Resuming playing in your old age

[GAR]

Anyone else resume guitar playing after many years of inactivity or not practicing?

I plugged in today finally after many years, an old eighties tube 100 watter with 4x12 cab and a strat style guitar with humbucker and kahler bridge.

In many ways it was both exciting and dissappointing.

The amp doesn't sound at all like it did when I last plugged it in, the neck needs readjusting, and both the amp and cabinet are filthy fulla dust.

Plus, my chick hates the thing. She already wants it back in storage.

The amp used to sound fine at low volume, that was one thing about it I really really liked. But it's sat so long now I think it needs to be recapped. It just sounds like fart: like a phasing problem or something. Just doesn't have that punch and I swear, the thing sounded amazing when I left it last.

Now I do still have a power attenuator, but I dont know where that is I forget where I put it.

Also, I went thru alot of old cords before I mothballed my stuff, and some suspected of noise and intermittance sacrificed their plug-ends before being thrown out so I dont have many decent cords left.

Lastly, there was one wierd problem I came across while installing and wiring up speakers: these JCM dual input speaker jacks I install on all my cabs were causing erroneous readings.. for four 16ohm speakers, you're supposed to read "8 ohms" on each side of the stereo setting. Well, one side was reading the usual 7.8 ohms but the other was 850 ohms. Or 635, alwasy changing.

So after thinking about this during the week, I suspected dirty jack contacts were the culprit and I got really pissed off about it and took the speaker cord plug and literally fucked the jackplate like a jackhammer each jack.

This seemed to break up surface rust or whatever, enough so that the high reading I was getting came down to normal.

So there's my problems for the nite. I got to tune up, now I'll go to bed and we'll try something new tomorrow!

[jhale667]

New cabling and time spent woodshedding is what you require, aged GAyRasshopper...:baaa:

Probably wouldn't hurt to blow some of the smude out of your amp chassis with a can of compressed air,either...y'know, assuming it's been in storage and isn't imaginary...;)

[Diamondjimi]

Stay tuned for GARfail's next thread... "Hey, I just ordered Recabinet!"

[jackassrock]

My Marshall's sound has changed also over the years. It used to thump like the dickens, but not so much anymore.

Could recapping return it to it's former glory ?

[Diamondjimi]

A good servicing every once in a while by a qualified tech can work wonders. Worth the money spent...

[Diamondjimi]

Anyone else resume guitar playing after many years of inactivity or not practicing?

I plugged in today finally after many years, an old eighties tube 100 watter with 4x12 cab and a strat style guitar with humbucker and kahler bridge.

In many ways it was both exciting and dissappointing.

The amp doesn't sound at all like it did when I last plugged it in, the neck needs readjusting, and both the amp and cabinet are filthy fulla dust.

Plus, my chick hates the thing. She already wants it back in storage.

The amp used to sound fine at low volume, that was one thing about it I really really liked. But it's sat so long now I think it needs to be recapped. It just sounds like fart: like a phasing problem or something. Just doesn't have that punch and I swear, the thing sounded amazing when I left it last.

Now I do still have a power attenuator, but I dont know where that is I forget where I put it.

Also, I went thru alot of old cords before I mothballed my stuff, and some suspected of noise and intermittance sacrificed their plug-ends before being thrown out so I dont have many decent cords left.

Lastly, there was one wierd problem I came across while installing and wiring up speakers: these JCM dual input speaker jacks I install on all my cabs were causing erroneous readings.. for four 16ohm speakers, you're supposed to read "8 ohms" on each side of the stereo setting. Well, one side was reading the usual 7.8 ohms but the other was 850 ohms. Or 635, alwasy changing.

So after thinking about this during the week, I suspected dirty jack contacts were the culprit and I got really pissed off about it and took the speaker cord plug and literally fucked the jackplate like a jackhammer each jack.

This seemed to break up surface rust or whatever, enough so that the high reading I was getting came down to normal.

