Another great craigslist find, this vintage all tube amp hails from the early 70s (01/05/1972 to be exact, as penciled in under the chassis itself).

As a background, Plush amplifiers were made from 1969 thru 1973, apparently direct copies of either a fender showman or a twin reverb. Its main striking feature is the now identifiable "tuck and roll" covering not unlike that of Kustom amps, instead of the regular tolex coverings. Not surprisingly they were sued, either by Kustom or Fender (not sure), and its been said they went out of business due to bankruptcy from these litigations (but the story goes that they went on to become Earth Sound Amplifiers, who in their early life also had tuck and roll covering on their early amps, though nothing real conclusive to support this Plush-Earth Sound connection other than whats been generated thru forums and posts). Earth Sound also went the way of the dinosaurs eventually.

THE FIND:

Trolling craigslist one night, the ad "PA tube head - $100" immediately caught my eye. "Tube" and "$100" together are usually a good indicator of a possible good ...... Read More

not stupid, but stupid funny! The dude writes an entertaining and amusing ad.
http://southjersey.craigslist.org/for/1753316273.html

in case that ad gets deleted, read below:

I guess its easier for her to hold the guitar up in front of a mirror and then shoot the reflection, rather than simply shooting the guitar laying down, or propped up against, say, a wall.
The guitar is cheap though. But thats not the only reason why she'll get a TON of responses. 
Spelling errors forgiven due to her bellybutton.  

it takes me being down with fever to update this slow-ass moving site. Not an easy task if youre busy with other things. but here goes!

Its almost SUMMER! and shows are getting hotter this year. It's like its awakening from its stupor of lousy shows from last year. Currently theres maybe 6 shows im looking to go to, and thats already a conservative, held-back decision. With the added expense of owning a house, i have to be a little more picky with shows. Ive already been to several go-worthy shows, and it seems like there will be more. :-)

photography-wise, im doing a reboot. Yes, a reboot, the buzzword lately, might as well use it in this case. Ive laid low due to  my self-study of tube technology among other things. Its still ongoing but i feel the need to start snapping pictures again, but this time with a more thematic, more holistic approach.
And im feeling frisky - im starting to like shooting videos too. we'll see where that goes... ;-)

More toys! guitars and amps to be exact. But acquisition has slowed down considerably, which prompted the decision to start photography again. After acquiring one amp that proved to be an excellent choice, i felt ive arrived at rock tone heaven. The gain and natural ...... Read More

this is a sample of HOW to post a stupid ad.

(c'mon, how can you NOT make fun of this?}

I have been buying and selling items on Craigslist for some time now, and for the most part its been very beneficial. It provides a straight route for selling items locally and fast, and it can be a boon to bargain hunters, waiting for those item(s) that someone just wants to get fast cash for, without the hassle of going to an auction site or waiting for it to appear in the local newspaper (which no one reads anymore). Best of all, its FREE.

But ever so often you do come across some of the dumbest ads ever. Some have seriously misspelled simple words repeated throughout the ad, some whose grammar seems to have been written by a louse (even a 2 year old can sound more coherent). Some have the amazing audacity of posting what they believe is the overinflated sense of value for an easily researchable price and common enough item to be found in stores for cheap, brand new. Its a free market, and people can command whatever price they deem fit for whatever item they post. But as it IS a free market, we also have the freedom to do this: make fun of them.

This section is dedicated to framing those works of (f)art. We aim to put in a capsule the ads that i believe are timeless in their stupidity, whose only worth to the reader is the mirth and ...... Read More

What better record to start this section off than with Norah Jones' new album The Fall?

This came out a couple of months ago, but the vinyl did not ship til a few weeks back. It was a birthday gift from one of my concert buddies (D-MAN!), and damn if the album didnt come with lots of audio AND VISUAL surprises!

The first thing out of the vinyl folds was the record itself (of course!), weighing in considerably heavier than most of the records made back in the 70s. It did not feel thin and flimsy, but very hefty. Maybe due to the fact that not many people buy vinyl these days that its not a big cost issue to produce such records with surprising thickness. Amazingly its not priced much more than if you bought the CD.

