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Cigarette Burns?

akstrat61

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Joined
Feb 16, 2004
Messages
1,845
I remember back in the day when I was buying tweed amps and some Blackface stuff, that many of them had cigarette burns on them. I'll never forget a friend owned a tweed Bassman that must have had over 100 burns strategically placed around the top of the amp. I never bought any of those amps and ended up with cleaner examples, but they were plentyful. Looking at tweeds out there now, many are raggy, but lack the burns? What gives?

Does anyone here own a burnt tweed or were they all retweeded? I tend to think they add character to the soul of the amp? Or the headstock for that matter! I remember openning the guitar case and they smelled just like the bars they played! Just a random thought and I'd thow it out here! Peace!:dude:
 

akstrat61

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Feb 16, 2004
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1,845
I find this extremely interesting that no one owns any of those amps?:hmm
 

Bob Womack

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Apr 8, 2002
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2,191
You make an interesting point. For the first twenty-five years of my guitar existence all my amps were bought used. I didn't own a single guitar amp that didn't smell like cigarettes until the twenty-five year mark when I bought a new one. Now, the four used and vintage amps I own have a little of the historic [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, Sans Serif]redolence but it isn't overwhelming. None have cigarette burns, though. I think the presence of burns simply tells who was doing the smoking, meaning that the musicians were.

Bob
[/FONT]
 

agogetr

Active member
Joined
Jan 22, 2019
Messages
451
this is interesting. i think i have a couple with a burn or maybe 2 but you really dont see it that often?? especially a bunch of burns. you almost see more amps that kittie did yoga on. speaking of kittie.. did you know there was an old brand of amp called 'cats ass' ? i,m not funnin ya. one came up on ebay eons ago. you can guess what what pic was on the grillcloth i wanted it but i stopped bidding at 500 bucks!!! it went for a little over that. i could have been the most popular guy on the block. back to regular programing
 

akstrat61

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Feb 16, 2004
Messages
1,845
The 60's, 70's and 80's were tough on gear. Gear was just thown into vans and trucks after gigs. Most load outs were done while heavily intoxicated. The bars were filled with smoke and it followed you everywhere. I remember buying guitars and opening cases only to be blown away by the small of the bars and smoke. I have a '55 Gibson GA6 that has a couple of burns on it, kept it because it came a '55 LP Jr I bought.:dude:
 

GotTheSilver

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Joined
Apr 14, 2007
Messages
2,433
I have a 1956 Tweed Deluxe. Overall the tweed is in pretty good condition, with various scuffs here and there. There are two cigarette burns on the top, on diagonally opposed corners. Adds to the character!
 

aardvark

New member
Joined
Jan 19, 2021
Messages
4
none on amps...that I own - although I do remember seeing them from time to time.... but my guitarist of many years insisted on putting his ciggy up there on the head of his '60s tele... it had the permanent mark of many years of play...
 
Last edited:

renderit

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Jan 19, 2009
Messages
10,951
I remember seeing them ALL THE TIME in shops and on the road. They seem to have disappeared. Maybe they got recovered back in the 70's and 80's to resell?
 

dwagar

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Joined
Apr 18, 2005
Messages
4,451
I'm guilty of doing that myself. The top tolex was always melted in spots where the cigarette burnt down. That's a really good question. Where are they?
 

DutchRay

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Joined
Mar 15, 2015
Messages
872
Well, I have some. My '66 Super Reverb and '64 Tremolux both have burn marks. I never really cared about condition, if it's sounds right and the price is right, I'm in. Just scored a very early Bassman reissue with torn grilcloth for a ridiculous price and it sound awesome!
 
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