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Messages - chromium

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61
The Outpost Cafe / Re: Cool keyboard
« on: August 24, 2016, 10:21:40 PM »
You couldn't give Clavs away in the 80s-90s, but over the past ten years or so there has been renewed interest.  Even the basket cases seem to fetch 500-1K.  I love restoring that kind of stuff, but hard to even find a project for a reasonable price these days.

Someone has even reissued the old Castlebar system.  Quite a bit of work involved to put one in.  A bit like installing a whammy on a guitar with five octaves worth of strings  :o

https://kenrichsounds.com/shop/hohner-clavinets-pianets/clavinet-whammy-bar-system/


Quote from: Basvarken on August 24, 2016, 12:46:11 PM
Yeah saw that one too. It's the same guy grom the vid in the first post right?

Lachy Doley is fun to watch too


Yeah same guy from your OP.

I hadn't seen that Lachy Doley clip - very cool!

62
Other Bass Brands / Re: Tom Petersson Gretsch
« on: August 24, 2016, 05:00:40 PM »
Quote from: 66Atlas on August 24, 2016, 04:16:15 PM
Of course, I will probably need to sell a kidney to afford one. :-\

Thought I saw reference somewhere that pricing on those would land in the $10-16K range(!).  If so, that pretty much guarantees it'll be a rarity right out of the gate. 

Should've called it the 'White Whale'  :o

63
The Outpost Cafe / Re: Cool keyboard
« on: August 24, 2016, 12:31:04 PM »
Fun video of that one in action here...


64
Fender Basses / Re: Crouching Tiger Hidden Mudbucker
« on: August 24, 2016, 12:00:41 PM »
Stealth attack!  I like it  8)

65
Guitars Etc. / Re: Fender Blues Junior Amp Resurrection
« on: August 19, 2016, 10:15:28 AM »
Got the final mods wrapped up last weekend.  Went back in and replaced those temporary screen grid resistors (per above), added some retainers for the power tubes, and executed the completely frivolous jewel lamp installation  :)

Done! Couldn't be happier with it... great bang for the buck.






66
Other Bass Brands / Re: Interesting Antoria LP Jr-style bass.
« on: August 12, 2016, 04:06:21 PM »
Quote from: dadagoboi on August 12, 2016, 10:53:58 AM
Those are all killer basses, Joe! The one on the right looks like it has two more frets clear of the body.  Is that to accommodate the trem?

I think you're right. That was a custom order done in '90 w/factory Kahler, and the saddles are quite a bit further in compared to that '80 w/3-point.  Neck is maple on that one, and more of a slim carve typical of that era.

Here it was in original form... stealth divebomber.  Kinda liked the look, but just not a huge fan of the EMG-HBs.




67
Other Bass Brands / Re: Interesting Antoria LP Jr-style bass.
« on: August 12, 2016, 09:45:29 AM »
I like that Antoria!

I find the LP Jr shape to be very comfortable, as evidenced by my immersion in that design in more recent years  ;D

Here's a mid-scale flanked by two shorties.  The 'hog neck on the left one feels a lot like my '68 EB-3.  It's the Gibson design that should have been...


68
The Outpost Cafe / Re: A new experience - totally surprised!
« on: August 10, 2016, 04:47:02 PM »
That came out fantastic!  Cool bass, and such a thoughtful gift  8)

69
Other Bass Brands / Re: Holy Grail Hamer 12 string
« on: August 10, 2016, 07:30:29 AM »
No kidding- don't see that everyday!  Think there are <10 known to exist.

My single-truss B12 took some very deliberate sting selection to get dialed in, but it plays great now. Those necks are working overtime.  Wonder what this one is like?  Definitely looks like it has been played...

70
The Outpost Cafe / Re: The Ugliest Custom Finish Gold Medal Goes To...
« on: August 10, 2016, 07:14:16 AM »
Quote from: Highlander on August 09, 2016, 01:56:34 PM
When's the Olympic version coming out...?

This one looks a bit closer to the 'summer games' version...


71
Guitars Etc. / Re: Fender Blues Junior Amp Resurrection
« on: August 08, 2016, 09:41:12 AM »
Quote from: Dave W on August 07, 2016, 08:54:38 PM
Is that a Hamer on the right?

Good deal on the amp, especially since you know how to do the mods. I paid just under $300 for mine 15 years ago. Never modded it since it only gets light use and it sounds good to me.

Yes - that goldtop is a '94 Archtop GT model.  1pc maho body w/maple cap, and 1pc maho medium-chunky neck with large tenon. Previous owner had replaced the stock SD P90s w/Lollar mini-humbuckers.  Always wanted a goldtop, and couldn't resist this one with the pickup and bridge upgrades.  That's my favorite guitar to date.

