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Lot Essay
JOHNNY MARR’S 1965 “BLACKFACE” TWIN REVERB, USED TO ACHIEVE THE TREMOLO EFFECT ON ‘HOW SOON IS NOW?’
Johnny Marr acquired this 1965 Fender Twin Reverb from The Who bassist John Entwistle via famed British guitar tech Alan Rogan in 1984. Speaking to Premier Guitar in 2018, Marr explained how the deal with Entwistle came about: We have a mutual friend in Alan Rogan, who is the Who’s guitar tech. John knew that Alan was doing some work with me and Alan guided me towards it and thought I should have some guitars. Alan pretty much marched me round to John’s and made me buy them! He also made me buy my vintage Fender amps that I still use to this day. Marr used this amp during the recording of The Smiths’ studio albums The Queen Is Dead, 1986, and Strangeways, Here We Come, 1987, as well as various singles and B-sides over this period. Speaking to The Guitar Magazine in 1997, Marr lists this amp amongst his favourites and reports my Blackface Twin was used from The Queen Is Dead onwards.
According to Marr, this was one of two Fender Twins used to achieve the tremolo effect on one of The Smiths’ most enduring masterworks ‘How Soon Is Now?’, recorded at Jam Studios in London in July 1984 (see footnote to lot 15). Interviewed by Guitar Player in 1990, Marr acknowledged: The vibrato sound is fucking incredible, and it took a long time. Marr told us: I put down the rhythm track on an Epiphone Casino through a Fender Twin Reverb without vibrato. Then we played the track back through two old Twins [each equipped with a tremolo switch], one on each side. We had to keep the amps vibratoing in time to the track and each other, so we had to keep stopping and starting the track, recording it in 10-second bursts. Marr’s labour of love in the recording studio delivered what Guitarist’s Rod Brakes has described as one of the most instantly recognisable and inspired examples of amp tremolo in recorded history.
Alongside his Roland JC-120 and Fender Pro (lots 8 and 48), this Twin Reverb can be seen behind Marr during The Smiths’ live performance of their latest single ‘Sheila Take A Bow’ and previous single ‘Shoplifters of the World Unite’ on the Channel 4 music television programme The Tube in Newcastle upon Tyne on 10 April 1987. It would turn out to be The Smiths’ last ever performance in front of a live audience. This amp has remained a favourite throughout Marr’s career, from The Smiths era through to his more recent solo recordings. When asked to identify the gear that appeared on his third solo studio album Call The Comet for Premier Guitar in 2018, Marr revealed I used the amps that I've had and used forever: a 1965 Fender Deluxe Reverb… and a blackface 1960s Fender Twin Reverb that I've used on almost every record I've done.
Johnny Marr acquired this 1965 Fender Twin Reverb from The Who bassist John Entwistle via famed British guitar tech Alan Rogan in 1984. Speaking to Premier Guitar in 2018, Marr explained how the deal with Entwistle came about: We have a mutual friend in Alan Rogan, who is the Who’s guitar tech. John knew that Alan was doing some work with me and Alan guided me towards it and thought I should have some guitars. Alan pretty much marched me round to John’s and made me buy them! He also made me buy my vintage Fender amps that I still use to this day. Marr used this amp during the recording of The Smiths’ studio albums The Queen Is Dead, 1986, and Strangeways, Here We Come, 1987, as well as various singles and B-sides over this period. Speaking to The Guitar Magazine in 1997, Marr lists this amp amongst his favourites and reports my Blackface Twin was used from The Queen Is Dead onwards.
According to Marr, this was one of two Fender Twins used to achieve the tremolo effect on one of The Smiths’ most enduring masterworks ‘How Soon Is Now?’, recorded at Jam Studios in London in July 1984 (see footnote to lot 15). Interviewed by Guitar Player in 1990, Marr acknowledged: The vibrato sound is fucking incredible, and it took a long time. Marr told us: I put down the rhythm track on an Epiphone Casino through a Fender Twin Reverb without vibrato. Then we played the track back through two old Twins [each equipped with a tremolo switch], one on each side. We had to keep the amps vibratoing in time to the track and each other, so we had to keep stopping and starting the track, recording it in 10-second bursts. Marr’s labour of love in the recording studio delivered what Guitarist’s Rod Brakes has described as one of the most instantly recognisable and inspired examples of amp tremolo in recorded history.
Alongside his Roland JC-120 and Fender Pro (lots 8 and 48), this Twin Reverb can be seen behind Marr during The Smiths’ live performance of their latest single ‘Sheila Take A Bow’ and previous single ‘Shoplifters of the World Unite’ on the Channel 4 music television programme The Tube in Newcastle upon Tyne on 10 April 1987. It would turn out to be The Smiths’ last ever performance in front of a live audience. This amp has remained a favourite throughout Marr’s career, from The Smiths era through to his more recent solo recordings. When asked to identify the gear that appeared on his third solo studio album Call The Comet for Premier Guitar in 2018, Marr revealed I used the amps that I've had and used forever: a 1965 Fender Deluxe Reverb… and a blackface 1960s Fender Twin Reverb that I've used on almost every record I've done.