PG Music Home Forums General Discussion Off-Topic Weirdest, most bizarre guitar amp you ever owned.

Index

Print Thread

Go To

Weirdest, most bizarre guitar amp you ever owned. #333256 01/25/16 08:37 AM Off-Topic
Joined: Apr 2009 Posts: 9,326 Middlesex, NC Guitarhacker OP Veteran
OP Guitarhacker Veteran Joined: Apr 2009 Posts: 9,326 Middlesex, NC	So ... in another post, I got to thinking about the old amps and gear I have owned.... and figured... if I've had some weird stuff, goofy stuff, ugly stuff, stuff that makes you wonder what you were thinking at the time..... I'll just bet others have too. So... dig back in the memories and tell that story about the most bizarre piece of gear you have ever owned.... My story: I bought a Baldwin Exterminator Guitar Amp. I forget where... I forget what I paid.... It had a warning sticker on the back about possible hearing damage if the amp was turned up too loud... aside from the really tacky but colorful push buttons for additional tone control... this amp had two 15" speakers, two 12" speakers, and two 7" speakers in it. And it put out an ear crushing 250w of solid state power into those speakers. The 15's and the 12's were fused. The fuses were automotive turn signal light bulbs. So as I played, the louder I played, (and yeah I played loud) the "fuses" would get brighter as I played louder. Those suckers would shine out the back of the cabinet, since the cabinet was open at the bottom. As I played, I could see the light behind the amp and knew everything was working fine. If it got dark back there and the sound dropped out.... time to stick in some new light bulbs. I also believe it was a 2 channel amp... one very basic channel for "rhythm" and the other channel with lots of tone knobs and of course, the push buttons for the lead. That thing was a monster too. Heavy and very large. I had removed the back seat in my car so I could carry it to jam sessions and gigs. It was sure enough ugly with the blue Naugahyde on the sides.... but I thought that amp was the coooooolest thing at the time. You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.com Add nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both. The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.

Re: Weirdest, most bizarre guitar amp you ever owned. Guitarhacker #333275 01/25/16 10:36 AM Off-Topic
Joined: Dec 2003 Posts: 20,811 Hamlin NY MarioD Veteran
MarioD Veteran Joined: Dec 2003 Posts: 20,811 Hamlin NY	A bought a Carvin FR 1200 amp in 1973. This powerful amp had a 1x15", 4x10" and a horn for speakers. I had to turn the horn off, as it was too harsh of a sound for me. I don't think that I ever put the volume knob past 3! I used to put my Dynocord echocord tape echo S65 on the top of this amp. Together this unit was almost as tall than I was. Together with my 1972 Carvin Double neck guitar I was in heaven. Remember this was a long time ago and I could carry equipment like that! Here are a couple of pics of yours truly with that equipment way back then: Note the customary bottle of beer on the amp! Me, it's not about how many times you fail, it's about how many times you get back up. Cop, that's not how field sobriety tests work. 64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware

Re: Weirdest, most bizarre guitar amp you ever owned. MarioD #333287 01/25/16 11:32 AM Off-Topic
Joined: Dec 2003 Posts: 8,987 Oklahoma, USA Don Gaynor Veteran
Don Gaynor Veteran Joined: Dec 2003 Posts: 8,987 Oklahoma, USA	Quote: Mario said: Note the customary bottle of beer on the amp! That's the first thing this old Irishman noticed! (Chuckling) Reminds me of the jam sessions we had in Germany with a fabulous guitarist from Duluth. The breweries would deliver. We didn't know our true BA% until he stood up to crawl home! My first real guitar was a pre-CBS Fender Stratocaster and Fender Vibrolux Amplifier. That was about 1958 and the combination at that time was about $700. The guitar alone would fetch $thousand today. Donny Donny SoundClick: http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=1209254&content=music SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/donald-gaynor BIAB 2021 w/current updates.

