Alex Turner

Alex Turner uses a Selmer Zodiac Twin 30 combo amp as his primary amplifier for almost all of Arctic Monkeys records and live performances. During the bands early shows and first tour, Alex used primarily an Orange Combo amp or a Vox AC30, even earlier The amp can first be seen during the recording of the bands second album, “Favourite Worst Nightmare,” as it was seen being used in the “Teddy Picker” music video. Looking though pictures of all the bands recording sessions the amp can be seen, usually in combination with a smaller amp for a more dirty, vibrato tone.

In an interview with long time producer James Ford, from Sound on Sound, Ford goes into detail on how him and the band went about using their gear in this 2011 interview. Ford states, “They took all their own guitar amps and stuff that we've used quite a lot before, a great old Selmer and Magnatone amps. We knew what we were doing, really. I've been in quite a few sessions where it's pretty up in the air and there's just too many things to think about, so it's harder to concentrate on the actual sonics and the performance. This time it was much easier in that respect.” James continues, “Alex Turner's rig typically featured him playing his faithful Fender Bronco or occasionally a Gibson Les Paul through his crocodile‑skin Selmer Zodiac and '60s Magnatone amps. "Al does more rhythmy stuff, and for that it was just pretty straight, quite bright and punchy into the Selmer. We sometimes ran that and his old Magnatone at the same time. It has a really nice vibrato on it and reverb. So sometimes we'd mix those two signals together, but just onto the one track.”

The band also has an identical version of this amp, which can be seen amplifying various keyboards and synthesizer throughout their live shows.

An example of how Turner likes to keep the setting on this amp would be the song “Fluorescent Adolescent“ off the bands second record. The amp has a distinct British tone, clean with a bit of chime and breakup.

Pictured is Alex’s Selmer Zodiac Twin 30 during the recording of “Suck It And See” at Sound City Studios in Van Nuys in the San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles.

(Sound on Sound, James Ford: Producing Arctic Monkeys) http://www.soundonsound.com/people/james-ford-producing-arctic-monkeys%3famp

Alex Turner has used a Vox AC30 Guitar Combo Amp at various times throughout his career, including during the Arctic Monkeys' early tours and the Suck It and See tour. A user-uploaded photo on the Arctic Monkeys gear forum shows this amp in use.

Alex Turner plays a Vox AC15 during different shows and recording sessions, as seen here during a show during the Arctic Monkey’s “Suck It and See” tour paired with his Selmer Zodiac Twin 30. Previously, Alex played an AC30 during Arctic Monkeys first tour of their first album, “Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m not.”

This amp is likely the same one that Jamie Cook plays during their 6th tour of their album “Tranquility Base Hotel And Casino.” Cook can be seen playing the amplifier during all live performances during that tour.

The Vox AC15 boasts a Normal and Top Boost channel and is an all-tube, EL84 driven workhorse that delivers 15 watts of authentic British tone.

Alex Turner uses a Fender Vintage Reissue '65 Twin Reverb 2x12-inch 85-watt Tube Guitar Amplifier at different recording sessions and live with Arctic Monkeys. Early on, Alex played this amp during the bands second tour of their “Favourite Worst Nightmare” album. Years later the Fender can be seen amplifying his keyboard during the “Tranquility Base Hotel and Casino” tour. The Twin Reverb connects a Sennheiser e906 Dynamic microphone that he also uses on his guitar amp, which is typically his Selmer Zodiac Twin 30 or later on a larger Magnatone.

The '65 Twin Reverb is a meticulous reissue of a true American classic. The iconic 85 watt, all-tube combo amp serves up definitive clean tone. The amp is also devastatingly loud at 85 watts, it speaks with authority at any volume sounding beautifully chimey, glassy, and full throated. Sonically, the Fender Twin Reverb is based on their classic 1965 Blackface circuitry, and it delivers the legendary sound.

