolute expert at your side. I learned a lot today. Thank you!
Thanks for an interesting discussion, particularly about the differences introduced by variations in components between amps in the same model year. Recapping my 64 Deluxe (blackface; non-reverb) and 63 Pro (brown face; non-reverb) introduced different and pleasing colors to the sounds these things make. Love the L5 - Kalamazoo's Finest!!
Jim Marshall actually owned two music stores in West London. His drum store was in Ealing where he’d employed a young drum salesman, Mitch Mitchell who’d also taken drum lessons from Marshall. Jimi Hendrix walked in one day. Looking to form his own group, Mitch eventually got the gig as his drummer. Marshall’s other shop was down the road in Hanwell Broadway where he sold guitars. Deciding to move into amps as well, he’d make the enclosures at his then home in Southall; take them to the store where his amp guy would fit the amps and speaker/s. A local band from Acton came in to check out his amps. That was The Who who’d started using them but coming back asking for more powerful amps with larger speaker cabs as they’d wanted to be the loudest band gigging around.
Amazing equipment and you certainly know how to use it. Thanks for the history information on Fender, Vox, and Marshall. It was really interesting. 👍👍👍
The fact that Dick Denney designed the Vox to amplify a Telecaster explains why the sound of a Tele through a Vox is one of the best sounds in all of music. Makes me want to dive back into the session where I had a guitarist playing his Tele through an AC-15 with some distortion on the signal!
this was really an interesting interview and from the information that you two presented was very educational.. It cleared up a number of questions that i have had about amps for years.
Ur playing is amazing it really reminds me of my grand father.. his ears were sonically amazing, but taught himself to read music. Because he was obsessed with getting is right. He would play Chet stile mixed in with a little les Paul. ✌️🎸🎼🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🇺🇸
Good grief!!! That L5 and whatever you've got it playing through is the smoothest and butteriest I've ever heard. That jazzy stuff to me has never been my thing but your rig there is on a different level. I love it. Don't ever sell it. That's a rare thing when they sound that good. Glad you got it and enjoy.
I was 12 years old in 1981 and my guitar teacher had an L-5. I loved it even then when I was a big Iron Maiden and Rainbow fan. Well, I'm still an Iron Maiden and Rainbow fan, but you get it. Thanks for the great video.
Tim - gonna fanboy for a minute, first of all - I discovered you on the Living in Oz album, at a time when so many guitarists were just flashy, your playing had such a ridiculous sense of melody and structure, it affected the way I play, even up till now. Also - I am so grateful for your videos - not only do they make me rethink how I approach the guitar, but so informative, and well stated. Thank you - for all that you do - be well.
I love coming back to this video and watching it again. It's great! It's probably one of my favorites. I'm bummed that I can only give it one like, though.
I love how the history of all this stuff comes from a practical perspective first. We now can look back and admire , pick n choose favorites and be picky but at the time the gear just needed to work and not break down, so much of it was a happy accident
70’s 50w Marshall’s, pretty much indestructible. Twin Reverbs were the same. Pretty rare to have a problem. Just packed an extra fuse in case of a beer incident back then. These days I always bring two amps but I am seriously considering that Strymon thing for a backup. So much cool stuff now. It’s a golden age for motor heads and guitar players.
Beautiful guitar Tim. Nice find. Excellent video with great information. I always wondered what it was about Fender amps that didn't fit your style. I tend to go for less distortion, so I like them. But, recently had the chance to play through a JTM45. Wonderful clean tones.
I've owened a good few Marshals and vox and I must say they really do sound different. Thanks for thsi video and the best bit of advice is stay humble.
