Ancient Mariner

Thanks Bob.

Does anyone here use Fuzzdog/pedalparts.co.uk for stuff? I'm thinking about buying a trem, possibly reverb kit to build into an amp.

Does anyone here use Fuzzdog/pedalparts.co.uk for stuff? I'm thinking about buying a trem, possibly reverb kit to build into an amp.

FWIW the neck & inlays (not headstock) look very much like an Aria neck I bought unused in the late 70s from a shop that sold all kinds of oddments from all sorts of guitars (I also bought a Watkins Rapier scratchplate & pickups from them - wish I still had that!).

Congrats. I always fancied the gold 60s strat, but we already have 3 strats here, and that's enough.

I've owned guitars from several differnet countries including handmade in the US, and Japanese guitars have been my favourites, every time. Presently own 4: 2 Washburns, 1 Fender and 1 Tokai.

Some sound engineers are the enemies of music, rather than bass specifically. There's a kind of order of priority for some which goes something like vocals>acoustic stringed instrument>keyboard>wind instrument>bass>electric guitar. Cue large amounts of frustration and, where possible, lots of cranking of amps. Not everyone is like that by any means, but I recall being pleasantly surprised recently when I could actually hear the guitar and bass clearly.

The one thing I'd question is whether a V30 is a good idea. It's certainly a classic speaker, but has a very particular tone that's not always easy on the ear. The G12H is a better all-rounder and the G12M is a good speaker for sparkle and mid-range. All the Celestion ceramic speakers can get a bit harsh, but the blue/gold is a bit pricey.

Just listened through the first demo clip of that amp. I know the speaker they use too - I have a Ragin Cajun in a Pignose G40V (like a tiny Fender bassman in a practice amp sized 1X10 combo - it'll shake the floor). The amp sounds fairly typical single ended - does nice cleans, can get a little fat, gets congested when overdriven instead of giving a solid crunch. They've done good work on tonal optimisation, so the congestion isn't bad, and the speaker really helps here too, being quite bright and crisp (and VERY loud for a 10"). The attenuation is nice (wonder if they've used a variable voltage circuit?) if it's been done well. It might be the player, but that amp didn't really sing for me. A lot will depend on what you want in a small amp Check out these demos of the Marshall class 5: http://www.harmonycentral.com/forum/forum/guitar/acapella-28/1459205-

Palmer make some of the best speaker sims, so they seem to know tone. Valve rectifiers - they produce a slightly lower voltage compared to typical SS rectification, so depending on the power transformer used this may have a little less clean headroom. In a push-pull design they can cause a certain amount of sag when running hard compared to SS (although this is easily simulated in SS) but single ended amps don't sag because the single ended design is always running at full current, even when silent. If you want a small amp then by all means try one if possible. Also look at the vox AC4, Marshall class 5 (if it's still made) Laney Lionheart series and anything by bad cat and VHT. A used Univalve might be nice. Consider also something like a WF55 kit amp from www.ampmaker.com.

1 valve watt. Hear a young lad a few weeks back using one, and it really did sound very good indeed. Some years back I went to a music show, and by far the best tones were coming from H&K.

Nice one - should be a fun build. Recently I acquired a Marshall MG30 cheap because it was failing, so planned to gut & build a valve amp into the chassis like I did years ago with a Vox pathfinder. Anyway, some time in 2008/9 I'd put together an amp design that borrowed all sorts of 'good ideas' from other people on the Watkins and AX84 forums, including a cascode preamp, switchable clipping LEDs and baxandall low loss tone stack into a single ended power stage that would use anything from a 6V6 to a 6550 for between 6W and 20W. Like all good ideas, it didn't work, and after spending hours trying to find the fault I gave up and stored it away for when it might get re-purposed. So the plan was to use this to become the donor amp, stripped and returned to a 'standard' configuration, probably an AX84 P1eX based design like Voxy baby had been. So I started stripping last night and, amazingly, the second wire I started to remove had a failed joint and turned out to be the source of the problem all along. 30 sec with the soldering iron and suddenly my project amp works, and sounds great! Now I'll have to consider whether I want to do the transplant using these bits (that is NOT a Marshall sounding amp - really chimey) or build something more specifically marshally. I'm really pleased about this.

