DESIGN ARCHIVE: LANEY
Design Archive: Laney Amplification
Est. 1967
Location: Halesowen / Birmingham (UK)
Formed in 1967 by Lyndon Laney, Laney Amplification is a West Midlands based guitar and musical instrument amplifier manufacturer who were closely involved with Tony Iommi of BLACK SABBATH in the birth of the 'Heavy Metal' music genre. Since 1967, Laney Amplification has gone on from strength to strength and is presently a multinational company that continues to design 'tone' solutions to enable musicians of all playing styles and levels to attain their 'tonal' ecstasy. Laney currently work with globally renowned musicians and bands such as The Prodigy, The Foo Fighters, Killswitch Engage, Skindred, Black Sabbath and many more. Their design archive collection spans the music decades.
As a brand, Laney is historically associated with Birmingham City and its vibrant live music scene. In 2011, Laney sponsored the 'Home of Metal' exhibition at Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery where there was much press recognition (CNN, BBC news, SKY news, SKY Arts and The Guardian) of their contribution to the 'Heavy Metal' music genre, cultural heritage and historic link with The Black Country and the city.
Laney Amplification began in 1967 when Lyndon Laney, whilst playing in a local band, “The Band of Joy” with John Bonham on drums and Robert Plant on vocals, turned his musical interest into amplifier construction. Initially working in his father’s garage. Lyndon Laney sought to design and build amplifiers with key ‘tonal’ characteristics that were unheard of at the time.
During this musically fertile time in Birmingham and the West Midlands, Lyndon Laney’s innovative amplifiers gained popularity among innovative musicians in the local gigging circuits and through word of mouth demand for Lyndon amplifiers grew.
Tony Iommi with his Laney amp circa 1970 at a rehearsal
Laney’s signature tone, coupled with unrivalled performance and affordability were key characteristics that helped set Laney amplifiers apart from its competitors. Laney amplifiers were highly sought after and used by numerous local musicians, one noted musician being Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath, who used Laney amplifiers during the recording of their seminal first release “Black Sabbath” launched on Feb 13th 1970. An album which defined the new sound of Heavy Metal.
Lyndon Laney's portrait and business card (1970s)
Tony Iommi with Ozzy Osbourne on stage at Kooyong Stadium in Melbourne Jan 13th 1973. Note Tony’s stacks of Laney Amplifiers.
Laney’s began large scale manufacturing at the now famous Custard Factory in the Digbeth quarter of Birmingham City before relocating larger premises in Cradley Heath.
In this period of rapid expansion, Laney developed a new range of innovative ‘KLIPP’ amplifiers. Laney Amplification’s KLIPP possessed innovations from lessons learnt from the first generation of Laney amplifiers. KLIPP Amplifier featured built-in treble booster and offered excellent versatility and durability.
Building on the success of previous generations of amplifiers and continuing to forge ahead with ‘tone’ innovation, Laney developed and released AOR (Advance Overdrive Response) amplifiers.
The AORs were hot rodded right out of the box – with the addition of an extra stage of pre-gain.
Hand in hand with advances in guitar technology and techniques the AOR series was used by players such as Robert Plant, Randy Rhoads, Vinnie Moore, Warren Di Martini, Ace Frehley, Vinnie Vincent and George Lynch, to name a few.
1980s for Laney was a period marked by international market expansion and diversification of amplifier ranges to cater the ever-expanding amplification requirement.
As taste in music evolved, so did Laney. In the 1990s Laney continued to build on its reputation for producing ground-breaking amplification and in 1995 released the VC range of amplifiers, a retro styled Class A valve combo. In this period, Laney also released the Tube Fusion series of amplifiers – combining solid-state power amplification with valve pre-amplification effects in one package that changed the hybrid amplification market, as well as widely acclaimed VH100R, GH100L and GH50L range of Class AB tube heads.
With a user list through the 90s that read like a who’s who of players – Paul Gilbert, Tony Iommi, Frank Gambale, Andy Timmons, Pat Travers & Joe Satriani, to name a few, Laney amplification were being seen on stages all over the world and recognised as a serious ‘tone’ expert among performing musicians.
The Prodigy, Rob Holliday with Laney TT (2004)
The turn of the century saw no let up in the popularity of Laney products. Laney Amplification continues to build on its enviable heritage but never lost sight of the bright lights of innovation. Notable product releases since 2000 include the TT – a range of versatile high gain MIDI controlled amplifiers, NEXUS - a range of high performance bass amplifiers, Lionheart – a range of classic British retro style amp, and CUB – a range of vintage tone amplifiers in a small package.
Bjorn Agren of Razorlight (2007)
Artists who used Laney included Bjorn Agren of Razorlight, Mikael Akerfeldt of Opeth, Bill Kelliher of Mastodon, John 5, Glenn Hughes, Linde of HIM, Rich Ward ‘The Duke of Metal’ and many others.
In 2004 Laney Amplification relocated to Halesowen (UK). Long time friend of Lyndon Laney and the company, Tony Iommi cuts the ribbon at the grand opening of the new HQ.
In 2011, Laney were one of the main sponsors of the 'Home of Metal' exhibition at Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery where there was much press recognition (CNN, BBC news, SKY news, SKY Arts and The Guardian) of their contribution to the 'Heavy Metal' music genre, cultural heritage and historic link with The Black Country and the City.
Tony Iommi's International Tour Rig (2012)
2012 has already seen some significant moments for Laney. The development and launch of a new Tony Iommi signature amplifier, along with the highly acclaimed Ironheart range of amplifiers and the totally unique ground breaking Lionheart L50H amplifier – which had the respected music instrument magazine, GUITARIST, saying “it’s one of the best amps we’ve ever plugged into”... high praise indeed!
Laney continues to grow and develop products which are used by all walks of musicians. From someone who is just starting out to globally renowned musicians and bands such as The Prodigy, The Foo Fighters, Killswitch Engage, Skindred, Black Sabbath and many more.
Killswitch Engage, Joel Stroetzel and Adam Dutkiewicz with Laney Ironheart Amplifiers (2012)
At Laney we continue to design 'tone' solutions that enable musicians of all playing styles and levels to attain the sounds they hear in their heads – without compromise. Laney – Just Play It.
Many thanks to Laney Amplifiers and Lincoln Fan - Marketing Executive and Principal Graphic Designer for sharing these exclusive insights of the company's historical archive material with Obsessionistas.
Visit the Laney website here
All images © Laney Amplifiers and published with their with kind permission.