StewMac Valve Factory 8 - anyone use one?

[Rob MacKillop]

They seem to be out of stock, so must be in demand. You get to ‘build your own amp’ for your sound. They did one for Jocelyn Gould when she visited, You can hear her playing it here, and discussing it a little towards the end - actually not a discussion, we don’t get to hear what she thinks of it. I wonder what valves and tweaks they put in for her, as she gets a very natural sound. No discussion of the cab either.

[David B]

Hi Rob,
I found some further information about the setup for Jocelyn Gould in the YouTube comments.



Best wishes,
David

[Rob MacKillop]

Thanks, David.

[Rango Blindheart]

Okay, knocking the dust off of this one because this amp appeals to me too but circling back around, have you seen how this player holds the pick? I splurged on an ES-175 today and won't know till next week if it was a winner or a loser. Jocelyn talks through her playing of this Benadetto that makes past historic jazz tones seem monosyllabic. Go girl! If the Gibson turns out to be a good 'un then I will adore it for being what I need now but I had best start saving again because my head has been turned. Again!?

[andrew]

I've never used one, but I just checked out the schematic. It's an interesting amp. It has a lot of qualities one would find in a Fender Tweed amp and some of the brown face elements also, but with a different take on the single-knob tone control. It's not an exact copy of any one Fender amp. It's closest relative in the Fender world would probably be the 6G3 brown Deluxe (minus the tremolo and only a single channel). It's got a solid state rectifier and a fairly robust power supply for a pair of 6V6s, both of which lead to a tighter sound (less sag) with a firmer bottom end. I'm a big fan of the Tweed clean thing, which this would deliver with the clean headroom that it has available. But it is a relatively high gain amp, so cleans are definitely limited.

[Freddels]

Okay, knocking the dust off of this one because this amp appeals to me too but circling back around, have you seen how this player holds the pick?

She uses a modified Benson picking technique.

[Stringswinger]

Ms. Gould is a huge talent. Benedetto was smart to put one of their guitars in her very capable hands. While I am sure that she appreciates the Stew Mac amp, my bet is that she still asks for a Fender tube amp to be supplied in the venues in which she performs.

[Freddels]

Ms. Gould is a huge talent. Benedetto was smart to put one of their guitars in her very capable hands. While I am sure that she appreciates the Stew Mac amp, my bet is that she still asks for a Fender tube amp to be supplied in the venues in which she performs.

She doesn't travel with an amp so it makes sense that she would request a Fender tube amp as they are more likely to be readily available. I know she likes to use her Henriksen amp when she's local. In that interview, she mentioned that she had recently bought a '57 Deluxe and was actively looking for a reverb pedal.

[Spook410]

She really does have a great tone.

[Cunamara]

Her playing seems much more seasoned and centered than the last videos I watched a few years ago. I really dug some of the stuff she was playing here in both videos. Also gutsy and enviable to have only one guitar. Focus on the music, not the gear, seems to be the path to becoming a maestro.

In some ways I wish I'd stuck to that (I had a flattop and then my GB10 for the first 7 years or so that I played, which really was enough. But you all know how it goes...). Although I've had a lot of fun with other instruments.