Thanks much (and love your guitar sound/playing). What's interesting about this to me is I've owned a Digitech RP-500 (now obsolete) for about 12 years and I used it mostly as stomp box multi effect unit. And just in the past few weeks, I decided to fool around with the Amp Modeling (which I thought would be really cheesy as digital reenactments of the whole series of amps from Vox to Marshall to Hiwatt to Mesa Boogie etc.) Literally like 50 different amps from the earliest years to the newest. And I was chasing around comparing the sound through a straight Gallien Krueger clean adjusted amp with 2-10's from the 70s to a bunch of UA-cam's testing out the actual amps. I was so pleasantly surprised at just how close the digital modeling was to the actual tube amp. And it's been a lot of fun. I also have an old Fender Princeton, probably from the 60s, that had the original Fender speaker that was fairly weak but it would break up really nice at higher volumes. Sort of a combination of the amp break up but mostly it was speaker break up. Then I decided, on a lark, to put in a pricier bigger magnet Neodymium speaker and, as a result, the amp is much louder and it's nearly impossible to break it up unless I go close to full blast. So I've been a bit torn between the lesser power and the breaking up and the 50% louder and mostly clean.
Absolutely love Fender amps. Their clean sound is the "Gold Standard" for cleans. So buttery smooth, and resonantly full. I love Marshalls dirt sound, but can't justify buying one solely for that sound. Especially when if I just have to have "that sound," I can place a "Marshall-in-a-box" type pedal in front of my clean Fender amp. Boom! There it is, or at least close enough that most wouldn't know. With that said, I don't usually try to mimic that sound, and prefer to sound just a little different than everybody else. I actually love the way Fender Distortion sounds, as it works for my styles, and what I'm trying to achieve. I wish I could like Vox, but it's just red hot icepicks to my ears. Probably just an issue with me though. 😝 I've always found it weird how different people make different amps sound compared to others. I know people that can't seem to get a good sound out of a Fender, or Marshall, but can make a Supro sound amazingly lush. I somehow make a Supro sound like a cereal box with a Piezo speaker attached with bubblegum. Again, probably a problem with me. Yet I can play Heavy Metal on a Fender amp, with a Fender Strat, and have it sound great, then turn around and play lush sounding Blues on that same amp. Definitely a personal thing when it comes to our gear choices, but I also think that maybe there might be some crazy equation in the background that drives us toward those choices.
Yes, for sure, certain "touches" on the guitar lend themselves to certain amps, no question. I truly adore certain Fender sounds (like Steve Howe's tone on Yessongs, Neil Young's cranked Deluxe tone, SRV), but never quite got along with them somehow...I think I just never met the right one. And not all Fender distortion is created equal, not by a long shot, depending on model, etc. (talk about red hot icepicks, there are some terrible Fender models that can deliver that!). Marshall--now that's an amp (esp the early ones) _I_ can get along with! They just "agree" with my playing, my touch(?), I don't know. But I've heard otherwise great players seemingly unable to get a decent tone out of a good Marshall, while another guy can plug into the same amp and boom--it's instant Dickey Betts. It's as you said regarding a Supro: I have an old 60's one that I adore, but I have a blues-rock Strat playing friend who I _know_ would never be able to get along with that amp. Vox? In the right hands, a Tele and vintage AC-30 is a match made in heaven! Maybe that "crazy equation" is a combination of what I call "digital embouchure" ("your tone is in your hands/fingers") + what one's own ears/brain need to "hear" coming out of an amp + how that interaction inspires one to play = a circular feedback (no pun) loop...something like that... ;)
My great-grandfather, Thomas Jennings, founded Vox... I never got to meet him, but my god would we have a lot to talk about. Very proud of that legacy - they might not be the best amplifiers but they played a huge role in the development of rock and the 60s sound :)
Wow, yeah, you should be proud, no doubt! They’re my favorite « amp sound ». Vox nailed something special. When I got back into electric guitar after a 10 year hiatus, I ended up buying a Vox AC10c1 for home use and a Vox AC30s1 for playing with friends. Nothing came close for what I wanted and at a non-insane price from anybody else.
Might not be the best? You say that like it is some tiny company most people have never heard of. It’s a legendary company!
You should be very proud of it. Voxes are GREAT amps!
The fact Vox had to outsource to keep up with demand, shows just how great those Dartford made amps were. I used to walk past the Vox factory
on my way to school in the 60’s.
Always lovedVOX still do & still have couple amps✌
Tim, that L5 sounds like a dream now Im looking for one! Amazing video dude!!
Tilly is gonna mess you up!
