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What was your first amp (old guys only)

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#342
Okay, sorry this isn't a bass amp but I just had to enter my tuppence worth. My first (guitar) amp was a circa 1945 console radio that my friend's dad (worked for Marconi) had installed a pre-amp into. The jack was installed into the top of the wood cabinet. Hey, this was a tube amp!!!! We'd play the "gig" and during the break we'd switch the radio on for background music. My guitar was an acoustic with a hole mounted pickup. Hey, it was 1965 and all was well in the world... Do I win????? :hyper: :hyper: :hyper:
 
#343
St.George Squire.

Got it used for $99 around 1968.

It was a "piggyback" with a small head(with tremolo) and a small 1x12 cab.I still have the original driver around somewhere.it has a picture of a bass guitar on the magnet.I think its a Jensen.

I heard that a guy who worked for Fender started the company.It was really low wattage,I estimate around 12-15 watts,all tube.
 
#344
First amp was a Fender Sidekick 35 (just a practice amp), but good enough to play with in the basement w/ 3pc.band.
After I was a little better, and was playing in a band w/ 2 competing guitar players, I bought a Peavey Mark III head with a "Road" cabinet that had a single 18" speaker in it for $200. I used to bi-amp w/ my Sidekick 35! Those were the days...

Still have both, and still can't seem to find much history or information about the Road cabinets. It is HEAVY DUTY, and looks soooo early '70's.

gg
 
#345
First amp was a rented Supro, open back, single 12, tube amp.

First purchased bass amp was a Gibson Atlas piggyback tube head single 15 cabinet. It had a leg that allowed you to tilt it for concert performance while the head was clipped onto the cabinet. Traded that one for a Gibson Thor with more power and a 15 + 10 cabinet IIRC, this is an old guys question...

That was traded on a Garnet B190 all tube head with Hammond Tremeloe and the famous Garnet "Stinger" fuzz onboard. Bought a pair of the matching 2x15 cabs loaded with Marsland speakers that I kept for years.

From there I moved on to the Kustom Gold Sparkle tuck and roll look with the Bass 400 head and four of the 2x15 cabinets.

Then I switched to an Acoustic 360, preamp head, powered bottom model with two cabinets for the bass pickup of My Rickenbacker 4005 and a Marshall head with an angeld 4x12 bass cabinet. After that it got stupid with preamps, crossovers, folded horn bins, horns, mid cabs, tube and solid state amps too numerous, and heavy, to remember.

BEAR
 
#347
First amp was a "Bass Mate" combo 60w w/ 1x15". Bought in summer of '68 to go with a used Univox BeatleBass copy. I paid $85 for the guitar with money earned one summer pickin' beans on a truck farm. Not easy work for a city kid. I bought the guitar and my parents bought the amp. Turn the amp up to 10 and it souded like a dragster-at least the neighbors thought so......
Got my first real amp in high school when I joined a working band in '72. Took over payments on a Sunn 200s w/ 1x18" folded horn (for the Coliseum series). Think I ended up payin' 'bout $225 total so it was a good deal.
Kept my BassMate as a practice amp thru college in '79. Finally died and I left it in the dorm dumpster :(. Still have, and occasionally use the 200s :D. Sold the 18" for $150 in a moment of dumb in '90 but made up for it by buying a Sunn SPL-8028 for $100 in '92 (1x12"+1x18")- a value.
Thanx fer th' romp down memory lane. I'm glad I still have a brain cell left to share!
 
#348
don't know if 31 is old enough???

for x-mas 1988 I bought my 1st bass gear. I had been "playing bass" on a ventura classical guitar (and that didn't work so well). Odd enough, I really only wanted to be a drummer, but the drums set/cymbals was $400. I only had $300, so I became a bassist instead. Talk about life decisions being made for $100.

I went to a local flea market, and got a Fender Sidekick 35 Bass combo (35 watts, solid state, 12" speaker, 8 ohms) and a neon orange Aarbor Explorer style bass. I paid $320 with tax (bummed the $20 from mom).

I didn't know too much about EQ, but with all the knobs turned all the way up and my "Explorer" bass, i could cop the synth bass tone of "women" by Def Leppard and at 15, that was cool enough for me.

The Bass was sold later for $75.

I don't know why my amp never blew-up, because I stupidly used it to power a 4ohm yorkville 8x10 for over a year. The sidekick met its demise after several cokes were spilt on it. I think a dog peed on it too.

thanks for the memories!
 
#352
After blowing up the Carlton combo phonograph/AM/FM monster that sat in my parents house in 1964, I was talked into a Farfisa SOLID-STATE!! organ amp with a 12" speaker that Farfisa called a 15". That blew up in a few days and I was loaned a white Fender Showman with 2 bassman cabs; blew them up in a couple of months. Got a Kustom 3-15" with CTS speakers and missed two payments. Got a job in 1967 and got a Sunn 200S with two cabs. Played with that until I got married in 1974 and sold it to make a house payment. Dem was de days! Now I gots whatever I want! Life is good!
Still kinda wish I had the SUNN, though.
 
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#357
I purchased my first amp back in '73. It was a Supro bass tube combo which sat on top of a Fender 2x12 cab. Pushed hard it sure did sound like Grand Funk Railroad when we played "Into the Sun". I remember buying new power tubes for it quite often.
 
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