It was a Peavy Backstage 80
I remember mine!
It was finally time to go. Mimi, my grandmother of 14 or so years, was taking me to the local guitar shop to get a guitar, man I was stoked. The smell of the store was intriguing but not familiar. I was in place in an unfamiliar world, and I was liking it very much, this wonderful guitar and instrument filled candy store.
I really wanted to start playing drums but they seemed too loud for Mimi and Mom, so I glanced over at the used electrics and saw her. A beautiful Aria Les Paul copy in blond with mary kay and she screamed at me. I was more than happy to hear the man say it was in our price range, so I took it off the wall and gazed in amazement at this beautiful guitar. It didn’t play like my old acoustic which I had since I was 8 or so, it was quiet and needed an amp to hear it proper. Mimi asked about suggestions for a practice amp and I wound up with a small combo, probably a few watts and an 8″ speaker, no distortion. I didn’t realize how important the amp would be to get a good sound until I got it back home.
My Grandfather Gagy, whom was sitting in his normal chair for the evening, was excited to see his grandson with this new instrument and amplifier. I plugged the guitar in and turned on, and then up, and then up and then no more volume.
I could barely hear it it seemed, such a small sound for this great guitar, but I was not going to complain, for I had already won the jackpot, but Gagy stopped me, and then yelled to Mimi “you better take this damn amp back and exchange it for a one that I can hear when he plays!” Wow, that was it, no questions, we were back in the car and off to the candy store to get a bigger piece.
I ended up with a Peavy Backstage 80 watt combo, which for the time blew me away and really blew everyone in the house away. It was quite loud and had great sustain and distortion. I was off to power chord heaven and I will never forget how the amp inspired me to play! I am off to biggeer and better things now but the point is that the Peavy, at the time, inspired me to play.
Peavy Backstage 80 Guitar Amplifier
I had no idea that amps would end up being such a big part of my life some time later on in life. I have learned that if your amp doesn’t inspire you to play then you need to find another amplifier that does.