I had a Marshall 100 watt valve head and a 4 x 12 cabinet in the early 80's. The head blew a valve. My mum took me, I didn't drive at that time, to the Marshall factory in Bletchley, England on Saturday, it was about 20 miles away from where we lived. They repaired it while we were there and they told us stories about the famous musicians who brought their gear into to be tweaked, repaired or modified. We had a tour and watched as they repaired it! Fun times. The story that sticks in my mind was Angus Young from AC/DC would wander round the factory playing his guitar with the volume on full!
Angus must have had a VERY long lead ? . . . lol
This one in particular needs a part 2.
Yeah that would be great
This video uas to be one of my favorite videos of Tims
“Let me just watch a few minutes of this”... 20 minutes later.
This is my 5th time in a row watching.
Haha, same thing happened to me and I’m glad it did
100%
Beee-u-ty-full..
Guitar
Same here 😂😂
one of my favorite videos of this channel. SO GOOD. thanks Tim!
Agreed
Well, for someone who loves "dirt", those playing segments are pretty darn clean .... and beautiful.
I could watch stuff like this all day every day. The history is absolutely captivating.
Tim, I LOVE your commitment to "I don't endorse anything just because i get paid". This is the cornerstone of your credibility as a musicians and a person. Thank you. PS: LOVE all your playing!
two of the lovliest guys I have ever seen on YT! Such a pleasure listen to you talking together with so much respect.
I was lucky enough, to meet Jim Marshall, who took me and my friends to lunch and told us how he taught 60 students per week,one of which was Mitch Mitchell and how he taught during the week and made 4x12's in his garage on the weekend! Genius of a guy!
Tim the tone of this guitar is amazing.
I would agree wholeheartedly. As soon as he started playing, I was like that sounds beautiful.
RobVoyles oh dont talk stupid,fingers do not make the tone of an amp sorry. i bet he wouldnt have that lovely tone without the amp. if he played it unplugged do you think it would sound that nice because of his fingers, no it wouldnt, so his fingers dont make the tone. Just stand a mic in front of the guitar and then listen to the true tone of it, people talk such rubbish and pass it as fact.
@@dabluzedabluze260 Indeed, if tone were truly "in the fingers," you could walk out on stage without any gear whatsoever and play the greatest show ever!
Tone comes from the sum total of everything involved in the playing process: what you do with your hands; what brand and gauge strings you use; the design and construction of, and the electronics in, your guitar itself; the quality and length of your cables; which effects you use; which amp you use, and even HOW you use the amp!
For example, I have a nifty little 4 watt, pure Class A Vox AC4C1-12, and I always use it with an angled amp stand because to my ears, it sounds BOTH bigger/better when I get it up off the floor. (Sound guys absolutely love me, too!)
"It's all preference" - That's a *real* expert.
yep,
Absolutely
I still have my first amp, 64 Fender twin I bought for 200 dollars.....never gonna sell it
"Surprised and delighted" is a great way to describe this! Thanks for having John on to share his knowledge.
Your playing always blows me away. So melodic and so much feel and innovation in your playing.
I SO LOVE your musical interludes between the chats!
so much taste in phrasing!
What a fun interview, thoroughly enjoyed that. And such sweet playing---Nice!
What a terrific clear concise and informative interview! Great work Tim.
Awesome content Mr. Pierce! Loved this collaboration! 🤘🏼🤘🏼🤘🏼
Tim, I've been watching your videos for a while, and dude I just got to say this. Every time I see you surrounded by all that equipment it makes me smile and chuckle just a bit--in a good way of course. I love all your videos, and thanks for brightening up my days.
excellent video Tim, thanks for taking the time to share it with us!
The guitar and amp combo, that’s magical. Equaled by his playing
The sound..
The Effing sound!
That was one of the best interviews I have seen. Being a part time amp tech from learning vacuum tubes in high school in the seventies, this really hit home. I learned a lot from this video. Tim's guitar tone was amazing. And the smell of the old tube amps don't smell anything like the new tube amps. Thank you!
Amazing wok as always man. Informative with an insight that not a whole lot of us know about. Appreciative of the knowledge
That was such a really lighthearted production you guys did !