Re: Weirdest, most bizarre guitar amp you ever owned. Guitarhacker #333301 01/25/16 01:32 PM Off-Topic
Joined: Oct 2008 Posts: 8,074 Winston-Salem, NC Pat Marr Veteran
Pat Marr Veteran Joined: Oct 2008 Posts: 8,074 Winston-Salem, NC	Herb, I had a Baldwin Exterminator too! Yeah, all of your observations are dead on! After I got married I wasn't playing it much.. so I lent it to a friend... and he sold it!! (and kept the money!) Those were the days... https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ey71h8ep047758h/AAC12jNM0Hz9Q8zsh5iDeqNHa?dl=0

Re: Weirdest, most bizarre guitar amp you ever owned. Guitarhacker #333302 01/25/16 02:05 PM Off-Topic
Joined: Dec 2013 Posts: 2,732 St. Louis, MO. USA sslechta Veteran
sslechta Veteran Joined: Dec 2013 Posts: 2,732 St. Louis, MO. USA	So guys, what years were those Baldwin Exterminators new, 60's, 70's? Trying to get a feel for how vintage they are. Steve BIAB/RB 2022, Pro Tools 2020, Korg N5, JBL LSR 4328 Powered Monitors, AKG/Shure Mics. PC: Win11 PRO, 4 TB M2 SSD, 2 TB HD, 128 GB Memory

Re: Weirdest, most bizarre guitar amp you ever owned. Guitarhacker #333336 01/25/16 06:14 PM Off-Topic
Joined: Jan 2002 Posts: 7,913 Colorado Springs, CO, USA R rockstar_not Veteran
rockstar_not Veteran R Joined: Jan 2002 Posts: 7,913 Colorado Springs, CO, USA	I had a KMD 100W combo amp that said it had an insert section, but in reality, it was just another input. It was before the preamp, so needless to say, any use of the amp with effects after the pre-amp was not possible. It was the GV100D amp in this catalog: http://www.ovationtribute.com/Catalogues/Kaman%20KMD%20Amps%20Catalog/Kaman%20KMD%20Amps%20Catalog.html KMD was from Kaman, the manufacturer of Ovation guitars at that time. My Songs, photos, writing,etc. My Sound Cloud

Re: Weirdest, most bizarre guitar amp you ever owned. sslechta #333338 01/25/16 06:36 PM Off-Topic
Joined: Oct 2008 Posts: 8,074 Winston-Salem, NC Pat Marr Veteran
Pat Marr Veteran Joined: Oct 2008 Posts: 8,074 Winston-Salem, NC	Originally Posted By: sslechta So guys, what years were those Baldwin Exterminators new, 60's, 70's? Trying to get a feel for how vintage they are. here's an ad from 1969 http://www.vintageguitarandbass.com/adDetails/81 I had mine in about 71 Not sure when they were first introduced https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ey71h8ep047758h/AAC12jNM0Hz9Q8zsh5iDeqNHa?dl=0

Re: Weirdest, most bizarre guitar amp you ever owned. Guitarhacker #333391 01/26/16 05:04 AM Off-Topic
Joined: Apr 2009 Posts: 9,326 Middlesex, NC Guitarhacker OP Veteran
OP Guitarhacker Veteran Joined: Apr 2009 Posts: 9,326 Middlesex, NC	I don't recall when they were made... but I bought mine when I was still in high school. I graduated in 1972.... so the late 60's sounds reasonable. You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.com Add nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both. The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.

Re: Weirdest, most bizarre guitar amp you ever owned. Guitarhacker #333396 01/26/16 05:38 AM Off-Topic
Joined: Jan 2010 Posts: 1,492 Schleswig-Holstein, Germany GHinCH Expert
GHinCH Expert Joined: Jan 2010 Posts: 1,492 Schleswig-Holstein, Germany	Some information is here: http://www.vintageguitar.com/1917/baldwin-guitars-and-amplifiers/ Some more information is here: https://www.google.de/search?q=Baldwin+Exterminator+Guitar+Amp&oq=Baldwin+Exterminator+Guitar+Amp&aqs=chrome..69i57j0.670j0j7&sourceid=chrome&es_sm=122&ie=UTF-8 It seems to date back to somewhere around the mid-60s. Desktop; i7-2600k, 8 GB mem., Win 10 Pro, BIAB 2017; RB 2017 - latest build Laptop: i5-2410M, 4 GB mem, Win 10 Pro, BIAB 2017; RB 2017 - latest build

