chuckelator
Well-Known Member
Hey Marshall Fam! It's been a LONG while! Hope all is well! 
I'll cut to the chase though. I helped move my girlfriend out of her apartment and in with me, and I inherited a few things along the way, one of which was her room-mates Mexi-Telecaster, as she knew I played and wanted it to end up in good hands, since she'd moved to NYC from northern VA. I sent her the attached pic earlier to let her know that her axe was in good hands, and would be well cared for (and had a Telecaster buddy to hang out with as well!) and she commented about how much she loved my Marshall stack, and got me reminiscing about how I came to own it. Here's the story as best I know (since, I wasn't around when my uncle bought it, clearly, since I was born in 85, and it's serial number dates to Novemeber of '73 (also inherited a Wurlitzer organ, which is sitting in our storage space for the time being...another story for another time!)
As far back as I can remember, my uncle Bill was a through and through rock and roll dude. I have very vivid memories of myself and him in the early 90's, when i was 9-10 years old showing me stuff on his Pre-CBS Strat (which I'm still trying to get off him, he won't budge!) And showing me his favorite records of the time (he had an AMAZING stereo system) which were Queensryche's Operation Mindcrime, GnR's Appetite for Destruction, and the like (funny, I grew up with my father who's into The Eagles, and pop country music...HAHA) and always in the corner of his living room was this Marshall amp. He always told me that one day, he'd have me over and fire it up and show me what was what! I was so excited to hear the thing!
One day though...my dad took me over to Bill's house (they're bothers, if you haven't figured that out at this point) and he had the guys from his old band over and they were jamming. I had my little Marshall lead 12 combo, and the Charvel Model 2 that Bill had given me (all the guys over were "wow, I remember that guitar!!!" so that was pretty neat!) and he had that mythical Marshall powered on and ROARING. I though it was the coolest sounding, loudest, meanest thing I'd ever heard! (I think I was 14-15 at the time) Had a PA set up, and a drumkit, and they were jamming AC/DC, Beatles, Rolling Stones etc...having a great time, and I was floored...I'd never heard/seen anything so loud or cool! (at that point, I'd never seen any live music, so that was my reference point) Interestingly enough, these dudes he was jamming with had played a number of gigs in the DC/VA area, most notably opening for Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, as the local support act (my father told me that, confirmed it with my Uncle)
Shortly thereafter, my uncle needed a place to store all of his gear (including his Marshall, all his PA gear, effects (including an ORIGINAL MXR Distortion +...wish I still had it, Not because it's worth a pretty penny these days, but because I'd be able to channel my inner Randy Rhodes!) so we ended up with a full PA, the Marshall, a few mics, etc... it was cool! We had a stage in my parents living room (my dad loved it, my mom HATED IT haha!) at that point, I would just turn the Marshall on, low volume, and the Distortion + was my gateway to grindy mayhem! (man it sounded great to me at the time, probably still would if I had that pedal still!) And then..
My Uncle came and picked up all of his stuff, including the Marshall! I was heartbroken! I was back to playing through my minuscule Lead 12 (which I do still have...needs a new speaker at this point and some minor maintenance, but I held on to it after all these years because... it was my first real amp) And that's what I played up until I was about 22-23. I'd moved out of my parents house in with my then girlfriend. It served me well for sure! (I even gigged with it a couple of times mic-ed up, those MOSfet series amps do sound damn good for a solid state amp!)
At that point, I was playing an Epiphone Dot, I love (and miss.. it's long since gone, since it was stolen a number of years ago) and I went down to visit my parents at some point, can't remember exactly when, but there it was...that Marshall...sitting at my parents house...not being played or used at all. This is the part that I'm un-sure of. I don't know exactly why my Uncle unloaded the amp yet-again, but it was sitting in my parents living room. I plugged my brother Mike's guitar into it...not too loud (this was long before I learned how NMV amps worked) and just assumed it didn't have built in distortion...but the cleans to me...so warm, and huge. I loved it...I thought... if I could build off the way the cleans sounded, I'd sound better than ANYONE! Then it happened...
I split with my girlfriend at the time, and moved back home. I was destroyed, emotionally, but I also realized I had a chance to really get to know this amp. And I did. I got to know how it all worked, and was even more infatuated with it. Every time I was home alone, I DIMED that SOB...My brother is a damn good player, but he's kind of left it behind...and that was who the amp was originally given to at the time, but he's kind of left the music life behind, wife and kids and all...so it slowly became my thing! I wasn't mad about this. Because I had this big, bad-ass amp that I considered to be mine!
And it ended up being mine. I moved back on from my parents house, into my own place, lived my own life, and it's been with me every where I've been over the past 10 years. I'm 32 now, and that model 1987 is my oldest possession. It doesn't get as much use as my Mesa/Boogie does these days, but when I plug into it (along with that greenback loaded cab) I smile, I tremble, and the hairs on my arm stand at attention. It's special...I'll never part with it.
I'll update this story if what I think happened didn't, but if I had to guess (and from what my dad told me) my uncle bought the amp new in early 74. If I had to venture to guess where he bought it from? (I plan on asking my uncle next I see him) he likely bought it from Chuck Levin's.... (if you're in the DMV area, you know about Chuck Levin's)
Sorry this was so long, but that amp means a lot to me, and I know you all here love your Marshalls just as much as I love mine.
