Ronnie Montrose

Auctioned via Julien's in 2013.

A box of various electronics modified or built by Ronnie Montrose, including two Bogner RM pedals, switch box and five inputs, Direct boxes, footswitch, FX017 Wah volume controller, Matchbox Preamp EQ, Direct box speaker simulator MB-10, a microphone, and miscellaneous cables.

12 by 12 by 6 inches

PROVENANCE From the Collection of Ronnie Montrose

Auctioned via Julien's in 2013.

A box of various electronics modified or built by Ronnie Montrose, including two Bogner RM pedals, switch box and five inputs, Direct boxes, footswitch, FX017 Wah volume controller, Matchbox Preamp EQ, Direct box speaker simulator MB-10, a microphone, and miscellaneous cables.

12 by 12 by 6 inches

PROVENANCE From the Collection of Ronnie Montrose

Auctioned via Julien's in 2013.

Ronnie Montrose's 1992 Telecaster known as "Trigger" with a Parsons B Bender in sunburst, serial number RDM 1013, with a maple cap fingerboard. The guitar was modified by Gene Baker. This guitar was used any time Montrose needed a B Bender in the studio and onstage. Comes with a hardshell case.

PROVENANCE From the Collection of Ronnie Montrose

Specified on the official Foxrox artist page.

The Late, Great Ronnie Montrose

Captain Coconut, CC2 Upgrade, Octron2

Auctioned via Julien's in 2013. It was modified from its original form, as can be seen in this Lab Series ad.

A Gibson Doubleneck electric guitar, model EDS 1275, owned and played by Ronnie Montrose, customized for him by Glen Quan and CJ Hutchins. Quan shortened the 12-string neck, and Hutchins replaced the rosewood fingerboards and did the finish. This guitar was featured in a Lab Series amplifier ad prior to being modified. Montrose acquired this guitar in the early 1970s. Comes with a copy of the Lab Series amp ad and the original hardshell case.

Used for doubling on Montrose, as stated by Montrose in a conversation recollected by The Les Paul Forum member Pope Budda in a July 5, 2013 post.

soulbrojcs said:

A couple'a years ago, Greg Martin and I sat on their tour bus with Ronnie after one of their shows, and he told us all about the Fender 3x10 Bandmaster he used on that first Montrose album. he made the comment that he really wished he had never gotten rid of it. he also showed us the way Jimmy Page showed him to play the into to Zeps "Whole Lotta Love". he was a REALLY nice guy.

I remember that like yesterday, Jimmy. Ronnie was one of the nicest humans ever, a big influence on me in the 70's.

As Jimmy said, Ronnie used an old tweed 3x10 Fender Bandmaster, that had been recovered, for the first Montrose album. Since his 1959 'burst was stolen at a Edgar Winter Group gig earlier, I'm almost thinking the first Montrose album was done with a newer Les Paul or another 50's 'burst? I always envisioned Ronnie having stacks of Marshall's in the studio for "Montrose," it was all done on that tweed Bandmaster! He also told me he used a Electro-Harmonix Big Muff on "Bad Motor Scooter" and a Ampeg Scrambler on "Make It Last." Ronnie said the trick to making the Scrambler work, was rolling the treble all the way back on pickups and turning the volume all the way up. I own an old Scrambler, this works!!! Other than that, Ronnie said it was straight into the amp. You can hear a Eventide H910 Harmonizer added in on the mix by producer Ted Templeman or engineers Don Landee and Stephen Jarvis as well, set on 1.01 or 0.99. That gave it that doubling slap sound on solos. Ever notice the similarities in guitar tones on the Doobie Brothers "China Grove" and "Montrose"? Both produced by Ted Templeton....

I really miss Ronnie, we got to be really good friends. We had many conversations about music, guitars, amps, influences, even jammed about 3 times. He wanted to produce a Rufus Huff CD, sadly we never got to do it. He's a BIG reason I play a Les Paul today, I know Jimmy feels the same way. His talent and spirit was undeniable. Anytime I need a good kick in the rear, I put on that first Montrose album!

