Ep. 17 - James Brown of Amptweaker, Peavey Van Halen 5150, Satriani JSX, Synyster Gates

[@trapperjohn8481]

Sitting here on s Sunday night in February 2024 watching this one again. Let's party.

[@billmonach6409]

I worked at the EVH Wolfgang plant in the late 90s as final assembly, paint, buffing and pickup assembly manager in the late 90s and had an opportunity to meet James and a few of the R&D guys over lunch one day. Very cool, very humble, very highly revered guy.

[@CentaurusRelax314]

"This beer is defective." That's GOLD.

[@tomfoolery2082]

This makes 7 times watching this ,,,, never gets old .

[@fiddlix]

Yup, I saw the original live broadcast and I’ve lost count how many times I have watched this episode.

[@JBAubry]

Awesome interview! I could hear James talk for hours. Bonus at 1:45:09 EVH's settings

[@guitar-phantom]

The Peavey Classic 30 and Classic 50 are great! Thank you, James!

[@fiendskull9]

Legitmately the coolest guitar discussion channel on KZbin. You bring in legend after legend, and set up a comfortable environment that opens up insanely deep discussion.

[@shanemorris702]

The important thing is they don't cut off the guest. They let him talk. I don't know how many interviews i've seen ruined because the host keeps interrupting!

[@tone-talk]

Thanks! Proper interviewing!

[@mirrortime]

"Legitmately" = Coolest word of the day! And you are 100% correct in your words. Amazing interviews!

[@AmptweakerFX]

I did have one funny story I forgot to mention....I used to do the Peavey Seminars every month when the dealers would come down to the factory and we'd teach them about gear and stuff. Well coincident with one of them we had Eddie coming in to do some tweaking on guitars and amps, and I was next to the auditorium setting up for that tweak session...of course I was playing EVH licks getting ready, and didn't realize a seminar was going on next door. I heard that one guy in the audience said 'hah, who does that guy think he is, Eddie Van Halen'. About an hour later Eddie comes walking into the seminar room to say hi, and everybody turned and looked at the guy like 'dude, you just said that stuff about EDDIE VAN HALEN'! I told that story at every seminar afterwards! James B

[@Steve_Kracus]

lol that's great!

[@plexidust5101]

I have to Thank You for such a fantastic interview. You truly have had a remarkable impact in the music world and me too. Now I understand how extensive it is. I also learned about your current company and I can't wait to try out some new gear! Cheers and THANK YOU!!!

[@joehervey84]

Id love to see what you think about the Peavey vypyr series. The 1st Gen is what I own. The little 15 watt amp. It has a few of the amps you worked on. Jsx an the newer 6505(5150). Thanks

[@volodyanikolaev]

I'm just curious, what was the street price for 5150 in 1992/93

[@MrUltraworld]

@@volodyanikolaev I think I paid $700 for the head, it's a real low serial #. I'll never sell it.

[@jpcody123]

Wow, I just now got the chance to watch this one and it's absolutely stellar. I've been playing James Brown's Peavey amps all my life (VTM, 5150, JSX, Classic series) and this was a real treat to get to hear him tell the stories behind some of these amps. Great work guys, and thanks James for all of the great products through the years!

[@AmptweakerFX]

thanks for your compliments!

[@espectradiego5]

Best one, James is THE amp man!

[@AmptweakerFX]

thanks!

[@OrangeJackson]

This really was a great show.

[@bukcot]

Can't wait to hear Mike Soldano on this channel!

[@OTTOAUDIO]

I laughed out loud for about 3 min straight uncontrollably when James was going through Eddies settings and got to master volume & said “too loud for Any human” 😆😆😆

[@sn95_mustang_garage]

A lot of this detailed amp chat is way over my head but I’m so fascinated by it. As a noob guitar player the history of tone especially Eddy’s sound is so interesting. Another banger of a show, cool guy.

[@R2R3Lockingnut]

This was awesome. Great show and episode. The stories and history this man has are fabulous. EVH gearheads are grinning from ear to ear right now. Thank you.

[@JoaoMarcelo_1]

This gentleman is a legend and a very nice guy!

