How can you afford all those amps?

Re: How can you afford all those amps?

The natural cycle I guess is you can afford more as you get older. I'm 41 and when I was 17, music gear was of course less expensive than it is now, but being relative to what the dollar was worth then as opposed to now, it was cheaper as well. Started playing at 15 and paid $30 for a sunburst strat copy and $50 for a little transistor amp. Later upgraded to a Kay Les Paul copy (what a pos). Bought my first Les Paul, a 72 deluxe at 17 for $275.00. Bought a Guild Starfire for $90 and traded it for an Ibanez doubleneck. In 1982 I got my 75 black beauty Les Paul custom, which I still have, for $415.

I got an Ampeg reverb rocket for $175 in 80 or 81 and sold that to get a bigger amp which turned out to be a Kustom 200. I didn't get my first Marshall, which was a 1980 or 81 JCM 800 until 1983 or 1984 when I was around 20 and that just came from working and saving up. That amp cost me $500 with the cab.

After you graduate, I'm assuming you should be able to get a job way better than anything I ever had and should be able to realize most or all of your amplifier wants in a short time. You are taking a much better path than I did as I didn't go to college until I was thirty. I don't know what it's like in your country, but I started investing in real estate (thanks Carleton Sheets!) in 1999 and that's when the real cash starting to come in. Not really from the rentals because of the area I live in, but from the appreciation. Of course it doesn't have to be real estate. I'm like Ralph Kramden in that I'm always looking for some kind of hair brained scheme to make money. I just sold all my real estate and now I'm opening my own auto body shop.

So, at 41 I've got 11 guitars and nine amps. I feel blessed to be honest, and even though six of my amps are tiny old combo amps, I feel they sound just as good for what I use them for as my "big" amps.

Keep plugging away and believe me, as long as are determined, it WILL come to you. :beerchug:
 
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Re: How can you afford all those amps?

well, for the amp situation

you could always buy a POD for now, use it with headphones

then save for a tube power amp

then borrow cabs till you can afford your own
 
Re: How can you afford all those amps?

A lot of times I sell gear to get gear. It ain't fun if you like what you're selling, but at least you can mix it up a bit and bring a new piece into the mix.

Used is the way to go with tube amps. Throw away Musician's Friend. Whoever is buying their $1,500 Marshall heads is crazy.

Sometimes you need to improvise. Do searches for "guitar tube pa" on Ebay, and there's plenty of those old tube public address amps that have been, or could be, converted to guitar amps. I just sold one, and will be selling another soon. The one I sold went for just over $100, and the next will probably be between $75 and $100.
 
Re: How can you afford all those amps?

the_Chris said:
Buy used. A lot of people are against it, but that's how I got what I have today.
+1. All of the nice heads I own now were purchased used. One of the nice things about upmarket used gear is that the owners generally keep things in good shape. Back when I owned a Soldano, Lord Valve gave me a hard time about how cherry it was. That was the last amp I bought new. I likely won't do that again unless I get a Peters DC. That amp has so many variations that I'd want it built to my spec.
 
Re: How can you afford all those amps?

drew_half_empty said:
well, for the amp situation

you could always buy a POD for now, use it with headphones

then save for a tube power amp

then borrow cabs till you can afford your own

I mean not that i've got none... but... a small behringer bass amp isn't quite the best for a normal guitar (neither for a bass) ;)
 
Re: How can you afford all those amps?

well, save, sell it, and buy a bassman 10

then you got both a guitar and a bass amp
 
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