64 Blackface Bassman (now with pics)
Moderated By: mods
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LimpDickCheney
The transformer is the US version. I have a 3-prong US power cable and have to run it through a transformer to work with UK voltage.
I'm just about with you on the voltage talk. This engineer guy went over the schematic with me talking about how much voltage was where and I followed for a while but pretty soon I was bamboozled by the numbers. I'm still very much a noob when it comes to these things.
I'm just about with you on the voltage talk. This engineer guy went over the schematic with me talking about how much voltage was where and I followed for a while but pretty soon I was bamboozled by the numbers. I'm still very much a noob when it comes to these things.
Shabba.
I have bad news.
It turns out the speaker cable I was using was actually a standard guitar cable. I bought it the day after the amp (or something like that, the thread probably has details) and when doing so I was extremley clear about it's purpose. So far I haven't used the amp for the sort of extended period that would come from say gigging or band practice, so it's had perhaps an hour at a time at the most. It was on for much of Doogfest II but a different cable was used then.
The guy looking at the amp has made a proper cable so it's solved in that respect. I realise that with an inadequete cable there's the risk of the cable overheating and the output transformer being blown by the lack of load or something along those lines, but I'm wondering if the higher than usual background noise is perhaps a result of this. I'll be fucking livid if some clown in a guitar shop has led me to have a borked output transformer.
I didn't get to speak to the engineer guy for very long and I don't think he had had much of a look at it by that point anyway. I imagine he'll take a more in depth look over this weekend and I'll have a more complete story on Monday.
I have slightly been considering the 'support your local shop' thing and considering buying perhaps the odd thing even if it was slightly more (ironically, things such as cables would be top of that list) but now it's a clear 'fuck that noise'. I felt a bit silly for not having noticed, and then I thought that with the jacks being the same, and the cable looking the part, without taking it apart to check the screening or whatever there was little way I could have known. Especially being a noob to this sort of thing.
It turns out the speaker cable I was using was actually a standard guitar cable. I bought it the day after the amp (or something like that, the thread probably has details) and when doing so I was extremley clear about it's purpose. So far I haven't used the amp for the sort of extended period that would come from say gigging or band practice, so it's had perhaps an hour at a time at the most. It was on for much of Doogfest II but a different cable was used then.
The guy looking at the amp has made a proper cable so it's solved in that respect. I realise that with an inadequete cable there's the risk of the cable overheating and the output transformer being blown by the lack of load or something along those lines, but I'm wondering if the higher than usual background noise is perhaps a result of this. I'll be fucking livid if some clown in a guitar shop has led me to have a borked output transformer.
I didn't get to speak to the engineer guy for very long and I don't think he had had much of a look at it by that point anyway. I imagine he'll take a more in depth look over this weekend and I'll have a more complete story on Monday.
I have slightly been considering the 'support your local shop' thing and considering buying perhaps the odd thing even if it was slightly more (ironically, things such as cables would be top of that list) but now it's a clear 'fuck that noise'. I felt a bit silly for not having noticed, and then I thought that with the jacks being the same, and the cable looking the part, without taking it apart to check the screening or whatever there was little way I could have known. Especially being a noob to this sort of thing.
Shabba.
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benecol
GRRRRRRRR fuckwits. I'd give the shop some aggro if I were you, but they'll come up with some sort of infuriating shite excuse. To the best of my knowledge, it's a broken/not broken thing, rather than a gradual decline (wait for Mike to wake up though EDIT: he's awake ^) - I've got a speaker cable you can have, I'll bung it you next time I see you.
Cheers for the offer, benecol, but the engineering guy has already made one for me using some cable from work (and presumably using the jacks of the current one). I'm hoping it is a broken/not broken thing and that the excess noise is down to a slightly past it capacitor or something like that, and is an easy fix as a result.
I should get some more details about it tomorrow at work.
Did I do anything wrong here? Other than trust a guitar shop?
I should get some more details about it tomorrow at work.
Did I do anything wrong here? Other than trust a guitar shop?
Shabba.
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benecol
Not sure if this is just a coincidence, but I saw this post on a guitar shop owners' forum I lurk at:
Miserable Scottish Bastard wrote:One laddie came into my shop wanting some sort of speaker cable. Silly wee fucker thought there was some sort of difference between cables. I just sold him a guitar one. It was for some old amp anyhow; I don't know why everyone doesn't just buy Line 6 amps - they sound like everything. Some other radge bastard came in and played one of my SG's - he wasn't sure about it. I said "So you think you're better than Kelly 'Stereophonics' Jones do you? Good enough for Kelly, good enough for you, you sassenach."
I hate music, anyhow. And people
I think it was a bit more:
"I can't believe the cheek of this customer today. I offered to tell him about my new Satriani signature Ibanez and he just kept on about speaker cables. I gave him a guitar cable in the end just to keep him quiet and told him a story about a jazz player from Stonehouse looking for a 2004 Ibanez catalouge to check the model number of a rare Satch model."
"I can't believe the cheek of this customer today. I offered to tell him about my new Satriani signature Ibanez and he just kept on about speaker cables. I gave him a guitar cable in the end just to keep him quiet and told him a story about a jazz player from Stonehouse looking for a 2004 Ibanez catalouge to check the model number of a rare Satch model."
Shabba.
The guy came into work with a copy of the circuit diagram and an awful lot of writing on it. He'd gone through and check every component for it's value vs what the circuit says it should be. In quite a lot of cases things like resistors and caps were way out of tolerance. Some of the caps were original and the old paper type. I think the highest anything was out of spec was 500% (a .01u cap reading .05), but most things that were out were say 40% instead of 10-20.
The parts needing to be replaced have arrived, and he plans to install them next week. I imagine I'll get the amp back next weekend.
I've also 'done a Mike' and sorted use of the drill press at work to drill some pedal cases. Going to order the bits now and take the cases in once they arrive.
The parts needing to be replaced have arrived, and he plans to install them next week. I imagine I'll get the amp back next weekend.
I've also 'done a Mike' and sorted use of the drill press at work to drill some pedal cases. Going to order the bits now and take the cases in once they arrive.
Shabba.
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benecol