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What was your first amp (old guys only) Pt 2
- Thread starter Chef
- Start date
First amp was a homebrew preamp I made when I was about 10 wired into an old organ, then a 1960's sears silvertone I could actually carry around.
My first amp was a Standel. Don't remember much about it. It was about 45 years ago. It had two speakers (probably 12s) and had a frame that allowed it to swivel by loosening/tightening two knobs through a metal frame into the sides of the cabinet. Tried searching online for it but never found anything. Wondering if the previous owner modified it....
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one of these (pulled out of my Aunt's basement in 1986)...barely worked, but I was still Greg Lake in my mind 
ha! i saw this thread and tried to remember what my first bass amp was: i don't know!!! i'm that old! so: i cannot answer the question = i don't remember..........
i'll post back if things change!
i'll post back if things change!
Sears Silvertone amp and a Tiesco Delray Bass, sunburst with striped pick guard, and chrome pup guard, circa 1966
My first one was a solid state "Kingston". Maybe 10 watts w/10% distortion. Two eight inch speakers in an open back cab. It amplified, that's about all I can say for it. 
This is my brother pretending to play through my first 'real' rig:
This is my brother pretending to play through my first 'real' rig:
Fender Silverface Bassman. It cost me $100 bc someone had taken it to Dan Torres and screwed it up. I took it to Sal Trentino and he put it back to stock for $75.
Since I grew up in San Francisco, I'd come across a bunch of screwed up Fender amps by Torres. I'd buy them cheap, take them to Sal, and away I went.
Next was a black face Showman Torres claimed to have done a Marshall mod on. Matched the Showman 2x15" I found for my Bassman.
Flipped a bunch of Torres'd Twins, Champs, Princeton's, and Deluxe's just for bass amp money. I bought my SVT from a tip Sal, than later a Mesa 400 same thing.
I miss Sal, last I heard he was teching amps for Pearl Jam before he died.
You guys would have loved his shop, mainly for guitar players, bass amps were forgotten in the back and cheap. Sometimes he'd just take a guy's number if it was bass gear bc people just didn't go to him for that.
Since I grew up in San Francisco, I'd come across a bunch of screwed up Fender amps by Torres. I'd buy them cheap, take them to Sal, and away I went.
Next was a black face Showman Torres claimed to have done a Marshall mod on. Matched the Showman 2x15" I found for my Bassman.
Flipped a bunch of Torres'd Twins, Champs, Princeton's, and Deluxe's just for bass amp money. I bought my SVT from a tip Sal, than later a Mesa 400 same thing.
I miss Sal, last I heard he was teching amps for Pearl Jam before he died.
You guys would have loved his shop, mainly for guitar players, bass amps were forgotten in the back and cheap. Sometimes he'd just take a guy's number if it was bass gear bc people just didn't go to him for that.
My dad had a Bogen 12W hi-fi amp purchased the year I was born, 1954, that I played guitar with in my learning stages in the 1960s. I think he got it from his uncle and I still have it. I actually gigged with it once.
As for bass, a Mark III Peavey, a couple of power amps and now GK MB200 mostly with a makeshift 1x12
Bass amp wise, a solid state Plush, tuck n roll affair with 2 15s. Got it to do some bass gigs, age 15. First guitar amp was a brown Super, 2 10s
I like to consider myself young still, even if I am starting to develop balled spots and the first few grey hairs here and there.
People still claim that they are surprised when they learn my real age though, so guess I can go for being young a few years still
Anyway, I've been fairly faithful, and poor, so haven't owned a lot of bass amps.
Here's my history of bass amp setups though, all the way back from around '93 or was it '94, where I started playing bass, after a couple of years on guitar:
1. Dynacord Bass King T (50W solid state preamp stage, tube poweramp stage) run first through 1 15" cab, later a 2 15" was added to that.
