God, I love these stories.
I experienced the same to a slightly lesser degree:
It was a late-50's Sonola amp (a moniker used, in this
case as an alternate naming for Guild when sold with
the Sonola accordion line). Sweet 20 watts, Jensen
P12R, four inputs with four very different sounds and
a tremolo that made me cry. This was the first amp
that I ever recorded as an engineer, my first session,
my first record. I pleaded with the guy to sell it to
me but to no avail and it sailed right out the door
the same day.
The owner continued to be a friend and client for
years and never mentioned that he still even had it.
15 years later he was working in a music store I
frequent. I walked in and he said, "Oh, I have a
present for, you.." and dashed downstairs. He comes
up holding the Sonola and told me I could have it.
He'd blown the output transformer and didn't feel like
getting it fixed. I immediately brought it to my tech.
$65 and one tube later it was glorious and it is an
often-used favorite amp in my studio to this day.
It's wonderful when gear comes back around. Back in
2005, I posted a message about my first 'tron, hoping
it could be found. I still have the posting. But
there just wasn't enough info as I had no serial #. I
would love to hear more stories about "fated" gear if
anybody has any.
Congratulations on your reunion!
-Jack
<
jonesalley@...> wrote:
> I managed to pick up an interesting keyboard a while
> back. It's an Ace Tone Top 5 combo organ with one
> four-octave manual, it's garish red and white with
> screw-on stainless steel legs, it only makes five
> sounds and generally speaking is the kind of
> instrument that I can't stand. I paid way more than
> it's worth, but I would have gladly paid even more
> than I did to own it.
>
> It's where I began turning into me. It's the very
> first instrument I ever played on stage in a rock
> band, back in the winter of 1969. Not one like it,
> but the exact same one. It was owned by the guy who
> played bass and ran the band, and I borrowed it on
> and off for four or five years in the 70's until I
> finally started getting some real keyboards of my
> own.
>
> Even with the collection I have amassed in the
> meantime, I have wondered about this humble little
> instrument all these decades and a few months ago I
> decided to see if I could track it down. I succeeded
> and it's home with me now for good. Amazingly, it
> seems to have been in a time capsule and it looks
> like nobody has even played it since the last time I
> did, it just sat in closets all these years. The
> little black scuff mark that I accidentally made on
> the cover looks like it just happened yesterday.
>
> And now it's mine. Forever. I almost cried when I
> opened the box and saw it for the first time in
> thirty years. I still can't look at it without
> getting a lump in my throat, and I've had it here
> for a couple of weeks now.
>
> I feel like I just married my high school
> sweetheart. And she is exactly the same as she was
> the last time I saw her.
>
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