So there's my problems for the nite. I got to tune up, now I'll go to bed and we'll try something new tomorrow!

:thread_needs_pics:

[Panamark]

Damn, I thought this was going to be a discussion over which erection pills
didnt give you a headache.

[ELVIS]

Isn't it odd that Gar the masterbator.. err builder can't seem to get a speaker cabinet functioning properly ??

[Panamark]

(Has he checked his multimeter ?)

[ELVIS]

Does he know what that is ??

[Diamondjimi]

Isn't it odd that Gar the masterbator.. err builder can't seem to get a speaker cabinet functioning properly ??

Dude, his post nothing but pure fiction.

You can bet his entire "rig" goes pretty much like this...

http://www.elderly.com/vintage/items/images/30U/30U-15258_front.jpg


+


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v311/tarmadilo/traynor1.jpg









:lmao:

[ELVIS]

Actually, one could pick much worse gear...

[Hardrock69]

A cardboard cutout of a guitar would be more accurate.

[GAR]

Okay: this really pissed me off. All my nice cords SHOT.

I had 'em bagged in grocery sack bags, sorted, then stuffed in a footlocker trunk.

Now every one of 'em's noisey, microphonic and go "bzzt bzzt.. crackle pop" when you barely move around the floor.

I have cords some 25 years old, and I didn't think that the metal braid would oxidize like this. And I have read where older, multitrack machines like Studer and MCI/Sony 24 trackers suffer breakdowns simply from the metals oxidizing and capacitors going "down" for lack of a better word.. I forget the actual term, down sounds fine for now.

But I'm unhappy with the amp, unhappy with the cords I have.

The Hush works fine, though. I got that second-hand since the original hushes I had were stolen.

Played for a half-hour and I decided the guitar needs the following:

strings
frets topped and edges filed
pots replaced
jack cleaned
straplock buttons put back on

.. at least I played for a half-hour.

Now I know what Jay's problem is. The head I picked out is so high-gain that on zero, it's about a one volume level on most other heads... in a beach community where they complain about the guitarist down the way playing stones covers in the afternoon, I'm sure as hell gonna hear about anything cranked.

I have to pick up the good old, trusty rusty Altair attenuator on my next trip to storage. And I don't know where the Variac is in there but I have to look..

[GAR]

(Has he checked his multimeter ?)

I didn't trust either my memory, nor the schematics online I saw.. because somehow I thought each pair of 12's in a 4x12 cab wired to the Marshall stereo switchplate had to be wired 32ohms.

Which was wrong. Visually it looked correct, but it wasn't I don't know why I thought so. They wire parallel, so they're 8 ohms and then the crossover to make the pairs connect in-series is done on the printed circuit board with the jacks on it.

It was too easy. You wire pos+ to pos+, then run a wire neg- to negative- and then one wire off each to the PCB connection.

I usually solder ALL my connections, using 16 gauge blk or red wire. I ended up pussying out by reusing the stock Marshall spade connector pushon terminals wire from the older 1960AV cab I stole the jackplate off, replacing it with a single jack and aluminum plate screwed in from behind the backboard.

I was just too tired and frustrated from the chick complaining this week all I do is help my friends and don't spend any time with her. So my wiring session got all fucked - until I broke out the meter.

The Meter doesn't lie.. but it will give false positives for a blown speaker such as the dirty jack gave. That was a scare!

In the future I'm paying way more attention to cleaning the jack connections where the cords plug in and investing in a new can of Deoxit.

[GAR]

Probably wouldn't hurt to blow some of the smude out of your amp chassis

One thing these amps suffer is circuit-board burning, from one of those big 5watt or higher cement block resistors on the board.

It may be a fixed bias resistor mod, I dunno. I see pics on the interweb of other dudes' who literally gut these and put in a one of George Metro's amp board kits and I don't wanna do that.

I checked and there's no signs of heat stress at all so I dunno what the deal is. But it's got deeper "whump" than any Boogie and being the DeMartini fan you are you're probably aware of which amp I'm talking about.