Pictured, Alex can be seen using the Twin Reverb during a live show during Arctic Monkeys 6th studio album’s live tour. Turner has used the amp before to amplify his guitars, but on this tour he switched back to a single amp for his guitar tones, the first time since the bands first record. The Fender amps his main keyboard during the tour, about half way though at around the bands Manchester/Sheffield shows, Alex switched to a Dynacord Rex to amp his keys.

The Fender Hot Rod Deluxe can be seen beneath the Vox AC30 when Arctic Monkeys performed reckless serenade in 2011. Typically Turner used the combination of his Selmer Zodiac Twin 30 and his Magnatone 410, but had went with the Vox and Fender for this performance on the Jay Leno Show. The Hot Rod can also seen on the studio in Arctic Monkeys feat. Richard Hawley - “You And I” music video

Alex Turner can be seen here during the recording of their first album with his Orange Amplifiers AD Series AD30TC 30W 2x12 Tube Combo Amp. Turner went on to replace this amp after their first tour.

Alex Turner uses the Orange Amplifiers AD30HTC 30W Tube Guitar Amplifier Head as part of his music equipment setup during an Arctic Monkeys show in 2005.

Alex Turner used a vintage Jennings Electronic Industries J40 1968-1973 around the time of their second album for recording and touring. The amp can be seen in pictures of the tour and recording of Favourite Worst Nightmare, and had not been seen until Arctic Monkeys released the video "Warp Speed Chic,” which is a video about the recording of Tranquility Base Hotel and Casino. This could allow the assumption that this amp was also used on the recording of this album.

In common with the Jennings J100 (and the Vox solid state line), the J40 had a three position mid-range boost switch, position "0" being off, the other three (1-3) switching in an inductor and capacitor network to provide different resonances. Speakers are Celestion alnico's, T1096s, wired in parallel for a total impedance of 15ohms.

Alex Turner plays a Magnatone Custom 410 starting during the “Suck It and See” recording sessions onwards. Turner uses the 410 in combination with his Selmer Zodiac Twin 30 for the tour of that album as well as the recording and tour of Arctic Monkeys 5th studio album, “AM.”

In an interview with James Ford with Sound on Sound, long time Arctic Monkeys producer and bandmate of Alex's in The Last Shaddow Puppets, Ford explains how Turner used his Magnatone in junction with his Selmer Zodiac Twin 30. The Magnatone was used for Alex to get more vibrato and reverb tones. He would also get reverb out of his Selmer amplifier, considering Turner doesn’t use a reverb pedal after the “Humbug” era. The Tremolo on this amp to get the famous tone of “Do I Wanna Know?” along with the reverb from his Selmer, delay from his Boss DM-1 Delay Machine and overdrive from his Coopersonic Valveslapper used with his Vox Starstream XII 12 String.

Ford states “Alex Turner's rig typically featured him playing his faithful Fender Bronco or occasionally a Gibson Les Paul through his crocodile‑skin Selmer Zodiac and '60s Magnatone amps. "Al does more rhythmy stuff, and for that it was just pretty straight, quite bright and punchy into the Selmer. We sometimes ran that and his old Magnatone at the same time. It has a really nice vibrato on it and reverb. So sometimes we'd mix those two signals together, but just onto the one track.” This explains how Alex got his tones for “Suck It and See” and “AM.”

Pictured is Turner’s Selmer Zodiac Twin 30 on the left and his Magnatone Custom 410 on the right. Here they are both are miked with Shure SM7s.

During the bands “Tranquility Base Hotel And Casino” tour, the Magnatone is used to amp the Synthesizer the band uses, located behind Jamie Cooks setup. While Alex doesn’t use this amp for guitar anymore, about midway though their 6th tour he switched his mentioned Selmer for another Magnatone, the 280.

(Sound on Sound, James Ford: Producing Arctic Monkeys) https://www.soundonsound.com/people/james-ford-producing-arctic-monkeys%3famp

Alex Turner uses a Fender Silverface Twin Reverb for performances with Arctic Monkeys. While not his main amplifier, the amp can be seen used sporadically throughout live concerts/shows as well as recording sessions. Alex also uses the amp during The Last Shadow Puppets second tour. During the bands “Humbug” era, John Ashton uses the amp for his guitar rig and during the “AM” era Tom Rowley uses the amp for his.

