In a little rowboat

just to clarify, is this a blues jr, hot rod deluxe/deville, or something else?

Easiest way to detect a tube going out is to look at them and detect a change in lighting or color, in relation to each other. I assume there was no change in volume tone or gain when this incident occurred (consistant with tube issues)? You can lightly tap on a tube with a wooden chopstick, with the amp on; if the tube yields noise during this, you can bet its a dying tube. There could be something shorting inside, but because of today's printed circuit boards, this is less likely than in an original ptp amp. If you havent had fuses burn up then a short is less likely. I get burning smell often with my tube amps, lots of times its just dust burning up. Take it home and try it again, look at the tubes, look for smoke, listen for tonal variance...

You can remove the chassis and visually inspect the board and connections youself. Youd be looking for a dark, burnt looking area of course. However, use extreme caution. Make sure the amp is unplugged and left off for hour or so before. When you have it open, never prod with your finger, use a wooden chopstick or any non conductive material. This will save you the inevitable tech fees, which youll pay whether theres a real problem or not.

J

interested... how do we do this?

j

I feel like ive used them all by now...fishman, baggs, b-band, emg...martin thinline is made by Fishman as i recall...

Im using the K&K pure western pickup system on my Martin, its by far the best ive tried...its 3 specially designed transducers that you install on the inside of the bridgeplate, and it has the same endpin jack as most pickups. It is feedback resistant, has a really strong output for a passive system. Best of all, it realistically reproduces my guitar's tone, not the ceramic, quacky sound you get from an undersaddle pickup.

The thing works great, is minimally invasive, and runs about $100. Getting some sort of external preamp might benefit you with the K&K, dependingon if you use with an amp or PA...

Check out the user reviews at : http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews...re+Western/10/1

good luck

j

Hmmm.....mines does the same thing. There is a HUGE volume jump around 2-3 on the knob. It sounds like going from 1 - 7. What kind of tubes did your friend use in place?

 

EDIT: Like -- size, number, brand?

ill look into it...

j

im not a drummer, but im know the second snare with the resonator clicked off pretty much makes that drum a timboli, whole different sound...

j

I have a wood shop and refinish instruments often...if you refinish rather that paint it, you're in for a LOT of hand sanding, which is not fun. Id never use an electric sander---one mistake and youll have to live with it. The type of wood matters for not only the finish, but also any woodsealing you'll need to do. Ash is pretty, Alder is easy to work with, but basswood is really soft and the stain (assuming thats what you use) will tend to soak in, meaning several permenant applications. Painting is hit and miss unless you have the right sprayer, the previous post about have a body shop paint it is a good on provided you pick the right paint. Theres always home-spray polyurathane finish.

Good luck sounds like fun

j

Been playing lapsteel for a few years now...always open tuning...i have two, vintage gibson and something called a crown...both sound great but I have had to swap the single coil out on the crown because of output noise (60 cycles were louder than the signal), and imagine one would have this issue with many older models...never used a volume pedal, the volume knobs are in pinkie range on my picking hand, plus i use an Ebow on a lot of songs, just work the volume knob and tone alternately with free right hand. I'd highly recommend flat-wound strings, however...Good luck...

j

I have a friend who i know swaps the 6l6's out because that hot rod deluxe is notorious for going from real quiet to too damn loud intstantly. I cannot recommend a replacement tube however...

j