Mini/Micro Amps & the rediscovery of SS goodness

fdesalvo

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With limited time and even more limited space to play guitar, I have found myself right in the middle of the micro amp demographic.  Throw some batteries in 'em and go play in the backyard.  I landed on one that's arriving today and I'm really excited about it.  In fact, I'm going to build a little collection of these things. Leads me to a tale of woe and regret. 

When I was living off Sunset Blvd in West Hollywood I met a cool cat while I was jogging in the hills.  He was an older guy that has been there since the 60s.  He tried his hand at guitar and decided it just wasn't for him long ago.  During that time, Pignose was making amps in the neighborhood, so he bought one and kept it in the original box, which sat in his closet for 30+ years - until he met me.  He gifted it to me and kicked off a great friendship that would last through the years. 

It was in MINT condition - even the box was mint.  I used it for a few gigs, where I ran an SG through it.  What a nasty little beast!  I ended up selling it after some hard times, but I made $300+ off of it, so it carried me through the day. 

So fast FW to current times.  My home studio is beside the room my baby sleeps in and by the time I'm done with my work day, I return home and spend time with him and the wife, then I have 4 hours of baby related prep work to do for the following day.  By the time I'm free, it's 10:30 PM and I'm BEAT down. No way I can play upstairs.  So after some research, I found this little 2x3 stereo nugget:

1-Group-Shot-Day-1-768x439.jpg


It's got a 3w x 2 stereo power section driving 3" speakers. Great tones with delay on board!

This situation also inspired me to go on a SS combo treasure hunt at some local pawnshops - something I haven't done in years.  The nostalgic allure of suddenly happening upon a dusty old Blackface or MKI Boogie quickly faded as I hit the second shop over my lunch break, only to find a ratty Valvestate siting within a ruinous heap of forgotten lawn equipment. The odds of finding what I was after were slim and I knew it, but nostalgia had the best of me and I was determined to continue my search from the comfort of my laptop.

peavey-studio-chorus.jpg


Yes, a blue stripe, late 80's/early 90's Peavey 210 Stereo Chorus.  YES.  Back in 1989 when I was just a year into my guitar journey, the local music store, "Wurlein's", carried the full range of Peavey products- from guitars to amps to PA gear, they had the entire product line.  The store was incredibly well laid out, if not on the smaller side, and the staff were extremely patient and forgiving of me. 

I used to go there whenever I could and would plug into this little 210 combo for hours on end playing the same Maiden guitar solos.  They never kicked me out or harassed me.  I was so hooked on the amp because it nailed Maiden's "Somewhere in Time" and "Seventh Son"  lead tones, which I recently discovered were all GK SS stereo amps. 

I actually found this amp on the musicgoround.com website for $99 in full working condition (no scratchy pots, noises, input issues, etc) WITH original foot switch and cable in great cosmetic condition.  I'm beyond excited for this to arrive.  If everything is as described, I'll rip the popcorn tolex off of it and have the thing recovered.  It'll live downstairs in the garage, well away from the baby's room, and will receive some midnight lovin' on the regular.

Cheers,
 
I bought this amp in the early 90's only because I couldn't afford a real amp, it sounded terrible!

https://postimages.org/

I checked the Laneys and they are completely different (smartphone connection for sounds) but the 3" speakers don't excite me to pick up the guitar... :sad:

The blue stripe Peaveys on the other hand were decent amps and I liked them although at the time I didn't have too many amp experiences to compare. I prefer them from the Transtube series that followed.
Good decision not buying the Valvestate, another awful sounding amp (unless you only play black metal) that were selling because of the name on the front.
 
I've got this lovely little thing by Blackstar, that I absolutely love:

[youtube]https://youtu.be/93dILXK433c[/youtube]
 
Good ol' Pignose! I had one of those about a 100 years ago when they first came out, and loved it to death. Raunchy as hell, but in some ways I was happier about that than what I could get out of the Fender Pro Reverb that was my main amp at the time. You could actually buy the little 3 watt amp that powered those things as a separate part from the OEM that made them (don't remember who that was) for about $10, so at one time me and a buddy of mine thought it would be fun to come out with a similar line priced a little more attractively, and eat their lunch. Easier said than done as it worked out, but a fun little dream to bat around for a while.
 
Man, this little amp is amazing.  The stereo imaging is outstanding. Sounds like the guitar is coming from outside of the cabinet.  There’s also a supporting iPhone app that gives access to dozens of amp, cab, and fx models. The stock tone is medium gain Marshall crunch with an outstanding clean channel. Very touch sensitive and responsive. Gets incredibly loud and the tone holds together very well at volume. 

It’s very well made. Heavy with very clean finishing work. Pots and controls are very smooth and feel like they are very high quality.

This is the best $85 I’ve spent on guitar gear period. I haven’t even changed amp models yet.

Outstanding!
 
I love this thing. Going to install some strap buttons so I can have a handle or strap handy. Just flat out impressed. Can’t say enough about the quality of the tones and onboard delay. Such a rich 3d sound that makes the guitar sound as though its coming from 2’ outside of the cabinet. 
 
Just when I thought it couldn’t get any cooler. I went through the packaging and found that it came with two strap pins and hardware!
 
Often times karma is difficult to see. It can blend in and not really be that obvious. It also comes and goes, much like a Karma Karma Karma Karma Karma Chameleon. :toothy12:
 
I used to have one of those GK ML250 amps. I also had a GK 2*12 that I used with the band. Alex Lifeson used one on Power Windows as I recall.

 
stratamania said:
I used to have one of those GK ML250 amps. I also had a GK 2*12 that I used with the band. Alex Lifeson used one on Power Windows as I recall.

I’d love a ml250. I hear they sound stupendous driving external cabs or through a pa.
 
fdesalvo said:
stratamania said:
I used to have one of those GK ML250 amps. I also had a GK 2*12 that I used with the band. Alex Lifeson used one on Power Windows as I recall.

I’d love a ml250. I hear they sound stupendous driving external cabs or through a pa.


Yes, I used to use it in the late eighties. Sold it in the earlier part of the 90s along with my synths and various things when I moved into a "career".

I had it in a rack I had built along with a rack synth, Alesis Quadraverb and a Roland GP8. I could use that on its own but bought a GK 2 * 12 which was covered in a cloth type material. That could cut past a loud drummer and keyboards without a problem. The direct out used to go to FOH, fortunately even back then the guy doing sound thought it was great.

I would not mind buying an ML250 again if I came across a good example at the right price. The stereo chorus on it was lovely.
 
Yah, brother. That’s the path to the iconic guitar tones of  the “Somewhere in Time”, “Seventh Son of a Seventh Son”, and “Hysteria” records.

I’ve spent a lot of time chasing the production and engineering notes down for these sessions and had to piece things together, as mum’s the word.  People have been buying piles of Marshall in their quests for these tones, but most of the layers are solid state. The Peavey Stereo Chorus Series (teal stripe I can verify) NAIL these tones, as well.
 
I need to figure out something for that Marshall Lead 12 I bought. The supply/demand/size curves have not yet intersected for me on that one. I mean I'll take a free 1965A cabinet or 1966A cabinet, but the 65 is rare and the 66 is mythological and neither seem to be destined to fit my "I guess I'll take it" actual price (which I'm not yet sure of myself)
 
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