The mystery amp is the Studiomaster Valve Leadmaster endorsed by Earl Slick who replaced Stevie when he decided not to tour with David Bowie. Stevie used two of these amps instead of his Vibroverbs for one tour. 60 watts 1x12.

Stevie and Cesar were very close friends of mine and this is what I clearly remember. Stevie’s complaints were he wanted the amps to give a little bit but yet wanted clean headroom to a certain extent. Cesar went with the solid state rectifiers and that helped but the brightness Stevie did not care for and that was a result of the JBL’s. He liked the 15 D130’s in his Vibroverbs but in the Super’s the JBL’s were not working sound wise. Just to make it clear, Stevie knew almost nothing about gear and relied on otters to help guide him. Anyway Cesar did try regular EV’s but too stiff and clean. EV Forces ended up being the choice and were amazing! Stevie hated the Dumble 160 watters for the same reason Stevie hated Twin Reverbs, too clean. Stevie also loved his Marshall 50 watt trem head. He always said that it sounded like a built in Tube Screamer. Stevie also loved Telecasters but the lack of the trem bar kept him from using them. One of Stevie’s favorite amps were Blackface Bassman’s and in trade I reviewed a blonde Tele that Stevie received as a gift. It was missing the back pickup and tons control. I in turn I gave Stevie a Blackface Bassman piggy back rig. Many days traveling to Cesar’s house in Pocono’s PA just to work on amps and try guitars.

I was fortunate enough to grow up in Texas and got to see Stevie a lot over the years.. saw his rig evolve.. got to see him in smaller venues.. met him and talk to him a couple different times.. what a nice and genuinely friendly guy.. i am a real superfan.. i've spent my entire life trying to cover his tunes in a musically faithful manner.. i even tried to mimic his rig best i could along the way.. with a split signal chain.. wet/dry/wet.. a lot of his mods.. didn't stay with the 13 gauge strings long though.. ouch.. i like to think i do an alright job.. i'll never forget where i was the very second i learned of his untimely passing.. imagine how much music we are missing today.. RIP Stevie..

The main thing is to understand the JBL speakers. What that proves for sure is that SRV wasn’t carrying his own amps

The unidentified amps at 8.15 are Studiomaster VLM's, (Valve Lead Master) designed by my good friend Paul (PB) Belcher. They were built in Luton, England. I still have one and it is amazing...

I was with Cesar the night we both met Stevie and the band. It was in the summer of 1980 that I received the phone call from the band's road manager. Cesar and I were both working at Angela Instruments in Bethesda, Md at the time. The gig was at Deperado's in Georgetown Wash. D.C. not the Psyche-Deli in Bethesda, Md. If the gig was at the "Deli" we would have walked the one block instead of driving 30 minutes to Georgetown. (I should have mentioned that the reason their road manager asked us to come to the gig was because we had single guitar strings ie: 13,18, etc. and we had a service person that could work on older fender amps ie: Cesar. When we got there we came upon a brown Vibroverb and a black Vibroverb (both 64's I think.) Cesar pulled both trays, and started using his test equipment. He remarked , "Man, these things are fucked up! I'm gonna wait until they get back from dinner and see what they want" Both amps had JBL's with a gray speaker chassis at this time. The band got back from dinner, Cesar did some minor adjustments, We went back to Motel50 in Arlington Va. Me and Stevie had a trivial pursuit about blues guitarists (he won, but was surprised how many I knew because he considered me a punk-rock guitar player, I bothered Tommy about Woodstock with Johnny Winter, and Cesar and Stevie started a long and fruitful (yet sometime argumentative) from what "Mr.C" told me. I miss them both. Cesar and myself were pretty close, spending many late nights at the work benches of Angela Instruments. Thanks for letting me ramble on KC.

Hi Goose, I was a witness to Stevies' club era gigs during college in Texas from January 1981 through March 1983 and was fortunate enough to see Double Trouble a number of times, I seem to remember that for the small room we were in there was always a Super Reverb and another Fender, that I thought at the time was Twin as I was not familar with Vibroverbs back then but that's probably what it was. It was an increble experience and looking back it was like seeing and hearing the El Macombo video up close. After Texas Flood was released he was gone from the Texas club circuit and on to destiny. During that era he was unapproachable but we were more interested in talking to Tommy Shannon because he recorded with Johnny Winter and played at Woodstock. Thanks for the great history lesson.

