Time to STOP BUYING TUBE AMPS! Dallas Guitar Show Shocking Finale 

"Prices are just a suggestion"? I call it bottom fishing...looking to catch suckers.....those are dealer to dealer speculation lifted prices. pie-in-the-sky wishfull thinking. I have to wonder what those prices are based upon . Has to discourage your average player looking for something decent, it would discourage me for sure..so glad I got out of the game years ago...Enjoy!!

This series is dedicated to the memory of my friend Mike from CGS, who tragically passed away recently. My deepest sympathies to his family, particularly his children who have been robbed of a wonderful man for a father, while the guitar community has been robbed of a wonderful contributor and friend. Rest in peace, Mike (Lance).

Really great series. Thoroughly enjoyed watching it. We don’t get anything like this in Australia and you documented it really well. Thanks for giving up your time and producing wonderful videos and knowledge.

Another great show.!! Thanks for taking us along. These are shows many of us would never be able to see so thanks again! I also appreciate the knowledge you bring. You've seen or worked on about everything. It's great to see your reaction to new things that pop up also. Can't wait for the next show! .

I Found Mikes Channel years ago little after I found Yours, He & I shared talks , emails, photos of guitars and some of my builds and Life and he will be missed but recalled fondly

I really enjoyed this 2 part series. It makes we want to go check one of these shows out! I just haven’t taken the time yet, but plan to as soon as possible. There are some smaller ones around me. Thanks for sharing an awesome experience.

Geez brad I was worried about you for a minute.😎 very nice to see you back, bro God bless you I hope everything is good.

Hi Brad, This series on the Guitar Show is fantastic. I am from England and we don't have anything like this here. Please go to more shows and record them for us. I am a long time subscriber to your channel, keep it up Brad and i love your honesty and passion that your channel exudes.

99% of working musicians can't afford those high prices. Vintage does not mean better. Todays technology blows most vintage stuff away. It is a shame however to see so many guitars that will only sit in some rich dreamers case and never serve the purpose it was built for. Thanks for the upload. Don't get a chance to go to these shows. Nice to see i couldn't afford anything if i did.

great trip and nice amps, in france we don't have such convention, I'd love to be there. Thanks a lot for shooting and sharing this. Peace. p.j

Some of the best no BS content on you tube.

The dump story is believable to me! We still had large open dumps here in Iowa up until the mid 70's. I used to pedal my bicycle out there to get electrical resistors, transformers and potentiometers and more from old tube TV's and radios. I didn't know what antiques were yet. I bought a uke banjo off a friend of mine and he had found it at a dump! I still got it.

That was a fun ride, thanks for letting me tag along. Really enjoyed the Bass players jamm. My favorite amp was the stereo Gibson!

It took a few days to get through both of these videos, but wow. Good stuff. That custom Marshall head from the thumbnail is insane. I have a couple of old pieces of really well figured curly maple, that I've been considering using to make a custom amp head cabinet,.. and seeing that one is lighting a fire under my ass. It may have made you uncomfortable, but I think it's great to see you getting the celebrity treatment,.. you've put in the work, enjoy it, my man.

Great to see a video again. This is a good one as well.

I think hanging out at one of these shows with a walking encyclopedia like you Brad, would be time well spent! I would just keep my hands I'm my pockets and my mouth shut, because I'm just a hack player and an electronics (clueless) fan, but hearing you describe all this gear is just fascinating. When I watch all the old videos of the Beatles, Stones, the Who, or really any of the group's I grew up on (as an old boomer) I can't help but wonder what it would be like to see, or play their gear today. I'm a history buff and a rock fan and I bet I'm not the only one that watches you. It's not always about how much the stuff is "worth" 💲💲. Congrats on the haul, I'm looking forward to whatever content you put out relating to your new projects. Thanks for sharing with us.🍺 And I'm sorry about your friend Mike, may his soul rest in peace.🙏🙏

Throughly enjoyable video! When you stick to guitars, amps, music and restoration. This is where your channel shines! 👍

So sad to hear about Mike the China Guitar Sceptic. Watched his channel for a long time. Really informative and I appreciated his work. Had no idea he was ill. Hearing of his passing has just floored me. RIP Mike. You were a class act. Gone way too early!

