Minininjarob

Ok so my GK MB112II combo is loud. Weirdly loud for such a small unit. But when I’ve taken it out the house it’s too small to be able to hear it properly as it’s firing along the floor. 
So I bought an amp stand. Which didn’t work as it was designed for a guitar amp which is shallower. There might be better ones which work better for my amp but I didn’t have time to find one as I needed one for last night. 
So I bought a £9 bit of wood, 22mm x 144mm by 1800mm and made one. 
I cut a 90 degree angle in 2 identical length at the same time so each side was identical, then braced it together with various bits of wood until I got bored. I just tried to get the biggest tilt on the amp with the 144mm wood width - no audio science here. The width is determined by the space inbetween the (rather large) amp feet. Glued and screwed together and sanded all over and it was done. 
So the amp fires at me direct when it’s maybe 2m away approximately, it’s super solid and quite light and easy to pack away with my other gear. 
I might varnish it, I might not! 
Anyway, I’ve not seen anyone else with something like this or even seen one for sale (I didn’t really look to be honest I just needed a solution fast!) but it works perfectly and costs so little!!

if you need something like this have a go at making it yourself, it’s not hard and doesn’t need any special tools. 
 

38 minutes ago, tauzero said:

 

Get a 5-string and use conventional music paper.

Not gonna happen….. 😂

I would like a blank notebook with bass (4 lines) staves printed on so I can make my own tabs for songs I’ve been practising. 
Here’s the problem - I want it to lay flat so ring/spiral bound. Can’t see the point in one that doesn’t lay flat!

Size not very important. 
I have wrangled with Google for half an hour now and I can’t believe I can’t find one!

If this is still available where are you based?

At least they are being honest upfront about who they want to work with. Saves time wasting on both sides. 

7 minutes ago, Chienmortbb said:

If something is unique and offers something others do not, some people will buy them and there is nothing wrong with that. 
 

The Mesa Amps that @agedhorse designs are fully featured, arguably better featured than any others. I would love to try one but I cannot justify the expense. As a weekend warrior, it would take a year to earn enough to pay for one. I could afford one, who needs a funeral fund anyway? However I will not. 
 

As a big RHCP fan I stupidly thought that I needed a GK rig. I flipped in in less than a month as I could not get on with it. 
 

Everyone’s opinion is valid but if someone none is happy to pay for a Mesa, so be it. 
 

Finally, it is rare for a manufacturer's representative to post on BC and @agedhorse often adds wisdom and clarity to the discussion about amplification, with years of experience to back it up. I am glad he is willing to post on here. 

I don’t get this fawning over a company rep talking about the products. While probably more experienced than I he/she will be biased towards that product, especially the new ones they want to sell. That’s natural and there is nothing wrong with it but it has to be taken into consideration. 
 

And the line “maybe these aren’t for you then” from the rep when someone says something negative is incredibly condescending and leaves a sour taste. I have seen this exact line trotted out by many companies in different walks of life (cycling, autos which I have both been heavily involved in) and it’s always to describe things which are overpriced for what they offer. I don’t know if it’s a USA thing but to me it sounds like “you are too poor or too stupid to own our stuff”. 

10 hours ago, tobiewharton said:

Interesting thread...

Forums like BC are such a great source of many things, from bon homie to amusing belligerence, and I'm sure we're all partial to the full gamut from time to time. 

This particular one irks me -

These amps and cabs? Not on your nelly! I like Mesa stuff but these are priced out of the market for the majority of players. I earn good money from music and there isn't a world where I'd shell out for these products over, say, GK's offerings.

I couldn't give two hoots where things are made per se, as long as the product, buyer experience and aftercare are fit for purpose. On the contrary, if I feel like I'm being taken the piss out of it leaves a sour taste, regardless of some superiority delusion masquerading as 'provenance'.

Of course this is all my opinion, but it's not lost on me that I am in the relatively unusual position of having the funds and work to justify considering equipment that is towards the pricier end of retail. These are beyond that and yet are not a luxury; luxury is commissioning a build with a craftsman (like Jon Shuker for example, whose skill, time and flexibility add a unique and personal value), not preordering on Anderton's. 