Thanks for sharing Tim! I always look forward to your Saturday morning videos. Coffee, guitar and Tim!
Loved that. Good questions from Tim, and John Tucci seems like an extremely humble, down-to-earth, honest, intelligent and interesting man. I could listen to him talk for hours. Have him on again, Tim. Thank you.
Talk about some good stuff. First - what a pleasure to watch/hear Tim play - the joy he expresses and the lovely music is just inspiring. That L5 tone is sublime. Great content, insight, etc.... thank you!
What A GREAT conversation! Thanks to both of you.
Being a Vox guy myself, and loving old Gibson tube amps, this was a very, very cool video to watch. Super informative. Thanks for this! Cheers
Always look forward to your videos, Tim. Thank you!
Adjusted for inflation, $13,000,000.00 in 1965 is equal to $104,680,416.67 in 2019.
Annual inflation over this period was 3.94%.
Which brings up the question: How much would Fender sell for today? Well north of that, I'm sure.
This guy is an encyclopedia of amplifiers. Amazing.
I think I needed to hear you play that melody for a really long time.
Excellent interview skills. Cool, the way he let his guest speak. Showed respect and made for a richer, more rewarding interview.
Man, I LOVE your playing! Fifty-three years I’ve been trying to translate what I hear up here (points to head) to what comes out there (points to cab,) and am closing in on the tone, but the playing? Not even on your planet. You, sir, are an exceedingly listenable guitarist. I am incredibly envious of your ability and will never give up!
great video! I like hearing stories and Tim's playing is so fun to watch!!
Tim your articles and lessons are so informative. And you seem so likeable. You are totally a Monster player. I wish you continued success. Godspeed.
Hello Tim, Congrats on your L5. A wonderful 1952's with a fantastic sound. The most characterful guitar in your stable. With John you have an absolute expert at your side. I learned a lot today. Thank you!
That was really cool. The knowledge that guy has is priceless.
That guitar sounds so sweet, as does your playing!
Love the story on the amp factories
Super informative, great background on iconic sound... thanks Tim
Great video, I really like the history behind the building of the equipment and the makers them selves. Awesome Playing Tim! Your an inspiration.
Great stories, Tim. You’re teaching us much more than great guitar methods. Thank you.
In my view, Tim is carrying on the TRADITION of guitar culture...and THAT is important,too...just like notes and chords.
Thanks for an interesting discussion, particularly about the differences introduced by variations in components between amps in the same model year. Recapping my 64 Deluxe (blackface; non-reverb) and 63 Pro (brown face; non-reverb) introduced different and pleasing colors to the sounds these things make. Love the L5 - Kalamazoo's Finest!!
Always enjoy just watching Tim play
Man Tim, I just love your videos. Especially ones like this.
Jim Marshall actually owned two music stores in West London. His drum store was in Ealing where he’d employed a young drum salesman, Mitch Mitchell who’d also taken drum lessons from Marshall. Jimi Hendrix walked in one day. Looking to form his own group, Mitch eventually got the gig as his drummer. Marshall’s other shop was down the road in Hanwell Broadway where he sold guitars. Deciding to move into amps as well, he’d make the enclosures at his then home in Southall; take them to the store where his amp guy would fit the amps and speaker/s. A local band from Acton came in to check out his amps. That was The Who who’d started using them but coming back asking for more powerful amps with larger speaker cabs as they’d wanted to be the loudest band gigging around.
I've read that the first to pull his wallet out was actually Entwistle.
Dude you are so freakin cool. I can't get over your playing..
Amazing equipment and you certainly know how to use it. Thanks for the history information on Fender, Vox, and Marshall. It was really interesting. 👍👍👍
The fact that Dick Denney designed the Vox to amplify a Telecaster explains why the sound of a Tele through a Vox is one of the best sounds in all of music. Makes me want to dive back into the session where I had a guitarist playing his Tele through an AC-15 with some distortion on the signal!
this was really an interesting interview and from the information that you two presented was very educational.. It cleared up a number of questions that i have had about amps for years.
Tim, you have some of the most interesting guests...
