Jerry Petraglia
I began playing guitar at age 14 when The Beatles rose to fame. At first, my parents bought me a rather inexpensive Egmond guitar that they purchased from my guitar teacher. It wasn’t the greatest but it was my first and allowed me to learn and practice - practice and learn.
Now of course when you have an electric guitar, you need to have an amplifier. So, my dad bought for me an Ampeg amp at a NYC pawn shop and I thought I was hot stuff with a nice looking, brand-name, Ampeg amp with a 15” speaker. Turned out, it was made for bass guitars, but it did amplify the sound, which is what I wanted. My dad didn’t know the difference, but heck, it was the thought that mattered.
Jump one year later and my skills/playing were rapidly improving, and I was looking to upgrade my gear. On Christmas, 1965, my parents bought me a state of the art, highly coveted, Fender Bandmaster amp. If you had a Bandmaster, you had this raw power and “Fender Sound” behind you made famous by the Beach Boys, The Beatles and all of the great rock groups of the time. You would see them on stage everywhere!
After high school, I joined a very successful popular local, North Jersey rock band called “Lewis Carroll,” but they wanted me to play bass. I said, “Sure no problem.” So, I sold my guitar and beloved Fender Bandmaster and bought a Gibson bass and an Ampeg B-25 bass amp.
We did a lot of playing during my college days in and around Northern NJ and Rockland/Westchester Counties and it was tons of fun! We were regulars at The Red Rail in Nanuet, NY, too—a place known for having the most popular rock groups at the time rotate through. Who knows? Maybe Springsteen was there.
But….I have always had remorse about selling my beloved Fender Bandmaster. About 10 years ago when I became an empty nester, I got my rock chops back and started up a local rock band, and what did I get? A Fender “Strat” guitar and a Fender Deluxe Reverb Amp. I couldn’t find an original 1965 Fender Bandmaster, but I did get a “65 Reissue” of a Fender Deluxe Reverb with plenty of power coupled with that famous “Fender Sound.” It only has one 12” speaker vs. two and a little less power, but it does the trick for me.
Sure, I could always go out and find me an original Bandmaster somewhere, but it wouldn’t be the same. It’s like your first girlfriend: you never forget her.
