What was your best garage sale/thrift store/pawn shop find?

[MattGrabe]

I just got a Art Pro VLA in perfect condition for $50. I saw it behind the desk at GC, asked my go-to guy there if it was used, he said somebody just brought it in a few hours ago. "$50 if you want it."

[Mark Alan Miller]

I just got a Art Pro VLA in perfect condition for $50. I saw it behind the desk at GC, asked my go-to guy there if it was used, he said somebody just brought it in a few hours ago. "$50 if you want it."

I want one of those... (a little green with envy over here).

[AstroDan]

Not a pawn shop find, but my good friend and band mate gave me this purple Ross Phase/Distortion about two years ago. I had a Small Stone, so I didn't really 'explore' the phase portion, and thought (and still think) the distortion was pure crap. So a few weeks ago I was going to sell it, and did some web searchin' and the ol' completed eBay auction to get an idea of what it's worth. eBay never had the particular model but I ran across two different sites that sold old pedals, and both sites were touting this thing like it was made of gold.

I'm not going to sell it. I couldn't do that to my friend.

But I'm not going to tell him, either. He'll want it back. And the phaser truly is all of that.

And there is a pawn shop that currently has a Nippon Gakki Yamaha FG-180 for $300, is actually playable, but has a fucked up neck. Thinking about that one...

[drunton]

SM57 - $5... at a hamfest saw a guy with the 57, asked him how much and he said $5. I slowly reached for my wallet and paid him nicely. Walking away, he yelled at me... hey (I thought he was going to say, wait that was supposed to be $50) but instead he said, "you forgot the cable".

70's Fender Super Deluxe Combo (count 'em 6 - 6L6's, weighed a freakin' ton) - $20 broken at a garage sale, fixed a bad resistor in the power section, sold it for $400 to a collector that I met at a different hamfest.

At the collector he said, I got this old bass as part of a package deal, want it cheap... '76 Fender P-bass with a case - $125. It's been routed on and had an Alembic preamp added, the sunburst is rubbed off where your arm rests, but it's the sweetest sounding, best playing bass I have ever had

[getreel]

I got an old YAmaha FG-160E with the pickup built in for $20. It had some missing binding and was beat but plays and sounds great. I spent another $50 having a luthier glue back where the binding was missing and tweak it out.

[Jeff Roberts]

Model 145 Leslie with pedal/preamp and 6 pin cable for $85. Want Ad in St. Paul paper.

[Jeff Roberts]

I forgot about this one:

1972 Gibson SG with case in mint condition-FREE!!!!

Former owner couldn't get it set up to stay in tune. For $25 it's perfect now.

[uk03878]

And one more
In a guitar shop when you couldn't give away valve amps

1960s JTM45 head - ?100
Master volume moded - unfortunately
But tame the treble - stick a distortion pedal in from of it - put on a tele - open G - instant Keef/Joe/Rich R

Flogged it a few years later for ?250 because I already had a JCM900 head
Wot a muppet

[Randy]

And one more
In a guitar shop when you couldn't give away valve amps

1960s JTM45 head - ?100
Master volume moded - unfortunately
But tame the treble - stick a distortion pedal in from of it - put on a tele - open G - instant Keef/Joe/Rich R

Flogged it a few years later for ?250 because I already had a JCM900 head
Wot a muppet

same type of story- in 1982 I bought a Fender Bassman Blonde for $150 because I played bass. It wasn't loud enough, so I sold it three years later for $175 and bought a Peavey TNT130. Oh, what a step up that was.

[???????]

And one more
In a guitar shop when you couldn't give away valve amps

1960s JTM45 head - ?100
Master volume moded - unfortunately
But tame the treble - stick a distortion pedal in from of it - put on a tele - open G - instant Keef/Joe/Rich R

Flogged it a few years later for ?250 because I already had a JCM900 head
Wot a muppet

same type of story- in 1982 I bought a Fender Bassman Blonde for $150 because I played bass. It wasn't loud enough, so I sold it three years later for $175 and bought a Peavey TNT130. Oh, what a step up that was.

See, that's the thing about being 25 years old. I was never around when that shit was cheap enough to make bonehead mistakes or I probably would have made 'em. My only regret is not buying that factory refin candy apple red '63 strat for $1500 when I had the chance at age 17... not like I could have afforded it.

[Derrick]

'82 Marshall 2X12 50 watt combo in near mint shape (with original tubes) and an early Boss analog deley pedal thrown in for $220 at a pawn shop. The pedal alone goes on eBay for $250.

[RefD]

'82 Marshall 2X12 50 watt combo in near mint shape (with original tubes) and an early Boss analog deley pedal thrown in for $220 at a pawn shop. The pedal alone goes on eBay for $250.

is it one of those diode clipper Marshalls, tho?

DM-2 or DM-3 or was it one of the really early die-cast base Boss/Roland pedals like the BeeBaa, Jet Phase or CE-1?

any combinations of yes or no still constitutes a major score!

[Derrick]

Diode clipping Ahh-ahhhh... it's a standard JCM800 with tubes! The analog deley is a DM-2. Even the speakers are the G12-65s as opposed to the later 80 watters. A great score.

[RefD]

Diode clipping Ahh-ahhhh... it's a standard JCM800 with tubes! The analog deley is a DM-2. Even the speakers are the G12-65s as opposed to the later 80 watters. A great score.

the Boss DM-2 is a beauty!

there was a short period in the early 80s where the JCM800s made for the US market had both 6550 power tubes and a diode clipper circuit on the front end to aid the preamp in its quest for overdrive.

some ppl kinda like this, myself included.

[Derrick]

OK, along with all my Marshall plexis... I do own a Jubalee (diod/tube clipping). It sounds amazing. I still love my old plexis though.