Are John Frusciante's Stage Amps Actually Dummys?

One debate I saw a lot during the start of Unlimited Love surrounds John Frusciante's stage amps, and how a lot of people believed they were in fact dummy amps. His real ones are back stage in a rack unit. Do I believe this? Well we'll take a look at the facts in this episode!
#johnfrusciante #unlimitedlovetour #redhotchilipeppers #JFGear
Source Videos
Californication:
kzbin.info/www/bejne/h3_JoqyGbrWkfKc
Rig Rundown:
kzbin.info/www/bejne/eqjPgomPeZJ8js0
I believe all content used falls under the remits of Fair Use, but if any content owners would like to dispute this I will not hesitate to immediately credit said content or come to a mutually agreed upon decision. It is not my intent in anyway to infringe on content ownership.
All content on my channel expresses the views and opinions of myself and myself alone. All topics and discussion are intended for entertainment and educational purposes. I encourage my viewers to make their own informed opinions.

[@FS-fn9uf]

I was in the front row in Chicago. The amps are not dummies. The guitar tech tested each one individually and fiddled with knobs for a minute. You could see and hear each one alone. I thought they sounded amazing by themselves and were loud!

[@MatteoBrucato]

John is old school. The same reason why his rig keeps breaking on stage: he's not going to change his approach. Those are the real amps. And I'm glad he does it, that's why I go see them in front row whenever I can. I want to be blasted by that sound.

[@BrettKnows]

I think that when JF does that feedback trick during solos, it gives away that they are indeed active amps on stage unless the backstage racked amps are running to the on-stage cabinets.

[@Vigi]

Agree! :)

[@blindsleep]

JF is such a gear nerd and vintage guy, I think it's just old school horsepower on stage. I'm 100% sure that the amps on stage are the main dish, with those back ups as those, just back ups.

[@slimkickens]

It's also possible that only one stage cab is live for feedback. That's how Green Day's rig is setup

[@blindsleep]

@@slimkickens I just would see them micing the cabs if they were fake or props only.

[@cirotheb5]

The cabinets would still work if they are fed from backstage, so feedback would still be possible, but John is an old school guy so i think the amps are real

[@TheSailsCall]

Heck yeah man! John loving an old school rig is so badass! Side note, I was standing near Front Row Bobby at the Detroit show and during sound check I was watching Mr. Trejo dialing the knobs on the 2203 and major that were out front and we all could hear tonal differences when Henry was sound checking, it was super cool to see in person!!(:

[@nimitz1739]

John is so passionate about music and vintage gear. “borderline crazy” Its not in his DNA to have anything fake when it comes to music, especially the amps he uses.

[@shanedogg4263]

100% agree with you. Dummy amps just dont seem like a very John Frusciante type of thing at all. Thats why we love him! Keep up the amazing videos!

[@ColossalTriangle6425]

Definitely real amps and the ones he plays during the shows. I was at the show in Detroit toward the front when John's pedalboard went down and Henry plugged him directly into the amp. John is an old school guy, these amps on stage are the real deal. You could watch Henry set these up after the Strokes finished and John fiddle with the knobs when his pedalboard went down.

[@joshuafoster2262]

Can confirm, saw the same thing Thursday night in DC.

[@michaelmassaro3483]

Sent you some footage via IG from this weekend in Philly showing Henry adjusting the amps on stage right before the show. They were glorious sounding even when not coming through the PA pre-show.

[@blahblahfaghrii3061]

Always love for the John Frusciante content 🤟keep em comin

[@classicblah1497]

Yesss

[@davyholden]

Great video!

[@w13rdguy]

Most big acts have processing and patching going on in the rack. Plugging in directly bypasses whatever is broken.

[@sombra1111]

Yes, they are real and working amps. People like to make this kind of stuff up. I saw people going as far as saying that AK uses autotune live in every concert, when he obviously doesn't. There was some post production on Slane Castle and maybe some other concerts, but there's no autotune live

[@BobbysArchive]

Depends on the show. You can find a lot of audience recordings of Otherside and few other songs in the early 2000s where the autotune fucks up and sounds like shit, example Yokohama 2004 and Rock Am Ring 2004

[@sombra1111]

@@BobbysArchive Wow, I had never seen that. That's terrible. Maybe they tried it out a couple of times in 2004 but quickly realized it would never work with AK. Luckily, he's singing better now than he did back then (or ever), which is a nice surprise this late in the game.

[@shawnmcvey7789]

I was under the impression the amp back stage is just to be mic'd and the ones on stage were for stage volume and air being pushed.

