Introduction and amp advice

kog · Post by **kog** » Mon Mar 13, 2006 7:37 pm

Hi Rob, welcome. I'll be 54...uh, this month! (Those little naps are great.) Going thru my mid-life-crisis at the same time as the onset of the CRS Syndrome ("Can't Remember S***").

I also started when I was about 12, after seeing the Beatles, played some garage bands thru high school, then put the Gretsch in the case for a few years. Got my next guitar, a 360-12 in 1980.....aaannndd put THAT back in the case too.

'Bout 3 yrs ago, had an operation, along with one of those "wake up and smell the roses" things that happen, and started up with the gee-tar again, after promising myself for years that I'd do it! I'm now up to 19 guitars. Probably trying to catch with lost time a little too fast, but there ya go. Just kicking myself that I DIDN'T pick it back up sooner!

But it's never too late...so welcome back to the insanity!

Oh, and I've got one of those Vox AD30VTs, and I love it.

dragon1952 · Post by **dragon1952** » Mon Mar 13, 2006 8:05 pm

Hi Jerry,
LOL! Thanks for the welcome back to insanity....I think! I am kicking myself in the butt for waiting so long too. I really have absolutely no excuse and I too am trying to make up for lost time I'm afraid. Like anything else I become interested in, I usually go so all out I eventually get burned out. I really don't think that is something that could happen this time though because it's something you can always improve on and there's always a new guitar out there to stimulate the senses. Maybe not 19 though

britye · Post by **britye** » Tue Mar 14, 2006 5:39 pm

Welcome Rob, I had an electric guitar in my teens and actually played with a group of neighborhood pals in a 3 piece which was 2 guitars and a snare drum. It sorta fade out and life came on full force high school, the service marriage , kids oh yea job.. Then about 6 years ago my wife buys my son a little acoustic guitar and low and behold Dad is gonna teach his boy a few chords, well 6 years later and I'll be 50 in a week, my dining room has been taken over by a mysterious guitar collection which includes a Gretsch, Casino, a Martin 12 acoustic, a Dean Tradition, Ibenez acoustic/elctric, Rogue Hofner knock off bass, and 4 amps, PA system. A Ric 360/12C63 on order and a Ric 325 soon to be on order. The wife says Wha? While she's folding laundry at night I'm playing Roll over Beethoven LOL!! A childhood dream rekindled!!!

dragon1952 · Post by **dragon1952** » Thu Mar 16, 2006 8:34 am

Hi Brian...nice story! You can blame it all on the wife for buying the son a guitar in the first place! Great built-in excuse that absolves you of any guilt whatsoever

dragon1952 · Post by **dragon1952** » Sat Mar 18, 2006 10:05 am

Evidently my brothers got an old Vox Lead 100 he bought in England in the late 80's which he doesn't use anymore since he plays bass now. I guess his guitarist likes to have it on hand as a backup though. I may be able to pick that up for nothing if I play my cards right

wj350 · Post by **wj350** » Sat Mar 18, 2006 3:37 pm

Rob, nice to meet you man! I'm in the same boat--just retired last summer, not sure I have any talent worth recovering...but I'm having a good time!

Bill

dragon1952 · Post by **dragon1952** » Sat Mar 18, 2006 5:49 pm

Nice to meet you too Bill. I guess we'll never know till we try eh

But fun's the bottom line, right? Lots of worse things we could be doing!

chrisb · Post by **chrisb** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 5:28 pm

had to chime in on this one!
i've yet to find an amp i like better with my 360/12 than my vox ac15, but i have a little fender blues jr that's pretty close (both are all-tube class a). the reverb in the fender is great and they can be found used for around $200.
i would avoid getting an amp with built-in effects, especially digital ones, you're bound to become unhappy in one way or another. it's better to get an amp that does one thing really well and add good effects later as you want them.
just have fun and try lots of different stuff!

dragon1952 · Post by **dragon1952** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 7:26 pm

Yeah, I finally came to the same conclusion and went without the built-in digital effects. I just bought a little Fender 25R off of Ebay. It even came with a couple effects pedals so I can fool around a little. It has really decent reviews and is cheap enough to keep around as a second amp when I decide what I really want. This one looks interesting as a matter of fact

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7400761860&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&rd=1
I think someone here mentioned this model.

