Category: Amp It Up

The magical beast that turns potential into sheer tone!

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Studio Diary #64: Chasing The Amp That Got Away

‘Studio Diary’ is an occasional series where I talk about building a home recording setup for hobbyists and enthusiasts like us. I share my personal experiences, and the thinking behind some of the decisions that I’ve made along the way.

Many of us have tales of “the one that got away” … a guitar or an amp that we’ll always regret not buying at the time. This is one of those tales, and the story of how I’ve recently reproduced something similar in my Axe-FX 3.

And it’s all thanks to That Pedal Show.

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First Impressions: Using The KAT Load*Star Speaker Attenuator With My 5e3 Tweed Deluxe Amp

I recently bought a KAT Load*Star speaker attenuator, to use with my 5e3 Tweed Deluxe amp.

The KAT Load*Star Speaker Attenuator, sat on top of my Fender ’57 Custom Deluxe amp.

I’ve only had this for 24 hours, and it’s already in the running to be my best purchase of 2026. Why? Read on for my first impressions.

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#CoffeeAndKlon 43: Winter NAMM 2026

#CoffeeAndKlon is my (irregular!) Sunday morning magazine series, where I talk about whatever’s on my mind right now. There’s always coffee, and there’s normally chat about the Klon and its many competitors.

This week, I want to talk about the new products that were announced at (or around) Winter NAMM 2026 that I’m very interested in … and the ones that I wish had been.

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Marshall Origin 20H in 2026: Planning The Long-Term Review

Did you have a good Christmas and New Year?

I did: I spent a lot of time with my old Marshal Origin 20H amp and the Wampler tcd drive pedal. Great-sounding combination.

And that got me thinking about what I want to cover in my long-term review of the Marshall Origin 20H, and why I still want to write about this amp at all after nearly 8 years of owning it.

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#TweedTone: Dialling In A 5F1 Tweed Champ Reference Tone For 2025/26

Regular readers may have noticed that most of the tweed amp in a box pedals seem to be chasing either the legendary 5e3 Tweed Deluxe or the sublime 5F6-A Tweed Bassman sound.

But every now and then, I get a pedal that chases the sound of a 5F1 Tweed Champ. And I think it would help if I had a reference tone to compare those pedals against.

So let’s see what I can put together in the Axe-FX 3.

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