Dan Dare

Just returned from Stewart's. Had a very interesting and enjoyable morning chatting over a cuppa and talking gear and the old days (he works mainly from home at present). Had a play on his '63 Tele' through one of his current combos. The amp was really excellent. All solid state and sounds just like a 50s/60s valve amp. Instant Ventures guitar sound when clean and breaks up gently and smoothly at higher volume. I would defy anyone to play it sight unseen and not think it was valved. Compact and light and very pokey for its 22 W rating. He explained the idea behind it. He's developed a circuit that replicates the effect of an output transformer (which S/S amps traditionally don't have). It senses speaker impedance and ensures, as does an output transformer, that the signal sent to the speaker takes account of variations in impedance. Speaker impedance varies, sometimes quite dramatically, according to frequency. In general, impedance rises as frequency gets higher, meaning a S/S amp is working harder to deliver the same output as frequency rises and causing it to sound duller and lacking in sparkle. He considers the reason valve amps sound louder than S/S amps of the same output rating is due to the fact that the speaker in a valve amp is always being sent an optimised signal. So maybe the belief about "valve watts" isn't a myth, after all. Made sense to me as a layman and I can confirm that it works extremely well.

Not far down the road from me. It's staying there, too.

It's a slot port. They tend to be used mainly in subwoofers (typically for in-car and home cinema systems). If designed properly, they can work quite well. I heard someone using one of those slotted Trace combos a while back and it sounded quite decent.

Why must it be Ampeg? They may have been the only show in town a while ago, but things have moved on since then. A lot. Beware thinking all Ampeg gear works like a SVT plus an 8x10. Their stuff is generally decent, but it's far from the only option. Certainly not the cheapest, either.

This. It doesn't sound as if the other players at the jam were much cop, to put it bluntly. If it was really too loud to hear the drums when you were standing next to them, that's ridiculous. If the people you are playing with are terrible, you have no chance of getting anything right. It will just drag you down to their level (lie down with the dog, get up with fleas). Jams are notorious for being like that. I've seen really good players drowned out and dragged down by ham-fisted idiots at jams. You can't play correctly if everyone else is blundering along and blasting the windows out. Regardless of whether or not they're "encouraging", I'd be looking for somewhere else. Sure you made mistakes, but it doesn't sound as if you were the only one. You were just more honest about your shortcomings than they were. Forget it and move on to pastures new.

I'm always the slowest to pack up. I own/run the PA. I like to do so at my own pace, make sure everything goes in the right box/case, cables wound neatly, etc (OCD, dontcha know). I tell the others not to worry about helping me and to head off. I actually prefer it that way. I mean it and appreciate that, unlike me, some of them have to get up for work or family duties next day. So if he tells you it's OK, take him at his word and go.

If you like the instrument and intend to keep it, by all means put some money into upgrades. Be aware that you will never get the money you spend on improvements back. A HB is still a HB, Seymour Duncans or no. Do you particularly dislike the pickups it has in it? If not, replacements will not magically transform it. HBs and similar are budget instruments, built down to a price. The woodwork and finish is generally quite reasonable (it has to be or people wouldn't buy them), but economies are made on fittings, metalwork, electronics etc. By the time you've replaced pickups, tuners, pots and the like, you could have bought something better with the money that will have a higher resale value. I appreciate it's difficult to sell on an instrument that was a gift. In your shoes, I'd use it as is and save for something better.

Good point.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/126319429390?hash=item1d6939870e:g:1kUAAOSw3tVlwlLW&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAA4MIUiy4i87kVy6U6tvWUu96fXRujgsbPruu5674P1qMkZ5%2BiFZuv%2BB%2By1JCzl6HlFGDAFI9zT0pvIxi744BfYJapKEeHeLhtUe6zII0YCPTpm7QgbRSKX3%2F4qHQolxhKQ61NbkklvdAzAHtTd4ty0Eb7boVG9K3%2BSmDWkkcNPOIgzODkPSqcqaBwW9mSclpS8FIT%2BF7oRI4XgRAv2J1kUZUdlJXDC0%2FF9VW0pnjMFJ0zYh7Jc5EVBxuNy3D91e3vHUK1kIKdzt0UTJ6sEdlfxhTiP%2FL9RHkDWzLxaxdUiNGi|tkp%3ABk9SR4ir3ICyYw Another chancer who has scrubbed the Squier decal and serial from the headstock and stuck a Fender one on.

It's a good idea to use cable that is fat enough for the cable grip in the Speakon connector to hold it securely.

SS amps don't usually have output trannies. A very few hi-fi brands, such as McIntosh, do, but you shouldn't harm your Peavey by switching it on/powering it down without a speaker connected.