2. Ampeg B-15S (all tubes 60W) run with a single 15"
3. Amp less period
4. A borrowed solid state Trace Elliot Series 6 220W combo with 4 10"
5. Amp less period, where I had to do with a Behringer Eurolive B212D 12" active PA speaker with horn.
6. Trace Elliot GP75SM 130W 15" solid state combo run along side a Behringer Eurolive B212D 12" active PA speaker with horn, with a Joyo Orange Juice in front of it to add some grit to my sound, the horn tamed with a 7 band EQ pedal in front of it and the High EQ knob on the PA (12Khz high shelf filter) turned all the way down and finally a Behringer Ultragain Mic100 tube preamp to convert the signal from instrument level and impedance to balanced XLR mic level.
7. Trace Elliot GP75SM 130W 15" solid state combo (the exact same amp as above) run along side a Dynacord Bass King 50W all tube amp with another 15" cab, still with the Orange Juice in front of it to add grit, as well as the 7 band EQ pedal for fine tuning the tone. Best setup ever, even if I still regret selling my B-15S a little.
People still claim that they are surprised when they learn my real age though, so guess I can go for being young a few years still
Anyway, I've been fairly faithful, and poor, so haven't owned a lot of bass amps.
Here's my history of bass amp setups though, all the way back from around '93 or was it '94, where I started playing bass, after a couple of years on guitar:
1. Dynacord Bass King T (50W solid state preamp stage, tube poweramp stage) run first through 1 15" cab, later a 2 15" was added to that.
2. Ampeg B-15S (all tubes 60W) run with a single 15"
3. Amp less period
4. A borrowed solid state Trace Elliot Series 6 220W combo with 4 10"
5. Amp less period, where I had to do with a Behringer Eurolive B212D 12" active PA speaker with horn.
6. Trace Elliot GP75SM 130W 15" solid state combo run along side a Behringer Eurolive B212D 12" active PA speaker with horn, with a Joyo Orange Juice in front of it to add some grit to my sound, the horn tamed with a 7 band EQ pedal in front of it and the High EQ knob on the PA (12Khz high shelf filter) turned all the way down and finally a Behringer Ultragain Mic100 tube preamp to convert the signal from instrument level and impedance to balanced XLR mic level.
7. Trace Elliot GP75SM 130W 15" solid state combo (the exact same amp as above) run along side a Dynacord Bass King 50W all tube amp with another 15" cab, still with the Orange Juice in front of it to add grit, as well as the 7 band EQ pedal for fine tuning the tone. Best setup ever, even if I still regret selling my B-15S a little.
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A Fender Bassman that stood up (big cabinet), black control panel, 212 (later cut out for 215 CTS with square magnets ), and 50 watts of flatulent power. Then I got a Kustom 200 3CTS . It did put out some loudness.
I totally forgot about my first amp, until I thought about it seeing this thread...
Traynor 1x15 combo, borrowed it from the high school band room. Who knows how old it was and it was about as loud as a am stereo.
Next came my first real amp. A Peavey Mark III and a 1x18 bw cabinet.
Then rocked a Peavey Megabass head and a 1516 biamp'd cab for the next 20+ years.
Traynor 1x15 combo, borrowed it from the high school band room. Who knows how old it was and it was about as loud as a am stereo.
Next came my first real amp. A Peavey Mark III and a 1x18 bw cabinet.
Then rocked a Peavey Megabass head and a 1516 biamp'd cab for the next 20+ years.
The high school bought a Peavey TNT for me to start on. Not long after that I got my own Peavey TKO. 1985?
Guess I'm old enough now to post here.
My first amp was a Fender Bassman. It had a 212 cab; which, being young and dumb as a fence post, I thought was a 215 when I bought it used. Now, I'm not young any more. I painted a fence and a two story wood sided home alone to earn the money for it. Got it in 1971, just before I turned 16. Before that, I always plugged into the guitar player's amp, or practiced amp-less in my room.
Anyhow, here it is on the gig in 1972, Coil cords and all.
My first amp was a Fender Bassman. It had a 212 cab; which, being young and dumb as a fence post, I thought was a 215 when I bought it used. Now, I'm not young any more. I painted a fence and a two story wood sided home alone to earn the money for it. Got it in 1971, just before I turned 16. Before that, I always plugged into the guitar player's amp, or practiced amp-less in my room.
Anyhow, here it is on the gig in 1972, Coil cords and all.
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