stobro

What, no "Mustang Sally"?

I decided to throw caution to the wind and fire up the Velocette SE. Initially there was a little more hum than what I would think is reasonable for such a low-power amp. Then it started howling, rather quiet, around an E flat over middle C. Guitar volume up, down, plugged in, unplugged, amp volume down made no difference. Now I remember why I haven't played through it in five years. It may be a bad tube somewhere. I did a lot of experimenting with different tubes as the SE version of the Velocette is made for tube experimentation. Many of the tubes were old stock, and there may be one or more

I opened up the Tremolux to find that the filter caps have been changed- at least they look newer than the rest of the components.

I'm pretty sure none of them have ever had their filter caps replaced- even the 72 year old Valco. I'm assuming the shiny aluminum cans are the main filter caps, correct? The last time I powered it up 5 or 6 years ago it worked fine. There are a few of what appear to be newer coupling caps inside, but the Mallory Type FP caps appear to be original.

In addition to the way-too-many guitars I have laying around, I have five tube guitar amps. Only one has been powered up on a regular basis. The other four have been silent for over five years. What's the best way to power them up safely? I don't have a variac. Should I look for an amp tech with the proper credentials and equipment? For the record, the amps are a Trace Elliot Velocette SE (single ended), a Fender "30" from around 1980, a 1963 Fender Tremolux and a 1948-ish National/Valco amp (field coil speaker, octal preamp tubes).

I had a cheap upright bass with this pegbox. Apparently Framus sold an electric upright with a similar style. It must be a German thing, because my old bass was stamped "Made in Western Germany". It didn't have any other identifying marks.

Two outputs? Stereo!

Someone stole my Peavey T-40 bass (in its plastic photon torpedo case) along with a bunch of other gear out of our band van about 40 years ago. It did not have had the anti-theft sticker on the case, only the molded-in logo. My loss wasn't nearly as bad as the guitarist's- his Flying V is still nowhere to be found.

Ahem...

THIS is the rig you need:

Paulownia is also a highly invasive exotic (introduced non-native) plant that has been recognized as a noxious weed and has been banned in several areas. I would suggest not encouraging the use of this wood.

My last gig (and my first one in about 4 years) we had problems with the guitar player's wireless and the wifi connection to the iPad our sound gal was using for the PA mix. In this case, the wifi connection kept cutting out due to the proximity of the two system's antennas. Once we figured it out and rearranged the equipment on stage the show could go on.

None of these has a "top", but the bodies are all about as irregular and unmatched as they come. Three piece, four piece, five piece, whatever. Just glue up the blanks any which way and use 'em.

I started the '80s in college and in a band. Then i graduated, quit the band, got at job at Peavey in MS, then followed my career to three other jobs in three different states and eventually got married. I didn't play in a band again until the mid-2000s. The '80s band did well enough to win some kind of songwriting contest sponsored by a Japanese magazine. The prize was a couple of showcase gigs in Tokyo and some time in a recording studio. The catch was we had to pay for the trip ourselves. That's me in the referee stripes, next to my brother, the singer.

I've had a few guitars with bound holes- a tort-bound Hopf archtop and a Fender Coronado with bound f-holes and my current Kay flat top with a bound soundhole ("O" hole?)