The Amp Behind Clapton's Best Tone?

Today we're discussing Eric Clapton's favorite Fender Tweed Twin, a modified '57 5E8A circuit. Clapton used the amp extensively during the 1990s and early 2000's. It was the primary amplifier for the guitars on "From the Cradle", the album Clapton himself hailed as the spiritual successor to his iconic appearance on John Mayall's Bluesbreakers record. Clapton loved the amp so much that he commissioned Fender later to build several replicas of the low power Tweed Twin. The task fell to John Suhr, a master builder in Fender's Custom Shop at the time.

Gear & Settings

Microphones:
• Earthworks SR-25 (voice)

Audio interface:
• Universal Apollo x8p

Recording Software:
• Universal Audio Luna (audio)
• Ecamm Live (video)

Audio Plugins:
• UA SSL Channel Strip (Voice)
• Oeksound Sooth 2
• FabFilter Pro Q eq
• iZotope RX 10 Standard (voice processing)

Master bus
• Universal Audio Precision limiter

Video Gear:
• Sony A7 IV mirrorless digital camera with Tamron 28-75mm lens, f/2.8
• Aputure 120d for key lighting
• GVM-672S-B for backlight
• LIFX 80” LED strip + 40” LED strip for background lighting.
• Adobe Premiere


Chapters
0:00 - Intro
0:48 - Tweed Tone 1
1:14 - The Record
1:57 - Clapton Quote
2:33 - EC's Best Tone?
2:46 - Tweed Tone 2
3:14 - The Amp
4:02 - Replica Backstory
7:53 - Replicas Up Close
8:11 - Analysis
8:56 - Talking Trash
9:37 - Takeaway
10:42 - Final Thoughts