Tak Home > Amplifiers

Takahiro Matsumoto's Amplifiers

On the first few albums Tak sounded as though he wasn't using any amp - fairly buzzy direct sound, that was probably because he was using Mosquito Boogie.  Later his sound matured into a classic rock tone.  He has used a variety of Marshalls, some Vox AC-30s and some Fenders - on the Buzz video he's got an interesting assortment of amplifiers.  He has favoured Eddie Van Halen's signature model 5150 Peavey heads and combos.  He's also been appearing on TV with some VHT fluoro yellow amplifiers.  These are custom made with the character "Rei" (left - apparently his daughter's name - "the sound of jade pieces tinkling") on the front.  He uses VHT power amplifiers in his stage racks too.  Then most recently he's been spotted using Bogner amplifiers, and is even listed on Bogner's website.

An early studio "live" of Lady Navigation.  Tak is playing his Yamaha MGM.  Behind him he has a typical 80's refrigerator rack of stuff.  It's obviously impossible to identify anything from this photo, but we can can be fairly confident of mosquito tone.   The cabinet is Mesa/Boogie.

"Love Phantom" from Buzz.  Tak is playing a custom MGM guitar modified with a "laser beam".   Using the "laser beam" he will destroy the ozone layer unless the world agrees to pay him a ransom of one million dollars. Behind him, a Mesa/Boogie Rectifer Solo 50 can be seen. You can also see his famous yellow tape - "RESTRICTED AREA - TOPLESS WOMEN ONLY - ACCESS ONLY IF YOU HAVE LEGS ALL THE WAY UP TO YOUR PUSSY" - which doesn't make any sense at all, because if you think about it, every women has legs that reach her pussy.  (Actually the more I think about it, the more it confuses me.   Perhaps it is a zen koan.)

Tak playing an Ernie Ball Music Man Eddie Van Halen guitar. He's got quite a collection of amplifiers behind him.   There's a Fender Bassman Reissue (capped by Korg tuner) on top of Fender extension cabinet, then to the right of that there's a Vox AC-30 on top of a Marshall Bluesbreaker Reissue.

Tak going hard on "Go Further" from his BS2 special.  This was the theme song for the 1999 Formula One in Japan, and is a totally awesome guitar workout.  If you don't get a hard-on watching this video you are probably ... normal. If I were a total Marshall geek I could tell you what is behind him, but I'm not sure.  I know it's old because it has the old style toggle switches for power and standby, and it doesn't have any corners, so probably made before 1975.  A Mk II 50W head?  I'm guessing 50W head because the top of the amp is covered by his Maxon wireless (in 2U rack), and you wouldn't cover a 100W head because of the vents.  The colour is unusual, but because it is coloured I think it's after 1970.   Yeah, so any Marshall geeks who know, please tell me.   I should dig out my Groove Tubes book.

In the "Juice" PV we can see Tak's yellow cabinets.   This is the same Ferrari Canary Yellow as his signature model Les Paul.  The character on the front of the cabinet is "Rei".  What can't be seen are the heads.  Where are they?   Well there aren't any heads, there's a refrigerator rack of gear off to the right. Who makes these?   Possibly VHT as they are the same cabinets as he uses with his VHT stacks.   Can't say for sure.

In the "Juice" Music Station Studio "live" Tak is playing Peavey 5150 II half stacks.

In this shot from "Seventh Heaven" Tak is playing a Speedster amplifer.   This is a kind of retro styled amplifier, internals built by Soldano.

From an "Ultra Soul" studio "live", Tak is backed by Bogner Ecstasy half stacks, with a custom covering.  Very cool.  I feel it's better than using 5150s, he's lost the copy cat feel, and they are built better. The guitar is interesting too.  It looks to be one of his signature models, judging by the pickups and the hint of the Tak Matsumoto decal above the neck.  But it's no longer Canary Yellow, it's sunburst!  Wow!  Great!   Terrific!  Kinder Surprise!   (I later discovered this was one of the first appearances of the Takburst.)

