Geared Up: Bong Mountain Guitarist Alex Wolf on His 1966 Fender Twin Reverb Amplifier

Punk rockers Bong Mountain are set to release their latest album You’re Doin’ Great! (For the Record) via Stonewalled Records on September 26, 2016. The album is an awesome collection of all of their recorded output to date and is highly recommended for fans of Against Me! and Hot Water Music.

Today we are stoked to present you with a double whammy of Bong Mountain! The band has teamed up with us to do an EXCLUSIVE stream of their track “Shit Talk Brigade” and guitarist Alex Wolf was kind enough to talk with us about gear! Crank the track and read it below.

What one piece of gear do you use to obtain your signature sound?
Wolf: If I had to name one piece it would be my 1966 Fender Twin Reverb. It’s outfitted with Cannabis Rex speakers. It’s warm and loud as hell. It’s incredibly versatile. It stays clean all the way to 10. It’s the best platform for pedals I’ve ever used and ever sounds great with a simple rig. I play it every show, and bring it on every tour. I don’t let anyone carry it to and from the van. I think another big part of my sound is the neck pick up of the reverend. It just has such a unique sound. Almost like a Gretsch.

What about it makes it important to you?
Wolf: There’s just something cool about vintage gear. My amp is 50 years old. It’s been around longer than I have and it still goes strong. Some people think I’m crazy to bring a vintage out on tour, fuck that, why have it to just let it sit in a studio never being played?

How long have you had it?
Wolf: My Revered and Twin I’ve only had for 2 years. I’ve had my Telecaster for 8 years. I’ve tried to replace it so many times. I put it down for a few months and play something new. Once I pick it up again I realize how amazing it is. I could never get rid of it. Especially because I dropped it in the studio and chipped it.

How do you recreate your album sound live?
Wolf: Don’t really. I just dial in a tone that sounds good on stage and let it ride. I’ve started to move away from having multiple tones. Just dial in the right amount of overdrive and let your fingers do the rest. Nothing fancy.

Any final thoughts?
Wolf: I use a very simple rig. I have 2 guitars, my “main” guitar is a Reverend Buckshot. All stock. My other is a MIM Telecaster. From there I run into a dyna comp clone and an OCD. And into the reverb channel of my ’66 twin. I want my tone to come from my amp and guitar, not sound like a certain pedal or pedals for this project. I have a collection of pedals and weird stuff I could do but for Bong Mountain we sound best when we play barebones.

Check out the song “Shit Talk Brigade”