Good advice. The input gain on your mixer is your friend. There's usually a switchable pad, too, as stated above. Line level is often marked on the input gain pot to give you a starting point when running line level signals in. If you use a DI box or DI out on an amp, the signal will be stepped down to mic level. DI box transformers are usually around 12:1 and many have switchable pads to attenuate the input signal further. You normally only need those for keyboards, unless you have an active instrument that gives a very hot signal. On the mixer, you should start with the input gain at minimum, set the channel fader to unity/0db and switch in PFL for the channel. Bring up the input gain slowly and you can monitor the level on the meters. If the signal is too hot with the input gain at minimum, switch in the pad.

Value is always subjective. If someone likes/wants something, they will pay more. Generally, around half new retail appears to be the average when selling used gear. If mint, you may get a little more and desirable brands can go for higher prices, too (Barefaced cabs seem to command decent used prices, for example). Ditto vintage/rare. A few people may jump on me for saying this, but many tend to over-estimate the value of what they own in the used market. It's often better to sell a rig as separate items, rather than complete. Time of year has an effect, too. This is traditionally not a good time to sell as everyone is recovering from paying off the massive Christmas credit card bills that landed at the end of last month. Maybe put it on the 'Bay with a reserve and see if you get any interest as a starter for 10?

I put one in my '72 J bass. It certainly made it a little more versatile in terms of tones. However, I found I couldn't quite get that classic J sound (where you run the neck pickup on full and back off the bridge slightly) using it. It was close, but not quite there. The quality of construction was excellent and the solderless connections made it simple to fit (although the battery was a tight fit in the cavity with the preamp installed). In the end, I removed and sold it. If you have just one instrument and want it to do everything, it could be useful.

Not after you've factored in the cost of a Transit van to get it about with.

That's AI generated blurb. You can recognise if from the trite phrases - "whether you're a beginner, performer, etc", "sure to impress", "perfect for right handed players", "taking your talent to the next level" and so on. All the sort of tripe that non-musicians (the wallies who developed the AI spiel generator) believe musicians will be persuaded by.

Thanks for posting this. I've used a Sessionette 1x12 for many years for my electric fiddle. It doesn't have that baked in mid peak that so many guitar combos have, which clash horribly on a fiddle. It's nice for jazz guitar as well, probably for the same reason. It's been in need of a refurb for a while - pots getting crackly, etc - so you prompted me to get in touch with them. I emailed this morning and Stewart replied to me within the hour. Have booked it in for some TLC. He told me they are to stop making new amps shortly, but will continue to service/repair existing ones until 2029.

I agree with you in principle, Bill, but £750 for a complete PA is a tall order here in the UK. Used is the only option. Any reasonable 12 ch mixer with decent eq (no point in buying something really basic, with just low and high eq - as you say, the mids are very much where the action is) is going to account for getting on for half the budget.

That additional air chamber created by the shim must have an effect, too 😁

J bass pickup locations have changed over the years, which also affects the sound.

Good advice above. You don't have a lot of wriggle room with a £750 budget, so used is defo the way to go. The usual powered mixer/mixer and power amp plus two 10 or 12 + horn cabs on stands should get you going. You may get lucky and find something like Beedster's used Bose rig - plenty of people upgrade and sell off smaller gear, so it's very possible. if you do and it's a bit over budget, consider finding the extra money and getting it, because it will stand you in good stead. If you only need PA for vocals and perhaps kick, you can get a small mixer for not much money. Get at least 3 band eq - mid control is very useful for vocals. I'd avoid large - 15 + horn - PA cabs. Bulky, heavy, awkward to transport and store and you need heavy duty stands for safety/stability. If you want more power later on, look at getting a sub to augment your existing stuff.

Same here. I use flats and change them once in a blue moon, so when change time comes, the board is normally well coated with dried on skin, sweat and gunk and needs a good scrub

Happy 70th. I was 70 last November. 1. Why you don't have any gigs? I do, but only around 2 a month in the book at present. 2.Do you rely on an agent ? Yes and no. There are a couple who offer me/us gigs - I play in a couple of bands, plus the odd gig as a dep' - and I or band members look for gigs, too.. 3. Who finds coordinates and confirms gigs? Band members, agent or me. 4. Are you or any band members in this for the money? Yes and no. We/I are retired from our main jobs and reasonably comfortable, so don't need to earn from music. However, extra money is always nice to have, so, unless it's helping out a friend, family member or similar (say by playing at their birthday party, wedding and so on), we/I won't turn out for nowt. If travel involved, has to be decently paid. 5.How much do you want to gig? Wouldn't want to do more than two, maybe three exceptionally, a week.

It's even more fiddly/time consuming, but you can remove the screws once the adhesive has set, drill out the holes and push in tight fitting dowels coated with adhesive. Sand them flat once they have set in place. Handy if you want to profile the edges and don't want to risk ruining your router bit on the screws.

Would it be worth taking a day's holiday from work and going somewhere such as Bass Direct to try a range of gear? Go in the week when the shop is quiet and you can try stuff to your heart's content. I did that several years ago when I was not sure what upgrade route to take and found it very helpful. It was also costly because I bought an expensive new toy, but I haven't regretted it because I was able to compare quite extensively, so don't suffer from "What if I had bought X? Would it have been better?"