Larry Carlton

At 13:18 Larry Carlton talks about his Fender Deluxe amp, “We'll start here with the Tweed. And I've talked about this before on my website. That's the amp that I used for the Steely Dan sessions and I don't even remember why and how I'd brought the Tweed in, because I didn't use it on any other sessions, only the Royal Scam, Aja, and Donald's Nightfly album. So yeah, I got that with my 335 on the back pickup was the Kid Charlemagne and Don't Take Me Alive… No effects… Well I don't remember the exact setting but obviously you can play and you just keep moving it until it starting to bark but not sound too trashy... It was just luck, man. I don't know how I ended up taking that one for the solos.”

Larry goes on to say about the tweed, “Yeah I think it this is part of a cool story too when Donald Fagen was doing the Night Fly he flew me to New York to do some overdubs and I took my 335 in a suitcase and take an amp but I got there and we're visiting in the control room and he says “Oh, where's your amp?” “Well I didn’t bring one, I thought we’d just rent one.” They sent for my amp and on the Night Flights it’s that amp, my 335, and it had been a number of years you know so I thought, he really remembers that tone.”

Larry Carlton talks about his Bludo-Drive setup at 15:23 in this rig rundown saying, “Yeah, the Bludotone. Well, wonderful wonderful open sound. I described what I liked about my Dumbles to Brandon Montgomery, the maker of this amp, and he said “I think I can find something that you coul really be pleased with.” And he knew my sound from over the years, so he went to work and designed it and it's right in the sonic arena that I like to be in. So it’s worked out great. This is my 50 and 100-watt rig, which I play on the road in the states. I have the same thing, I have one in Brussels so we can pick it up and tour Europe and I have one in Tokyo so I don't have to ship one there and a pedalboard in Tokyo also so I'm covered and I don’t have to fly them every time. Yeah, I’m just tickled with tone of this amp and for my studio when I'm in here actually this is for the road, the 50-100, and he made it 25 watt-50 watt for me. For my studio, where I could get the same tone but you don’t have to play as loud… So yeah killer happy been playing it a number years now.”

When asked how he gets his overdrive tone, Mr. 335 responded, “Most of it is from the amp. I like, you know, over the years I set my preamp to when I hit it hard just wants to talk just it just wants to say something different… And then obviously there's the overdrive section which is very similar to my Dumbles before and it's just a sweet sweet sweet tight overdrive.”

Larry goes on to say at 17:33, “Yeah, you know it has so much what I call headroom that the transience just keep going through even when you play softly… and when I play harder it doesn't compress like a lot of the amps will stop a sound, it stays open…This is a 50-100 watt you know it has a switch in the back to choose.”

Used live in Zaire, as mentioned in the February 1977 Guitar Player interview "Larry Carlton" by Steven Rosen.

A Fender Princeton Reverb amplifier with one 10" speaker powers his Gibson in the studio, while two Mesa Boogie amps (Mesa Engineering, Box 116, Lagunitas, CA 94938) are used for 'live' Crusaders work. Carlton tried a Fender Concert and Twin for stage work, but even at the relatively low volume setting, the distortion spread, and the sound would not stay tight. Experimenting with a Marshall 4"x 12" bottom, Larry found the sound wasn't right for him. When the Crusaders recorded their 'live' album Scratch at the Roxy in L.A., the guitarist played with one cabinet, but the volume was still too loud. He also worked with an Ampeg VT 22 for a short period (two 12" speakers with 100 watts RMS) when the band performed in Zaire, Africa. Ampeg sponsored the event, and Larry liked the equipment they provided so well, that upon his return to the States he ordered a VT 22. But once again, he was unsatisfied with the sound quality the unit produced.

Carlton has specific settings for the Mesa/Boogie: volume is at seven on all preamps, treble on 10, midrange on 3, bass on 0, and the graphic equalizer is set for more highs and midrange, but no bottom.

Mentioned in the February 1977 Guitar Player interview "Larry Carlton" by Steven Rosen.

A Fender Princeton Reverb amplifier with one 10" speaker powers his Gibson in the studio, while two Mesa Boogie amps (Mesa Engineering, Box 116, Lagunitas, CA 94938) are used for 'live' Crusaders work. Carlton tried a Fender Concert and Twin for stage work, but even at the relatively low volume setting, the distortion spread, and the sound would not stay tight. Experimenting with a Marshall 4"x 12" bottom, Larry found the sound wasn't right for him. When the Crusaders recorded their 'live' album Scratch at the Roxy in L.A., the guitarist played with one cabinet, but the volume was still too loud. He also worked with an Ampeg VT 22 for a short period (two 12" speakers with 100 watts RMS) when the band performed in Zaire, Africa. Ampeg sponsored the event, and Larry liked the equipment they provided so well, that upon his return to the States he ordered a VT 22. But once again, he was unsatisfied with the sound quality the unit produced.

Carlton has specific settings for the Mesa/Boogie: volume is at seven on all preamps, treble on 10, midrange on 3, bass on 0, and the graphic equalizer is set for more highs and midrange, but no bottom.