Murph Posted November 25, 2019 Share Posted November 25, 2019 I was channel surfing last night and bumped into the 1983 US festival. Day 3. Anyhoo, one of the bands had a few old Carvin X100 heads. Frank Zappa's favorite head. Got me thinking. I guess the Carvin guitar division changed names and is still business, but their amps and p.a. gear are no more. I still have some Carvin gear and it served me well over the decades. Peavey. As far as I'm concerned they are history now. Hartley was all about "Made In U.S.A." Then he got too big for his britches and wanted to take over the entire industry. Should have stuck with amps and p.a. gear. Now he's compared to Behringer. Trace Elliot. Thanks Hartley. I remember when Shure made p.a. gear and using some in a bar back in the early 70's. Vocal Master, maybe ? Who else is wasted on the way? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted November 25, 2019 Share Posted November 25, 2019 My first 2 guitar amps were made by a company called EMC, which years later, became the name of a company that provided storage arrays and other Data Center bound gear. No affiliation I'm sure... I also recall that the first band I did gigs with, that PA was some thing Shure for sure (bad pun, sorry) had a lot of peavey PA gear too in the day. Back then most of it was pretty cheap and some of it nearly indestructible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted November 25, 2019 Author Share Posted November 25, 2019 1 hour ago, kidblast said: had a lot of peavey PA gear too in the day. Back then most of it was pretty cheap and some of it nearly indestructible. Yep. Cheap, tough and Made In U.S.A. Now it's just cheap. What about Holland amps? I had one for a minute. Mike was in the Navy with a friend of mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karloff Posted November 25, 2019 Share Posted November 25, 2019 (edited) my 1st pa was a Kustom. 150 watt head i think, and 2 tall speaker columns. kind of a aqua/blu sparkly vinyl pleated covering. i had a strat, a Ampeg V4 1/2 stack & a pa. had a band, playing in bars I wasn't old enough to be in. it was f'n awesome. lol. late 70's / early 80's I had a Lab Series 2x12 combo amp. I liked that amp a lot. yes, I've had 4 or 5 Peavey amps. always liked them. always wanted a Carvin amp. their PA gear has served me well over the years Edited November 25, 2019 by Karloff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rct Posted November 25, 2019 Share Posted November 25, 2019 I used Peavey Classics for years. Peavey 1200 board was the size of a picnic table. Spider Cabinets on top of carpeted Cerwin Vegas. Traynors that weight 500 pounds each. Stood in front of Acoustic and Sunn bass cabs with 8 10s in them. Mic stands weighed more than todays entire PAs. Kept my drink and ashtray on the Leslie. Good times. rct Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted November 25, 2019 Share Posted November 25, 2019 49 minutes ago, Karloff said: playing in bars I wasn't old enough to be in. it was f'n awesome. lol. yep! my first bar gig I was 16. the manager took one look at me and immediately gave us hairy eye ball. "if that one looks at a beer bottle, it's lights out." I didn't drink at all back in those days, but that didn't stop me from walking out side on break... and it wasn't just for fresh air.. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rct Posted November 25, 2019 Share Posted November 25, 2019 Yes, 16 years old playin in a strip club. What A Wonnnnderful World... rct 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karloff Posted November 25, 2019 Share Posted November 25, 2019 1 minute ago, kidblast said: yep! my first bar gig I was 16. the manager took one look at me and immediately gave us hairy eye ball. "if that one looks at a beer bottle, it's lights out." I didn't drink at all back in those days, but that didn't stop me from walking out side on break... and it wasn't just for fresh air.. lol. my dad picked me up at high school. we had a field trip to DC that day. he said "hurry up, your friends called and said you have to play tonight". 1975. I was 15. in a band with 3 guys that were 4 - 7 years older than me. I got $30 and all the beer I wanted. lol. the Saddle Club, a little bar in downtown Salisbury, Md. burned one outside before the last set. I was in heaven. it's all been downhill since. