We're big Bill Kelliher fans – not only does he always deliver the goods live and on record with Mastodon, he loves talking tone as much as the rest of us. He's even a guitar teacher! Here he's offering his thoughts, and demoing, the latest iteration of one of the greatest rock guitar amps of all time; the 20-watt Marshall JCM800 Studio Classic.
"It's got a very nice and clean, very bright sound that really cuts through the mix, and to me that's very important," notes Bill, a big fan of arpeggiated parts that need clarity and articulation. "When I was a kid I would always scoop all the mids to get all the lows and highs in there. But I'd always listen back to recordings and ask, why can't I hear myself? And it's because you need that midrange, and this amp has a lot of midrange in it.
Listen to Bill – beware of the scoop!
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Rob is the Reviews Editor for GuitarWorld.com and MusicRadar guitars, so spends most of his waking hours (and beyond) thinking about and trying the latest gear while making sure our reviews team is giving you thorough and honest tests of it. He's worked for guitar mags and sites as a writer and editor for nearly 20 years but still winces at the thought of restringing anything with a Floyd Rose.