I recall trying a little Behringer/Bugera 5W valve guitar amp at a music show a few years back, and when I didn't listen with my eyes it sounded significantly better than many of the similar designs from more prestigious names. The earliest Behr valve amps had some major design failings, and sometimes did burst into flames, but that was <10 years ago.

[quote name='lurksalot' timestamp='1428195847' post='2739080'] I started with a zoom b2.1u , it does work , but I recall latency and monitoring issues made it a bit of a pain and vocals/ mics through it were patchy and the playback was odd , and the recording levels and the.................... I was on XP mind, but it got me started [/quote] Latency is huge - makes playthrough impossible, so I may record 'blind', which is not at all how I prefer to work.

Now I have to say, I'm coming to love windows 8 'plug & play'. Downloaded Audacity, connected a Zoom B2.1U to the laptop et voila, recording capability without faffing. It just worked.

[quote name='Bleat' timestamp='1428142416' post='2738388'] Mine is going exceptionally well.... in my head. I just need to find a way of switching off the *epic music removal filter* located somewhere between my brain and hands now... have checked and it's definitely not an effects pedal. James [/quote] This.

I've never yet seen EC live, and sadly I probably never will now. Congrats on the tickets - hope you have a great time.

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1428147714' post='2738475'] No, but it is a pursuit of a form of excellence and whatever your standard is, if you come up short, then that will get to you...or it will me. [/quote] And therein may lie some of the issue. I get grumpy if I make bad mistakes, but I also enjoy music far more if I'm being creative. There's little pleasure in the technical exercise of note & timing perfect, but without expression. The times I've been happiest have been the times when 'something special' has happened, rather than I've played correctly.

As someone who would be standing near you in a band setting - I'm a guitarist - let me answer your question by asking whether the things you want to do will add to the song being played, the music being created generally and the way the band works together?

Is music an olympic sport? I'm very much of the mind that if the most important requirement were to perfectly reproduce a piece of music then it would have been better just to use a CD instead of having a band. It's often the small variations, changes, even 'mistakes' that make hearing a live band pleasureable and worth the time. While there are a small number of people (outside the bass community) for whom perfection is a basic requirement, they are a tiny minority.

So this morning I sign up to the site with free clips to download some effects, then fire up Garageband on the Macbook to start work on this recording. Except Garageband no longer works now I'm using Yosemite. Options: Linux Mint & Audacity or Windows & Audacity or cubase (think I've a copy somewhere). Poxy Apple software. And now poxy Apple hardware - the connection to my USB stick just failed as well (Apple USB port failure is very common). Grump.

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1427922498' post='2736013'] ...but then again, if the pic inspires Lenny to go crazy with a balalaika, it's legit, I suppose. Between that, and the accordion... Scylla and Charybdis, perhaps..? [/quote] Or Cerberus and Medusa - your fate is sealed which ever way you look.

[quote name='Leonard Smalls' timestamp='1427905966' post='2735756'] As it's about pictures and Russians and war, I've made a kind of left-field start... It's as good an excuse as any for a bit of avant-"jazz" (and I us the term very loosely) as I know Douglas is such a fan! [/quote] Strictly speaking this is about the French, since they're the guys in retreat and being massacred by the Russian army. Better get your accordion polished up then.

Typical - just voted & then realised I was too late! 'Mazin bunch of tracks, really.

No, and here: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ENO-Pedal-Comp-Optical-Compressor-True-Bypass-Guitar-Effects-Pedal-FREE-SHIPPING-/181434054849?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item2a3e4ff8c1 I've mixed experience with the Eno/Mooer effects, really liking some (ES9, Trouble OCD clone). Recently picked up the Trem pedal hoping for a budget Trelicopter, but it's somewhat different without the vintage organic sounding wobble of the treli.