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brytam Posted November 25, 2019 Share Posted November 25, 2019 Hey, Murph. Watched the same show last night! I thought the same thing. No in-ears, no digital anything. I'm sure all the equipment weighed a ton & PA lines were everywhere. No "plug & play" items back then! I noticed a guitar player playing an Ibanez Artist double neck (6 & 12 string) guitar. Haven't seen that in a while. I had an early '80's Ibanez Super Artist that I sold to get a Fender Strat. (I love the Strat but wish I had kept the Super Artist, even though it was solid & heavy.) I still have a 1973 Peavey Pacer amp my parents got for me when I was a young teenager - All solid state but still working after all these years! I was focused on bass at the time & blew out the speaker on it twice (Not a bass amp). Later got a '70's Peavey Bass amp head with a 2 - 15" speaker enclosure. Did the job but weighed a ton! Had plenty of power but a pain to move! The band I was in as an older teenager had an "Acoustic" PA system. It had 2 massive speaker columns with black cushioned "leatherette" covering. Kinda goofy looking but I guess cool at the time. Not sure what happened to that PA... Things definitely not made like they used to be! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted November 25, 2019 Share Posted November 25, 2019 2 hours ago, rct said: Yes, 16 years old playin in a strip club. What A Wonnnnderful World... rct "But Ma, they don't have the strippers there on the nights that WE play, Honest...." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rct Posted November 25, 2019 Share Posted November 25, 2019 Just now, kidblast said: "But Ma, they don't have the strippers there on the nights that WE play, Honest...." Heh. I kinda wish. Ma was ok with it. One of the regulars was Miss Vickie, the wife(may have been ex by then I don't remember) of Tiny Tim. No, he was never there. Thursday, Friday, Saturday, 9pm - 2am, two, three weeks a month for a couple years in that place. Club Mardi Gras, Westville NJ. rct Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted November 25, 2019 Share Posted November 25, 2019 Just now, rct said: Heh. I kinda wish. Ma was ok with it. One of the regulars was Miss Vickie, the wife(may have been ex by then I don't remember) of Tiny Tim. No, he was never there. Thursday, Friday, Saturday, 9pm - 2am, two, three weeks a month for a couple years in that place. Club Mardi Gras, Westville NJ. rct Crazy times... they hey days.. We used to play a bar that had the "girls" on Saturday nights. We did the friday's when the bands ran. Imagine us all trying to explain to the wives THAT detail we all got the Stink Eye when we broke that news, but... they came and saw for themselves.. just a bunch a drunks screaming for free bird... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted November 25, 2019 Share Posted November 25, 2019 (edited) 2 hours ago, Karloff said: lol. my dad picked me up at high school. we had a field trip to DC that day. he said "hurry up, your friends called and said you have to play tonight". 1975. I was 15. in a band with 3 guys that were 4 - 7 years older than me. I got $30 and all the beer I wanted. lol. the Saddle Club, a little bar in downtown Salisbury, Md. burned one outside before the last set. I was in heaven. it's all been downhill since. lol I bet at 15, you passed for 18 at least, I didn't... could a smuggled me in inside a milk crate.. 16, and looked every day of it. Edited November 25, 2019 by kidblast Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brad1 Posted November 25, 2019 Share Posted November 25, 2019 Nothing Gold can stay. R. Frost Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tman Posted November 25, 2019 Share Posted November 25, 2019 I was 17 playing in a club in Pine Bluff Arkansas. We had Kustom PA speakers. Even slept on them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mihcmac Posted November 25, 2019 Share Posted November 25, 2019 (edited) When I was 14 I had been playing guitar for a while, I saw a Tiesco Bass in the local music store and was captivated by it. Paying for it with my lunch money, on lay-away. The day I got it out some friends saw me carrying the bass out of the store and recruited me to play bass. They had a frat party to play that night, I didn't know squat about playing bass. My dad rented me a Rickenbacker bass amp, similar to a Fender Bassman. So I played that night, mostly with the volume off on my bass, before the night was through I did figure out a how to play a couple of songs and I got paid. ($10 and Beer) Edited November 25, 2019 by mihcmac Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Navy Vet. Posted November 25, 2019 Share Posted November 25, 2019 (edited) Back in the mid sixties Peavey was the gear of choice. Back in the early seventies I had an Electra Bass made in Japan, it was a great bass. If I could go back in