100% agree and I’m glad someone with a lot more experience has put it more eloquently than I could. 
Think I might ask a friend who owns a successful backline rental business what his opinion is. I know he hasn’t any MB stuff to hire and I’ll ask him why. 

On 02/04/2024 at 23:14, Bleat said:

I've never been one for getting flavour of the month gear, preferring to get what is either decent and affordable at the time or what just personally appeals to me regardless. I'm not out to impress other bass players, it's all about what makes me happy! 

Recently I bought 2 Laney 2x10 cabs from their ebay shop. They cost me £200 each and I don't think the Nexus cabs were cheap items when they were the current bass gear. The spec certainly isn't cheap, and is on a par with those new Ampeg VB cabs aside from my Laneys handle more power at 400 watts each, a bit heavier at 17kg, I think better looking, and certainly much cheaper! As I grew up in the Black Country, it's also nice to be supporting the brand also. 

😎

Very nice!!

I can’t find their eBay shop - you you direct me to it?

On 13/03/2024 at 14:56, tauzero said:

 

As long as you bin it in my bin, I agree.

Or my bin…..

I’ve quite a few electronic bits around my house and donated to others that need them that were chucked in skips, left outside with the rubbish etc. 

I actually fixed a Laney guitar amp (tube pre, 65w really nice) in exactly this way and it’s at a friends house who wanted to learn to play but couldn’t afford an amp. 
What the pros don’t want I will rescue like an electric Womble. 

Hope all you playing this Easter have a great time of worship!! 

Ok ive been practising the same three songs over and over again to try and get into a worship “headspace”. As I usually play fast rock/punk music with a pick it’s hard to dial it down for worship songs but I’m enjoying the process. Trying to learn finger style as best I can just to get the right tone. My timing needs to be improved a lot!

looking forward to the next worship band workshop in a few weeks. Apparently there is a curriculum being developed to bring new members in which is nice for me as I’m self taught and have no idea what I’m doing half the time. 

5 hours ago, Nice Guy Rich said:

@bass_dinger I have faith in myself and one other.

 

Back in the day, baptisms were a big deal but nowadays, nobody wants to put themselves out. 

 

Everybody else seems to have adopted a "that'll do" attitude.

 

Hey if you just go for it and try your best then you will be blessed. It’s not the people or instruments you may or may not have, it’s the spirit in which you do it in. 
I think people don’t understand or forget what a privilege it is to lead people into worship. 

I’ll probably just give the PSU away to someone when I get a new one. If I ever get one. 😂

9 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

 

Did you send that second photo to Truetone in the course of your email conversation?

 

If so I would search them out on social media and tell them how poor your think their product and subsequent customer service is. Maybe that will spur them into action.

Yes I did.

Quick rundown

Pin broke - went back to Amazon who linked me back to manufacturer in USA. Who couldn’t understand why I was contacting them and sent to to UK distributor. Who asked why Amazon hadn’t sorted it out (had to explain why to them). After a few emails back and forth they just started ignoring me completely. So I went back to USA contact and told them what happended and they said they’d send me a new one (bear in mind they had the original info of the problem) which I waited a a while for (not realising it was being sent from the USA!) and they I got the extension cable. 

The whole thing has gone on for so long it’s past the 1yr warranty (yeah I know about the 6 year thing) so I can’t go back to Amazon (automated responses etc). 
I used to work in retail for a long time and know how everything works and how to get the best result etc but this is just amusing now. They are so disorganised it’s unreal. 
You can see why I don’t want one of their products again. 😂😂

 

8 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

I would take the original broken device back to the shop where you bought it and tell them you want a replacement or your money back under trading standard regulations as it's clearly not fit for purpose.

Bought from Amazon. Already been there unfortunately. 

This is the problem btw 

Blimey after loads of emails Truetone said they would send me a new unit - I think from the USA for some reason. 
Anyway received the package today and all I got was an extension cable. 
Honestly you couldn’t make this up. 
 

