Geared Up: Limblifter Frontman Ryan Dahle Discusses His Favourite Amps

If you were a fan of Canadian rock in the late ’90s and early 2000s then you’ll be no stranger to Limblifter. In an era where most of their musical counterparts have long bitten the dust, Limblifter has carried on, albeit not without some ups and downs. They released their latest record, Little Payne, on Halloween of 2022. They toured behind the record in the spring of 2023 which at one point was certainly no guarantee. Around the time of the album’s release, frontman Ryan Dahle was unexpectedly hospitalized with heart issues. He ended up requiring open-heart surgery, which was terrifying, to say the least. Fortunately, Dahle made a full recovery, and the band soldiered on with their tour.

Dahle’s experiences have given him a new appreciation for what he does for a living. It’s been nearly 30 years since Limblifter formed and he’s just happy to be able to do it still. Little Payne is composed of years of improvised recordings Dahle did with drummer Eric Breitenbach in recRoom Studio in Vancouver. The band had hours of recordings that they went through, editing and bringing together the best parts to form songs. Recording and pulling the album together required a lot of discipline and patience, but it paid off with a very solid return to form for the band.

We are pleased to have Dahle join us for a Geared Up interview focused on amps. He speaks at length about his various amps and the other parts of his elaborate setup.

First things first, what’s your current setup?

Ryan Dahle: “Playing guitar live, I always use two amps. Right now, I’m using a 1971 Marshall Superbass 100-watt combined with either a 1973 Marshall 50-watt, a custom-made Stephenson LJ-15, or a Vintage Northern Electric PA-14A amp head. I only use Marshall 4X12 Cabinets from the early ’70s or late ’60s. So, any amp I use, including all old Fenders, always goes through old Marshall cabinets with old Celestions.

“When you use two amps, it makes a single guitar sound so much bigger and better, but be aware that some amps are 180 degrees out of phase from each other. This means one amp can be making the speakers move outward, while the other is making the speaker move inward. For example, all Fenders and Marshalls are directly out of phase with each other, so I usually carry an out-of-phase speaker cable with me on the road in case I encounter a combination of amplifiers that are directly out of phase.

“The other great reason for using two amps is that if one cuts out, you are still in business.”

Limblifter gear, photo by Ryan Dahle

What one piece of gear do you use to obtain your signature sound?

“I dig amplifiers. I think amps and speakers are the most important part of guitar sound. I’ve used a 1961 Fender Tremolux on every record I’ve made since about 1995, and always through an old Marshall cabinet. That combination has been on every record I’ve produced or worked on as well. It’s unbeatable. We tried maybe 50 vintage and boutique amps on the first two Billy Talent records, but nothing could beat my old Tremolux with Marshall cabinet.

“I also dig old Marshalls, ’50s and ’60s Fenders, ’60s Selmer amps, Old Traynor amps are great, anything old just seems to sound great, as long as it’s through a great set of old Celestion speakers. I also dig some modern amps like Stephenson and Matchless, which are great-sounding, dependable amps.

“Live, I prefer to use two Marshalls because I can turn them down with the master volumes we’ve installed.

“When I was at higher volumes live in the ’90s and 2000s, the whole band would match the Tremolux volume and that’s how the volume of the band was set. In the very early days of my first band, The Age of Electric, it was a 1973 Marshall 50-watt that both myself and my bandmate Todd (Kerns) used that set the volume. These amps were all the way up to 10 and that was the sound. You can’t play at that level anymore, there are too many rules now and audio mixers will go ballistic, you have to balance and make sure that people don’t get too blasted by volume.

“Although in the ’60s and ’70s that’s precisely why people were so moved by certain artists. If Jimi Hendrix had been playing at a reasonable volume he would have never been able to create the sounds he did. Volume is a very overlooked effect, it’s powerful and complicated in its appeal and shortfalls.”

Limblifter gear, photo by Ryan Dahle

Limblifter gear, photo by Ryan Dahle

Limblifter gear, photo by Ryan Dahle

How did you come to possess all this gear? Vintage shop, regular shop, borrowed money, gifted? Give us the details.

“I bought a lot of vintage gear from pawn shops and used music stores in the ’90s when people didn’t want that kind of vintage gear because they wanted new technology. I remember getting razzed for playing a Les Paul in the late ’80s because everyone had Floyd Rose bridges on pointy stick guitars. I’d have never obtained the gear I have if I had waited until recent times, but there are still good deals on vintage equipment out there, so always keep your eyes and ears open! Old Traynor amps are the best deals out there in Canada, super solid amazing amps for reasonable prices.”

What made you choose all this gear specifically as opposed to other alternatives?

