whizzzy

Autosol chrome cleaner is good for bringing chrome surfaces back but if the chrome is pitted no amount of polishing is going to bring it back to perfection, so you could be into replacing the parts or if they are not available having them re-chromed. If the surface is severely pitted then even re-chroming will not achieve a perfect finish though. Start with the cheapest option which is Autosol + few minutes of your time and see how much progress you make with that.

Surge suppression - My advice is to save your money or spend it on something much more useful such as a set of strings or some new leads. The reason I say this? Any reputable amp manufacturer will invariably include surge protection within the amp itself. The amp will have gone through surge testing as part of its CE marking process and so will be capable of withstanding a reasonable amount of surge pulses. The addition of an expensive surge protection board is only going to duplicate what is already in place. If you're lucky enough to be using some sort of vintage valve amp then again I would say that surge protection is not needed as those things were virtually bullet proof anyhow. Kettle leads - There is a difference between a kettle lead and an IEC lead (which is the type of connector used on virtually everything except kettles!). As mentioned earlier in the thread kettle leads have a notch in them and the reason for this is to prevent an IEC lead from being used with a kettle. IEC leads are generally rated to 10 amps, the early IEC leads were only rated at 6 amps. If you look carefully at the IEC connector on the lead you will see that there is a 10A or 6A figure stamped in the molding. These cannot carry the necessary current to power a kettle. On the other hand a true kettle lead with a notch in it will generally be rated to 13amp and so these could be used for most other applications if necessary, but my advice would be to stick with the correct type of IEC lead though. The fuse rating for the plug will be determined by the input power of the amp (this is [u]not[/u] the same as the audio output power). On the back of the amp there should be a voltage / current / power rating plate, usually located close to the IEC socket or mains lead input. This will indicate how much current or power the amp needs from the mains. For example if an amp is rated at 2A then a 5A fuse would be used in the plug-top. Equally if the amp was rated as 500W (and remember we are talking mains power here and not audio output power) then as a rough rule of thumb divide the 500W figure by 250 which will give to 2Amps. So same as before you would use a 5A fuse in the plug-top. The thing that you have to watch however is swapping round IEC leads as some may be fused at 10A for higher power devices whereas some could be fused with 5A fuses. If you then use a lead fused at 5A on a high power amp for example then you could end up with the fuse blowing unintentionally. So best try and keep the lead together with the amp that it is intended for if you can. Just shout if you need any further help

[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Bought an amp head off Dave, arrived promptly, well packed and in good condition. A smooth transaction, just as you like it to be.[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Highly recommended. Thanks Dave.[/font][/color][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif] [/font][/color]

[quote name='MoonBassAlpha' timestamp='1486560542' post='3232762'] Wouldn't the headphone feed be tapped off before the power stage though? [/quote] Hard to say without having access the the schematic diagram of the amp. The conventional approach for headphone internal connection though is across the speaker output but with a resistance in series to attenuate the signal level going out to the headphones.

Well if you can't hear anything, even through headphones then it sounds like a problem in the power output stage or power supply section and will warrant a more thorough diagnosis. Have you checked all of the fuses?

Before you launch into swapping valves it would be wise to power the amp up with speaker connected and with your ear close to the speaker can you hear any gentle hiss noise? This will at least determine if the audio power stage of the amp plus everything downstream of that is working. If you can't hear any hiss noise then check the speaker and associated wiring first.