9 hours ago, Kowad said:

Spent my last £1k on a top end Dell that was meant to see me through a masters and PhD in 2006-7. Timing was peak Vista, it crashed about once a day, and had the blue screen of death needing a full factory reset at least once a week!

 

Before I bought it, other students had recommended macs, and I was fully “nah! Look how much better the specs are on this dell!” But within 12 months I’d bought my first Mac and I still buy my own macs so I can continue to avoid my employer’s freely provided windows machines 👀

 

Windows trauma. I swear. 

It was the Dell which was the problem not Microsoft!!

Thanks for the help all I’ll go for a HB unit. 
One last question - what sort of pedals use other than a 9v supply? I’m not going to be using any weird boutique pedals I think. 

58 minutes ago, grapefruitmoon said:

I had the exact same issue with the Truetone One Spot earth pin snapping off. GuitarGuitar sent me a replacement with no issues, but I never really trusted it after that and was always super cautious when using it. I ended up buying the Truetone CS6 as it fits on the underside of my pedalboard, it's been great, and as it has a standard kettle/IEC cable I've got no worries about the plug. But yeah, that's Truetone again which you understandably want to avoid!

It’s annoying as it’s such a fundamental design flaw, it’s so weak, and it makes the whole thing useless 

I bought a Truetone One Spot after being recommended one by a friend. More expensive than a generic one but I hoped the brand promises would be good. 
Unfortunately the earth pin has snapped off making the whole thing useless and Truetone are unwilling to help me (long story). Seems it is a common issue looking at reviews 

So I don’t want another Truetone product!! 
I have maybe 6 pedals max (4 at the moment but thinking of a couple more). What would people recommend as a cost effective mains power supply?

I really can’t afford to spend loads of money. 
The One Spot worked really well with a daisy chain cable BTW but the shoddy plug was the weak link. 

7 minutes ago, ossyrocks said:

I “intend” to use it with the BF cab. It may look like an early 70’s Bassman, but it’s been rebuilt from scratch by Martin Garton (Gartone Amps), and the only original parts now are the chassis, cabinet, mains transformer and choke. Yes, it’s still a 50w head based on the Fender circuit, but it’s essentially a new amp internally. It does sound really good through the Super Compact. 

Yes I’ve seen you talk about it (and one person rubbish what you were doing which was weird) and I’m glad you got something you love the sound of. Looks mint!! 

On 14/03/2024 at 11:32, Stub Mandrel said:

One instinctively knows when something is right 🙂

The Orange set up looks really scared, like the Ampeg stack is gonna beat it up. 😂

9 hours ago, ossyrocks said:

Having been asked to join a newly forming band a few months ago, we’ve now got two hours worth of good material and a dozen gigs in the diary, the first being on Good Friday. I assembled my gear at home this week to do some assessment. I think the two 10’s with the Bergantino are reliably ample and are going to get the most use, but the Bassman has a great vintage valve tone and I’m hoping it will work too if I’m DI’d into FOH as well. 
Rob

mmmmm the fender bassman I love their tone I am very jealous!! Do you use it with the BF cab?

On 04/03/2024 at 23:15, agedhorse said:

If you do know electronics, you wouldn't recommend it...

The person said they think only a small amount got into the casing, plus it was clean water. 

I’ve rescued many electronics from being damp that have lived for many years afterwards. Most electrical circuits can stand some damp as long as it not switched on at the time, and not for a long time. 

Of course if the Op can get a new one through insurance then I’d go that way for sure but I’d never bin something without testing and checking it first, especially if they aren’t going to get a new one FOC. 

If the OP is just going to bin it then they can send it to me and I’ll see if it can be reused. I’ve successfully repaired a lot of vintage and newer electronics, guitar amps are relatively new to me but the circuitry is fairly basic. 
 

I appreciate as a repair professional you might not want to touch them due to warranty issues but that doesn’t mean they can’t be sorted.