[@mikes51501]

James is such a nice guy, met him and his wife at NAMM. Thx for all the tone my man!!

[@AmptweakerFX]

YW :)

[@yqbzrxs]

I just found this my chance. Google searching differences of the models of peavey 5150s. This was excellent!!!!

[@LeonTodd]

Fantastic episode. Very cool insight into the workings behind the scenes of some of the most important modern guitar amps.

[@robinmiller7958]

One of your best shows, love hearing from these cats who have such rich histories and this guy was so personable you just have to like him. James, you are a treasure!

[@AmptweakerFX]

thanks Robin!

[@MrGTO-ze7vb]

This is a fantastic interview..!! I met Hartley Peavey, in Florida and he has told me so many of these stories about working with EVH. There was a lot of issues with Eddie and how he wanted things to be built and of course the sound quality.. RIP EVH,,!! The EVH disconnection from Peavey happened when Eddie showed up at the NAMM show drunk and couldn't play crap and acted very poorly in the Peavey Booth..

[@peterschaefer1665]

Thanks for another great show guys! James you ARE the coolest! Cheers!

[@Dutchy5150]

Another awesome show guys. How cool is James Brown? I hope you have him on again someday. Well done.

[@AmptweakerFX]

Thanks!

[@pacifica529]

@@AmptweakerFX I yyyyy65ewttrtrrrtwttttttttutttrt utter try treererwr to r your youy you 4uuuy it t it t it eu me to 6yw76

[@shanemichaelneal648]

What an absolute gift James is...smart, humble and hilarious

[@leemdunn]

James is just a cool and genuine guy. Love the show! Thanks again Marc and Dave!

[@Tier_1_Golf_Academy]

If you just met him on the street, you’d never know ol’ James was a damn fine electrical engineer?!?! Makes him even cooler in my book 🤘🏼

[@jrblanston]

Way back when I worked at a music shop, we the employees always had our favorite "misfits". Great gear that was ignored by most because they didn't know the brand or it didn't look cool etc. Anyways... big standout misfits were Peavey's Vht and the Kustom Koupe amps. I loved hearing that they came from the same mind. I clearly enjoy his work! Great show. This was my first episode

[@fasteddievh2072]

Omg! You out did yourself Marc. This show was amazing! Thanks for asking my question about Ed’s exact amp settings. I really appreciate it. You have THE best show on YT!!!

[@tone-talk]

Thanks so much Fast EddieVH! You are awesome to say that. Happy New Year.

[@neile5150]

I missed the amp settings! When was that?

[@AuntAlnico4]

Cool guitars fast Eddie ! What were Eddie's settings !?

[@fasteddievh2072]

@@AuntAlnico4 1:40:20 mark

[@fasteddievh2072]

On the lead channel: 6.5 Pre-gain 6.0 BASS 2.0 MID 5.0 HIGH 5.1 MASTER 4.0 RESONANCE 6 or 7 PRESENCE

[@jfo3000]

James, you're the best! I love your stories, experience and intelligence. Plus your accent and speach cadence remind me of my dad (passed on) and his brother, both born in Alabama, and both lived all over the south, the north, the entire world, and still retained that southern charm.

[@AmptweakerFX]

Thanks man!

[@TMoody]

Sooooo that's where the name "Brown Sound" comes from, great interview!

[@tone-talk]

T Moody nice!!

[@6nosis]

Wow that’s 🤯

[@KE8UYV]

Rewatching this episode for at least the third time, but it may be more like the fifth. Love any stories about Saint Edward! I was thinking it may be cool one day to take all the tone talk discussions about Eddie, and put them in one video. I think there's be a LOT of us who would love that.

[@TheDans7300]

Thank you for that Classic 30 and that whole Classic series. One of my all-time favorites ❤️

[@Qban220]

I love the 5150 tone, the only thing I dislike about it is that every guitar sounds the same on lead/crunch channel. Great interview, hell of a history. Thanks.

[@bksweet6331]

You have NO IDEA what a joy you bring to ALL of your viewers!!!! . . . . Thanks you for sharing your experiences and wisdom 🎁 🎁

[@tone-talk]

You are so welcome

[@GPaulTheThrashKing]

Honestly, the combo is by far the best version in terms of sound. IMHO Best amp I’ve ever played and I got mine for 400 bucks.

