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Post subject: Still have an old rig? Share your pics and stories.
Posted: Fri Aug 09, 2013 9:40 am
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Aspiring Musician
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Another thread got me thinking about an old bass rig I still own, or at least claim to. I know the rules, no pics, it aint true. :lol:
I have posted pictures of my '75 p-bass before, but never one of the entire rig I still own.
Pulling all this out of the closet has been eye opening. It's made me remember a few things I forgot and has corrected my memory on a few things as well.

I used this rig until '89. That's when I finally started updating my bass and gear. Starting with a black Power Jazz Special.......wish I still had that one. :cry: During those years I played anywhere from 2 to 5 nights a week with very seldom a weekend off. I did have one period of 6 months during that time that I didn't play due to personal reasons. So this rig saw alot of use.

The Peavey Mark III Head (Not Mark IV) has a date of 1979 on the front and Jan 1980 on the back, so it's NOT my original bass head like I thought. I remember now about the original head I purchased breaking down after a few years. I now believe I purchased this head in '81 or most likely '82. Currently this amp is in need of repair. It has a loud squeal when turned on.

The Peavey 2x15 cabinet I purchased the same time as my p-bass, '79. It did not have Black widows originally. I did blow whichever ones came with it and replaced them (don't remember the brand) in '86. One of these days I'll pull them to see. This cabinet still sounds great. I have recently hooked it up to my current rig, Hartke HA5500 head and 4x10 Hydrive cabinet. Man what a sound! :mrgreen:

The P-bass is a '75 according to a serial number check on this web site. I understand that if I take a look at the pots it could possibly be a '76. Something I need to do someday. I did purchase it in 1979 (Not '78) along with the strap, no brand marking on the strap. It looked brand new at the time, not a scratch on it. I was told it was a repo. I did replace the pups around '84/'85 (Not '79 or '80) with Dimarzio's. The bass is still in good playing condition.

It is the original case in the picture. :D

So if you have read my post before and you notice the details in this post differ.....sorry....just bad memory. I'm pretty confident I have things straight now. :oops:

PLEASE....if you still own your original guitar/rig or have owned one for a long time.....share your story and pics. I really enjoy reading about fellow forum members gear and the stories behind it.
Of course I hope everyone feels free to make any comments, tell a story.

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2012 American Standard Precision V - Candy Cola Red
2012 Squier Vintage Modified Jazz V - Surf Green
2011 FCS Custom Classic Special Jazz Bass V - Violin Burst
1996 MIM Stratocaster HSS - Black
1975 Precision Bass - 3 Tone Sunburst


Last edited by grho50 on Fri Aug 09, 2013 1:32 pm, edited 4 times in total.

