It's been many years since I posted here, but I wanted to let anyone who comes here looking for a particular story know that I am slowly but surely moving all of these stories over to my personal website. So, if the link you clicked for a particular amp or guitar didn't work, you might try my website. You can read many of the stories that have already been moved here:

https://www.jaimiemuehlhausen.com/the-ones-that-got-away

Mostly I have been worried that they will eventually shut down this Blogger format and these stories will simply disappear. So...thanks for enjoying them through the years and be sure to click that link and visit the new The Ones That Got Away. 

thanks,

Jaimie

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Buck Owens Harmony Acoustic

In honor of 4th of July weekend I thought I'd post about the Buck Owens red, white and blue acoustic that I once had, but remains in the family. So, technically it did get away, but I know where it is. I walked into a guitar shop in Laguna Beach one day and was checking out the amazing selection of gutiars they had. I walked into the acoustic room and immediatly my eyes were drawn to a really beat up Buck Owens acoustic. When I was a kid, my dad would watch Hee Haw every weekend and eventually Buck Owens and Roy Clarke would do a song. On that show Buck always played his red, white and blue signature Buck Owens Harmony acoustic guitar. That guitar was an absolute icon to me. I won't even go into how cool Buck Owens is...if you're not a country fan and think Buck is just one of those old country dudes, think again. An amazing guy in both music and business and his band back in the day featured one of the all-time most influential guitarists, Don Rich. Now back to the guitar...

I inquired about the price and it was only $250. The guy pointed out some serious cracks on the back of the guitar, and the action was pretty high. The white paint had faded to a yellowish puke color. And the pickguard was missing...though someone had put a generic, cheap white plastic guard on it. Even with all those faults, I wanted it. I wanted to fix it up a bit and give it to my dad. I took it down to Fred at the Repair Zone in San Diego, one the guitar gurus in town, and asked if he could help me find or create an original pickguard. I had found some photos, and you could still see the faint outline on the guitar where the original had been. Fred hand cut a new one for me and we were back to original appearances.

The headstock on these guitars are a thick plastic overlay that seems to be made out of some very brittle material. On MANY of these guitars, the headstock overlay is cracked, pieces missing, peeling away, or just plain missing. The one on mine was in pretty decent shape except that right where the words "Buck Owens" were, was kind of scraped or rubbed off mostly. I didn't really want to pay for a neck reset, especially since my Dad doesn't play guitar, so I left that "as is." It actually had a decent case too and lots of interesting case candy.

I had asked the guy in the store about the stuff in the case and he said "No matter what's in the case when a guitar comes in, unless it's damaging to the guitar, I leave it in. I figure that's part of the guitar's mojo."

I have now adopted that rule myself when buying any guitar. I keep the mojo together. I took the guitar to my dad who really seemed to like the gift. I don't know that he's really attempted to play it, and a few times when I went to visit I found it out in his garage in the HOT summer in Sacramento...probably not the best place for a guitar. I have tried and tried to get him to put it in a safer spot and I have no idea if it's currently in a storage unit or at my dad's place. I'm worried that it's in the storage unit, going from hot summer to cold winter and probably falling apart in the case. But, not much I can do...just hope for the best. It's a really cool guitar, warts and all, and it will forever remind me of being a kid in Tulsa, OK, watching TV with my dad on a Saturday evening.

2014 UPDATE: In this past year, my dad moved in with me as he is getting older and it just made sense. When he moved all his stuff from storage into my garage, I kept waiting and waiting for them to unload a guitar case off the truck. Nothing. Finally I asked him about the guitar and where it was. He said, "Well, I think the guys that helped me move stuff into the storage unit a long time ago stole it. I haven't seen it since then, so I guess it's gone. DOH! I just sort of knew that the fate of this guitar was not going to be good. I guess I'll keep an eye on Ebay and see if I can spot it at some point. With all it's cracks and fading, it should be easy to spot.

Once again, since the guitar is not in my hands, I have found some photos on the internet to use for this story. This is not the actual guitar I gave my dad.