Re: Weirdest, most bizarre guitar amp you ever owned. Pat Marr #333421 01/26/16 08:17 AM Off-Topic
Joined: Oct 2008 Posts: 8,074 Winston-Salem, NC Pat Marr Veteran
Pat Marr Veteran Joined: Oct 2008 Posts: 8,074 Winston-Salem, NC	Originally Posted By: Pat Marr Herb, I had a Baldwin Exterminator too! Yeah, all of your observations are dead on! After I got married I wasn't playing it much.. so I lent it to a friend... and he sold it!! (and kept the money!) Those were the days... I should probably include the "rest of the story"... It was the 70s, and I.. uh.. didn't notice that the guy never returned my amp. Hard to imagine that a person could just lose track of an amp, but I did. Need I say more about that? ;-) Anyway, about 25 years later a mutual friend asked me whatever happened to the exterminator (he already knew.. he was just testing to see if I did) When I floundered around and had to admit that I didn't remember ever selling it, and I had frankly no idea what happened to it... he told me that the other guy had sold it years earlier. Now to bring this story 360 and relate it to the BIAB forum, I discovered last year on my road trip that one of the people I visited knows the guy who sold my amp! He even used to play in a band with him! Small small world! And that (as Paul Harvey used to say)... is the rest of the story https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ey71h8ep047758h/AAC12jNM0Hz9Q8zsh5iDeqNHa?dl=0

Re: Weirdest, most bizarre guitar amp you ever owned. Pat Marr #333565 01/27/16 03:52 AM Off-Topic
Joined: Sep 2007 Posts: 3,921 Kennesaw (Atlanta) GA Ryszard Veteran
Ryszard Veteran Joined: Sep 2007 Posts: 3,921 Kennesaw (Atlanta) GA	As far as weird gear, in the late 1970s I had a no-name 100W solid-state guitar amp. "No name" is not an expression; I couldn't find the mfr's name anywhere. It was relatively tall as the two 12" speakers were in a diagonal configuration. Underneath the controls, at the top of the slanted speaker panel, were three Christmas tree bulbs. These were not fuses, just decoration. The speakers were unprotected; there was no grill cloth or anything. I eventually cut circles of expanded mesh and screwed them down, then sold it for two or three times what I paid. With it I had a no-name wah/fuzz pedal. (There was a name, but it was probably Acme or Nippon Gakki or some such.) The wah was okay, but the fuzz was awful. I used it anyway, though. I don't recall where I got the amp or pedal or what I paid; I'd guess $50/$10, respectively. In the small world department, my first amp was a blond Fender Super amp (which someone had painted dark brown) into which I plugged two low-end Shure Hi-Z mics for voice and acoustic guitar, which actually worked pretty well. In 1972, just after I joined the Army, I traded the amp, mics, stands, guitar, and $500 for my "forever" acoustic, an Alvarez Yairi Model 5060, which I still have. It's a very nice impression (not a copy by any stretch) of a Martin D-41. When I was discharged two years later, I returned home. I was cruising music stores one day and came across my old Super amp. It was rough, though. A sales guy told me it had been in a plane crash in Alaska. It looked like it had come apart and been nailed back together. I have never seen or heard of a Super amp since, nor do I understand why someone before me had painted it. R. "My primary musical instrument is the personal computer."

Re: Weirdest, most bizarre guitar amp you ever owned. Guitarhacker #333571 01/27/16 04:39 AM Off-Topic
Joined: Apr 2009 Posts: 9,326 Middlesex, NC Guitarhacker OP Veteran
OP Guitarhacker Veteran Joined: Apr 2009 Posts: 9,326 Middlesex, NC	Another amp I had was more of a science experiment. At the time.... this was after the exterminator ... I was a poor musician with no real guitar amp at the time.... looking back I should have just bought one second hand from someone and saved myself a ton of grief in the process. Since I was enrolled in a college tech course for electronics, and we were studying tube theory, I figured I would build an amp. In the music store, I saw a Marshall with it's paperwork and in that packet was a schematic with all the values and part numbers..... Have you figured out where this story is going? Well I spoke to the sales guy, and managed to get a copy of the schematic. I ordered the transformers for under a hundred bucks.... and started scrounging the resistors and caps until I had all the necessary parts. Since I wasn't a metal worker nor did I have the aluminum or tools to make a chassis, I decided to build this amp on a sheet of plywood and then once finished, add the sides, top and front. I had a thin piece of aluminum kickplate from the door shop where I worked at the time, that I used to hold the jacks.... in and out... as well as the knobs and switches. The tube sockets were connected to stand-offs and in reality, the amp looked like aa experiment gone wrong from Dr Frankenstien's lab. The output tube plates had around 450vdc on them and those connections were out there floating in the breeze. To say it was dangerous would be an understatement. On the positive side... I did actually have a circuit breaker installed in the circuit. So... I took my old speaker cab and hooked that amp up. Turned it on....and plugged in my guitar. Quite impressive.... good and loud.... nice tone.... But..... hey... what's that smell... oh crap...smoke!!!! Apparently the bias voltage was a bit off, and the output tubes went viral.... glowing like the rear end of a jet's afterburner..... next thing that happened was the majic smoke was released from several of the components and ...well....eventually, Long story short....I ended up buying an amp that worked rather than to try to electrocute myself and burn the house down. I still have the transformers and the tubes in a box... and every now and then I get the urge to "build it" again.... but common sense and sound reason prevail... for now anyway. You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.com Add nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both. The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.