time knowing what I know now. Those were the days my friends, we thought they would never end, those were the days. Edited November 25, 2019 by Navy Vet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Navy Vet. Posted November 25, 2019 Share Posted November 25, 2019 37 minutes ago, mihcmac said: When I was 14 I had been playing guitar for a while, I saw a Tiesco Bass in the local music store and was captivated by it. Paying for it with my lunch money, on lay-away, the day I got it out some friends saw me carrying it out of the store and recruited me to play bass. They had a frat party to play that night, I didn't know squat about playing bass. My dad rented me a Rickenbacker bass amp, similar to a Fender Bassman. So I played that night, mostly with the volume off on my bass, before the night was through I did figure out a how to play a couple of songs and I got paid. ($10 and Beer) The old bass player story. Kid comes home from his first bass lesson. His father asks how the lesson went. Kid says great, today I learned the E string. Second day his father asks again, Great, today I learned the A string. Third day the same, Great, I learned the D string. The forth day his father asks how the lesson went which the son replies, no lesson today dad, I've got a gig tonight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karloff Posted November 25, 2019 Share Posted November 25, 2019 2 hours ago, kidblast said: I bet at 15, you passed for 18 at least, I didn't... could a smuggled me in inside a milk crate.. 16, and looked every day of it. yea, I was already 6' 5" at 15. ponytail. still, they walked my in thru the rear door .... it was a lot of fun. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karloff Posted November 25, 2019 Share Posted November 25, 2019 somebody should start a thread on "your 1st gig" or memorable gigs ... I'm sure it's already been done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mihcmac Posted November 25, 2019 Share Posted November 25, 2019 (edited) 3 hours ago, Navy Vet. said: The old bass player story. Kid comes home from his first bass lesson. His father asks how the lesson went. Kid says great, today I learned the E string. Second day his father asks again, Great, today I learned the A string. Third day the same, Great, I learned the D string. The forth day his father asks how the lesson went which the son replies, no lesson today dad, I've got a gig tonight. I went back and forth between bass and guitar but mostly guitar. Studying classical guitar my first year in college and applied the technique to bass. In-between guitar bands, if I got bored, it was easy to hookup quickly band that needed a bass player. Going through several different basses, my favorite was my Ibanez SR800 after my Ric 4001 proved to be too much work to play. Never being completely satisfied unless playing guitar and when my SG-X came in, I pretty much gave up Bass altogether. Amps by gone.... Alamo, Massey, Rickenbacker, Ampeg Flip Top, ST. George, Acoustic, Plush, Sunn, HiWatt, Silvertone, HeathKit, BI-Gretsch, Kustom, Dual Showman, Aims, Super Beatle.. and many more... Edited November 25, 2019 by mihcmac Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Notes_Norton Posted November 25, 2019 Share Posted November 25, 2019 Parker Guitars - don't know why, they are great Any sax brand made in the USA - King (Clevelend) Super 20 saxes were fantastic Echoplex (the recording tape unit - not the digital things that do nothing but carry the name and are no longer made by Maestro) Fender PianoBass Arp Synthesizers (and plenty of others) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted November 26, 2019 Share Posted November 26, 2019 5 hours ago, Karloff said: somebody should start a thread on "your 1st gig" or memorable gigs ... I'm sure it's already been done. Doug makes a good suggestion. I don't like to start threads cuz they all tend die of loneliness on this site for some reason... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted November 26, 2019 Share Posted November 26, 2019 4 hours ago, Notes_Norton said: Parker Guitars - don't know why, they are great could it be cuz they are among the fugliest creations ever hatched on humanity???? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted November 26, 2019 Author Share Posted November 26, 2019 15 hours ago, Notes_Norton said: Echoplex (the recording tape unit - not the digital things that do nothing but carry the name and are no longer made by Maestro) I had one of those when I was young. Damn, gave my age away.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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