Seller’s Remorse ... Sort of.

[lbpesq]

I just sold a Blackface Pro Reverb today.   I’d had it for about 40 years.  It was loaded with JBL D-120s.  It was my only amp for 20 years, but I hadn’t played it much since the turn of the century (that’s fun to say).  We recently moved to a place with less storage and I’m trying to thin the herd a bit and make some room.   I plugged it in and played it some before the buyer arrived. WOW! does this amp sound sweet!   I started having second thoughts about selling it but, given that it probably weighs at least 75 lbs., probably more, I realized I would never actually use it again. 

But the universe often works in unexpected ways.   It turned out the buyer is a Deadhead and a really good player.  We wound up jamming for awhile and will be playing together again, so I’ll still get to hear the amp!  But it sure was tough to let it go.


Bill, tgo

[StephenR]

I sold my blackface vibrolux reverb and a cream tremololux with Altec Lansing speakers back in the mid-80s. Both were pretty amazing sounding amps especially the Tremolux which had one really clean channel and one that was fat and dirtier. Back then it was easy to buy these amps for under $300 and I figured I could replace them with other Fenders easily. I always regretted not keeping them as I watched prices on used Fenders surge over the years but at this point don't have storage space anyway. I replaced the Fenders with a Mesa Boogie Studio 22 which I like and still have but it doesn't sound like a Fender;

[jazzyvee]

I’m heading that way. I have a mid 90’s 100w fender twin amp ‘The Evil Twin’. I bought it new and it was my only guitar amp and used it regularly till about 2010. Since then i have used it sporadically on the occasional gig but mainly used my jc120. Anyway i have been thinking of selling both as i hardly do guitar gigs these days. Moving forward, in the past few weeks i have done a couple of dep gigs and used the JC120 on the first gig and last weekend the twin amp. It is a glorious sound, painfully heavy and i know i will regret selling it because of the sound. I will sell the roland first then maybe the twin when i find a lighter fender valve amp.

[rv_bass]

I had a Peavy Deuce that I bought in 78 or 79, great sounding amp.  I sold it three years ago, it was just too heavy for me now.  I now have a light weight power amp/F2-B set up with modular Tone Tubby 112 cubes, loving the sound and light weight

[lembic76450]

Jazzy, my guitar player has the new Fender TwinTone Master.  At around
26# it sounds amazing.  Worth checking out.

[lbpesq]

The Tone Master is a SS amp.   If anyone is interested in a good SS amp with excellent Fender voicings, I strongly suggest checking out the new Quilter Aviator Mach 3.  Three different Fender voices: 1957, 1961, and 1965, as well as Marshall, Vox Top Boost, and Dumble on each of two independent channels, dialable 0-200 watts, and only 21 lbs.!


I also have an “Evil Twin” I have up for sale, as well as a ‘66 Bandmaster.  My days of lugging around big heavy amps are over.  I also have a set-up similar to Rob’s:  F-2B > Carvin DCM200L (1 rack space stereo power amp) > two 1x12 cabs loaded with JBL K-120s.  Between that and my Quilters, I think I’m good for the foreseeable future.  But boy did that Pro Reverb sound great!  If only picking it up wasn’t like pulling the sword out of the stone.

Bill, tgo

[gtrguy]

I too am getting smaller and smaller setups. For bass I usually use my SWR Workingman's 10 combo (I also have the 12). I just put a Mesa 25 combo on layaway that I am looking forward to gigging with on guitar. Back in the day I used to haul a Sunn Coliseum Lead head with a Acoustic 2X15 cab and horn around for bas, when I was young and strong as a ox. Regarding vintage gear; it's certainly gone up in value!

[bigredbass]

I'm never attached to things like that.  40 years with the same anything (except maybe chicken-fried steak and my wife) is too long.  Amps have moved on quite a bit and I'm sure there's all kinds of Good Stuff you could replace it with if need be. 

I always wanted to sound like me on everything, I never wanted to have to have this or that or I was screwed wihout it.  Nope.

[Glynn]

I am sure this applied to most people - you couldn't afford to keep amps back in the day as you needed to sell one to buy the next.  As such, my first amp. was a Fender Bassman and cab in 1966 but it went to make way for HH then that for Acoustic then Trace Elliott etc., etc. I do have two now - Genz Benz and Genzler for main gigs and smaller ones for little sessions including the rather amazing Blackstar Bass Fly + cab.  Gosh, how things have got lighter!!
Glynn

[Glynn]

I play with two different band guitarists who both have the Fender Tonemaster Deluxe Reverb which is incredible and half the price and weight of the valve one.
Glynn

[cozmik_cowboy]

As I have said before, I have always considered the definition of "guitar amp" to be "all tube, with spring reverb & a 'Fender' badge on the front".

But I will confess that Bill's Quilters & Blackstar Fly have me considering apostasy.

Peter

[gtrguy]

I got into Gibson transistor amps for a while like L5's and such cause BB King liked them. They were pretty close to a tube amp. But to really get his tone you had to dial them up to 10, which is very loud. They also were heavy. I have an old Polytone 100 watt  guitar amp that sounds good for jazz, especially after I converted it into an open cabinet style by sectioning out part of the back. I use a Catlinbread Topanga reverb pedal which is way better than the onboard one with it. I played a Quilter last month and was impressed with the tone and weight and small size.

I am not sure I can even carry the 4X10 SWR bass cab I still have!

[gtrguy]

The solution:

[StephenR]

Metal guys are not the only genre to stack amps on stage that have no speakers in them...

[lbpesq]

Many years ago, some friends and I rented the big room in a local rehearsal studio for a NYE party.  Part of the deal was that we had to move the equipment that was onstage.  The band Testament had been using the big stage for rehearsal and it contained a huge wall of Marshall 4x12 cabs, as I recall about 6-8 across and at least three cabs high!  I wasn't looking forward to the work, but we soon discovered that all but 3 or 4 cabs were unloaded dummies!

Bill, tgo