Slipperydick

Done it twice at different venues and it worked quite well for us, but it didnt pick up any audience sound, or at least not much. So if you want applause etc, to get a real live sound, it might be worth considering adding an extra mic thats not in the front of house mix if thats possible, and if the engineer doesnt think its just too much hassle.

Have to smile when somebody says " You get a good sound out of that-what is it?" When my amp volume is at 1 or 2 & DI'd through the house PA. Only happens now and again though, like ( I hope) most Bass Players, I dont get talked to all that often. lol. I'm nothing special as a player, so I cant help but wonder if its cos they cant think of anything else nice to say.

I was thinking more along these lines. [url="http://www.r-type.org/static/mz2200.htm"]http://www.r-type.org/static/mz2200.htm[/url] Probably have a problem finding transformers though.

There are firms around specialising in oddball NOS valves, enthusiasts still restoring and repairing old radios. I sold a fair few valves on ebay that had been lying around for years, posted em out to people all over the world. popular audio valves went first, then radio valves went eventually, industrial and russian ones slower still, TV valves I couldnt give away. When I was a lad I can remember having a Linear amp - who remembers them ? - that I modified to work with TV line output valves (PL36s) cos I couldnt afford EL34s and TV valves were stocked where I worked. Worked great, but a bloody death trap come to think of it. Often wondered how well some of the big transmitter triodes would work in amps. They were available with huge power ratings 1kW or so, and probably still are.

The ones in those pictures have numbers, is it that you dont recognise them. ECH81 for example was a populsr radio valve. Common once, but not available anymore so should ebay well I would have thought. Some of the others look like rarities to me, certainly before my time anyway. NOS octal based rare ones might be worth a good few bob to the right buyer. Try putting them in this index. [url="http://www.r-type.org/search.php"]http://www.r-type.org/search.php[/url]

Ferric Chloride, and either a pen meant for the job - bit like a permanent marker, and Hubrol paint or Airfix paint - probably any old gloss will be ok. but read how to handle the FeCL3. it attacks anything metallic. the lumps or crystals qork out cheaper than the liquid stuff Maplins used to sell. I havent done it for years, If its a one off, personally I'd prefer perforated board (like veroboard without the copper strips)and hardwire it at the back.

2 spots of superglue. Then put it in your attic where your nephew - who knows nothing about guitars - will find it. Seems to happen all the time on ebay. lol

[i][b]what do you do when your guitarist breaks a string mid set?, carry on or look a tw*t?[/b][/i] If its a 3 piece, the and the guitarist stops to change it. Assuming its a pub you keep playing, walk calmly up to the mic, grin, point at the drummer and say " Gordons gonna play one of his famous drum solo's" Then have a drink while said guitarist changes the string, drum solos go on foever, or at least seem to.

[quote name='mart' post='1312968' date='Jul 22 2011, 04:51 PM']It does depend a lot on what your current tuning pegs are. In my case the factory-fitted ones weigh about 57g each. Hipshot say their Ultralites are 52g, making for an immense saving of, ooh, 20g across the 4 pegs. However, some folk who have fitted Ultralites say they weigh less - around 42-44g. Based on that, a set of 4 might save me 60g, i.e., near as dammit, one tuner. I agree that if you could take 250g off your headstock it would make a lot of difference. I wish I could, but until someone shows me some tuning pegs that weigh absolutely nothing, I can't. I'm almost tempted by the helium balloon option.... And I totally agree that adding weights to your strap is undesirable - especially if you've already got a heavy bass. I passed the hammer suggestion on without any implied endorsement intended. I have to ask: Have [i]you[/i] tried that acoustic guitar trick? I have, and can confirm that if you try it with a solid-body instrument, then you'll find the body quickly sinks to the floor and you'll have the tuning pegs embedded in the side of your face if you're not careful! Personally I'd prefer a bit of neck-dive. However, you can modify this by rigging a strap that connects to both the top-horn strap-button [i]and[/i] the headstock. It's not a perfect solution, but I think it can be bearable. I've been told that it puts strain on the neck-body joint, but I'm not convinced since (to my simple mind) it is lifting the weight of the neck up, rather than letting gravity pull the neck weight down. (And since the acoustic-guitar trick must apply the same problem, or worse, to the joint, yet nobody complains about it).[/quote] Didnt really early Fenders have a strap button on the back of the headstock anyway - or was that for something else ?

[quote name='Mod_Machine' post='1312536' date='Jul 22 2011, 11:35 AM']Mmmm - im thinking ill be giving the 'hole in the neck' approach a miss! [b]Im really also not the kinda guy to have things hanging from the ens of the bass[/b]. I move alot when i play so a bag of weights attached to the end of the strap are likely to cause non insurable damage to a venue, or almost as bad, some pretty serious injuries. Already moved the strap pin down to being in the centre at the rear (rather than as previous where it was further up) and surely the bass will 'flip' when not being played if i move it down towards jack plug area? Bass is a telecaster guitar shape - in fact here it is.... [attachment=85300:short_scale_jedson.jpg][/quote] I was thinking of something more like a strip of metal 6mm thick sewn into the strap, or maybe a divers weight. Not something hanging off. Although with some of the venues we play, a hammer or a cosh might not be a bad idea. lol

Just a thought. Wouldnt a weight at the back end of the strap have a similar effect, by pulling the other end of the strap upwards ? Sounds too simple, so there must be a reason nobody else has mentioned it.

