Alec John Such & Trace Elliot

This is a gruesome tale.

One dark and stormy night about six years ago Monster and I visited a music store at the Jersey shore, where he lived at the time. He'd dropped by to grab strings prior to our recording session, and in the used gear section suddenly found himself wandering through a newly-arrived forest of black and neon-green tree trunks. Trace Elliot bass stacks. He'd called me, excited.

I hit PAUSE and met him at his house.

Driving at dangerous rate through the rain, he blurted the results of his sleuthing. Due to the 1) geographic location, and the 2) quality of the equipment (pro-grade touring), plus the 3) just finalized and highly publicized divorce...he believed the equipment to be a fire sale of excommunicated Bon Jovi bassist Alec John Such.

We arrived ten minutes before closing and sprinted for the monoliths. Without the need to play stadiums, Monster narrowed the selection to a mythical Trace Elliot AH600x (1992) amp head, combined with a 4x10 and a 1x15 cabinet. As we looked over the gear in detail, sure enough, there it was: written on the back of the head were the initials AJS.

Here was a chance to own a piece of history.

Monster borrowed a truck and arrived at the next Foul Rift rehearsal where the four of us teamed up to build the bass tower. Monster is 6'3" 230 lbs and let me tell you it is a formidable sight to see him looming in the semi-darkness beside a blacklit refrigerator-sized leviathan ominously spewing styrofoam peanuts and elephant crippling 15 Hz sound waves every time he hits a low B on the 5-string.

For those of you with weak stomachs, now is the time to click away.

Life jumped in the way. Grad school. Home construction. Sprogs. So, for the past three years, the Sarcophagus has anchored one corner of the barn loft at Toone's Farm. Two weeks ago, I pulled it out of storage and made the sad discovery it had become a rat condo. Those furry little bastards decided the inner guts of the head would make a perfect place to rear their young and provide a commanding view of the storage area. Photos below.

The question now is what to do?

1. Restore the amp to its former glory

2. Donate it to the Hard Rock Cafe

3. Accept an offer from someone who will cherish it

4. Gasoline + lit match

Comments

[Roger Placer]

If it were me, unless I needed a big arse bass rig and had the space for this behemoth, I would try to use its pedigree (as it were) to get more $$ out of it than it would otherwise be worth. Of course, that means fixing it and somehow proving the connection.

[Alexander López]

I'll go with either donate it to the nearest Hard Rock Café or to a local high-school to restore it as a science project.

[Matt Ruselton]

That photo could make me cry. A bounty has been placed (10) for the head of any rat, mouse or other fury little bastsrds that would ruin Art from the UK.

[Rick Toone]

Matt — makes me cry too. The stack is waiting for restoration. Just need to find a motivated donor or buyer.

[kerry kruger]

Anybody know the bass player from Ratt?