J Mascis

"Amp-wise, Mascis turned to classic British and American combos to provide the thunderous tones that are such a powerful feature of I Bet On Sky. 'I used a '59 Vox AC15 and a (Fender) Tweed Deluxe and a Tweed Bandmaster,' he explains." - Music Radar.

J Mascis disusses his HIWATT 100 in this Rig Rundown from Premier Guitar. At 29:28, he says, “I've kind of got into Hiwatt later on, but not within the last five years.”

J Mascis points out his Victoria Tweed Twin at 30:06 in this Rig Rundown from Premier Guitar. “It's a high powered Twin Copy. I think the model number is 80212. This is 80 watts and 212 inches.”

At 27:48 in this video interview, J Mascis talks about his ’68 Super Bass. “That's a Super Bass. I think that's 68 also. It was originally purple although that's not the original box. I had that all redone and I still have the original purple box at home.”

25:05 J Mascsis talks about his JP8 at 25:04 in this video interview. “I think it's 68, Super PA, and I guess that's the first plexi amp I ever bought. I was going to buy a 65 JTM 45 at the store. It looked cool, but I really didn't like the sound that much and they had this and it was less than half of the price and sounded a lot better, so I figured I'd use this more. I think one of the sets of channels was modded to be a super lead.“

J Mascis occasionally uses the Marshall JCM800 2203 amplifier for select live performances, as shown in the user-uploaded photo.

one of J's marshall stacks during the original lineup reunion tour

"Surprise show in the same spot Dinosaur Jr played their first show 33 years ago!

This one is special to us because J is using his Tiny Terror Combos."

"GC: The leads for 'Alone' off of Hand It Over sounded a little bit different. Can you describe the tone you got for that and how you got it?

Mascis: 'Alone' had a lot of effects. I think a lot of it is the LoveTone Meatball and the Ibanez AD9 delay from the same era as the Tube Screamers everybody liked.

GC: Was there any direct recording on that?

Mascis: The first solo at the beginning is out of the back of the Fender Super Champ amp direct."

The Super Champ was also used during Mascis' interview for Noisey's Guitar Moves series.

"Usually I record with smaller amps... a tweed Deluxe. I did use it. I had, like, a Studio B setup. I'd have, like, one that I was mixing upstairs, I'd have another set up downstairs and I used that to put in the last-minute leads."

Used on Dinosaur, as stated in this August 24, 2011 interview with Kit Rae.

KR: What amps were you using in the early days with Dinosaur? Like the first three albums?

JM: The first album, I used a very early 60 watt Mark I Boogie that a guy had at the studio where we recorded. That sounded pretty cool. I used the Marshall a little bit, but mostly the Boogie on that album. Then the other albums, for Bug and You’re Living All Over Me, I used a 50 watt Marshall head. And then after Bug, I kind of got into (Marhsall) Super Leads more. You know, as I got more money I discovered things like Plexis.

“At home I use a 1966 Twin Reverb, I wish I had one over in England. But for this tour I’m using the reissue… it gives a little more top-end to my sound, so I’ll try to use more of it for my solos. It’s another ingredient in the soup. A pinch of Fender, some Marshall, a bit of Hiwatt…”

"GC: On your most recent release, what guitar do you play and with what pickups?

Mascis: I think it's a '58 Tele. I don't remember the pickup, but I think it was from another guitar from the '50s, maybe '54 through a tweed 310 Bandmaster."

In a 1993 interview with Guitar World, Mascis specified this to be a '59 Bandmaster.

"This Bullfrog 4x12 Guitar Cabinet from the 1970's is Owned by J Mascis, guitarist of the legendary indie rock band Dinosaur Jr.

All original 1970's Bullfrog 4x12 guitar cabinet. Storied to have been J's very first guitar cab used in Dinosaur Jr.

'That was my first cab I ever bought and used with Dino for first 2 lps and all shows' - J Mascis

Cab can be spotted in this 86 footage which is attached to this listing.

These LP's would have been Dinosaur and Yr Living All Over Me. So cool.

Cabinet is in functioning condition. Currently running at 4 ohms. It has been well loved as you can see in the chips in paint and missing caster. We have tightened up the input jacks and this bad frog should be ready to hook up and go!"

"I don't think it is a blackface. I think it's like a early '70s, but someone put a blackface thing on it. It sounds good, but I just got another blackface one. I brought it out a bit in the last few years."