The Fender Silverface Twin Reverb is crystalline, versatile, and packed to the gills with punch. The loudest of the company's original line of amps, this model was designed with 6L6 tubes. The Twin's dual Normal/Vibrato channel design is outfitted with three-band EQs and Bright switches for compensation at higher volumes on each side and controls for speed/intensity/reverb. Stacked with headroom, this leviathan can handle the nastiest dirtboxes with the Master volume knob which is unique to the Silverface.

Pictured is Alex Turner during Arctic Monkeys performance at the 2012 Olympics in London, England while they performed a cover of The Beatles “Come Together” and “I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor.” Turner can be seen using his Silverface and his Fender Blackface Twin Reverb for a duel set up with both of them at different settings ran at the same time with his Les Paul.

Alex Turner plays a Magnatone Custom 280 that replaced his long used Selmer Zodiac Twin 30 for live performances during Arctic Monkeys 6th tour of their “Tranquility Base Hotel and Casino” tour. Turner switched his amps on the bands UK tour of their 6th album in 2018 around the time of their Manchester and Sheffield shows. Alex uses this Magnatone for guitar, replacing his Selmer Zodiac that he has been using since the bands “Favourite Worst Nightmare” tour. Alex also uses a Dynacord Rex, this amp replaced his Fender Twin Reverb that he used to amplify his Wurlitzer 200.

Magnatone's top of the line amplifier of the late 1950's was the true stereo output amplifier called the 280. The 280 comes with two input channels each with "volume", "treble", and "bass" controls in a Baxandall tone stack arrangement. The inputs are mixed through the Stereo F.M.Vibrato. Turner’s tone during the “Tranquility Base Hotel And Casino” era is vastly different compared to previous years. Alex switched back to a single amplifier, formerly his Selmer and now this Magnatone. During the “AM” tour, alex used a Magnatone 480 with his Selmer for vibrato and reverb tones. This amp is the best of both worlds for what Alex seems to get out of his amps.

Pictured during the bands show in 2018 at Austin City Limits, the Magnatone 280 can be seen behind the keyboard next to Alex’s Gretsch Reverb Unit and Roland Space Echo.

Alex Turner used this vintage Dynacord Rex during Arctic Monkey’s Tranquility Base Hotel and Casino tour, replacing his Fender Twin Reverb to amplify his Wurlitizer 200A around halfway though the TBHC tour, some point near the Sheffield/Manchester shows. The Dynacord can be seen behind bassist Nick O’Malley next to Alex’s Gretsch amplifier and his Rolland Space Echo.

This Dynacord Rex amp was built in Germany. The Rex amp, produced between 1963 and 1968, was at that time the most luxurious combo that Dynacord produced. It’s a 35-40W RMS combo with a dual EL-34 power stage and a rather unusual speaker configuration consisting of a duet of a 10” and an 8” Isophon speaker.

This amp has a powerful clean sound with ample headroom, especially when played in the Phono setting that offers more gain, mids and low end. The tremolo effect sounds great and has a quite strong amplitude and cut. Because of an unusual design in the preamp the onset of overdrive at high volume is all but subtle. As soon as there’s no headroom left a sound similar to a ‘60s fuzz appears while the total volume drops slightly. This oddity can be overcome by using a pedal for drive tones. The Rex would serve great as an effect pedal platform.

Alex Turner used a Hiwatt Studio/Stage 2x12 Combo during performances at different points thought Arctic Monkeys career. The amp, which Jamie Cook has the exact same model of, can be seen at different points though out their second tour, Favourite Worst Nightmare. While only being seen at that tour, it has been mentioned in an interview with Jim Abbiss during the recording of their first album, “Given the channel limitations, in terms of effects, Abbiss and Barny were working with only an Echoplex tape delay and mono plate reverb. “‘The other effects were all from ambient miking and the amazing spring reverb built into Alex’s Hiwatt amp. So that was it. And we were riding it live. It was really good fun. You basically just did a few performances and chose the one you thought was best.’” While not specifically mentioning the type of Hiwatt used, there is the assumption that he is referring to this model as Alex has been seen playing it.

