Lyndon Laney, the founder of Laney Amplification, has died, aged 77. Announcing the news, the Laney website described him as “one of the true pioneers of British musical equipment manufacturing” – and there can be no disputing that.
He leaves behind a formidable legacy, not only within the music industry but in pop culture at large, where his designs helped transform electric guitar tone.
It was a Laney amp that give heavy metal its foundational tone, as Tony Iommi, became an early adopter of his tube amp builds on Black Sabbath’s eponymous debut. This was a Promethean moment for rock music, and it had emerged from an unlikely source – the garage of Lyndon Laney’s father.
Article continues belowLike many talented electrical engineers with a passion for amplification, the garage was where he started out at the beginning of the Laney Amplification story. In the Midlands music scene, Lyndon Laney’s name was getting around. He was an electronics whiz. But he was a musician, too, playing bass guitar in The Band of Joy alongside future Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham and frontman Robert Plant.
In 1968, he made Plant a PA system for Led Zeppelin’s debut tour of North America, where they stood in for the Jeff Beck Band, opening for the likes of Vanilla Fudge and Iron Butterfly, creating a name for themselves before the release of their debut album.
Laney's amps would really take off once Iommi discovered them. He had written much of Black Sabbath’s debut on a 50-watt Marshall but he had got wind of a local amp builder who was transfixed by vacuum tube technology and the prospect of a distorted guitar sound. It would be the start of a lifelong friendship.
“I switched to Laney because they started up around the same time as us and they're a Birmingham company,” said Iommi, speaking to MusicRadar in 2010. “To be honest, they offered to give us all this gear when nobody else did. What do you say to that? ‘OK!’ So I used them.”
The circa ’67 LA100BL amps that Iommi was using with Black Sabbath had a simple design, driven by a quartet of EL34s in the power section, But with Iommi’s modded Dallas Rangemaster in front of it, with the treble booster hitting pushing it into overdrive – now this simple amp yielded complex harmonic overtones.
It was perfect for Iommi’s needs, and it put Laney on the map. Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler was using an LA100BL head, too (as the Laney Amplification website reminds us, the “BL” in the 100-watt head’s designation stood for “Bass or Lead” – Lyndon Laney was not going to let his fellow bassists down).
By 1970, Laney amps were being used by Black Sabbath, Clem Clempson of The Pinch/Bakerloo and later Colosseum, Jeff Lynne then of Idle Race, Tony McPhee of The Groundhogs, and Russ Ballard of Argent.
Iommi’s approach clearly gave Laney ideas. In 1973, Laney expanded its range. Joining the so-called Supergroup heads, LA100BL et al, Laney launched the KLIPP series. An early example of the hot-rodded tube amp, the KLIPP series incorporated an onboard treble booster.
Just as Laney had changed rock guitar, helping to inaugurate metal guitar as a sound, he also changed Christmas. Slade were big fans of Laney amps, and the KLIPP series were used for the ubiquitous Merry Xmas Everybody.
The evolution of the Laney brand continued apace as production moved to the Custard Factory in Birmingham’s Digbeth area. Today’s series of bass amps assumes the Digbeth name.
New designs were forthcoming, such as the AOR (Advanced Overdrive Response) series, which accommodated players’ growing appetite for more gain. Ace Frehley and Vinnie Moore were among those who used them in the early ‘80s.
Four preamp tubes were better than three, so read the marketing campaign. Like the KLIPP series, the AOR did something different with the tube amp paradigm.
In the mid ‘90s, the Tube Fusion series offered the best of both worlds at a time when tubes vs solid-state was the biggest debate in guitar amp circles. This offered a hybrid of both. But Laney was not afraid to return to the tube amp’s classic designs. His VC range brought back Class A tube tone in the mid ‘90s.
Lyndon Laney knew the industry inside and out. His Headstock Group portfolio included Laney Amplification and HH Audio, and would also be responsible for distributing Ibanez guitars and Tama drums in the UK, alongside DiMarzio pickups, Truetone pedalboard power supplies, and drum brands Zildjian and Vic Firth.
I am absolutely devastated. We go back to the late ‘60s when I first met him and I started using his Laney amps
Tony Iommi
Iommi, who recently teamed up with the brand for a limited run of his TI000 signature amps to mark Black Sabbath's farewell, was one of the first to pay tribute to Laney.
“I’m so sad to say that I lost my very dear friend Lyndon Laney to cancer on Friday,” wrote Iommi on Instagram. “I am absolutely devastated. We go back to the late ‘60s when I first met him and I started using his Laney amps. He was a really lovely guy and his great passion was building valve amps.
“He also loved his cars as I did as well, we had so much in common. We’d sit talking about ideas and what to build into my amplifiers. I am so honoured to have known him and his family. James, his son, has been running the company for some years now and he has carried on the business and has pushed it forward with some brilliant ideas. My deepest condolences go out to Lyndon’s wife Jan and son James.”
In a statement, Laney Amplification spoke of the company’s “deep sadness” and saluted the contribution its founder’s vision and “uncompromising commitment to quality”.
“Lyndon’s influence extended far beyond business success; he was admired for his warmth, integrity, humour and quiet determination,” said Laney. “Lyndon was not only a founder, but also a creator, innovator, and trusted figure whose passion for industry was at the heart of his working life.
“His legacy continues through the business he built and through his son, James Laney, who proudly carries that vision forward. He will be greatly missed by his family, friends, colleagues, and the wider music community.”
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