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Post subject: Re: Still have an old rig? Share your pics and stories.
Posted: Fri Aug 09, 2013 11:02 am
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Not really a whole rig, but this strat has kind of a neat story. I started on bass, but then decided to get a guitar. trade my bass in for my first '78 peavey pacer, and bought a dean baby V for 100 bucks. after a couple of weeks decided a V is not practical at all for someone who's just beginning guitar.... took it to Krazy Kent's Economy Electronics in cookeville, tn and traded it in for this strat....
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the story I got from Kent was that another local shop was in the process of shutting down, and he took all the spare parts he had, built a few guitars and sold them to make his last month's rent. there's no name, no serial numbers anywhere, but other than the weirdo bridge, that I still haven't found out what it is, it looked almost identical to a fender strat.
This was like 2002 when I bought it - it's been with me for 11 years now. I replaced the pickguard with the ugly yellow later, I've upgraded pickups a couple of times, it had mighty mites when I got it, then I had a harmony project guitar I stole pups out of for this one, and in true punk rock DIY fashion used an angle grinder with a cutting wheel to make the pickup spaces on the pickguard a little bigger for those... note how shredded the plastic is. also had to cut the thing for the original neck that was on it, and that huge mystery-bridge.
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strat knobs, original pups still, dunlop pick keeper on the body, and a warning label that said "for your safety tighten all nuts and bolts, recheck periodically"
then a couple of years back I had my Fender Jaguar HH (black & chrome) and decided I didn't need the strat anymore. sold it to a friend, only to get it back a year later. The fretboard was starting to come apart from the neck, it buzzed all to hell, and just sounded like crap. I pulled my red squier bullet strat apart and frankensteined the squier neck onto this guitar...also had added a duncan hot rails in the neck pos. at this time
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also around this time I had found the Elite badge off my old 76 ford elite, drilled some pilot holes and smacked it into the body of the guitar (someone just cringed, but no worries, didn't affect the tone at all)
then painted the headstock black, and recently pulled the hot rails out, leaving the space empty, using the 5 way as a poor man's kill switch now.
after all this I had my good friend Eric set it up as good as it can be, with all the terrible things I've done to it... and it plays just as good as any cheap strat I've ever put my hands on. It's nothing fancy, but it's mine, I know the story behind every scratch and dent, and I'll never get rid of her again. :)
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Post subject: Re: Still have an old rig? Share your pics and stories.
Posted: Fri Aug 09, 2013 11:44 am
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COOL STORY!!!
That's what I'm talking about. Doesn't have to be about a whole rig, but everyone has a story..... or two.....or three..... :D
Thanks for sharing lameandcliche! :D

_________________
2012 American Standard Precision V - Candy Cola Red
2012 Squier Vintage Modified Jazz V - Surf Green
2011 FCS Custom Classic Special Jazz Bass V - Violin Burst
1996 MIM Stratocaster HSS - Black
1975 Precision Bass - 3 Tone Sunburst


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Post subject: Re: Still have an old rig? Share your pics and stories.
Posted: Fri Aug 09, 2013 1:48 pm
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Most of my rig gets updates and swapped out for something newer and better or with more flashing lights but the mainstay for the last 20 years has been thie ACT MP100T MIDI tube preamp. These things are very difficult to find, mine is the only example I've ever seen in the flesh but it sounds incredible.

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Doesn't do the insane saturated overdrive sounds at all but for Bassman-like cleans and compressed breakup it's second to none. It's so ancient the manual tells you how to back up the memory to cassette tape.

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Post subject: Re: Still have an old rig? Share your pics and stories.
Posted: Fri Aug 09, 2013 2:59 pm
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GilgaFrank I don't recall ever seeing an ACT MP100T MIDI tube preamp. Don't guess I will either. Too bad, from your description I sure would like to hear one.
Cassette tape backup... :shock: :lol: .....guess it is a little old.

When I started this thread I wasn't even thinking about the older gear I still use. The pic below (sorry...best I have) was taken a few months ago and is pretty much what I use today.

Really the only difference is, I replaced the SKB case (I've had it over 20 years) with a new and better rack case....and I've added a SansAmp RBI which I mounted where the wireless is located in the pic. Love the RBI. didn't know there was that much difference between it and the SansAmp BDDI that I've always used. Kickin' myself in the butt for not getting one sooner.

The Furman Plus, Korg tuner and dbx Compressor/Limiter were all purchased sometime between 1990 and '93. I may have receipts and paperwork in the files, just too lazy to look right now. They all 3 still work great and I use them on every gig.

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2012 American Standard Precision V - Candy Cola Red
2012 Squier Vintage Modified Jazz V - Surf Green
2011 FCS Custom Classic Special Jazz Bass V - Violin Burst
1996 MIM Stratocaster HSS - Black
1975 Precision Bass - 3 Tone Sunburst


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Post subject: Re: Still have an old rig? Share your pics and stories.
Posted: Fri Aug 09, 2013 3:36 pm
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ok, I am now entering a formal request to hear the Sansamp/Hartke rig in operation with the P-bass

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Post subject: Re: Still have an old rig? Share your pics and stories.
Posted: Fri Aug 09, 2013 4:48 pm
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GilgaFrank wrote:
ok, I am now entering a formal request to hear the Sansamp/Hartke rig in operation with the P-bass

Alright GilgaFrank!