[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][font=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]Sold a Hohner bass to Rainer.[/font][/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][font=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]No fuss, did exactly what he said he would. Easy, hassle free deal - would be more than happy to deal with again, a credit to the BC community. [/font][/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][font=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]Thanks again and hope you have many happy hours playing it.[/font][/font][/color][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif] [/font][/color]

[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]As a suggestion you could look at the Nordstrand NP5 or NP5F. I fitted these to my VM5, they are a direct replacement and they worked out quite well but whether there is £100+ worth of improvement is subjective. I guess it comes down to what sound you are after. Personally I think you can achieve a lot more, for less money in getting the right sort of stings fitted on the bass to suit the particular sound you are after.[/font][/color]

"[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]I suspect most problems are environmental and/or finger trouble." - pretty much this. [/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]We use a Behringer X32 on which I believe the X18 Air has been based upon. The desk is mainly controlled by our sound engineer who also uses an iPad to go walk-about when checking the sound in different parts of the room. A few of the band also use apps on their phones to tweak monitor mixes. The WiFi connection can be a bit jittery at times and we have noticed this generally occurs when the room is full of people as distinct to when we are sound-checking when there are usually fewer folks around. When you think about it a room of 250 people has potential for +200 mobiles in there, most of which will be jockeying for a wi-fi signal in the locality. Using a decent router helps (I can't recall the model we are using) and keeping the router in line of sight and close to the performance area can also improve matters. [/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]As long as you are mindful of the potential pitfalls you shouldn't go too far wrong.[/font][/color]

Bought a Genz cab off John. Drove down to collect it and had a good old bass related chin-wag. John is an absolute gentleman and it's been a pleasure to do business with him. An asset to the BC community and would certainly have no hesitation in trading again. Thanks John.

[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Bought a Mono gig bag off John, it arrived promptly, extremely well packed and in very good condition. A smooth transaction, just like you like it to be.[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Highly recommended and would have no hesitation in dealing again. Thanks John.[/font][/color][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif] [/font][/color]

[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Bought some pickups off Jose, they arrived promptly, well packed and in very good condition. A smooth transaction, just like you like it to be. Also had a very interesting and enjoyable chat with Jose via pm. [/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Highly recommended and would certainly have no hesitation in dealing again. Thanks Jose.[/font][/color][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif] [/font][/color]

[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Bought some bass bits off Patrick, arrived promptly, incredibly well packed and in very good condition. A smooth transaction, just like you like it to be.[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Highly recommended. Thanks Patrick.[/font][/color]

They reconed a PHL driver for me a couple of years ago and did a good job. As the website is still up there I can only assume (and hope) they are still trading. I've heard good things about Wembley Loudspeakers as well but haven't used them personally. It would be worth getting a price to recone the Ampeg driver to compare against the Eminence. I doubt there will be much difference in reality but if you have the Ampeg driver reconed at least you remain closer to originality, if that is important for you.

[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]As Stevie said have a go at it yourself, you've nothing to loose. Failing that [/font][/color][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]I've used [url="http://www.recones.com/"]RMJ[/url] in the past and can recommend them. A bit closer to you as well.[/font][/color]

[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Sold some strings to Gareth.[/font][/color][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif] [/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Prompt payment, top bloke, deal with confidence. [/font][/color] Thanks again Gareth, Cheers, Colin

I didn't refer to a schematic, I just followed the instructions which Meddle detailed earlier in this post. When you pull out the volume pots it is a simple case of switching the wires so that the [font="helvetica, arial, sans-serif"][color="#282828"]pickups are connected to the wipers of the pot rather than the outer terminal. To allow the volume pots to pull out of the f holes far enough you will also need to undo the tone pots as well as the wiring between them is quite tight. Make sure you place a cloth or other protection over the front of the body as it could be quite easy to accidentally touch it with the soldering iron or hot solder. [/color][/font]

Thanks for this. I've modded my RI as per the above and agree that the pup selector switch now works in a much more logical manner. It has also overcome the issue when reducing the volume on one pickup where has a tone altering effect on the other. With both pickups set at max volume and no tone cut the overall sound of the bass remains unchanged, however I wouldn't have expected it to be any different. It definitely provides more flexibility in being able to dial up different tones though. If anyone is contemplating the mod I would recommend that you remove the jack socket as it allows slightly easier access to the lower pots. Borrow or invest in a pair of cranked tweezers as well as this makes access through the f holes less fiddly.