ossyrocks

I have a gig tomorrow evening where everything is being mic'ed or DI'd. FOH engineer, monitors, and full camera setup with sound fed from the desk mix. I really want to use my vintage GK 400RB MKI on this gig, but the amp DI is untested and it's also on a 1/4" jack, and I'm not sure it's going to be ideal. I think 1988 was a little before amps really started to take DI Outs seriously. My options are: 1. Use the 400RB, but use my Orchid DI Box in front of it and run a signal to FOH from that and to my amp for onstage monitoring. 2. Run my Ashdown RM800 and send a DI to FOH from that. FOH, won't be the main reinforcement I don't think, the venue is not huge, so backline is mainly what the audience are going to get. The mics and DI's will be used for some reinforcement, but apart from vocals, are mainly for the cameras, filming and live stream which will be going out on the internet as we play. What difference will FOH see in each of the two scenarios above? Apologies for what may seem to be a basic question here, but it's something I'm really not familiar with. Thanks, Rob

These are the Rosette white dots on my '70 Precision. Rob

@briansbrew commented on how vibrant the red remains, and yes it is, much more so than my 70's sunbursts. Look at the pic with the guard off, showing the underside of the guard, and the body where the guard has been for more than 60 years. There is absolutely no difference in shade, fade, or colour between the area under the guard and the rest of the body. I have never seen this. Also, the same photo, notice how "orangepeely" the finish is, which I have also never seen on a 60's Fender. I'm not saying the finish isn't original, I'm just saying I would want multiple authentications on that from people who know more than I. Rob

I currently have them on one bass. I first used them on an AVRI Precision because the dots were so indistinct. I now have them on a ‘70 Precision as the small white dots don’t stand out like the black dots of later years. I use these https://www.rosetteguitarproducts.com/new-page-2 and they made a huge difference on dark stages. Rob

Hmm, I bought a '73 Fender Bassman 50 for what I thought was a cheap price, with the full knowledge that it had been badly modded and worked on over the years. I took it to Martin Garton (Gartone Amps), who is one of the best in the business, and makes superb amplifiers. I asked him to service it, "un-mod it" and then rework it to be more suitable for bass. After much investigation and head scratching, Martin told me that it would be better to blast off and nuke it from space, just to be sure. So I said yes. He gutted the amp entirely and rebuilt it from scratch, with new everything except cab, chassis and a couple of transformers (one was replaced). In the end, the rebuild cost more than I paid for the amp! But it is very nice. Rob

I've had reasonable results with this stuff. I built a partscaster Tele a while back with a paleish rosewood board, it darkened up nicely and looked quite rich in the end. I've also used it on Les Pauls to give that deep rich Brazilian look. I tend to warm up the surface of the wax with a hairdryer and then rub it in generously like shoe polish. Leave for a few minutes and then buff it out. Two or three repeats should make a noticeable difference. https://www.montysguitars.com/products/montys-montypresso-relic-wax Rob

Holy thread resurrection Batman! Just want to say that Ian @ikay generously fixed me up with some longer bridge intonation screws this week that I wanted to try in a '73 Jazz. He posted them to me free of charge and they worked a treat. They look very very close to the originals too in terms of the shape and diameter of the pan head etc. So then looking at another '73 Jazz I have, I thought that might benefit too from longer screws. In the end I've bought a stash of them too, all 1 3/4". The original '70-'73 longer screws were 1 7/8", so they're not quite there, but they are good for those early 70's basses (mostly jazzes) which could use a longer screw on a couple of the other strings. Ian and I have discussed why this occurred, and it seems that in changing the position of the bridge pickup on jazzes in the early 70's, they also moved the bridge back a tad, which accounts for why both my '73's are intonated with the saddles right at the limit at the front of the bridge. I also think string choice is playing a part for me here too. I don't recall having to adjust the saddles so far forward until I started using LaBella flats. Anyway, I now have a stash of these 1 3/4" screws too, which fit perfectly and look the business, so if anyone is in need of any, you can also now get in touch with me and I too am able to send you what you need. Cheers, Rob

Late 80’s/early 90’s Made in Japan Fenders can be lovely. I had one for a while, it was super. The nut width was the same as my 70’s P’s, 41mm.

I think if GK reissued the 800RB or even the 400RB they would sell like hot cakes.

Blimey!

I rang Richtone today about the 700RB. It's up at £499 on their site. The chap was quite open about how they price things. Basically they mark up everything they buy in (or part ex in) at the same rate. What they pay should be two thirds of the selling price. So at £499 retail, it means they bought it in for about £330. He said there was no room for movement on the £499 price because of what they paid. Rob

Interestingly, and somewhat of a puzzle, Richtone also have a 700RB-II in stock and advertised. Whilst the 400RB-IV was keenly priced at £199, their 700RB-II is priced at £549, which I think is rather eye watering. Rob

I've been using one of these until recently for my 400RB-I https://www.thomann.co.uk/flyht_pro_rack_2u_eco_ii_compact_23 I wouldn't say it's the most robust rack case in the world but it was fine in the boot of my car. I've upgraded to SKB Rotos now, just because a couple came up cheap and I have more gigs now where the band travel together in a van. If you need rack ears, GK sold me a couple of pairs and shipped from the US direct at not unreasonable cost. Rob

....still wish I'd bought it...... Glad you've got it though. Does it have any rack ears? Rob

Thank f**k for that! You have saved me from myself. (I do have 3 RBs already, but I'm hopeless!) Let us know what it's like. I couldn't see any rack ears on it, but the pics weren't great. Jason at GK sent me some when I asked though.

I've put it in the basket TWICE and had to have a word with myself!

Tim bought some flats off me this week. All good, as usual. Cheers.

Actually, it's £199 if you buy direct from their website

I love these old GKs. A decent amp at a good price for a retailer. https://reverb.com/uk/item/86488792-gallien-krueger-400rb-mk-iv-bass-amp-head-2nd-hand Rob

I've just ordered my first HPF. I am very happy with my current setup, an old GK RB series head into a BF 3x10. But I've had a vintage Fender Bassman 50 entirely rebuilt and modified and I want to try it at small gigs. The issue I have with the Bassman is that with my P bass with flats and the BF cab there's so much low end that I just can't get the amp up to where it needs to be. I can feel and hear the amp wasting its time trying to amplify all the lower frequencies and I think it's using up a great deal of its power doing that. It will be an interesting experiment anyway. If I end up with a giggable 50w valve head, that will be nice. I've gone for the Rafferty clone of the Fdeck HPF. There's a few weeks to wait whilst he builds it though. I'll report back when I have tried it out. Rob