Kim Simmonds Guitars & Gear: The Savoy Brown Bluesman’s Complete Rig Guide

This is the instrument most closely associated with Kim Simmonds in the classic Savoy Brown period. The 1957 Goldtop — finished in the distinctive gold lacquer Gibson used from 1952 through 1957 — was fitted with a pair of P-90 single-coil soapbar pickups, Gibson’s design that predated the humbucker and which has a uniquely aggressive, harmonically rich character that humbuckers don’t replicate. The P-90 has a wider coil than a standard single-coil but is not hum-cancelling like a PAF humbucker, giving it a slightly raw, present quality with more midrange bite. The 1957 Goldtop’s mahogany body and neck with rosewood fretboard produced a characteristically warm, woody tone that fed beautifully into Simmonds’s cranked British amplifiers. The trapeze tailpiece configuration of earlier Goldtops had been replaced by the wrap-around stoptail by 1955, giving better sustain and intonation. This guitar is heard all over the classic Savoy Brown recordings.

Simmonds also used late-1950s/early-1960s Les Paul Standards, the legendary “burst” configuration with sunburst finish and Seth Lover’s Patent Applied For (PAF) humbuckers. The PAF humbucker — wound on a bobbin by hand to approximately 7.5k–8.5k ohms DC resistance with Alnico II or Alnico V magnets depending on production batch — delivers a warmer, more compressed tone than the P-90 with dramatically reduced hum. The transition between P-90 and PAF Goldtops and Standards in Simmonds’s playing produced subtly different tonal characters: the P-90 guitars are brighter and more aggressive, the humbucker guitars warmer and more sustaining. He was fluent in both.

Simmonds was a devoted user of pre-CBS Fender Stratocasters, particularly examples from the late 1950s and early 1960s with the original single-coil pickups. Pre-CBS Strats — those built before CBS Corporation acquired Fender in January 1965 — are distinguished by their slab rosewood fretboards (1959–1962) or round-lam rosewood boards (1962–1965), nitrocellulose lacquer finishes, and the Fender original tremolo with six individual saddles. The pre-CBS Strat’s tone is leaner and more dynamic than post-CBS examples, with the original Alnico V single-coil pickups producing a bright, glassy, transparent sound that contrasted strikingly with his Les Paul tones. On recordings where you hear Simmonds producing that sparkling, slightly funky clean tone, a pre-CBS Strat is almost certainly the instrument.

Telecasters appeared in Simmonds’s arsenal at various points, particularly for material requiring that distinctive Tele snap and twang. The single-coil bridge pickup of a vintage Tele produces arguably the most aggressively articulate clean tone of any production guitar, and Simmonds used this characteristic to cut through ensemble textures with precision. Vintage Teles from the 1950s and early 1960s used the same Alnico V single-coil philosophy as the Stratocaster but in a simpler, more direct configuration that produces even greater top-end definition.

Semi-hollow body Gibsons, specifically the ES-335 — introduced in 1958 as the world’s first commercially produced semi-hollow thinline electric — appeared in Simmonds’s live and studio work. The ES-335’s laminated maple top with solid mahogany centre block combines the acoustic warmth and feedback characteristics of a full hollow body with the sustain and feedback resistance of a solid body. Fitted with PAF-spec humbuckers, the ES-335 produces a characteristically warm, rounded tone with exceptional note bloom — perfectly suited to slow blues and expressive lead work.

The SG Standard — introduced in 1961 as the replacement for the Les Paul (before Les Paul demanded his name be removed) and featuring a double-cutaway mahogany body, glued-in neck at the 22nd fret for extreme upper-register access, and PAF-transitional or Patent Number humbuckers — also appeared in Simmonds’s setup. The SG’s lighter weight and more aggressive midrange character compared to the Les Paul gave a different tonal palette for specific material.

Simmonds favoured light-to-medium gauge strings — typically .010–.046 or .011–.049 — consistent with the approach of most blues players of his generation who needed sufficient string mass for expressive bending while keeping playability manageable across long touring schedules. He was known to use Ernie Ball and GHS Boomers at various points in his career.

The JTM45 was Marshall’s first production amplifier, introduced in 1962 and based closely on the Fender Bassman 5F6-A circuit with modifications by Jim Marshall and Ken Bran. The JTM45 uses KT66 output tubes (early models) or EL34s (later versions), a GZ34 rectifier tube, and produces approximately 45 watts RMS. Its circuit topology — long-tailed pair phase inverter, cathode-follower tone stack — produces a characteristically warm, slightly saggy tone with excellent note separation and a natural compression that responds intuitively to pick attack. Simmonds used JTM45 heads — typically into 4×12 cabinets loaded with Celestion G12 speakers (either the original Celestion T530 alnico models or the later ceramic G12M “Greenback”) — as his primary live and studio amplification during the classic Savoy Brown period. The JTM45’s clean headroom combined with its smooth overdrive character were ideally matched to the P-90 and PAF-equipped Gibsons.

