edlib Posted January 20, 2005 Share Posted January 20, 2005 I need to retube a couple of my amps. My Fender Princeton has got some weird hissing/ popping going on. And I have no idea how old the tubes are in the Supro I have. One of these days I should pack them all up and take them to shop I know about and have them all cleaned up and reconditioned. I have a lot of scratchy pots. 1/20/05 The funeral is all over. It was a beautiful ceremony. I ended up running my cousin's video camera during the ceremony so that we can send tape or DVD copies to family members from around the country who couldn't make it. It was cold and snowy at the grave site. I'll have to go back and see it sometime when it's warm and sunny. Back to work tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitro Posted January 21, 2005 Share Posted January 21, 2005 1/20/05 Discovered today that my footswitch doesn't work... Anyone got a spare Fender 2-button footswitch kickin' around? I found one online for $10, but by the time I get it shipped here, with duty and all that crap it's gonna be closer to $40-$50... And I've got some nasty hiss in mine that changes with volume, so I suspect one of my preamp tubes is to blame... All the tubes are under 2 years old, and the guy that owned it before me only used it a few hours a week, so they should still have plenty of life left. *sigh* I guess I'm off tube hunting this weekend... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edlib Posted January 21, 2005 Share Posted January 21, 2005 RE: Footswitch - Yes. But it's noisy, so I don't use it. But since it's part of the Princeton Reverb I have, I won't get rid of it (the amp is an original from '65) A certain amout of hiss is to be expected with vacuum tubes,.. but if it's really excessive then it's probably a bad one. If you plug into the other channel of the amp is it the same or does it go away or change signifigantly? If it's the same it's probably a power tube, if it changes it's most likely a preamp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyan Farlander Posted January 21, 2005 Share Posted January 21, 2005 Also, the thing about tubes is that they might not have "gone bad" but they still suck. Even within a group of tubes of the exact same model, some of them are good, and some aren't so good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edlib Posted January 21, 2005 Share Posted January 21, 2005 Groove Tubes. http://www.groovetubes.com/ They cost more, but they're really worth it. They test and match all the tubes they sell, and catorgize them into types that really tell you something about the way they sound. Unfortunately I fear that tubes aren't long for this world. Most of the tubes you can buy these days are "Old-Stock" meaning that they were made years ago and have been in storage ever since. There are very few factories left that still make them, and those are Russian and Chinese. If relations break down between us and those countries we guitarists will be left with few alternatives. It's a very good thing that digital modeling is coming along as strong as it is. It still has a very long way to go... but it's still a lot better than playing through solid-state amps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wildstar Posted January 21, 2005 Share Posted January 21, 2005 Originally posted by edlib It was cold and snowy at the grave site. I'll have to go back and see it sometime when it's warm and sunny. Much of the reason my family waited until Mother's Day to interr my mom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rogue15 Posted January 21, 2005 Share Posted January 21, 2005 hmmm well i'm 21 today. i don't really feel any different. i have to work today....3-11....fun stuff, cause the idiots didn't put the correct stickers on the listerine bottles, we have to be the ones to do it....and it is so boring, i felt like going on a break to the bathroom and not coming back....but i need the money. my moms gonna order the computer sometime....so i probably won't have that until february, knowing the shipping...and the weather....meh. maybe i should go get some beer, i never tried it before...and i think my parents will be discouraging about it.....since their parents had to be abusive alcoholics...i have my own fridge so maybe i'll smuggle some in. any suggestions on brands for a first-time drinker? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitro Posted January 21, 2005 Share Posted January 21, 2005 Jagermeister. And stay away from Two Fingers tequila. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edlib Posted January 21, 2005 Share Posted January 21, 2005 I'm very surprised that the Army didn't teach you a thing or two about alcohol... what's the nation coming to anyway?!?? Anyway, whatever Nitro recommends you should stay away from. In fact, whatever he says - DO THE EXACT OPPOSITE! Those are words that haven't failed me yet. Anyway, enough raggin' on Nitro,.. HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Have fun, stay safe and sane, and don't grow up too soon! Uh,.. oh yeah, right... 