[@SergeiSmalkov]

He also uses feedback from the cabs from time to time during solos. They are definitely the real amps. More often I see him in front of the middle one, though.

[@Vigi]

I think they're smarties 😁

[@exderiusmusic6346]

:)

[@inrime]

I love smarties.

[@Ivna486]

I just saw them last night , and I waiting for his rig to f up . Nothing happened his rig went through the whole gig flawlessly.

[@FS-fn9uf]

Another note… I think the vast majority of his sound was from the Major. It was really clean and loud and to my ear sounded like the core tone for the pedalboard. I’m not sure I really heard the jubilee when John played but I did hear it on its own in the preshow sound check. I think he could do just fine with the WH10 and the DS-2 through the Jubilee.

[@producermikescott3647]

Detroit was my 1st pepper show this was definitely a memorable Californication !!!!

[@acousdeek]

Love all the JF love and content! Have you looked into the chorus pedals he's used over the years? That could be a fun one to explore. In regards to this video, totally agree with you - and really well explained! I think given John's current pedal board setup and just how old school he is in general, it's no surprise that the amps on stage are providing that wall of sound :)

[@richarddeem6169]

Mostly it’s just been the CE-1 but I remember reading somewhere that the ce1 was broken when recording soul to squeeze and he used a different one which I don’t remember

[@severebash9153]

@@richarddeem6169 that would be the DOD Stereo Chorus FX65

[@TedVoltolina]

Love the JF content! Can you do a phaser analysis? I'm struggling to figure out exactly where to place my Phase 90. He's using it in his rig again so I'm very interested to see where he's likely placing it now, compared to when he used it on the Californication album.

[@liamjenkins244]

Phasers are probably the hardest pedal to place in the chain They sound completely different depending where you put them

[@TedVoltolina]

@@liamjenkins244 Yeah it's really frustrating. It's sounding good after my WH10 right now, now that I have a CE-1 clone at the end and a DS-2 at the beginning. But I still can't crank the DS-2 with the Phase 90 on, and forget about fuzz. Though I'm having some luck experimenting with the Big Muff.

[@liamjenkins244]

@@TedVoltolina i think when i used to try getting john frusciante tones i used the phaser after ds-2 before wah it can be good on slow settings after a distortion but it does sound way more extreme i use a small stone now & it's first thing in my chain

[@voxpathfinder15r]

Having these amps on stage and heads out back I am sure give John options every single night depending on the venue. Some nights I am sure he can only light up one stack, other nights the rack behind goes directly to foh for a quiet stage, other nights I am sure all cylinders are running. Just depends on the needs for the venue

[@forgettablelisa]

After having them melt my face in Nashville, my takeaway is that I don't give a shit lol. Whatever the hell he's doing on this tour, it's awesome.

[@400_billion_suns]

His stage complement of amps is actually a hybrid of what he used to record BSSM (plexi + major) and later albums (jubilee + major). He might be using the three to get closer to those tones of different albums for different songs. I saw them in July and his guitar tones sounded fantastic.

[@keegankelly2415]

I saw them last week and both flea and him had mics on the stage cabs

[@IceAce1]

Their sound engineer for the tour stated in a interview that for musical reasons they want their stage sound as cocooned from the auditorium sound as possible. Pretty sure that's what those racks are for - their/JF stage sound. He just plugs in directly, because of the technical fault backstage. Pretty rad that play like this. What a live band. 👌

[@ivansindicic5960]

Thinking about sound, i miss thats sound from 03 era , Fleas trebly punchy bass and Chads china cymbals going over Johns guitars,, that sum makes really nice dynamics

[@brentonchattin]

Congrats on 10K Justin! Your content is of the quality you'd expect from a 100K+ subbed channel!

[@taylorobrien1847]

Which amps does he use for clean, crunch, and distortion?

[@planetwisconsin9901]

Jerry Garcia would put a speaker cab in the very bottom basement of a venue and mic that. all 150 watts or so from his McIntosh power amp sent to the PA from the mics placed around that cab.

[@robrop9274]

Was this Californication clip from Comerica Park in August 2022? I watched this whole thing happen and the tech come out. Definitely not a dummy rig

[@hottotty13]

The heads would have to be hooked up to a load of some sort just because they’re tube amps.

[@matguerra333]

tHAT'S Ridiculous. Say what you want about John, fake he ain't. He ain't no dummy either plus he uses feedback all the time. Not to mention he had to plug in live in Detroit 22.

[@daddytribe]

yes more John!

