Tag: Gibson

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The Real Story Behind Marty McFly’s 1955 Guitar

Marty McFly's Gibson ES345 TDCCompliments of the good folks at Reverb.com, here is the true story behind Michael J. Fox’s “Johnny B. Goode” guitar, played during the 1955 Enchantment Under the Sea Ball – in the first Back to the Future movie. This very unique and rare Gibson ES345 TDC – which didn’t even exist in 1955 – was something of a time traveler itself.

Here is the link to the story:
The True Story of the Time Traveling Gibson in Back to the Future

Here is the clip from the movie:

Hashtags: #BackToTheFuture #BTTF #Gibson #ES345TDC #MichaelJFox #JohnnyBGoode

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Kalamazoo Model 1 Solid State Guitar Amp

Kalamazoo Model 1 Solid-State Guitar Amp


A great little clean tone amp with real vintage vibe. Why practice on a modern digital piece of (insert your favorite phrase here) when you can play a pure analog classic on the cheap!

Here’s a great little solid-state analog-powered practice amp for electric guitars. Around 5 to 10 watts of power into a vintage 10″ American speaker with Alnico magnet. These little Kalamazoo amps were produced in Kalamazoo, Michigan (of course!) in the 1970’s next to their larger Gibson siblings, and were very well built compared to other inexpensive amps of that era. All real plywood construction and baffle board; no pressed fiber board. This one gets plenty loud for practice, or small gigs. Like most solid-state amps of that era, it produces a clean tone all the way to up full volume. You will need to add a good pedal to get that tube-like distortion, like a BOSS DS-1, a Tube Screamer, or my personal analog preference a vintage DOD Overdrive.

VIDEO:

SPECS:

  • Built in 1971.
  • Somewhere between 5 and 10 solid-state watts.
  • One channel.
  • Two instrument inputs.
  • Volume, tone/on-off switch, red pilot light.
  • Black vinyl “tolex” covering.
  • Nice, vintage 10″ Alnico speaker.
  • No tremolo or reverb on this model.

COOL FACTORS:

  • Vintage, pure analog, solid-state guitar amplifier.
  • Made in Kalamazoo, Michigan – the home of Gibson at that time – where they took the art of building great guitars and amplifiers seriously.
  • Classic, made in USA, Alnico magnet speaker. Kalamazoo speakers always sounded great!
  • Not your modern mass-produced digital garbage manufactured off-shore by ???.

CONDITION:

  • I have gone thoroughly through this amp and played it for hours.
  • All wiring, components are original and in good condition.
  • Everything functions as it should, and this amp is very quiet when idling.
  • It still has the 2-prong power cord, but works just fine.
  • No major cosmetic damage.
  • Some slight separations of the tolex vinyl at some corners, but have to be up close to notice.
  • Some light surface scratches on the control panel, again, can only be seen up close.
  • There’s just a bit of looseness in the speaker fabric.

PHOTOS:

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