BTW, I'll be traveling for about a week soon. What does everyone do when they travel? Do you take a guitar with you? How is it taking guitars through airports and on planes nowadays anyway?

winston · Post by **winston** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 8:56 pm

Hi Rob and Hi Bill,

For some reason I missed this thread until now. Welcome to the forum from me also.

dragon1952 · Post by **dragon1952** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 9:14 pm

Hi Brian....nice to meet you and I appreciate the welcome!

ozover50 · Post by **ozover50** » Thu Mar 23, 2006 12:11 am

Good question, Rob. I'll be travelling through the US, Canada and England during August, September and October. 7 of the 9 weeks will be with a Montezuma Brown 330/6 that's waiting for me in San Francisco.

I've decided not to risk it with the standard RIC HSC - I'm getting a fairly heavy duty flight case made for it. That's not to say that it won't survive the rigors of the trip in the standard case but I'm trying to reduce the risk of damage to a minimum.

I'd be interested to hear what other members have experienced in regard to travelling with Ricks - both good and bad!

stubby · Post by **stubby** » Thu Mar 23, 2006 1:06 pm

This isn't a story about Rickenbackers but it is relevant. Several years ago, I was travelling to Ireland from Canada with my acoustic. It was in a hardshell case, with a lock on it. When I arrived, I picked up my guitar. The case was perfectly intact and the lock was secure but when I opened it, there was a hole abut the size of a silver dollar punched in it on the top by the volume controls (near where your armpit would sit). I was livid, mostly because this was no mere act of carelessness but a deliberate act. I got financial restitution from the airline after several months but so what.

You can't be too careful flying with instruments.

j_alfred · Post by **j_alfred** » Thu Mar 23, 2006 8:36 pm

Hey, Rob. I'm new here too. Here's a story and some amp advice from one of the (seemingly) few young guns on the forum (don't any of you people work for a living

):

I have never taken my Ric on a plane, but I brought home an Epiphone Dot from Paris. I knew that I was gonna be abroad for six weeks, but I didn't bring a guitar from home because I thought I could make it that long, especially if I was in Europe. I was wrong. I bought that guitar the fourth day I was there and I lugged it around with me all over Europe. When it came time to get on the plane to come home, I was really nervous because it was in a gig bag, not a hardshell case. I actually got it on board the plane without checking it with the rest of the luggage and the thoughtful British stewardess put it saftely in a coat closet. Nine hours later, I landed in America with my guitar in tact. No problems whatsoever. Maybe I just got lucky. That happens to me sometimes.

As far as amp choice goes, if you wait long enough, Rob, so that your wife completely forgets that you spent money in the first place, you can pick up a Fender Hot Rod Deville or one of its little cousins. I use the 410 60 watt, all-tube model and it sings! There are smaller versions in the series though, so there may be a better option for your application (I'm competing with a Marshall half stack in my band, so I need the volume).

My $0.02

winston · Post by **winston** » Thu Mar 23, 2006 9:19 pm

Welcome to the forum Justin,

I can't speak for the rest of our motley crew but I work for a living. The forum is on all day however. That's just one of the benefits of working as a consultant and owning your own company. LOL

Great story BTW. You must have charmed the airline staff to pull that off. As a side note, you share the same name as my eldest son. My son is also smooth enough to be able that off with the airline. It would seem that you both share some similar characteristics. LOL

Here's a little history of your name:

Justin is derived from the Roman name Justinus, which was derived from Justus meaning the "just".

BTW this was the name of several early saints including Justin Martyr, a Christian philosopher of 2nd century who was beheaded in Rome.