My bandit is acting weird. Noticed over the last few weeks volume fluctuations, and at practice with a band it seems a wee bit anaemic - no punch. It also started hissing with the volume on zero - i gave it a whack and  the hissing subsided...but it still doesn't sound 100%. Transformer hum seems quite loud too.  Any idea on what might be going on?

Excellent...I hate tweaking!  Modelling amps drive me nuts.   

I just tried a solid state edition silver 50  H&K (a few years old by the look of it) and was quite impressed - sounded better than the AC15C1 next to it.   Think I'll order the Attax 100 combo.

Anybody know what the H&K Attax series are like for sound and quality?  On the outlook for something else to add to my SS stable (for gigging).    Don't see them out in Australia much, but they seem to get a good rap.   I just sold a Tech 21 Trademark 60 because I couldn't bond with it..very nicely made amp, but there was always something lacking - like it was missing presence or something. Speaker change didn't help, and spent ages messing with the eq options.  Always fall back on the old red stripe Bandit.

Also looking at a Laney LV300, but they don't seem to get a lot of love.

got a 1x12 cab, a WGS British Lead and Emi Texas Heat lying around...so might see what I can dig up in a head.  Shame the Peavey transtubes don't come in a head anymore..and even then the old transtube heads were ridiculously heavy!

Been trying to find a replacement for my old redstripe Peavey Bandit..have decided to avoid valve amps as had nothing but disappointment recently .  Problem is most of the ss stuff is entry level rubbish (and not impressed with the newer bandits).

Anybody got suggestions on a SS combo that is reasonable quality and ok for gigging?  I'm really looking for something with a nice sparkly clean channel.   Actually impressed by some of the Randall stuff, and wondering what the rg80 reissue is like (the RG8040)

Roland cube X series - still ugly as hell...but the clean sounds with a tele a better than most fenders (the ''blackface' setting is verry convincing).  I also got back into electric after a long hiatus, and have tried out (and bought) several amps since then - and the roland's still have the most balanced clean sounds.   60X is probably more than enough poke for gigs and nice and compact.

Forget the chorus and delay (unless you're still living in the 80s), reverb is ok - but the overdrive/distortion settings are good solid Boss sounds. 

I understand there have been a few problems with the plastic jack inputs.  Everything made to a price these days...

Does anyone know where I can find a schematic of a Jansen Merlin Mosfet head? - I had one back in the late 80s/early 90s and it was a great basic amp for guitar (and bass).  Jansen was a New Zealand company I believe.

Not really anything useful to add - apart from the fact that I had one of these and rue the day I sold it  (long story).  It was a great amp.  Best distortion I've every heard on a Fender and clean was pretty damn good too.  Stupidly loud for most uses.  Not loved by many amp techs though from what I gather

Sounds like pots to me...get the electrical lubricant can out...

Sorry a bit late on this one...but I concur with phatt - try some different speakers first.  I've recently built a number of boxes and experimented with porting.   If you read the literature on small thiele parameters and guitar speakers you find that guitar (not bass) speaker cabinets are more an art than a science.  I had a jensen speaker C10Q in a laney vc15 -  had no bottom end whatsoever, nice highs though.

I built my latest 1x12 with a removable back panel so I can experiment with openings and speakers.  My best success is cutting a slot the full length of the box behind the speaker magnet (about 3cm wide) - got this tip from Lorantz Speaker cabinet plans.  Sounds better than a round hole elsewhere - go figure.  Seems to work with a variety of speakers.

Cheers JM Fahey....I'll look for those schematics

Another question to throw out there -  the original Boss OD-1 pedal - at times this pedal can compress the sound too much and lose clarity...is there anyway to modify the circuit to give the output a bit more dynamic range if I'm going to build one as a preamp?   

Hi

Righto, time to build an amp...have got basic soldering skills, multimeter and not particularly stupid.   

Have read through these forums and have some questions...

1) What so great about these LM chipamps for a poweramp?  Is it just cause they're easy to build or are they actually really good for guitar? 

2) What's the Elliot Sound Products guitar amp like - any opinions?

3) The 'Silicon Chip Magazine' Guitar Preamp and LM3876 poweramp kits - are they ok? (I can get them easliy at Jaycar and Altronics)

4) How hard is it to make a preamp that can emulate the smooth overdrive of my 1985 Boss OD-1 pedal?

That's a start...any advice, opinions (preferably informed!) appreciated.   

Hi all

I have a kustom 65w Quad Combo which I'd like to pull the electrickery out of and turn it into a head.  Mainly because the combo is so large and friggin heavy for a 'small' amp, and also I want to run it through a small closed back cabinet.

Question is how do I turn the amp chassis into a head? - I've pulled the MDF back cover off and had a look at the innards which a friend of mine tells me look like a standard rack mount sized chassis. (I guess they probably use something standard for all their combos and heads).  Just a bunch of screws holding it in there.

Any suggestions on what is the best thing to enclose it in - without fancy woodworking skills? 

Cheers
JB