Thanks for visiting this show for me! Great to see prices included as I also have some Gibson, Newcomb and Valco stuff in my collection.

I agree that the Vibrolux Reverb is Fender’s best design. Portable, enough power and two 10” speakers which are sublime sounding with a Strat.

That's a solid haul, Brad! I would have jumped on that Plush and Lectrolab in a heartbeat at those prices. Those Plush amps are basically a Twin Reverb if I recall. At the time they were manufactured, they're probably a better amp than a Twin.

Very interesting video Brad! Some amazing equipment there ay? I was mesmerised by that 'skeletal' guitar with the carved serpents down each side - What a work of art! Nice haul of amps n stuff you picked up too! I just know I'm in for some really interesting videos from the Guitologist real soon champ!

I had to wear a bib watching this video. It was soaked by the time the video ended. Great video and info.

It's nice to see you came home with some things. I would hate to go to shows and not come home with something. Great channel as always!

Absolutely amazing. Drooling from start to finish of episode 1 to 2.. Some amazing kit and some cool dudes who know their stuff as well! You got a new subscriber man. Awesome, wish we had access to gear like that over in Europe. Greetings!

Lab series L5 is an underrated amp. They respond like tube amps, and they were built in the 70's. Way ahead of their time.

Thanks for your time to show us all the great stuff!

Thanks for taking me to the show Brad! It seems like a lot of stuff has gone up at least 50% since January 2021. I wonder what changed around then? 🤔😁

I'm a member of my local lodge, we do a lot of charity work. It's a club and it has it's ways but despite what folk say about the Freemasons, there is a lot of good work done. What a Guitar show. I went to one in Liverpool yesterday, it was tiny in comparison and expensive. Was looking for a Parlor sized Acoustic. I picked up a 1966 Eko Colorado, really pleased with it and i can string it LH. Thanks Brad for a wonderful run through. Exellent content.

1:02:30 LOVE the bass duet...! Great bit of bassic noodling.

I'm sorry bud, I hope his next adventure is good. I'm sure he'll be keeping an eye on everybody from heaven.

I don't care what Fender amp you have.....It's great!

Great stuff!! Thanks Brad.

My mouth waters at all this gear in one place - but my heart strops at the prices! I know you say the prices are negotiable but I can't see the sellers coming down very far from the tagged price. Great video non the less. Thanks for your long drive and efforts.

thanks for the guitar show video B-Rad

Nice to see you back and thanks for capturing the show. I used to enjoy going to Philly show 20 or so years before internet sales and the shows had better turnout and wider inventory. Now it’s extremes high-end or lower priced volume stuff. Online has hollowed out everything else. Not worth the fees and effort to haul around, pack and unpack anymore. Tip from an event photographer… slow down your transitions and panning. The photographer eye processes live much differently than what the viewer sees. Regardless, thanks for capturing your visit there. 😄

When you realize there's probably millions of dollars in rare vintage guitars, almost all of which are sitting on cheap folding tables

I actually own a Jimmy Wallace guitar. It's a resto mod of an old German Tausch from the 60s that has been refretted, all new electronics, pickups, tuners, frets and topped off with a sweet Goldo tremolo. Not cheap by any stretch but really nice stuff.

Cool video. Thanks for the kind words and shout out at about 24 minutes in!

Can't wait to see the Epi Valve Jr mod video! I have that exact head and cab and have been wanting to do something different with it.

Nice tribute to your bro man. Dug the vid and your haul. I had one of those Epiphone Valve Juniors back when they came out, pretty cool, and a good deal on those amps! I was curious as to the "Stop buying guitar amps" in the title, had to stay to the end to get it, well done! That Mary Kaye was one of, if not THE most beautiful guitar I have ever seen.