[@JohnFast-on6ey]

I paid 500 for my pv 5150 combo that looks like it’s been through a war but it sounds better than any amp I’ve played through better than all the other 5150s

[@vromanempire2145]

I had a VTM 60 back in 90 and ran a Yamaha Spx,90 in the effect loop with some gain!!! Man that was a great amp!!! A friend of mine had the butcher and I loved the sound of that too!!!

[@parachuteman4]

James. You designed a classic. The 6505 plus is the best amp I HAVE Ever owned.

[@AmptweakerFX]

thanks!

[@AuntAlnico4]

@@AmptweakerFX I love love love my Peavey Bravo ! That Bravo eats Friedman runt in versatility and sheer gain tightness it freaking awesome !

[@bls8959]

Thank Mike soldano

[@kellypeterson2625]

@@bls8959 I would love to have a Soldano!

[@GerhardGeficky-jg4ok]

The 5150 is the same amp

[@committments]

Mark and dave you need to bring james back again this was one of the best episodes!!!!

[@smartrn1]

So much respect for this Man. A true legend. What a tremendous interview. God bless JB.

[@johnmeeks9308]

Classic is the best i love them CLEAN !!!!!

[@larslevinberget9558]

I love them both ways :)

[@therugburnz]

In amps like the 5150 with all those gain stages I see why tweaking each stage to satisfy an artist that won't even use a click switch and say he likes b better than a is frustrating at best, impossible when way worse. I think it is cool that Eddie's first suggestions was to start with an actual PV product, the VTM according to this interview. It had many switches that were common things to try as mods. He wants to start with the one with the most options then remove them. Well not remove but have it set to one setting that EVH wants all the time. BTW if you want to mess with a PV to learn about mods like trying different cathode bypass caps the Windsor is pretty good. Many mods I did on mine didn't even involve taking the circuit board out. Many mods for beginners are solderless involving cutting the leads on certain capacitors. Add an iron and a lead snip combined with a switch to uncut it and I have a Bass Amplifier ala Black Sabbath but not near as loud. The no switch version involved cutting a lead or two and wire wrapping a jumper to the left behind leads. Four dabs of solder once it sounded correct for both bass and guitar and I just made my gig pack contain less gear.

[@D3str0yEviI]

How cool would it be to sit back and drink beers with James Brown ... Just a super cool fun guy!

[@bruceanderson8720]

Lots of good stories and info! Thanks Mark, Dave and James

[@jelmeromero]

Awesome interview!!! Great inside info and great to put a face to the name. The 5150 amp is not only iconic but legendary as well. Thanks for all your hard work James!

[@kingpriapatius5832]

Just bought a 6505. This guy is a TRUE LEGEND

[@MrGTO-ze7vb]

James Brown.. I built a tube amp for $299.00 made in the USA..!!! LOL We give him LOTS of Credit..!!

[@jargero8203]

Assembled* in the USA... 😅

[@AuntAlnico4]

​@@jargero8203😂n laugh at yourself. He engineered, designed and built a tube amp in the USA, he's a ficking hero at this stuff ! He did the brand new 5150 iconic and it's awesome !

[@jargero8203]

@@AuntAlnico4 i must have missed the part where I was wrong??? Can you please show me? I'm not arguing

[@nuclearpurification7260]

All hail James Brown , a true genius!

[@ragnarmar123]

Great show as always, there is so much I learn from watching these shows

[@Rods442]

I'm a Peavey freak, and James has enlightened many of the secrets I've been curious about. Great info. Awesome show, thanks, TT

[@LikeigiveAFaboutU]

I'm trying to find some info on the peavey classic 50 watt combo with the reverb and tremelo in it. Someone said they talked about it at some point in this video.

[@tomulator]

Super show! A lot of amp knowledge being shared...loved it!

[@waitingforanalibi3069]

Killer episode. James was awesome.

[@AmptweakerFX]

thanks!

[@bsmetal]

@@AmptweakerFX praise James!

