A bandmate had (still has) a Roland JC-120 that he backed his car over it.   Scuffed the edges a bit but did no serious damage.

Every time I start entertaining thoughts on thinning out the gear collection, I start thinking about the consequences. It took me a long time to build this Library of Available Sounds, and I kinda' hate the thought of dismantling pieces of it.

Lately I've been thinking maybe... I should at this point, start refining it.

See... I had a Princeton Reverb. '65 Reissue. It was a Sweetwater special I got secondhand. Looked like a Tweed but sounded like a Blackface. That was my gateway to better amps. It was Coz' fault. Said something about tubes and Fender badges. Anyways, I wandered into the warm, wet world of vacuum tubes and went crazy trying to figure out what that damn 'ringy-warbley' noise was. Bad power tube. David and Jimmy J., take a bow. So I fixed it. Blissful sounds come forth from the Princeton - life is good, neighbors wished I would spontaneously catch on fire. So one day I'm scanning the local Craigslist and lo, I spy another Princeton Reverb, a '68 Reissue on-da-cheep. Guy's tired of trying to get rid of its weird noises. Another set of tubes and some screw tightnin', and now I have another basically new Fender amp. But... it doesn't sound anything like my '65. Not better. Not worse. Just... it's totally different. So I had to keep them both. Oh, and then I got an ABY pedal. Hey- they sound really cool together!

Y'all see the problem here? Now, you want me to detail why there's five Les Pauls here? Wait... is it five... six? Technically, one is a mutt, but I still love it. I'd be fine with just the Goldtop Standard and the Cough Syrup Red Special. But that modded Tribute, and the piano black Custom are so sweet. The '56 Pro with the coil-tapped mini-humbuckers... don't play it much... I'd never replace that one though.

Maybe I should scrap out the Fender stash instead?

It's no use.

Quote from: StephenR on May 08, 2022, 12:59:08 PM
Metal guys are not the only genre to stack amps on stage that have no speakers in them...

If memory serves - and it usually does - in that era the Dead were running Fender preamps in MacIntosh amps into Alembic/Hard Truckers cabs.

Peter

Quote from: gtrguy on May 08, 2022, 12:09:55 PM
The solution:

The main lead player in the three guitar front Southern rock band I was in a number of years ago used a Fender Super Champ but didn't bother with the dummy cabinet. Since he was on my side of the stage we would stick it on my bass rig and mic it.

While it isn't a guitar amp I've come to like the Markbass Marcus Miller Micro 60. It is light and easy to carry. For the music I play these days if placed at ear height it  would have enough volume for a stage monitor and then use the DI to send a signal to the PA. For situations without PA support for the bass I think a small extension cabinet would do it.

I used to own a real Super Champ back in the day. What a great little amp and I wish I still had it.

Quote from: gtrguy on May 09, 2022, 10:45:41 AM
I used to own a real Super Champ back in the day. What a great little amp and I wish I still had it.

As I said here at least once before - in my opinion, the finest low-watt guitar amp ever made.

Peter

QuoteEvery time I start entertaining thoughts on thinning out the gear collection, I start thinking about the consequences. It took me a long time to build this Library of Available Sounds, and I kinda' hate the thought of dismantling pieces of it.

i go through this every time i have to part with a piece of beloved gear and i've learned that ya gotta tear the rearview mirror off and not look back or you'll make yourself crazy.  works for relationships, too btw.  just went from 5 instruments down to 4 and i found that it didn't hurt my chops any so i guess it's all good.  think i'm gonna hold the line there, though. but ya never know around my house - some surprise always seems to be lurking around the corner.

been thinking of gigging again at my advanced age (saw ron carter the other day - he's in his mid 80's and still kickin' it so why not me, i say?) and the thought of lugging my beloved awkward 50-lb wedge amp around makes my back hurt already, so it may have to go by the wayside for something lighter, smaller, more powerful and modernistical. 

if i kept all of the the gear (basses and amps) that has passed through my hands over the years i'd need an addition to the house built.

Quote from: edwardofhuncote on May 08, 2022, 05:50:19 PM
Every time I start entertaining thoughts on thinning out the gear collection, I start thinking about the consequences. It took me a long time to build this Library of Available Sounds, and I kinda' hate the thought of dismantling pieces of it.

That's nothing.  I have just been told that, now that the market has recovered enough that we have at least our noses out of the drink, mortgage-wise, we need to off-load our beautiful Victorian, plus the overwhelming majority of the cool stuff we just spent 4 decades accumulating, and move into (I cringe to type it) a small apartment near some of the grandkids.

I'd rather the grandkids move close to us, frankly; I could keep all my tools & books, and have them mow the lawn I no longer can.......)


Peter

Quote from: cozmik_cowboy on May 10, 2022, 06:53:59 AM

Quote from: edwardofhuncote on May 08, 2022, 05:50:19 PM
Every time I start entertaining thoughts on thinning out the gear collection, I start thinking about the consequences. It took me a long time to build this Library of Available Sounds, and I kinda' hate the thought of dismantling pieces of it.

