BB King Amp Settings

[James77]

Help me with some. I have an 84 Peavey Bandit 65.

 

[PapaBear]

As clean as you can get it, BB played a solid state fender, if my memory serves me!

 

[Iheartbacon]

Later BB is a Fender Twin Reverb (tube), all controls dimed. Early BB is a variety of other mostly Fender amps similarly dimed.

Running humbuckers into a dimed Silverface twin will NOT be clean at max volume, BB used the control on the guitar to clean up.

Now the bad news: Cranking a Twin Reverb in your basement man cave will peel the paint off your walls and crack your foundation! I recommend foam ear plugs plus a pair of shooting muffs over your ears. The combination makes the volume quite manageable and as a bonus, you won’t hear your wife screaming at you to turn it down.

 

[Stinger22]

As clean as you can get it, BB played a solid state fender, if my memory serves me!

Think it was a Gibson Lab Series every time I saw him he was playing

"
LAB SERIES L5
Everyone knows it as the “B.B. King” amp, but it’s also the Ronnie Montrose amp—and the Ty Tabor amp. They can readily be had for less than $200 because people just want to get rid of them. It’s simply a kick-ass, solid-state amp. I like the immediacy of the older solid-state amps—they’re so punchy. The new digital solid-state junk is another story, but the old stuff is killin’. B.B.’s tone is great with the Lab Series. It’s warm and creamy and much more consistent than a Twin.



https://www.premierguitar.com/articles/21453-joe-bonamassas-5-most-underrated-amps

 

[Stinger22]

 

[blackcoffeeblues]

Think it was a Gibson Lab Series every time I saw him he was playing

"
LAB SERIES L5
Everyone knows it as the “B.B. King” amp, but it’s also the Ronnie Montrose amp—and the Ty Tabor amp. They can readily be had for less than $200 because people just want to get rid of them. It’s simply a kick-ass, solid-state amp. I like the immediacy of the older solid-state amps—they’re so punchy. The new digital solid-state junk is another story, but the old stuff is killin’. B.B.’s tone is great with the Lab Series. It’s warm and creamy and much more consistent than a Twin.

View attachment 10531

https://www.premierguitar.com/articles/21453-joe-bonamassas-5-most-underrated-amps

"Lab Series" is what he was using both times I saw him---2010 and 2013 ---his sound is not a easy one to dial in..

 

[straightblues]

I have one of the Gibson Lab amps and it does get the BB King sound. I also have one of the Peavey Bandits. The Peavey is not nearly as punchy as the Gibson is but you can get there. I would recommend turning the Peavey up loud and running the gain up to (6-8) in order to get a dirty tone. Then turn your guitars volume knob down (5-7) to clean it up. Then experiment until it sounds right. It is a sustained punchy clean tone you are after. It is hard to get a lower volumes.

 

[James77]

How's this sound? This is with a little drive and playing on the neck pickup.

https://youtu.be/Fw20U8AO4N0

 

[straightblues]

How's this sound? This is with a little drive and playing on the neck pickup.

https://youtu.be/Fw20U8AO4N0

Sounds good. You are on the right track for sure! I think your tone could use just a little more gain and a little more treble bit.

So, I think you could turn the gain on the amp up 1 or 2 notches or turn your guitars volume up 1 or 2 notches. I think turning the amps gain up will give you more bite than turning your guitars volume up, but try it both way. Also add a bit more treble on the amp.

 

[Crossroads]

A 339 or similar hollow body will give more air and more space in nailing that BB tone. Also light gauge strings, he used .08’s and a light touch on the fretboard exceptwhen nailing that monster vibrato. When they say tone is in the fingers, this guy wrote the book.

 

[straightblues]

Check out this rig rundown. At the 5:15 mark of the video this guy talks about the different tones he is able to get with just the volume knob on his guitar. This is what I am talking about. He is using too much gain for BB but the theory is still the same.

At 10:30 of the video he plays the clean channel of the amp without a boost. He is still getting a lot of bite when he turns his guitar down.

https://www.premierguitar.com/artic...-65645977&mc_cid=792874c91c&mc_eid=cd14f807e9

 

[James77]

A 339 or similar hollow body will give more air and more space in nailing that BB tone. Also light gauge strings, he used .08’s and a light touch on the fretboard exceptwhen nailing that monster vibrato. When they say tone is in the fingers, this guy wrote the book.

I have a Washburn B9 Orleans.