So, a couple of blogs ago, I talked about my ongoing battle with anxiety and panic and some thoughts on the 20th anniversary of 9/11. My last blog was about how much I hate Christopher Columbus and why I believe we should no longer celebrate him (hint: it involves the genocide of my ancestors; I am half Native American). Not exactly light reading. Today, I’d like to write about something a little more fun. After 10+ years, I finally bought a new guitar amp, one I’ve wanted for, well, over 10 years. It’s not some crazy fancy one, but basically the nice version of the one I already had. And my previous/now backup amp was one I bought for $300 back in 2007 in New York City. I’ll never forget what a pain in the ass it was to haul it the two avenues (which are much larger than blocks in NYC, in case you didn’t know) then down into the subway, then back up out of the subway and the half mile back to my house from the train station; all because I was too cheap to get a cab. Ah, good times… I actually felt a little emotional today relegating her to backup duty but it was time. So, I’m dedicating this blog to my amazing (and cheap) guitar amps. You know, these little guys:
My 2007 Fender Blues Jr. and my 2011 Ampeg BA-110.
Oh, look at ‘em, they’re so cute. Who’s a good little amp? Who is? Is it you? Are you a good little amp?
What you’re looking at, in case you don’t read captions, and I fall into that camp most of the time, is a 2007 Fender Blues Jr. guitar amp (top) and 2011 Ampeg BA-110 bass amp (bottom, but you probably guessed that seeing as the only other option was already taken…). Now, these little guys have been to battle with me more times than I can count. Between the two of ‘em, I’m talking hundreds of shows, multiple recording sessions and up and down more flights of stairs than I care to remember. And, apart from some new tubes and a new input jack for the Blues Jr. (more on that in a bit), they’ve been reliable as hell (knocks on wood). Night after night, they have delivered for me and have taken one worry off my plate, as I know they’ll show up and do the job. Of course, there’s a million other things to worry about when putting on a show but they are not one of them, which is nice.
Now, I’m sure plenty of you out there are thinking “those don’t look very Rock ‘n’ Roll, Bradley. I thought you were a rock star. Where are the giant amps, Bradley?” To which I would say, it’s very weird to use my name twice in such a short statement. I get that it’s for dramatic effect and all, but still, kinda weird. Apart from that, I would say yes, I would love to get me some high-powered, fancy Rock ‘n’ Roll amp like a classic Marshall, but:
I can’t afford one
Most are heavy as fuck and a lot of times I have to haul it long distances, up stairs, etc. No one puts on a good Rock ‘n’ Roll show with blown out back
I have very limited space in my car which is already almost packed full of musical equipment
I still can’t afford one
They’re still heavy as fuck
Now, trust me, I know of which you speak. I used to play a Fender Twin Reverb at most shows. For those unfamiliar with the Twin, it looks like this:
Sometimes it’s hard to tell scale by a simple picture, but if you’re first thought was “that looks bigger and heavier than both those other amps combined, you’d be right. The one I played was from the 70’s and probably weighed around 85 or so pounds. Also, it was really fucking loud. Like never really turn it up past 3 1/2 kinda loud. Also, not sure if you know this, but most indie musicians don’t have people to carry this shit around for us. After repeatedly almost throwing my back out to carry it and after being told to turn down for the umpteenth time, I decided to go with something more reasonable. I had the Fender Blues Jr. as a backup, you know, since that Twin from the 70’s loved to die a couple times a year. After a few shows using the “backup,” I decided it sounded good enough to justify not bringing out that fucking behemoth for live shows ever again. I mean, hell, I’ve played festival gigs in front of maybe 1500 people and even there they yell at you to turn it down as they just mic it up anyways.
But the Blues Jr. has never really been my favorite amp. It’s good, don’t get me wrong, but there’s just something that’s missing. Not by much, but by a little. Hence, why I just bought the bigger, better version, the Fender Deluxe Reverb. But over the years, it just worked. Night after night. Show after show. I plugged her in and she sounded good. Not brilliant but good. And that means a lot to a working musician. I can focus on putting on a great show instead of having that worry in the back of my head that something might go wrong. Over the years, I tried other amps but that sound from the Blues Jr. was just stuck in my brain as “my” sound so I never really jumped at the chance to buy something new. I knew eventually I would upgrade but for years I never really thought about it. I think I kind of convinced myself that I loved it. It was only 30 or so pounds, tucked into the corner of smaller stages nicely so I was free to jump around and be myself in areas that were kind of limited, and was so consistent in it’s sound and reliability.