The 1959 Super Lead — Marshall’s 100-watt EL34-powered head that became the defining amplifier of British hard rock — also appeared in Simmonds’s setup as Savoy Brown’s sound evolved toward heavier territory in the early 1970s. The 1959 uses four EL34 output tubes in push-pull configuration, two ECC83 (12AX7) preamp tubes plus an ECC83 phase inverter, and produces approximately 100 watts RMS. Cranked into a 4×12 cabinet, it delivers the saturated, harmonically complex lead tone heard on recordings like Street Corner Talking.

The original tweed Fender Bassman in its 5F6-A circuit configuration — four 10-inch Jensen P10R speakers in a piggyback cabinet, 4x6L6 output tubes producing approximately 45–50 watts — was a foundational blues amplifier that directly inspired the JTM45 design. Simmonds used vintage Bassman heads as both studio and live tools, particularly paired with his Fender guitars. The 5F6-A circuit’s cathode-biased topology produces extraordinary touch sensitivity and natural compression, making it one of the most expressive blues amplifiers ever built.

The Vox AC30 — 30 watts from four EL84 output tubes, with the Top Boost modification adding a separate treble and bass control for the second channel — produces a characteristically chiming, harmonically rich clean tone that is distinct from both Marshall and Fender. Simmonds occasionally used AC30s for specific tonal requirements, particularly when recording material that needed the Vox’s particular quality of clean sparkle and natural compression at moderate volumes.

Laney’s Supergroup amplifiers — built in Birmingham and sharing circuit topology with the Marshall 1959 but with specific component differences that give a slightly different tonal character — appeared in Simmonds’s rig during touring. The LA100BL uses EL34 tubes and produces 100 watts with an aggressive midrange character similar to but distinct from the Marshall equivalent.

Simmonds used Marshall 1960A and 1960B 4×12 cabinets loaded with Celestion G12M “Greenback” 25-watt speakers (featuring the characteristic ceramic magnet and 20oz magnet weight that gives Greenbacks their compressed, harmonically complex character) throughout the classic period. The Greenback’s 75Hz resonant frequency and 98dB sensitivity suited the JTM45 and 1959 Super Lead’s output characteristics perfectly.

The original Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face — a two-transistor fuzz circuit using NKT275 or BC108 germanium PNP transistors — was a standard tool in Simmonds’s early blues-rock setup. Germanium Fuzz Faces are notoriously temperature-sensitive and variable between units, but the best examples produce a warm, singing fuzz with excellent note separation that cleans up beautifully when the guitar’s volume is rolled back. Simmonds used the Fuzz Face to push already-overdriving amplifiers into more sustained, harmonically complex territory for lead work.

The original Vox V846 wah — using a Fasel inductor, 100k audio taper potentiometer, and the original Clyde McCoy circuit topology — was Simmonds’s primary wah pedal during the classic period. The V846’s tonal sweep is broader and warmer than many later wah designs, producing a vocal quality particularly well suited to blues lead playing. The Fasel inductor’s resonant peak characteristic gives the V846 a more pronounced and musical sweep than inductors used in later production models.

The Dallas Electronics Rangemaster Treble Booster — a single-transistor germanium circuit using an OC44 PNP transistor, designed to boost the treble frequencies that early British amplifiers (particularly the AC30) rolled off — was a foundational device in the British blues-rock signal chain. Running before an already-overdriving Marshall or Vox, the Rangemaster adds harmonic richness, increased sustain, and a characteristic mid-forward push that defines a great deal of classic British blues tone. Simmonds used a Rangemaster or similar treble booster to drive his amplifiers harder and add sustain without resorting to heavy pedal fuzz.

The Sola Sound Coloursound Tonebender MkII — a three-transistor fuzz using OC75 or OC81D germanium PNP transistors — produces a warmer, more sustaining fuzz character than the two-transistor Fuzz Face. The Tonebender MkII’s circuit produces a characteristic mid-forward, almost velvet-smooth fuzz at high sustain settings while retaining clarity at moderate settings. It appeared in Simmonds’s setup alongside or in alternation with the Fuzz Face depending on the material being recorded.

The Maestro Echoplex EP-2 — a tape-based echo unit using a 1/4-inch recording tape loop, tube preamp (12AX7), and variable tape speed for delay time adjustment — provided Simmonds with warm, organic tape echo that added dimension to lead lines without the sterile quality of later digital delay. The EP-2’s tube preamp stage adds a subtle harmonic warmth to the signal even when the echo effect itself is set to short repeats or minimal mix level. Simmonds used tape echo primarily in the studio for adding depth to solos.

A passive volume pedal — either Ernie Ball’s 6166 or the DeArmond 1602/1610 — was present in Simmonds’s live rig for controlling dynamics between rhythm and lead passages and for executing slow swells on ambient or atmospheric sections.