What was your first amp (old guys only)

[PJaye]

Fender Bassman 100, 2-15 & 4-12 cabs. Massive rig

 

[bkirk]

Fender Bassman with a home made 115. It topped out in a hurry but sounded good at low volume. Moved on through a Peavey TNT, then to an Acoustic 370 which I used off and on until last year when the power amp fried. Loved the sound of the Acoustic (I swore it was rocket-powered) but hated lugging it.

 

[Thor]

I have followed this thread from the beginning and
almost everybody that had that Acoustic 370
head said it blew everything else away, a
statement that has been made over and over.

I only had the Acoustic 140 head, and the 106 bottom,
but that sucker is a monster to lug around, I can
imagine the back strain of moving the whole 371 rig ...

But that 370 sure had some serious stones ...
Anybody know what the output wattage rating was on
the 370 by chance?

 

[bkirk]

Anybody know what the output wattage rating was on
the 370 by chance?

Thor, I never did have the manual on mine but one source I've seen quoted 365 watts into 2 ohms from the manual. I was remembering it as about 300 watts, maybe into 4 ohms.

 

[Thor]

Thanks.

Which reminds me, if anybody ever needs a
manual and schematic for an Acoustic 140 head
I have my original, and can provide a copy.

 

[Thumpinthenight]

1970-My 1st amp (before I morphed from guitarist to bassist in 2000), was a Marvel, single knob volume, 3 tube 10 watt powerhouse (which I still have). Then, 1972 a Fender Twin Reverb $360 including cover-Damn-still remember that one. Sold it for lack of use. 1st bass amp-still using-Hartke 3500.

 

[Bob Lee (QSC)]

Acoustic 136 with a single 15.

Same here. I still have mine, though I've hardly used it in the past five or six years.

 

[Thor]

Same here. I still have mine, though I've hardly used it in the past five or six years.

What is the difference between the 136 and the 140?

 

[Robman]

I don't know if I'm old enough for ya, but in 1985 I bought my first combo amp at the age of 17. A Peavey TNT 130. It's still going strong, despite the fact that the speaker is blown!!!

 

[Robman]

I threw some pictures together I took yesterday of my Acoustic rig for those so inclined...

http://www.balens.com/amp.htm

It's a beast

George

I have a friend who uses one of these cabinets. We knicknamed it the Coke Machine

 

[Hambone]

My first amp was a SWTPC (Southwestern Technical Products Corp.) 80 watter built by my dad. It was mated with the SWTPC guitar preamp for tone control and all of that was on top of a tuned 2 x 12 cabinet he built. This was 1975. I carried that amp with me to college and promptly burned it up. To replace, I got a Sunn Concert head and 215RH cab. Now THAT kicked butt.

 

[cassanova]

My first rig was an old Ampeg 1x15 cab & an Ace Tone head. It was 1988 when I got it.

 

[pocket_groover]

1965 Fender Bassman when I was ... 15! Yeah, I'm an old guy! In those days, we thought Bassmans were for bass players, but we know better now, don't we? Sounds great with my 6 string basses tuned an octave higher I still have it; it sounds wonderful at low volumes for the 4/5 stringers.

Blew the speakers the day after I got it. Boy, was my Dad angry! Got the speakers replaced and had the old ones sent back to me. I fixed them with some solder, paper, and Elmer's glue. Put them in a homemade 2x12 cab, and had 4x12's! Got decently loud then

 

[AQUANOVA]

I'm not an old guy, I'm an old girl (46). The first amp I had was an Earth tube head on 215 cab that weighed a ton. It was black and padded all around. It only had two settings, Stun and Kill. I played my first bass, a Fender Mustang through it and it really growled. I lugged it around in my 1977 Toyota Hatchback.....those were the days.....

 

[Spanky]

My first bass rig was a Peavy MKIII head plopped atop of a Fender 2/12 cab, big tall thing, and underneath that I stuck an 18" bass bin (cant remember the brand off hand)...definately a "ghetto-stack" Haha...but it was big and the sound guys were always making me turn it down about 11 notches! And now, even in this day of small combo amps that still pack alot of watts and use XLR's for the house sound anyway...I still prefer that "Big" look of a stack. So now its Ampeg heads and GK cabs for now at least.
Peace!
Spanky

 

[Arthur U. Poon]

Vox Pacemaker solid state guitar amp. I believe it was 45 watts and had a 10" speaker. Once I started playing with a drummer I bought an Acoustic 136, the Vox became my practice amp.

Yes, I'm old!!!!

 

[WOOOOMPH]

Sears Silvertone single 15" Speaker, 40 watt fliptop, IT Royaly S$#@#$D!!! 1973 was the year.

But even worse was the Traynor 85 watt Tube head with a double 15" speaker cab, twice the weight and size and the same old CRAPPPPPPY SOUND.

Now I play an Upright, amplifier is optional but shyed away from as much as possable, but I have a 1200 watt digital Switching amp laying around here and wouldn't mind trying my upright through that booger.

 

[NoddinDave]

Fender bassman 10, bought in 1976 or 77. I had some kind of overdrive thing plugged into it to get some nasty distortion and blew it up. Then I moved up to the Fender bassman 100 - which had a huge 4x12 speaker enclosure

 

[Bob Lee (QSC)]

What is the difference between the 136 and the 140?

I don't know the 140, so I couldn't say.

 

[OldFartBassMan]

Mid60's- Sawed an old magnavox phonograph in half, tried to
plug my craptone guitar into the input leads going into the
6L6 amp but hardly any sound came out.

Got a 2W transister amplifier from Lafayette Electronics (this was the 60s), used it as preamp. I guess it was a little too
powerful. Emulated Jeff Beck PERFECTLY. What great distortion.

I truly think it sounded better than my the Silvertone twin 12 reverb that I got as my first 'official' amp!