Thursday 26 December 2013

Boxing Day

I got a Black & Decker Workmate and a hot air gun for Christmas, meaning I can finally strip the finish off those guitar bodies I have lying around.

Also got a wee voltage tester, which'll come in handy, and I'll be off to Maplin in the next couple of days to get the components I need to (hopefully) finally fix the Peavey Road Master.

And finally here is a festive song for you:


Sunday 20 October 2013

Peavey Roadmaster - Welp...

So, that possible solution wasn't any sort of solution.

Which leads me to the bit I'd been putting off, getting out the multimeter and painstakingly testing all the resistors.

A long time and a lot of mumbling, headscratching, and messaging Mr. Foxen on Facebook I have identified two resistors that I get no reading from, and one that is about twice the value that shows on the schematic.

This puts the potential cost of fixing the problem into the dizzying heights of about £1.50.

I really hope this is the fix I need, otherwise it's time to get experts involved.

Peavey Roadmaster - The Saga Continues

Had the lid off the Roadmaster again yesterday. Cleaned the hell out of everything I thought needed cleaning. Refreshed all the solder joints. Lugged it back upstairs, plugged it in and... still fizzy, crappy overdrive on the lead channel.

Bah.

BUT!

It appears there might be a solution.

Turns out the effects loop might be causing a problem, as even though I never use it, it's still gonna get dirty and corroded and because of the way these things are wired that might cause signal loss. So as soon as the house is awake and caffeinated I will begin diagnosis and, hopefully, I might be able to fix this problem without taking the damn thing apart again.

Effects Loops: a Problem Waiting to Happen on Diabolical Devices

Thursday 13 June 2013

It's been a while since I updated...

I've drawn the template for my bass build, and will hopefully soon have a body I can start working on.

Been looking  at prices for parts, and it looks like I can get a pair of split coil pickups for £15 each, plus another £15 for the other electronics (going to use a standard Jazz Bass style setup). Bridge and tuners will be looked at next.

Otherwise I'm scoping out parts for my flying v bass, which'll be loaded with pretty top notch stuff so definitely a long termer, and I will soon be getting Eric out of his box again so I can make damn sure all the components are secure.

Sunday 24 March 2013

Bass Build - Part Zero

Well... it's been a while.

Scored a cheapish bass neck on eBay and luckily was able to offset the cost against selling something else so do not have to actually spent any money on it. Going to make a start on my bass build.

Only thing I'm not sure about is that the body will be made from multiple bits of plywood, but it is Grade A stock so hopefully should be okay. As it's a first build it's more about the learning process anyway. Second build (if this one doesn't put me off forever) will be made from proper wood.