I've been lisening to Billy Cobham's "spectrum" a lot lately and was wondering what amp Tommy Bolin used for this recording and came across this;
"I bought one of Tommy's Hiwatt 100 amps and two of the Sound City Cabinets in 1976 from Tommy's parents and John and Pudge in Sioux City, Iowa......is a long story but will tell you that later......the Hiwatt is a Custom 100 Hiwatt with Energy stenciled on the top in gold......the amp was rebuilt by a shop in New Jersey that I will also get the name of for you.......on the inside of the amp it is labeled......Property of Robert Fripp from King Crimson....so at one time this particular amplifier did belong to Robert Fripp as I have spoke with the gentelman that built or rebuilt this amp for Robert Fripp.....it is basically a Hiwatt shell with different transformers, all gold solder and Hotrodded......the amp is very very very Clean.....i mean crystal clean even wide open....with not distortion at all and very very loud....it also goes thru tubes like you would not believe........they don't last long and it has a very enhanced low end........anyway ....as I can i will send you pics and more specs etc.......I still have the amplifier and cabinets and am very proud to be the owner of them....they are in lots of pics with Tommy playing and on lots of recordings.....well great page and keep up the great work....send a line as you have time.
Willy Dixon"
I'm not sure about "gold solder" or what you would replace a 100 watt partridge transformer with, but someone in Jersey rebuilt the amp sometime between '70-'72, ENergy was Tommy's band right before he recorded spectrum. Was Ken doing work on the side 10 years before he started trainwreck? Any of you Jersey guys know who may have modded this amp and what was done?
Thanks, ER
How far back was Ken Fisher Modding amps for people?
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