NEIL PERRY
We get back to basics with Neil Perry of Raw State in Bath to find out why the sound of classic analogue valve amps remains a firm favourite in today’s high-tech world...
There isn’t much that Neil Perry doesn’t know about the workings of a good vintage guitar amp. Starting out as a guitarist in the late 70s, he quickly progressed to running his own 4-track reel-to-reel studio where he repaired, modified and made his own equipment. He then further honed his craft under the watchful eye of an ex-Decca maintenance engineer at Trad Electronics in North Watford during the solid-state frenzy of the early 80s. It was during this time that Neil jumped into the deep end of vintage music gear as Trad Electronics began dismantling studios such as Decca and Pye, relieving them of their classic analogue and valve equipment, in order to refurbish the goods, sell them on and make way for the transistor revolution.
It was only a matter of time before Neil’s services were being called for further afield. He soon ended up in the West Country working on Peter Gabriel’s fourth solo album as assistant engineer, following his installation of the studio itself. He then started his company, Raw State, a few years later, and from that point forward has been in constant demand, having worked with the likes of PJ Harvey, Portishead’s Adrian Utley, Goldfrapp and Page & Plant’s Charlie Jones, Led Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones and The Who’s Pete Townsend.
Guitarist dropped into the Raw State workshop in Bath to talk to Neil about the unwavering popularity of valve guitar amps and what makes them such a mainstay of the guitar world.
Timeless Technology
Given all the technological advances that have sprung forth since the electric-guitar craze began many decades ago, one might presume that the good, old-fashioned tube amp might have retired from business by now, but nothing seems to be further from the truth. Indeed, it appears to be more popular than ever. With many reissues and reinterpretations, original vintage equipment, clones and boutique products available on the market at any one time, what is it about these particular amps that makes them so enduring?
“The good thing about analogue gear is that it can go from a whisper and into the red with all the shades in between,” says Neil. “That’s the thing. And with a great guitar and valve amp you can really do that. It allows the player to bring all those textures, colours and little subtleties into the picture.”
Much the same as the instruments themselves, the most coveted and highly prized guitar amplifiers have changed little over time since their original design back in the golden era of production in the 50s and 60s. Despite the technological advances of the transistor and the microchip, it almost seems as if a certain amount of irony is at play. After all, the application of these later advances in music technology often appears to attempt some form of replication (at best) and, some might even argue, that we’ve experienced a technological devolution, if anything.
“Yes, it seems to have gone full circle from instruments to guitar amps to studio gear,” says Neil. “Most of the old things have come back in because of the complexity of the tones. The extraordinary thing is when you think back to the 50s, 60s and 70s analogue recordings with all that great gear (including the guitars and amps and basses and even the keyboards) and you listen to the records, they all sound so different. The gear, in theory, is really limited but, in fact, what we’ve got is a whole testament to different pictures, different colours and different soundscapes – the size and scale and everything is different. Whereas the digital world has almost made it monochromatic – we’ve gone from full colour into black and white, which is kind of bizarre because the digital world gives you every possible option, or so you’d think, but it’s almost like we have fewer options.”
There have been some realistic amp modelling products available on the market for some time now, which provide the user with an impressive array of tonal options in a convenient format, but how does Neil see this moving forward? “Some of the modelling amps are remarkable,” agrees
Neil. “The only problem is we’re modelling something that exists already, which is nice, but... The Mona Lisa exists and we can take a picture of it and it’ll look the same, but it’s not the same, is it? Not really. It’s convenient, but it’s not a step forward tonally. There’s no step forward in that it’s just replicating something that exists already, which isn’t that exciting. Well, to me, but maybe that’s just because I’m old!
“I’m always excited when you see somebody doing something that isn’t replicating anything else. It’s a bit like playing in a covers band; surely the really great thing is coming up with the idea in the first place as opposed to just being able to copy it? I’d prefer to try and come up with an original idea – even if it isn’t as good, at least it’s your take on things, which is much more interesting. So it’s nice when you see amps designers who have done something that’s a little bit different.”
Modern Times
As well as the latest digital modelling technology, the contemporary guitarist’s choice of amplifier has been bolstered by an incredible range of boutique valve models – a great number of which regularly pass through Neil’s workshop: “I had a TwoRock come in the other day. I get a lot of modern boutique amps in for repair – Swart amps and that kind of thing. Some of them can be lovely. I suppose my main criticism of modern amps is that too many try to do too many things. When you think of most of the really classic amps they don’t actually do a great deal of different things. They’ve got more of a specific character and that’s what you think of them doing. Whereas, some of the more modern amps try to do more of a Swiss army knife kind of thing. You do wonder, because they’re not particularly great at one thing or the other, but just merely ‘quite good’ at both…”
Indeed, many players find their favourite amplifiers will have a ‘sweet spot’ – that rarely deviated special setting from where the amp tends to sound its most interesting in terms of character, often at the edge of breakup. “That is such a great thing when you hear a great player playing in that area,” enthuses Neil. “The amp’s going from being a clean amp that’s still got headroom, to running out of headroom and getting into the breakup. You appreciate it when you hear it. That’s the special thing and why we still love valves and why solid state amps just aren’t as happening, because those magic things aren’t really there.