[@patreidcocolditzcastle632]

wow thank god i sat this out .i had no idea about amp tweaker pedals ..that loop feature saves me having to buy and plug in all this switching stuff...love this guy .his spot on

[@shredward666]

Amazing and informative interview with a true American hero! I'm about to crack open a Michelob Ultra and crank up my 5150! Thanks to Marc and David for making this happen.

[@johnfrewin7717]

Fascinating conversation gentlemen 👍 I hope future professors find and teach this as a perfect example of what it was like before everyone knew how to make anything

[@robertbeasley5595]

To cool... two of the best James and Dave!!!!

[@chadallan7193]

Definitely one of the best episodes so far , james is awesome.....👍🏼🇺🇸

[@AmptweakerFX]

Thanks....it was fun to reminisce about all that!

[@RichardFriendartist]

fascinating talk...will be listening to this again for sure. thank you!

[@Robstafarian]

God damn, this was a treat. Had I watched live, it would have been one hell of a Christmas present.

[@ampman50]

What nice guy James is..

[@jayy7207]

Another awesome episode guys! Thank you so much!

[@a.l.4162]

James is the man with the master plan! Great job preserving history to all involved

[@michelbrault1690]

Great interview with james Brown my favorite amp Peavey classic 20 Thanks

[@michaelmaier7262]

In Feb 2000, a friend of mine told John Petrucci he wanted a noise gate to stop notes from ringing out. Petrucci told him: "Just learn to play".

[@Esquire-ul9xs]

Awesome... my favourite show on KZbin!

[@Bassguitarist1985]

This is such a great video! Maybe someday would love to see John Fields, Bobby Baldwin and/or Lee Santilano on here. All of them are friends and work(ed) at Peavey. Those guys made the VB bass amps and to me are some of the most innovative designs for large power tube bass amps including the SMPS of the VB-3 and VB-MA for Michael Anthony.

[@calansvc]

I bought one of James' Tightrock pedals a few years ago, and we sent a bunch of emails back and forth about modifying it over a couple of weeks. Extremely helpful and cool dude to chat with. This is the first time I've seen him "in person". Seems like an all-around great guy and someone that would be cool to hang out with, drink a beer, and talk geek stuff.

[@ZblockWoW]

Hell yeah! USM alumni! 🤜🏻🤛🏻

[@jimbroiles6905]

Great to hear these stories James.

[@ontherocks1026]

The content on this channel is GOLD !! This episode was awesome 👍🏼

[@tone-talk]

Much appreciated!

[@justinespinosa7878]

Every show y'all have is cool! So much freaking knowledge poured out...

[@mygabrielle7477]

The amptweaker tight fuzz is my favorite fuzz face type pedal I’ve ever owned or played. It may be a little tame for some fuzz guys. It can get hairy but it’s not over the top like some. But it’s super quiet and so easy to control. It has a much larger sweep when cleaning up with the volume knob compared to many vintage type germanium fuzzes. On a lot of germanium fuzzes it’s over the top fuzz with your volume knob on 10 and super clean when you just go to 8. On the tight fuzz it’s a much more gradual sweep which makes it so much easier to control. And it sounds amazing

[@plexidust5101]

What a great guy and interview. I was laughing about the Jose amp that never showed up. Why? because I have gut shots of it, ha ha. Its a well built amp with some serious tricks from back in the day. George has them also from Metro. Cheers.

[@TheDans7300]

Link please 😊

[@whatyoumakeofit6635]

Would it be possible for you to share these images with us ?

[@Wh33lsofFortune]

I heard that was just a myth they used to get people to come into Jose's shop

[@plexidust5101]

posted below in thread.

[@plexidust5101]

It was an actual amp. Had all the Jose mods we know of today. I found the gut shot and posted it for the person above that asked if your interestd.

[@keithpowell5336]

Man, what a treat. I have the 5150 sig head and always wondered why I liked the lead channel better on my buddies combo. He has designed a big part of my sound... I also have a Classic 30, Silver Stripe Bandit, Amptweaker Tight Drive, Tight Rock, and Tight Metal. The Tight Rock and Tight Metal kick arse for rock and metal going into a clean amp!!

[@Dennis-wi6nn]

Thank you for posting this.