Great video. Thanks for the "Guys Building Guitars" shoutout. Great bunch of guys. I've been part of the club for around 7 years, and it's a wealth of knowledge with all the experience. Highly encourage people to seek out local guilds, like this one, and get to building. :D

11:10 The small guitar is an ES-140 from 1950 which is a 3/4 version of the ES-175. Its body shape and size also inspired the solid body Les Paul which was released a few years later. I have one and am curious what the asking price there was for it.

While at a party back in 1990 I wandered into the basement of the house. There was an old guitar down there on a stand. I knew nothing about guitars at that time but was always kinda intrigued by the instrument. So, I picked it up and started plinking on it. The host came into the room and asked me if I played. I said no but I'd kinda like to learn. He said the guitar belonged to a relative but they had moved away and left it so I could have it if I wanted it. I took it to my shop and played it a little but nothing serious. One night my shop was broken into and it was stolen. While making the police report the cop asked me what kind of guitar it was. I described it to him, "gold paint, rounded shape with part cut out under the neck, says "Gibson" where the tuners are, it was old and the paint was kinda flaky and worn." He looked at me wide eyed and said "You mean an old Gibson gold top? Those are really expensive!" I said I don't really know much about guitars and he was shocked. Too bad I didn't have insurance at the time!

Back in the day i knew a drug dealer that thought he was a rock star. He had matching amps and drums, stage lights and recording studio. All in his house.

I'm sorry about your friend Mike passing I know you'll miss him.

The Lab Series L5 , I bought mine new in ‘79 on layaway for around $550. I can remember paying weekly for about 2 months. I only made $3.50 /hr. At the time it was called the “twin killer” and plenty of local bands in the D/FW area were using them (smokin’ Joe Kubeck, Point Blank/ Kim Davis & Rusty Burns) One of the best solid state amps made. The on board compressor was a cool feature that was ahead of its time. Still got it….ah the memories. Riley B King used them for a long time as did Ty Tabor back in the day. Nice find…hope to see ya do a video on it in the future.

What a fantastic watch, love what your doing man. Couldn't hit the subscribe button quick enough best wishes from Manchester, UK

10 months later and I'm still waiting for the shocking finale😊

Hey Brad, nice video. I attended the festival, and bought a vintage tube amp there... the little shoebox amp when you were talking about the two White amps at Michael's Tube Amps (38:22) it was the little amp between them. It looks like a Premier, in fact I had a guy stop me as I was heading out with it trying to buy it from me as a Premier (NO SALE). It's a great harp amp, and Michael was a fantastic guy to deal with.

The Bass Jam was Groove'n I see you got a pic w/Derrick St Holmes thats cool.

I should have kept the brown face Princeton and the SG melody maker that I got in the early 70s for about 200 dollars total. Who knew?

Excellent Brad , I enjoyed this one 👍

Never stop buying tube amps

I recall seeing quite a few 70s silverburst LPs in shops in the late 80s-early 90s for cheap, because nobody wanted that finish!

Good show man. I enjoyed it!

Years ago I did some fill-in work with blues man Michael Burks (RIP) who played several old Gibson Flying Vs thru an L5. It was loud but it was the most badass guitar sound I’ve ever heard! I think he had EVs in it.

Bought a JV strat from Guitar House of Tulsa a couple of years ago. Had it dialed in to my specs and it turned out to be my own blackie as time went by.

Thanks for posting this, please go to more shows, I couldn't stop watching, rewinding and watching some parts a few times over. I'm definitely going to order some Coin Guitar Picks. I've never tried a metal pick, just plastic, I'm mainly a finger picker but I am a coin collector!!! I'd heard back in the day that Billy Gibbons used a Mexican quarter for a pick on some songs.