Greg

I saw Ronnie Montrose with Gamma at First Avenue in Minneapolis. At the time it may have been called Sam's or Uncle Sam's before being renamed to the club that Prince played at - First Avenue. I was doing security and got to see the soundcheck and then the show from the front of the stage. Ronnie was using a vocoder and I'm thinking it was a Moog because this was the late 70s or early 80s. If you listen to Gamma 1 you'll hear it on the first song, "Thunder and Lightning," and if you listen to the last song on Gamma 2 you'll hear it on "Mayday." He had a guitar rack stage right where he was standing and I'm pretty sure the vocoder was in the bottom of the rack. He was having fun with it during the soundcheck. The link I provided shows Gamma from this time period playing Mayday and at about 4:38 minutes Ronnie is mouthing the Vocoder words but not into a mic that I can see. Pretty sure he was using a vocoder with his guitar and mic when I saw him.

Mentioned in this August 1997 interview with John “Wedge” Wardlaw at 30:00.

Wardlaw: Do you still use the Morley box at all? I just know you recommended it to me, this isn’t necessarily in the interview, I’m just curious.

Montrose: Oh! Oh yeah, I still have that, the JD10?

Wardlaw: Yeah.

Montrose: Yeah, that’s a nice box.

Wardlaw: That was a good recommendation. I really like it.

Montrose: That’s a good little preamp, yeah, that works fine.

As stated on page 87 of the March 1980 issue of International Musician and Recording World, an Esquire was Montrose's main guitar for Open Fire. He later sold it to Carlos Santana in early 1980.

"On my solo LP I just used a little amp and a fuzz (tone). The main instrument I used was a Fender Esquire that I just sold to Carlos Santana." Montrose shrugs his shoulders. "I'm not into flash," he emphasizes.

Mentioned in a 1980s Artist Magazine interview with Melissa Bennett.

Now, Ronnie Montrose is "strictly solo," just a man and his instrument, not just a single instrument, but several; and he does all the work. He'll be using a Roland Micro-Composer MC4, a tool that is essential to any show he does, for running several synthesizers and working lights all from one pint.

Montrose owned a 1958 tweed Champ, which he claimed was rated at fifteen watts, during the time of the first two Montrose albums. It is attested by Mark Cameron (formerly of Bogner) and Gary “Mick” Lazer, the latter having traded Montrose himself for the amp shortly after Paper Money was recorded.

Metropoulos Amplification Forum, August 21, 2008 reply by MarkCameron on “Montrose” by Mr. Beasty (February 25, 2008)

Ronnie came into Bogner sometimes..I asked him what he used on this....and Its a 3x10 Bandmaster....the thing is ..........he found it at a garage sale the day before he whent in to record :lol: ..bought it for almost nothing and used it as is.. he said. Also I think a regular Champ on 10 for some stuff..Ted Nugent did this too

WoodyTone, March 8, 2012 comment by Mick Lazer on “Ronnie Montrose’s ‘Rock Candy’ Tone…” (February 17, 2010)

The Fender combo amp, in the video recorded at the record plant for the paper money session in Sausalito; was a Fender Princeton, which I traded Ronnie some Marshall equipment for, right after those sessions. It was modified by Ronnie himself, and had a 12″ JBL D120 and a Bassman transformer, so it was pretty loud. It sounded great! this amplifier was stolen from me in 1980 and yes, I still want it back after all these years. It is stenciled #2 Montose on the back of the amplifier. I continue to offer a $500 dollar reward for information that leads to its return.

Gary “Mick” Lazer

WoodyTone, March 20, 2012 comment by Mick Lazer on “Ronnie Montrose’s ‘Rock Candy’ Tone…” (February 17, 2010)

Ronnie owned 2 small amps at the time that he recorded the first album. He owned the modified blackface Princeton that I mentioned on the earlier post, and also a mint 1958 tweed Champ with an 8″ JBL speaker. The tweed Champ was part of the trade for the Marshall equipment. I still own the 8″ JBL, but stupidly traded off the Champ for some recording equipment and a new Rockman amplifier. If he found the bandmaster, it was after our trade. He may have used either small amp or both for recording. The Champ was the small amplifier that Sammy Hagar mentioned plugging into in his book while auditioning in Ronnie’s small Sausalito living room. The Princeton would have been way too loud to sing over. Ronnie claimed that the Champ was now putting out 15 watts, so he may have modified it in some way. We didn’t get into that, at the time of the trade. I had no reason to doubt that. It was plenty loud.

In a couple of comments on the February 17, 2010 WoodyTone article “Ronnie Montrose’s ‘Rock Candy’ Tone…”, Gary “Mick” Lazer shares that he traded Montrose himself for a modified blackface Fender Princeton shortly after Paper Money was recorded. Lazer even identifies the amp in a 1974 video of Montrose performing “I Got the Fire” in the studio (it first appears at 0:22).