[@ShaunaMarieSings]

Another top-notch show...great guest!!! 💗💗💗

[@carlton5046]

wow..great job Marc...more knowledge in this interview then all combined !..we need a Friedman & Brown collaboration !!!..Dave give him a call !

[@doc_matter]

This guy's so nice and seems so witty!

[@adamr8878]

What a great guy ! Very funny and down to earth.. Fantastic episode.

[@jamesmiller9823]

Great video , these guys have so much knowledge between them

[@OrangeJackson]

Great informative show. Really enjoyed it.

[@jonahmoore1779]

Idk why it took me so long to find this channel. Amazing content!

[@kingfisher7960]

Pornhub?

[@jimgillis8522]

Love the classic series

[@steelstringsinger5818]

Nice to see the sub-numbers increasing! Great show!!

[@MrAletube]

great guy,very practical thinking,i have to check out those pedals.

[@AmptweakerFX]

thanks!

[@passionplayer7]

I love this show guys!!! Anything I can do to keep it going, let me know, fantastic, every episode! 🤘🏻

[@bukcot]

Alexander Howard Dumble as a guest would also be nice. It would do wonders for your channel. ;-)

[@Eddyvnhln5150]

Capacitors bubble at top when they go bad…it’s obvious. The cross on top is pushed up… do not touch with your hand 🖐🏻 . Also do not bias an Amp if you don’t know what you’re doing. It can kill you. It holds enough charge on board for very long time to do so. I graduated in 85

[@djabthrash]

It would be great to have a downloadable MP3 version of this, to be able to listen to it offline (like a podcast).

[@tone-talk]

djabthrash in fact you can! Go to podcasts on iTunes and you can find us. Try the app and we are there. Good luck!

[@somebrains5431]

Right there, when he describes the tone change after running out of sylvania tubes is where he got my attention. Modeling has been on my mind. Just to have snapshots in time of what you think sounds good in that moment.

[@mfowler8808]

Very good tone talk guys, thanks.

[@timec818]

Thanks for the cool show 👍

[@riffsnreviews]

I've watched this tone talk about 4 times now lol I have way too much time on my hands apparently

[@Wh33lsofFortune]

Same 😂. I love my ultra plus. I'm always looking for more info about them because there's a little. Now that they're getting noticed maybe we'll end up hearing more about it? A guy can dream!

[@richarddakin8096]

Vtm 60 with a Vandenburg 4X12 was my first tube amp, put it up against my friends.50 caliber back in 86, .... it wasn’t a boogie but it did sound pretty damn good. 🤘

[@Kasper911band]

Love this guy! And he has a cool name James Brown you are the man!

[@kingpriapatius5832]

Recently bought a 6505. Massive tone.

[@pauldeatherage6112]

Cant beleive how james and dave can remember so much technical stuff

[@kingfisher7960]

Dont you see the Captain America Sheild? Whats wrong with you?

[@Comrade_Collects]

Another great episode🤘🤘

[@19581998]

What a great guy! Very entertaining

[@bryanlettow4389]

He's made some fantastic sounding amps

[@KenTeel]

Peavey Pacer. Great little humble amp. I've used it for country, jazz, and rock. All NPN except for one FET and one PNP. 45 watts of good sound. In a regular size club, I figured that if a band was going to get louder that what I could put out with my 45 Watt Peavey, I wasn't get into any volume contests with other band members. When Peavey says 45 watts, though, they mean it. That is a loud little amp. Its interesting about Van Halen wanting those of us in the hoi polloi class to be able to afford his signature amps. Other celebrity endorsed products automatically get a higher price tag, commonly. Look at the Slash Epiphone Les Paul. With his signature on it, I thiink that they raise the price. Look at, reportedly, Les Paul wanted his guitar to be gold because it looked expensive. Ed, appears to have been a man of the people. You gotta love that. Heartley always had the idea of affordability, too. These two guys had the average musician in mind, and that's pretty cool. PS: The last time that I used a tube amp was 50 years ago. Solid state has been great, for this whole time. I've got enough stuff to think about when doing gigs. Worrying about tubes is that last thing that I want to do.

[@scottreynolds5455]

Wow! 4 years ago. Great show.