Turner had not been seen using this amp again until Arctic Monkeys live performance at Maida Vale in 2018. The amp was likely hooked up to one of the pianos or keyboards used. In this picture we can see the Hiwatt Studio/Stage 2x12 Combo and a Selmer Zodiac Twin 30 next to each other amplifying keyboard and pianos. The Selmer is the same model Turner used for his Guitar set up and can be seen in this picture next to his Vox Starstream.

(Sound on Sound interview with Jim Abbiss) https://www.soundonsound.com/people/arctic-monkeys-i-bet-you-look-good-dancefloor

(Arctic Monkeys Live at Maida Vale in 2018) https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=aR7blaZOPa4

Most stuff plugged in was familiar: a vintage Selmer Truvoice and Magnatone Custom 410 for Turner and Cooks’ guitars, mainly, and a vintage Ampeg Portaflex for O’Malley’s P-bass. There was also Turners’ 12-string Vox guitar, on which he wrote the iconic riff from Do I Wanna Know?

However, memorable addition to the studio was Turner’s new Rickenbacker pedal steel amplifier, heard on No. 1 Party Anthem. Small and compact, it was christened “The New Black” – also known as the original album title.

https://happymag.tv/engineering-the-sound-arctic-monkeys-am/

Alex Turner used this Selmer 30ss “Super Reverb” during the Favourite Worst Nightmare era. The amp can be seen pictured alongside Turner’s other Selmer, the Selmer Zodiac Twin 30, during the recording of “Teddy Picker” in their music video.

This is a 30 watt solid state amp, equipped with two 12" speakers. Two channels, with simple volume, bass and treble controls. Reverb fitted to second channel. Great for a clean 60's sound which Turner uses on songs such as “Florescent Adolescent” which is a great example of that clean, bitey British sounding tone that Selmer amps can achieve.

Alex Turner used an Acoustic Control Corporation 412GS 469 Vintage Guitar Amp 4x12 Speaker Cabinet in combination with his Acoustic 160 Brown Series Tube Amp during the Everything You’ve Come To Expect tour with his band The Last Shadow Puppets. This amp has 4 x 12 Original Eminence 50 Watt speakers. The cabinet can be seen under the Acoustic 160 and next to Turner’s Viper.

Alex Turner played an Acoustic Control Corporation 160 Tube Amp Brown Series during the Everything You’ve Come To Expect tour when playing with his second band, The Last Shadow Puppets. Turner played this early 80’s 160 along with an Acoustic cabinet too. Bass player Zach Dawes also played though acoustic amps on this tour. The amp can be seen pictured next to Miles Kane.

The Acoustic Control Corporation 160 guitar tube amplifier runs on (4) 6L6GC power tubes, (3) 12AX7 preamp tubes and (1) 12AT7 for reverb. It is switchable between 50/100 watts and can run at either 8 or 4Ω via toggle switch. It has a 5 band EQ, reverb and is a single input two channel amplifier. There is a Treble and Bass boost that are activated by pulling out the Treble and Bass knobs. It has a 3 prong power chord and goes from beautiful cleans to growling low end fuzz.

Alex Turner can be seen standing in front of his JC-120 in this photo taken by Ben Campbell while practicing before a show. The amplifier has been seen since Arctic Monkeys second tour of their Favourite Worst Nightmare tour used for both guitars and keys. More recently it was seen during the AM Tour used by Tom Rowley to amp the keyboards used during that tour.

In this Youtube video at 1:40, Alex Turner can be seen using Magnatone 440 amp.

(Minute 1:45) Here Alex is using an Orange Crush 12 amp before a show in the Humbug era.