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Eric's Bluesbreaker Marshall Combo: new pictures.

jrock1

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I would say that EC was anything but a tinkerer. Lack of effects, other than a wah and Leslie for years...and just not known as one. Additionally he was a blues purest at that time, so his lack of use of the tremolo assuming his amp had it would not have been unusual. And of course all we know about is the recorded history. So he could have messed around with it a bit, but not captured on anything recorded or recorded and saved. Just another perspective...
 

Wilko

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I believe that his combo was a tremolo version.

1. The picture is clear enough (as I've demonstrated) to see it has a wide control cutout.

2. Marshall 2x12 combos were already being made with tremolo

3. Clapton was a fan of tremolo and his next amps were tremolo heads

So, what different about his? It was likely the first thin-edged (series II) combos making it slightly smaller and matching the cosmetics of the head cabinets.
 

jrock1

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Not a chance that was an 18 watter.

He certainly wasn't gigging with an 18 watter. It wouldn't have been loud enough for the gigs they were playing and I can't imagine they had one sitting in the studio for him...and by all accounts the engineers couldn't believe how loud he wanted to record. He would have used the amp that he was gigging with as that's the sound he knew he could produce with his guitar and amp. And that sound is all KT66 JTM45.
 

Wilko

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How do we know how loud a Bluesbreakers gig would have been at that time.? Maybe an 18 watter was damn loud in those days.
 

jrock1

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Look at the amps in the pics pre-Bluesbreaker amp. Half stacks, etc. Then Cream with maybe 50 watter, then 100 watters. Logically, with the popularity of the Bluesbreakers, I can't imagine he went from 1/2 stack 35 watts or so early Marshalls and AC 30's then to 18watters, then to Marshall 1/2 stacks, and more with Cream. 18 watter in the middle of that timeline/progression...I think not. As popular as they were they would have gotten progressively louder in decent size venues.
 

66SuperTremMKIV

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if Eric was used to playing and carting around his JTM-45 half stack and wanted it as a combo to fit in his car, I doubt he would have tossed the JTM-45 and gone 18w.
 

shakti

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Jan 17, 2007
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No way that was an 18w. It can sound somewhat close, especially with alnicos, but there's just much more muscle to the Bluesbreaker tone.

Also this; why on earth would he ask for a custom combo cab that was *taller* than a stock 2x12 18W combo? Clapton's combo is obviously a custom job, with dimensions that don't match any other Marshall combo ever produced. The latest pictures really prove that. The only logical reason is that it needed to be taller to accomodate a larger chassis. Whether the chassis was a trem or non-trem is another matter, but I say it's almost certain that it's a JTM45-style chassis, to the point where there is alsmot no reasonable doubt about it.
 

tangerine

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Guitar Strings in England was a very small selection. You had Rotosound, Cathedral, Selmer(which were made in Germany by Pyramid), Gibson and maybe a couple others..
F-Hole, do you remember what was around?

Don, the British Blues book has an article by Peter Green reproduced from Melody Maker from the period. In it Peter says that he uses Clifford Essex strings. Given that Eric was his idol at the time there's a reasonable chance that Eric used these strings also perhaps.
 

Roe

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Don, the British Blues book has an article by Peter Green reproduced from Melody Maker from the period. In it Peter says that he uses Clifford Essex strings. Given that Eric was his idol at the time there's a reasonable chance that Eric used these strings also perhaps.

yes, clapton has been reported to use those strings. he allegedly used very light gauges, like 8-42 or something. the e string might have been a banjo string though. EC himself mentions these strings on p. 53 of his autobiography:
https://books.google.no/books?id=9cNS4-asm4AC&pg=PA53&lpg=PA53&dq=clifford+essex+strings+clapton&source=bl&ots=FLvC_T0Ip-&sig=f51UYXWYDK1jQbsD3eh0QnM05iY&hl=no&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwji7reLnufPAhVIESwKHadTCd4Q6AEIVzAH#v=onepage&q=clifford%20essex%20strings%20clapton&f=false

In Clapton - The Autobiography (2007), Clapton says, "On my guitar I used light-gauge guitar strings, with a very thin first string, which made it easier to bend the notes, and it was not uncommon during the most frenetic bits of playing for me to break at least one string. During the pause while I was changing my string, the frenzied audience would often break into a slow handclap, inspiring Giorgio to dream up the nickname of 'Slowhand' Clapton."

See also:
http://www.cliffordessex.net/index.php?_a=viewProd&productId=113http://www.cliffordessex.net/index.php?_a=viewProd&productId=612
http://www.mylespaul.com/forums/showthread.php?t=202217http://acravan.blogspot.no/2011/09/very-small-bit-of-rock-and-roll-guitar.html (on Peter Green)
 
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TM1

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Cheers guys!! Appreciate the info. I don't think that the Clifford Essex strings are like they were then as I know they use Hex core. Hex core wasn't really in use by most until the early `70's.. Round core sounds better anyway. I get really close using .010-.044 Pyramid round core Monel Classics. The tonality of the Monel is punchier and has more upper mid bark and great clarity. I prefer these over the pure nickel Pyramid "Nickel Classics".
 

Roe

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yes, the monels are great (and the clifford essex strings probably changed even if the gauge stayed the same). I don't like the pure nickel strings too much personally, although one of my LP replicas sounded good with the pyramid max performance strings. The monels give me perfect Kossoff and Townsend tones, but I am a little less sure about EC.

I really think that light gauge strings are crucial for getting the 60s Clapton tone. An interview from the cream period indicated that clapton used fender 10-38 strings. The light bass strings are very important with JTMs (which are bass heavy amps). I personally like 9-11.5-15-22-30/32-40/42, but 8-38s can also sound great for 60-70s british tones. 10-46s doesn't work imho

Another thing is that EC jtm45 may not have the 500ish picofarad mixer cap. The cream tone was based on using the dark, normal channel but the Beano tone is different. He could have used any of the two channels. It really does not matter without a mixer cap on the brilliance channel, except the brilliance channel may have used a 100pf bright cap.

Systematic testing of output transformers would be another matter. The primary impedance could have been 3k3, 4k, 6k6 or 8k. I guess the two last are most probable and the first the least probable. Finally, the filtering on screens and phase inverter could have been either the standard 32uf and 16uf or the slightly rarer 20uf and 20uf.

Chokes could have been 20h/690ohms or 3h/110ohms or even 5h perhaps. And we do not know if the amp had a flying 1k resistor (this resistor is not really needed with the radiospares choke)
 
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Fish Fingers

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Apr 15, 2016
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The Bonamassa quote was from, I think, an article in 'Guitar' magazine (UK).
I will see if I can find the back issue. It was within the last six months or so.
An 18 watter would be plenty loud for the pubs of the time, trust me!
(Especially as Mr Clapton was winding his amps up at the time).
 

jrock1

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An 18 watter would be plenty loud for the pubs of the time, trust me!

You must not have tried to use 18 watt Marshalls in a full band then because you would realize they can barely keep up with a drummer let alone a whole band with keyboards etc. Have you heard live Bluesbreaker clips. They sound all cranked up. The 18 watter if turned up with its compression would never have cut through like you hear Clapton cutting through. I just find it close to implausible...
 
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