Re: Weirdest, most bizarre guitar amp you ever owned. Guitarhacker #333613 01/27/16 07:59 AM Off-Topic
Joined: Dec 2003 Posts: 8,987 Oklahoma, USA Don Gaynor Veteran
Don Gaynor Veteran Joined: Dec 2003 Posts: 8,987 Oklahoma, USA	If we're talking "Home Brew", I made a small practice amp similar to the famous "Pig Nose". I used 2 - 5 Watt Audio Amp ICs from Radio Shack. (I wish I had taken pictures.) I connected them in bridge configuration for 10 Watts total. I was experimenting with the WM-063T Electret Microphone Element that Greg Mackie used in his Room Equalizer. I had imported thousands of them for Greg when he owned Audio Control Corporation. The concept is now quite common in high-end guitars. Greg was there first, friends. Anyway, my little amp was a screamer! Greg was experimenting with Bi-aural Sound, claiming: "Well Don, that's how we humans hear!" Don Donny SoundClick: http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=1209254&content=music SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/donald-gaynor BIAB 2021 w/current updates.

Re: Weirdest, most bizarre guitar amp you ever owned. Guitarhacker #333698 01/27/16 05:59 PM Off-Topic
Joined: May 2011 Posts: 4,219 Florida tommyad Veteran
tommyad Veteran Joined: May 2011 Posts: 4,219 Florida	Those sliders on the Exterminator brought back some memories. A friend of mine used to let my band borrow his Baldwin C1 amp with Supersound. We used it for our PA. It was really loud. This was 1966. Man I'm getting old!

Re: Weirdest, most bizarre guitar amp you ever owned. Guitarhacker #333741 01/28/16 02:41 AM Off-Topic
Joined: Sep 2007 Posts: 3,921 Kennesaw (Atlanta) GA Ryszard Veteran
Ryszard Veteran Joined: Sep 2007 Posts: 3,921 Kennesaw (Atlanta) GA	Guitar Hacker—now we know how you got your name! The first Apple computer was built on a wooden board and looked as primitive as you describe. I saw it on display at a Fry's Electronics store in Santa Clara, California. R. "My primary musical instrument is the personal computer."

Re: Weirdest, most bizarre guitar amp you ever owned. tommyad #333818 01/28/16 12:23 PM Off-Topic
Joined: Dec 2013 Posts: 2,732 St. Louis, MO. USA sslechta Veteran
sslechta Veteran Joined: Dec 2013 Posts: 2,732 St. Louis, MO. USA	Originally Posted By: tommyad Those sliders on the Exterminator brought back some memories. A friend of mine used to let my band borrow his Baldwin C1 amp with Supersound. We used it for our PA. It was really loud. This was 1966. Man I'm getting old! That's the year I was born. Dad, is that you?!? Steve BIAB/RB 2022, Pro Tools 2020, Korg N5, JBL LSR 4328 Powered Monitors, AKG/Shure Mics. PC: Win11 PRO, 4 TB M2 SSD, 2 TB HD, 128 GB Memory

Go To

Moderated by Andrew - PG Music, Blake - PG Music, Callie - PG Music, Catherine, Jeff Yankauer, PeterGannon, pgmoderation

Link Copied to Clipboard

ChatPG

Ask sales and support questions about Band-in-a-Box using natural language.

ChatPG's knowledge base includes the full Band-in-a-Box User Manual and sales information from the website.

PG Music News

April 12, 2024

Update Your PowerTracks Pro Audio 2024 Today!

Add updated printing options, enhanced tracks settings, smoother use of MGU and SGU (BB files) within PowerTracks, and more with the latest PowerTracks Pro Audio 2024 update!

