Vol. 24, No. 5
March 2023
Players, Gear & Sound — The Inside
James Williamson, original guitar force of Iggy and The Stooges, goes from early punk to Silicon Valley engineering to a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction. Stephen Kimberley and Mr. Valco take up the National Glenwood, Matthew Scott talks vintage gear hunting, and David Boze shows a reversible Stratocaster switch mod. Blackie Pagano builds a 36-watt Double Chocolate Deluxe for Tim Parnin, who reports back, and Carl Hartman is the Amp Maniac.
PLAYERS, GEAR & SOUND
The Inside
Punk, Loud, and Proud - James Williamson
By Dwight Devereaux. James Williamson, original guitar force of Iggy and The Stooges, shares his remarkable journey from the rowdy stages of early punk rock to Silicon Valley engineering — and back again to a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction.
1964 NATIONAL GLENWOOD AMPLIFIER
The Rockabilly Tone Machine
By Stephen Kimberley. Stephen Kimberley makes the case for the National Glenwood, a rare Valco-built 2x12 combo with original 6L6s, tube rectifier, and some of the most commanding reverb and tremolo circuits ever to come out of Chicago.
MR. VALCO
National Glenwood 90
By Mr. Valco. The 1961 National Glenwood 90 was Valco's top-of-the-line amplifier — a 35-watt, two-channel combo with built-in reverb, tremolo, and a pair of Jensen 12-inch speakers that put it ahead of its time. This column traces the amp's lineage through Valco's Professional Series and makes the case for the Glenwood 90 as an underappreciated classic worth seeking out today.
MATTHEW SCOTT
New Wave Vintage
By Greg Talley. Oklahoma-raised guitarist and YouTuber Matthew Scott talks vintage gear hunting, building an audience of nearly 200,000 subscribers, and his journey from bedroom player to bandleader releasing original music.
To Get Out of a Stratocaster (Easily)
By David Boze. David Boze explains how a simple, reversible Fender S1 switch mod can add two entirely new tones to a Stratocaster — including that coveted Telecaster neck-and-bridge parallel sound — without drilling a single hole or sacrificing any of the original five positions.
CARL HARTMAN
Amp Maniac
By Riverhorse. Carl Hartman, a lifelong electronics hobbyist who once repaired color TVs, explains how a friend’s over-voltage problem with vintage amps led him to build the Tone Preserver and then the Amp Maniac. The variable-voltage box lets players dial each amp to its sweet spot, now with a backlit meter that reads both voltage and current.
The Pagano Double Chocolate Deluxe Amp
By Blackie Pagano. Amp builder Blackie Pagano details the design and construction of a custom 36-watt, 6G3 Brown Deluxe–inspired combo built for Cleveland guitarist Tim Parnin, covering every intentional parts choice from phenolic turret boards to Jensen Neodymium speakers. Tim Parnin then shares his first impressions of the finished amp.
Music is life, and life is not a business.
— Iggy Pop
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