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Passinwind

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Everything posted by Passinwind

  1. I'll go out on a limb and guess that at least 90% of current production ones do not used starved plate mode.
  2. Don't feel alone, I'm still waiting for a simple answer naming any mainstream hybrid amps that use starved plate mode.
  3. Nobody's going to die here and I am just a technician, not an engineer. But I'm certainly willing to point you at some good study material. Do you understand how to derive a tube load line? I'd suggest that we start there, since it's the most basic level of designing a tube preamp.
  4. I believe the engineer in question is Andy Field, who is a "real life" friend of mine. With all due respect, I think some of you missed his point. I'm quite sure he was referring to using a tube with a curve set that works at the desired voltage in a way that gives the engineer's desired result. Plenty of tubes will work fine with a 12-24 volt plate voltage and sound nothing like a 12AX7 run that way. And then there are also many guitarists who actually love how a 12AX7 sounds in starved plate mode. I know it's very tempting to repeat Interweb folklore, but as someone who has worked on literally thousands of tube amps, the closest thing to wisdom that I can manage is "just depends."
  5. Cool, In many ways I envy those who actually like their amp rigs. Meanwhile, I'll keep plugging away at my own designs, which are just barely ticking the "adequate" box for my wants and needs. I recently acquired my first fretted bass in over 30 years, which is also my first fiver string one ever. I love to change things up substantially every five years or so, never know which way things might swing this time!
  6. Plate voltage is just one of dozens of potential design choices that could have a negative or positive effect on some or all of us. I just personally feel that it often gets relegated to being an ad-speak sound bite, but I have plenty of other windmills beckoning...
  7. I'm not under that impression at all, but am also eager to learn. So then let's start by defining "full voltage", please. That changes quite drastically by tube type, hence my request for specifics. I've seen very few genuine starved plate designs, but I have access to hundreds of schematics and a willingness to do some research on at least a few pieces if you can suggest some.
  8. Then please ask him to elaborate here, and name names. I can think of dozens of tube bass preamp sections that use what I consider a perfectly adequate tuning for clean and clear, FWIW.
  9. Just curious: what is your tuning threshold (voltage and bias current) for considering a design to be "starved plate?"
  10. [quote name='stevie' timestamp='1491339689' post='3272320'] We're a bit nerdy on here, but I don't think we're *that* nerdy. [/quote] Pity.
  11. [quote name='stevie' timestamp='1491322428' post='3272117'] You could well be right about this. It's difficult to judge from a photo. [/quote] It is difficult to judge that way, for sure. But there's also no accounting for taste, and to me a huge benefit of DIY'ing is that we get at least potentially to make things look the way we like them to. BTW, I'd like to see some more discussion on DIY coil winding, and even more so on properly potting or otherwise binding the finished coils.
  12. [quote name='Chienmortbb' timestamp='1491168216' post='3271026'] Well after burning the Midnight Oil and getting up early I just about managed to get the Cab to the Big Fat South West Bass Bash. I had about 5 mins to check the cab at home before setting off so it was a leap of faith to think that I had connected everything correctly in the crossover. I just knew I had noise of sorts coming out of both drivers. The handle was not on , there were no cabinet corners and Heath Robinson would have been ashamed of the crossover construction but it worked.[/quote] Well done. I've seen wet paint and partially cured glue at too many GTGs and trade shows to even count all the times any more. More than a few have been my own builds too. Personally, I really like the all dark look a lot, and never really liked plastic piping or trim of any kind except for corners, same as on basses for that matter.
  13. [quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1490903285' post='3268991'] If you really need to deal with all that stuff in the US then I will happily concede that shipping outside of the country for you is simply too much hassle and stop trying to buy musical instruments from you. Having said that though I've successfully bought basses from private sellers in the US through eBay...[/quote] Thankfully lots of us just get lucky and everything goes fine, of course. If a first time eBay seller did all of that due diligence with no problems all on their own I salute them. Once you've done it a few times it becomes much easier though, and for me the extra hour or two it takes (or far less if you're good at it) isn't really that big of a deal. But in any case, I'm wrestling with a CITES permitting deal right now, and while it's a huge PITA for me, if I were the buyer I would just fly over here and pick up the bass if I wanted it as badly as he does. Seriously ! And my case is relatively simple and clear cut, since it falls under the pre-convention exemption guidelines. But I still need a re-export permit and the buyer will need an import one. And the consequences for failing to get the permits can be permanent and irrevocable confiscation of the instrument. Ugly, no?
  14. [quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1490892694' post='3268902'] However, can you explain for us here in the UK exactly what the problems were for someone in the US were with sending a bass abroad before CITES messed everything up, because from the opposite side (sending from the UK to the US) then only issue was the increased postage. [/quote] For starters: Did you need a Shipper's Export Declaration? What Harmonized Code number did you use for the customs declaration, and which customs form did you need? Did you confirm that you had sufficient third party insurance for a vintage instrument, since US couriers are notorious for not actually providing that in the event of a claim? If there was a dispute who paid for return shipping and customs brokerage fees, if any? For experienced sellers all this stuff is a known quantity, and part of the landscape of doing business, but many first time sellers tend to just say no thanks. My wife and I both worked as FedEx couriers, and frankly, so many people get international shipping wrong over here, and as usual, even one bad experience balloons into an Interweb meme at the drop of a hat these days.