“I believe that you sit by the river’s edge with your hook in the water, and when the right thing floats by, then you reel it in. It’s a gut feeling. There are many amazing pieces of gear over the years that I could have bought but didn’t because they just didn’t speak to me. The instrument or music gear needs to speak to you.”

What about your amps make them so important to you?

“I’ve spent countless hours in my younger years trying to get a decent guitar sound. The right amplifiers and the right speakers are most important. We had the opportunity to work with producer Bob Rock when we were young, and he solidified our belief that we were using the right equipment. I learnt so much about how to record those amplifiers from him, and that education was very valuable to me.

“A lot of what we learned from great producers and engineers is that you need the right equipment, and it should sound right as it’s been captured. Get the right sound first then you can put all your focus into the performance.”

Did you use your amps during the recording of Little Payne?

“Yes, I use all the same amps, sometimes on multiple instruments, guitar, bass, and keyboards. There are always two Marshall 4×12 speaker cabinets isolated and I rotate through the amps I listed above. I spend minimal time deciding on and adjusting amplifiers. Great amps sound great, clean and dirty and everything in between. I only use vintage Neve or Quad Eight preamps on guitars, which also makes the setup fail-safe. The right preamps on a guitar are also very important for proper capture.

“And the microphones don’t need to be special. Any dynamic mic, SM57s, MD421s, MD409s, they all work. I don’t usually use ribbons on guitar, but they do sound great, especially if you are trying to make a decent amp sound a bit better, which is a problem I don’t ever have.”

Limblifter gear, photo by Ryan Dahle

Do you have a special way that you recreate your album (guitar/vocal/bass) tones in a live setting? Or is it more just plug-and-play?

“Yes. Great amps are all that matters. I used to have a big pedalboard, and the kids would look at my pedals to figure out where the sounds were coming from. But it’s not in the pedals, it’s in the amps and the speakers.

“I’ve recently replaced my jumbo pedal boards with effects modelling boxes, these Fractal and Line 6 devices are amazing.

“They can model hundreds of effects boxes and make it so easy to access them instantly. Being able to have a multitude of micro adjustments happening with a press of a button really frees me up to play music and sing to focus on the performance instead of the sound variations. I’m no longer trying to adjust pedals or troubleshoot problems on my pedal board while playing.

“It’s not as glamorous as a massive pedalboard of boutique pedals, and it takes a lot of setup, but I enjoy all the freedom. My live sound is simply better because of the variations from part to part, song to song, plus the stereo-ness of my sound is so much more exciting.”

What was your first-ever instrument?

“My first guitar was a Guild S-60D electric that my brother Brad gave to me. He was the reason I started to play guitar. I may have never found music if it wasn’t for my two older brothers. That’s all they cared about, and I fell right in line and did the same. My grandmother taught me my first chords and brother Brad saw that I had started taking lessons and needed my own guitar, so he gifted me that guitar.

“His assistance and advice didn’t stop there. He influenced what amps and guitars I played. He made me conscious of how vintage gear sounded better and was less expensive in the ’80s. Brother Brad still advises me whether I ask for it or not.”

Limblifter ‘Little Payne’ album artwork

What’s your favourite piece of equipment you’ve ever owned?

“I’m in awe of so much of the equipment that I have, I never stop appreciating it. I had a commercial recording studio for 14 years in East Vancouver. During COVID, I moved it to our home on Mayne Island. I love the ’50s and ’60s Fenders and Gibsons I have, the old reverb plates, a real Mellotron from the ’60s, and my outboard gear is really magical, including old Neves, Electodyne, Telefunken, Quad Eight, and Urei (Universal Audio). I’ve been obsessed with ribbon mics for the last decade; the personality that they can capture in a room is unique to every place that you move the mic.

“I consider myself lucky to be in possession of such a collection of gear. It inspires me every day to make use of it on my own and other people’s records.

“I’ve been mastering records since 1999 using a Studer A80 1/2” tape machine that I’ve mastered about 700 records on, and that is definitely an important piece of equipment to me. I have three spare Studer tape machines so I can swap out modular cards on it. I’ve replaced the motor on my own as well. Some other fixes have been out of my range, so being friends with an incredible tech like Corey Dixon (Big Valley Audio) has been a lifesaver.

“I also have custom-made speakers by a legend of the Vancouver music scene, John Vrtacic. The speakers are one-of-a-kind, mid-field mastering speakers. They were the last thing he built before his passing in 2009. He is greatly missed by the recording community here in Vancouver. The Vrtacic speakers are the most important tool for me for recording, mixing and mastering. Just like John Vrtacic, the speakers are like having a great friend who always tells you the blunt, honest truth.”