What was your first amp (old guys only)

[neptune]

Kustom 100 (roll and pleat), then Peavey for a short time, the SVT for years.

 

[Paul K]

Me 1n 1974 with my Standel 75 watt 1 15, Great times!!!

That is a fabulous pic! I wish I had something like that in the archives.
Peace
Paul K

 

[wilsonn]

My first was also an Oliver. I bought it from Jess in person at his home/workshop on Long Island. It was combo with a 15", and the power section was a copy of the B15. It was well used when I bought it and caught fire, literally, on stage when I was in a punk band called Jerry's Kids in college at Ohio U in 1982. Smoke, flames, very dramatic. I cleaned it up and sold it for $75 as I recall. Should have kept it and had it rebuilt.

My very first real amp - aside from a 1 x 8" sears crapper (do the rules allow me to discount that one?) ....

an Oliver 2 x 15 - with the head popping out of the top via a motor. I didn't have it long and I really don't remember what it sounded like - It was bought from summer wages on the farm, and shortly traded for more higher priority transportation - a fairly new Suzuki 200 cc 2-stroke motor cycle, that I rode year round in the North East until I could afford my second amp - that lasted me many years and many gigs:

a [used] Kustom 2 x 15 Tuck & Roll, with D140's. That cabinet was GREAT. It was powered by a [used] Guild thunderbass head, which was not spectacular in any means. I earned a living, albeit very modest, for several years with that rig and my Guild Starfire Bass - which was way cool.

... but I'd forgotten about that Oliver!

 

[HelloJerk]

My first amp was a Lab Series L6 100W 115 Combo. It was nice, but I abused it and it became unreliable so I had to get rid of it.

 

[ScottG]

Peavey TNT 150 with a 15" black widow speaker. I put that thing through absolute Hell and it never gave up. One night I got to practice and there was a bat hanging from the grill. Great amp.

 

[johnk_10]

a Heathkit T-38 which i had to build myself in 1968.

 

[Bassmec]

Linear Concord 30 and a homemade cab with a goodmans audiom 61 12" but my first proper Bass Rig was a Selmer Treble and Bass 50 with a single ported 1 x 18" cab called a Goliath. I blew the original goodmans speaker after about a month and fitted a celestion 18"
100 WATT SPEAKER, WOW!
that could even handle one of these new type, ultra powerful 4 X EL 34 amps, they where so radical that they didn't even have any rectifier valves, they were made by some nare do well called Jim marshall in a shed somewhere and where the loudest thing on planet earth back then, but then along came Mat Mathias and 4 whole KT 88's via only one huge Partridge output transformer and it worked reliably as well, as they say in yorkshire:
'Bloody Fantastic!".
Then there where these rumors about some yank on an airforce base locally that had this monster amp with like six big tubes in the output stage and a whole lot of titty little speakers in this one big cab, it was great but too bloody expensive over here at the time,
but I still got one in the end. But It broke and I sold it in a fit of necessity and gas for a Sun Coleseum amp like what that bloke in the Yes had and started playing a ricky with a plectrum and doing a lot of hippy **** with MXR phasers and loads of pedals,
God I used to be so lame!.
I think it was the Mushrooms!
Then along came 1977 and back to an ampeg and tubes this time a V4B and folded horn cab.
I think it was the Weed and the reggae!
But I really liked it.

Back with mostly hiwattish home brew 4 KT 88's or 4 el 34's now, plenty loud enough for me with good cabs.

 

[rptrsn2]

1979 mark III peavey with a peavey 215 cab, i can remember trying to shove that cab into an old impala half lit after playing at parties in high school

 

[B-string]

Embarassing, picked up a 50 watt 4 6L6gc class A Newcomb PA amp and reworked it, 12" full bass reflex EV speaker. Sounded great for Jazz band and theater work. Moved to a SS Fender Bassman (spent almost as much time with me as Fender repair shops). Moved to a 50 watt 1969 Bassman with a dual Showman cab, then spent many years with an Acoustic 360. Wish I still had the Newcomb, ugly but fun to play around with.

 

[RDUB]

After the Sears special that blew up almost immeditely, it was a Traynor Bass Master with a 2X15 cabinet. Sweet... I wish I still had it. I traded up to a Custom Special and a used Traynor 810 cab. People used to see me bring it in and freak out!

 

[Lowbrow]

A "Pax" 1-15 SS combo that my dad brought home from a TV/electronics store. Sounded like dog crap.
After that I bought a new (1977) Fender Bassman 50 head and a HUGE Kasino 2-15. Sounded like horse crap.

 

[Rich Guastella]

Started with the Univox cubes ???watts and 1 15...I had three of them and used to blow them up on purpose just to see what it sounded like....I even sliced the cones, (cause Iheard that John McLaughlin did that )...duh???
Then the "Monster "..a Traynor guitar head 200++ watts and a no name 2-15 cab....when I thru the Brite switch on people would start to pass out from the volume...;0)
Rich

 

[StyleOverShow]

Back in the day, Sears was THE manufacturer and if you had a hundred dollars or so you could buy a Fender. My first was a Sears Silvertone that embedded in the guitar case. You literally set up the open guitar case standing on end.

I quickly upgraded to a Standel with the gig money I earned. If memory serves it was $75 for a 100 watt with twin 10" in 1965 (I was fifteen and working 3 weekends a month).

I upgraded to an Acoustic 360, 18" reverse mounted solid state in the early 70's selling off some Fender Bassman 100 watt and Twin Reverbs. That was my first real bass amp which I traded in on an SVT 810 in 1973.

-richard

 

[xgator4u]

late 70's SUNN concert with 2each 2X15 cabs. wish I had kept the cabs, needed a full time gig to buy tubes for the head??? AHHH the good ole days.

 

[krall]

Peavey Basic 50 in the mid-80's

 

[moonshinegtrs]

I bought a Fender musicmaster bass amp to go with my brand new Peavey T-40. This was probably 1979. The amp sucked as a bass amp,years later,I learned that they make great guitar amps. I have two now.

 

[baddarryl]

First amp was a Peavey Backstage guitar amp.
First bass amp- Ampeg SVT with 8x10 cab.....do I even need to say it............gone.

 

[shamus63]

I can't recall.

Damn, I am old!

 

[bluewine]

I t was 1966, my Dad did not have a lot of money, he bought be a Manavox combo I think it had a 12" or 15".It was not a good amp not even for that time. B-15s must have been expensive back then.

You young guys are lucky, the choices you have, and the quality is so much better than it was for us 55+ guys when we were teenagers.

 

[BobBbass]

My first real bass amp (therefore taking out that whiteface Silvertone piggyback guitar amp) was a 1968 Fender Bassman w/ 2-12". I later replaced the twelves, cut open the speaker holes, and put in two JBL D-130's.
Then I saw that solid state was the way to go!!!! Got a Carvin head.....smoked the power output transistors at my first rehearsal.
Wish I had the Bassman back.......