Hoffman Amplifiers Tube Amplifier Forum
Forum and Web site Stuff => Introduce Yourself => Topic started by: RealRiffWillis on October 01, 2020, 01:07:34 pm
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Hello everyone... I'm Mark, I live about a mile from the old Gibson factory in Kalamazoo, MI... I used to be a carpenter before I damaged my spine... Had to quit that gig and began turning my musical hobby into a more serious pursuit to make a living... Im 53 and started working on guitars back in high school, which was odd because I was a drummer... Drums werent very mechanically interesting, but I found that guitars were fun to play around with, and I started learning how they worked, how to repair them, modify, customize, and eventually build customs for the cats I jammed with... Became a kind of hobbyist guitar tech, and when I couldnt work my construction gig, I had enough skills to try making a go at teching out of my home... along the way, I got bitten by the tube amp bug and Ive been down that rabbit hole for a few years... I would consider myself a very green rookie, but Im having a blast learning, and have gone all in to acquire the necessary tools and seek knowledge when and where ever I can get it... My goal is to open a small shop outside of my home to offer my guitar tech services and build a small custom guitar brand doing one off made to order guitars and a few copies of designs I favor, usually based on Gibson style electrics... I'm currently working on a Flying V and an Explorer, and have several other projects derived from old guitars Ive acquired to rehab and sell... The amp thing is more of a hobby, but I sometimes do some maintenance work for friends... Mostly because there isnt many resources forgetting amps worked on here, and Im not going to trust the heroes at Guitar Center to put a 9volt battery in a Rat pedal, let alone manhandle my riff sticks or amps... So Im here to gain knowledge, and I look forward to meeting you all... Below is my current gear list, please dont judge too harshly as most of my choices are predicated on budgetary restrictions and the kindness of some really great friends...Cheers!
2x Peavey Windsor 100 watt heads, 1 in service, tthe other is being prepped for surgery
1x Marshall JCM900 4100 High Gain head, currently out of service after 10 years of punk rock gigs in the hands of a close friend and passed on to me to "keep it in the family"... Apparently it only had 20 mins of servicable life left when I got it home, because thats how long it was off standby before it shat the bed...
1x Peavey Valve King 4x12 cabinet, complete with hideous leopard print grill cloth
1x vintage Acoustic SS head cobbled 15" speaker that serves as a very impressive cobbled up bass rig
1x Box of assdrted stomp boxes in various stages of alteration and a few cool surprises in there, mostly donated or acquired in lieu of cash
Epiphone Les Paul Custom, Washburn MG ca 1991, Yamaha Pacifica Frankenstrat,Epiphone Les Paul Special II Bass,
and a bunch more garage sale gear I try to keep running... a full PA and my Sonor drum kit,
so far, the wife has never tried to shut it down... shes a tolerant woman who lets me be me, and weve been together 28 years... obviously, shes the adult supervision here at HQ, as I never quite got the hang of being a grownup... our kids are a 1 yr old Bernese Mountain Dog named Jack, and our newest is an Old English Bulldog 4 months old named Duff... theres cats here too, but I dont get along with them, theyre squatters... I think they are plotting to kill me...
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Welcome to the forum
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Hey, I was born up the road at Borgess, living out life south of Battle Creek, middle of nowhere, 10 minutes from anything :)
need anything just holler!