I'll cut to the chase though. I helped move my girlfriend out of her apartment and in with me, and I inherited a few things along the way, one of which was her room-mates Mexi-Telecaster, as she knew I played and wanted it to end up in good hands, since she'd moved to NYC from northern VA. I sent her the attached pic earlier to let her know that her axe was in good hands, and would be well cared for (and had a Telecaster buddy to hang out with as well!) and she commented about how much she loved my Marshall stack, and got me reminiscing about how I came to own it. Here's the story as best I know (since, I wasn't around when my uncle bought it, clearly, since I was born in 85, and it's serial number dates to Novemeber of '73 (also inherited a Wurlitzer organ, which is sitting in our storage space for the time being...another story for another time!)
As far back as I can remember, my uncle Bill was a through and through rock and roll dude. I have very vivid memories of myself and him in the early 90's, when i was 9-10 years old showing me stuff on his Pre-CBS Strat (which I'm still trying to get off him, he won't budge!) And showing me his favorite records of the time (he had an AMAZING stereo system) which were Queensryche's Operation Mindcrime, GnR's Appetite for Destruction, and the like (funny, I grew up with my father who's into The Eagles, and pop country music...HAHA) and always in the corner of his living room was this Marshall amp. He always told me that one day, he'd have me over and fire it up and show me what was what! I was so excited to hear the thing!
One day though...my dad took me over to Bill's house (they're bothers, if you haven't figured that out at this point) and he had the guys from his old band over and they were jamming. I had my little Marshall lead 12 combo, and the Charvel Model 2 that Bill had given me (all the guys over were "wow, I remember that guitar!!!" so that was pretty neat!) and he had that mythical Marshall powered on and ROARING. I though it was the coolest sounding, loudest, meanest thing I'd ever heard! (I think I was 14-15 at the time) Had a PA set up, and a drumkit, and they were jamming AC/DC, Beatles, Rolling Stones etc...having a great time, and I was floored...I'd never heard/seen anything so loud or cool! (at that point, I'd never seen any live music, so that was my reference point) Interestingly enough, these dudes he was jamming with had played a number of gigs in the DC/VA area, most notably opening for Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, as the local support act (my father told me that, confirmed it with my Uncle)
Shortly thereafter, my uncle needed a place to store all of his gear (including his Marshall, all his PA gear, effects (including an ORIGINAL MXR Distortion +...wish I still had it, Not because it's worth a pretty penny these days, but because I'd be able to channel my inner Randy Rhodes!) so we ended up with a full PA, the Marshall, a few mics, etc... it was cool! We had a stage in my parents living room (my dad loved it, my mom HATED IT haha!) at that point, I would just turn the Marshall on, low volume, and the Distortion + was my gateway to grindy mayhem! (man it sounded great to me at the time, probably still would if I had that pedal still!) And then..
My Uncle came and picked up all of his stuff, including the Marshall! I was heartbroken! I was back to playing through my minuscule Lead 12 (which I do still have...needs a new speaker at this point and some minor maintenance, but I held on to it after all these years because... it was my first real amp) And that's what I played up until I was about 22-23. I'd moved out of my parents house in with my then girlfriend. It served me well for sure! (I even gigged with it a couple of times mic-ed up, those MOSfet series amps do sound damn good for a solid state amp!)
At that point, I was playing an Epiphone Dot, I love (and miss.. it's long since gone, since it was stolen a number of years ago) and I went down to visit my parents at some point, can't remember exactly when, but there it was...that Marshall...sitting at my parents house...not being played or used at all. This is the part that I'm un-sure of. I don't know exactly why my Uncle unloaded the amp yet-again, but it was sitting in my parents living room. I plugged my brother Mike's guitar into it...not too loud (this was long before I learned how NMV amps worked) and just assumed it didn't have built in distortion...but the cleans to me...so warm, and huge. I loved it...I thought... if I could build off the way the cleans sounded, I'd sound better than ANYONE! Then it happened...
I split with my girlfriend at the time, and moved back home. I was destroyed, emotionally, but I also realized I had a chance to really get to know this amp. And I did. I got to know how it all worked, and was even more infatuated with it. Every time I was home alone, I DIMED that SOB...My brother is a damn good player, but he's kind of left it behind...and that was who the amp was originally given to at the time, but he's kind of left the music life behind, wife and kids and all...so it slowly became my thing! I wasn't mad about this. Because I had this big, bad-ass amp that I considered to be mine!
And it ended up being mine. I moved back on from my parents house, into my own place, lived my own life, and it's been with me every where I've been over the past 10 years. I'm 32 now, and that model 1987 is my oldest possession. It doesn't get as much use as my Mesa/Boogie does these days, but when I plug into it (along with that greenback loaded cab) I smile, I tremble, and the hairs on my arm stand at attention. It's special...I'll never part with it.
I'll update this story if what I think happened didn't, but if I had to guess (and from what my dad told me) my uncle bought the amp new in early 74. If I had to venture to guess where he bought it from? (I plan on asking my uncle next I see him) he likely bought it from Chuck Levin's.... (if you're in the DMV area, you know about Chuck Levin's)
Sorry this was so long, but that amp means a lot to me, and I know you all here love your Marshalls just as much as I love mine.
