The tube amp Joe Satriani has created with 3rd Power to nail Eddie Van Halen’s transitional, 1986-era guitar tone has been made available as a plugin – with physical amps on their way, too.
When Sammy Hagar extended the invitation for his former Chickenfoot bandmate to join him, Michael Anthony, and Jason Bonham as part of the a Van Halen-celebrating Best of All Worlds tour, the six-string virtuoso knew a tonal overhaul was necessary.
“My live rig doesn’t work,” he admitted earlier this year, “Van Halen is a different animal.”
Before he could get to modding guitars, his first move was to link up with Nashville-based amp maker 3rd Power, and its chief designer, Dylana Scott, for a custom tube amp.
With the tour including both Hagar- and David Lee Roth-era songs, the amp’s mission statement was simple: capture the essence of Eddie’s Live Without a Net rig; a period when the band was transitioning between those two different eras of singers – and Satch’s favorite.
Eddie’s ‘86 rig comprised modded Marshalls with power soaks and effects processing, which is what the result, the Dragon 100, has stylishly mimicked. The amp is currently on the road with Satch and co.
Thankfully, IK Multimedia – the firm behind the Amplitube ToneX plugins that, via “machine modeling,” can supposedly make digital twins of any amp on the planet – sampled the amp’s soul for a plugin recreation before the tour began.
Consequently, the Dragon 100 has been added to its Joe Satriani Amp Vault Signature Collection, which launched last month, making the amp's magic accessible to digital amp users worldwide.
The amp was captured at Hagar’s Red Rocker Studios in Northern California using IK Multimedia’s nifty modeling tech. Eight resultant digital models promise classic Plexi tones with fine-tuned, tube amp-like dynamic response that works as well with single notes as it does complex chords.
The new models have been added to the Satriani collection at no extra cost. Existing users can download the extra amps for free, too. That takes the collection's amp count to a tidy 67.
“My 3rd Power Dragon 100 amp is a vintage-sounding and modern-featured head inspired by the legendary 1967/1968 Plexi Super Lead 100,” says Satriani.
“It sounds like a roaring Plexi recorded with the best mics, preamps, and EQs, perfectly balanced like a great, legendary recorded guitar track. Harmonically rich and touch-sensitive with plenty of gain on tap, there's nothing quite like it. It's my favorite new amp.”
The amps were road-tested during his recent co-headline tour with Steve Vai, with three heads now being put to work on the Best of All Worlds tour.
“My new setup for the Best of All Worlds Tour will feature an all-Dragon (wet/dry/wet) system with three heads powering six cabinets,” he explains. “It's an awesome sound!”
Real amp loyalists will soon be able to get their hands on Satch’s Eddie-channeling amp – in 25, 45, and 100-watt head and combo options – very soon. Pre-orders are now open via Bananas at Large with a three to six-month lead time, with prices starting at $2,999.
The amps are hand-wired point-to-point builds, utilizing a laydown mains transformer to supply 500v of power to EL34 power tubes – resulting in superpowered saturation.
Further features are headlined by 3rd Power’s signature HybridMASTER control. This allows players to simultaneously control the volume, limit the DC current, and regulate the DC plate voltage of the tube circuitry.
In simple terms, this helps fine-tune the amp’s tone for every venue, regardless of size.
There’s also a host of smart EQ features, including Plexi/Cascade Preamp Modes, a 400Hz Boost, Vintage/Modern Tone Stacks, a Low Freq. Push, and Vintage/Focus Power Amp Modes.
Finally, an Ultra Presence mode delivers four switchable High-Frequency Shelf settings.
In the meantime, their digital counterparts are available today at a fraction of the price.
The Joe Satriani Amp Vault unlocks Satch favorites (Marshall, Soldano, 5150), and rarer amps like a vintage Fender ’53 Tweed Deluxe, and now the Dragon 100, for $99.99.
Jump over to IK Multimedia to explore the suite in more detail.
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