umph

[quote name='TraceAmp' post='1154972' date='Mar 9 2011, 09:40 AM'][/quote] bang tidy

[quote name='mart' post='1152621' date='Mar 7 2011, 04:00 PM']Even better! Thanks again![/quote] If you've not got a fan on it i'd recomend something larger. Your amp will do 1W rms and a few more overdriven and if you're running the resistor near it's limit it'll get hot

[quote name='lettsguitars' post='1151739' date='Mar 6 2011, 06:45 PM']sounds very much like the neck has bowed back slightly during shipping maybe. i cannot see jon sending out a bass that wasn't right to begin with. a fret level and dress on a brand new shuker would be silly.[/quote] +1 on this, problems with first 12 frets is truss top twelve is bridge.

[quote name='Roland Rock' post='1150285' date='Mar 5 2011, 08:52 AM']I had a very similar problem with my 100W valve head. Not loud enough for a rock band situation. I took it in to my local guy (I'm lucky enough to live very near a very good valve guy, John Chambers). Here's the Techy bit from John's post mortem: "This unit had been sold to Chris as a 100 watt head, but even with the 560 volts HT potential and tetrode connected, they were in cathode (self) bias. Running them like this as a pair, there is absolutely no chance of getting 100 watts! Once I had got the amp back to life, she was doing exactly 50 watts RMS, which is absolutely correct and spot-on with the original GEC specifications for running them under these conditions. I now phoned Chris and brought him right-up-to-date. I told him I could make the amp better by running the KT88’s in fixed bias and with a few tweaks. He gave me a free hand to do whatever was necessary" "After all the work and modifications, and with all the conditions and specifications being within the original GEC data sheets for 100 watts from two tubes, she is now doing exactly 96 watts RMS" As previous posts have stated, the result is not an enormous boost to the volume, but without doubt noticable, and it now can sit nicely with the rest of the band, and cope with medium venues (I mike up or DI for bigger venues) Also, I had always thought that my bass had low output, not hot enough to really drive the preamp, and this didn't help with the volume issue. Got myself some new cables (OBBM) and the signal from the bass has boosted considerably. Just a related issue, although I understand that you have no problems pushing the amp into overdrive.[/quote] It's a bassman clone they wern't run in cathode bias like the linears etc.

[quote name='silddx' post='1146609' date='Mar 2 2011, 12:03 AM']I now have the most sumptuous, gorgeous, utterly lovely tones from my bass !! I can't tell you how beautiful it feels to want to play every note to its maximum effect. It's making me play differently, more sensitively, more simply. Everything I play feels like what I remember it being like on a lovely mushy trip in the 1980s (probably a bad thing to say, sorry!). I take delight in the simplest things, a simple octave, a grace note, a ghost, a tinkling of harmonics, a simple accent. It's wonderful, like fireworks going off in my head, to paraphrase Blue Oyster Cult. Coupled with the beautiful neck on my new Fender Jap Jazz, I could not be happier! For the first time, I feel like it's a true reflection of me. The chain .. Fender Japan 62RI Jazz, CAR with matched headstock, rosewood dot slab board, American Vintage pickups, Badass II, East J-Retro 01, DR Strings Black Beauties. POD X3 LIVE - amp model Acoustic 360 with a highish gain setting and the high mids up full, a little compression, a little basic digital chorus. Want some clips? Give me a few days to get that sorted. [attachment=73814:01_Track_1.mp3] 28 downloads and one nice comment. I guess most people think my tone is sh*t then Seriously all comments are welcome, even if you do think my sound is a pile of poo.[/quote] nice sounds, sounds like you want a valve amp though!

you can blow speakers with pops? speakers can handle thousands of watts for a fraction of a second without going poof. If the speaker was going to go it would've gone while they were playing it.

[quote name='razze06' post='1148342' date='Mar 3 2011, 01:30 PM']It starts to distort heavily a little early IMO. Now that you mention it, sometimes it does strange, almost howling sound for a few moments. I thought that was just an artefact of the distortion, but maybe you can tell me more...[/quote] I'd recomend getting it looked at, as with these homemade heads, you could have parasitic oscilation or any number of problems. Open it up and take some pictures of the guts.

[quote name='razze06' post='1148115' date='Mar 3 2011, 10:30 AM']True, I'm just suspicious of the quoted 60W. Ultimately, I want to know if it can give enough for me to use in a regular band situation.[/quote] So the distortion sounds like it should? no strange artifacts?