What an interview..! So informative Thanks
Michael
Awesome interview and I learned something about classic amps and the order of best of them!!!! 😎🎸 thanks man!!!
I admire all your work Mr. Pierce thanks for your videos
wow that guitar sounds amazing! congrats on the new member of the family
Tim, your tone and phrasing is so sweet! Love your videos!
Tim your tone is Crushingly cool !!
That L5 is gorgeous, your playing is outstanding!!!
Great video. I Could watch you guys chat about amps all day.
Tim, I loved the licks you were doing on this video!
Just love you4 tone on the opening piece. Wow. That's my kind of jazz tone. Woody but not bonky, open, mellow yet can attack. Gorgeous.
Thanks for all the great content dude! Love your channel, keep up the great work. 👍😎🎸🎸🎸
Good discussion, and great playing!
Great interview. I could listen to John all day. I own 50 guitars but I still know squat about amps. More, please.
Great show Tim Pierce.
I cant believe what an incredibly warm yet articulate, sparkly neck p/u tone you got around the 4:00 mark. Stellar!
Beautiful playing as always!
wow! thank you for sharing this. great stories. would love to hear more.
Hi, Nice video, I remember hauling round a 50 W Marshall, and a 4x12 London city in the back of an 1973 beetle, it was a thight fit.
Ur playing is amazing it really reminds me of my grand father.. his ears were sonically amazing, but taught himself to read music. Because he was obsessed with getting is right. He would play Chet stile mixed in with a little les Paul. ✌️🎸🎼🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🇺🇸
Timmy! Your videos are the absolute coolest. Keep it up.
Thanks Tim and John, really interesting
Good grief!!! That L5 and whatever you've got it playing through is the smoothest and butteriest I've ever heard. That jazzy stuff to me has never been my thing but your rig there is on a different level. I love it. Don't ever sell it. That's a rare thing when they sound that good. Glad you got it and enjoy.
The L5 is just beautiful. The sound is amazing. Great history.
Thank you for the wonderful video, Tim.
I was 12 years old in 1981 and my guitar teacher had an L-5. I loved it even then when I was a big Iron Maiden and Rainbow fan. Well, I'm still an Iron Maiden and Rainbow fan, but you get it. Thanks for the great video.
Tim - gonna fanboy for a minute, first of all - I discovered you on the Living in Oz album, at a time when so many guitarists were just flashy, your playing had such a ridiculous sense of melody and structure, it affected the way I play, even up till now.
Also - I am so grateful for your videos - not only do they make me rethink how I approach the guitar, but so informative, and well stated.
Thank you - for all that you do - be well.
Great interview! Amp knowledge is on high demand now a days-kids are getting interested in them, especially if they are tube-based.
Tim, your playing style is great, I could listen to you all day. I am a fender lover though. :)
Congrats on hitting 200K subscribers! Well deserved. 👌🏻🕶✌🏻
I love coming back to this video and watching it again. It's great! It's probably one of my favorites. I'm bummed that I can only give it one like, though.
Awesome Vid TP, John seems like the coolest dude!!
I love the way your studio looks. Very small and sweet. My dream
*Awesome info and guitar playing.*
Thanx Tim and John... that wuz a good one!
cheers
I really love your playing Tim!
Great stories and discussion, I feel like the ultimate fly on the wall. Thanks :D
I love how the history of all this stuff comes from a practical perspective first. We now can look back and admire , pick n choose favorites and be picky but at the time the gear just needed to work and not break down, so much of it was a happy accident
OK. Curtains looking wow...amp sound story really helpful, heard the difference so clearly in your playing, Both Marshall and Vox, wow
beautiful playing....great tones!!
My gibson tweed falcon is the best sounding amp I've ever owned. My 50 watt '74 Marshall was amazing too. Great video
Fascinating! Thank you for sharing the pedigree of these amplifiers!
70’s 50w Marshall’s, pretty much indestructible. Twin Reverbs were the same. Pretty rare to have a problem. Just packed an extra fuse in case of a beer incident back then. These days I always bring two amps but I am seriously considering that Strymon thing for a backup. So much cool stuff now. It’s a golden age for motor heads and guitar players.
i love your tone Tim !
