New Old Gibson Bass Head Day

[schundog]

I had a thread going about this thing, really having no intention of buying it for myself, but some of you guys said that they were good old amps, so I went back into A-Z Pawn in Peoria for a second look today. This seedy large storefront has a little bit of everthing inside, from an old barber chair to bikes, jewelry and guitars, of course, to snowblowers/lawnmowers. It is run by three bearded men who split days, apparently, as you never know which guy will be there. There's the grumpy bearded guy in his 60s, who never misses an opportunity to tell you how he's performed at the Grand Ol' Opry, the mild mannered early 50s guy that I've never seen try to buy or sell anything to a customer, and my favorite, the late 30s bearded guy named Gary who will give me deals because he knows I know what stuff is worth, I don't try to rip him off, and I pay with cash.

 

Gary was working today, but looked frantic and pissed off as I approached the counter. I asked him what was up, and he said he had just dropped a 1/4 carat diamond, heard it bounce somewhere in the pile of crap on the desk and now he can't find it. He'd been looking for several minutes when I came up. Eager for a diversion, he asked me what was up. I asked about the amp, and we went to look at it together. I pulled the power cord out for the first time... Uh-Oh, it's not only 2 pronged, but rotted/broken around the insulation, as well. I made a "who farted" face, which is harder for me to feign than you might imagine, as I'm usually the GUILTY party, not the one wondering who did it, haha, and told Gary that that wasn't a very good sign. He said he'd make me such a deal, that it wouldn't even matter if it worked or not! (I hadn't asked for ANY deal yet!) "OK, Gary, HOW good a deal?" $50. My curiosity got the better of me, I paid him and left.

 

I checked the cord for cuts all the way through, plugged it in, held my breath, and clicked it on with a wooden spoon. It fired up OK, and I quickly shut it off, as I didn't have any speaker load on it. Does this matter with a solid state stack like it does with a tube one? (I am clueless, I know, but I HAD to know if it would even fire up. )

 

One more problem, I don't have a bass cab. Can I plug it into my PA 1/4 jack, or is that too much for my speakers? Run it through my bass combo amp? Help me out, Brothers! Here's the pics.

 

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R-R switch? Huh?

 

 

 

 

I wonder what a new power cord would cost me to have installed? Thanks for looking.

[mars_hall]

You should be able to get a decent cord for <$10 and install it yourself. Go to a Lowes or Menards and get an extension cord and whack off the end. The trick will be compressing the chassis grommet but you can do it.

[DetroitBlues]

Lots of rust... Up to date on your tetanus shots?

[Gitfiddler]

Are you up to date on your homeowner fire policy?

[schundog]

Homeowners and Life Insurance up to date. I'd better go get that tetanus shot, though, haha. U guys just don't GET it; it's VINTAGE!! Haha. And it was $50, sooo.

[DetroitBlues]

Homeowners and Life Insurance up to date. I'd better go get that tetanus shot, though, haha. U guys just don't GET it; it's VINTAGE!! Haha. And it was $50, sooo.

 

Some say vintage others say old P.O.S. as long as you like it and you survive using it, it's all good.... Just in case the latter happens, be sure to leave a couple Heritages to me in your will...

[bolero]

haha, that's awesome schundog!1

 

let us know if you find a 1/4 carat diamond in there

 

you should be able to test it thru a gtr cab, just don't use a bass.

 

definitely get the 2 prong plug upgraded to a 3 prong/grounded

[212Mavguy]

Excellent! BTW, SS amps can be more sensitive to damage from unloaded operating situation than tube amps.