The Rockman really was the sh*t, if you happened to think Tom Scholtz had pretty great tone, which he did.
Yeah, a Pacemaker, went to some lucky local teen in a band. I like all Thomas Organ stuff, especially the Wahs with the TDK inductor, still have one. Hendrix preferred the Thomas Organ TDK version rather than the super expensive Italian made V846 with a Fasel inductor, way more "vomity" sounding, that's how I describe it.
The Berkeley was my first real amp, roll around tilt cab with 2x10's, heavenly reverb. My guitar at the time was a 60's solid body Silvertone, not Danelectro (Harmony?) with the gold foils, and as I was finding out, not a very good neck for any sort of lead playing.
I got a wild hare one day to take it down to Millman's Pawn, still there last I checked, same guy behind the counter in fact, called you "young man" back then and he still does, but he called everybody young man... Their shop was a little smaller back then and somehow I became obsessed with a small box Plexi Marshall 50W in the music corner, no cab, just a head. nothing to even try it on.
I had to sweeten the deal majorly with all kinds o booty, but I walked out with the Plexi without paying any cash. Boy was I happier than king sh*t on turd island ;[))) That was the beginning of an incredibly intense relationship with the Marshall, mostly playing Bon Scott AC/DC at blistering volumes, sometimes delving into Sabbath, Priest, a whole lotta Zeppelin, The Who, Cream, etc.
I had developed a notion that turning tube equipment on/off is what kills it, kinda like the military developed the same notion... so I never turned the Plexi off, ever. And while this made it a little sweaty in my jam space in the summer, in the winter it was all the heat I needed in the part of the house I closed off to stay warmer.
What impressed me about the Marshall at the time was that it was completely bombproof. I hadn't met a Fender amp that didn't blow up even after going in for costly repairs, and had a string of them against the wall to prove it.
This being the 80's all Customer Support was by phone, and I was on the phone with Marshall in Westbury NY, when a kind gent on the end of the line actually traced who the Plexi, it was a '68 it turned out, had actually sold to new and it was "That guitar player in Black Oak Arkansas".
In the end, I parted ways with the Plexi for a 120W Sound City because I had loud drummer issues, and they (that store is still in business also, son in law worked there before Covid started) wanted cash to boot, seems hard to believe now... but they also had an Explorer I wanted in the worst way, I think I traded away my '66 SG Standard during the same deal, the memory is too painful to mentally verify... I remember figuring out pretty quickly that the Explorer - especially in it's hardcase - was an insane boat anchor. That affair didn't last very long.
I still regard that one piece of gear as the only one that ever got away that matters.
), or not deal at all.
