Seb_C

I've built the Ampmaker SE-5a. 5 watts with an EL84. Good kit, good supplier, went together really easily and was perfect first time. Five watts is only going to be about 1dB louder than four in reality, and I think this would be okay for very small gigs - but it won't stay clean. I used a Weber Silver Ten alnico - very nice speakers. I now run the amp with very small mods and a NOS 6AQ5 output tube (like a mini 7 pin EL84/6V6 hybrid) with a NOS 12AT7 instead of the 12AX7 preamp tube. Less gain, less volume, probably barely 3w, sounds sweeter - but not giggable IMO.

[quote name='51m0n' timestamp='1355915847' post='1904309'] Errr, no you can definintely DIY mic pres that far outsrips the quality and reliability iof anything with a Behringer sticker on it. It just wont be cheaper I'm afraid:- [url="http://www.seventhcircleaudio.com"]http://www.seventhcircleaudio.com[/url] [url="http://www.soundskulptor.com/"]http://www.soundskulptor.com/[/url] [url="http://www.fivefishstudios.com"]http://www.fivefishstudios.com[/url] [url="http://www.hamptone.com/index_old.html"]http://www.hamptone.com/index_old.html[/url] All of which will completely blow away said behringer unit. And hurt your wallet a lot more I'm afraid [/quote] Read what I said carefully. "At this end of the market". OP is talking about a Maplin kit that costs "about a fiver". DIY mic pre for a fiver that is going to be good enough to be worthwhile and reliable enough to gig, with the prices you pay when you're buying ones and two of parts? No chance. It will be a waste of a fiver. I'm well aware of what can be built for sensible money. I'm well aware of the exceedingly high quality DIY out there. I built my main valve amp. I've designed and build effects pedals from scratch (no kits). Hell, I've built an analogue synthesiser. But for ultra cheap you cannot compete on price with the bottom end Chinese stuff.

[quote name='Rick's Fine '52' timestamp='1356018632' post='1905810'] No, not at all, it's just the internal radius routing on the top side, is smaller, the headtsock thickness will be, and is, the same. The reissues, and even the original Telecaster basses have a much slower radius, which shows the walnut cap as much more elongated. Hope this makes sense, it just drops away from just past the nut, much sharper, less smooth than the newer ones. This profile was used, i believe, until the rosewood came in, in '59. The neck is approx 22mm at the 1st, and 12th frets (Tape measure used, as i don't have a micrometer, which would be more precisie obviously). nOt sure how that compares with my original, I must check, but i would bet it's very similar, it certainly feels the same. It's certainly not a V-neck like my '56, or super slim like my '58. Not a baseball bat either, like many say about the early P's. In my experience, thats a bit of a myth anyway, I've played clumpier necked Telecasters than the early P's I've played.. [/quote] That makes perfect sense, thank you 22mm sounds nice. Re: baseball bats, I have heard more about early Telecasters with 1" necks.

next question: deep radius headstock scoop - is the headstock thinner as a result of this, or is there more meat on the back of the headstock to compensate? How thick it the neck at 1st and 12th frets?

Very nice. How's the sustain with the phenolic saddles? I have read that they don't sustain as well as steel - but then with the foam mute that's not an issue!

Agree with Subthumper - at this end of the market you cannot and will not beat the likes of Behringer and far eastern mass production for cost or performance. If you DIY, do it becuase you really enjoy DIY. You won't save money and make anything good enough or reliable enough for gigging at the same time.

In a similar vein, I keep finding myself lusting after the Sheryl Crow Telecaster...

[quote name='Jacqueslemac' timestamp='1355160486' post='1894830'] Apologies if this is a bit off-topic, but Noel Redding wasn't a bass player any more than Jimi Hendrix was, so do his basslines end up like they would have done even if Jimi had played on all of them, I wonder? (Noel was a guitarist who claimed he'd never even tried to play bass before he was handed one and offered the gig with Jimi Hendrix.) [/quote] Well it has often been said that Hendrix could've done with a better drummer and bassist. But the non-Hendrix bass parts always sound to me a bit more like you'd expect a bass part to, albeit nothing like, say, Duck Dunn - whose lines always sound so right.

Hendrix playing bass is always interesting because you can sort of tell it's a guitarist playing bass. Quite busy, not as tight as you would expect from a top class bassist (i.e. someone who was as good at bass as Jimi was at guitar). Spanish Castle Magic is another example of this.

Very nice, I like this a lot, well done! I'm particularly fond of P basses, and of reproductions of 50s and 60s instruments in particular. In fact, I'm hoping to start my P build (probably a '57-'59 type) over Christmas. I'm still researching it - no doubt you could answer most of my questions on the details!

[quote name='MoJoKe' timestamp='1354462437' post='1886184'] Bass can, of course be a solo instrument ...Check out Steve Lawson, then please consider withdrawing your agreement of the earlier response to my earlier post! [/quote] Of course it can be a solo instrument! I said it doesn't work for ME as a solo instrument The thing is, I spend some of my time practicing, and some of my time just playing. Sometimes when I'm playing I treat is as a performance, usually one without an audience, but sometimes my fiance is around. In that situation, with my ability and my style, an acoustic guitar or a piano gets me far closer to the sort of thing she may actually enjoy listening to! And sometimes, on those days when I'm playing well (by my standards) I enjoy listening to myself play... With bass, I don't really get that. Partly because I'm not good enough, and partly becuase the kind of thing I like to play on bass lends itself entirely to ensemble performance. In the same way, the kind of thing I like to play on acoustic lends itself to solo performance and not to ensemble. So if a few friends are round and want to play some music I'd much rather pick up my bass than my acoustic. So, really, I need all three. Bass, guitar, piano. Four, if you include my voice.

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1354272851' post='1884267'] Sure there are guitarists around well worth of the "guitard" label, but there are people like that playing every instrument including bass. [/quote] Agreed (and with the rest of your post too!). I had a "Drumtard" in one of my bands - sure he could really play, but a drum solo on EVERY song? Really? It added nothing. I think of composing and arranging in bands the same way I think of EQ when mixing a song: Sometimes you need to add something, but more often than not you just need to create a little space for what is already there to really shine through. Anyway, back on topic, I'm a guitarist who sometimes plays bass. I don't think I could concentrate solely on bass, as it doesn't work for me as a solo instrument (while acoustic guitar and piano do, and I'm sorry to say I mostly play on my own!). But I keep playing bass because it's more fun than I ever expected as a guitarist (and I need the practice!).

Yes, although I will say that Apple likes to force obsolescence of old tech from time to time. Many feared Firewire was going that way - but the Thunderbolt to Firewire adapters have prolonged things like the Duet for a while longer. If you want to buy an interface and use it for years and years and years, however, the Duet 2 may be a better buy, being USB. It's six of one and half a dozen of the other, however, as the Duet 2 costs about twice as much as the original can be had for (but has a few more features, balanced outputs, and is a slightly more refined take on the concept). Words cannot express just how much better the Duet sounds than onboard sound, though. It really does sound great.

I have a Duet (first one) and it has been flawless. Stunning mic pres for an interface at this price point too.