Learn more about this free update for PowerTracks Pro Audio & download it at www.pgmusic.com/support_windows_pt.htm#2024_5

April 09, 2024

The Newest RealBand 2024 Update is Here!

The newest RealBand 2024 Build 5 update is now available!

Download and install this to your RealBand 2024 for updated print options, streamlined loading and saving of .SGU & MGU (BB) files, and to add a number of program adjustments that address user-reported bugs and concerns.

This free update is available to all RealBand 2024 users. To learn more about this update and download it, head to www.pgmusic.com/support.realband.htm#20245

April 05, 2024

The Band-in-a-Box® Flash Drive Backup Option

Today (April 5) is National Flash Drive Day!

Did you know... not only can you download your Band-in-a-Box® Pro, MegaPAK, or PlusPAK purchase - you can also choose to add a flash drive backup copy with the installation files for only $15? It even comes with a Band-in-a-Box® keychain!

For the larger Band-in-a-Box® packages (UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, Audiophile Edition), the hard drive backup copy is available for only $25. This will include a preinstalled and ready to use program, along with your installation files.

Backup copies are offered during the checkout process on our website.

Already purchased your e-delivery version, and now you wish you had a backup copy? It's not too late! If your purchase was for the current version of Band-in-a-Box®, you can still reach out to our team directly to place your backup copy order!

Note: the Band-in-a-Box® keychain is only included with flash drive backup copies, and cannot be purchased separately.

Handy flash drive tip: Always try plugging in a USB device the wrong way first? If your flash drive (or other USB plug) doesn't have a symbol to indicate which way is up, look for the side with a seam on the metal connector (it only has a line across one side) - that's the side that either faces down or to the left, depending on your port placement.

April 04, 2024

Update your Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows® Today!

Update your Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows for free with build 1111!

With this update, there's more control when saving images from the Print Preview window, we've added defaults to the MultiPicker for sorting and font size, updated printing options, updated RealTracks and other content, and addressed user-reported issues with the StylePicker, MIDI Soloists, key signature changes, and more!

Learn more about this free update for Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows at www.pgmusic.com/support_windowsupdates.htm#1111

March 28, 2024

Band-in-a-Box® 2024 Review: 4.75 out of 5 Stars!

If you're looking for a in-depth review of the newest Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows version, you'll definitely find it with Sound-Guy's latest review, Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows Review: Incredible new capabilities to experiment, compose, arrange and mix songs.

A few excerpts:
"The Tracks view is possibly the single most powerful addition in 2024 and opens up a new way to edit and generate accompaniments. Combined with the new MultiPicker Library Window, it makes BIAB nearly perfect as an 'intelligent' composer/arranger program."

"MIDI SuperTracks partial generation showing six variations – each time the section is generated it can be instantly auditioned, re-generated or backed out to a previous generation – and you can do this with any track type. This is MAJOR! This takes musical experimentation and honing an arrangement to a new level, and faster than ever."

"Band in a Box continues to be an expansive musical tool-set for both novice and experienced musicians to experiment, compose, arrange and mix songs, as well as an extensive educational resource. It is huge, with hundreds of functions, more than any one person is likely to ever use. Yet, so is any DAW that I have used. BIAB can do some things that no DAW does, and this year BIAB has more DAW-like functions than ever."

March 15, 2024

Convenient Ways to Listen to Band-in-a-Box® Songs Created by Program Users!

The User Showcase Forum is an excellent place to share your Band-in-a-Box® songs and listen to songs other program users are creating!

There are other places you can listen to these songs too! Visit our User Showcase page to sort by genre, artist (forum name), song title, and date - each listing will direct you to the forum post for that song.

If you'd rather listen to these songs in one place, head to our Band-in-a-Box® Radio, where you'll have the option to select the genre playlist for your listening pleasure. This page has SoundCloud built in, so it won't redirect you. We've also added the link to the Artists SoundCloud page here, and a link to their forum post.

We hope you find some inspiration from this amazing collection of User Showcase Songs!

February 21, 2024

Congratulations to the 2023 User Showcase Award Winners!

We've just announced the 2023 User Showcase Award Winners!

There are 45 winners, each receiving a Band-in-a-Box 2024 UltraPAK! Read the official announcement to see if you've won.

Our User Showcase Forum receives more than 50 posts per day, with people sharing their Band-in-a-Box songs and providing feedback for other songs posted.

Thank you to everyone who has contributed!

More News