GreeneKing

Thank you. I tried the Ernie Balls a few years back and I've used Chromes in the past too. Neither 'grabbed me' at the time but I think we might change as the years pass. I can do old school but it's the A to E thing that my ear dislikes. My Jazz is pretty awesome. Funny that after a vast number of high end basses a MIM Jazz should be so good. Hopefully the Lakland will keep its presence with the Dunlops or I may have to keep looking. My 88 Thumb still has round wounds and they stay!

I hasten to add that I've used TI's in the fairly distant past. I do like to try something different to so the P bass analogy doesn't really work. If I tried a P bass and liked it I wouldn't only ever use P basses thereon in. I like strings to have greater tension. I've given the flats a real check over and they remain the same. As Bluemoon said, not as pronounced as Pyramid but in the same vein. A distinct difference A to E. I have used Pyramids that were so bad with the E that I thought they were defective and I've read similar comments about them. I've a lot of experience setting up basses over the years and changing strings so I'm sure they are correctly fitted and not twisted etc. The guys I play with aren't that experienced. The lead guitarist tends to be very loud to the extent that the drummer doesn't really dictate the tempo but has to follow. He plays too fast too. We managed to get him to drop his volume and balance it all out and then the E became noticeable on one track only. When I played open G, D, A and then E the E stood out like a 'dog's Richard' even though the bass was perfectly in tune. Not bad enough to be defective just like an unbalanced set of strings. I like the Dunlops. They give the flats tone in a slightly brighter way that I think makes a viable flats/roundwound compromise. I'll try them on the Lakland and report back.

A few months back I had a play of a mates Lakland Skyline 44-94 that has flats strung on it. TI if I remember right. Now I haven’t used flats for years and I loved it over my Sunbeams on an identical bass. TI’s are pricey and looking around I thought that La Bella Deep Talkin’ would be a good option with slightly greater tension. I bought and fitted the La Bella’s and all was good, sort of.... The E string sounded a little dull. It holds tune and the intonation is good but the E has a different timbre to the other strings. I thought this was a characteristic and I’ve been using the Lakland with the ‘band’. My lovely Jazz succumbed too and I fitted a set of Dunlop’s to it, 45 to 105. They are brighter, feel lovely and the E string isn’t noticeably ‘thuddy’. I now prefer the Dunlops but the Lakland in P mode works better for some of the stuff we play. We were doing a new song last week and, having addressed the sound levels the E string sounded almost out of tune. It wasn’t. Is this a characteristic of the La Bellas? I know that Piramid strings can have this issue. Im probably going to fit Dunlop’s to the Lakland and might sell the La Bellas but not if they’re defective. Cheers Peter

LED E10 bulbs/lamps These are rated 36v and work fine: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/E10-LED-Instrument-Screw-Light-Bulb-0-5W-6-3V-12V-24V-36V-220V-380V-9x24mm/401413860545?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&var=671045700741&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649 This is rated 48v https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/led-indicator-lamps/0206700/ I've got one but not tried it as the first ones are great. Peter

I'm sorted now thanks. The above rig is simply awesome. I can't believe how much better the EBS and Accugroove are than the BG250. I saved myself a couple of hundred pounds too.

A solution! I tried my spare head and my 2nd Accugroove with a Palmer pre that has an aux in. It all works perfectly. tcElectronic watts are a lot smaller that EBS watts though...... I'll offer the BG250 free on collection locally as spares or repairs. The tip is next.

I'll offer the BG250 free on collection locally as spares or repairs. The tip is next. I tried my spare head and my 2nd Accugroove with a Palmer pre that has an aux in. It all works perfectly. tcElectronic watts are a lot smaller that EBS watts though......

Much appreciated Gary.

