I just bought a WEM Dominator Mk. II from a cool old guy who used to be signed to Apple Records!
It's clearly seen better days, but it sounds great all the same, ripped speaker and all. If it had a reverb tank I reckon it might give an AC15 a run for its money.
I bought my first AC30 (head) for £75 in the 80s and sold it for the same amount in the early 90s - ah, those pre-eBay days! - but with prices spiralling upwards all the time I reckon WEMs might be the last bargains to be had....for now. Only because there are so many of them out there and their owners don't seem to rate them much (probably because they were the cheaper alternative to yer Vox/Fender/Marshall back in the day).
I was lucky to find this one as the ones with tremolo are distinctly rarer.
JJLipton wrote:Looks, very coool indeed. But it looks like someone took a shotgun to the tolex at point blank. Will you replace it with a Eminence?
Nah, he gave it a kick when his Rangemaster crapped out on him, apparently.
I'm going to keep the stock speaker in there. It has a bit of a tear, but it sounds absolutely fine as is. If I ever treat it to a full service I'll patch up the speaker with strips of tissue paper and a 50/50 solution of water and PVA adhesive.
UlricvonCatalyst wrote:but with prices spiralling upwards all the time I reckon WEMs might be the last bargains to be had....
You could be right there. Even old Sound City and Carlsbro stuff is beginning to jump up in price.
There is a guitar shop near me that is a bit of an Aladins Cave, lots of old WEM stuff in there.
Fran wrote:There is a guitar shop near me that is a bit of an Aladins Cave, lots of old WEM stuff in there.
HOW COME I DID NOT HEAR OF THIS WHEN I CAME DOWN FROM MY LOFTY NORTHERN HEIGHTS?
(well, basically I couldn't have bought anything from there) BUT STILL!?!?
I THOUGHT WE WERE FRIENDS!!!!
It was way out of Nottingham Will. You would have like'd it though, the shop smells of old Amps and he uses a Shin-Ei Fuzz as a door wedge in summer...
we had some old WEM PA speakers in my first band. wonder what happened to them... we also had a couple of marshall PA columns that were amazing, come to think of it. long gone.
Fran wrote:Valve or Tranny?
Either way, you may as well give me that..
Arf.
It's transistor and terribly heavy for its size. I've seen it in photos used as a keyboard amp by John Paul Jones and Pink Floyd (not my exact one, like). I got it for £20 off some pothead.
Fran wrote:There is a guitar shop near me that is a bit of an Aladins Cave, lots of old WEM stuff in there.
HOW COME I DID NOT HEAR OF THIS WHEN I CAME DOWN FROM MY LOFTY NORTHERN HEIGHTS?
(well, basically I couldn't have bought anything from there) BUT STILL!?!?
I THOUGHT WE WERE FRIENDS!!!!
It was way out of Nottingham Will. You would have like'd it though, the shop smells of old Amps and he uses a Shin-Ei Fuzz as a door wedge in summer...
Where is this place Fran? You've been keeping this place secret.
Fender Classic Player 60’s Stratocaster>East Coast T1 Tele>
Epiphone Les Paul SL>Ovation 12 String acoustic>Peavey Strat DIY Relic
Marshall Origin 20H>James’s old purple 2x10
Marshall MG10 Combo
