orangepeelneil

That nut is cut to perfection ....

I often see the Ashdown VS212 cheap in the region of £100-£200 - however never tried one, would be interested if someone on here has? Specifications · Power Handling: 300 watts · Speaker Configuration: 2 x 12" · H x W x D (mm): 710 x 490 x 340 · Weight (kg): 31 This one for example is an 8 Ohm 300W, for £120, not sure if they did a 4 Ohm version though and higher power than 300W? Thanks Neil

Hi, Plenty of options if you are fixed on a 4 Ohm 2x12” cab, please let us know: - 1) Budget 2) Weight expectations 3) Used or just New? 4) The MB blackline 250 is only around 275mm (11inches) wide. Do you use it on its own? or in a 19” rack case or other wide enclosure? only asking as it may overhang some narrow cabs making it aesthetically undesirable 😊 Thanks Neil

+ You can massively improve the appearance of transitions between the gloss lacquered areas and satin Tru oil area of the neck by wrapping some masking tape squarely and evenly around the neck and very carefully remove the laquer up to the line, I did with a very sharp craft knife and various grades of sandpaper. Again it’s fairly easy… and satifies my OCD. You can get a finish like a MM bass as below.

Hi, As @PaulThePlug commented, I would Tru oil the back of the neck to seal it and then maybe apply some wax (similar finish to Musicman basses) Very easy to do, I've done this to most of my basses now as I cannot cope with with heavy lacquered sticky necks. True oil (around £10 for a small pot) is very easy to apply with a cloth. Leave to dry after each coat and apply a few, then lightly sand or wire wool and apply wax. Try on a scrap of wood first, if you want to see the result. Thanks Neil

Hi, Fuzziness or buzzing? Buzzing would most likely be a grounding issue, could be worth checking the grounding if you are getting buzzing, including wire to bridge if that is fitted. As per the instructions at the bottom DO NOT reconnect the bridge ground wire, as EMG Active Pickups do not require string grounding Thanks Neil

Hi, Yes, I've seen this linking of the green terminals (as you've done) in EMG instructions before (i.e in the absence of a selector switch) as below. Is your the B245? From the instructions : The B245 EMG Pickup Buss is used on two pickup guitars that have a selection switch., so probably linking BR and NK to Output on the green connector causes what you experiencing as they are always connected together. The switch block is just a simple connector PCB to make "solderless "connecting easier.. Out of interest, how is the rest of the bus switch wired? is it correct as per the EMG schematic, I recall having an issue with GNDs on an EMG active set, worth confirming that too. Thanks Neil b245rb_instructions_0230-0290rb (1).pdf

Hi, Looking at the EMG schematic and instructions you would need the toggle switch to select /solo pickups using the green connector. It looks like your wire links on the green connector is linking both bridge (BR) and neck (NK) to output (O) permanently (in parallel) , i.e this would be mid position of 3 way toggle. Have you got a 3 way suitable toggle switch you can install to confirm this? looking at the instructions, VVTT should be achievable (diagram #7/8 ) with this setup too (with a 3 way switch) and the 2nd tone pot connected Thanks Neil h__instructions_0230-0106rg.pdf

Hi, Can you described the symptoms of what the amp is doing? When you say "dead" I guess you are describing no audio output but the amp is still on etc and not blowing mains fuses? I've had a few Fender Silverface amps over the years, including a 70s Bassman 100 and 135, loved both those amps once they were working OK (when using a decent cab) My 100/135 both suffered from noise due to component drift/out of spec (all the electrolytic filter capacitors in the “dog house”) and some capacitors on the board needed replacing plus some resistors were overheated/ cracked and needed replacing, all fairly standard service stuff for an ageing valve amp, a decent tech would be able run the amp for a bit underload and measure and replace these components, plus test the valves, bias etc. Do you have any history on when the amps have been looked at last or serviced? My 70s Fender amps were wired pretty poorly internally, not the tidiest at all so that needed addressing too during servicing, I think this is fairly common. I’ve also read and seen lots about the main fibreboard ((tagboard) can become conductive and can be an issue and may need attention, again my tech did some cleaning of this. Neil

Yes, very cool guy and player. I saw him using a Bergantino forte hp amp and Barefaced super twin previously.... the rig sounded awesome with his signature basses Neil http://www.hootpage.com/hoot_gallery-thudstaffs.html