The Black Keys Fan Lounge Forum

I've been trying to narrow down what combos dan used to use live before he switched to his marshall/fender setup he uses now. Can you guys help Identify the amp in this vid? I think this is the best live tone Dan has ever had. I know there are some tone freaks out there like me. Can you help Identify this amp?

Maybe you can see it better in this video.

My guess is that it's a tweed bassman (4x10) copy. Probably not a fender but a Miller amp design which is from what I read has power of a marshall and the tone stack of a deluxe. Not the great views in the above views but a guess. To me it looks like one of these in this photo.

The early Australian "thickfreakness vid" is not the same amp as the Grimey's vids/Fast Five pics....looks like Tweed Fender Bassman.

DerekIrving is right about the Grimey's amps, Miller Amp Design (MAD Amps) built by Mick Miller from Cleveland Heights, OH. Check out the following two forums for a little more info. Sound like badass amps.

http://www.thegearpage.net/board/showthread.php?t=702174 - It looks like user "Bob Loblaw" is Jamie Stillman from EQD.

http://acapella.harmony-central.com/archive/index.php/t-2247615.html

That's awesome! They are those miller amps.. those pics have the same symbol in the lower left had corner in the vid as well. I'll have to look into one of those.. Maybe too much power for me though. I just want something around 30 watts or less lol. I knew you guys would know this... This forum is just too good lol.

@radiohead625 - sounds like your in the market for an amp.

There are so many (actually too many) choices when it comes to amp selection.

Here's a few things to think about:

1. Are you a gigging or intend to be a gigging musician OR are you a home player
5-8 watt amp if you're a home player not a gigging musician
15-30 watt if you're a gigging musician

2. Desired Tone Stack
Fender, Marshall, Vox, etc

3. Budget

A 30 watt amp is very loud unless attenuated, power reduced or have pedals in front of it, so be sure this type of volume is warranted. It's much easier to get power tube over drive with a 5 watt amp for home playing and can be plenty loud. In fact there are lots of good choices in vintage and new amps for amps in the 5-8 watt range. However if you're gigging then a 15-30 watt amp might fit the bill, but be aware these can even be loud for lots of venues so even with these be prepared to use some type of pedal or maybe even attenuation.

Try to figure out the tone stack you're after, Fender, Marshall and Vox all have different sonic and tonal characteristics. Find what you dig the most or find one that you can compromise with the best. Clean fender is different than clean Marshall, same goes with overdrive/dirty sounds. Then each manufacturer has different sounds within their product lines. Tubes, Speakers, guitar, your playing style, picking dynamics, strings, also play a roll. Determine the sound you're after then try a few amps with your guitar. Spend a day at Guitar Center or some other place with a decent selection of amps, and then buy a used model if possible so get the best bang out of your dollar. I heard some success stories with a Fender Blues Junior and a fuzz pedal, but even at 15 watt's it's a loud amp. I think a cool low wattage amp (5-8 watts) is the vintage fender silverface vibro champ. I'll use one for coffee shop gigs. Try not to gauge your sole selection from youtube alone, it's a very different experience when you're in front of an amp with your guitar and feeling the interaction between the two.

For me I'm a gigging weekend blues musician and most of the venues I play are 100-200 seat places with a mild drummer. I also need to fit sonically with harp players or vocalist, or horns or piano - who don't care to be with a loud guitar player or a guitar which tonally is taking up too much space in the frequency spectrum. I use a fender bassman reissue (about 40 watts), but use a ghetto stomp overdrive pedal to get breakup and I don't set my amp more than volume 3. I like the fill of a 4x10 combo and the tonality of tweed. In my case I can say that this amp is probably too loud for me but I'm only able to own one amp so I needed one with the most versatility to cover gigs where I'm mic'ed in the PA and larger outdoor gigs where there are no mic's. It's taken me a long time to understand that unless someone is paying $15 to see my band that it's more important for me to cater to the bandleader and club so I get hired back. I've lost my share of gigs for being too loud or being part of a band which is too loud.

However, it's a fun journey! Good luck

That's great tone for sure.