The "Gold" PV features the B'z crew.   This guy is KATSUNORI "HAKKAI" HATAKEYAMA, one of the most important and famous staff.  He is Tak's guitar technician.  His name can be seen in the staff credits.   Whether setting up the guitars, choosing the amplifiers or effects he does everything around Tak's recording and concert.  We can see him in the darkness by the side of the stage.  Tak trusts Hakkai completely.  He is usually called "HAKKAI" by the members.  It's a character from an old famous Chinese story "SAIYUKI".  In this story, "HAKKAI" has a pig's norse and big fat body.  Wow Tak & Koshi, you're so kind!

From the Survive tour, a couple of Marshall cabinets mic'ed up and ready to rock.  These are the speakers actually producing the sound you hear out front. Below 12 "silver finish" cabinets labelled "Matsumoto" instead of "Marshall".  These are more for looks than for sound, may or may not even be connected to amplifiers.  The classic wall of speakers.

From one of his solo tours?   Peavey EVH 5150 combos sitting on top of Peavey 5150 quads.  There's a Korg DTR1 tuner sitting on top of the middle stack.  To the right a fairly old looking Marshall quad, with a Roland Space Echo perched on top of that. In a way this is quite a unique configuration.  Most people don't put combos on top of quads.  It might be a characteristic of Tak to create unusual stacks.  His fluoro yellow amplifiers are also quite strange, it seems that the amplifier is underneath the quad.  But it is quite sensible, the speakers are raised to be more in line with your ear, and the heavy amplifier is planted firmly on the ground.  The only problem is changing the controls.  However Tak pays someone else (Hakkai) to do this for him.  Yay!

Mission control (Survive).  Well what can we see here? Three EVH 5150s rack mounted.  The top one is possibly not being used, it may be a spare, or it could be that the preamp has been bypassed, and just the power amp is in use.  The bottom two have slightly different settings, it may be that one is used for lead, and one for rhythm, or it may be that one is left, and one is right.  But I'm not sure how it all ties together with the CAE preamp in the left rack.

More About Mr. Van Wailin's Alien Abduction Amplifiers:

EVH is renowned for making up bullshit to throw people off.  He's given about 4 different stories about the amplifier used on his first album, possibly none of them true.  But occasionally people have first-hand contact with his gear, so some things are known about his gear at some stages of his career.
 

Pinouts for EL38 & 6L6 - Pins 1 & 8,  & supressor grid highlighted in red.

The 5150 Conspiracy: The Peavey EVH 5150 ships with a quartet of 6L6 tubes.  Nothing too unusual about that.  But it was a bit unusual for EVH because he usually used Marshalls before that, amplifiers which use a quartet of EL34s.  Though to be fair, he'd been using Soldanos with a quartet of 6L6s, and in some ways the 5150 is very Soldano like.   Anyway, the hype about the EVH 5150 was that it was designed by EVH and that it was supposed to be exactly the same amp he'd be using on stage and in the studio.  But there's something very strange about the 5150.  Three of the four power tube sockets have pins 1 & 8 connected.  This doesn't affect 6L6s, pin 1 is not connected to anything inside the tube, and the suppressor grid is internally connected to the cathode (pin 8).  EL34s however have the suppressor grid connected to pin 1, so to connect it to the cathode, pins 1 & 8 must be connected.  Aha, I hear you say, three of these four tube sockets can accept EL34s, Eddie's old tube!

But only three of the sockets?!  What's going on?!  Well, the secret is this - Eddie is said to play his 5150s live with only 3 EL34s inserted.  Or is it the case, as a Groove Tubes employee said, that he does this 3 tube trick in the studio into a Groove Tubes Speaker Simulator?

(BTW, it's only Eddie's master amp that is like this, the other amps are set up normally, and are just there to cleanly reproduce the distorted sounds coming out of the tortured master amp.)

How does this affect Tak?  Well I think it's unlikely he knows about EVH's three EL34 trick.  I think if he did know, he might try it, and he's certainly got the pockets to finance continuing parts replacement.  So really it doesn't affect Tak, but I just thought I'd draw attention to it, and maybe there's the slightest glimmer of the faintest hope of the merest possibility of the tiniest chance that the information will filter its way toward the land of the rising sun.
 

Well, I guess that makes my last post a bit on the extreme side.

