Steve Lukather's Paul Rivera Modified Fender Princeton

Here's an eBay listing for Steve Lukather's Fender Princeton Reverb amp:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Steve-Lukather-Fender-Princeton-Reverb-Amplifier_W0QQitemZ200380004115QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item2ea7943713&_trksid=p3911.c0.m14

(The link will go down once the amp is sold)


Leo Fender had it right the first time.

The circuits for the Fender Princeton, Deluxe and Twin Reverb have long been the templates on which other American amplifier manufacturers have been building on.

And Fender's circuitry was adaptable and relatively easy to modify.

For instance, before launching his Boogie amplifiers, Randall Smith got his start by modifying Fender Princeton's in his garage, introducing cascading gain stages that enabled the little amp to scream with almost infinite sustain even at low, hotel room volumes.

Across the pond, Jim Marshall was basing his earliest creations on the original tweed Fender Bassman amps, but powered with EL34 power tubes instead of the American 6L6's.

Even Alexander Dumble designed his amplifiers around the Fender Deluxe schematic. And as Lowell George once put it, “A Dumble is a Fender made right.”

And more amp hot-rodders rose to the task to meet the needs of a tone and gain hungry clientele with each building a reputation based on their work modding the amplifiers of rock’s elite -- Jose Arredondo (Eddie Van Halen, Steve Vai), Harry Kolbe (Al DiMeola, Allan Holdsworth, Yngwie Malmsteen) and Paul Rivera (Steve Lukather, Larry Carlton and many of LA’s session elite). Rivera was also a pioneer in building custom pedalboards and effects racks for studio guitarists in the late 70's.

Which brings us to Mr. Lukather's Rivera-modded Princeton. As the eBay listing describes it, this Princeton was Lukather's 'go to' amp from 1976 to 1982 and has appeared on a lot of his session work.

And it's not surprising. With its low wattage -- two 6V6 power tubes producing all of 12 watts -- the Fender Princeton was the secret weapon of many studio guitar players. The amp could be cranked if needed without becoming overbearing and, with a possible modification or two, could produce a gamut of tones from silky clean to high-gain.

Rivera's mods to Lukather's amp in this case included a 6-position rotary switch in place of the second input jack which enabled a selection of six different mid-boost frequencies. The red knob that was installed in place of the vibrato speed knob is a control for adding gain to any one of those six mid-frequencies.

As he did to most of the amps he worked on, Rivera also probably reworked the amp with his Stage 2 Plus mod where the preamp, output stage and power supply are modified to produce a smoother, more articulate distortion.

Paul Rivera went on to manufacture his own line of Rivera amplifiers in the late '80s. Lukather, ever the loyal customer, started endorsing his own signature model Rivera Bonehead amps in 1999.

Larry Carlton, Steve Lukather Band - The Paris Concert DVD Review

In this DVD , Larry Carlton and Steve Lukather, two guitar masters from diametrically opposite ends of the LA studio session scene, share the billing in a live concert setting. Surely this is what guitar dreams are made of.

The first track, Jeff Beck's The Pump, is given the extended improv treatment. Lukather is in fine form and his tone is breathtaking. His mastery and control of feedback, nuanced by touches on the vibrato bar show a more recent Beck influence. The time he's spent hanging out with his friend Jeff definitely shows through.

Once the dust has settled, Carlton duly responds. Opting for a fat, mildly overdriven tone from his ES335 and Dumble amplifiers, we are reminded of all the things we love about Larry Carlton. He takes a lot of liberties, even quoting 'Santa Claus Is Coming To Town' before going into his trademark fusion lines.

The second cut, Blues Force, a Fourplay tune, is a hard swinging shuffle with the main melody played in twin-guitar harmony. Carlton switches to a vintage Les Paul Special for this tune. The Special was introduced as a lower end, no-frills Les Paul guitar in its day, with a simple slab body and P90 pickups. And Larry really makes it sing, proving once and for all that it is really all in the hands.

The next tune, It Was Only Yesterday is originally from Carlton's self-titled second album 'Larry Carlton'. Larry introduces this song with Johnny Smith-style chord voicings before launching into the tune as a chord-melody arrangement replete with counterpoint lines, harmonics and closed-chord voicings. Lukather enters and restates the melody with a vibe and feel that is totally vintage Carlton. Uncanny.

Next, Lukather launches into his trademark rendition of Red House, the famous Jimi Hendrix tune. This is the token vocal song on the DVD and I'm guessing it is one of Lukather's favorites since he sings it so often. His rather manic blues-inflected rock solo is followed by Carlton's elegantly understated blues lines. He sets up his solo so well you can cut the atmosphere with a knife. Truly a master at work. As Lukather says to the audience, "There's not many people that can play a guitar like that", one can't help but nod in agreement.

I'll leave you to check out the rest of the concert for yourself. Get this on DVD, the audio quality is superb.