I'm gonna order new caps and output tube sockets for both my 100watters and see if this fixes the rubbery sound issues because I want that nice, round tight-ass distortion once again!

I'm going to be giving my amps an ass-lift, okay!

[Diamondjimi]

http://khayman.osnn.net/threadpics/official-this-thread-sucks.jpg

[ELVIS]

:biggrin:

[hideyoursheep]

<a href="http://4gifs.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://4gifs.com/gallery/d/42566-2/Faildozer.jpg?" alt="4gifs.com" /></a>

[Nitro Express]

When I had to get up at 5:30AM, fight the traffic, work 10-18 hour days and help the wife raise young kids, I really had no spare time. I'm still busy but I have a home office now and I play guitar or bass while taking a break from doing the endless paperwork I deal with. I couldn't do this at American Express. I also don't wear suits anymore. One day I didn't even bother to get out of my bathrobe and worked the whole day in it. I see where Hugh Heffner was onto something. When you work at home, why bother getting dressed?

[Nitro Express]

I don't know about fiddling with an amp but the round, tight ass sounds inviting as long as it's on a female.

[Nitro Express]

What can make a good sounding amp sound bad is dirty/oxydized potentionmeters. Get a can of Deoxit and spray into your pots and turn the knob a few times. You can clean your jacks by spaying Deoxit on a cable plug and put it in and out of the jacks on the amp. I had a Marshall that had a real dirty MID EQ pot and it just ruined the tone. Some Deoxit and a few turns of the knob fixed the problem.

Electrolitic capacitors will tend to dry out if the amp isn't used for a few years. If you have tube amps you don't play much it doesn't hurt to plug them in and fire them up every few months to keep the capacitors from going bad. A amp can go bad just sitting a long-time unused.

The power tubes will last a long-time if they aren't ran hot or tuned off and on constantly. I have an old radio that is running on Tung Sol tubes from the 1930's.

I have found electronic problems on most things happend where wires are coupled together or where variable resistors come into the circuit. The contacts oxydize and cause more resistance. Electrical problems on automobiles are often from dirty contacts as well.

[ELVIS]

Maybe Gar should have actually read some of his cut 'n paste info ??

BTW, I've never stopped playing...


:elvis:

[GAR]

That's easy for you: in the last 5 years I went from separating from my ex-galpal, a non-inheritance issue, having 99&#37; of my gear stolen and most of my investments tanking.

Anything left was already in storage from before the break-up.

So it's not just a six-years' reacquaintance of my gear I'm getting back to.. it's the maintenance of everything I left mothballed when I quit playing back in 1996.

Ebayed in 2000-2001 off most of the junk fluff stuff too valuable to throw out and too cluttery to put into storage, so what I pull out now hasn't been looked at in at least a decade and taking care of it now.

[GAR]

I don't know about fiddling with an amp but the round, tight ass sounds inviting as long as it's on a female.

My problem is if the amp sounds good, I'll want to make time to play. Which is agreably a bad discipline: I should just naturally play amp or no amp.

[ELVIS]

How is it easy for me ??

I've been to rehab, back on drugs, nearly homeless and absolutely pennyless...

Does that sound easy ??

And no, I never used anything as an excuse and i'm not trying to top your failures. But i'm honest... something you seem to be unable to grasp...

[jhale667]

That's easy for you: in the last 5 years..


Wah. We've all had our share of problems, dude.
Some of us never stopped playing. But then we're dedicated musicans....:tongue0011:

Speaking of lacking discipline, you shouldn't be practicing with your amp most of the time anyway...!


:guitar:

[ELVIS]

:biggrin:

[Igosplut]

That's easy for you: in the last 5 years I went from separating from my ex-galpal, a non-inheritance issue, having 99% of my gear stolen and most of my investments tanking.

Anything left was already in storage from before the break-up.

