It wasn't an impulse buy, but I wasn't planning on stumbling across such a good deal today (though I was looking for one).
Yes, a Marshall JCM 2000 DSL-100. I've been wanting to get back into gigging and have been looking for a band to get involved with. I came across a nice Ampeg 4x12 with Celestions for $140 last week and scooped that up. Then the hunt for a head began. I just can't bring myself to pay what a Soldano runs and, frankly, I question whether I'm good enough to know why/how they sound better than other amps that cost a fraction of what they cost. So I was looking for a 5150 II or some kind of Marshall in the same price range. Yesterday I bid on a 5150 II on eBay and am still the high bidder, but there's no way in hell I'm going to win it for $550. If I do, I can easily flip it to get my money back or more. Or I can see how it stacks up against this Marshall and keep whichever one I like the best after a few hours of playing through it.
At the Guitar Center today I used one of the new EVH Wolfgangs through this amp and a Mesa Boogie cabinet. I don't think the Wolfgang is worth nearly what they cost and my Ernie Ball kills it in every way. The store was packed today, but I needed to see what this amp could do, so I gave it a good 30 min. workout and a few of those at serious volume. Little kids were covering their ears and I think a few of them may have soiled their diapers. But my hearing is so shot, it wasn't that loud for me and I like sitting right in front of a cooking tube amp and feeling the fillings in my teeth shake. Can't wait to beat on this thing during the week when the neighbors are all at work.