Thank you Stu. For what is and most likely will ever be, a home practice amp it makes more sense to replace it in my opinion. With the totally inert nature of the beast I suspect that a firmware update won't work but I will try. I've got a Palmer pre-amp with an auxiliary input and I'll try that into my spare head and one Accugroove cab as that might be a way of getting an Aux in that I use with my Tascam a lot. Peter

Hello Ive had my BG250 for quite a few years, from new. It’s only been used for for home practice and it’s been ultra reliable. This morning I turned it on and no sound. Plenty of lights illuminated and no buttons on the panel are working. No smoke, smell or snap crackle and pop. The gain light is permanently on as is the Tubedrive light, a couple of tuner lights, the low tune light and the power light. When I power the amp down it takes a full 9 seconds for the lights to go out. Much longer than normal. Does anyone have similar experience or ideas? I’m looking at an Orange Crush 50 on Saturday. If anyone has any suggestions I’ll have a look at the BG250 tomorrow. Peter

My 'shed' is sound proofed and headphones are I find a pain. I'll ask at Promonade for any amp techs they recommend and I'll put a post on here too. The nature of the problem points to a board issue but I'll ask around. I'll have a look myself too. I checked all the obvious stuff.

Promenade Music have a 2nd hand Orange Crush 50 that I'll have a look at on Saturday. I can see what else they have. I've got a rig but I'd like for a practice combo to have some versatility and tone.

I’m in my tiny bass practice ‘shed’ in my extension. My TC Electronic BG 250 that is pure overkill has just died. I don’t use it’s features like the tuner, Toneprint or Tubedrive. It’s quite an old 15” driver model that I bought new some years ago. The lights all come on but there’s no output. The button switches don’t work and when I turn it off the lights take an age to fade. I suspect a component failure and it’s given good service. I don’t even think I’ll get it repaired. It’s been ultra reliable up to today. I don’t want to use my EBS HD350 and one Accugroove Tri-112L as that's even more overkill and I don’t have an mp3 input that is vital for my practice. So I’m looking for a well made practice amp that has a aux in for my Tascam. I don’t really need bells and whistles. Any suggestions? I can probably rustle up £200 or so. Peter

An interesting thread. I have a HD350 and my Fafner. Experience with the HD350 had me looking for a 2nd Accugroove Tri-112L to work it harder. I find that the Fafner and one cab is now loud enough with the drive and volume controls set to only about 9 or 10 o'clock. I'm using my EBS Micro 3 with EQ bypassed to boost a passive bass signal. I keep everything flat most of the time except treble that I cut just a little. I also use an adjustable HPF into the Micro 3. For tone adjustment I'm using the bass passive tone and pickup blend. I'm loving EBS amps......

The amp was faultless tonight. I love it. Just using one of my Accugroove Tri112L 8 ohm cabs and it copes with ease. Okay it's a heavy old lump but weight or size isn't an issue for me. I've mainly used 500 watt class D amps before but the Fafner seems to have more headroom.

An update; I took the top off and the amp is very clean. The guy I bought it from told me that it had recently been serviced but shipping always carried potential for damage. I checked all connections that I could get to and used Servisol on the pots (from the front with knobs and nuts removed) and the valve base. I've had it on for over 4 hours now with the blue LED lamp fitted and all is good. The blown incandescent lamp that I removed was a red 'painted' 48v. I've sourced a UK made red 48v LED at RS Components and it arrived today. £7.25 with free delivery. However with the blue one working so well I may just leave it in. Practice tonight but fingers crossed.

I've bought some blue LED bulbs on eBay, less than £4 for 5 all the way from China. They are 36v so may prove unsuitable. I'll update..

I would like to thank Mike publicly for going beyond what would normally be expected to resolve an issue that was none of his making. Mike made me a tortoiseshell scratch plate for my Lakland Skyline P/J. The plate was superb but while gently easing a couple of radii with a file I noticed that the tort was delaminating slightly. Mike checked the offcuts and he wasn't happy with the material. He went into battle with the supplier and has since discovered that the material has been a problem for several other luthiers and users of tort. Mike sourced an alternative and got it made and out to me before Xmas free of charge. It also happens to look completely stunning, even better than the first in a retro 50's way. Thank you Mike.

My Fafner I is proving to be an awesome amp into just one of my two 8ohm Accugroove Tri112’s. On Tuesday the amp started to cut out and the gain control was inconsistent. After about 15 minutes it sorted itself out. I have been storing it in an unheated conservatory and I wondered if the problem may lie in that? I had a spare valve so fitted that in any case. A bit of a fiddle from the front panel due to large fingers and switch wires an inch too short.... It’s now behaving but the orange glow has gone. Does anyone have a link to a replacement lamp/bulb to save me taking it apart again, twice? Peter