  15. [quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1490880924' post='3268750'] I also know from the basses I've sold to people in other countries that here in the UK at least, sending a bass abroad is no more difficult than sending it to the next town in the same country, it just cost a bit more. [/quote] Unfortunately, if the instrument has rosewood of any type in it that is emphatically no longer the case for those of us in the US. It never really was the case though, actually.
  16. [quote name='Kev' timestamp='1490828576' post='3268439'] Whenever I have contacted anyone about a bass on Talkbass, I have always got pretty rudely dismissed as a non-US resident and as such impossible to deal with..... Not quite as global friendly a place as here [/quote] As usual, I think just depends on your perspective. After 14 years on TB I just posted my first bass for sale ad. The only taker lives in The Netherlands. I had to explain how CITES permitting works, and that it would take a minimum of 2-3 months before I would be able to ship to any international address. On top of that shipping will be at least threefold what it would be domestically, and all insurance fees will be on the buyer. If I'm a crybaby for not relishing all of that, so be it... In this case the prospective buyer is perfectly willing to jump through all the hoops. As long as he pays now (which he actually suggested), all good!
  17. My very first bass was fretless and no fretted bass has ever made it much past a year in what passes for my world. And I can't recall ever playing even a single gig on a fretted bass, ever. It's just another thing like so many others where I greatly enjoy hearing other people play something (gear, various and sundry musical styles, cover tunes "like the record", etc.), but it just doesn't really work at all for me. In any case, my choice has little to do with how a fretless sounds. I simply detest the feel of speed bumps for bass! They're fine for guitars though, and I just play my guitar if I want that feel. And with all that said, I did just get in a five string fretted bass to use as test equipment in my electronics shop. I did a gear trade and ended up with something hilariously more uptown than what I was actually looking for, so maybe this one will take. It's been just over thirty years since I sold my my last one, a 70s Fender Jazz that was most definitely not one of the "good ones" from that era.
  18. [quote name='Dazed' timestamp='1490740325' post='3267648'] You looked on Talkbass? Might be an owners club thread. Kings seem to be quite highly regarded over there if I remember. [/quote] I've played a few, they were exceptionally nice IMO. David King is a very cool guy too, I had him make me some custom wood knobs several years ago and he really went out of his way to make sure I got exactly what I wanted. AFAIK he's still building in Portland.
  19. [quote name='Bridgehouse' timestamp='1487506037' post='3240242'] I'm hearing great tone, but heavy, expensive and not many of them... I should be considering something else I reckon. I do have a very strong draw to a 60s Jazz to round out the collection... a TB would be about the same sort of money...!!! [/quote] FWIW, I've owned a fretless TB2000 for 40 years now. I've had it for sale on TB for a while with a few tire kickers inquiring but no serious bites as of yet. It sounds great but the weight and even more so the neck dive leave me inspired to play it for an hour or two a month, at most. [b]Nancy Johnson: [/b]quite a few Beans have been retrofitted with new bodies, as the original ones reputedly have a fairly strong tendency to split if one takes theirs apart repeatedly.
  20. [quote name='Jack' timestamp='1489788458' post='3259963'] That Baby Sumo looks amazing, hadn't seen that before. You know your stuff Charlie, is it any good? [/quote] Can't really say yet, things are one level too deep into hearsay still.
  21. http://www.guitarsoundsystems.com/gss-baby-sumo-ampxlite-bass-guitar-power-amp-c2x21844846
  22. I have this on loan from Marco Bass Guitars for testing onboard preamp designs, but I think I may end up keeping it. Don't have too many details yet, just know it was a prototype for Marco's SC line, built ca. 2014, and is not representative of the final SC model. I'll ask Marco to fill in a few details the next time I talk to him.
  23. [quote name='tauzero' timestamp='1489339370' post='3256157'] I don't think it's as simple as an inductor/resistor as there's an impedance peak at the resonant frequency of the speaker. Just had a look and there's an article on Wikipedia - looks like it's a complex LCR mix. [url="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrical_characteristics_of_dynamic_loudspeakers"]https://en.wikipedia...ic_loudspeakers[/url] [/quote] Yep, there are mechanical impedance equations that have to be factored in along with the electrical ones, and one has to measure those things themselves before Spice modeling will work all that well. Spice is very useful for looking at things like power distribution in crossovers though, IME.
  24. [quote name='Chienmortbb' timestamp='1488998493' post='3253634'] Once I heard a good two way at Stevie's I came to the same conclusion. [/quote] For things like electric upright it's just mandatory in my world these days. But I really like the option forks you guys are developing, well done. BTW, how's your amp build coming along?
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