MATCHLESS AMPLIFIERS, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, 1998

Johnny Marr acquired this Matchless DC-30 amplifier in the late 1990s and used it in the studio with Electronic, Pet Shop Boys and The Healers. Marr also used it on stage when The Healers supported Oasis in June and July 2000, as well as later when touring The Healers' 2003 album Boomslang. When asked by Guitar Player in 2003 how he had achieved the fuzzy sound on Boomslang, Marr explained: Sometimes I got overdrive out of a really cranked-up Fender Bassman with a ’57 Les Paul, but those sounds were mostly an Ibanez Tube Screamer through a beefed-up Matchless DC-30 combined with an old Fender Deluxe. Marr went on to explain specifically how he had achieved the gorgeous clean tone on album track ‘Something to Shout About’: I used a ’63 Gibson ES-335, a Matchless DC-30, and a ‘60s Fender Concert with a tiny hint of vibrato on… I was really happy with the way it turned out. Marr also used the Matchless DC-30 for live performances with The Healers, telling Total Guitar in 2003 that the gear he used on Boomslang was the same amp set-up that I use live, which mostly consists of a Matchless DC30 and a Fender Deluxe. Marr can be seen playing through this amp in photographs from The Healers’ show at the Sala Arena in Madrid on 25 March 2003.