JapanAxe

You may have noticed there are no valve retainers fitted. I did buy ‘bear trap’ retainers but decided not to fit them - the valves will stand above the chassis and the head is for home use only, plus it is a pain to remove valves from bear trap retainers.

I finally drilled the small guide holes that I will eventually widen for the self-tapping screws which will secure the cover to the chassis. I have ordered what I hope will be suitable screws. I also drilled a hole for the safety earth bolt and exposed bare metal around this and the input socket hole using a Dremel-type tool. All the panel hardware is now firmly mounted except for the input socket. It's always satisfying when the valve sockets are in. Next up, a load of soldering.

While I wasn't gigging I thought I might as well enjoy my smaller stage rig at home, so this has been my practice rig for several months. All being well, the Demeter is soon to be displaced from this role by my home-build B15 clone.

This makes perfect sense - prepare an encore but only play it if the audience demands it. Of course the word ‘demands’ is open to interpretation - do you wait for them to scream for more (genuine encore) or are you content for them just to stay in the room (fake encore). Perhaps Gibson should put out a video urging bands to ‘encore authentic’…

Thank you! This time I used a 30mm panel cutter for the valve socket holes instead of a step drill.

Yesterday was all about metalwork. Most of the chassis hole are now drilled and/or punched. The PT leads will pass through the rubber grommets immediately beneath where it is mounted, but I need to finalise the points at which the OT leads will enter the chassis as they need to be away from the preamp area.

This EBS head:

Of course it does, as a matter of principle - this is a hill on which many noble souls have chosen to die!

Test fit of eyelet boards (one partly populated) and most front and rear panel components.

My diary is starting to look a bit healthier now. Some pub and function gigs on guitar, and some on bass playing country music festivals at Warner and Pontins venues. I’m not taking any of this for granted though, it could all change in a heartbeat.

Good to hear from you again Blue. Here's to your good health!

I realised I had the board stand-offs coming out under the transformers, which wouldn't work. In the second draft I moved the transformers a bit closer to overcome this, but then I wondered whether the PT might induce hum in the OT, so I set them up as below. The PT primary is connected to the mains and the screen to the earth. All the unused PT wires are parked safely in chocolate block connectors. The OT is mounted orthogonally (look it up!) to the PT and I have my headphones connected across the OT's 16 ohm tap. I found that the transformers really need to be at opposite ends of the chassis, and their relative position is crucial to minimise induced hum. When it comes to it I will mount the PT, then move the OT around on the chassis before marking up the bolt positions. Rather than mount the eyelet board with 2 stand-offs at each end, I will settle for one at each end at the front and one in the middle at the back. The board is 3.2mm phenolic and very rigid so I am happy this will be sufficient. Measure twice, cut once? No - measure, check, measure, check, sleep on it, measure, check...

The tendonitis has improved to the point where I can sit and work at a desk, so I have finished the layout today. I have had to carefully work out the positions of the transformers so that none of the mounting bolts and grommet holes conflict with the board stand-offs - you can see my paper mock-ups to the right of the photo. With the PT position I have chosen, the primary wires would come through the chassis right next to the preamp, but I will run them the other side of the chassis and bring them in at a different point (yet to be decided) to prevent induced noise and feedback. I haven't shown the 6.3V heater wires I will have a fresh look at this tomorrow before committing myself to making holes in expensive metalwork!

Unscrew the base plate and have a look at the chips?

Barrie is your house made from bits of the old Bassgear shop?

Yeah I have the Lost Highway phaser on my main guitar ‘board. Trouble is those blue LEDs are so bright that I can’t make out which way they’re pointing!

Come on Stew, surely the (optional) light-up knobs are cooler!

On previous builds I have re-used and recycled ‘old iron’, not least to save on cost. This is a new build from scratch and after researching the topic I decided to go for these transformers from Primary Windings. I am currently reading Merlin Blencowe’s excellent book and have just read the section on heater supplies. He suggests running just the first stage heaters on DC as DC doubles the current requirement compared to AC. I have never had problems with noisy heaters on previous builds (5 valve amps and a 6G15-style standalone spring reverb). If it turns out to be a problem I have various options - humdinger, elevated heater voltage, and DC as a last resort! Yeah it was a fairly weighty package! Fortunately the head will just sit on top of my BF One 10 in my music room and I won’t have to schlepp it around too much...

Look for open mic nights in your area - they often have a Facebook group. Get talking to some of the other participants.

No, ischial tendonitis. Trying not to aggravate it at the moment, and unfortunately sitting in an office chair does just that! Weirdly, cycling is fine. Also I can still play guitar or bass if I sit on a high stool and find the right position.

When I say ‘medical condition’ it’s nothing you can die from, just a pain in the ar$e - literally!

The iron is here! It might be a while before I get much done though, as currently a medical condition is making it impossible for me to sit at a desk or workbench for more than a few minutes at a time.

Not I. As with most things, it depends on the circumstances.

I play have played, and still do play, in single-guitar/bass/drums lineups - some on guitar, some on bass. When I’m on guitar I consider it my job to maintain a suitably ‘big’ sound during guitar solos. Some of this comes from what I play e.g. chord stabs between notes, playing lines an octave lower, letting open strings ring; some from the guitar sound e.g. echo, fat drive/fuzz, volume boost. Some guitarists make the mistake of adding too much gain and not enough extra volume come solo time - what sounds great at home playing along with the original recording may be inadequate in a live situation. When I play bass in such a setup I rarely play differently during a guitar solo unless that is what happens in the original recorded version.

I have played this live quite a few times (including in a Bowie tribute) and always went for the brightest tone. I’ve invariably done it fingerstyle though, never thought to use a plectrum.