“When I think of great tones I think it’s when people plug straight in without any pedals. Of course I love pedals from the point of view of creating textures, but, as for tone, I don’t think it’s the same thing because the pedals are often robbing some of the tone. It also takes away some of the feel between a great player and the amp; that analogue thing where you can take any shade between black and white and go in between – sometimes that gets lost a little bit with a pedal. I love pedals, but I always think the tone goes out of the amp a bit when you’ve got effects in the signal chain.”
Speaker Output
With a guitar plugged into an amp, what other tonal options might be available to us? “Choice of speaker is important,” says Neil. “With a combo, for example, what each of them should have, and often do, is a speaker output. If you plug a little 8” speaker combo or whatever it is into something bigger, say a 2x12” set of speakers, you suddenly realise you’ve got a different amp! It’s a whole world of something else – a much bigger sound with all the bass and it’s actually just the speaker that’s making the difference. I’m not sure many guitarists pursue the idea of trying their amp with a different set of speakers. It’s underrated, because it gives you a different picture – easily as different as changing the entire amp! I know some guitarists who have three or four cabs for the same amp for that reason. They’ve got
“My main criticism of modern amps is that too many try to do too many things – like a Swiss army knife”
one great amp but they just change the cab; maybe they’ve got a 10”, a 15” and a 2x12” or something like that. One might be open back and another might be closed and so on. They sound so different and the way you can feel it and play it is totally different.”
With great tone, there often comes a price and one of the downsides to owning a tube amp is that, at some point, it will need servicing, a repair or replacement parts. “Well, I suppose they’ll always need looking after, of course,” Neil concedes. “It’s the nature of the beast, and they often have a hard life. I suppose a lot of the people that I work for actually use the amps, which is much more fun! Not that I’ve got anything against collections or collectors, but I’d rather be working with somebody who’s going to use the amp, because that’s what it’s for. It’s great that it’s going to be out there in the real world doing something that’s hopefully going to be meaningful.”
With any number of their numerous components potentially failing over time, it seems like amplifiers are in a state of constant flux; the physical and thermal stresses of gigging, not to mention the large amounts of current, often take their toll. In addition, the original components in vintage amps often have relatively wide tolerances in comparison to today’s parts. These variations in tone/ character, or a certain amplifier’s inherent quirks, are what Neil often strives to retain: “The tolerances in the components of old vintage amps weren’t as close as the tolerances are in today’s amps,” confirms Neil. “They could’ve been far out to begin with and now, of course, after years of use they could be really far out! That far-outness might result in something that isn’t great but sometimes it results in something that is really great.
“Sometimes when I’m working on an amp, and the client loves the way it sounds, and it’s special, and I’ve got to change parts… I try to change the parts to new ones of the value that the originals have drifted to. It may have gone from being 10% out to something like 30% out, but I can put in something that’s more like the 30% out, in order to keep it working in the off-spec way that the client likes, but reliably and safely.”
Considering the manufacturing regulations of yesteryear and their general wear and tear over time, safety is paramount when it comes to guitar valve amplifiers. “Amps can be really dangerous,” warns Neil. “They need high voltages. Typically, it’s in the 300s to 400s voltage range. The mains voltage comes into the transformer at 240AC in the UK and gets bumped up as high as 600 volts or something, plus the lower voltages for the valve heaters, and then it’ll be rectified to create a DC current. If you think of big Ampeg amps, they can be really high. I mean really scary – they scare me anyway!”
Musical Agenda
As well as getting the amp into a more reliable and safe condition, the ultimate aim for Neil is to get it sounding as musical as possible, while preserving its originality. “Getting it into a reliable and safe state are the important things, rather than it being 100 per cent original,” advises Neil. “If somebody wants that, that’s fine, or if it’s an incredibly rare, unique thing then that’s a different matter. But if it’s just another old amp, then let’s have it working safe and sounding really great! It might mean keeping the old parts and putting them to the side, but that makes sense.
“Replacing valves is tricky,” continues Neil. “I suppose it would be a bit like tyre wear on your car – because it happens over time and, very slowly, everything gets a little worse every time you use it. Sometimes you don’t realise how bad things are until something stops, or gets really noisy (or goes ‘bang’!) because it’s still working. Some people, of course, like it when the amp’s knackered and sounding horrendous.
“Ultimately I don’t think there are any rules about tone. From my point of view just disregard the tips and try things out for yourself. Plug in and have fun!” www.rawstate.com