1963 Fender Tremolux Amplifier

I had an opportunity to get an old Fender Tremolux once in a trade situation and completely blew it. When the opportunity came up a second time, years later, I wasn't about to let it get away. I'm pretty sure I've told the story of the first chance I had...I needed an amp for the first actual band I was going to be in. All I had was a really nice, extra fancy Martin D-41 (MAN, I wish I had that one back). I took it to the local guitar store to trade it for an amp and a lesser acoustic guitar and I blew it. I did get a really sweet, cherry sunburst Gibson Dove from the late 70's that played like buttah and sounded great. But when the guy said, "You can pick from those two amps over there in the corner," that's when I blew it. The two amps were a 1963 blonde Fender Tremolux with 2-10" cabinet and a Roland Jazz Chorus 120. You guessed it folks...I picked the Roland, god help me. Suffice it to say, I had no idea what I was doing when it came to amps at the time and I'm sure the guy from that shop still tells the story of how some schmuck traded a D-41 with thousands of dollars of additional inlay for a Dove and a Jazz Chorus.

It's probably his shining retail moment.

So, fast forward a few years, and I come across this second Tremolux, identical to the one I missed out on. That's how I say it..."missed out on." Prior to the world of eBay and Craig's List you had to rely on local papers and entertainment publications and the Penny Saver. In San Diego we have The Reader, which has the listings for all the live music in town, movies, articles about local politics and stories about all kinds of goofy local people, usually with a parrot on their shoulder and wearing Hawaiian shirts. The best part of The Reader for a musician though is the ads for musical instruments. That's where I found this amp...in The Reader. I actually don't remember the details in any way...I'm completely drawing a blank. But I do know that this amp sounded like a million bucks and I fell in love with tremolo.

As you can see from the photos, this amp has a separate head and cabinet. The Tremolux came with a 2-10" cabinet with Jensen speakers, though sometimes you'll find one with 2-12". I'm pretty certain that if you come across that, you're not looking at an original pairing. The old Bandmasters and later Bassmans came with 2-12's and, although they still sound great, it's the 2-10's that I think give this the sound. The head has a sort of built-in bracket system that keeps it attached to the cab with large thumb screws and it had tilt-back legs as well. I was always scared shitless to actually use the tilt-backs because I was afraid the whole thing would tip over and KA-BAM, no amp. I had a custom road case built for this amp with a red finish, so if you happen to own this amp with it's red road case let me know. I'll trade you for a Jazz Chorus...wink, wink. Not that I still have the Jazz Chorus...that's another story.

The end of this amp came about when I was playing a gig one night at a local San Diego bar called Dreamstreet. It's one of those bars that has 4 local bands a night playing and no one's crowd supports any other band...so your band plays, your people come in and hang out, then your band finishes, your people go back outside, and no one ever builds up a local following because no one supports good live music...just supports their friend's band. But I digress. We got set up as quickly as we could, being the third band of the night, and got ready to kick into our first tune. I was the lead singer and rhythm guitarist. I stepped up to the mic to sing the first words and my lips slightly touched the mic and BOOOM...I literally got the shock of my life. That old Tremolux wasn't grounded and, even though I had used the same amp successfully for a long time, the situation that night all added up to massive electrocution. It literally blew me backwards just a bit and I had a burn on my lips for quite a few days. We kept playing but I stayed about a foot from the mic the rest of the night...rock'n'roll must go on.

It didn't take long for me to decide to get a different amp. I suppose I could have had that one altered with a grounded cord, but I didn't want to alter the originality of it and I just decided to get something else. I'm pretty sure I sold it and ended up with a Music Man 4-10 Sixty Five, which was no slouch. Hey, I wish I had that one back too.

Once again, I can't find photos of this actual amp, so I have resorted to stealing some from the 'net. These photos are EXACT though, so pretend this is the one I had and no one will know.

Vox T-60 Bass Amplifier

Vox is a brand name that brings up thoughts of both really cool and really marginal instruments and amps. I love Vox Mando-Guitars, Vox AC-30 amps, and some of their guitars look pretty cool (and some are even decent sounding). I've got a friend who owns one of those Vox Tonelab guitar amp modeling things for recording and he swears by it because it's got a tube you can see. One thing that I always think of is that Vox is always very identifiable as Vox.

So, when I opened up Craig's List one day and saw a Vox T-60 bass amp for sale I was very curious. I owned an inexpensive bass at the time and thought it would be cool to at least have a small bass amp around the house in case an impromptu jam session broke out...you know, like in Josie and the Pussycats. So, after a little online research, I emailed the guy and offered him $200 for the amp and he accepted. I went and picked up the bass and got it home and couldn't wait to plug it in. This amp has 60 watts of power, a 12" speaker with a horn, active and passive inputs, that cool Vox vintage amp look, and, most importantly, what they call the "Bassilator" circuit for low-end enhancement. It's a button you push that's sort of like the "loudness" button on those old silver-faced Sanyo stereos from the '70s that sound so good.

