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Beer of the Bass

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Everything posted by Beer of the Bass

  1. Beer of the Bass
    It doesn't have a standard XLR DI output - the 1V line level output on the back panel is a summed output of the original preamp channels, and is on an obscure 3-pin DIN connector so I haven't tried it. It appears to be intended for connecting other Dynacord gear of the same era in a slave setup. But the 6sl7 preamp channel that I added is mixed in after this stage, so wouldn't be present on this socket anyway. For a DI output from this head, a speaker-level DI box connected to a spare speaker output should give decent results.
  2. Beer of the Bass
    Also, coat hooks and a whiteboard in each room.
  3. Beer of the Bass
    Additional pictures showing the case, back panel and a crack at the back corner of the plastic outer which is taped over.
  4. Beer of the Bass
    70s Dynacord Eminent II amplifier. This is a valve powered amplifier originally intended for PA use, using a pair of EL34 run at high voltages for a rated output of 80 watts. In stock form the amp had a four channel transistor preamp, and was built to be very clean and linear sounding. The perspex front panel has green lights behind it, so it's quite stylish in a kitschy way! I have modified the amp by removing two of the transistor preamp channels and building a preamp based on a late 60s Ampeg B15n using a 6sl7 valve. This is the four black controls on the right of the front panel. I used a high voltage FET stage to match the output and impedance requirements of the 6sl7 preamp to the power amp section of the Dynacord, but the signal path for this bypasses all of the original transistor preamp circuitry. I have also rebuilt the power amp with new filter capacitors and a new pair of JJ E34L valves, and set the bias to suit them. The two original input channels and their master volume and EQ are still functional too. With the Ampeg style preamp, it provides a very pleasing classic bass sound, and would be a good addition to a retro-minded studio or for moderate volume live use. It doesn't provide heavily overdriven sounds, but with the preamp gain turned up it does a great subtle breakup that thickens up the sound nicely, and it also has a nice range of clean bass tones. It's quiet in terms of background noise too. It's relatively compact for a valve head, and comes with a well used but useful ABS flight case to carry it in. It has impedance selectors on the back panel to run 4, 8 or 16 ohm cabs.
  5. Beer of the Bass
    The Reserved signs weren't there on Monday.
  6. Beer of the Bass
    They are indeed. Weirdly, they had a couple of Foderas in the window when I passed on Monday, one of the Vic Wooten-ish 4 strings and a 5 string fretless, both quite well worn. I have no idea what the story behind those must be.
  7. Beer of the Bass
    It looks like they've retained the not particularly great back-angle on the saddles, and the chunky bits of the mute assembly that make it hard to palm mute. Those are interesting design choices!
  8. Beer of the Bass
    I've seen some far more niche products, but they're probably not things I should post here!
  9. Beer of the Bass
    As far as I'm aware, the SVT was built on multiple PCBs right from its introduction in 1969, not point-to-point.
  10. Beer of the Bass
    For four 12"s it's going to be £200 minimum, and there are a lot of competent bass cabs, large or small, that you could buy used for that amount.
  11. Beer of the Bass
    I've played in DIY venues and rehearsal spaces that used guitar 4x12 cabs with bass heads as the house rig and got away with it. Though that was very much on the basis of cobbling together whatever gear was available, not something I'd set out to do. So I'd second the "why?", but if you really must, then a 16 ohm, closed back 4x12" has about the best chance of not breaking, out of the common guitar cab configurations.
  12. Beer of the Bass
    With any luck it'll just be a fit issue that you can figure out with a little fiddling, though if it does turn out to be faulty you should be able to get it replaced. It's a decent sounding pickup, so I'd try and work it out rather than looking for something else immediately.
  13. Beer of the Bass
    The design of the Epiphone is a little more appealing IMO, with its 60s style pickups and more practical 2-part bridge. It's odd that there doesn't seem to be a current vintage style Gibson.
  14. Beer of the Bass
    The new Vintage Pro ones with the proper old style pickups do look great! I know that doesn't help...
  15. Beer of the Bass
    Nice job. Is that a Tuff Cab finish you've used? I've been quite pleased with how that stuff looks and holds up on my DIY cabs from a couple of years ago.
  16. Beer of the Bass
    I feel like some piezo pickups have more of that thick, compressed tone that's easy to work with but not so natural. The K&K Bass Max or the inexpensive J-Tone "Big" pickups on eBay have that type of character.
  17. Beer of the Bass
    The bit that puzzles me is that geared wooden pegs were more common in the 3-string era, especially on Germanic basses (which this looks like due to the outside linings among other details). From the style of tuners I'd have guessed at this being somewhere in the first half of the 20th century (though that's very much a guess), when 4 strings were standard.
  18. Beer of the Bass
    I was going by the "Boosey & Hawkes" rather than the Excelsior model name. I was aware that Hawkes and Boosey had been two separate companies originally, and just googled for the company history.
  19. Beer of the Bass
    If it's clearly stamped "Boosey & Hawkes", it has to be 30s or later, as it looks like the two companies merged in 1930. That makes the 3-string aspect puzzling, as it seems a little late for that. Could it be a 4-string that's had the tuners modified for some other reason?
  20. Beer of the Bass
    It's hard to generalise between number of valves and headroom or character. Preamp valves are not only used as simple gain stages - the number can vary depending on the approach the designer has taken, and whether any are used in auxilliary roles like reverb, active EQ stages or FX loops. And in power amps, a pair of EL34 (for example) could be used in amps ranging from around 20 watts to 80 watts depending on the voltages and topology, and with or without a valve rectified power supply.
  21. Beer of the Bass
    Fake poo is a steady seller, if you run a joke shop!
  22. Beer of the Bass
    I don't mind it at the light, subtle end of things, like the Gibson VOS models, but if the more extreme examples are falling out of favour I'm OK with this trend!
  23. Beer of the Bass
    It's something I'd love to try sometime, but the extra setup time, transport hassle and soundguy acceptance factor (when it's already a 6 piece band with brass) put me off. The gear I already have around would probably make for a fun setup though, maybe using my Schalltechnik HPF to roll the lows off the guitar combo rather than doing the octave thing.
  24. Beer of the Bass
    Could it be down to the cabs rather than the amps? I'm not sure of the model numbers and age of the various ones I've encountered, but quite a few 8x10s have been way darker sounding than I like, or in the case of some of the 4x10s, had an annoying gap in the upper mids between the 10s and tweeter.
  25. Beer of the Bass
    Emmett Otter only needed one string!
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