WoodyTone, March 8, 2012 comment by Mick Lazer on “Ronnie Montrose’s ‘Rock Candy’ Tone…” (February 17, 2010)

The Fender combo amp, in the video recorded at the record plant for the paper money session in Sausalito; was a Fender Princeton, which I traded Ronnie some Marshall equipment for, right after those sessions. It was modified by Ronnie himself, and had a 12″ JBL D120 and a Bassman transformer, so it was pretty loud. It sounded great! this amplifier was stolen from me in 1980 and yes, I still want it back after all these years. It is stenciled #2 Montose on the back of the amplifier. I continue to offer a $500 dollar reward for information that leads to its return.

Gary “Mick” Lazer

WoodyTone, March 20, 2012 comment by Mick Lazer on “Ronnie Montrose’s ‘Rock Candy’ Tone…” (February 17, 2010)

Ronnie owned 2 small amps at the time that he recorded the first album. He owned the modified blackface Princeton that I mentioned on the earlier post, and also a mint 1958 tweed Champ with an 8″ JBL speaker. The tweed Champ was part of the trade for the Marshall equipment. I still own the 8″ JBL, but stupidly traded off the Champ for some recording equipment and a new Rockman amplifier. If he found the bandmaster, it was after our trade. He may have used either small amp or both for recording. The Champ was the small amplifier that Sammy Hagar mentioned plugging into in his book while auditioning in Ronnie’s small Sausalito living room. The Princeton would have been way too loud to sing over. Ronnie claimed that the Champ was now putting out 15 watts, so he may have modified it in some way. We didn’t get into that, at the time of the trade. I had no reason to doubt that. It was plenty loud.

Montrose briefly mentions using a blackface Super Champ for his slide guitar in this August 1997 interview with John “Wedge” Wardlaw, after Wardlaw inquires about his amps at 30:14. Stray, discordant forum comments online indicate that, in a magazine interview from the 1980s, Montrose shared that he used a Super Champ when recording.

August 1997 interview with John “Wedge” Wardlaw (@ 30:14) (abridged transcription here)

Wardlaw: Is there any particular amplifier that gives you a sound that you like more than others?

Montrose: The two amps that I use the most that I keep coming back to are my Mesa Boogie Maverick and my Black-Face Fender Super Champ, I use that for slide guitar. I can't seem to get that tone anywhere else.

Testimonies indicating a source from a 1980s magazine interview:

Metropoulos Amplification Forum, February 25, 2008 reply by nitro

This was talked about before,ronnie montrose was a bandmaster nut,he liked strats and les pauls also paf pickups,ronnie likes the duncan 59 as we speak,templeman-landee produced and engineered the album,it was recorded at warner bros.studio and sunset sound,i also heard that a fender super champ was used for some of the guitar tracks(but not sure)

Metropoulos Amplification Forum, February 25, 2008 reply by Gainfreak

I thought the fender Super champ didnt come out until the 80's so I doubt it was used.

Marshall Forum, May 1, 2014 reply by pittbull (reliant on nitro)

As some of you might know Templeman/Landee also engineered the Montrose sound, Ronnie(RIP)used a cranked Fender Super champ to achieve that sound.

Hamer Fan Club, February 4, 2017 reply by Dave Scepter

Montrose... my favorite guitarist! :D Bogner Shiva and he also used a fender bandmaster 3x10 for rock candy... also Fender Champs as well... he & George Lynch was the main reason I bought my Fender Super Champ back in the early 80's

http://www.guitarplayer.com/miscellaneous/1139/ronnie-montrose/21663 [dead link, contents unknown]

Telecaster Discussion Page Reissue, June 17, 2017 reply by okgb on “Super Champ 1983 - Optimizing” by Bendyha (March 29, 2014)

Thank you for a considerate reply , I started chasing one after I read Montrose said he used one cranked on some of his later solo things

Telecaster Discussion Page Reissue, April 1, 2022 reply by okgb

Btw Another thread could be " what drew you to the Super Champ? " for me I read a Ronnie Montrose article where he said he used one and simply cranked it up [ post Gama solo albums ? ] I loved the compression & sustain he got, who knows what else was going on.

In a vintage promotional advertisement for the album "Open Fire," guitarist Ronnie Montrose is depicted using the Lab Series L5 guitar amplifier, as evidenced by the image provided.