[@thurnquinn5211]

At this point the man is not to be questioned

[@Felix-ke7nx]

I’d love a video on how to create this incredible JF- strat- Marshall sound. Like he plays clean most of the time but … he kinda doesn’t. So what’s the magic behind this.

[@bobsbigboy_]

Tube overdrive

[@liamjenkins244]

Power amp saturation Tube sag

[@BarcaPatrick9]

@@liamjenkins244 in other words.... boi strings go brr through loud box, loud box go clean but so loud it dirty.

[@liamjenkins244]

@@BarcaPatrick9 correct

[@Eric_In_SF]

I would say having watch dozens of rig, rundown the chances of those on stage amps are running the cabinets it’s about 5% It seems to me the way guitar techs love having the rigs all set up in one spot so that they can keep an eye on everything having 3 A completely in front of the stage where the tech can’t get to the front of them would be incredibly unlikely

[@levijessegonzalez3629]

I don't buy it either because they'd use run of the mill current production Marshall's if it was just for visual reasons... why would they bring extremely rare Marshalls on stage just for "dummy" purposes?

[@ICoDaI]

because it looks cool... for all we know those heads are completely empty and just there for show. I'm not saying they are but I do think there are reasons WHY they would do this.

[@levijessegonzalez3629]

@@ICoDaI they were do it for the 0.1% of the audience that are gear snob guitarists? yeaaaa

[@ICoDaI]

@@levijessegonzalez3629 you don't have to be a gear snob to be impressed by different looking heads... plus artists are people they could have their own reasons that we'll never know, all I'm saying it's possible... if you want to sit there and pretend like you know for sure it's impossible then go right ahead, I won't stop you

[@levijessegonzalez3629]

@@ICoDaI "different looking heads"? yes there are different looking New marshall heads too...even reissues that look exactly the same (jubilee reissue. jcm800 reissue etc). so that argument holds no weight

[@levijessegonzalez3629]

@@ICoDaI there have been plenty of Acts throughout Rock history that have used dummy heads. But can you name ONE that used super expensive Rare vintage HEAVY gear (Marshall major etc) for dummy purposes? that doesn't even make sense brother

[@Hurrishane03]

He’s used the Marshall majors for every tour he’s been on with RHCP, I seriously doubt they’re just on stage as a prop

The Jubilee on stage are just for clean tones on the Gretsch or when he used the Strat to play Californication. There's magazine interviews back on the 2000's where he explain that

[@slimkickens]

Strats are through the main rig. The Gretsch and Gibsons are through the Jubilee and a single DS-1

[@liamjenkins244]

He used to use a Fender amp & DS-1 for the gretsch. He started running the Marshalls cleaner & using a micro amp for boost so he was able to use the gretsch with the marshalls from By The Way onward. The extra jubilee was for the les paul songs.

[@chocolategravyandbiscuits8418]

The major in the rack says BU on the front

[@TheMrMRsmoke]

3:34 thats cause its showbiz baby

[@catman6257]

A dummy using dummy’s. Figures!

[@DanielDias33333]

Watch woodstock 99. And I believe all 3 are used John isn't no poser, when he hits a distortion pedal 1 all will activate and say he uses a clean it will come out a different amp. Anything you see in the back is just what it is backup

[@ia5662]

how are we not mentioning the fact that he's using the STRAT on "Californication"!? No White Falcon, never heard him with a Fender on this track, but it sounds good either way. A little sharper tone for sure

[@BobbysArchive]

He used the strat for Cali during most of the Stadium Arcadium era. From what Dave Lee said it’s a pain in the ass to replace/fix anything from the White Falcon, and when you listen to recordings John sounds much more comfortable soloing on the strat.

[@Boldaslove71]

What we do know is when the RHCP were in Nashville recently and Premiere Guitar asked for a Rig Rundown, they politely declined.

[@VladCotrus]

Really? Such a shame...

[@Eric_In_SF]

With bands like Polyphia you don’t have to guess. There’s plenty of behind the stage shots that show that not only the cabinets aren’t connected, but they are completely hollow don’t even have back speakers in them :-) so cheesy.

[@Vespa123]

to even suggest they are dummies, is, quite franky, ridiculous

[@FAMbeats508]

This is what everybody does tho

[@regandunn4850]

Ones a voice two guitar is it

[@BudFuddlacker]

Whatever he uses, the countless technical issues on this tour have been unacceptable. Seems nearly a nightly occurrence. Somebody is getting fired

[@snapascrew]

I’m ignorant to what happened could you fill me in?

[@g.koch.]

