What's been your best antique,thrift,pawn find this year?

[BrianWitty]

Lots of great finds guys! There are still deals out there, it's just not as easy as it used to be with eBay, American pickers, and such.. Still fun to go looking though...

[ampmike]

My theory is a guitar thats old,OOOh that might be worth something,But a torn up old amp just doesnt attract the attention.If the cloth is ripped and the speaker is kicked in its most likly going to the curb.Ive seen at least 3 tube amps found on garbage day.This is all a good for us guys

[wicker]

At my Uni they were cleaning basements, everything was supposed to be recycled, thankfully I knew who to talk with and ... I got 2 boxes full of tubes, some NOS, some used - EL84/86, ECL82/86, EZ80/81, ECC81/82/83/88, ELL80, EF86 and other ... more than 100 tubes.

[roadkingbluzs]

Not recent but a thrift find was a A-100 Hammond $180.00. Thrift store decided not to carry any heavy large bulky items anymore not good for employees backs. BTW almost mint. Another was a TV front fender Pro (under restoration) $100.00. As Structo pointed out, becoming harder to find the gems due to internet. I spotted a Fender Showman '68/69 at a yard sale, oh boy maybe a few hundred bucks? Guy wanted $800.00 hahaha, there you go.

[Firestorm]

I spotted a Fender Showman '68/69 at a yard sale, oh boy maybe a few hundred bucks? Guy wanted $800.00 hahaha, there you go.

Friend of mine had to stop carrying Vintage Guitar Magazine in his store because it gave people crazy ideas about what their stuff was really worth.

[Reeltarded]

People will always be crazy.

[allclear7]

When i first moved down here to Knoxville,i saw a custom shop black strat for five hundered.Ask the store rep what year and specs,his answer was i dont know its a guitar with hard case. Told him 400 cash and he took the bait. Looked inside,and WoW texas hot wound pickups , and all the custom shop stickers still there !!!! the little white felt on the strap lock gave it away to me.

[allclear7]

When i first moved down here to Knoxville,i saw a custom shop black strat for five hundered.Ask the store rep what year and specs,his answer was i dont know its a guitar with hard case. Told him 400 cash and he took the bait. Looked inside,and WoW texas hot wound pickups , and all the custom shop stickers still there !!!! the little white felt on the strap lock gave it away to me.

[da Geezer]

1987 Squire Tele MIK... The serial # is silver & starts with "E1".
Butterscotch Blonde (in person you can see the wood grain thru the finish), fantastic neck, beautiful body & finish.....every bit as good as any USA Tele I've ever played.....plays like a dream.

$150 out the door.


[img:940:363]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v325/ ... Blonde.jpg[/img]

[mark enger]

I found a sunn model T at a resale shop, The head was in one spot and i searched for about a half hour and found the chassis, the guy said he can't say if it works, as it had no tubes, so i pull out all the money i had on me 36$, and the guy says thats fine, I tubed her up and she worked perfectly, that was the score of a lifetime, when i seen those massive transformer i almost shit my pants

Here' a story of my worst mistake about 15 years ago, well before i'd gotten into working on tube amps, I helped my bro-inlaw clean out a garage it had a small loft work shop, in the pile of trash we had to put to the curb was a bunch of tube caddys and salesmen display cases, i remember looking in them and they were full of tubes, not that i had any interest back then, there was also caddys full of resistors and capacitors this still hurts to this day

I enjoy finding old tube gear and parts every bit as enjoyable as building amps mark

[Structo]

Geez you guys are real lucky at some of the stuff you find.

Actually the best score I ever got was my 60's 2 x 12 Vox extension cab.

That thing has been in use since I bought it around 1976.

A friend of a friend, (OK a pot dealer) had this cab with the chrome trolley and everything.
I originally used it as a speaker for my Muncie 8 track player in my 1965 SS Chevelle.
Sure it filled the back seat but that was a good thing.

Later I used it for a guitar speaker.
I put Peavey Sheffield guitar speakers in it.

And a few years ago, I installed two EV 12L speakers in it for my Dumble clones.
It sounds excellent with the EV's in it.

It has gone through a lot with me for more than 37 years!

[skyboltone]

People will always be crazy.

That's what I always thought. But the voices tell me it isn't so.

[eniam rognab]

im not a big pawn shopper but a couple months ago i went to unload a digital satellite meter that i got for free. traded it in for a squire bronco bass

HA! beat that anybody!

[passfan]

picked up an older Conn organ chassis off ebay. I'd watched it for 6 months; obviously the guy wanted too much. Offered him 200.00 shipped and he went for it. It was a 4 tuber , 100 watt chassis with Schumacher and Foster iron and a matched quad of short fat bottled RCA black plate 6L6GC's which tested NOS. I sold the quad for 200.00 on ebay and used the iron in 2 separate builds.

[passfan]

My all time best was off craigslist locally. Went to look at some old speaker and amp cabs for 200.00 dollars. The haul that day:
Valco Supro amp
Gretsch reverbration amp
Wards airline amp
Bassman 2-12
Leslie 2-10
quad of Sylvania 6L6GC's big bottled twin halo
Vintage shure harmonica mic
Gretsch ukalele
6 string electric lap
6 string hawaiian lap
Floor wedge loaded with an EV12L
Fender Rhodes stage piano missing the top cover
Various 10 and 12 " drivers

Talk about making money