# I'm Looking for Gordie Johnson in a Little box



## neldom (Apr 29, 2009)

Hey Everybody,

I'm looking for a small watt combo, that can give me Gordie in a small package.
Someone had previously mentioned a Traynor YCV15, and I was thinking of a Dr.Z possibly (though I'm not sure that will get me there).
Do any of you have suggestions of something that will do that and still give me some reasonably good cleans?

Thanks.


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## gtone (Nov 1, 2009)

Grab yourself an early Phaez amp - cheap and Gordie thru and thru! Gets ya some decent cleans too if you roll off the treble, switch off the "bite" control and dial back the gain.


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## mrmatt1972 (Apr 3, 2008)

Big Sugar or Grady tone?

My little 15 watt Blackheart Handsome Devil, a P90 or PAF style pickup and a boost gets me in Big Sugar territory with ease (without the permanent hearing loss). Throw in a Fuzz of some kind and you're set.


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## bolero (Oct 11, 2006)

get a herzog


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## bagpipe (Sep 19, 2006)

I think Gordie-tone only comes in a deafening, neighbour-annoying package. I don't think theres any way to get that tone other than "balls to the wall" volume.


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## Powdered Toast Man (Apr 6, 2006)

I was at a GJ guitar clinic and he explained his tone:

Gibson guitar -> Instrument Cable -> Vintage Ampeg SVT bass head -> three 4x12 cabinets

Keep in mind how high wattage Ampeg bass heads are - and he said he just cranks it until it's in full saturation. He estimated that combined with the speakers in the cabs, he's putting out about 600 watts. 

That all being said, he's a firm believer in "the tone is in the player, not the amp".


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## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

Powdered Toast Man said:


> I was at a GJ guitar clinic and he explained his tone:
> 
> Gibson guitar -> Instrument Cable -> Vintage Ampeg SVT bass head -> three 4x12 cabinets
> 
> ...


Yeah, I saw Gordie at the Horseshoe once and it was the loudest thing I've ever heard. I don't think he had Ampegs that night, I think they were Marshall Superbasses, but still the approach was the same. Lotsa volume. 

You can get a similar tone, but the feel and sustain won't be the same if you're doing it in a small package. Then again, who actually _can_ crank up a tube amp all the way without getting the cops all over them???


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## Lemmy Hangslong (May 11, 2006)

i have to say that the closest thing to Gordie without causing permanent hearing loss is the Tech 21 American Woman Pedal. now if you think about it this makes sense. it's design is in the herzog voicing making the sustain and fuzz voicing perfect for gordie stuff. place it in the front end of any tube amp with the preamp backed off and the mater dimed.


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## fudb (Dec 8, 2010)

I once did sound for a band and the guitar player was using two Fender Blues Hotrod Deluxes with nicer speakers with a Mesa-Boogie V-twin pedal going into the amps' power amp inputs. Pretty huge tone, with a relatively reasonable stage volume. Variations on this theme tend to sound massive at more reasonable volumes..


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## parkhead (Aug 14, 2009)

gordie uses a herzog, svt and g12t75 speakers 
the guitars are stock as shipped gibsons from various recent production

the key is the herzog which is like a champ & has incredible amounts of crunch


btw he's a fabulous player even on a j45 

p


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## jimihendrix (Jun 27, 2009)

Check out the video...Gordie Johnson is in it...

[video=youtube;koykStZtUhM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koykStZtUhM[/video]


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