We'll be at the Steel Horse Saloon in Seminole, Oklahoma next Saturday night!
9pm til 1:30am
I got the door charged covered for you and a guest!

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

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2012 American Standard Precision V - Candy Cola Red
2012 Squier Vintage Modified Jazz V - Surf Green
2011 FCS Custom Classic Special Jazz Bass V - Violin Burst
1996 MIM Stratocaster HSS - Black
1975 Precision Bass - 3 Tone Sunburst


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Post subject: Re: Still have an old rig? Share your pics and stories.
Posted: Fri Aug 09, 2013 5:47 pm
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Well thanks, I'll see you there then.

Oh wait ...

http://www.distance-calculator.co.uk/wo ... irport.htm

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Post subject: Re: Still have an old rig? Share your pics and stories.
Posted: Fri Aug 09, 2013 7:37 pm
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GilgaFrank wrote:
Well thanks, I'll see you there then.

Oh wait ...

http://www.distance-calculator.co.uk/wo ... irport.htm

4,507 MILES!

Man you better get started. Heck I'll even cover the motel room and buy you dinner as well!

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

_________________
2012 American Standard Precision V - Candy Cola Red
2012 Squier Vintage Modified Jazz V - Surf Green
2011 FCS Custom Classic Special Jazz Bass V - Violin Burst
1996 MIM Stratocaster HSS - Black
1975 Precision Bass - 3 Tone Sunburst


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Post subject: Re: Still have an old rig? Share your pics and stories.
Posted: Sat Aug 10, 2013 9:10 am
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A little "bump" to this thread.

As the OP of this thread, I also wanted to clarify my intentions for it's creation.
There's is no real subject guide to follow. So as far as I'm concerned, don't worry about highjacking the thread.
Post any past stories or pics that you may have. Doesn't matter if it was 50 years ago or 5 hours ago. Funny, serious or whatever. Everybody has as good story or two. Share them! :D

Here's one I'll share that is probably the most embarassing I've ever experienced.

This was the first band I was in as a bass player. We were a 4 piece group, 2 guitars, bass and drums. We all shared lead vocals. The band leader was an outstanding guitar player and the main singer. His wife played drums and sang but wasn't very good at either. Bad drummer......hell of a way to break in on bass.
I had been playing bass for less than two years and somehow we got a weekend gig at this areas top club. Large dance club, held somewhere around 500+ people. The Dew Drop Inn. No kidding, that was the name. Anyway we had only been playing small places up till then.
We only had a small Sure PA system. Remember them? 2 collums each with four 10" or 12" (?) speakers? Nothing but vocals in the PA. He had me lay my 2x15 bass cabinet on it's side thinking it would cover the club better that way. I was so green I thought it made sense.
Anyway, you get the picture. Just barely a so-so band with inadequate equipment playing in one of the better clubs around. Needless to say it was a disaster. They cancelled us for the next night. Eating at a local restuarant after having to load up our gear, feeling humilated over getting fired, I overheard a lady say, "That band at the Dew Drop sucked tonight!" She intentionally said it loud enough for us to hear and was followed by laughter at several tables.
I could feel my face turn red with embarassment. No one sitting at our table said a word. I felt about 1" tall. We hadn't been served yet and it seemed to take hours before we got our food. I couldn't really eat anyways after hearing her remark. After all these years I still remember that moment like it happened yesterday.
I swore then that I would never set foot on a stage where it could possibly turn into an embarassing night for me. That was about 33 years ago and so far I've held to that.

_________________
2012 American Standard Precision V - Candy Cola Red
2012 Squier Vintage Modified Jazz V - Surf Green
2011 FCS Custom Classic Special Jazz Bass V - Violin Burst
1996 MIM Stratocaster HSS - Black
1975 Precision Bass - 3 Tone Sunburst


Last edited by grho50 on Sat Aug 10, 2013 12:07 pm, edited 3 times in total.