1/21/05 Are we really that far into this month already? Egads, where does the time go? Big storm coming this weekend, so I went to the grocery store and stocked up. Like 150 bucks worth of stuff (granted, the cupboards were getting pretty bare anyways...) I had that cart PACKED, baby! But for all that it really didn't seem like all that much stuff once I got it home. Why is that? My mom made herself really sick with the stress from this week and all the traveling back and forth, so I've been taking care of her all afternoon... making soup, washing dishes and the like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rogue15 Posted January 21, 2005 Share Posted January 21, 2005 hahaha i tried to get a beer on lunch break at work, but the damn gas station didn't sell any!!! so i'll have to wait some other day to do that... yeah i'm all ready for that storm man! we're supposed to get up to 10 inches by sunday.... (man i wish i was back in upstate ny...cause that amount is NOTHING COMPARED TO IT UP THERE!!) I'm routing for the Eagles to get to the Superbowl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitro Posted January 22, 2005 Share Posted January 22, 2005 Originally posted by edlib Anyway, whatever Nitro recommends you should stay away from. In fact, whatever he says - DO THE EXACT OPPOSITE! Those are words that haven't failed me yet. He's got a point... Well, except for the Two Fingers tequila... If someone offers you a shot of that, run. Most other tequila is fine, but Two Fingers is asking for trouble. Oh, and always eat the worm. 1/21/05 Went to work, and pretty much ignored everyone who called in while I spend my entire shift net-dredging for effects pedal schematics... I need a good treble boost stompbox for my Tony Iommi moments, but I can't afford to drop more then about $100 (CAN), and there's *nothing* used around here. There's a guy in-town that makes homebuilts with a sound pretty close (I actually prefer it) to an old Rangemaster, but he wants $175. Good price, but I just don't have the cash, and I'm craving boost *NOW*. Long story short, anyone know where I can find pedal schematics? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rogue15 Posted January 22, 2005 Share Posted January 22, 2005 huh? I ate a worm once, just to see my mom and sister flip out. Don't do it, it'll make your crap smell like mud. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edlib Posted January 22, 2005 Share Posted January 22, 2005 Originally posted by Nitro Long story short, anyone know where I can find pedal schematics? http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Electronics,_pickups/Books_and_videos_on:_Electronics/Electronic_Projects_For_Musicians.html Any of Craig Anderton's books are great, but this one specifically says it has instructions for a treble booster. http://www.montagar.com/~patj/gindex.htm There's a LOT of stuff here. Maybe you'll find what you're looking for. Is this it? More here: http://www.geocities.com/j4_student/schematics.htm Warm up that soldering iron! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyan Farlander Posted January 22, 2005 Share Posted January 22, 2005 A related question, for you edlib. I read that using a treble booster on a Valvetronix amp could damage it, because it has a digital preamp or something. Do you know anything about that? I've read about doing it in other places, and they never mentioned this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edlib Posted January 22, 2005 Share Posted January 22, 2005 Huh. Never heard that. I can't imagine it's true... there has to be an analog gain stage in there before the A-to-D converters... and even if there isn't people overload digital gear every day. I know I do. Digital distortion (as opposed to digital gear modeling and reproducing analog or tube distorion) caused by overloading the converters, and hitting the "Wall" (i.e. anything over 0 dB Full Scale) sounds pretty damn bad due to clipping and harmonic aliasing, but I've never heard it to be harmful to the gear in any way. No more than doing the same thing to analog gear. And I'm talking about pro-audio recording gear, not a unit designed to be a stage amplifier for guitar... thier specs have to be that more bullet-proof and abuse worthy. Where exactly did you read it? Was it a reliable source? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyan Farlander Posted January 22, 2005 Share Posted January 22, 2005 It was just a post from some guy on guitar gear forum. As I said, it was the only place I ever heard it. My electrical engineering backgroud led me to doubt it, but I figured I'd check with the expert for a second opinion. The reason I ask is because I was thinking of using the Treble Booster in my Vox "Brian May Special" amp to drive a Valvetronix in AC30 mode to get that "Brian May sound." People have said they have gotten good results that way. There is a treble booster effect in the Valvetronix, but many said they got better results using an external treble booster. The only thing is that you can't turn up the booster too high or you get that clipping stuff. So I don't really know what I'm going to do now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edlib Posted January 22, 2005 Share Posted January 22, 2005 I dunno... stick a volume pedal in between the booster and the amp is all I can think of. Or a compressor/ limiter pedal. Actually the compressor might be the more elegant solution. That way you can set it not to alter the normal signal coming from the guitar, but to squash the higher gain signal after using the boost. That way you can get the treble boost, but back off the gain a bit so you don't clip the input stage. Personally I would just experiment with it. Seriously, I can't imagine you could damage a guitar amp that way, and you really don't know how it's going to sound until you try it. I suspect that the input is set to accomidate all kinds of setups, and I don't think one boost pedal in the chain is going to freak it out all that much. Most distortion and fuzz pedals usually have pretty hot output gain boosts, and if the