Ken Fischer could have told you all about that Ampeg. Happy heavenly birthday Kenny 🎛🔊

All the kids are going digital, outrageous prices for good amps are part of the reason. It’s also the reason cheap guitars from overseas are so popular, American guitars are crazy expensive. Sad to see really.

I love a good guitar show and doing Birmingham NEC this weekend...I go with the money to buy something but being a lefty it's so hard to find something and the inflated prices just because you see only a small amount! The uk prices are so much higher than what you pay in the USA.

.....Major Score!!.... Lab-L5 !! I bought mine in 81 & I still have it. I used it with a Marshall Mk2 using a Yamaha analog delay for stereo imaging & a Maestro-Echoplex tape echo. Those Labs were a great blend for a Marshall. Did a whole tour of Texas with that amp setup in 1982-83. Later got an L-11 & I like that even better. Ronnie Montrose used a wall of L-11s for his 1978 'Open Fire" tour & later with Gamma. All the amps you bought are great prospects & you didn't pay crazy money for any of it. About the only garbage amp I'm looking for now is a 60s-era Valco (or Supro) the kinda amp you just crank/dime it & go.....

Thanks for sharing this with us Brad! I would love to attend one of these big guitar conventions one of these days, doubt that I'll ever get the chance but at least I can sort of get the experience through your videos.

That small body Gibson is a 50's ES-140 3/4 guitar. It's the ultimate "plying on the couch while watching TV" guitar.

This is one of a thousand pieces telling to toss my Marshall’s as far back as I can remember because of the new magic

I just picked up an incredibly clean George Benson Signature Twin Reverb for $1000 a couple weeks ago from a local music shop in DFW. I'm guessing it was someone's bedroom amp and they sold it because it was too loud because it came with the manual/pedal/cover and there wasn't a scratch or scuff on it anywhere. Sometimes you can still find deals in the current market, but it's definitely more of a challenge nowadays, especially with sites like reverb making flipping music gear for profit a more common practice.

It's crazy to think back to when you used to see these old tube amps sitting in pawn shops stacked to the ceiling collecting dust. I remember a mid-sized mom-n-pop guitar store in the mid 80s that stopped dealing in tube amps altogether. He said they were too unreliable, and he swore up and down that they were a thing of the past that no one would want anything to do with in a few years. Ha! Not quite.

If I had all the guitars and amps I've sold or traded off as a young dumb person, I could retire comfortably! My Lord the stupid things I've done while high.

Thank you so much for your generosity in sharing this event. The guitars seems to be unique in that many of its players search for the Holy Grail of sound, etc.. by spending more time looking for gear, rather than working on musical technique on whatever gear they have. There are some classic models out there by famous manufacturers during a certain periods of time, but the truth is most guitarists do not have the technique to make, for example, a classic Martin or Gibson acoustic “sing.“ The same thing is true with electric guitars. It is a special skill to be able to drive an amplifier from an electric guitar to make a luscious and consistent tone; In my experience, it is a rare person that can plug a 1950s Gibson burst directly into a classic Marshall and obtain an extended and pleasing tone. Whatever the budget, purchasing the holy Grail guitar and amp combination will not transform the player into Duane Allman or Dicky Betts. In the interest of full disclosure, I must admit that I have spent a disproportionate amount of time in the past "gear chasing” at the expense of playing music. Now, I separate “gear chasing“ from “making music" to emphasize the latter above the former. My economics professor used to say that a fundamental rule of economics is that “there ain’t no such thing as a free lunch." There has never been a better time to be a guitarist in terms of obtaining wonderful equipment at a reasonable price. The GUITARS that are reproduced by boutique makers are far superior to pre-war models of Gibson and Martin, and the modern instruments have corrected structural and tuning problems that cannot be fixed in the older models. A person would be far better served in spending approximately $7000 on a Collings then trying to go back into history and chase a dream. My advice to myself. If I could turn on the time transporter drama would be spend as much of time as you can developing your technique so that you are able to discern the differences in Music equipment. A fabulous amplifier cannot "rescue" a mediocre guitar; to the contrary, such an amp simply amplifies the problems with the guitar. I have had the experience, however, that plugging one of my excellent electric guitars into a superior amp blew me away. There is another important genre distinction. Most of the energy directed towards guitar equipment is in the rock genre. Jazz guitarist, for example, depend upon a fairly neutral quality amplifier to amplify the signal of an excellent guitar.

