My Old Amp
Tuesday, August 24, 2010 at 09:45AM 
Last night I played at that Peter Gabriel/Phil Collins covers show. It was an absolute blast. I was feeling kind of lazy so I asked my friend Paul, who was playing guitar for a different band that night, if I could borrow his amp. He kindly said, "Sure."
So it was our turn to play and I went to pick up the amp, an old Vox AC30, and thought, "Man, these handles feel familiar." Most AC30's have vinyl handles, but the handles on this were leather, like an old AC30 I used to have. That amp was with me through the last few years of the Normals and through my first couple years in Caedmon's, until it fell off a loading dock and smashed into pieces.
Ooh, that hurt. I loved that amp. I sold it for parts, since you needed a baggie to carry the guts of it around after the fall. The insurance money on it bought me my BadCat, which I have absolutely adored, and frankly, would choose over the AC30. But just barely...
Anyway, I set Paul's amp on the stage and plugged in the power cable. It plugged straight into the back, not under the back panel like most AC30s. My old amp plugged into the back as well.
Oh cool, it has greenback speakers like mine, too. And a gold plate saying it's a 1979 Limited Edition 15th Anniversary Reissue. Same year and model as . . .
Is that a fan switch on the back? Huh, I had to install a fan in mine because it always overheated, how wild that this amp had one already installed. Wait, that label that says "Fan" is just a printed out sticker. Like the stickers from my little label maker...
"Paul, where did you get this amp?"
Yup, from a dude who got it from another dude, who got it from Tim, the Pedal Doctor I told you about a few posts back. Who sold the amp for me after it bit the dust. And somebody pieced that Lazarus back together.
And dude, it sounded fantastic.
I told Paul, if he ever sells it, he better call me first. He said he couldn't imagine selling it.
I said, "I understand."
Reader Comments (3)
I remember hearing that amp, and I remember reading the sad story of it's death. That is awesome.
Say, I was just poking around on pop songs and I heard the beginning of "Break Your Heart" by Taio Cruz...
http://listen.grooveshark.com/#/s/Break+Your+Heart/2w2zhQ
it sounded familiar to me, and sure enough, the vocals sound almost like the end of your song, "Swing Wide the Glimmering Gates". (Love the vocal harmony there. You got your blog readers to send in recordings for that, didn't you?) I can't say much for comparing the rest of the song though, haha. Cheers!