That's nothing.  I have just been told that, now that the market has recovered enough that we have at least our noses out of the drink, mortgage-wise, we need to off-load our beautiful Victorian, plus the overwhelming majority of the cool stuff we just spent 4 decades accumulating, and move into (I cringe to type it) a small apartment near some of the grandkids.

I'd rather the grandkids move close to us, frankly; I could keep all my tools & books, and have them mow the lawn I no longer can.......)


Peter

We haven't been in the same house for 40 years but have that many years of marriage accumulation. Our kids aren't and won't be as spread out as yours but we have decided once younger daughter is back on her feat we will start looking at moving into something smaller than we have now (smaller house more property). It is also becoming quite urbanized around us and we really don't want to have to deal with the traffic daily as we get older. To that end we have already started organizing and thinning out the years of accumulation. That thinning out also means I will be selling off most of my bass gear and PA system among other things before long. The only musical equipment I intend to keep are my basses, guitars and a small light weight bass rig. 

My main amp is a 1974 Silverface Pro Reverb that was one of the last ones made before they upped the wattage to 70 watts and added the master volume knob.  I've looked into performing a black face mod, but the general consensus is that the worst of the CBS modifications were pretty quickly phased out in the late '60's and that the resulting circuit is close enough to black face specs that it's not worth the trouble.  I bought mine in '96 for $450 and if I could go back in time and buy two more I would do so.  They're really great amps that have plenty of clean room, but can break up at volumes that won't deafen the neighbors.  But Bill's right - they are heavy.  Easily 75 pounds, so I often use a ZT solid state amp when I gig out and run it to the house mains.

Quote from: keith_h on May 10, 2022, 07:31:09 AM

Quote from: cozmik_cowboy on May 10, 2022, 06:53:59 AM

Quote from: edwardofhuncote on May 08, 2022, 05:50:19 PM
Every time I start entertaining thoughts on thinning out the gear collection, I start thinking about the consequences. It took me a long time to build this Library of Available Sounds, and I kinda' hate the thought of dismantling pieces of it.

That's nothing.  I have just been told that, now that the market has recovered enough that we have at least our noses out of the drink, mortgage-wise, we need to off-load our beautiful Victorian, plus the overwhelming majority of the cool stuff we just spent 4 decades accumulating, and move into (I cringe to type it) a small apartment near some of the grandkids.

I'd rather the grandkids move close to us, frankly; I could keep all my tools & books, and have them mow the lawn I no longer can.......)


Peter

We haven't been in the same house for 40 years but have that many years of marriage accumulation. Our kids aren't and won't be as spread out as yours but we have decided once younger daughter is back on her feat we will start looking at moving into something smaller than we have now (smaller house more property). It is also becoming quite urbanized around us and we really don't want to have to deal with the traffic daily as we get older. To that end we have already started organizing and thinning out the years of accumulation. That thinning out also means I will be selling off most of my bass gear and PA system among other things before long. The only musical equipment I intend to keep are my basses, guitars and a small light weight bass rig. 

Relationship (and thus accumulation), 39 years.  This house, 16 (as long as the one I mostly grew up in, twice as long as the runner-up).
Most of my tools & books will, alas, be going - but all the instruments, amps, and instrument tools stay with me, dadgum it!

Peter

I'm struggling with the idea of selling. I haven't touched my instruments since I moved a year ago and haven't done anything with the band in almost that long (schedules, trying to get the three of us in a room at the same time has been near impossible) so I'm not playing any guitar or bass lately, but I'm stuck on what to sell or not. I did sell a few amps when I moved, knowing I would never use them here, but there's all these pedals and guitars I've been collecting...what to sell, what to keep? Tony.

Strange twist of coincidental irony...


It was on this very day, 5/10/1999, I was served blessed with a Final Decree of Divorce. I mean... who the happy-face remembers that?! Well... I remember numbers, dates... and sometimes I can't un-remember things.


Anyway, at the end of those proceedings, I had left; a 1950 Martin D-18 graciously gifted to me by a mentor, my upright bass (which I still have) and a Crate CA-125 amplifier. (also still have) Every last other instrument I had was sold to square debts. I have never seen my Martin D-16 again. I look almost every day. Remorseful wasn't a big enough word. I think the whole miserable experience may have contributed to my obsession with rebuilding the library of sounds.


In retrospect, it might have been cheaper to find someone else who didn't really like me back, and buy them a house, then just disappear. Happy Annivorcery. Live and learn.

Quote. In retrospect, it might have been cheaper to find someone else who didn't really like me back, and buy them a house, then just disappear. 

+1 🤯

We've all sold stuff we regret selling. Me, it was a Gibson LG-0, my first decent guitar;  my hard-tail Strat, which I traded for a tele; my Les Paul custom, which I traded for the hard-tail Strat;  my Hagstrom red plastic bass with a gold grill that I bought for 30 bucks and traded for a Hofner Verithin;  the Ace Tone amp I sold at a pawnshop (along with my skateboard) to take my girl to lunch;  and I am sure there were others. Fortunately I've kept more than I've let go. I think that makes me, as the saying goes, bucks up.