OK.  As I expressed to Trem by private e-mail (I've explained a lot of
things to Trem over the years, but it all goes out the window when he wants
to shoot off a hate post at the target of his priapic obsession, Pittman) my
responsibilities at GT were related to GT Electronics, the guitar amps, the
audio processors and mics.  I did not do any tube testing (except my own
stuff) although I did service the machine.  The specifics of the test
equipment I am not at liberty to divulge, anymore than I am at liberty to
divulge the specifics of the Fernandes Sustainer following my employ there,
or the Aural Exciter circuit of SWR following my employ there.  As for tube
duds, I quote from my e-mail to Trem:

*I observed that most power tube rejects and all preamp tube rejects were
*thrown away.  If a power tube was shorted, inoperative or real low in the
*specs it came in swift contact with the trash can.  The tubes that were good
*but were on the fringes of the GT numbering spectrum, I.E. they were high or
*low and had no mates, were stored in case mates were found in subsequent
*batches.  If over time they were still around, these might be sold off.
*Keeping the ones that are near the spectrum but are not yet mated has proven
*to be worthwhile.  Most of the tubes end up in the 4-7 range.  If Eddie is
*going on tour and wants twenty quartets of his fav 6L6 in numbers 1, 2
*and/or 3, and you only have five in stock, you run a new batch with some low
*backstock to see what comes up mated.  This happens damn near every VH tour
*and during tours.  Since eddie only runs three output tubes in the one 5150
*head that is the master for his rig, he burns up a set a night.
*
*As for preamp tubes, when they are bad, they are shit.  Not too much value
*there.

OK.  Some clarification.  As I stated, most tubes end up in the 4-7 range.
There are folks who must have grades 1, 2 or 3 of a particular type, and
these must be kept in stock.  If a batch yeilds only three tubes in the #3
range, that is not a quartet, which is the preferred stocking method. So,
you might package a duet and put the other aside for inclusion in a later
batch.  Those tubes that rate outside the #1 or #10 range are sometimes sold
off, as they can not be used by GT but are not inoperative.  I do not know
who they sell to.  If I did, I might not post it but I could give it out by
private e-mail.  The simple truth is I did not pay attention as I was
swamped with production every day.  Ever do production line testing?  You
have to figure out why something does not work that has NEVER worked before.
It's not that something breaks, it's that someone on the line has left you a
little gift of a bad trace, a bad LDR, a solder blob that can not be seen
from above the board, etc.  I was also designing and answering phone calls
(you know THAT story!) and ordering parts.  I could not have cared LESS
about the goddamn tubes.  When Red was still there I was learning all I
could from him, as well as sussing out the EQ1 and doing the Slave, my forst
PC board.  When Red was gone, I was the only one there testing production.
I was goddamn busy.

The Eddie thing is fact.

I was given info by one frequent poster as to one of the possible recipients
of GT rejects.  Perhaps he could post that info, I will not do so for him.
Also, there are not that many rejects sold.  Most rejects are trash.  The
ones that are unmatched are kept.  The others that are outside the "norm"
are also few and are put into eggcrate holders and stacked up.  Anyone who
has been to GT can tell you what a goddamn mess it is.  Pittman is a king
packrat and he's got production tubes from the 70s.  It's not like they are
selling hundreds a month, more like hundreds in few years.

BTW, I defy the frequent posters claiming some VGTC (vast GT conspiracy) to
find a NONdisgruntled ex-GT employee.  On any continent.  Chaos does not a
happy workplace make.

You may all bite me now.

Pleasant dreams.



Andrew McWhirter wrote in message <360870D5.1F4E4F36@bigfoot.com>...
>Roy,
>
>Lemmme just say that my posts here indicate no malice toward you, GT, Tom,
>Aspen or anyone else.
>
>profrets wrote:
>>
>> Andrew McWhirter wrote in message <36085C26.9111408E@bigfoot.com>...
>> >
>> >"What does GT do with the duds????"
>>
>> Look, Andrew, nobody wants to hear what we have to say. We have said it a
>> dozen times in numerous posts.
>
>I haven't seen that particular question addressed in any post.  I don't
>read 'em *all* though, so if I missed it, I apologise.
>
>> Everyone has their own preconceived idea of
>> what goes on, and our efforts to appease the masses have made no
>> difference.
>
>Well, maybe not *everyone*.  My question is genuine; my idea of what goes
>on at GT is based on his book, posts here (from both sides), and a bit o'
>common sense.  I'm quite aware of the way GT operates, but never have I
>seen the definitive answer to that one question.
>
>> As Tom said to me one time, "Roy, nobody wants to listen to reason about
>> Groove Tubes." So I gave up, too.
>
>I can appreciate that both you and Tom might feel this, but you and GT are
>being bashed about by, dare I say it, an extremely vocal and opinionated
>minority.
>
>
>
>If GT products work for you and your customers, who the hell am I to argue?
>
>Cheers
>Andrew
>--
>Andrew-dot-McWhirter-at-Bigfoot-dot-com
>
>These opinions are hereby disowned by the company I work for.


