Thanks southpaw,
Hey NLP, the Marshall is my wifes Amp. We have a Band together.
And Here's the Amp Story!
The Ampeg is a B-15R (reissue) 2-15 stack.
I found and bought them separately this last summer.
I ran into the B-15E extension cab first, still new had never been sold.
(S/N KIDJ70001, first production model issued! Crazy!)
I never would have gone through the expense and effort otherwise. The extension cab., completing the 2-15 Stack, really makes it. Before I found my B-15E Ampeg had already told me they had built a short run, 98 built for distribution! The store I found it in had been using it as a rental. I guess no-one had any regard for this Low-Power funky cab! They sold it to me for $350.00 and I ran home screaming, so to speak! I was a state away from home, celibrating my brother's 50th birthday.
The guy at the store didn't even know it was the first one issued, till he rang up the sale.
After that I set out to find a B-15R to set on top of it. There had been used ones at both Bass NorthWest and Bass Central for $1300.00 before I went to Washinton for the weekend. When I checked back they had both sold the same day I bought my B-15E. So I sent out emails expressing interest in another used one, both Bass NW and Bass Central offered me new ones for $1900.00 each.
In the meantime I put my '74 Rick up on ebay!
Then I got a phone call from a gal at Guitar Center in Eugene OR. (I'm in Corvallis OR.) saying she had two, still new, store floor models in her network (stores back east) with minor tolex damage that she sell me for $1349.99!
So, I told her I had my '74 Rick auction finishing up on eBay, I got $1045.00 for it.
They finished the deal by giving my $325.00 for the Max & 412-TFX and only charged me $9.00 shipping, it was an in-store transfer!
Now the punchline! They get it, I pick it up and bring it home. (The damage was minor tolex damage to the corners of the Head Plate. A couple latches and corners were bunged up too but no harm to the cabinet, it's clean!)
No-one bothers to look at the Serial Number.
It's S/N AJYDQ00001! The first production issue B-15R! Crazy story, but it's true!
One odd thing is that my Cabinet is S/N AJYDQ00002! No-one at Loud Tech. or Ampeg have been able to verify if it was released this way or if the Head/Cab was swapped with # 00002.
Now just one more funny thing.
I've been in corespondence with Jess Oliver the original designer of the Flip-Top Portaflex and was in on the Engineering of the Reissue B-15R and he was told that he would receive The First Production Model, which he has! So he checked his S/N and it says S/N AJYDJ00001 (where mine is AJYDQ) and his Head and Cab. match!
It'sd all good!
I love it but it cost me my 1974 Walnut Rickenbacker 4001 and my Peavey 800w MAX & 412-TFX, which it had to be able to replace.
It has been consoling me very well ever sence!
This picture shows the '74 Walnut Rick (far left and my MAX & 412-TFX.