Excellent job. I first saw and met Stevie in Dec ‘81 or very early’82 at the Continental Club in Austin (small venue) and was using both his Vibroverbs and a pair of Club&Country Marshalls - shiny speaker domes visible thru all of them. VERY LOUD! He had six Strats in a home built stand sitting behind him. Unforgettable moment for me! Of course I saw him many other times using many different amps and the Steel String Singers were the greatest sounding ones in his hands.

The El Mocambo tone was possibly the greatest electric guitar tone of all time. No need for the thin sounding Dumbles

Two guitarists that have always meant everything to me are SRV and secondly Don Rich. I can’t get enough of either and this video of Stevie’s amps is priceless. Thank you!🎶

Outstanding work! I never knew that all of Stevie’s Fenders were given solid state rectifiers! I personally love solid state rectifier, as there always seems to be more headroom and much tighter low end. Stevie’s tone NEVER sounded farty at all.

Thanks for this really in-depth look at SRV many different rig choices over the years. Well done Goose!

I met Stevie in 1980 at Crossroads in Nacogdoches, Tx. He was playing through two blackface Super Reverbs and the two aforementioned Vibroverbs. After the show, Stevie gave me a rig rundown - the Vibroverbs had the JBL's, thought the Super Reverbs had a mix of speakers, unlike what this video states.

If you’re looking for additional info there’s a fella in the Kentucky area by the name of Steve Wilson that was Stevie’s amp tech towards the last of Stevie’s life. Super amazingly nice fella and just a genius with amps and vintage gear. He now works with the Kentucky Headhunters. I can also attest that Mike Soldano is sheer genius as well. Been playing his amps for years. Appreciate you taking the time to put this video together!! Thank you!!

NO MATTER WHAT AMP STEVIE HAD USED, HE'D ALWAYS GOT THAT SQUEALLY TONE, MIND BLOWING TONE!

Love that tone that Stevie gave us ! Was chasing info about Cesar and there it was in your presentation... Thank you greatly for sharing!

Great information on one of the greatest tone chasers of all time!!! Cheers!!!

Love waking up to your videos!

Really appreciate all the work that into this video, IMHO SRV could play through anything and still sound like SRV thx for the video

Historical info of Stevie and his sound. Tec talk mastering is tone coming from his soul amplified for all to enjoy ...Well Done stevie and the techs to help get the Stevie ray sound that we all enjoy and love .

Great video Goose! I always learn something when watching your show, appreciate the effort that you put into making these.

I was first builder for DiazAmplification after his passing, i stil have documentation on his Vibroverbs..Cheers...

I always thought Stevie was going for a Hendrix sound. Which is funny because Hendrix doesn't have, a sound, he has 20 different sounds in each song

Wow...great information, love the photos too! This is the best, supported information I've ever heard on Stevies gear.

I got to see the amps at the Grammy museum up close. Both of the 59 reissue Bassman’s had four EV 10’s and replaced plywood baffles. I’d guess the baffles were 1/2” thick. Those speakers are very heavy compared to(everything really)the Eminence Alnico 10’s they came with.

I live in Memphis, and the local music store I now work at , would repair his amps on the spur of the moment. He stayed and jammed here a lot before he was really big. So I'm sure other places had to do whatever it took for him to get through that day. He was a artist.

A very pleasant and interesting story, well told 👍

Brilliant and informative as usual !! Thanks !!

This video was brilliant! Thank you for doing it!

Great video. I really enjoy your work. Thank you! 💚 🎸

Those Peavy Vintage amps are no joke. I had a buddy in high school so was huge into the blues and SRV along with his dad. They had a few of these amps and they sounded great. They also had an all original Super Reverb that was heavenly.

