Mr. Peavey Is Getting Cranky

When you are a working (or "semi-working" in my case, these days) musician, you tend to amass a lot of stuff over the years. My collection is rather pitiful compared with most of my peers, but still, it adds up.

A couple of good working electric guitars, a couple of junky electric guitars, an acoustic guitar, a couple of bass guitars, a couple of guitar amps, a bass amp, a heavy bass speaker cabinet, various effects pedals, multitudes of cords (and chords! Ha, a little musician pun), harmonicas, percussion instruments, cases for guitars and basses and equipment, strings strings strings!, microphones, microphone stands... the list goes on, and that's only the stuff that I've acquired over the years! Throw in the mix (ha, another pun, sorry) all of the equipment Don has picked up over the years, and that makes for one cluttered music room!

One of the most gratifying things a musician can own, however, has to be a PA head and speakers. Not that you can't play and sing acoustically, but having that extra ooompf for your voice really makes the difference (especially if you were not blessed with a booming voice, like me.)

In 1995, I "inherited" a PA head and speakers from an old boyfriend who was moving back to his home abroad. He had been in the Boston area to go to music school, and when he graduated from Berkley School Of Music, he bought the system and used it for a couple of years. But when he had to move back home, he no longer had any need for it, and I was the lucky and very grateful recipient!



The system went straight over to the Music Complex, which was a huge old warehouse broken up to over 100 rooms where musicians could pay to play. We shared a room there with many people over the years (it was leased monthly and cost almost as much as a studio apartment, so sharing was the only affordable way to rent it), and that PA ended up staying in the room.

What a workhorse! Everybody used it! If only it had a memory, the songs it could share! Some very talented musicians have either sang or blew their saxophone or harmonica through that head. Eight years later, Don and I brought it up to Maine with us, where it has dutifully been projecting our jams for the last five years.


(One of the many sessions at the old Music Complex rehearsal space. Mr. Peavey sits on far left.)


(Taking Mr. Peavey out on the road in 1998. Mr. Peavey working behind the cymbal.)

Lately, though, the old guy is getting cranky. For the last few years, many a time I've had to "kick-start" him with a loud tongue click, or a sharp "pop!" in the microphone. That usually did the trick for us and away we merrily sang. Many of my home jam session recordings have the sound of me saying "pop!", sometimes even in the middle of a song!

It's getting worse now. Last weekend, we had our annual New Year's weekend jam, with our close friends and very funny music sessions, but Mr. Peavey was really feeling his age. A nasty feedback here, and crackly spazz out there.. even my desperate "pops!" were not enough at times.

I'm afraid this could be his last year.

I will try and get him down to the guitar store and see if the amp tech guy can clean him up, maybe even get him to act like his old self again.. who knows. I surely am no expert!

However, I sure am glad I've had Mr. Peavey XR600C Mixer Amp all these years. It's been a hoot.