Amp Woes, the End

Over the past 3 1/2 years or so I've written several posts about trying to find the right guitar amp for me. There were some false starts, some falling in and out of love. I never did tell the end of the story, though.

In August and September of 2005 I did a bunch of reading and on-line listening, and eventually narrowed it down to a couple of amps that I thought would be the right style for me. One of them was available only online, direct from the builder. Given my recent Goblin experience (see "Amp Woes" links below) I was loathe to go down that road.

I did note that Action Music was a dealer for Dr. Z amps, one of which had made my final list. (Action is totally awesome, the best music store I've ever dealt with.) I took a drive over and the rest is history. They gave me a decent trade for my old Blues Jr. and sold me a Maz 18 Jr. There were some minor issues at the start (turned out to be an intermittent ground problem caused by a loose nut on the face panel) but they were quickly resolved and the amp is awesome. I've experimented with tubes and speakers a bit and the amp just continues to be marvelous. It's not quite a Fender, not quite a Vox. Awesome cleans and overdrive both. Really really pleased. Finally.

1. The Quest for Tone
2. Amp Woes #1
3. Amp Woes #2
4. Amp Woes #3

Fishing Report

Didn't get much fishing done this year... an all-too-common lament for me. I did make it out on 11/14 as that was supposed to be an absolutely beautiful day. Key word there is "supposed." It turned out to be windy and cool, at least in the morning. I had to work in the afternoon, so it wasn't really a great day for me.

This past Wed (11/21) was way better. I didn't have to work so I went out a little later. Fished a little in Smoot Bay, just to take a look at everything that's going on there. The construction doesn't appear to have been too disruptive, though I am hardly an expert. I do fear, however, what's going to happen when the development is done. Who wants to take bets on someone trying to establish a "No Wake" zone in the entire area?

Not much going there so I headed up north of the bridge. I hadn't been up here for a good long time, at least since before they demolished the old bridge. The new bridge is quite impressive. I'm a little concerned about what the second span is going to do to that area of river there, but what are you gonna do?

The order of the day seemed to be crankbaits but I had a different idea. I tied on a 1/4 oz white spinnerbait and gave that a shot. I'd only made about 4 casts before I caught a nice little (1.5-2lbs) smallmouth. Wish I'd gotten a picture of that one -- a beautiful fish.

I fished the spoils for a couple hours without getting any bites, then headed back down river. The wind was picking up a little by then and I was having trolling motor issues, so I almost skipped it. Good thing I didn't as I caught another nice fish, this time a largemouth about 2.5 lbs or so. I did get a picture of it, but it really doesn't do it justice. (It's hard to hold a fish with one hand and take a picture with the other. Try it.)

The weather was awesome, 70+ degrees and only a little wind. Really glad I got back out this one (probably last) time.