Jake Kiszka believes combo amps deserve more love, and that more guitar players should be playing them.
In the modern gear age, amp solutions are at an unprecedented high. Modelers, pedal amps, smart amps… there’s no shortage or options currently on the market.
But the Greta Van Fleet guitarist thinks players should stop overcomplicating things and go back to basics. A solid combo amp, according to Kiszka, is all you really need.
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“If you’re playing a solo that requires more nuance and single strings, as opposed to chord structures and that sort of thing, I would suggest combo amps,” he explains in the new issue of Guitar World, before clarifying: “I actually would suggest combo amps overall, in general. Period.”
“There’s just something great about them,” he continues. “And for what they’re used for, and for as much as they’ve been used in the past, I think they’ve been forgotten about in our generation.
“So yeah… crank up that little combo amp and play through that. I think they do a lot. They simplify what you’re hearing, but they also magnify you as a player and add nuance.”
Kiska practices what he preaches, too. For Greta Van Fleet’s new record, Palace for the People, he used a Fender Champ in producer Mike Elizondo’s studio.
It’s not the first time he’s experimented with combos, either. To make the band’s 2023 record, Starcatcher, he ended up relying solely on a mix of Fenders, Magnatones and Vox amps.
“I think one reason was [embracing] the limitation,” Kiszka told Guitarist at the time. “The other was, a lot of the early great records we all love – those sounds came from just a combo.
“I’ve used 4×12 cabinets and heavy Marshall heads, but it almost felt unnecessary – it just moves so much air, even the lower-wattage stuff.”
To read Kiszka’s full interview, alongside features with Mastodon and Anthrax, head to Magazines Direct to pick up the latest issue of Guitar World.