"I had two main recording setups: a Gibson Les Paul Junior through a tweed Fender Deluxe amp"

"This Marshall 8x10 Cabinet Model 1990 Basketweave Early 70s is part of the private collection of J Mascis.

From Marshall in the early 70's is this 1990 Basketweave 8x10 Speaker Cabinet. This thing speaks for itself.

When I think of J playing the guitar the first image that comes to mind is him, surrounded by a wall of amps in a semi-circle. This 8x10 was part of that storied image accompanying J on countless tours as his reliable cab companion. It wasn't until he found an amp setup he preferred that this cab was retired from the road rotation. Now it's available to you.

Not only are these rare in the first place, the fact that it included this storied history only adds to the story. Not to mention this cab sounds MASSIVE. We are unable to confirm the blank speakers inside of the cab but have photographed them for your perusal. The cab runs at 8 ohms. The staining on the front is water. You could remove these marks by cleaning the basketweave, but why would you? This is the DiVinci of J's store here on Reverb."

It was used during the recording sessions for Dinosaur Jr.'s Farm, as seen in this episode of Pitchfork's In The Studio.

"Naturally, J’s shop also features a couple of amps, like the signature ‘69 Marshall 100W Super Tremolo with the massive 8x10 Marshall 1990 cab and a ‘70s Purple Fender Twin Reverb, about which J told us, 'Of course I got it because it was purple and it was cheap.'"

J Mascis's AC30 head can be seen in a photo of his live pedal board from September 2014 on Other Bands' Stuff

J Mascis's Mesa cab can be seen in a photo of his live rig from September 2014 on Other Bands' Stuff

Visible at 0:31 at the top of Mascis' bookshelf.

“At home I use a 1966 Twin Reverb, I wish I had one over in England. But for this tour I’m using the reissue… it gives a little more top-end to my sound, so I’ll try to use more of it for my solos. It’s another ingredient in the soup. A pinch of Fender, some Marshall, a bit of Hiwatt…”

Sold on Reverb.com in 2017.

Vox Berkley II Head Cabinet (empty) & loaded Cabinet owned By J Mascis

According to a Guitar Geek rig diagram, J Mascis used a Marshall Major 200 watt guitar amplifier while performing with Dinosaur Jr around 1996.

In 1988, a press release by SST for the album You’re Living All Over Me mentioned that J Mascis uses "two fifty-watt Marshall heads going into a Marshall one hundred-watt head, which in turn goes into two 4X12 cabs." This indicates that the two fifty-watt heads are likely the Marshall JMP 2204 Mk II Master Lead 50w, as suggested by the head cabinet size shown in the source image.

In a 1988 press release by SST for the album You’re Living All Over Me, it was mentioned that J Mascis uses "two fifty-watt Marshall heads going into a Marshall one hundred-watt head, which in turn goes into two 4X12 cabs." This statement implies that one of the fifty-watt heads is likely a Marshall JMP 1987 Mk II Super Lead 50w Amp Head (1976-77) with a Master Volume Mod, as supported by the head cabinet size shown in the source image.

In an article by Ward Meeker in Vintage Guitar® magazine, J Mascis mentioned his experience with a Vintage Ampeg V4 Amplifier Head, stating, "I had an Ampeg V4 first, and it blew up three times the first month (laughs)." Subsequently, he replaced it with a Yamaha G100 head.

J Mascis confirmed his use of the Yamaha G100 Head in an interview with Vintage Guitar® magazine, where he stated, "I took it back to the store and got a 100-watt Yamaha solid state head just because I’d seen Hüsker Dü using one. I thought, 'If it’s good enough for Hüsker Dü…' But it didn’t sound very good; I didn’t know much about guitar stuff." He further recalled being advised to change the amp, but due to financial constraints, he continued using the Yamaha, which led him to start wearing earplugs because of the painful fuzz.

J Mascis confirmed his use of the Acoustic control corporation G60T amplifier in an interview with Vintage Guitar® magazine, conducted by Ward Meeker. He discussed purchasing the Acoustic G60T head after unsatisfactory experiences with an Ampeg V4 and a Yamaha G100, noting, "Eventually, I got an Acoustic 60-watt head that was like a Mesa-Boogie copy. It wasn’t very trebly, but had a very nice sound. I think it had two 6L6GTs." In a Vice article. He mentioned that when he got his first Marshall head that he used both together at a point. “And then, I finally got a Marshall that I used with the Acoustic. That was kind of a good combo.”