2 "new" amps in the same day

[David Wren]

Wow, what a day..... I drove to Tim Marcus' shop in San Francisco today, to pick up my hand built "Half and Half".... what a wonderful sounding amp, although today I could only bring it to 40% of volume (in my studio).. but my, oh my, what a wonderful sounding amp!

30 minutes after I got home, UPS delivered a used Vox AC30 s-1 (that's the newer single channel, and single 12" speaker model). Funny timing, since it was shipped from the east coast days ago. But comparing the two was real fun...

I know, everyone is thinking "EL84" tubes, what are you thinking.... BUT at half volume, I hear a richness in my midrange... that no other American amp reflects... so, my plan is to install a Jupiter 12LC speaker, to replace the Celestion stock one, and use it for recording, at real low volumes.... more on that as it develops.

Now, time for dinner, and a good book

But if any of you are considering Tim's new PSG "Half and Half"... wow, what a great amp!

[Rick Contino]

Very cool David. I'm interested to hear what you're getting out of the vox. Please post some samples when you get her up and running!

[Jack Hanson]

Fun! Congrats on two great amps.

I got two "new" amps on the same day once, circa 1966. A junior high school bandmate's uncle worked for an insurance company in Saint Paul that was soliciting bids for two amps that had been in a car wreck. Both were '65s, an Ampeg B-12XT with a fractured (but repairable) cabinet, and a piggyback Fender Tremolux that had a couple of busted electron tubes, but appeared elsewise to be relatively unscathed. I had some paper route money burning a hole in my pocket, and bid $100 for the big Ampeg, $75 for the Fender, and won 'em both. Was able to repair the Ampeg's cabinet with some alphiatic resin wood glue and a couple of large bar clamps. Replaced the broken tubes in the Tremolux. With normal servicing through the years, both old amps are still going strong.

[David Wren]

Will do Jack, the speaker hasn't been shipped yet..

"Paper route money".... I love it! When I was a young club musician on Billings, MT... I do confess to going out with my dog and collecting aluminum cans (for cash)

Yesterday was a fun day, all in all.

[Ken Pippus]

My first guitar cost me $5.00 of “bottle money.” Alberta had a deposit of $0.02 per pop bottle and $0.20 per dozen for beer bottles. If you went out in the spring, you could find all the bottles that had been fired out of passing car windows, very few of which would have broken on landing in a snow bank. I wanted that Stella bad. Still have it. It’s still bad.

It was a different time.

[Jack Hanson]

It was a different time.

Ain't that the truth!
And I can guarantee that the Twin Cities is not the same place in 2026 that it was in 1966... not by a long shot.
But few places are...