In article <6udj5o$6qb$1@nnrp1.dejanews.com>,
  pja105@uriacc.uri.edu wrote:
> Well, now, understand that EVH, at least the OLD EVH, is a god to me.  So
> imagine my surprise when I read THIS:
>
> In article <6ua1uk$6ho@journal.concentric.net>,
>   "Whole Lotta Tom"  wrote:
>
> > *backstock to see what comes up mated.  This happens damn near every VH tour
> > *and during tours.  Since eddie only runs three output tubes in the one 5150
> > *head that is the master for his rig, he burns up a set a night.
>
> _THREE_ output tubes?  What the hell is the reasoning behind _this_?!? I
> don't understand technically how this would amount to anything useful. If
> said 5150 head is the "master" then I assume that it is used to generate the
> tone that other power amps are slaved off of.  If this 3 output tube thing is
> to be of any use on the other slaves then the signal must be tapped off of
> the speaker output, or the feedback loop, or SOMETHING downside of the OPT.
> And if THAT'S the case, anyone who knows jack can tell you running 3 out of 4
> tubes is going to result in unbalanced DC on the OPT, which means massive hum
> and premature saturation--UNLESS the other, single tube is biased to the same
> current flow as BOTH the other side's tubes.  In this last case, the only one
> I see as feasable, it is completely asinine, and no wonder he burns up a set
> a night with such foolish behaviour.
>
> And to rub my face in it:
>
> > The Eddie thing is fact.
>
> (?!?)
>

I believe it.  Look at the PCB on a 5150.  Three of the output tube sockets
have pins one and eight connected (for an EL34).  One doesn't.

AB



>So, lacking a 5150 PCB, or a schem for that matter, what IS the suppressor
>connected to?  Or does it float?

If it floats (EL34 suppressor), it will cause the tube to fail.  On 6L6/5881
tubes, the beam former is internally connected to the cathode.  I think Eddie
uses 6L6s in those buzz machines (Fuck you profrets, btw).  By running 3 out of
4, he's just increasing the buzz due to the unbalance in the output.

>I'm beginning to see why I hate his "new" sound.

I also prefer the early tone.

>
> So, lacking a 5150 PCB, or a schem for that matter, what IS the suppressor
> connected to?  Or does it float?
>
> I'm beginning to see why I hate his "new" sound.

Pin one floats.  Remember, the 5150 is nominally a 6L6 amp.  They don't worry
about pin one, unless you use EL34s, and he only cares about three of them.

AB



Premature saturation, unbalanced AC signal and clipping, one tube stressed
to the max... yeah, I could see how that might sound good for electric
guitar.  Maybe not an ideal way to do it, but I'm not going to knock the
sound until I've tried it myself.

H-e-r-e little Sovtek... that's a good boy....now this won't hurt... *too*
much...

Chris Mohrbacher


Well, caught your eye?  It did mine as well.  I was in the Burbank area
studio because Eddie was complaining that his GT MD1 mics were clipping (I
was with GT at that time) I was able to set the mics up, but I did get a
close look at the rig.  At that time, he was using the GE 6L6s that GT sold
as 6L6OS (old style).  They were not cheap.  He would use a set a night on
the road, so three quartets would last four shows.  By using three, you get
a very imbalanced and saturated tone with lots of even order harmonics.  The
GE 6L6s are gone now, and I am not sure what he uses now.  I keep thinking
Tesla, but I am not sure.  If ya wanna know, I'll ask.  BTW, this set up is
not like his studio stuff, where he uses his very well pampered vintage
Marshalls.