Here I Go AGAIn Gear I Go Again
Bernie joins in this month’s gear discussion about the most desirable and questionable items he’s owned
Having been a pro for a very long time now, I have seen many changes, developments and innovations when it comes to new equipment – some spectacularly good and, on occasion, some spectacularly bad. As some of you will know, I’ve never really been an avid gear-freak outside of the basics. I’ve usually stayed close to a guitar, strings for it, an amplifier and a jack-to-jack lead to plug in.
To me, when you actually break it all down, those are the real needs – and a plectrum of course. My first amplifier was a tiny Italian piece of work by a firm called Scala. It was very small and pretty useless, but I suppose that was the moment I joined the gear ladder.
I remember one of the local musicians I followed back in the 1960s owned a beige Vox AC15 – he was a great Hank Marvin fan. He was getting married and had decided to pack in the playing side of his life – pressure from his future wife as I recall – but he offered me the little amp and wanted £15 for it, a pound a watt! But at the age of about 15 I wasn’t remotely interested in a tiny Vox amp. The up-and-coming BM wanted bigger gear – a Fender or Marshall was the dream.
Jeff Beck was the first artist to make my eyes and ears shape up with his Tone Bender Mark 1 on Heart Full Of Soul, and Eric Clapton was next with the first Vox Wah
Wah. I couldn’t find the money for that either. After those two innovators, along came one James Marshall Hendrix with a Fuzzface and a wah-wah, so I soon capitulated and bought a wah-wah pedal.
After witnessing one of the early Fleetwood Mac shows, I was mesmerised by the reverb on Peter Green’s guitar; a wonderful experience. I purchased a nowvery-rare Marshall Reverb unit that sat on the top of my rig at the time. I didn’t realise then that most of the sound came from Peter’s fingers... I sadly sold the reverb. I also tried a Watkins Copicat but I sold it soon enough, though. I didn’t think I could use it and I needed the money for strings! It was a great bit of gear, but at the time it was for Shadows music.
Stacking Up
The first real amp I purchased was a Burns Orbit 2, a transistor amp, and after that I did get my first Marshall 50 with a 2x12 speaker cabinet. Turning pro with UFO in 1972 got me my first Marshall stack – or stacks, as I had two of them – I only ever used one though! I had an Echoplex machine, long used and loved by Brian May, but upon leaving UFO I also left behind both the Marshall stacks and the Echoplex.
When I joined Wild Turkey in 1973, I inherited a great Marshall 100 and have stayed with Marshall ever since, although I do own lots of other amps. During my spell with Cozy Powell, an important piece of gear was released – the MXR Phase 90. It was an orange-painted metal box about the size of two matchboxes. They sounded really lovely, but almost every guitarist had one at the time and we phased our way through gigs all over the country sounding pretty much the same I’m sure. I also owned an early Hiwatt rig, sadly long gone – I traded that for a Gibson SG and a Gibson 335. A good deal at the time, but I have to let you know that stencilled on the back of the amp was “The Who”. Some you win…
I recently acquired an original Dallas Rangemaster box. I’m still amazed I’ve never owned one of these remarkable bits of 60s gear, especially as I was a follower of Rory Gallagher at the time. I also have a 1963 Vox AC30 to go with it. Both of these bits of vintage gear are to be featured in Guitarist in the near future, so keep an eye out for them.
Curly leads – do you remember those? I remember you could get them in so many colours, but they were incredibly short and therefore pretty useless. Where are they all now I wonder? The standard and quality of the outboard gear is so good these days. Noiseless cable, stereo jacks, jacks that don’t blow the PA out when you unplug the guitar, luxury guitar stands… For years all we did was stand our precious spare Les Paul, Strat or Tele against the amp, or lie it on the floor where you could reach it!
I opened an old flight case recently, and inside were two analogue Yamaha echo machines, a Top Gear Sound Rotator, and the Voice Box I used on Whitesnake’s cover of Day Tripper. I need to look in flight cases more often – or not!
Pedalling Wares
I can now tell you about the 2018 release of a small-but-beautiful range of Bernie Marsden pedals. I was approached by a company to market them this summer.
“But I don’t really use pedals that much,” I said to the man. “Well, that’s why we would like to make you some,” they said. “If you use them, people will be interested.”
I have checked the prototypes, and I have to say I’m very happy with the results. Watch this space for more information…
All in all, gear is personal. We all have opinions, all are valid, and I have tried to move into the 21st century with my eyes open to trying new gear. I have a lot of amps in my lock-up, but I do still have my Whitesnake Marshalls. I used those Marshalls on every album and at every Whitesnake gig I played. To be quite honest with you, when I take one into the studio now, I wonder why I have anything else, yet alongside old Gibson, Fender and newer amps I keep adding to them. It’s just like guitar collecting – the chronic disease for which there is no cure.
Gear: love it or hate it, you’ve just gotta have it. See you next month folks!
“I opened an old flight case, and found two analogue Yamaha echo machines, a Top Gear Sound Rotator, and the Voice Box I used on Whitesnake’s cover of Day Tripper”