Beautiful guitar Tim. Nice find. Excellent video with great information. I always wondered what it was about Fender amps that didn't fit your style. I tend to go for less distortion, so I like them. But, recently had the chance to play through a JTM45. Wonderful clean tones.
I've owened a good few Marshals and vox and I must say they really do sound different. Thanks for thsi video and the best bit of advice is stay humble.
Tim, you made my breakfast delicious. Lovely day start. Never ceases to inspire. Thx.
Thanks much (and love your guitar sound/playing). What's interesting about this to me is I've owned a Digitech RP-500 (now obsolete) for about 12 years and I used it mostly as stomp box multi effect unit. And just in the past few weeks, I decided to fool around with the Amp Modeling (which I thought would be really cheesy as digital reenactments of the whole series of amps from Vox to Marshall to Hiwatt to Mesa Boogie etc.) Literally like 50 different amps from the earliest years to the newest. And I was chasing around comparing the sound through a straight Gallien Krueger clean adjusted amp with 2-10's from the 70s to a bunch of UA-cam's testing out the actual amps. I was so pleasantly surprised at just how close the digital modeling was to the actual tube amp. And it's been a lot of fun.
I also have an old Fender Princeton, probably from the 60s, that had the original Fender speaker that was fairly weak but it would break up really nice at higher volumes. Sort of a combination of the amp break up but mostly it was speaker break up. Then I decided, on a lark, to put in a pricier bigger magnet Neodymium speaker and, as a result, the amp is much louder and it's nearly impossible to break it up unless I go close to full blast. So I've been a bit torn between the lesser power and the breaking up and the 50% louder and mostly clean.
Absolutely love Fender amps. Their clean sound is the "Gold Standard" for cleans. So buttery smooth, and resonantly full. I love Marshalls dirt sound, but can't justify buying one solely for that sound. Especially when if I just have to have "that sound," I can place a "Marshall-in-a-box" type pedal in front of my clean Fender amp. Boom! There it is, or at least close enough that most wouldn't know. With that said, I don't usually try to mimic that sound, and prefer to sound just a little different than everybody else. I actually love the way Fender Distortion sounds, as it works for my styles, and what I'm trying to achieve. I wish I could like Vox, but it's just red hot icepicks to my ears. Probably just an issue with me though. 😝 I've always found it weird how different people make different amps sound compared to others. I know people that can't seem to get a good sound out of a Fender, or Marshall, but can make a Supro sound amazingly lush. I somehow make a Supro sound like a cereal box with a Piezo speaker attached with bubblegum. Again, probably a problem with me. Yet I can play Heavy Metal on a Fender amp, with a Fender Strat, and have it sound great, then turn around and play lush sounding Blues on that same amp. Definitely a personal thing when it comes to our gear choices, but I also think that maybe there might be some crazy equation in the background that drives us toward those choices.
Yes, for sure, certain "touches" on the guitar lend themselves to certain amps, no question. I truly adore certain Fender sounds (like Steve Howe's tone on Yessongs, Neil Young's cranked Deluxe tone, SRV), but never quite got along with them somehow...I think I just never met the right one. And not all Fender distortion is created equal, not by a long shot, depending on model, etc. (talk about red hot icepicks, there are some terrible Fender models that can deliver that!). Marshall--now that's an amp (esp the early ones) _I_ can get along with! They just "agree" with my playing, my touch(?), I don't know. But I've heard otherwise great players seemingly unable to get a decent tone out of a good Marshall, while another guy can plug into the same amp and boom--it's instant Dickey Betts. It's as you said regarding a Supro: I have an old 60's one that I adore, but I have a blues-rock Strat playing friend who I _know_ would never be able to get along with that amp. Vox? In the right hands, a Tele and vintage AC-30 is a match made in heaven! Maybe that "crazy equation" is a combination of what I call "digital embouchure" ("your tone is in your hands/fingers") + what one's own ears/brain need to "hear" coming out of an amp + how that interaction inspires one to play = a circular feedback (no pun) loop...something like that... ;)