Beer of the Bass

Ah, glad it's working and sounding good! I wonder if the preamp differences between this and the Eminent make it a bit nicer sounding for electric bass (the Eminent being more geared towards being a PA mixer amp. I'd use the 4 ohm output when using both drivers, as the two 8 ohm outputs will be connected to the 8 ohm tap, so a 4 ohm load will be a mismatch. That probably won't kill anything, but does run your output valves a little harder than they need to and may lose some power too.

I'd like to change my user name, if possible. My current one is based on ny real name, and I've recently had someone locally paying an uncomfortable amount of attention to my online activities, so I'd like to move away from that.

If you did want to get the 2x12" up and running for use with that head, there may not be much benefit in choosing the Kappalites over certain cheaper 12"s, given that they'd only have to handle 50 watts per driver. A pair of something like Eminence Betas or some of the Celestion bass drivers would cost less than one Kappalite and can be got in 4 or 16 ohms to make an 8 ohm cab. Of course, mixing it with your 1x15 could still be hit-and-miss though.

IIRC they waited until I'd dispatched it, but not until it reached them.

Are they guitar humbucker sized? There may be some blade polepiece guitar humbuckers that would do the job if so.

I had much the same with the G on a set of new Spirocores a couple of years ago, also bought from Thomann. They sent a replacement which was fine, and I had to return just the G.

I'm wondering if "surprises" are a good idea when working on instruments for others. It seems like one to discuss with the owner. If you do go for a smaller radius, the fingerboard thickness may be an issue, since most electric bass fingerboards are quite thin already, and a smaller radius would thin it further at the edges. Of course, if you're replacing the board rather than just defretting and filling the slots, you could address that.

Only one half of the ECC81 is acting as a gain stage in these (the other half is a cathodyne phase inverter which has no gain whichever valve is used), and the power amp uses a lot of negative feedback to keep it clean and linear. So I'd say there's not a lot of potential to get dirt out of these with valve swaps alone. My own Eminent II that I built a new preamp into will get just a little grit, but it's all from the preamp. Though it's a pretty fun sound and it's only really the mid control and DI outs that cause me to favour my Ampeg PF50T over the modded Dynacord.

I think I used that name in one or two places, yeah! I used to wear hats a lot...

I'd say re-working the Peavey wouldn't be the most sensible route - it's a hybrid preamp which will have its own power supply requirements and is likely to be built around one large PCB, making it difficult to rehouse. With my own Dynacord, I started by making sure the amp was fully checked over and working in stock form, before building a new valve preamp from scratch to a relatively simple design.

I found that my end pin does the same with rubber walking stick ends, but the ones I use are just big enough to slip a 5 pence coin inside the bottom of, and that helps them last longer.

Hard to say from a photo alone, but it's likely that one valve may have been running hotter than the other. With an amp like this that's been out of use for years I'd really want to do more than visual checks before powering it up, like checking that the bias supply is present and correct on both EL34 sockets. But it might be wise to find someone who's familiar with doing this safely.

OTOH, the ability to correct the neck angle without major woodworking could be seen as a positive!

I have an Eminent 2, which is the same power amp with a four channel preamp. They're well built amps intended to run very clean. I found the original preamp a bit uninspiring on mine, so took out two of the channels and built a valve preamp in there. The power ratings can be confusing as this era of Dynacord amps had models with 2x EL34 valves at two different power ratings. The Bass King T and Eminent I were 40 watts, with the Imperator and Eminent 2 at 80 watts. The 80 watt models used a dual-rail power supply which puts around 750V on the EL34 plates. Because of the high voltages and unusual layout these might not be the ideal platform to learn on if you're not familiar with working on valve amps, so you may want to have it checked over.

I've patched up guitar speakers with a flexible glue and pieces torn from coffee filter paper. If you colour the papers with a black Sharpie first, and tear the patch so the edges are feathered the repair can be fairly discrete looking. And if it does change the sound a little, you have a good chance of not noticing given that it's the bottom driver of an 8x10“.

The ears could even be quite handy, if you were making some sort of utility box for a pedalboard.

I'm somewhat the opposite, I like the voicing and EQ design of the Ampeg valve heads, but so far I've not been all that into the Ampeg 8x10 cabs I've had the chance to use. And that includes using my own PF-50T and GK MB200 through an 8x10 or my own pair of single 12" cabs - the 8x10 sounds immediately bigger, but seems a bit indistinct at the top. I mean, I can easily work with it, but it's just not quite what I'd look for if putting together a rig from scratch. So if I had both the need and budget for a big rig, an SVT or V4B with alternative cabs would be high among my considerations.

I used one for several years, and it has a thick, solid sound that's easy to work with. It does perhaps lack a little clarity and detail compared to the KNA DB-1 pickup I replaced it with, but for some styles I could be quite happy with that sound. Mine developed an intermittent crackly distortion on loud notes eventually, and once I was certain it was the pickup, I dissected it to have a look. Turns out it uses an element made from a thick ceramic material which had cracked on mine. I'm sure no pickup is indestructible, but I'd be cautious about squeezing it too hard in the bridge wing.

I have one at 12lbs that I'll pull out now and again, but 3 hour rehearsals are no fun with it.

I didn't know John Peel well, but I do remember running into him, also at the Glen Morag.

That's a name that rings some bells - I remember Nigel Clark as a stalwart of the Dunoon Jazz festival (my hometown) through the 90s.

The speakon/jack sockets are dark green and have the word "combo" moulded around the outside of the raised circular part. In the case of a supplied cab that you can't check beforehand, I'd come prepared with speakon cables or adapters just in case.

Wasn't Godwin the maker of those Guitar Organ contraptions?

Have you noticed, when youngsters use the word dab nowadays they're rarely talking about sherbet, but some strange dance move resembling a poorly stifled sneeze? Although I guess sherbet dabs could indeed result in those...

I guess the guy with the website does call himself the Guitar Troll!