The Jr. is a '00 Hamer that one of the dealers had built more to "50s spec" - all maho, thin headstock (compared to the later production Korina models), Tone Pros plate tuners, and this one has a Lollar P90 and Gibson Historic wrapper bridge.


Quote from: amptech on August 07, 2016, 10:59:50 PM
Fender amps with smoked screen grid resistors must be the most common sight in my amp shop.
It's a good thing you installed a bias pot, all in all it's worth it to do some safety mods to these amps.
I install 5W screen grid resistors on all these fender amps. In theory you do not need 5W, but 1W or 2W units do
blow up all the time on these amps. The IC caps is also not he best, they fail fairly common too.

But they are good amps when they work!

Thanks- great to know!  I had gone with 2W carbon films that I had in the parts bin just to get it running, but I'd like to (at minimum) switch those to metal film for something "flameproof"... but may opt for 5W ceramics based on your advice.  Planning to swap those when I tear it down for the gratuitous jewel lamp install ;D

Also picked up some spring retainers for the EL84s that I still need to install.


Quote from: Pilgrim on August 08, 2016, 08:00:51 AM
Nice work, and you built some really cool ideas in there. Love the MOD tank addition!

Thanks!  I based most of them on info that Bill Machrone had published on his wonderful site.  He used to sell kits and services for a lot of this stuff, but apparently he's been battling cancer and not doing so well :(

http://billmaudio.com/wp/

The MOD tank really did wonders.  Without changing any of the reverb circuit, what required a setting of "10" previously I can now get on "4" - and the overall reverb sound is more dynamic, with maybe just a slightly longer decay compared to the stock tank.  $16 (on sale) well spent!

72
Guitars Etc. / Fender Blues Junior Amp Resurrection
« on: August 07, 2016, 04:39:56 PM »
I had been wanting to pick up a small tube amp for guitar for some time now, and I came across a non-functional Blues Junior on Craigslist back in June.  It was in minty condition cosmetically, but it had "blew a fuse" according to the owner.  I took my chances, made him an offer and brought it home.




Upon tearing into it, it looked like one of the power tubes may have failed and smoked the corresponding screen resistor.

I cleaned up and fixed that mess, installed a new set of JJ tubes, and it fired right up!

Since these are pretty popular units to modify, I did some research and decided to make some of the common improvements while I still had it partially disassembled:

- Replaced the cheap PCB-mounted input jack with a Switchcraft
- Replaced the cheap PCB-mounted "fat" switch pushbutton with a toggle
- These are fixed-biased kinda hot from the factory, and so I added a trimmer to provide adjustable bias... and set it up to be a little gentler on the power tubes
- Upgraded the caps in the tone stack, and implemented the "Twin mod" on the midrange pot for a greater range of adjustment
- Replaced/upgraded the power supply filter caps
- Added a 3-position progressive Carling power switch that provides for a "standby" setting in the middle position (nice to mute the amp)
- Grabbed an amber jewel lamp for it just for grins ;D  (haven't installed that yet)






I ran that way for a couple of weeks, and during that time got a promotional email from Antique Electronic Supply advertising a 10% off sale in July.  Figured that offered a good excuse to grab an upgraded driver and reverb tank for it!




That MOD tank made a vast improvement in the sound and sensitivity of the reverb, and the C-Rex driver really tightened up the low end.  It sounds great for a cheapie amp!  I'm happy with the results, especially considering I'm in it <$300 after all is said and done 8)


73
Guitars Etc. / Re: Building a Telegib (HH Tele)
« on: August 01, 2016, 05:17:40 PM »
I've been GASing for a HB equipped Tele off and on.  I thought a dual HB setup would be slick too (like the SD Beck build).  Hadn't seen that particular Greco model before - pretty cool!

Here's a recent build by Danocaster that I really like:




Folks seem to say favorable things about those, but cost of admission is kinda steep (for me). I'll probably also end up going the route of a parts build in the future to try and achieve something similar.

Look forward to seeing yours progress! 8)

74
The Outpost Cafe / Re: drbassman
« on: June 13, 2016, 08:10:42 PM »
^Ditto to everything Andy said.
Bill is one of the good guys, and I'm gutted to read this. His projects and skills have always been a huge inspiration.
My thoughts and prayers are with him and family.

75
Bill's Shop: Projects, Mods & Repairs / Re: Bach BTC Bass ( Telecaster shorty )
« on: May 21, 2016, 09:47:07 AM »
Beautiful!  8)

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