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
Sunday, 20 October 2013
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.
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.
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.
Sunday, 30 December 2012
Quickie - Hondo II Parts
Ordered new machine heads, switch and nut for the Hondo II 'Faker. Was pleasantly surprised to discover that W. D. Music do enclosed bass machines of the right type and measurements so shouldn't have to do any unnecessary drilling. Win.
Still need to get a new scratchplate and a load of new screws to replace the rusted/stripped ones, of which there are many. This is pretty much going to be a trawling hardware shops job as the screws used on these Asian copies are narrower and slightly longer than the ones used on modern guitars so you can't just go to a guitar parts website and buy them.
Still need to get a new scratchplate and a load of new screws to replace the rusted/stripped ones, of which there are many. This is pretty much going to be a trawling hardware shops job as the screws used on these Asian copies are narrower and slightly longer than the ones used on modern guitars so you can't just go to a guitar parts website and buy them.
Saturday, 29 December 2012
Still for Sale - Jackson KVX10 with Hardcase.
Sunday, 16 December 2012
Peavey Roadmaster - Testing
Welp...
That was mostly successful.
The amp works, and sounds come out of it. The clean channel is nice and warm and clear, the reverb works but is a little noisy (not imagining this being an issue with high-gain doom though).
But the lead channel is still fizzy and glitchy and cutty-outy. Which sucks.
Well, from a certain perspective it's quite cool, as it'd be useful for noise stuff, but I imagine it won't do Eric's overall health much good if I keep using it. It's a bit of a mystery as all the relevant valves tested okay and all the big caps are brand new...
I've sent Oli a message to see if he has any ideas.
That was mostly successful.
The amp works, and sounds come out of it. The clean channel is nice and warm and clear, the reverb works but is a little noisy (not imagining this being an issue with high-gain doom though).
But the lead channel is still fizzy and glitchy and cutty-outy. Which sucks.
Well, from a certain perspective it's quite cool, as it'd be useful for noise stuff, but I imagine it won't do Eric's overall health much good if I keep using it. It's a bit of a mystery as all the relevant valves tested okay and all the big caps are brand new...
I've sent Oli a message to see if he has any ideas.
Saturday, 15 December 2012
Eric's Got Some Brand New Caps
Having sent my Peavey Road Master head off to Oli for general diagnosis, I now have him back along with some new capacitors.
After establishing that the big filter caps weren't going to ELECTROCUTE ME TO DEATH I began unplugging and de-soldering so I could whip the boards out and replace the caps.
The de-soldering was something of a pain in the arse, not only because a lot of the stuff I de-soldered had no reason not to be some kind of plug connection, but because two of the wires I de-soldered had actually been a plug connection until the mysterious Mr. Previous Owners made something inside the amp explode and then made a bit of a pig's ear of fixing it. There are lovely scorch marks on various bits of the power board.
Anyway, with that done there was some rather more expected de-soldering to get the original caps off and then the new ones were soldered into place.
Eric himself remains in bits as it's quarter to eleven at night so I won't be able to test him anyway. Hopefully I'll be able to to that before Christmas.
The de-soldering was something of a pain in the arse, not only because a lot of the stuff I de-soldered had no reason not to be some kind of plug connection, but because two of the wires I de-soldered had actually been a plug connection until the mysterious Mr. Previous Owners made something inside the amp explode and then made a bit of a pig's ear of fixing it. There are lovely scorch marks on various bits of the power board.
Anyway, with that done there was some rather more expected de-soldering to get the original caps off and then the new ones were soldered into place.
Eric himself remains in bits as it's quarter to eleven at night so I won't be able to test him anyway. Hopefully I'll be able to to that before Christmas.
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