The heaters do look a bit bright, but it could be the photographs. It is on the correct mains tapping (ie set for the corect mains voltage)isnt it ? Oh yeah, and if you pull em out, grip them by the bakelite bases, not by the glass, otherwise you might pull the wires that connect the pins.

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='1307817' date='Jul 18 2011, 01:39 PM']The grey metal part that is the bulk of the insides of an EL34 shouldn't glow, there should be a glowy bit inside that which shines out the top some. Really hot valves do sound good, doesn't mean it isn't about to explode though. Distorting valve amps sound great, often, they aren't supposed to be distorting.[/quote] [size=2]If its distorted, it dont sound alright - it sounds distorted. A [i]little bit[/i] of a red hot glow on EL34s, not talking about the valve heaters here but as said - the grey plate, is not uncommon, if the bias is [i]miles out[/i] it will sound crap.[/size]

If all 6 glow about the same, and it sounds alright, then it probably is.

[quote name='lojo' post='1300718' date='Jul 12 2011, 10:28 AM']We've done £150/160 + bucket which worked ok, also doesn't cost the pub any %[/quote] Bucket, or maybe just a jug and a pretty girl taking it round collecting. yeah that works. Doesnt matter what you do, or what you charge for it, its a fact of life that theres some busy fool who will undercut you. I'm a sub contractor and 10 years ago could usually get £ 20-£25 an hour plus mileage. These days its a bit less, but some idiot up north has just undercut me by £8 an hour and doesnt charge mileage. So is running a vehicle for nothing, he wont last long but it sets a precedent. Lets hope this deoesnt become the norm with bands, some of the smaller pub gigs we do just wouldnt be viable if it does. £100 split 4 or 5 ways wouldnt even cover expenses.

If it was a microphonic valve I would expect the noise level to be affected by the master volume control. Its most likely positive feedback from somewhere in a later stage. Dont run the amp trying to find out, or something expensive will fail. Get it sorted by somebody who knows what he's doing. Hartke amps are notorious for dry joints and fans failing/getting noisy. As has been said, worth getting em serviced occasionally

2 choices. Do what TimR said, or call his bluff and walk away, not your problem come November - 4 months will soon pass & as your getting ready to move anyway, is there any chance you could use the time to find a band where your going ? That way you could hit the ground running. Can you pass the gigs YOU BOOKED on to another similar local band ? Saves letting anybody down and maintains some of your credibility.

Nah ! Not jealous of slappers at all, and no I cant do it, although I've never really spent any time trying. I was playing long before slapping caught on in the 80s and although a few slapped basslines are nice, its not not my bag, simple as that. Got a bit done to death really, every young kid working in a Guitar shop had to have his 'Demo' party piece, not many of em could play a convincing walking bass line though . Smacks a bit of just doing tricks to my mind.

Get a screwdriver that fits well, and give the handle a sharp tap wiv a Brummigem screwdriver before you try and turn them. Breaks any rust around the head and seats the screwdriver better. An old trick from selling cars in the days of chrome bumpers & trim was to clean them up with whatever, jenolite was popular then, but it looks like coke works just as well, then rub over the little pits with a ball of screwed up tinfoil.

You have to just clamp one of them with my 1960s one, cant see much changing there though.

[quote name='4-string-thing' post='1275381' date='Jun 19 2011, 11:14 PM']I've still got a pair of Pro 100 PA speakers and they were used til quite recently. They are indeed loud, clear and bomb proof.... they also weigh about as much as a ford fiesta! [b]They actually sound pretty good for bass too, stacked on their sides. They can take a lot more than the 100w rating and are quite small. [/b] Never tried one of their bass amps, but if one came up on fleabay cheap, I'd be tempted.[/quote] I used a pair of those on their sides with a HH ic100 for years and it sounded great, shame they belonged to the band so I had to leave em behind when I quit. Still got the amp though. IMO the older ic100 sounded better than the VS. 100W must have been a conservative rating, but as they were 70s amps it would presumably have been true RMS.

They look nice !

I got a really really orrible voice, more Artur Mullard than Eagles. I do a bit of backing vocs if the song really needs it more for effect than anything. Even our drummer can do it better than I can. Not so much a timing problem although that as well, its more a cant sing in tune one.

Whatever numbeers you choose to do - make sure it actually is Blues. [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xP5EC1S_F20"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xP5EC1S_F20[/url] [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nU1Kulp-wvA&NR=1"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nU1Kulp-wvA&NR=1[/url]