amp can handle one of those I'm pretty sure it can handle a clean signal boost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyan Farlander Posted January 22, 2005 Share Posted January 22, 2005 Actually, I don't expect the clipping to be an issue, since it shouldn't be that high anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edlib Posted January 23, 2005 Share Posted January 23, 2005 Yeah, neither do I. 1/22/05 Big blizzard going on outside. The TV weather folks are besides themselves over it in a virtual orgiastic frenzy of 24-hour-non-stop reporting about the fact that there's some snow, and some wind. They get positively orgasmic over this stuff, (for reasons I cannot begin to fathom,) which generally requires them to go and stand in some forsaken place getting blown around by the wind with a camera, a mic, and a yardstick to show us what we already know... that it sucks outside, and only an idiot would be out in it. Watched "The Manchurian Candidate" today. It was OK. Nothing incredible. I've never seen the original, but I somehow suspect that it's better. Some of the technology that was supposedly used in the mind control was a bit far-fetched for a movie that is otherwise pretty realistic. I'll have to pick up a copy of the Sinatra version to see how it differs. Denzel was good, but then he almost always is. Meryl Streep was kinda creepy in that role. I guess that was the point. All this talk about guitars in this thread has inspired me to practice more lately. My calluses hurt... but it's good. I wish I had this kind of time normally... I could really get somewhere with it. There's a State-Of-Emergency declared because of the storm. I hope we don't lose power. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rogue15 Posted January 23, 2005 Share Posted January 23, 2005 no fair....we only got 5 inches. i want more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edlib Posted January 23, 2005 Share Posted January 23, 2005 You can have some of ours... no problem. Bleah. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nute Gunray Posted January 23, 2005 Share Posted January 23, 2005 We only got seven inches. Barely any snow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edlib Posted January 23, 2005 Share Posted January 23, 2005 1/23/05 Crap! I had a whole post written out for today, and a pretty long one at that, when I hit the wrong key combination somehow and lost the whole thing. I don't feel like typing the whole thing over right now, so I'll have to do it in the morning and this will have to serve as a placeholder until then. Notes to self (before I forget what was the content of the post): Blizzard Moby Dick Pats game Work cancelled Clean up *EDIT* OK... here's the real post. We got a lot of snow, all told. A record-breaking amount. Over 3 feet in some locales. I lucked out where I am, though... the wind blew straight down my driveway, keeping my cars clear and driveway down to dry pavement. It wasn't too deep on any of the walks either, so all I really had to tackle was the solid wall at the end of my driveway left by the plows. Just as the storm was tapering down and I was seriously considering gearing up and attacking it a couple of enterprising yound gentlemen rang my doorbell, asking if I wanted anything shoveled. As they were already outside and equipped, I quickly negotiated a price, and I let them have at it whist I settled in for a long comfotable afternoon of DVD and game watching. First I watched the version of "Moby Dick" with Gregory Peck. I never finished reading the book, but it was pretty faithful to the spirit of the story (if not all the details) as I remember it. I'll have to go back and re-read it all the way through now to see what they left out. It was pretty good... though some of the special effects were so terrible as to be distracting... and the sound was kinda lousy, like I find most films made before the mid-70's have. There was a remake made recently with Patrick Stewart as Ahab... I'll have to check that out sometime too. Then I watched the Pats roll over Pittsburgh. Great game! I only hope the Superbowl will be that exciting! I also hope we win by more than a last second field-goal this time... although a victory is a victory, even when it isn't pretty, and I'll take it without complaint if that's what it comes down to! Work was cancelled for Monday. That makes sense, since there's still a State-Of-Emergency in Boston... and nowhere for anyone to park if they try to come in. Spent today (Monday) doing the rest of the cleaning up outside... salting the walks and warming up the cars. There's still a lot of cleaning-up I need to do inside the house as well that I never got to... a state of disrepair the place has fallen into after a week spent at the hospital and the funeral, then a weekend taking care of my sick mother. I guess it will have to wait,.. since I just got a call informing me that I do have to go to work on Tuesday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rogue15 Posted January 23, 2005 Share Posted January 23, 2005 i took some pics of the snow and had some pics taken of myself, will post them either tomorrow or tuesday. (as i need to use up last of the film and get the pics developed) i was disappointed that we didn't get as much snow... I didn't watch the games today, but...I'm glad the Eagles won. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milkshake Posted January 24, 2005 Share Posted January 24, 2005 You still use film?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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