The fasting showman

Hi, It sounds like you've already been through more than I have with GK, the 4 I've had have been great (800rb, 400rb, mb200, 700rbii), I thought that the procedure was for GK to replace entire section boards. I know toroidals aren't cheap but there's ways around that, if you aren't bothered about warranty. I'd try the bloke on Talkbass, I'm hoping Gelfin, Nick or Cetera chime in! Have you managed to actually make contact with GK in the US? All the best, Martin

Hi, I'm far from a guru on anything, all I know with GKs is the old patch lead in the FX loop trick; seems to cure a vast range of ills. There's a bloke on Talkbass (B-string) who is a good contact. Polar Audio, as you will know, are the distributors, I've mixed feelings about them but they may help. When I swapped the mains tranny in my 400rb the local amp tech thought the insides of the amp looked pretty straightforward. Good luck, Martin

I think the intention with the P bass pickup was to obtain a humbucking design with an absence of phase cancellation in the sound given that that the two parts of the humbucker operate on different pairs of strings. That's not to criticize basses like the Stingray where phase cancellation is part of the sound (i.e a dip in the mids from having 2 coils on at the same time, like position 2 and 4 on a strat pickup switch) or a Jazz bass with both pickups turned on full. All great sounds in their own way. Martin

Many thanks to Wayne for a great deal, highly recommended.

That's really helpful David, the s2010 is what I'll be ordering. Many thanks again for the help and the clarity of info. Martin

Smart job David, good woodworking. Thanks for the info. Martin

Hello, I'd be grateful for some help regarding a replacement speaker for my SWR Workingman's Ten, I'm chasing durability over any other goals as despite me buying the amp on a whim off this forum it's turned out to be a very useful little amp. I must add that the amp is in great nick (purchased from Ricksterphil) and the speaker might get pushed to it's limits given the age of the amp in some applications, I'd rather box up the original speaker. I've managed to use the amp at a full band rehearsal playing '50s stuff and it did well in a smallish room, it's main uses will be as a back up amp for gigs with a full PA or for guitar/ bass duet stuff. My basses are a Fender tele / P bass hybrid, TI flats with a pick, for '50s music and a 3 band 'Ray for general purpose. I'm not doing dub or similar. The internal volume I'm getting is 1.3 cubic foot with a slot port(divided by a 2cm x12mm x 31cm batten) of 2cmx37cm with a 7cm shelf. The amp chassis isn't boxed in and occupies some area of the enclosure, sadly it isn't a measurable size as it's essentially a PCB and tranny on an L shaped piece of metal, the back draft from the speaker helps to cool the amp. I'm aware you can't get a quart out of a pint pot but a new speaker will help a great little amp, that doesn't owe me much, to keep working. I'm thinking that my budget would push to around £100. I'd be very happy for very general /ballpark answers on this, I don't want anybody to go to great lengths with software etc. Many thanks in anticipation, Martin

And a welcome too from me, also from Lichfield.

Back in my '20s I got a fair amount of compliments regarding my playing that in hindsight I really didn't deserve. I'm a lot better a player now (relatively OK I think) but as I am in my '40s I find that I am practically invisible at gigs. So to quote a wise man: 'If they like me, I like them!' Be glad of any compliments whatsoever. Martin

[quote name='3below' timestamp='1430247400' post='2759530'] I found that Travis Perkins can supply birch ply - I was able to get 9mm sheets at a reasonable price to the depths of mid Wales. It was also well packed for transportation. [/quote]I found Travis Perkins very helpful too, the branch near me had a circular saw with fence unlike the vertical saws at the big DIY sheds; the cutting was bang on accurate and barely cost anything. Made the build very easy! Good luck, Martin

Just bought an amp from Phil, good communication throughout, happy with transaction. All good, many thanks.

[quote name='nick' timestamp='1429472309' post='2751740'] They are unfortunately a waste of time IME. Overpriced spares, and at the time I attempted to deal with them, didn't have a clue on technical advice for my 400RB that I needed. Shame as such great amps deserve a better distributor IMHO. [/quote]Well said Nick. There's a Talkbass contributor called Bstring who is very useful regarding GK tech info. I think if I'm ever fortunate to own one of these amps again (why did I sell mine?) and if I had to convert it to UK from US voltage I'd only bother to run the 300 watt section full range as most people do I suspect. This would make a replacement tranny easier to source as I'd leave the 100 watt unpowered. All the best, Martin

I'm from Lichfield, PM'ing you an amp techs number. Martin

How about 2 off Sgt Pepper? Lovely Rita and Good Morning are interesting lines at the front of the mix. Dear Prudence is a great line too.

Happy it worked out how it did James, I've got a few gigs now where I need my Sub! Sound great don't they? Toying with the idea of a Status neck for mine, Cutlass 1 on a budget. Martin

Glad it's getting used Ian! It's a lovely machine that's gone to a good home. Martin

[quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1422702449' post='2675758'] Other than cost, this might work well. I don't know whether the MM case fits but even with a bit of routing could soudn excellent and be still saleable. Bisonic/Darkstar style pickups are available from Curtis Novak. [/quote]Are they similar to the pickups in your Lakland? Probably a good reference then for what a big single coil sounds like. I always think P90s sound great in Gibsons.

It sounds like it's the phase cancellation inherent in the stingray pickup sound that you don't like, also a big part of the Fender tele bass mudbucker. That was the genius of the p-bass pickup design in that it is a humbucker but senses separate string pairs thus no phase issues. Do you like the sound of the MM pickup when coil tapped? A massive single coil pickup like a Darkstar but in a MM case could be good...no forget that, gonna cost way too much! Martin

Yes, I remember it well; Bruce Forsyth's 'You bet'. I also thought I'd dreamt it until I encountered another bassist that recalled it, a real cringe. I'm a big fan of Herbie Flowers, one of my favourite players, but it was really odd hearing him on contemporary late '80s bass gear; it didn't suit his playing at all, unlike the Jazz bass he has used all his career that sounds great to my ears. It proved that some basses and amps just don't work for some players, don't chop and change gear too much. A parable I've only started following sadly too late! Martin

The Harder they come, so many great songs on that soundtrack. Blue Collar - Jack Nitzsche / Ry Cooder, great to hear Howlin' Wolf in the songs used too.

I love everything mentioned but I'll add another favourite 'Things fall apart' by Cristina, Don Was on bass I believe.

[quote name='TimR' timestamp='1418900062' post='2634566'] It's difficult. I played in a band where the enthusiasm was a lot more evident than the talent. We got gigs and people danced. We didn't tend to get many rebookings though... [/quote]That's very similar, and I don't want to string anybody along into the new year. What we had was me sticking to the basslines verbatim with a drunk guitarist turned up too loud over the top. I don't really want to be associated with something that ropey, particularly if I am carrying it musically. Ego is a fragile thing at my age! Sorry for the derail. Martin

'The best party /function band' certainly wasn't the rubbish I was doing last Saturday, confirmed by the phone footage I saw. Bloody chronic. I need to start taking heed of other Basschatters and up my game band-wise. Martin