Remember that time you could have done this but you did that? (And regretted it.)

BlackCat

BlackCat

American Greaser
I've been doing a lot of reflection lately and weird memories keep popping into my head.
Let's take a stroll down memory lane.

Due to my undisciplined financial habits I've traditionally had a limited budget for gear.

About 15 years ago I walked into Sam Ash on 48th Street Manhattan with the intention of buying a Fender amp. There were two potential choices in my budget and size preference. Price was about equal.

1. Deluxe Reverb
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2. Princeton Recording.
About the size of a Princeton with a four function foot pedal, effects loop, and probably some other stuff.

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So I'm not the guy that's going to crank an amp in a music store. I plugged in and tried both at low volume. I was thinking that these are about equal in price and this one has more flexibility.
I purchased the "Recording"

Was happy playing it at home at low to moderate volume for a while.
Finally got the opportunity to play in a club.
Cranked it. It was terrible! Thin, phizzzy, not pleasing.
I think this marked the beginning of my skepticism of extra features.


Later research showed the Deluxe Reverb is the favored amp in my preferred genre. Much praised by the pros.

Can't cry over spilt milk.
I later got some great amps but never did get a Deluxe Reverb.

Dad joke: I could have had a V8.
 
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in probably about ‘83, I bought a ‘72 Telecaster Custom. Then in the early aughts, traded for 2 basic run of the mill factory fenders, strat and straight forward tele…:angry: :annoyed:
Today, I have neither of those guitars, still regretting…
 
I sold a Epiphone head and cab. Should have kept it. Haven’t found anything that looks as good with that lamp that once sat on top of it.
 
In 1992, I walked into a guitar store to buy my first quality instrument. My plan was to buy a Gibson SG. But, I saw an MIII, pulled it down, played it. The Gibson MIII was very comfortable with the Strat-style body cuts. It was super easy to play, had a whammy bar and a wide variety of sounds. It was strange looking, but the feel and sound enchanted me. I walked out with that MIII including coffin case.

I did not treat that MIII delicately. I knocked it around, drilled into it with a GK-2A pickup for a Roland guitar synth, disabled the Floyd Rose with a Trem-Stop and Tremol-No.

I played the hell out of that guitar for years. The Floyd parts disintegrated over the years. The saddles broke and as a result, the intonation was way off. I abandoned it in it’s coffin case for nearly a decade until I got around to rebuilding the Floyd with parts from a 2 different Floyd’s, including a quick loader to make it easy to change strings.

I still have the MIII. I still enjoy playing it. It has sentimental value because of all the years I spent playing it. But, ultimately, I learned that a super thin neck, small fret wire, high output pickups, neck dive and a Floyd Rose are all the wrong specs for my preferences in a guitar.

Basically, I bought the Ford Edsel of guitars. Almost nobody bought MIII’s. Lol! If I had bought an SG like I had planned, it would have been a better fit for me. Also, it would be worth more money at this point. But, my MIII Super Strat is a part of me now. I laugh at myself for buying it and have great memories tied to it. I can’t let it go.


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mnewb1 said:
in probably about ‘83, I bought a ‘72 Telecaster Custom. Then in the early aughts, traded for 2 basic run of the mill factory fenders, strat and straight forward tele…:angry: :annoyed:
Today, I have neither of those guitars, still regretting…
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Those things are prized now.
 
My first bass amp was a Fender Music master bass, teamed with my Kay SG bass it wasn't nearly loud enough to be heard with a drummer even remotely. Those Kay pickups were only good as refrigerator magnets. We tried everything cheap to boost the signal including running something with speaker level 35 way output into it, frying the first tube. Actual flames. Could have gotten it fixed at a tv repairman that I knew, but I hated it so bad it went to the landfill. Once I joined the service they had two amps in the Rec Centers Fender MMB and Twin Reverbs , we all learned quick that the truck to playing with a drummer was to switch amps. Bass sounds fine through a 100 watt twin since you don't have to drive it much.

Bought a Performance parts caster from my cousin. It had a cold solder joint. My drunk ass parted it out and just gave away the parts. No idea to who or exactly when.
 
I sold all of my heavy instruments because my stenosis got so bad that it hurt to play them. Then I had surgery and having a log hanging from my shoulder suddenly stopped being a problem.
 
I sold an electric 12er I had completely rewired at a loss. I'm glad I didn't lug it through the 15 moves I've made since then, but I do wish I had it now.
 
BlackCat said:
I've been doing a lot of reflection lately and weird memories keep popping into my head.
Let's take a stroll down memory lane.

Due to my undisciplined financial habits I've traditionally had a limited budget for gear.

About 15 years ago I walked into Sam Ash on 48th Street Manhattan with the intention of buying a Fender amp. There were two potential choices in my budget and size preference. Price was about equal.

1. Deluxe Reverb
View attachment 99728

2. Princeton Recording.
About the size of a Princeton with a four function foot pedal, effects loop, and probably some other stuff.

View attachment 99727

So I'm not the guy that's going to crank an amp in a music store. I plugged in and tried both at low volume. I was thinking that these are about equal in price and this one has more flexibility.
I purchased the "Recording"

Was happy playing it at home at low to moderate volume for a while.
Finally got the opportunity to play in a club.
Cranked it. It was terrible! Thin, phizzzy, not pleasing.
I think this marked the beginning of my skepticism of extra features.


Later research showed the Deluxe Reverb is the favored amp in my preferred genre. Much praised by the pros.

Can't cry over spilt milk.
I later got some great amps but never did get a Deluxe Reverb.

Dad joke: I could have had a V8.
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I too lost out on the Deluxe Reverb. They were going used for $300-400 during the rack era for BF. Should've got one because when the rack era ended, these amps sky rocketed in price.
 
This one time, I was told it was my last chance and there would be no turning back. I could take the blue pill and the story would end. Then, I’d wake up in my bed and I could believe whatever I wanted to believe. But, if I took the red pill, I’d stay in Wonderland and see how deep the rabbit hole went.

I took the blue pill, I awoke in my bed and the Wonderland nightmare was over. It was just a dream.

I wonder what I would have seen and what would have happened if I had taken that red pill.
 
jrockbridge said:
This one time, I was told it was my last chance and there would be no turning back. I could take the blue pill and the story would end. Then, I’d wake up in my bed and I could believe whatever I wanted to believe. But, if I took the red pill, I’d stay in Wonderland and see how deep the rabbit hole went.

I took the blue pill, I awoke in my bed and the Wonderland nightmare was over. It was just a dream.

I wonder what I would have seen and what would have happened if I had taken that red pill.
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It's not really that bad, there's just people throwing Gretsch pickups at you but, don't worry, none of them hit you. You will have the ability to bend backwards, side ways, while they fly by in slow motion.
 
I don't think I've ever regretted selling/trading any guitars. I traded a 70s or 80s (not sure, grey panel?) AC30 for a Twin years and years ago because the Twin had reverb. That was pretty stupid, and I only kept the Fender for a few weeks. It was insanely heavy, it smelled bad, I didn't like the tone at all, and it was crazy loud and simply refused to breakup. On the other hand I would have no use for a full-size AC-amp now.
 
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