Steve Stevens
US guitarist and songwriter
Role
Credits
Role
Credits
Steve Stevens' Amplifiers
At 16:32 of this "Rig Rundown" with Premier Guitar we get a great shot of Steve's amp heads. According to this accompanying article "For most of his dirty and semi-clean tones, Stevens relies on his 2-channel, EL34-powered signature Friedman Amplification head."
At 5:13 in this promo for his signature amp Steve Stevens discusses his 1969 Marshall "Plexi" superlead when referencing the tour he did with Vince Neil in support of Van Halen.
Beginning at about 5:38 in thie promotional video for his signature Friedman amplifier, Steve Stevens recounts how EVH got him into using the "original Peavey 5150" as his main touring amp while Steve was touring with Vince Neil in support of Van Halen.
Legendary guitarist Steve Stevens wails on his new Supro 1624T Dual-Tone Reissue 1×12 Combo Amplifier
"One of the things that I did do, on the second track, “Hell Cats Take the Highway,” I used a tiny little amp, it’s called a Rex and it’s made by Valco. It’s got a tiny little Jensen speaker, it’s not even round, it’s one of those kind of elliptical speakers. I got that off eBay. I think I paid about $250 for it. It’s like this tiny little amp and I put a mic in front of it -- I was trying to capture those early Led Zeppelin/Yardbirds sounds. So I just plugged one of my Les Pauls into it and that was the sound. I tracked the entire song with that one amp. I just thought, if I’m gonna try to capture that whole era, that was the sound: very small amps turned all the way up. There were only volume and tone controls on that amp and it was cool."
At 16:42 of this "Rig Rundown" with Premier Guitar we get a great shot of Steve's amps. In this accompanying article, Premier writes "For super-clean tones, like on the verses in 'Flesh for Fantasy,' he brings along two Custom Audio Amplifiers PT100s, one for backup."
"It’s a good combination of old stuff and new -- one of the amps that I got was a Victoria Regal. Basically, I didn’t want to pay six grand for an old Supro just because everybody says Jimmy Page used it on the first Led Zeppelin record."
Stevens mentioned the use of Two Notes Torpedo Captor X in the end-of-the-year Guitar World 2022 issue.
Steve Stevens uses the Friedman SS100-v2, as showcased in the official Friedman video on YouTube. This updated version of the amplifier head features re-voiced dirty channels for enhanced percussiveness and dynamics, while maintaining the original's high-gain, plexi-like tones. The clean channel, prized for its high headroom and sparkling clarity, remains unchanged. Notably, the design now includes three channels and an all-black finish.
In a video by Rhett Shull titled "This Amp Can Do Everything," Steve Stevens is listed among the first few people who purchased the Soldano SLO 100 100-Watt Tube Guitar Amplifier.
Steve Stevens uses a pair of Friedman amplifier heads, including the Friedman Brown Eye 100W Tube Guitar Amp Head (often mistakenly referred to as a B100) and a Steve Stevens SS100, as confirmed by John Bohlinger in the "Steve Stevens Rig Rundown" on Premier Guitar.
At the 11:25 mark of the Premier Guitar "Rig Rundown" video, Steve Stevens showcases the Friedman BE-100 amplifier as part of his live performance setup.
This is a community-built gear list for Steve Stevens.
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Discography
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Recording Engineer