@@snapascrew his rig failed on a number on concerts

[@adamnicol7016]

I’ve seen them front row to the side of of the stage twice during the Stadium Arcadium tour in 2006 and then in 2007. The amps off stage had no lights on during both shows but the off stage amps were sound checked during the show I saw in 2006.

[@nirvanalives23]

As a Dinosaur Jr. fan, I am happy I do not have these discussions.

[@HowlingMad86]

Real Amps. I know what i'm talk about.

[@jakebland1990]

Deffo real. Anyone who knows anything about JF knows this is the case. End of debate, cheeeeerz byeeeee 😂

[@shankrl1]

Great video, but what a dumb theory haha who says they are dummies

[@truthfactreality6814]

They are just back up amps.

[@matguerra333]

Yea keep going More JF content: 1)Umm It seems his Trem bars are set up differently on The olympic white and one of the sunbursts.... (Almost 45 degrees, rather than hanging) like than the Red and other sunburst... 2.) Why da fook don't the chili peppers play more than 3 of their 40 BRAND NEW SONGS. Why do they keep playing snow and Heavy Wing? Enough already...I would say californication too but i get it... 3.)Why is Black Summer the only solo in JF history that is worse than the recording and sloppy? 4.) Get into monitoring...Who are the front of house engineers and who are the personal engineers for the members and what do they do? 5.) Why does he no longer use The big crazy phaser or any phaser for Dani Cali? (Even though it's on the board) 6.) let me think

[@ronnierazor4302]

Is JF's gear the hottest topic into the world of guitars these days?????

[@g.koch.]

Shhhh, don't tell Tool fans 🤣

[@ronnierazor4302]

@@g.koch. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@thegrandpencil4374]

Things like dummy amps etc. is how I became a fan of punk rock. I hate that poser, phony bullshit. Anyone trying to look cool up on stage doesn't deserve to be ON the stage imo. This isn't pop music. This is suppose to be the one "genuine" genre of music. So if you're not, exit left. Please.

[@BL00DYME55]

Says someone who probably knows nothing about the logistics of running a rig this big for a show of this size. People get so snobby over the most trivial things, it's just cringy. I do respect John for doing it the old school way without any dummy gear on stage, but I also have no problem if the sound tech decides to keep the crucial equipment off stage in a controlled environment, so it's easier to mic up, eliminate feedback and noise, and troubleshoot if anything goes wrong. Dummy gear or not, it's all about the music at the end of the day. If it sounds good and is performed live, I don't care how they achieve it.

[@thegrandpencil4374]

​@@BL00DYME55 If someone wants to house their amps behind the stage for pragmatic reasons, fine. But fake amp cabinets? What's the point? It's just posing. It's beyond stupid. Just have no amps visible on stage if that's how you want to do it. It's the posing that's stupid. Also, it's just flat out insulting the intelligence of everyone who bought a ticket. This ain't Milli Vanilli. This is rock and roll. There's a difference.

[@g.koch.]

@@thegrandpencil4374 It's just a stage prop, if there is a stature or a wall of dummy boxes it's just for the visual impression to fill out big stage spaces. People will be impressed from it, have for themselves a better experience and will most likely remember these, sounds odd but that's the show business and brand marketing contracts. I admit I would rather look into dummy cabs at a show then bands, who not even have cabs on the stage where the only thing in the back the drummer or a small banner is..

[@BobbysArchive]

@@thegrandpencil4374 Even The Who, the band that asked Jim Marshall to build the first 4x12s, used dummy cabs on stage because they look cool. If you got a problem with it, make your own music.

[@thegrandpencil4374]

@@BobbysArchive Yeah? And the guitarist for that band also got arrested for possession of pre-pubesant pornography. I don't care who does it. It's lame and pathetic.

[@antoncharr2892]

I think the fact that Josh did it (smart and easy) is part of the reason John never will. He seems to do his best in all facets to ignore, and even diss, things that happened in the JK era.

[@limoncr5205]

Sure... When he rejoined, 1st thing he asked to former guitar tech and rhcp tour organizers and staff was 'what is Josh's setup? Oh yeah? I'm going to do the opposite then...'

[@liamjenkins244]

He's just doing what he's pretty much always done?

[@lonewanderer958]

@@liamjenkins244 exactly lol

[@brandystewart2113]

What a ridiculous take. John does things the way he likes to do things. Why would he suddenly change what he's always done just because JK did it differently? I doubt he even knows or cares about JK's setup.

[@cristianmorante925]

this guy gotta stop taking about john mayer and john fruchante it’s getting on my nerves

[@JustinJeske]

You think I give a fuck about your nerves? 😆