But I had always kind of planned on buying a new amp once I moved to North Carolina. I was set to. Had all the shows lined up, almost 100 in 2020 and then…well, you know. And losing all that income kinda makes you have to prioritize, you know, rent instead of buying a shiny new toy. But finally, after playing about 70 shows and having to take on lead guitar duties (ha! “doodies”…), I knew it was time. I tried a couple different amps and it was obvious that I needed to make a change. But not before the Blues Jr. gave me one last reminder of its awesomeness…
So, the Blues Jr. had never been the shop until last year and even then that was just for a set of new tubes, which is normal wear and tear. But, it was its second trip to the shop that showed me just what the Blues Jr. was really made of. We were playing at a local brewery/hangout spot in Charlotte. They have a small-ish wooden stage outside. We noticed at a previous show that if I did my usual jumping around type thing, it would start to shake. So, at this particular show I was trying to be very cognizant of that. But, during the last set, and on the second to last song, I figured what the hell, live a little and started rocking out. I had done a little bit of that earlier in the show and everything was fine. But now, suddenly, my guitar cuts out as I hear this thud. I turn around and the Blues Jr. had somehow jumped off my amp stand, off the stage entirely and dove headfirst onto the concrete below. The stage wasn’t super high off the ground, but it was still probably a 4 foot drop directly onto concrete. I thought of everything that could be broken; the glass tubes, the cheap, plastic circuit board, the speaker…I don’t really know what else is in guitar amps, they’re so computer-like these days. But I thought it might be a goner. A week later I got the call from the shop. Only the $5 input jack where you plug in the guitar was damaged, the rest is perfectly fine. Picked it up the next day and played a show a couple nights later. And all this from a $300 amp I bought 14 years ago…
The bass amp was kind of random thing that was bought back in 2011. My now-wife, then-girlfriend was also a musician back then. She mainly did solo acoustic shows but had started to grow weary of traveling and playing alone. And I get it. All the random dudes who would incessantly hit on her, the soundguys and managers who would talk down to her because she was a young, pretty girl who obviously couldn’t know anything about music or live shows (note the sarcasm…), the shows to three people who can’t even be bothered to clap after a song, trying not to fall asleep while driving home at 2am, etc.; you get the gist. So, I started playing most of the shows with her. I was never really a fan of the two acoustic guitar thing and my lead guitar skills were/are pretty limited to those Neil Young type grab a couple notes and bend the shit out of ‘em type solos, so I decided to play bass. Only problem was, I didn’t have a bass or bass amp. Brianne’s mom found a cheap bass and was kind enough to gift it to us. So I set out to find a decent but cheap bass amp. I also had to find something that would fit in the very small backseat of Brianne’s Mustang, her car at the time (I had no car back then as I had just moved to Portland, OR from NYC). I found that little Ampeg at some music shop in Salem, OR and it sounded pretty good, like a nice smooth, neutral bass sound. It also felt well built. It wasn’t super heavy like most bass amps. Even better, it was $169. Sold.
With my bass and amp in the backseat, me in the passenger seat, I started my bass playing career. At the time, Brianne was way better at booking shows than I was (read: more disciplined and wouldn’t just get drunk most nights and watch reruns of Duckman on YouTube…) so I played the shit out of that bass and amp for a few years. When she stopped playing a few years back, the bass and amp kind of got retired.
Some days I miss it. It was fun playing bass. I’ve talked to a couple other lead singer/guitarists and they have also told me how relaxing and fun it is to play bass. I didn’t have to write the songs, book the shows or worry about putting on the show. I just showed up, had fun playing some really good music and went home. I didn’t have to pick apart everything I did and said and sang. It was so different and so nice.
Then, with my new band here in Charlotte, we were just running the bass through the PA for a while before I remembered I had that bass amp in the back of the closet.
(Aside: one of the worst things about living with a poor, working musician is the closet situation. I mean, look at our bedroom closet:
It’s packed to the gills with guitars, amps, a PA, speakers, my bags of cables, tip jar, boxes of merch, boxes and boxes of unsold CD’s and vinyl records, etc. Oh, and a few clothes in between…)
So, I broke out the Ampeg and we’ve been using it ever since. And no, it obviously doesn’t have earth shattering low end but it sounds good, I can fit it in the car with the rest of my shit and now I also don’t have to run bass through the stage monitors which helps me since I can now hear myself better and helps him since he has amp right behind him. And after dozens upon dozens of shows, it just works (knocks on wood). I’ve even used it as a guitar amp in a pinch and it sounds great. I considered buying a second one for just that purpose since it doesn’t have tubes or anything fragile/breakable about it but opted for my new amp since, you know, it’s what I’ve wanted for over 10 years now. And I always say just buy “the one.” Sure, it might cost a little more now but trying to substitute usually means buying a few cheaper things that eventually cost more than the one you originally wanted and all the while you’ll never quite sound how you want. Now that I have this amp, I probably won’t buy another major piece of gear maybe ever. I have the three guitars I’ve always wanted, a Fender Strat, Fender Tele and my Martin acoustic D-15, and now the amp, the Fender Deluxe. Weird but true sidenote, and this might just be for the nerds out there, but all the guitars and amps in that closet are either a Fender or a Martin. My travel guitar is a little Martin. My bass is a Squier (made by Fender) P-Bass. Even both of Brianne’s guitars are. She has a Martin acoustic and a Fender Mustang electric, both of which were chosen without my input. Weird…
But, I learned to love those little amps out of necessity. Turns out making music is not generally the most profitable industry, especially if you insist on playing you’re own music like I stubbornly do. But I truly do love those little amps, even though I am finally retiring one as my main amp. Thanks to all the memories and to many more in the future, but not because that means my new amp is broken and in the shop. Hopefully it’s just because I was lazy and just grabbed the lighter/smaller Blues Jr. or because I got sentimental and wanted to take her out for one more ride… Either way, talk with you soon. I really need to get better at blogging. And now that my anxiety/depression is starting to get under control a bit, I think I can. I think I can. I think I can…Shit. Isn’t positive thinking supposed to help? Guess I’ll try some negative thoughts and we’ll see if I’m back next week…
(dictated but not read)