​ Interesting documentary.. As usual.. At the end of the day, no matter how good the guitar is, the amp has the final word in the chain of tone.. Your friend Bob who must have spent a ton of money on really beautiful, excellent guitars also made that point in an earlier video... ​

That El Mocambo set is one of the best ever recorded, by anybody. It made me realize that I was a keyboard player. ;)

Fabulous effort. Fabulous insight and thank you.

Stevie could have played through a playmate plus and still made it sound INCREDIBLE. 😉 nice video

Thank you for that lovely story about Stevie Ray Vaughans amps appreciated

Nils is talking about an actual Peavey Classic 50, I believe. I used to own one. Heaviest amplifier I’ve ever had.

I really like that Stevie could play on a wide range of amps and still have a "signature" sound. I'm not surprised that the rectifier tube was replaced with diodes for touring. In the studio, which is my domain, I prefer the rectifier tube as I think it records better and heat and travel abuse are not an issue. Thank you for this most excellent video.

Awesome presentation, sir. Thank you.

Fantastic video! Thanks!!

I ended up with a Club & Country 2x12 back in the 1990's. It definitely gave you his tones.

Fascinating stuff ......saw SRV several times thruout his career and so saw him play thru many of these amps .....how cool

I had a dear friend who owned & operated a small guitar/amp shop ( and other instruments, gear, & components ) for years and he was one of the best local blues guitarists around central Florida. He gigged quite often. Being in business, he was always wheeling & dealing amps, gear, etc. So during one of his gigs back about 1995, he was playing through an old Marshall Country Gentleman ( I think that was it's name ) combo, BIG combo.......and man, did that amp bring the beef, with lots of headroom. One of his customers bought that amp rather quickly, ( no surprise there ), so I never heard him play through it again........nor have I seen or heard another one in person to this day. I have no idea if the amp was modded......but it sure sounded sweet.

Among the greats, SRVs and early Van Halens tones are at the top of the heap. Both are sinewy and muscular. This video is likewise legendary and priceless. My journey for tone is satiated. Thank you.

Big Stevie fan... very interesting vid. Thanks !!

Excellent post ..thanks 👍

A lot of hard work has gone into this dude , much appreciated, brilliant 🤩

Most awesome to hear about Stevie Rays amps.. thank you :)

Great show! Thanks from Austin, Texas

Brilliant video thanks Ramon , and now you have me thinking about Soldano too. I never knew they used 5881 valves, which I am a fan.

It’s funny that the Marshall head at 14:22 is not a major but a regular plexi 100 watt head.

This was awesome! I subscribed so fast!

great report. thank you

Absolutely brilliant

Great video! Thanks!

great video - thanks!

Whatever SRV was playing for amps during the 'Live At Daytona Beach....especially 'Never Going To Give Up On Love' is the best strat tone I have ever heard....the whole D.B. 1987 is tone at its best.

Great video & really well represented. I only saw Stevie play once , here in San Diego in 1983, when he played at San Diego State . It was in the Montezuma hall & we could freely roam around ( kinda😉) and I was intrigued by what amps this “guy “ blowing our socks off was using to get his tone. If my memory is correct ( almost 40 years ago now) I believe my Buddy Marty Dunaway commented he saw he was using the Fender Vibroverb amps and maybe a Fender Reverb deluxe . Again this was close to 40 years ago, but that night & that concert cemented my Love for SRV’s musical genius. I am grateful for the urging of my friends that particular night to go see “ This blues playing guy from Texas” . You can hear that show on KZfaq , in one of the Bootleg tapes someone recorded. I have listened to it countless times and swear I can hear my shouts & yells on it 👍. Here’s to one of the Greatest guitarists who ever lived.

Very nice. Thanks for sharing. Hail SRV!

God be with you Goose thanks for this man : )

Great video thank you

Great information!

My buddy owns one of Stevie's Fender Vibroverb amps. It has a ton gain very early, like on two on the volume. My friend is opening a small music museum and has been buying gear owned by famous players. He's got one of Townshend's HiWatts as well. I haven't had a chance to play thru that one yet.

great video!

Great video!

Awesome! Thanks, i loved it.

My God... that was a mind-blower...

