untune

For myself and Risingson mainly

[url="http://warp.net/records/boards-of-canada/new-album-tomorrows-harvest"]http://warp.net/reco...morrows-harvest[/url]

I can honestly say I've never been more excited for an album release in my life

Agh.... this has made me want a Ripper so badly! Great work so far!

Yep been a fan for a while - great stuff! Check out the Menahan Street Band - pretty sure it's them who record the actual songs and therefore their bassist. I like playing The World Is Going Up In Flames, great dynamic bassline that keeps you on your toes!

I run my bass through the front end of a nice Ferrograph Series 6 recorder to add some valve grit... the line out into a Pultec valve EQ clone and we've got some lovely Jamerson going on

I've thought about tracking one down to use purely as a preamp, they're harder to come by though. In fact I've got a working Brenell Series 2 that I want to convert to a standard valve mic/instrument preamp but it suffers from a low level hum (probably bad caps) and I lack the confidence - anybody in the Bolton/Manc area got the know how?

Back to the topic though, they look great and a lot of 50s/60s British tape recorders already had a sortof 'amp' shape - if you took the preamp panel out and flipped it, stood the whole case on end and covered the gap for the deck with grille cloth - voila There's a vid on YouTube of a guy who turned a Ferrograph into a guitar amp like that. I can't comment on that machine but a lot of decks of that era seemed to be about 3 or 4W max output, and the speaker impedance on mine is 15 ohms.

Not strictly bass related in this case but it may apply too - I have an EQ unit that was hand built and it uses a metal toggle switch, just as you'd get in a guitar or bass, for the bypass. It's mounted on a front panel and so it's a bit awkward to get behind it, and there are six or more wires going to it. I noticed when testing it out that bypassing was working oddly - in the up position (bypassed) then it was bypassing everything except the low cut control, so the signal was still being rolled off and the rest of the controls were ignored appropriately. I thought at first this was a wiring issue and after cleaning a couple of scratchy pots with switch cleaner and doing more testing, I noticed that wiggling the switch just right caused it to bypass properly. Wondering if it might just need a clean but is there any way to actually clean the internals of a toggle switch? I want to avoid having to re-solder anything if possible! I've searched around and people have mentioned using a business card or dollar bill but i can't work out exactly what they're getting at - they seem to be sealed from what I can see. The components in this particular EQ are all UK/German made so I wouldn't expect it to be a dodgy one

I remember a mate throwing up some mad ones a few years back. The Ground is Pat Butcher was one, along with the Micro Beadles. I even did a logo for that one with little hand on it.

[quote name='BetaFunk' timestamp='1362918502' post='2006122']
This doesn't sound too bad to me

[media]http://youtu.be/z91l_lPz1oc[/media]
[/quote]

The amount of times I've listened to this to try and match that tone - the crazy thing is, it's so simple and yet still so difficult to hit it bang on. The tone in this case is more about the stages AFTER the bass (the DI, the desk, the tape etc) - it's after all basically just a precision wide open - but then again the string mute is what gives it that great attack.

The great thing about Motown recordings is that they were so distorted and still sound fantastic, especially on the bass where that bit of grit isn't obvious in the mix like it is in isolation. Listen to the bass from My Girl, it's filthy!

I was going to say the rack power unit would be ideal but then I'm sure most of the gear in my rack doesn't use kettle leads but their own power jack adapters with trannies/wall warts - will have a check tonight!

I should be in Bath on the 18th late morning/early afternoon, filming at a venue somewhere near the train station I'd imagine. Would it be a faff to get there? Can't say for definite but could potentially use something like this as mine are a bit cack and I could do with a decent one...

[quote name='ednaplate' timestamp='1362420085' post='1999447']
Manchester Bass Lounge!!!! In Worsley. I live in Worsley and never knew about this place. A definite visit is in order.
[/quote]

I've just got back from the Bridgewater!

Hi ash

Might be interested in the bridge, will need to do some measurements tonight to see if it will cover the screw holes on mine

Cheers

Hi Mike - can you measure the post diameter on these? I've got a Mighty Mite neck here that could do with a set of tuners.

Also - do you know if they're chrome or nickel?

Cheers

I'll take the 'No Bull' cable if that's alright - PM sent

PM sent

Bah, forgot about this... I did a mix of it when the thread first popped up, then lost the thread... oh well!

Fancy that, I only work down the road...

[quote name='MaGrOtTeN' timestamp='1357992135' post='1931454']
[color=#666666][font=verdana, arial, sans-serif][size=3]P&P INCLUDED IN PRICE![/size][/font][/color]
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Which is?

Sorry I seem to have completely missed the last bit of your post

This idea is still swimming in my head - it would all depend on being able to shift my current amp though. Plus I quite like the sound of my synth through it

So you can't make a dummy load and use the DI out?

May well have done except I don't need a cab! My mate lives in Truro too, he just went back today!

Hi all

Around Feb/March last year I won an Ashdown 330 Touring 210H in a DV247 competiton - it's a lovely amp and a bit of a beast, I don't gig so it has never left the room but does get used for recording and such. Lately I've been thinking I don't need it sat there taking up all the space, and i tend to prefer a DI sound than a miked speaker, since I go for a sortof motown/Jamerson tone. I like it to sit right on the very edge of valve saturation so that it is just starting to break up, with the option of going further and having the gain push it over the edge and really pile the grit on - where you can hear the distortion creeping in soloed but in a mix it still sounds clean. The 330 just doesn't seem to get there though, even on max gain the tone is still really clean.

This last week or so I've been thinking about moving it on and getting a Little Bastard instead - a nice compact head would probably do me better, it has the same simple passive EQ that I like and no bloated stuff like EQ and compression, and from what I've seen it's easier to overdrive the gain? I could always get/make a 1x15 if I felt I needed one at some point. Plus the all-valve aspect is really appealing (albeit technically more costly to maintain) and I can have more fun experimenting with valves and finding something I like.

What do people think? What would I get for the amp I've got and how much should I be looking at for the LB30 (used)? Wouldn't mind a UK made one

Glad to hear Howard is all right - I was meant to be buying some cable from him a few weeks back and he went quiet, was a little bit concerned! I've ended up having to buy some cable anyways buy hey ho

Looking fantastic! BTW I've still not replied to your email re: the pickup rings, I'll get on that tonight if I remember. Anything to be chromed on the horizon yet?

I let my fingernails grow a bit. When I want to mellow the tone, I bite them off. If I decide I want more attack again, I have to give it a few weeks.

And hello from another Boltoner