Brad, when I caught sight of the Plush at 1:10:00 or so, I jumped out of my chair. I bought mine for $30 as it eats tubes and filter caps. Turns out the transformer is a tube rectifier type but the rectification is solid state so the B+ is around 525 to 530.

LOL. Some of those prices are unreal. You say it's just a starting point on some of them and one should not get offended by that. Unless it was THE piece of gear/guitar I wanted, it's almost an automatic "No Dice". And yes, it does actually offend me and my intelligence as a longtime player. Newbies beware. Loved the show though.!! Oddball Ampeg Rocks.!! Best on/off almost square wave tremolo circuit ever. Get the schematic.!!

I'd have lovec to have gone there! That was absolutely brilliant that video. I have watched it several times!

I have that Epiphone 1x12 cab and it seems like a really solid build

Interesting. I am just learning about amps and this was pretty cool to watch. Thanks!

Sorry, for the loss of Chris. The Marshall head from "the building boys" was amazing to design and build quality. But when i look at the asking prices of vintage amps,quite high for sure when i compare them with the 1963 Brownface Super Amp in original,mint and working condition,for €4500.

Cool scores. Gonna be a fun summer.

It's time to stop buying tube amps like it was time to stop buying vinyl records. Tube amps are historic cultural markers. They will be less common on stage, but they will always be enjoyable, useful, and collectable.

in the UK we now have a pedal that mimics a valve amp, you don't even need an amp. Andersons do it in Guilford Sussex.

What a great show, thank you for uploading it.

There's a rig rundown for Rick Nielsen on RU-vid, as of 11 years ago he was using Fuches amps with custom Reverb Cabinets. That amp might be something he used in studio or home or maybe in his early days. Same paint job.

Seeing that Def Leppard record reminded me of when I watched the band on the tour for the on through the night tour.

Great video! Thanks for sharing, Cheers!

That Ampeg is nuts, has that blues tone down pat. Just needs a touch of over drive and right up my alley.

You sure about the L5 being built by Robert Moog? I think it's Dan Pearce. Both out of Buffalo. Dan is the solid-state genius guru. Last I knew, he was at ART in Rochester.

My Dad owned an Electronic repair shop in the 60s-70s , Elmhurst Electronics Queens NY Many Amps Rolled in and out (They fixed anything, mostly TVs, Radios ) I miss the smell of the place

That unusual ampeg is from a wierd period in Ampegs history..circa 1967-68..I believe it was made by the same factory that was making the late 60's Magnatone amps. You might find some catalogs or flyers fir it in that Archive I sent you a few years back. But not sure. Too much water under the bridge

A random kid in the 1950s or 60s, can walk into a guitar store and buy some of the greatest gear ever made for cheap, made in USA. You walk into a guitar store (guitar center) now and it's mostly overpriced garbage, made in another country for cheap. We've been gyped

I’ll never stop buying tube amps I have 11 of them today. All of them are stereo audio amps for studio playback. Altec Lansing studio monitors model 17’s VOTT speakers