[quote name='razze06' post='1147322' date='Mar 2 2011, 04:34 PM']Some time ago I've acquired this home-brew fender bassman 100 clone head, and I love its tone. Fantastic clarity and all the rest. Unfortunately, it is not very loud. What do I mean by "not very loud"? I have it plugged into my ashdown MAG 4x10, as my other more modern cabs didn't like it (TC RS212 and Tecamp s210), and I have to run it at full tilt (no clean headroom) to be able to practice with the (rock covers) band. Given that this is nominally a 100W amp, I was expecting a bit more. Now I knew it was a little underpowered when I got it, as the previous owner said that he had it checked, and it seemed to be putting out only around 60W. My question here is quite simple: I would love to use it for live work, what do you recommend I do? - Get a cab with higher sensitivity, more efficient, or with a shape and tuning more suitable to the head - Get the amp serviced again, with a view to restoring its nominal power (or more) - Sell it to someone who doesn't need the volume and get something else, maybe a real fender bassman 100 or 135 - More cabs is realy not an option, as I don't have the space or the inclination to use them.[/quote] get it to a decent tech is all i can say, getting 60W out of 4 6l6's sounds like something is very wrong to me. How does it sound when you crank it?

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='1147107' date='Mar 2 2011, 01:51 PM']Despite all manner of aggravation and a very irritating guitarsehole, I seem to still be in my band. Doesn't make much of a story, does it?[/quote] great job taking the piss outta people choosing to vent into what they feel is a safe enviroment

sounds like the beginning of a doom band

[quote name='mart' post='1144606' date='Feb 28 2011, 04:19 PM']Because of the small output?[/quote] aye and high impedance on the primary, the ecc82 shouldn't be all that picky

just realised what amp it is, no need to worry about a dummy load. It'll be fine.

[quote name='mart' post='1139896' date='Feb 24 2011, 01:07 PM']I've just bought myself a tiny valve head. It says, as you'd expect, that you should connect a speaker before turning the head on. It also has a headphone socket, and when you plug headphones in, it cuts off the sound to the speaker. Does this mean I can use the head with no speaker attached if I'm using headphones? My understanding is that an amp needs a load, and a valve amp especially needs a load. But if the headphone socket cuts off the signal to the speaker, then surely it's disconnecting the speaker, in which case I don't need it connected in the first place. Am I right?[/quote] what amp is it? It could be switching the amp onto a dummy load.

[quote name='Doddy' post='1144328' date='Feb 28 2011, 11:47 AM']I assume the as long as the pedal has a plug in the input then it is using the battery. I don't know if this is the case or not,but that's how I judge it.[/quote] this circuit is always pulling current as long as battery is plugged in, it's just the led that obviously doesn't

[quote name='owen' post='1143291' date='Feb 27 2011, 01:39 PM']I am being sucked into a valve vortex. I am fancying a Jule Amps Monique. We need a valve bash so that those of us who are young in the ways of valves can plug in diferent valves and see what all the different ones do.[/quote] if it's up north i'll bring some of my horde

[quote name='nick' post='1142590' date='Feb 26 2011, 05:54 PM']Sonically as well as aesthetically?[/quote] aye. the originals are awesome.

[quote name='nick' post='1133642' date='Feb 19 2011, 06:01 PM']According to Watford Valves they are : [url="http://www.watfordvalves.com/product_detail.asp?id=1423"]Harma STR ECC83[/url][/quote] oh another remake thats nothing like the original

[quote name='slave' post='1133037' date='Feb 19 2011, 06:59 AM']Another query; Do all GT200's come with KT88's? [i]I hear KT-88's are easier to bias, and are more stable over time than 6550's.... so I assume this is why Matamp uses them currently.[/i] Has anyone tried theirs with 6550's?[/quote] 6550's aren't as hardy and powerful as kt88's other than that the rest in tonal

marshall have made some awesome bass amps, stretch your budget a little and get a proper one!

should never need to replace a pot if you can get inside them. They're a piece of piss to repair

[quote name='Pete Academy' post='1136134' date='Feb 21 2011, 08:10 PM']I think it's a question of how much do you actually love playing live. Would you sacrifice that money?[/quote] I think people get what your saying. They wouldn't play covers for free but would do originals since most people don't get paid for that anyways.

[quote name='Crazykiwi' post='1133777' date='Feb 19 2011, 08:27 PM']Very little I suspect apart from volume, depending on whether the 400 has 6550 or 6L6GC valves. [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesa_Boogie"]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesa_Boogie[/url] [i]Demand for a more powerful amp led to the development of the Bass 400, which replaced the D180 in mid-1985. It used six 6550 power tubes to push out about 250 watts; however, the cascading-gain channels were replaced with two separate hi- and low-gain channels. Mesa's supply of 6550 tubes was cut short in the late 1980s and they were forced to sell the 400 with 6L6GC tubes, reducing its output to that of the D180. The solution came in early 1989 in the form of the Bass 400+. It was the same as the 400 in most respects but was powered via twelve 6L6GC tubes for nearly 360 watts of power.[/i][/quote] 400+ will only hit around 280watts on a good day especially with a 83 in the drive position. Both amps are similar i'd go for the 400 though if the 400+ is a later one.