It just fattens things up with a nice bottom end...like my lady. D'oh.

Since I'm not really a bass player I won't (can't) go on and on about this amp, but I can tell you that it is definitely worth the price of admission and makes an excellent practice amp or for smaller gigs. It can kick it out pretty well with some nice tone. A few times a jam session did actually break out (but not like Josie and the Pussycats) and each time the bass player was more than happy and always asked me about the amp. There are some other Vox bass amps that look sort of similar...maybe a Vox T-40 or something like that...and those really suck from what I've heard. But this T-60 is a nice buy and, in the theme of this site, I wish I had that one back.
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Way Huge Swollen Pickle Jumbo Fuzz

You may have a different opinion, but personally, I don't think it matters too much what guitar you play through when you use a big, fat fuzz pedal. It all sounds the same...it's like playing through a Line 6 amp...what difference does it make if you use a Strat or an SG if all you are doing is dialing in some modeled sound of a "British Stack" with delay? For me it's the same with a fuzz pedal...it all sounds the same. I'm sure there are variations that I'm not discerning enough to grasp, but for me, no need for fuzz. Which brings me to the Way Huge Swollen Pickle I used to own...for about a week.

The good news is that Way Huge is about to reissue some of their pedals. The bad news is that those of you who own some of the originals might be getting ready to lose some of the enormous value that these pedals command. Maybe not...maybe the fact that they are "originals" will keep the prices high. A Way Huge Aqua Puss analog delay pedal easily goes for $800 or more. Back when they first came out I remember reading something about them and that some famous guitarists were saying they were the best pedals ever made. I stopped in a well known guitar shop in Huntington Beach one day to gawk at the super rare vintage Marshalls and old Fenders and other cool stuff and, lo and behold, they had a couple of Way Huge pedals. I didn't know much about compression (still don't), and I already had a delay pedal, so I migrated toward the Swollen Pickle, which was categorized as "Jumbo Fuzz." Not just regular fuzz...JUMBO fuzz. I think that I forked over around $200, which was unheard of for a new pedal at the time, and walked out the door feeling pretty pleased with myself.

Maybe I should have tried the pedal out first.

I got home and called my fellow bandmates and bragged about my new possession. We had band practice the next night and I was the first one there. I got all plugged in and powered up and kicked in my new Way Huge, cream of the crop, coveted by many owned by few, Swollen Pickle and...FUZZZZZZ. Big fat fuzz. Jumbo Fuzz if you will. Man, I'd heard that before in a $45 pedal and it didn't sound much different than the thing on the floor that I just paid two hundred bones for. Let me note right here that I know some of you are reading this right now and thinking to yourself, "Holy shit, this guy's an idiot. Fuzz is awesome and there is good fuzz and bad fuzz and the Way Huge Jumbo Swollen Fuzzy Pickle Machine is the best f*$%in' fuzz known to man!"

I'm sorry. It's me, it's not you. I just don't like you that way.

Let's continue...I had no use for a fuzz pedal for the kind of music I play. I quickly realized my mistake and thought about seeing how fast I could pack it back up and put it in the car before anyone else showed up for practice. Too late. Door opens and in walks our lead guitarist, also not a big fan of the fuzz. I decided to get his very valued opinion. Quote: "You paid HOW MUCH for that?" Damn. And at the time there was no such thing as eBay or Craig's List. I honestly don't remember how I sold it or for how much. I do wish I had it back right now to sell on eBay since the value has gone up so much. And, by the way, I have played through other Way Huge pedals and they really are amazing...I don't want anyone to think I'm bagging on Way Huge...it's the fuzz that I'm not excited about and the fact that I bought a fuzz pedal is my own mistake. I'm a little stupid.

Ironically, just last year I got an email from Jeorge Tripps, the original inventor/owner/mad scientist behind Way Huge and he had seen my website about Locobox pedals. He asked if I would be interested in building a tribute website for Way Huge pedals. I was gung ho and we were going to do a trade out for some Way Huge pedals he still had...but Jeorge is a super busy guy who now designs pedals for Line 6 and MXR (Jim Dunlop) and it just never came together. From what I understand, MXR just came out with an analog delay pedal called the Carbon Copy that is supposed to be as good as or better than the Aqua Puss for less than $150. I believe Jeorge designed it. I think I'm going to need one.