So it's not just a six-years' reacquaintance of my gear I'm getting back to.. it's the maintenance of everything I left mothballed when I quit playing back in 1996.



One month you talk about water front property that you own, your cars, boats, ect, and your endless plethora of rare gear, and now your pissing about being broke and being dis-inherited?

Your not only a scumbag, but a bad liar to boot.....

You can't even keep your fucked up lies straight coward......

[Nitro Express]

If Gar was a better liar he would be qualified for a career in politics.

[ELVIS]

Yeah...

A politician has to remember his lies...

[Diamondjimi]

That's easy for you: in the last 5 years I went from separating from my ex-galpal, a non-inheritance issue, having 99% of my gear stolen and most of my investments tanking.

Anything left was already in storage from before the break-up.

So it's not just a six-years' reacquaintance of my gear I'm getting back to.. it's the maintenance of everything I left mothballed when I quit playing back in 1996.

Ebayed in 2000-2001 off most of the junk fluff stuff too valuable to throw out and too cluttery to put into storage, so what I pull out now hasn't been looked at in at least a decade and taking care of it now.

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c136/REM503/worlds_smallest_violin.gif
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f26/sheep2580/VIOLIN.jpg


:Loser:






And no, I never used anything as an excuse and i'm not trying to top your failures.

I takes a lifetime to harness the art of fail. In GARfail's case it's an affliction he was born with...


One month you talk about water front property that you own, your cars, boats, ect, and your endless plethora of rare gear, and now your pissing about being broke and being dis-inherited?

Your not only a scumbag, but a bad liar to boot.....

You can't even keep your fucked up lies straight coward......
... Fucking Owned!
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o318/Gyohdon/Owned.gif

[GAR]

One month you talk about water front property that ......

is bank-owned, wigs-for-brains.

You don't come up that fast from losing most everything. But I like my stuff, it's my stuff, and I don't wanna go buy new stuff when I was used to playing my old stuff.

So I'm cleaning up and clearing out: my stuff. NOT your stuff.

[GAR]

What can make a good sounding amp sound bad is dirty/oxydized potentionmeters.

I'm used to dealing with stuff like that, but one thing I never had to deal with was high impedance readings off dirty input jacks, or cords going bad from NOT using 'em.

Cords and amps going bad from use and handling, I can deal with!

[Hardrock69]

Of course you can, numbnuts, you can handle ANTHING that is imaginary.

[Diamondjimi]

is bank-owned, wigs-for-brains.

You don't come up that fast from losing most everything. But I like my stuff, it's my stuff, and I don't wanna go buy new stuff when I was used to playing my old stuff.

So I'm cleaning up and clearing out: my stuff. NOT your stuff.

So, basically anything of value is long gone, leaving you with a useless corroded amp + cab (both no namers) and a handfull of decrepid cords....:hee:

Yet you have the gall to criticize other peoples gear. Go eat a bowl of fuck, Failboy!

:Loser:

[ELVIS]

Yeah, i'm on to that, but I didn't used to be...

At least Gar never slammed my gear, but it's real (and very expensive) so how could he ??


:biggrin:

[jhale667]

At least Gar never slammed my gear, but it's real (and very expensive) so how could he ??


C'mon, like that simple fact would stop him?? :biggrin:

You have gear (we've seen pics and everything!), therefore he's jealous...;)

[Diamondjimi]

Hey GAR, post some photos of your dilapidated gear!

We could use a good larf. :biggrin:

[Nitro Express]

Yeah, i'm on to that, but I didn't used to be...

At least Gar never slammed my gear, but it's real (and very expensive) so how could he ??


:biggrin:

Like your 58 sunburst Les Paul, Eddie Van Halen's Super Lead Marshall, and Jimi Hendrix's Woodstock Stratocaster?