makes me ill to think, I’m not a bass player, but back in 1985, I thought I would try the bass.. I did some trades with some old guy that like to flip, guitars and amplifiers. I traded him my fender, Vibroluxe, my 66 super reverb, and a white three-quarter scale, fender bass guitar, I think it was a music, master, or a melody maker, or something like that. I gave him those three pieces, for a silver face super reverb with a. Master, volume control, original cover and wheels in perfect condition, and, I got a 1963 fender P bass in the original case. It was pale yellow with a white pick guard. He didn’t like how big the base was because he was also a guitar player. He wanted my smaller bass.. One of the bands I was in, the bass player talked me into selling him that 1963P bass for $300 in the late 1980s. And he was a cheap bastard, and he complained constantly that I charged him $300 for that guitar… last time I talked to him was around 2016. He still has it… 1968, I had a blonde fender basement with the white knobs. I thought it was funny looking and it did not have reverb. So I sold it for $100. It was flawless. It even had the covers. The one that really makes me cringe. 1966 I bought a 1959 fender jazz master at a pawnshop for $175 in the original case. .. I was only in high school, and the body was very worn like Stevie Ray Vaughan’s Strat.. so I spray painted it white with a spray bomb in 1969. I did not even do a good job sanding the body. But I did not even change one single screw on the guitar. That was all original. The finish was completely worn off the back of the neck whoever owned it before me, and they were cigarette burns on the headstock. it was a 1959 Jazzmaster. I was never really crazy about the guitar after getting my first gibson 330 TDC which I got for $50 from a classmate in 1968. Actually I traded my brand new Schwinn bicycle I got for my 16th birthday for the guitar in the original case. I still have that guitar here in 2023… but my Jazzmaster, which I was never crazy about after getting it gibson. I saw the prices skyrocketing on eBay, so I put it on eBay. About 30 minutes after I put the ad on, I got a question from someone asking what I would take for it right now… I won’t tell you how much I got for it but I threw a stupid big number at the guy because I thought it was some kid playing games. I bought my wife a brand new car with the money I got for that 59 Jazzmaster in spite of the fact that I painted it. That guitar is now in Moscow Russia with the new owner. He said he had to have the original to get the original sound of the ventures who did all of their studio work with Jazzmasters… The guy in Moscow was in a surf band.. it took me almost a year to save the money to buy the jazzmaster in 1066, Setting bowling pins, cutting grass, shoveling, snow, even selling Christmas cards, door to door.. when I was at that pawnshop looking at the Jazzmaster. There was a fender Stratocaster there also for sale for $100 in 1966. Sunburst. The reason I did not buy that instead, is because it did not have a case, and it had a horrible scratch, about 8 inches long across the sunburst section on the back of the body. It looked like a spite, scratch somebody put in there with a screwdriver… I often wondered what that guitar would be worth today. It was in beautiful condition except for that scratch.. but like Woody Allen said, the saddest thing in life is, missed opportunities..

Really sorry to here about Mike. I knew he had ALS, but didn't know it had progressed that far yet. I really want to see the Newcombe resto vid. I wish I'd gone, but I don't think I'd have gotten Guitologist deals. I've been looking for a non-working tube amp at a reasonable price to restore. I've only fixed pre-miniturization solid state stuff. Watching you makes me want to spread my wings.

Modeling and solid state is the future

I like seeing those "Freshened" Fingerboards On them Sunbaked Acoustics

That was nice….I enjoyed that

Nice to see that you stopped by the Guitar house of Tulsa booth. I remember when I was a kid I used to take lessons there. (Of course it was before they became known for their vintage gear.

I have a p bass from 1973, a rickenbacker 4001 from 1968, and my amp is a super reverb silverface from 1972. I got these from my late uncle in the 80s, and I didn't knew they're worth that much.

A Buddy in the 80s , had an old Supro amp Looked like a medium size slant extension speaker . Turn it around , and the Amp chassis was mounted on the bottom . A slanted control face . Tubes atop Never saw another The thing was an Absolute Honker

I will just keep building them. I have about 1000 tubes and enough hardware to build 25 amps. Just finish a chassis yesterday and which I am mounting in a 1959 Magnavox record player cabinet. I am straight and have many flavors of tube guitar amp at my fingertips.

Man, I need to hit up some more shows, guitar show, gun show, whatever, its a cool way of doing business in my opinion.

When I saw that checkerboard, the first thing that popped in my head was Cheap Trick!