As the record started to spin and play, you can hear the subtle difference compared to a CD or digital playback. Theres no sterility and hyper-cleanness to it - something a lot of people are conditioned to look for, and in the ears of the amateur, this sound would be rated badly. But to the trained and jaded ears, this comes as a fresh breath of air. The warmth that ...... Read More

This is my very first tube amp, in my awakening from my guitar coma. Im kinda sad about letting this amp go, as it held a sentimental value, but i dont play it as much, and only used when my buddy comes over and uses it with his modeling guitar unit.

It wasnt a bad tube amp at all. It was very transparent- it allows modeling units and stompboxes come through and flavor its sound nicely. It was quiet at its maximum levels, and it was LOUD.

But one reason that i gave it up was that it was TOO transparent. It had no specific tone to me, especially when i run its Lead Channel. Its Clean Channel was as classic a clean tone as you can get, but once the Lead Channel is kicked in, i had to futz around with its settings a bit much jut to dial in a useful tone. I guess i got spoiled from the other tube amps ive gotten, where getting a great overdriven tone was easy - all i did was turn up the volume and start getting a great tube growl. The kind of distortion and overdriven sound you look for in a tube amp. Dont get me wrong - the great tones are there, just too much dialing takes place when i play it, and i prefer to simply plug and play. Or plug, turn it up, and ...... Read More

This was pretty much an impulse buy, mainly because it was cheap! Also, musician's friend labeled it as Condition 4. The description said " neck needs adjustment". Nothing was said about anything broken, so i pulled the trigger and bought it. 4 days later, it arrived.

It came in pretty much brand new, just without the box. It included the hex screws for the bridge adjustments, a 1/4" phono guitar cord, and an aria manual. It also still had the protective plastic cover on the P-90 pickups and the pickguard.
Upon initial strumming, there was completely no sound but the clunk of the string hitting the neck. I checked the bridge and it was already adjusted as high as it can get. A rifle-hold inspection against the light shows the neck to be arched so far back you can see it bend. NOT GOOD!. Immediately i took off the truss rod cover, and of course, the one hex screw for it is not included. Rummaging around i found one that fit, though it kept slipping as i try to make a turn. Seems that the primer and finish  had gunked up the hole, making the truss rod wrench slip. A simple firm push and a shove got the hex bit to grip, and slight turns ...... Read More

Scouring Musician's Friend's site, i stumbled on a bunch of neat amps that are USED. Among them was the Epiphone Blues Custom 30. One thing that intrigued me was the use of a tube rectifier - not always seen on modern tube amps, its mostly considered by engineers to make amps unreliable, one reason why most tube amps are built with solidstate rectifiers. Also another consideration for NOT using them is the increase in power that an amp can generate, which in these days, something that majority of users seem to prefer. Or something that amplifier manufacturers seem to perceive is where the market is. People want more power, lets make one that can do give them that. Tube rectifiers eliminated, amps can push farther out in its power handling.

Tube rectifiers do change the way the amp handles its power, and consequently affect the tone it produces. Theres always what is called a "sag" when teh amp is pushed. In a nutshell, when an amp is turned up as in guitar amps, playing notes seem to produce a compression-like effect, sustain on a note a lot longer. The other effect is that picking isnt as respinsive as with a solidstate rectifier. Jazz and metal ...... Read More

Ever since i can remember (or at least when i got to find out there is such a thing as an electric guitar), ive always been fascinated by the shape of the Gibson Firebird. The soft curves of its body, the neck-thru construction, and most especially the bird-head-shaped headstock. Everything just flows in this guitar's looks. Yet at a reverse look, it seems like you're playing a dead bird, with its belly up. Instead of flying with the bird, youre holding it dead in your arms. Screams of fowlness (nyuk nyuk!). Kidding aside, i always wanted a firebird, but in a flipped over version. I come to find out they DO make it, in the  NON-reverse version. Just by its name, even gibson acknowledges that the original firebird is upside down.

But heres the rub - its a disappointing lame-looking version! not even an exact body shape, just what looks to be a poorly cut shape of the original. They DID retain the shape of the headstock, a good thing, since its what sold me in the first place. Why they didnt just flip it over to save on cutting costs is beyond me. The guitar neck is really a neck-thru construction, and for those who dont know it yet, from the tip of ...... Read More