Sparky Mark

Are you 100% certain that the neck is ash and not maple?

3 hours ago, Rosie C said:

 

None taken!

 

Nice work! I did look on ebay earlier for new capacitors, but immediately realised that I don't know what sort of pins they have soldered to the PCB - some of the new ones have wires, while some of the larger values have flat blades - so I can't progress until we open the amp again and this time look at the underside of the PCB.  

Cheers. Hopefully you won’t need to do too much disassembly to get to the underside of the PCB. Old solder joints and connectors can be rather fragile and crack when disturbed, causing more issues. Desoldering large caps can also be a bit of a PITA, due to needing a fair amount of energy from the soldering iron to melt the solder sufficiently to remove without lifting the PCB track/pad.

You are very lucky to have a friend with the knowledge to help fix your amp. 

20 minutes ago, Rosie C said:

 

My friend is a knowledgeable amp tech     

 

She explained it to me (though I've since been to Google to make sure I get it right here)...

The 50Hz AC mains is rectified, converting it into a series of positive DC pulses, and the capacitors smooth the pulses into a steady DC voltage. If the capacitor isn't working properly, the ripples aren't fully smoothed and you can hear a ripple frequency in the speakers. But because it's between the peaks of the rectifier wave the frequency has been doubled to 100Hz.

 

I found this drawing which sort of shows the frequency doubling...

 

That's good information; no disrespect intended towards your friend. I recently replaced some swollen but still working capacitors in a 1980s NAD amplifier because I could see they were damaged. The good news is that new capacitor technology has moved on and you should be able to find replacements in smaller packages.

That's good news re the front panel illumination; I guess it's possible a previous owner preferred the panel unlit?

Is 100Hz hum a known symptom of failing PSU capacitors? Before doing any desoldering or replacement of parts, I'd recommend you get a knowledgeable amp tech to take a look.

Of course, it may be impossible to get that head to be completely silent or hum free simply because of noise on your mains supply or other radio frequency interference. On a gig, additional noise is very often present for various reasons, but isn't a real problem because of other background noise.

13 hours ago, Rosie C said:

I've finally got to play with my AH300 today. It's awesome, but there's some strange behaviour. The front panel has lamps for pre-shape, valve, compressor, effects loop, etc. and the pedal board has the same set of lamps. I'm assuming the same lights should be lit on both panel and pedal board. But when pressing various panel switches or foot switches it's easy to get them out of step - e.g. valve lamp is lit on the panel, but out on pedal board. I press either switch and it swaps over. 

 

Is this anyone has experienced before? Google AI seems to think it's a common problem, but I can't find any real website with information. 

 

Is the pedal definitely the correct one for the head? (there may be different versions for different generations of head).

I would expect that once the pedal is connected that it takes precedence, and probably best not to use the head's switches.

Are all of the switches on both the head and pedal momentary or latching? (The type of each switch on the pedal should be the same as the one on the head).

If all the lights on the head are on, what happens when you insert the pedal connector? (Do all hot switching tests with master volume at zero).

If certain pedal switches don't work every time they are pressed, it could be they need their contacts cleaning. It could also be worth cleaning the pins and female pin sockets on the head.

Although there are many switch cleaning products available, I'd recommend Deoxit D5.

I expect the Chinese Hofner (Contemporary and Ignition) violin basses outsell the German built ones many, many times over, which couldn't have helped.

As an example, out of curiosity I bought a couple of the cheapest Hofner Ignition violins to decide a) whether I liked violins at all, and b) which pickup positions I preferred. I chose the Ignition basses because their construction is a little closer to the hollow body originals, not having the full maple centre block of the Contemporaries.

I then very briefly owned a genuine German violin bass, but to be honest, the Ignitions got pretty darn close sound, feel and weight-wise so the German went back and I still have the Ignition. It may get gigged when I need a featherweight shortscale in my old(er) age.

It's a shame when anything "iconic" disappears, but such is commerce. 

3 hours ago, Mudpup said:

Stolen from the Herald?

Yep

Could all law abiding Basschatters keep an eye out for this bass stolen from a mate's local pub in Harlow this week please? It was the pub's bass used by all at their open jam nights. Unfortunately, the manufacturer isn't clear from the photos but it should be recognisable, especially if offered for sale online in the near future. 

Any info, please direct message me, many thanks.

Another fantastic StingRay Special. A check of the Musicman serial number database shows a birthday in 2018 and confirms a beautiful black ebony fingerboard.

Does it come with the original case and any candy?

I had a bass collected by Lenspeed when I sold it on here. The purchaser arranged it, and everything went to plan. The chap that collected was really nice and explained they do a lot of moving of expensive guitars for an auction house. If you go on their website I believe it explains prices for fully insured shipping. Probably the only company I would consider for £800 +++ instruments. 

Single Guitar Delivery from just £55 - Lenspeed Logistics https://share.google/qkd6eyxpC2fGs5uhX

9 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said:

 

He died so long ago... his influence is fading.

