Abandoned But Not Forgotten

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Of the many things that I have either lost or abandoned along the long and convoluted path of my life thus far, one stands out; not because of any particular sentimental or pecuniary aspect, but because I actually think I was a complete bloody divot to leave it behind in the first place.

This particular thing was abandoned, along with my Dad’s guitar [this one pains me truly as I have no idea what I was thinking of] at the top of the cellar steps of our first place: the flat in Stanmore Rd., Birmingham. I kind of understand the rush of blood to the head that gets to you when you’re moving on - especially when you’re young - but this is something that has happened to me time after time [we’ve moved around a *lot*] and considering how I hate to chuck stuff away, I’m amazed at how cavalier I’ve been over the years in letting some of the good stuff go, almost without a thought.

The artefact in question was a Watkins Dominator guitar amplifier [or at least the chassis thereof] which I think was dug out of a skip for me by Pete (powerful Pierre) Burr back in the mid-seventies. Originally, this would have been the driving force of a small, but loud, 2x10” combo, dating back to the fifties. Some new valves (tubes) were all that was needed to get it working again; but being challenged in the woodwork department, I made a kind of skeleton frame to house it from Dexion.

As guitar amps go, it might only have been eighteen watts output power, but it was bloody loud - audible two streets away and all too often prompting the broom-handle signal on the ceiling from my Mom in the kitchen below when I got too enthusiastic. Also, the sound of it was majestic. I give you a link to one of my favourite YouTube channels, where a Dominator - complete, in this case - is put through its paces by some indomitable Scandinavians!

Comments

  1. Joe Stoner27 February 2021 at 16:36

    How did you smuggle a link onto the blog mate?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. sideways27 February 2021 at 16:44

      I think it's writer-only permissions: probably to prevent devious shenanigans by nefarious individuals ;0)

      Delete

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