RandomBass

That Ibby is gorgeous. Love it with the maple board. I've never had the pleasure of playing one, but have only heard good things about them. Cheers Geoff

[quote name='Magic Matt' timestamp='1380455227' post='2225429'] Would I be right in thinking a 2nd hand Markbass setup is probably going to sound a lot better than the TC? [/quote] It's all subjective - what's better for you might be worse for someone else. If you get the chance, give them both a try and take it from there. Note that the Markbass will give the option for an extension cab in the future, the TC won't. Cheers Geoff

[quote name='Rasta' timestamp='1380442394' post='2225158'] One OTB bass back in my hands from Orange and better than ever. Orange have done me proud beyond expectation, fixed my out of warranty OTB with new boards etc (basically a new amp), can't believe how good that customer service is - top service and I've not been charged anything either so far. Big massive thumbs up to Orange - gotta love happy endings [/quote] Nice one. Always good to hear a positive outcome like that.

Quick update. Used the recently fixed SM250 last night for it's first gig. A large social club, with sizeable dance floor between stage and the seating area, and then the bar in the far distance lol. Into my two uprated Harley Benton cheapo-cabs (replaced the 10" drivers with some Celestions) this thing was superb. Plenty of volume for such a large location, even with the master vol on 3 (gain set to just under clipping). Of course additional coneage helps there. Sounded really good tonally out front, I must say. Cracking piece of kit. And it got a little warm, nothing more. Very pleased. Cheers Geoff

[quote name='41.2Hz' timestamp='1380367389' post='2224327'] BF Compact collected today (top bloke Mace, cheers). Can't wait until rehearsal Tuesday to give the new rig a damned good thrashing! [/quote] Take a spare pair of keks with ya...

[quote name='paul_5' timestamp='1379949475' post='2218596'] Accelerator, brake and clutch. Some bassists don't have a clutch, but for my setup all 3 are essential. [/quote] I have 2 pedals - left and right. When used together they move the chain....

Uh - uh......

[quote name='rmorris' timestamp='1380207953' post='2222342'] I don't get that idea - increasing the resistance of a capacitor by cooling ? [/quote] Me neither. Hopefully just a little confusion there.

[quote name='41.2Hz' timestamp='1380118878' post='2221078'] [i]I'm collecting a s/h Barefaced Compact on Saturday (cheers Mace!!) - can't wait to try it out with the Terror...[/i] [/quote] I had that setup for a while. If you like the sound of the TB, then this lot will be very pleasing. It's basically a loud 500W 1x15 setup weighing just 17kg. What's not to like? Enjoy! Geoff

[quote name='rocksmoot' timestamp='1380050177' post='2220175'] Edit: This is my first post, I'm happy to have found this site! [/quote] Welcome aboard the good ship 'BC', always good to have a wider geographical perspective. Cheers Geoff

Yep the CTM100 would be my next choice if I had the available funds. For now the LB30 does very well indeed. It's definitely giggable for the average Dog and Duck, and use the DI for anything more. Or one of my Trace heads lol.

Nice handles ;-) And is that an Ashdown style Knob on the attenuator?

[quote name='badboy1984' timestamp='1380026719' post='2219682'] Not like i need to replace them right now but if I do, which ones is good for more clean headroom? [/quote] I believe that replacing the ECC83 pre tubes with ECC81 will give you more clean headroom before the grind sets in. It's on my list of things to try with mine at some point. The only way I can get pretty clean with my Yamaha BB is to use the High input (lower gain), but I'm convinced this input does not give such a sweet tone as the Low input. It definitely has a 'darker' sound to it. Mind you, who wants clean? The ECC82 valve is the inverter which drives the power section, prob best to leave this alone. Cheers Geoff

+1 to Karltone. Not had a bad valve from them, and good service at the right price.

[quote name='karlfer' timestamp='1379841597' post='2217170'] Well my little shoal of piranhas [/quote] Quote of the week for sure

[quote name='JapanAxe' timestamp='1379848158' post='2217320'] A Compact doesn't really need casters! [/quote] Actually their weight will help to keep it on the floor if there is a breeze, or when it's shifting serious air

This is common to quite a few of their amp modules, they run a 70-0-70 supply with a 4700uF 63v cap across each of the 70v rails, to ground. So yes the caps are in series, and each has 70v across it. I've replaced these before with 100v versions which are identical in size and lead pitch - I've just done this to my AH200 head, which doesn't have a cooling fan so the inside of that head must get quite sweaty at times

Nice one! And a great deal too.

Back again with another Trace Elliot repair - this time a GP7SM250 which I recently acquired. When I received the amp I noticed the fan was louder than normal, and whining a fair bit. Some more close listening revealed the bearing was pretty noisy - something to think about changing soon. Well, as it happens, sooner than I thought! After a practice session the fan sounded extremely poorly - then suddenly stopped. This was followed a few seconds later with a 'pop' from inside the amp, closely followed by that classic blown electrolytic cap smell. Oh bugger. Got the thing apart and removed the fan - absolutely no resistance across its terminals: open circuit failure. The blades wouldn't rotate by finger, the whole assembly was welded together. These fans have a sleeve bearing, where basically two surfaces rotate against each other, lubricated by a type of grease. They are generally very quiet at the expense of robustness, and once the lubricant eventually expires you are left with two surfaces rubbing against each other - getting hotter and hotter until they basically weld together. Once this happens there is a spike in the current demanded by the fan which can cause them to burn open or closed circuit. Clearly this one went open. The question was though, why did a capacitor blow too? A quick look at the PCB track, and then the circuit diagram revealed all. Once the fan had gone electrically open circuit, the fan resistor used to drop the voltage from 70v rail to 12v had no current through it - meaning that 70v was suddenly presented to the cap in parallel with the fan: and this cap is rated at only 16v. Goodbye cap. For info, it looks like the cap is there to reduce eddy currents in the fan motor, and reduce resultant RF interference. I was lucky to source an exact replacement 12v fan online, at a bargain price. They are basically 80mm PC cooling fans, but this particular one has specific side mounting lugs that TE use to mount it in place. The replacement cap is a standard 1000uF 16v item. New fan now in place and much much quieter, and cap replaced. So if your fan does the same, you may well need a cap replacement too. Its the cap situated directly behind the fan screw terminals on the main power PCB, and luckily it is easy to get to and replace without having to completely dis-assemble the power board. Next week, we will be trying to work out why TE specified 63v smoothing caps for a +/-70v supply. Cheers Geoff

Fingers, pick, slap, tapping: all different tools to use depending on what is needed. That's what makes the bass such a versatile instrument. I'm naturally a finger player and really need to get my picking up to scratch. Don't ask about the other two....