John Frusciante’s Marshall Bass Head (BSSM)
Based on photographic evidence and statements from John, this Marshall Bass Head amp was used during the recording of Blood Sugar Sex Magik. However, since John never explicitly stated the specific model he used on the record, much of this remains speculative.
For most of the basics, I used two Marshalls: a guitar head for edge and a bass head for punch and low end. I split the signal with a DOD stereo chorus pedal. For some overdubs, I used a Fender H.O.T. practice amp, but for a lot of parts, even solos, I just went straight into the board.
John Frusciante
In another interview, John mentioned using a 60W bass amp:
I used this little 12W practice amp and that set up got used for most overdubs ’cause it sounded so much better than all the other stuff. For the other meat I got a bunch of Strats, all ’70s models through a Marshall 60w bass head.
John Frusciante, Guitar (UK), November 1991
From the footage in the 1991 documentary Funky Monks, which followed the band during the making of BSSM, it’s clear that John used at least four different Marshall amps.
The BSSM Marshalls
The two amps we can confidently identify are the JCM800 sitting on the right speaker cabinet, an amp John used extensively during both the Mother’s Milk and BSSM tours, and a Marshall Major 200W, as explained by Dave in the comments.
The amp on the top left is likely a de-branded Marshall JMP 2204, while the one below it could be a late ’70s Marshall JMP Super Bass. Interestingly, this last amp appears to be turned on (as indicated by the light on the on/off switch) and has some peculiarities: the Marshall badge is positioned unusually low, near the control board, and there’s no visible white line across the front.
By The Way
Frusciante confirmed that he used a Marshall JMP Super Bass during the recording of By the Way. It was likely not the same unit he had relied on in earlier years, as that original head was probably gone by 2002. For the sessions, he reportedly ran the Super Bass alongside his 200-watt Marshall Major, often pairing one of the amps in stereo with a Fender Bassman.
Feedback
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In the Funky Monks docu, we can see several instances where John is using the Fender H.O.T. amp. For example, in the part of the extended cut that shows the entire Mellowship solo, if you look at the left edge of the screen you can see the H.O.T. amp (his was the white version) stacked on top of another small black amp. At the end of the solo he gets up and switches off the H.O.T.
I think that other amp it’s stacked on might be really relevant, though. It can be seen in several places in the video, but the clearest view happens here:
https://youtu.be/z0tTJ4SakE0 at timestamp 1:06:40
The size and shape of that amp narrow it down to a handful of options. In the video, we can just catch the glint of what looks like the usual Fender script emblem on the top left of the speaker grill. There is also distinct white text on the faceplate mid-right, and though we can’t make what it says, we can see the rough size and shape of the text lettering.
Based on all the above, I believe the small black amp stacked below the H.O.T. is a 1990 Fender Sidekick bass combo amp. This is the same year model as the H.O.T. on top, and they changed the lettering font on the bass Sidekick starting that year to a blockier font, which to my eye matches the white text blob we can see in the documentary.
Why does this matter? Well, to my ear, a lot of the guitar parts on BSSM sound like small speakers and cabs due to their tight, boxy, focused sound. Frusciante was known for giving different conflicting stories about the gear he used. I’m very suspicious that the guitar amp and bass amp he was running in stereo with the chorus pedal for a lot of the guitar parts were actually those two combo amps. Even the tone in Under the Bridge, which has a thin chimey trebly amp slightly panned to the right and a focused but slightly overdriven bass tone underneath, more prominent on the left channel, has always sounded like a couple of tiny cabs to me. I’m very suspicious that this pair of amps might be what we hear in Under the Bridge, and many other parts of the album.
We know for sure it’s what we’re hearing in the Mellowship solo because we see it being used in the video there. Using that tone as a baseline and comparing it to the rest of the album, I think it’s used extensively throughout.
The amp on top of the JCM 800 is actually a Marshall Major 200W. You can tell because of the taller cabinet on the head-those were custom for the majors to house the larger transformers.
Appreciate that Dave! Editing the info right now.