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Post subject: Re: Still have an old rig? Share your pics and stories.
Posted: Sat Aug 10, 2013 9:44 am
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I have no pics but when I started playing guitar back in about 72 my parents got me a 60s ampeg jet j12 and an epiphone strat style guitar that had a Gibson style head stock. I have never seen a guitar like it since and would love to find one. As I remember I was a nice playing guitar and the amp sounded great. The first time I turned that amp up to the point of breakup I was floored and was hooked on rock and roll. Some day I will have them both again. The amps not that hard to find but the guitar is another story.


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Post subject: Re: Still have an old rig? Share your pics and stories.
Posted: Sat Aug 10, 2013 10:37 am
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also forgot to mention in my post, the 78 peavey pacer was my first guitar amp, had it for about 2-3 years and then sold it to a girlfriend's father who was.... having a midlife crisis, i guess. He went and spent like 5k on a gibson les paul and then had no money for an amp. so he bought my little peavey for like 100 bucks, i needed the money for rent.
fast forward several years, and several terrible cheap amps later, I found another pacer sitting in a pawn shop in east nashville for 75$. bought it on the spot. I love this thing.

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Post subject: Re: Still have an old rig? Share your pics and stories.
Posted: Sat Aug 10, 2013 11:21 am
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@tbazzone, I love those little Ampeg amps! My friend got an ancient Ampeg Reverb-o-rocket many years ago, thing had reverb you could go swimming in. He got rid of it because you just couldn't get the tubes for it any more, they were something weird like 12DY7's or 12BH7 and at the time I had no idea that you could mod the circuitry to take more readily available tubes. Wish I'd bought that off him now, I'd have been a surf guitar legend by now.

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Post subject: Re: Still have an old rig? Share your pics and stories.
Posted: Sat Aug 10, 2013 11:44 am
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Hey lameandcliche, I bought one of those Peavey Pacer's in '77 or'78 as well. Forgot all about it. If I recall correctly, after haggling I paid $108 plus tax. It wasn't a bad little amp. Bought it in Muskogee, OK at John Michael's Music. They're still in business today.
Congrats on finding one. Enjoy!
I had an Electra Les Paul copy, Gold color, at the time. Pretty guitar and didn't play bad at all.....but I did. :lol:
I bought the Electra at pawn shop in OKC somewhere around 1975. Looked brand new and the case still had the moisture packs in it. The guy wanted $200 and at the time they sold new for $225. I got him down to $175 and then he said the case would be $50 extra. :shock:
Remember, this was back in the day when new guitars usually came with a case plus they would throw in other goodies, strap, cord, picks, etc....
I told him I wouldn't pay $50 for a case and I wasn't buying the guitar without it. We settled on $185 for both. :D
I traded all that in when I bought the bass rig pictured in my original post.
Thanks for helping bring back a memory I had forgotten! :D

_________________
2012 American Standard Precision V - Candy Cola Red
2012 Squier Vintage Modified Jazz V - Surf Green
2011 FCS Custom Classic Special Jazz Bass V - Violin Burst
1996 MIM Stratocaster HSS - Black
1975 Precision Bass - 3 Tone Sunburst


Last edited by grho50 on Sat Aug 10, 2013 6:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Post subject: Re: Still have an old rig? Share your pics and stories.
Posted: Sat Aug 10, 2013 1:46 pm
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GilgaFrank wrote:
@tbazzone, I love those little Ampeg amps! My friend got an ancient Ampeg Reverb-o-rocket many years ago, thing had reverb you could go swimming in. He got rid of it because you just couldn't get the tubes for it any more, they were something weird like 12DY7's or 12BH7 and at the time I had no idea that you could mod the circuitry to take more readily available tubes. Wish I'd bought that off him now, I'd have been a surf guitar legend by now.

I know about the tubes back then they were hard to find. That was the same reason I moved on to another amp.


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