Also true.

38 minutes ago, tauzero said:

 

Why? All that Hooky said about Ian Curtis was that he died - in fact, IIRC, he said that they lost him. Ditto Nate Mendel about Taylor Hawkins.

True, maybe Cozy just wasn't considered innovative enough to be included?

What a stunningly beautiful bass!

Having tried LM2 and SA450 heads in dealerships in 2008 a couple times I just didn't hear what all the fuss was about. However, the first time I played through an LM2 was at an open jam night at The Square, Harlow. It was driving an old Laney (or Peavey, the memory fades) 410 and sounded amazing in the mix, with the trademark MB punch. From that point onwards I've gigged MB ten times more often than my other amps.

1 hour ago, hiram.k.hackenbacker said:

 

Apologies - I saw my drummer friend last night and we were talking about both the drum and bass series’ that Sky produced.

I mentioned about the Neil Peart thing and he said it wasn’t Neil Peart after all, it was Cozy Powell that wasn’t mentioned.

A slightly less glaring omission, but as we know from the bass series, only a small percentage of known players get mentioned.

I guess it could've been difficult to include Cozy without some of the circumstances surrounding his tragic premature death? 

On 05/12/2025 at 09:58, uk_lefty said:

I have an irrational desire for a Markbass amp. I've got a Fender Bassman, Ash down ABM 600 rig and two separate multi effects pedals with good quality amp Sims. Yet when I hear someone playing through a Markbass rig there's a quality to the sound I am struggling to replicate: the punch. Is this baked in to Markbass amps? Or, is this something I can recreate with EQ and compression or something else?  Unfortunately my multis (Headrush MX5 and Boss ME-90B) do not have a Markbass SIM.

 

If I bought a third amp, would I even use it? I've gone in-ears now and my amps are becoming less and less used for gigs.

I'm definitely a fan and have bought way too many cheapish secondhand so I'll never need to use a Markbass authorised repair service. I gigged an SA450 and TRV102P last night in a large pub to decent effect. I was on the limit however, so really should've taken my pair of NY121P cabs, but just about got way with it. I also use a Markbass Compressore and Rafferty HPF to reduce wasted low end amp power. The Compressore also adds a nice 12ax7 warmth.

Since feeling a little disappointed by the lack of imagination shown in this series, I've restored my fascination with bass by rediscovering Graham Maby's brilliant playing on Joe Jackson's first two albums, Look Sharp! and I'm the Man, both from 1979.

A change in my circumstances has enabled me to retrieve my teenage vinyl collection after decades in storage, and these were there, unplayed this century. 

I was 16 when I bought these albums and was inspired then, and even more impressed 46 years later. At only 26, Graham had pretty much mastered what he was doing. Every track on these albums is worth listening to in my opinion, for his catchy, skillful, melodic basslines that are front and centre in the mix.

Each album is under 40 minutes long, with influences from new wave, reggae, rock, blues and probably more, so if you've never done so, have a listen, Graham is one of the best IMO.

SOLD?

28 minutes ago, TheGreek said:

IMO the series 6 is Trace Elliot at its best...gear didn't get better it just got lighter. 

Agreed Mick,

Whilst the SMX series added some useful bells and whistles such as compression and a blendable valve/solid state preamp, the Series 6 has a certain immediate clarity with clout never bettered by Trace Elliot. 

I remember the Art of Drumming series featured more than just rock drummers and was really interesting. Although I am glad it's been made, I think the heavy bias towards rock a bit unimaginative. 

Only seen episodes 1 and 2 so far. I found episode 2 pretty boring with mostly "agricultural" Grade 1 level playing. Maybe that's why they shoehorned in Larry Graham and Mark King, to counter the impression it was giving that bass can be mastered in a couple of hours?

I did appreciate confirmation of my excuse for not singing anything more than oohs and aahs backing however; it's bloody difficult!

I've just watched the first episode. Not a massive PH fan, but enjoyed all the contributions. Definitely worth watching because it covers all styles, not just PH.

1 hour ago, Cliff Edge said:

This is voodoo magic. But I might give it a try next full moon. Thanks. 

You're welcome. It only takes about 5 to 10 minutes and saves a fortune unless you have to start each gig with super bright zingy strings.

4 hours ago, Cliff Edge said:

I’m quite old but the old loosen them off and twang them routine is not something I’m familiar with? 

Loosen each dull string, one at a time, until you can pull it up from the fretboard about an inch to an inch and a half. Let it slap hard back down on to the fretboard, repeat this moving your lifting position up and down the fretboard about 20 times or more. Then retune that string. It will then be brighter than before. Compare to the brightness of the other strings before moving to the next string.

I think it has nothing to do with removing dust/grime, it's more to do with relaxing the outer roundwound wire from the central core.

Then repeat for the other strings.

Deleted. Didn't read the first post correctly. Doh!