G.A.S. can strike musicians anytime and just about anywhere. G.A.S. usually strikes without warning. For instance say you’re at a gig some guy walks up to you and says “Hey man, I dig your band, oh and by the way I have a (fill in the blank) piece of crap amp I want to sell.” We almost always have to graciously pass on that G.A.S. 　There are those rare moments however, when the gear in question is worthwhile and my cash flow situation allows me to consider the transaction “Hey man, I have a vintage XYZ bass/guitar/amp I want to sell” and after a few key questions, we find ourselves in the dilemma of developing G.A.S. right there on the spot.

This G.A.S. is simply an acronym for Gear Acquisition Syndrome. A malady most musicians will succumb to at some point in their travels. This G.A.S. might reward you with that cool piece of gear you love but have lived without for all these years. It could present you with a way of getting that long coveted item that will make you late with the rent and even worse land you in big trouble with your non-musician spouse.

A few years back at a forgettable gig, at an even more forgettable bar, G.A.S. suddenly struck. “Hey man I dig your bass playing” I thanked him and after some small talk with this guy I realize that despite his assessment of my bass playing he really knew his stuff. He said to me, “Dude I have an amp for sale that you would absolutely love”. My first thought was, “Why is this guy blocking my path to the bar? Doesn’t he know this my refreshment time? Doesn’t he appreciate that there is a woman at that same bar I very much would like to meet?” He is there to see and hear my band and he just might buy some “merch”. So I do what we must do as a working musicians and visit with the good folks that put the fuel in the van. My second thought is I may need to “pass G.A.S.” I then do the three question shake down all musicians know,　which is, 1) What is it? 2) What year? 3) How much? After he answers all three questions, I come back the very rare question number 4) Holy Crap! When Can I see it? Of course I asked this question in a very cool detached manner. I instantly was in urgent need of an adult dose of Gas-X.

Two days later I find myself in a Boulder, Colorado, basement standing in front of a what appears to be in almost brand new condition, a 1975 Sunn Concert amp. It was complete with the matching covers and the actual Sunn brochure, with the old time rubber stamped info from the music store where the amp was bought.

I grew up thinking John Entwistle of the Who was God of all thing bass. He had a wall of Sunn gear. I felt this was as close as I would ever get to being just 2% as cool as the Ox. Mind you I am a blues guy and as I get older I do not need a rock star sized rig to haul around. The gear that I play with is more powerful, versatile and just plain better in most ways. G.A.S. however is a powerful affliction, so I whipped out my check book faster than Michelle Bachmann’s press liaison’s can say, “She was just joking.” 

I also might add that I had about as much business writing a check at this point as did Jeffery Lebowski at the Ralph’s (not the millionaire, Jeffrey Lebowski, the other Jeffrey Lebowski, the Dude his Dudeness or El Duderino, if you not into the whole brevity thing). I would figure out some way to cover the check. The seller was comfortable with such a flimsy instrument of payment. I suspect he reasoned he knew where to find me. With a quick glance at the entertainment calendar in Westward Magazine he could pretty much track my movements around town.

I got the rig home and plugged it in. It didn’t have the tone or the vibe I was hoping for. I knew what my next move would be.

There is a place in Denver that works magic on old gear and they did what they call a “Day Spa” treatment. They re-soldered all the connecting points of the components and did other things I have no business knowing about. They gave it all the “TLC” the nearly 40 year old amp needed.

I brought it home and fired it up with my 1951 Fender P-Bass (re-issue) and it just came alive. I heard a sound that I had been looking for. It was the sound of the first record that really turned me on to the blues, Girls Go Wild by the Fabulous Thunderbirds. The T-Birds bassist on that record was a guy named Keith Ferguson. He played with a slight fuzz and growl that you get with this type of amp when you drive it hard. He also played with an old P-bass like mine. From the moment I heard that sound I forgot about John Entwistle, the Who and rock music pretty much all together and focused on the sound I still love to this day.

That sound is what I shoot for every time I play.

The lesson here is that when that guy impedes your way to the bar, you just don't know what type of G.A.S. he may give you. It might be the one time that playing that forgettable gig at that forgettable bar just became unforgettable.