Back in the late '70s, I was gigging with another guitarist who played on a Silverface Deluxe Reverb. Later in the early '80s, he had put his hands by chance on an original vintage VibroVerb from a guy who sold it to him for a ridiculously low price. It didn't work and need service, but once the tubes and a few caps replaced, it worked like a charm ! I tried both in comparison and must say I still prefered the Siverface with its 2x12 Fender Specials over the Vibroverb with the 15" JBL. The front pickup on my Les Paul sounded fuller, at the verge of breakup on the Silverface, vs. more headroom but way cleaner on the Vibroverb. This is all passed stuff anyway, as I fucked up my hearing in the meantime and developed Tinnitus by now... PROTECT YOUR HEARING !!! Cheers René

THANKYOU FOR MAKING THIS! LOve it man, keep it going! (PLEASE MAKE A ERIC JOHNSON - GUITARS, AMPS, PEDALS PLEASE!!)

mesmerising... thank you

Stevie could use most anything and still melt your face.

Stevie was magic. BTW I remember either Guitar for the practicing musician or Guitar Player had a full page schematic of his gear/effects but I can't seem to locate it. Thanks for sharing this excellent run down!😀

Very interesting video. Thank you

At 17:01, it was Mark Knopfler who started using the SLO100 first in 1988. Eric bought two from Mike Soldano after using Marks amps at sound check, as Mark was playing second guitar in Eric’s band from 1987-88. Just nit picking though, your video is excellent!

Very big thank you from Japan!!

Thanks Ramon.

Really cool man!

I've been a massive SRV fan for years. I never knew of the "falling out" with Dumble. Unreal.

The Soldano SLO is absolutely one of the best amplifiers of all time. So versatile. From pristine cleans, dirty blues, and high gain metal, the SLO has been killing it since the late 80s, and inspired many more iconic amps. Wish we could have heard him play through it

I want to have my own personal amplifier technician. Cool video. Very informative.

I had a friend in my working days who was always trying to give me gear he had and didn't use as he was a blues harp player. One item he was always trying to give me was a Peavey Vintage amp. The tweed had been painted black. I didn't take his offers because I felt it would be taking advantage of our friendship. Maybe I should have.

Great info thanks 👌👏👏

thank you so much very well done!

Per an interview I read many years ago, Cesar Diaz tweaked Stevie's amps so they produced loud, clean and clear lows, with highs that contained plenty of breakup. Getting an amp to do that is not an easy thing--hence the diode rectification, beefier transformers, specific speakers, and a few small tweaks to the biasing and tone stacks.

the cover photo… I remember this day rather clearly…Stevie was in town at the Astrodome, and opened up that days game with The Star Spangled Banner. There’s a photo of SRV and Mickey Mantle.

Good watch, very interesting! thanks

And great Pictures from him :*

Thanks to you !!! God bless you 🙏🏻

Awesome. Thanks!!

Excellent video! I remember seeing him in November of '89 in Atlanta with Jeff Beck. That particular night did NOT go well for SRV. I guess it was one of the main amps he was using just kept blowing and blowing and blowing. The guitar tech was on stage behind the amps almost as much as SRV was. They still did a pretty good job, but you could tell SRV was getting pretty pissed off (who wouldn't?) at the thing going out over and over. So glad I got to see him, though. Had no idea he experimented with so many amps...

This video is priceless.

...great overview!

Really awesome video thanks for posting this. I always liked Stevie's tone better before he started using the Dumble amps. That said, in reality Stevie could use anything and sound great. RIP SRV

Great video🤠🤠🤠🤠

Damn. I had one of those Marshall 100w Club and Country amps. Sold it 30 years ago for $200. Heard Leslie West used them too.

Thanks! And yep you were the original. Kieth Williams likes to say no one was doing this so he started, but I remember your videos from way before his channel started.

Jeezus buddy that was pretty comprehensive, I enjoyed the video, +1 am guessing the bottom line is Stevie liked to be heard😂. 👍🥃Respect to you.

I have a Vibroverb now. Can’t beat it.

I've been a Stevie fan since right before his death in 90'. This was a very cool video!

Peavey Classic 50 was made in the mid to late 90s at the main assembly plant in Meridian Mississippi.