West Museum West Museum
Dave Young from Flint Michigan: Email and a picture with his Grande
Hi,
My name is Dave Young. I am currently in a band with no name. We plan on getting a name, and a gig or two in the Flint area by Jan. 2003. I play a parker fly through a '72 West Grande amp. My story is not one of lifelong adulation, but of accidental, albeit equally as strong, admiration of the tube amp known as the West Grande.
I have played the six string (self taught) acoustic guitar for about 15 years now. My original love is acoustic finger-picked folk music. Not to bore you with the history of my guitar purchases, I have ended up with a reasonable sounding Martin Dreadnought that I played weakly through a Crate acoustic amp. I hooked up with a younger bunch of guys, who were all learning, and yearning, to be musicians in a real live working rock'n'roll band. I tried all kinds of stomp boxes attached to my Martin, played through the Crate, to try to keep up with these youngsters trying to make a fresh, current sound. I could never defeat the feedback. I could never achieve that heavy crunch.
So I got a Parker Fly with piezo pickups, to defeat the feedback. I played it acoustic through the Crate Amp. It was cute. The feedback was gone, but the sound still was not there.
In 1999, a friend of mine bought a house in Shelby Township. In the deal, he acquired all the junk that was in the garage. Amongst the junk was this "guitar amp". He asked me to take the "guitar amp" to another friend of mine that played the pedal steel guitar, and knew something about electronic guitar equipment. Maybe this friend would know what the amp was worth, and maybe he would offer something for it. We plugged the "guitar amp" in, and nothing happened, no lights, no glow, no sound, no nothing. I took the "guitar amp" home and stored it in my basement. There it stayed for 2 more years, only coming into use as deadweight for some construction projects I had around the house.
The recreational basement band I was in was getting better. We had a song list that would allow us to play out and get gigs. Still, I was unhappy with the sound I was getting. I did not think I was ready to play out. I was convinced my skill was lacking.
It was then I thought I should look into the "guitar amp" that I was keeping as deadweight in the basement. I got online and thought I should try to replace the tubes in it, just to see what would happen. Through the research that came about, I knew that this was not a project that I should tackle myself, what with biasing, and whatever mods may have been done to it, it was recommended that I take the amp to a professional. My guitar tech, Wenninger, of Rochester, said he knew exactly the guy i should take it to: D. R. Zink. Wenninger told me Zink was the master of vintage tube amp design/reconditioning, and I trusted Wenninger as a brother. So i took the "guitar amp" to Zink. He was thrilled to see the box. I didn't even know what I had in my possession, but Zink assured me I had a gem. What did i know? I was an acoustic folkie. D. R. Zink rebuilt the West Grande with a couple matched 6550 RCA mains, and it needed one preamp 12AX7wa. Zink, of course, demo'ed his work by blazing me a couple killer lead riffs in his basement, but again, what did I know?
I went and got an Ampeg 4x12 on sale, hooked it up and the rest is history. I have fallen in LOVE with the fully cooked overdriven tube sound. It is richer than the finest wine, deeper than the finest cigar. It is, literally, the sound I've been searching for, for over 2 years. It fills out the perfect sound of the classic rock stuff that this no-name band does, as well as the Creed, Staind, Green day, and Collective Soul covers of today.
I had always been the acoustic finger-pick guy, always overwhelmed by electric guitars, and electric music. Now, through a strange route, I have been fully inducted into this thing, and taken over by it. I can't get enough.
We'll be playing, coincidentally enough, in Flint in January. Right now we have no name but I can get you some demo's, and maybe some more pics.
Thanks for creating the best cooked sound on the planet.
Keep the faith. Rock on.
Dave Young
A Great picture of Dave Young from Flint Michigan with his Grande.