by Deke Dickerson
The story of the Standel Amplifier is one of the best kept secrets in the music business. Our ears are very used to hearing Standel Amplifiers, and yet probably only a select handful of our readers even know about their existence!
Yes, Joe Maphis played a Standel Amplifier, and so did Merle Travis, Speedy West, Chet Atkins, Hank Thompson, Grady Martin, Hank Garland, Larry Collins, Barbara Mandrell, Ralph Mooney, Noel Boggs, Buddie Emmons, Wes Montgomery, and many more of the top session musicians of the 1950's and 1960's. Standel amps were used to cut hundreds of hit records and literally thousands of other recording sessions. Here in our short space we'll try to tell a little bit of what makes them unique.
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