What was your first guitar amp?

[Herr Squid]

Mine was Peavey solid state, um... sidekick? Bought in 1985 or thereabouts. It was utterly horrid but it made a noise, and I could afford it. Second was a '65 Deluxe (non-reverb) that didn't really suit me either. Reading Les' comments reminds me it's funny how some of the vintage gear that's so highly regarded today was considered just OK at the time.

 

[Black Plaid]

This thing

I hated it, but it was almost better than nothing.

I was messing around with an Aiwa walkman and managed to get my guitar to play through that. Even that had better overdrive sound than the Gorilla 'tube stack".

 

[Boogie]

Marshall Lead 12 Combo I bought brand new in 1984. Still have it, still use it. Great practice amp.

Still have mine too! (It was my third amp, though)

 

[11top]

A small Magnatone that I really wish I had kept... along with a Magnatone X15 Tornado guitar that was my first electric guitar...

Wow. Thanks for posting. My first electric was a Magnatone, too. I don’t even have a picture of it. I think I was 11 or 12 years old. I picked it over a ‘65 Strat because it was blue metal flake.

 

[drdoom8793]

Peavey Vypyr

 

[sergiodeblanc]

This thing

I hated it, but it was almost better than nothing.

I was messing around with an Aiwa walkman and managed to get my guitar to play through that. Even that had better overdrive sound than the Gorilla 'tube stack".

That was my second amp.

My underdeveloped 14year old mind thought that more speakers equaled more volume, so I pulled the electronics out, and built a cabinet with two hifi speakers and mounted it in there.

.... and that’s the story of the first time my father became disappointed in his only son.

 

[veinbuster]

That was my second amp.

My underdeveloped 14year old mind thought that more speakers equaled more volume, so I pulled the electronics out, and built a cabinet with two hifi speakers and mounted it in there.

.... and that’s the story of the first time my father became disappointed in his only son.

See, I went the other way. I bought a couple of 15” speakers with giant magnets in them, then overbuilt a big box to stuff them in. When I wasn’t playing somewhere, I plugged the stereo in it - because of course I wired it externally so it could be stereo or mono (series or parallel).

 

[11top]

I still have it, but the amp section is long gone. I have just the box with four 10" speakers (and only one is still original).

 

[Black Plaid]

That was my second amp.

My underdeveloped 14year old mind thought that more speakers equaled more volume, so I pulled the electronics out, and built a cabinet with two hifi speakers and mounted it in there.

Hold on, I need to go cancel some speaker orders....





Related: I just realized why the pic I posted didn't seem quite right, because mine was white:

So klassy!

 

[John Beef]

Crate G-20. My first band, I had to be careful not to be too loud because the other guitar player had a 10 watt (solid state) amp with a 10" speaker, but I had the 20 watter with a 12" speaker. This one is the correct vintage but mine was in better shape.

 

[dkilpatrick]

FRONTRUNNER!


Yeah, 16 year old DTR is jealous!

Yeah, that teacher was awesome,
Steered me toward Mesa when I was looking for an amp. Taught me how to care for a tube amp, And let me pay a little extra at each lesson until it was paid off.
He was the first enabler! Haha

 

[Deleted member 5962]

I gave OP Lister a "like" because my first way to play was through a stereo. Parents bought me a stereo for my birthday and it had a "guitar in" plug. For the first year plus I played only through that. (Remember I had a Silvertone guitar, and a small Gibson tube amp that didn't work that had been owned by Chet Atkins. The amp didn't work so I couldn't use it, so my parents bought me a stereo that would also be my "guitar amp."

 

[Tosca]

My first amp was a Fender ‘72 Deluxe Reverb...traded that (looking for more power) for a Lab Series 7...then traded that (looking for even more power) for a Kustom Studio 4Valve...then traded that for my Custom Shop Mesa LoneStar (Wine lizard leather). The LS is a “lifer”, not going anywhere, ever. That was the end of my trading amps...just accumulating since then.

I miss the’72 Deluxe most...but picked up a ‘68 reissue Deluxe that is about 95% as good as I remember that ‘72 being.

 

[Song]

In about 1975 I was about 16 years old. My 1st amp was a Peavey 150 watt solid state head and 8x10 cab that I put on layaway and paid for with $2.55/hour part-time jobs. I don't remember the model but it had fuzz, distortion, reverb, and about drove my parents and neighbors insane. I blew my brains out and damaged my left ear a little. I was the loudest and most obnoxious kid on my block and quite possibly, the state. I couldn't play anything but some power and open chords and there were no lessons. No youtoob, no dvds, no decent and knowledgeable humans. But we did have 8-track tapes and vinyl. Nowadays these little chickadees have phones with tuners and vast repositories of musical knowledge available.
Still; I would not trade the experiences of living through the 70s and 80s. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

 

[alantig]

This thing

I hated it, but it was almost better than nothing.

I was messing around with an Aiwa walkman and managed to get my guitar to play through that. Even that had better overdrive sound than the Gorilla 'tube stack".

I have one of those (it's at my mother's because she uses it) - but the OD sound is switchable on it. She also has one of these where it's not switchable.

That was my second amp.

My underdeveloped 14year old mind thought that more speakers equaled more volume, so I pulled the electronics out, and built a cabinet with two hifi speakers and mounted it in there.

.... and that’s the story of the first time my father became disappointed in his only son.

Are sure that was the first time?

 

[CandidPicker]

I have one of those (it's at my mother's because she uses it) - but the OD sound is switchable on it. She also has one of these where it's not switchable.

I'm sorry, what...? Does Mom play guitar as well?

Are sure that was the first time?

Every good son deserves a chance to prove himself and sometimes he fails. I think Adam experienced a similar problem.

 

[alantig]

I'm sorry, what...? Does Mom play guitar as well?

She does. She started playing a few years after me. A large chunk of my recording output is backing tracks for her to play with at church. She likes that because she can practice w/the backing track and know what it's going to be when the time comes. Plus, since we took lessons at the same place, she got used to working w/our guitar teacher on that stuff, and I can do a semi-passable version of his rhythm style so it's in her comfort zone.

 

[CandidPicker]

She does. She started playing a few years after me. A large chunk of my recording output is backing tracks for her to play with at church. She likes that because she can practice w/the backing track and know what it's going to be when the time comes. Plus, since we took lessons at the same place, she got used to working w/our guitar teacher on that stuff, and I can do a semi-passable version of his rhythm style so it's in her comfort zone.

That's cool! I wish my Mom took a similar interest regards my guitar, but Mom has plenty already on her plate for activities. Good to know your Mom has her church to help keep her active and busy. My Mom has our congregation to help keep her busy and happy, but doesn't play guitar in a P&W setting.

 

[Otter]

The first one I bought for myself was a Peavey Rage 108 - still have it... before that I played through my friend's Marshall (don't remember the model) this was back in the mid-80s.

 

[Ovibos]

I also started with a Gorilla...bass amp. When I also picked up guitar, I sliced the speaker cones bc I heard that's how they got distortion back in the day.

I think it was like this GB-20.