BassBod

Pretty sure the power amp/back plate has been mounted into the top of the rack box, 90 degrees out of its normal position, behind the preamp and face plate. Why? Probably because the preamp is pretty much 19” 2u format, but the back is roughly 3u but not standard 19” format. The uv section sat underneath the preamp, and made up the extra 1u space..but I can’t see it in the photo. Makes you wonder what actually happened to the original wooden case 😳

I’ve always rated the PJB stuff very highly, and the three or four products I’ve owned have been great. A useless UK distribution and support company is a deal breaker for me. The micro electronic nature makes it all pretty specialist, so it is essential that there is someone in the UK that is willing to do the communication and sourcing that will inevitably be necessary sometimes.

From your photo, it could originally have been either the AH150 or AH250? If the power amp section is taller than 2u, then I guess it was the 250…

Looks to me that the original case was removed, and the preamp unit and power amp unit were re-housed in a 19” rack box, but in an unusual way! Wouldn’t be hard to re-mount it all back into a 2u wooden sleeve, without the uv light box. The preamp has slightly odd hole spacing for the rack mount screws, but the rear power amp section would need holes drilled in the top to fit the existing bolt locations. From memory there is only one cable/connector between them, so no problem there. Probably worth taking it all out, getting it powered up and seeing how it’s all working before making any decisions.

Never really seen one, but there aren’t huge differences between MIV, V or Series 6. Watch out for XLR speaker outputs and worn out fans. The ECI light shouldn’t flash in normal use, but will pulse when you power down. The XLR input isn’t balanced, it’s just a parallel option because they thought it was better than jacks. Plenty of experienced users here, so ask away if anything isn’t clear.

Very best wishes to them all. Great basses, good people. I never ordered a complete bass, but have bought occasional strings and spares from them. Always a good experience.

Recently bought an Ashdown preamp from Lozz. Exactly how a BassChat transaction should be - great communication, exactly as described etc. Fantastic 😎

I have distant memories of Selectron being generally useless, so I do not think this is a new problem. Very bad news for the PJB brand as this will very quickly reflect on their products. I had brief dealings with the previous UK distributor, and found them very helpful.

I’ve played mine very loud into 4ohms for a few hours on many gigs, always stone cold externally (with fan). Not even the slightest warm spot on the case. Can’t imagine the noise you’d have to make to reach a thermal shutdown 😜😬🔊🤫

Ashdown very helpfully changed the fan in my Retroglide for a quieter version…but I did ask Dave Green if it really needed one, as it never got even slightly warm on gigs. After a moment’s pause he replied “ that’s because it’s got a fan” 😜🤷🏻‍♂️

The original 200MB is a bit smaller, sounds a bit warmer. Nice old style chorus. I’ve owned two 150 MBE versions from the early/mid 90’s, slightly more mid emphasis but good features. The boost control is a nice way of warming up the sound. I’ve not owned the later III series, but have used as rentals…the ones with the letters on the front, rather than painted. These seemed to be noisier, with more background hiss, but otherwise very similar. I preferred the oldest 200MB, it was the nicest sounding version. The strap handle was a small size, so might be a bit harder to replace. The 12”paragon speaker has a foam edge that disintegrates after about 20 years, but is repairable. Or you can still buy a replacement from Thomann. Hope that’s some help

The Shergold look is growing on me……heard one on a gig recently, it was truly impressive 🤘🏻. Massive sound for a shorty.

From my various J bass experiments over the years..the very best feel / sound I’ve found was from a Bravewood neck, made with very dense maple, and a thick slab of very dark rosewood. It felt great to play, but also gave a distinct bark to the overall sound. It possibly had some reinforcement rods as well, as it was a pain to set up, but for sound, it was fantastic. I remember a Jaco interview where he said the main reason for sticking with his two old jazzes was “the punch” they had in the mid range…I think this was probably it. That slab of dense rosewood?

The epoxy fingerboard and fresh round wound strings are the key…most repro jazz pickups will do a fine job. I had one of the Antiquity bridge pickups years ago, and it was exactly what it designed to be, but that included the single coil hum and pretty bad microphonics! My favourite is the DiMarzio Model J..a slightly darker sounding humbucker.

It’s a 70’s Alembic F2B.

This is my current selection…all good stuff. It’s great to have these different flavours, although once set up I have to admit it all just sounds like me 🤷🏻‍♂️

Sorry that I can't offer any help, as I don't think I ever met your Dad. I do however recognise his name instantly, as someone who contributed a lot to the world of Bass here in the UK, long before this internet thing took off and made everything (good and not so) available to all. My very best wishes to you and your family, it's a hard thing to go through. I hope the community here can be of some help to you all.

My memory of these is that it was a collaboration with Jack Cassidy. He often used a clean/dirty amp combination with an old Versatone that had a very particular drive sound, that he mixed in with a volume pedal. SWR were trying to put that into a 1u rack preamp. I expect the drive/blend is the critical element, hence the pedal option? Hours of fun 😎