Although I'm Scottish being and bred I moved to Northern Ireland in my mid teens and from there I moved to England to go to university. Once I had blown all my money on lavish gear I returned to Northern Ireland and decided to trade in a lot of the equipment at a local music shop.
So... I ended up with a credit note for about £2k which was outstanding. While nosying down the length of the shop I spotted a Marshall half stack. Assuming it was an old amp in for repair I wandered past it and nearly left the shop with nothing other than a piece of paper worth £2,000. But something made me ask about the amp... turned out it was sale AND it was cheap, REALLY cheap. The chap selling it was wanting it gone as he had developed serious arthritis and couldn't play any more. I decided to go for it and I was a happy man. Having owned several vintage Marshalls while in England I hadn't seen this one. It turned out to be a JMP from 79 with a matching 4 x 12.
What a tone MONSTER! It's the perfect bridge between typical vintage Marshall and the JCM series.. it did EVERYTHING. Fast forward a year and I was left with a serious financial situation (wasn't my own doing) so the amp had to go. A friend paid me market value for it which was 3 times what I had paid for it tbh. I felt awful helping him load up the gear into his car... awful. I saw the amp now and then, it always upset me. You never know what you have until it's gone, huh.
Now, fast forward 13 years and all of a sudden I get a message from my friend offering it to me! I was in the process of selling the LoneStar I had to fund my new business and foolishly I rejected the offer (WHAT??!!). That was a few weeks back and tbh I have erased it from my mind. Then, for some reason I started to feel a draw back to the conversation. I had just put all my money into building my new workshop so I hastily got a loan and contacted my friend again to say "DEAL"!
After many happy memories with the amp, a long tone journey and going full circle I think it's safe to say it all happened for a reason.
She'll be home in a few days... and I can't wait!
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f21/Lonestar83/Mobile Uploads/46A0A79B-E585-4CD9-8179-8A78A6BF73E5_zpsbusbynu9.jpg
Comments
• Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/@Goldeneraguitars
When I came back I went into Trevor keys music in Ballymena with about 4 guitars and 2 amps.
• Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/@Goldeneraguitars
• Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/@Goldeneraguitars
• Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/@Goldeneraguitars
• Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/@Goldeneraguitars
• Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/@Goldeneraguitars
• Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/@Goldeneraguitars
• Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/@Goldeneraguitars
Also good luck with your amp when you get it back