My first "real" guitar (meaning it wasn't a toy) was a $75 (new) Cort hardtail strat looking thing. I played that into my dads old late '60s Vox Super Beatle head, which is one of the early solid-state amps. I ran that into a Peavey PA speaker that I think had a 12" woofer and horn. I plugged into an Arion Metal Master pedal, then into that "rig."
I could BARELY get the volume loud enough to be heard over the drummer I used to jam with (in his basement.)
Shortly after that, it was obvious that I was going to continue playing guitar and my grandma bought me a brand new white Gibson Les Paul Studio for my 8th grade graduation present. She went to the music store where I took lessons and asked them which guitar I talked about the most, then she bought it without me knowing about it. Wow, what a present!!!
I then moved up to a solid-state Crate head through that same Peavey PA cab. After that, it's kind of a blur. lol...