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The Combo Club
- Thread starter ChefKen
- Start date
I played bass but this was my first combo, 1967 or 1968:
First amp, and first combo was a Gorilla, that I recall looking like this:
Although it was the largest bass amp combo in the store at the time, I quickly found it could not keep up with a rock drummer, so I went the route of separate amp head and cabinet.
This served as my practice amp and for "coffee shop" gigs for several years until I got my GK.
Although it was the largest bass amp combo in the store at the time, I quickly found it could not keep up with a rock drummer, so I went the route of separate amp head and cabinet.
This served as my practice amp and for "coffee shop" gigs for several years until I got my GK.
- Oct 22, 2015
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King of your school
My heart bleeds peanut butter
My first combo was a combo, and that's all I can say definitively. I spent nearly all I had on a new Stingray in the spring of 79. What little remained paid for the ( gently used
) combo I took off the shop's hands. What I wanted and could not afford was the Music Man head and cab. This is well before I heard of Mesa, and would that I the means .... Not that day.This day for me is the DI to the DAW to videomeself again. Last time 'round I got two good takes (don't ask how many tries) to find there was no sound. Abort, Retry, Fail?
To date, the material recorded from the PJB combo DI is quote Smooth and rich, like high-end hot cocoa unquote Probably will repeat that signal chain today
It's show 'n' tell Sunday.
Following in the footsteps of @StatesideRambler , my first combo was this Harmony guitar amp (paid for by numerous odd jobs in the Kansan sun):
I discovered I could not count to 6 and started on the bass. My next combo looked like this:
(The name plate was engraved with 'Jim,' its former owner. And that was what the amp was forever called.)
Following in the footsteps of @StatesideRambler , my first combo was this Harmony guitar amp (paid for by numerous odd jobs in the Kansan sun):
I discovered I could not count to 6 and started on the bass. My next combo looked like this:
(The name plate was engraved with 'Jim,' its former owner. And that was what the amp was forever called.)
Mine had an all-blue interior, and vinyl seatsI recall mine had a black interior? Mine was equal parts fun and infuriating. Not nearly so much as any Alfa Romeo is both fun and infuriating. My VW was like a "starter Alfa"for roadside frustration
. It was a fuel-injected engine, and was absolutely reliable. It was also good for hauling gear. I regularly packed my entire rig and instruments into the hatch with the back seat folded.Later, I sold it to a guitar-player friend of mine, and when he first loaded his full stack into it, he slammed the hatch closed, and the corners of the cabinets blew out the entire back window! We prayed for no rain that night and headed to the gig.
Many years later, I saw the car again sitting forlorn with no wheels sitting two houses away from my Mom's place. Quietly broke my heart. I gave it a pat, took the VW emblem from it, and closed that chapter.
Now I'm imagining how many D4s I could pack into the back of that thing!
Well, this'll be both boring and amazing, all at once. My first amp was a '63 piggyback Bassman[that I wish I still had-sigh]. My first combo, purchased in 1970-and sitting approximately 15 feet to my left-is/was(heralding trumpets)THE KASINO!!
Yup, 50 years later, still LOUD and proud....and heavy.
That, seriously, is amazing. And the fact that you still use it on occasion at home is too. No I’ve can debate you on the build quality of said Kustom Combo!
OK, I will play along. This was my first combo. AM/FM Stereo, Turn Table, two 12" speakers and 40 Tube watts:
And you people think my second, other combo, a Peavey 300 C was big and heavy? I couldn't gig with this one. It belonged to my parents. Circa 1960.
And you people think my second, other combo, a Peavey 300 C was big and heavy? I couldn't gig with this one. It belonged to my parents. Circa 1960.
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Truly I don't need more amplification
Yeah, and I’ll never buy another combo as long as I live...
There’s a memory jogger. We never had one, though plenty of my friends’ parents did. I’m gonna guess Sylvania. And the turntable was the standard-issue BSR. They made a majority of console and all-in-one players. 40 tube watts must’ve been fairly loud, though the fidelity was lesser than separates.
Still, memories of the 60s and 70s abound with the sweet sounds of Seals and Croft on a warm summer evening...
First amp, and first combo was a Gorilla, that I recall looking like this:
View attachment 3981997
Although it was the largest bass amp combo in the store at the time, I quickly found it could not keep up with a rock drummer, so I went the route of separate amp head and cabinet.
This served as my practice amp and for "coffee shop" gigs for several years until I got my GK.
Rod, my buddy in Ohio still uses his Gorilla when he occasionally plays bass. He’s true blue to it too. My VOX Combo is going to replace it though as soon as one of us gets to the other’s state.
Brand name was Admiral. Came from Sears (probably sold as Sylvania and a number of others). I used the 45 needle because 45's were the only things I could afford. Probably wore the needle out with Ventures and others but, my parents only played LP's, so I was safe. The only thing that was better was when I could afford a Dynaco 60w with a two 15" D140F speaker cab. My Rumble 200C or Studio 40 comes close but tubes are special as you have found with the Orange Terror.
You’re so right. Even the tubes in our kitchen radios were cool. I sit and stare through the cardboard back at the Orange glow. You could smell ‘em cooking too. Also, you could feel the heat.
Yeah, I think Admiral was a subsidiary of Philips, as was Sylvania, I believe. GE was obviously the a major player back then too.
Do I have to return to 2020 tomorrow? The 1970s feels real comfy right now. That’s when I discovered WLS 890 AM, pumping out 50,000 watts of clear channel rock!
My earliest songs I got into was Steely Dan’s ‘Do it Again,’ Jim Croce’s ‘I Gotta Name,’ and War’s ‘The World is a Ghetto,’ and so many others. It was an eclectic time when you could hear different genres all at the same time. The difference was that this music was good!
Well, even with the age differences, your feelings of the 1970's are the same as mine regarding the '60's. Returning to the 2020's is equally as hard. What we are going thru now is the result of Reality TV,
We need to get back to who we really are...
Wow - the prices for the Heathkit guitar amp is insane for 1967 when you consider $200 in 1967 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $1,551.50 in 2020, a difference of $1,351.50 over 53 years!
Agree with you, my friend, and yet I know we can never go back, but I’d love even a short time period of like it was when it seemed we worried more about who was going to get to watch their show on the family TV that night!
Yeah, and Elton John had his own hair back then too...
