Joe Satriani

Mentioned in this 2007 Guitar Player interview.

By the time I started making solo records, I had developed some pretty bad attitudes towards vintage gear and the vintage cognoscenti. I think it stemmed from the fact I was working at a vintage guitar store—Second Hand Guitars in Berkeley—and I was broke. But back then, I only thought about music. So, in a way, I became “Mr. Contrarian“ when it came to tone. With Surfing, I went in with a Roland JC-120 and a ’68 Marshall half-stack that was modded with a master volume. I also used original Chandler Tube Drivers, a Boss DS-1 and an SD-1, a Scholz Rockman, a Nomad amplifier, and a borrowed bass amp.

Satriani also mentions the JC-120‘s use on Surfin’ With the Alien in this 2012 interview with Vintage Guitar magazine, where it is erroneously transcribed as the then nonexistent JC-20.

Parts of Surfin’ With the Alien were done with a JC-20 [sic] and the DS-1 instead of the Marshall stack.

A 1961 “Brownface” Deluxe owned by Satriani is listed for sale on Bananas at Large’s website. The item description states that “[t]he ground switch has been modified to be a bypass swtich.”

A 1962 Brownface is listed for sale on Bananas at Large's website.

Excellent Condition. Overhauled by Chris Barnett. No Slip Cover.

• Serial 55938 makes it mid-year 1962 which is 6G12-A circuit. Label is partially missing though stamped first figure is "L" for 1962.
• Original Oxford speakers in good working order. No rubbing, no tears, stiff cones. Dated (3) 465-236 and (1) 465-233. All: 10K5-XG748 plus all cones stamped original P4630.
• Original transformers: PWR 606235 CHK 126C1A 606241 OUT: 125A9A
• Original tolex and grill cloth in terrific condition as shown.
• Tubes: New pair Sovtek 5881 12AX7s mix of GE, Tung-sol and Chinese.
• Complete electronic service including: Many resistors replaced as needed with metal film. In the B+ drops metal film resistors are quieter than the original carbon resistors.
• All signal path capacitors, coupling and tone, are original.

You want the amp to sound right.

• All filter capacitors replaced. high plate and screen voltage so plate and screen capacitors have 700v capacitor rating for surge protection, reliability and long life: this also contributes to the amplifiers punchy robust tone. Originally Fender specified 600v capacitors, but normally used.
• Cathode and bias electrolytic capacitors replaced.
• Fender first made the Concert in 1960 as a 6G12 circuit with a five tube preamp with two tubes dedicated to the vibrato circuit. Fender then refined the circuit as 6G12-A which has the full tube preamp complement with the three tube vibrato. The three tube is unquestionably the best vibrato Fender ever produced and this amplifier is a particularly fine example with rich, deep vibrato.

Overhauled by Chris Barnett: Replaced both volume potentiometers, 2-OEM Fender 1meg audio pots, Checked for leaky capacitors.

"Congratulations to Bob for picking up Joe Satriani's '59 Fender Twin amp and thanks to Joe for coming down to tell the stories and history of such an iconic piece! Shop Joe's pre-owned gear now http://bit.ly/2vwB3Tt".

"What was your first amp? A Univox U65Rn, I think. We lived a few miles from Plainview, New York, where Unicord was based. It imported or distributed Marshall at the time, and made a couple budget amps; mine was one of them – narrow 1×12, solidstate with reverb. Not very reliable."

Used on Not of This Earth, Surfing With the Alien and "Flying In A Blue Dream". Among online sources, the amp is first mentioned by Satriani in this January 2012 interview with Vintage Guitar Magazine:

"There are so many different ones, but the basic Marshall is the 'kitchen sink' sound – it gives you everything. More than you want, maybe! It’s the most revealing amp you’ll ever plug into, I think.

Early in my career, I tried to run from it. On the first couple of solo records… for Not of This Earth I didn’t even bring one into the studio. I was such a contrarian, I remember calling [recording engineer] John Cuniberti and saying, 'I’m gonna use whatever is in the closet.' I thought that was a cool, artsy way of doing things. What happened to be in the closet was an early-’70s Pro Reverb, and I just plugged little (effects) boxes into it. We’d record quietly and use microphones like a C12A, Boss pedals, and early tube drivers made by Paul Chandler."

Satriani later specified this amp to be a Silverface in a December 26, 2011 Tumblr post, which also revealed that the Pro Reverb was used on the track “Flying In a Blue Dream”.

DAVUDTESCH asked: I've read that you used a Mesa Mark IIC+ on Flying in a Blue Dream... Was it just on the song or the whole album? I ask cuz I love the voicing you get out of your tone in the beginning of part 2 of the Bells of Lal.. When I'm dialing my tone if it feels similar then I know I'm in the ballpark. I use that and the riff from Crystal Planet... those are my tone-testers :)

On that song I was using a silver face Fender Pro Reverb amp with a Boss DS-1 distortion pedal, and put an AKG C12-A microphone up close to the grill.

This dispells a popular myth that a Mesa/BOOGIE MKIIC+ was used, as discussed in this May 3, 2016 post in the Fractal Audio forums by user marklumsley.

While Satch did indeed use a respectable bunch of amplifiers during his 'Flying...' album - including the Mesa/Boogie Mk IIC+, it was NOT used during the recording of the title track. Used instead was a silverface Fender Pro Reverb as stated by the man himself on his Tumblr account whilst answering a fan's question, seen here:

The amp is brought up a third time in this February 17, 2017 Music Radar interview about Surfing With the Alien.

“We used a [Roland] JC-120 for almost all of Echo. John had a very clever way of recording the JC-120 with six different microphones, an [AKG] C12A and this and that, and using the DS-1. It was just really interesting how we got a lot of mileage out of that amp. It was the perfect antidote to the Marshall stack or the little Silverface Pro Reverb or Princeton that was there that we used for a lot of the album, too."

Used on “Headrush”, as taken from Satriani’s personal notebook.

Melody Guitar: MCO #4, Mezzabarba M Zero, Marshall ’71 Super Lead Rhythm #1: Fender Custom Shop Tele (red sparkle), Xotic SP Compressor, BOSS CE-2 Chorus, Lazy J J80 combo Rhythm #2: Ibanez T-style with Evertune, Korg G4 Rotary Speaker, Xotic SP Compressor, Lazy J J80 combo Solo: MCO #1, Marshall JVM410HJS

A 1963 AC10 Twin with a serial number of 1341 (and its footswitch), owned by Satriani, was sold on Reverb.com via Bananas at Large.