How Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Josh Klinghoffer Tries To Sound Like John Frusciante Will Surprise You

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John Frusciante’s former guitar tech Dave Lee discussed John Frusciante’s amp in a recent Dave Mail on JFEffects.

In an interview in 2012, Josh Klinghoffer said that he used 3 amps, and one of them was, like John used, a 200w Marshall Major. He said he had all 3 of them on at the same time, and that he set them up according to the “amp theory” that John taught him, which consisted in leaving the amps on what we call “the edge of breakup” (where the valve amp starts distorting) to obtain a particular sound. Do you remember this theory? Do you have anything to add to it?

Dave Lee: “Basically yes. The gain and volume are pushed as far as they can without reaching any real distortion. Gives supreme “punch”.”

Question by: – Lucas Carvalho – Vitória, ES – Brazil

Below is another recent Dave Mail from JFEffects.

On a Red Hot Chili Peppers concert in Milan, Italy, 2006, transmitted by MTV, at the end of the show, John starts soloing and the whammy bar breaks and is thrown away. Was there any damage to the bridge?

Dave Lee: “I remember that show very well. It was a particularly fun show. Those stock Fender tremolo arms don’t last very long with as much use as John puts them through. I usually could tell when one was about to break, and changed it before he would get the chance to break it himself. It was funny that night, because after he threw it in the audience he came over with a somewhat panicked look on his face saying ‘Oh Shit! Should I ask them to give it back?.’ I laughed and said ‘Don’t worry about it.’ He didn’t realize I had a drawer full of those tremolo arms.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbBfQ7KPhSc