Silvertone Guitar and amp model 200G

I'll have to keep this one short and sweet because I have to admit I don't remember much about them. One weekend I went to my favorite Sunday swap meet and came across this '60s Silvertone guitar and matching amp. I was actually kind of excited because I thought that maybe the guitar would sound kind of cool and it would become a very interesting guitar for recording or maybe a few songs at a gig. I figured the amp sucked and I was right, but when you come across a set that has been together for that many years you can't break them up. I think that should be a cardinal rule of guitar collecting. So, I forked over the money for both, which I don't remember how much I paid. Since I never take more than $100 to the swap meet I know it was under $100 and I seem to remember it being somewhere around $40 or $50 for both.

I got them home and they both needed a good cleaning. The guitar was missing a couple of knobs but worked just fine and sounded okay. I seem to remember that the action was pretty decent and the amp did work fine. I was right about it sucking though. The sound was terrible. I think we forget about how good the quality of our cheap instruments tends to be these days. If you bought a "student model" or inexpensive brand back in the '60s or '70s you were most likely getting a pretty inferior instrument. And the amps were downright awful for the most part...unless you consider a silverface Vibro Champ a student amp. But if you are talking about a solid state Sears Silvertone 200G, you are talking crap. Think about how truly usable a Squier P-Bass is these days. Or a Jay Turser Strat-style guitar.

I bought my daughter a Squier Affinity Strat for $75 NEW (with a gig bag) and it just plain doesn't suck when it comes down to it.

It's obviously not my choice for guitar of the year and it doesn't have any "vibe," but if you got to a gig and had no choice but to play it, you could survive just fine. Anyway, back to the real story here...the Silvertone. I quickly realized that it was just a guitar to put on eBay and make a little money with. I paired it up and, true to my own rules, sold the guitar and amp as a pair. I have no idea what I sold them for, but I do remember being quite pleased with the outcome. So, the moral of this story is: Sears is not a guitar store.

Grant Distortion 15 Pedal

A few years ago I read a story in Tape Op Magazine (if you don't get this free magazine you are now required to go sign up...seriously) about Jason Falkner from the band Jellyfish. They were talking about how he was able to get amazing home recordings on things as basic as 4-track cassette recorders. He mentioned that he ran literally everything through an amazing effect pedal called The Choker by a '70s company called Locobox. Of course I had to find one and it was next to impossible to do. So I checked to see if "locobox.com" was available, which it was, and I bought the domain name and started a website about Locobox pedals. I figured that if people had a Locobox pedal for sale they would Google "Locobox" and find me. And guess what? It worked. I ended up buying many Locobox pedals...not just The Choker compressor pedal. They made some really cool other stuff as well...I recommend the Locobox Tubemaniax and the Mysto Dysto distortion pedals.

What happened next was that I started finding information about other pedals as well. Guyatone, Memphis, Coron, Electra and many others. I found that some of the factories in Japan at the time would make particular pedals and put many different brand names on them, but they were all essentially the same pedal. Locobox did this with Electra and Volz. Coron is probably a more well known name, but the same people also made the Memphis, Storm and Grant brands exactly the same as the Corons. Many of these pedals sound great, many are at least interesting, and quite a few I have found to suck. Just my opinion. The one that I have found to like quite a bit is the distortion pedal made by Coron/Memphis/Grant/Storm etc.

I ended up buying a Coron Distortion 15, a Grant Distortion 15, and a Storm Distortion 15, mostly just to see if they really did sound the same.

Of course there were slight variances, but for the most part they all sounded about the same and I really like the sound. I would say they fall more in the Tubescreamer variety of distortion...more of an overdrive I guess than heavy distortion. The one I kept for a long time was the Grant pedal. It sounded the best of the ones I had, though that's probably fairly subjective. I have found the Memphis pedals to be the least consistent and quite a few of their pedals that I have found I sold right away. In particular the Freq Attack. For some reason, people email me all the time at the Locobox site wanting to sell their Freq Attack pedals.

If you happen to come across any of these I would suggest giving them a shot. It just might be that little slightly different sound that you are looking for. I ended up selling mine at one point and I really do wish I had that one back. If you want to see what all of these pedals look like, visit my site Locobox.com and scroll down to the bottom of the home page. You'll find links to all of these brands that I have mentioned and a few more.