[ELVIS]

And my Billy Gibbons Gretsch, my Leo Fender -00001 Stratocaster, my Original Randy Rhoads peavey Musician head - hand signed by the master, and my Yngwie Malmsteen Sweedish Hanes Boxer shorts with cum stains from the both of us...:biggrin:


:elvis:

[Diamondjimi]

and my Yngwie Malmsteen Sweedish Hanes Boxer shorts with cum stains from the both of us...:biggrin:


:elvis:

We know you reeeealy like Yngwie but....

Dude, that sounds reeeeealy ghey... :anal:

:biggrin:

[ELVIS]

It was a joke...:biggrin:

[Diamondjimi]

I would like to believe it was! ;)

:biggrin:

[GAR]

C'mon, like that simple fact would stop him?? :biggrin:

You have gear (we've seen pics and everything!), therefore he's jealous...;)

Elvis actually has some decent guitars. And like me, he owns a real tonewheel Hammond!

Jay is demonstrating a clear case of organ-envy..

[Diamondjimi]

No, you don't OWN a Hammond organ...

No pics no proof! :Loser:

[GAR]

Whups.. mention another male's organ - look who shows the fuck up!

Hi DimAndDimmer! Hello there..

[jhale667]

Jay is demonstrating a clear case of organ-envy..


Not really...my organ works great! :hee:

Your jealousy of other's instruments is well-documented, however...as is your boundless hunger for da COCK... :dafinger:

[GAR]

Is Malmsteen getting worse with age?

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/xbgYeNDvMBs&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/xbgYeNDvMBs&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

I like to think of the many examples of how players get better rhythm, get sloshier, get bluesier and more melodic with age.

Not so in this example from earlier this summer.

[Sucker of Satan's Penis]

Unquestionably yes.

[Diamondjimi]

Is Malmsteen getting worse with age?

I like to think of the many examples of how players get better rhythm, get sloshier, get bluesier and more melodic with age.

Not so in this example from earlier this summer.


Unquestionably yes.

Ahahaaa..... GARfail's only friend is his alias!:Loser:

:lmao:

[Hardrock69]

:lmao:

[rocknrolldork]

My Marshall's sound has changed also over the years. It used to thump like the dickens, but not so much anymore.

Could recapping return it to it's former glory ?

new caps and new power tubes made a ton of difference in my old Fender Deville.

[jhale667]

Ahahaaa..... GARfail's only friend is his alias!:Loser:

:lmao:

That's why he has to resort to answering his own posts...the FAIL is strong with this one...:lol:

Hey GARfail - did your alias also tell you you're a pussy for quitting, and thus having to "resume playing in your old age"?

[GAR]

You fail to finish anything you stick a pick into..

<object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/gaYi40DnM24&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/gaYi40DnM24&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object>

Here's a guy, 38 getting back into playing and doing a fantastic job at it I just found tonite, Craig Adams.

Take notes Jay.

[GAR]

Here's Dance The Night Away:

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/IT080E0CHJA&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/IT080E0CHJA&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

I don't know what software he's using, but its a full song innit??

[Panamark]

Are your cables still fooked Garman ??

Might be able to help ya there... ;)

[Panamark]

Coool Clip ! Wonder why Wolfie doesnt want his head showed ???

[Panamark]

Or "shown" for the Euro's

[GAR]

Yes I need new cable all round.

And filter caps for 2 heads, and octal sockets for the third.

Today I stripped my black Mex tele with a heat gun, and took a Charvel explorer body on the mill to flycut the finish off. It was 3 different colors of auto enamel and didn't do well with the heat, just turned to muck.

The Fender finishes though, I'd recommend the heat gun for. I made some video of that and taking the sonovabitch to the bandsaw for a tummy cut, and arm relief shaped deep and thin like a 62 strat style.

The Tele lost probably 20 ounces! I got the shavings bagged because I wanna know exactly how much bowling-ball shit these things is covered with because it's not light you know.

So I'm not near working with the cables yet.

[jhale667]

Take notes Jay.


What part of

Go fuck yourself, hack-magnet. :dafinger:


Did you not get?