Maude

Bullet proof is good, super clean is not what I want to hear about a valve amp. Having no input gain to drive it harder doesn't help I suppose, but a valve pre amp built in that could be driven may help. I've got my PJB for super clean, I want some old valve warmth from this. I'm going to try it at the weekend with a cab and put a pre amp pedal in front of it just to see whether it's worth persuing. Else I'll end up spending money and time on a really cool looking amp that sounds meh.

I'm not a stalker, just googling for info and found a thread on a Telecaster forum which matched your posts above 👍

Danelectro or Hofner. I have a Hofner Club bass as I don't like the Beatles association of having a violin bass. It's only the cheapest out of the three levels but is closer in construction to the real deal than the mid priced one and sounds great, really great. Its so light that band mates have picked up the case to load it and question if it's empty. Likewise I have a Danelectro Longhorn that I love but it does feel fragile, unlike the Hofner. It also sounds great but in a different way. Brand new Hofner Clubs should be sub £300 too (maybe even as little as £250) which a fantastic price for such a great bass.

Yes, this is all just thinking out loud at the moment, I'll get the amp checked over before I do anything and see what it's like with one of the celestions in a cabinet. Are you 'Mart the Hat' BTW?

Thanks @itu, some good info there and I'll watch the clip later when I've got some peace and quiet. @Reggaebass, I know what you mean. There's something 'mad scientist' about them that this glowing glass tube is amplifying my sound.

Thanks @Beer of the Bass, I thought logically it must be the bias out making one run hot. I'd like to learn about these things and although I know little about it now I grasp things like this pretty quickly. I'm not going to do anything silly though. I've had enough shocks to know I don't much like them. I found a retired audio engineer who liked to tinker a few years ago who looked at an amp for me, I might see if he's still tinkering. Ideally, and this may seem mad or just plain unfeasible, I like to take out the solid state pre and put my Peavey valve pre in, remove all the unnecessary inputs just leaving one and then build a shiney housing to show off the valves, like the Ashdown Little Bastard with the top removed.

It's not the worst named tool brand. I could pull my drawers open and show you my King D!ck.

If you went with a darker stain, the edges of the darker 'repair' could be airbrushed to disguise it as a stronger area of quilting. If it's still noticeably darker then a similar mirrored area could be done to make it look book matched. It's hard to say without seeing the area in question.

The markings on the smaller one before I wiped them off.

I took the valves out to give them a clean as they were thick with dust and all markings promptly wiped of as well. They were Telefunken so I assume original. One looks perfect but one has blackened on the inside creating a mirrored look from outside. Is that normal for old valves or is it on the way out? They both glow the same when powered up. You can see the 'mirroring' on the left one around both sides of the flat plate, I guess this is the hottest area on the outside where the plate is closest to the glass.

Thanks for the info @Beer of the Bass. I also have a Peavey Max pre amp cross over unit which I used to use years ago when running a stupidly large bi-amped rig (that's what the Celestians are from), the solid state pre never worked and then crossover started playing up but the valve pre was lovely sounding and works perfectly. I seem to have all the parts to make a really cool rig, just not sure what to do with it.

Ooh what a Terror!

I was having a quick clear out of a large trunk in our living room and found an old Dynacord valve amp that someone gave me years ago. I'd taken it apart 15 to 20 years ago as, from memory, it was a bit crackly. I never thought much of it so the front and rear panels, knobs and all the screws had got slung out when the drawer they were stashed in got replaced, too be followed by the amp at some stage. Anyway roll forward many years and I discovered it and thought I'd see if anyone wanted it instead of going to the tip. Now I'm having thoughts on building a flip-top type combo (thanks to @rubis) as I've got a couple of really nice Celestian 15s in storage that are in the way as well, so all it'll cost me is materials and time. Anyway enough rambling, the amp is, from pictures I've googled as the front and rear panels are long gone, is a Dynacord Imperator from the late 60s or early 70s, 50-80 watts depending on different opinions and apparently transistor pre and an ECC81 and two EL34's in the power section. I've turned it on in standby and it lights up and all three valves glow, it's really dirty/dusty in there so needs a good clean but what else should I look out for before I try plugging a bass and cabinet in to see if it's worth bothering with. I'm no electrician so talk to me like I'm an idiot. There's four 'outs' on the back, one marked 16ohm and three marked 8ohm, I assume just plug an 8ohm cab into any of the three marked 8ohm. Lastly as this must be boring now, has anyone used one as a bass amp and if so, was it any good? Pictures from Google search;

Likewise I just adore Jolene. Not a cover of Dame Dolly of Partonsville BTW.

But, but, but the Phil Jones one comes in a blue silk lined box.............. 🤣 Mine has been playing up lately, the connector turns to lock but the inside part stays still so it just pulls out. Must bring it home and look at it, although for the price I'd assumed that some PJB elves would've turned up in the night and fixed it, but none have shown up yet. It came with my second hand rig BTW, I couldn't justify one new.

Ooh I like the look of this. I'll be looking forward to future instalments. 👍 But, you are now responsible for my little brain working over time, and will be fully accountable for any silly decisions I make regarding my love of the Ashdown LB30 Drophead. 😁

Superb! 👍

I temporarily gaffer taped a T shaped tear in a cone (about two inches long and an inch to the side) and then used the cab every week for about ten years with no ill effect, it then went into storage for five or six years and then used weekly for another couple of years. Now in storage again. I might replace it one day. 😂

I realise it's American, and bless 'em for trying, but they always get it so wrong. 😉 This is tongue in cheek before anyone gets uppity BTW.

Movingly fairly off topic but it's in the drummer's 'about' blurb, and it's something that bugs me. Surely he's based in Atlanta, if he's based out of Atlanta he could be based anywhere, couldn't he? 🤔

Why do some people have to be so flamboyant? 😉

When I saw Kasabian the bassist used two or three different basses, one of which was a rather lovely CAR Jaguar bass.

'Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now' by Starship. One of the sadest band family trees to go from 'White Rabbit' to this absolute p!ss. 'Yellow' by Coldplay. So bad it was named after the colour of p!ss. 'Mull Of Kintyre' by Wings. Terrible dirge not worthy of a p!ss association.

That's why I can't place it 😁 sounds good though. The last tone is very Pixies-esque.

Welcome to my Nightmare is another album that I just keep coming back to.