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Messages - Tennerondack

#31
Amplifier Discussion / Re: Kasino Concert 120
November 10, 2018, 04:15:27 PM
Thank you galaxiex for your help so far on this project.

I think I have decided to abandon it in favor of something else a little more useable in my "studio".

I am thinking of parting the Kasino out to those who are dedicated  Kustom buffs who might benefit from the parts.

Didn't want to neglect to say thanks ! This forum is great and I have other relics I am tinkering with.

#33
Amplifier Discussion / Re: Kasino Concert 120
October 26, 2018, 08:49:22 PM
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B1FxxpOmGO8vckY3MG93XzZIZW8/preview?pli=1&rm=demo

Schematic and board layout.

This is it, I am quite sure. PC5066  Kustom K250-4 series. The knobs on the Kasino are laid out volume clarity bass treble, but the board components are right on.

4
#34
Amplifier Discussion / Re: Kasino Concert 120
October 25, 2018, 10:24:12 PM
I will thanks.
#35
Amplifier Discussion / Re: Kasino Concert 120
October 25, 2018, 09:31:36 AM
I took Galaxie's advice and went exploring, here's, what I found :

I cured the temperamental loud blast by wiggling the connector from the input jack on left channel to board, corroded no doubt, making a loud blast just like an open cable plugging into the bass with the volume up.

I poked around and got no noise or pops from anything anywhere. The right channel is fine, if I turn everything down to 0 on left channel all noise goes away. It's not a hum, a white noise hiss that is totally affected by EQ adjustments.

I pulled the cable that connects the two pre-amp boards with both channels turned up and the noise disappeared, except for an open ground hum from the disconnected cable, which nearly disappeared when I took my hand off the cable and let it lay. Reconnect, noise returns.

Am I safe in saying it is probably narrowed down to the left pre-amp board ?

What next ? All components seem to be original and solid, nothing looks burned, one small wafer cap near the top left of the board looks a little green on top but ?

The power amp seems fine, it cranks up good and loud.

The right channel has far more gain than the left,  I have to crank up the volume to about 8 before losing headroom on the left, right goes to about 3 before losing headroom.

I used a jazz bass to test the amp, and it has passive pickups with not a lot of punch.

It sounds pretty good for an early solid state, I'd like to get it up to speed, I only paid $50 for it.

Thanks for help !
#36
Amplifier Discussion / Re: Kasino Concert 120
October 24, 2018, 09:16:29 PM
Thanks Galaxie, I opened the case and will try your suggestion.
Not that I am knowledgeable, but I cant get over the two big honkin' filter caps compared to the ones in my other SS amps!

Here are some pics. Like all old USA stuff, this thing is built like a tank !
#37
Amplifier Discussion / Kasino Concert 120
October 24, 2018, 08:15:39 PM
Hey All,

This is my second project, My first a Fender M80 was a great success with the help I got here !

I have this Kasino Concert 120 I want to restore. It powers on, and produces sound.
The left channel, which has a remarkably good bass tone.It hisses loudly, and will give out with a loud hum which can be stopped by hitting the case, until it comes back.

The right channel seems to be fairly issue free, but seems more voiced for guitar, and I want to use it for bass.

From what I can determine, these use the same boards as the Kustom K-250 heads.

Anyway, before I dig in too deep, are there common problems with these boards I can try to fix first, or information I can share to get started ?

Any help greatly appreciated !

#38
Amplifier Discussion / Re: M80 bass amp tone stack
September 09, 2018, 11:30:48 PM
 :dbtu:

Wow thanks can't wait to try this  woot !   :dbtu:
#39
Amplifier Discussion / Re: M80 bass amp tone stack
September 09, 2018, 01:35:39 PM
Wow phatt this is getting interesting ! I recognize that cap value as a treble bleed such as on a passive
bass tone, correct ?  That being the case, can I incorporate a pot so as to experiment and find a potential sweet spot ? What value would you recommend ?

BTW I am discovering that even as it stands, the amp is capable of much better tone than I had found before. being naturally reluctant to over boost bass frequencies, I hesitated to do that.

However, whatever the workings of this tone stack setup, I can crank the bass and drop both treble and mid and bring them up to taste and get a much better overall sound. Rather than overload low frequencies and mud and send the speaker into xmax as it would on some amps, cranking the bass seems to bring about a balance.

The tone through my 1x15 becomes fat punchy and clear w/o overpowering boomy lows, much like an SWR I once had. Today I will experiment with my Bass Attack and see what I get with that layer of tone shaping incorporated.

I'm going to experiment with different speakers too like enzo ssuggested to get better sound out of the small box as well. Many thanks to both for helpful suggestions so far.

#40
Amplifier Discussion / Re: M80 bass amp tone stack
September 09, 2018, 09:20:28 AM
Thanks Enzo, I very likely will.
#41
Amplifier Discussion / Re: M80 bass amp tone stack
September 08, 2018, 10:37:29 PM
Thanks loudthud.

I kind of suspected this, it's no shock.
I pulled the amp out and ran it through my Peavey 1-15 and it did show a big improvement in tone.

I like to use it because my Peavey Nitrobass has a loud fan that drives me nuts and I don't really like the tone suck inherent in practice amps.

I have concluded that the small enclosure is a big part of the problem. I do put my Hartke bass attack into the FX loop and it makes a huge difference.

I did look up the power transistor specs and though it was largely over my head, they are rated at ~ 100 watts each and this thing is surprisingly loud, my guess it is under rated ?

Anyway, I think I will make it into a head and ditch the box, or I even wondered if it at ~ 2.75 volume would sound better with a good 12" speaker tuned properly ? Just a crazy thought, no sense in trying to something out of nothing.

Thanks for you help and the heads up about those chips !
#42
Amplifier Discussion / M80 bass amp tone stack
September 08, 2018, 02:30:01 PM
Hey everyone. I introduced myself in the newbie section and glad to be here.

I had asked about altering the EQ section in my Fender m80 bass amp.
I is very honky thin midrangey in nature, and I would like to scoop out a lot of that mid and have a fatter more balanced tone capability.

Forgive my ignorance, in the meanwhile I have been reading about slope resistors in tone stacks. Does that apply in this case ? Only on tube amps ?

I  have good soldering skills and know how to find whatever wherever in an amp. Can I do a simple resistor change to change to a more fat natural response without going to extremes on the tone controls, currently have to crank bass and severely cut mids to get a more traditional, less "transparent" tone.

Are there other things I can do, such as filter caps etc. to beef this up some. I do have a 4 ohm speaker installed and it is really pretty powerful for it 160 watt rating. No damping in speaker box.

It's fairly compact and light, it would be nice if I could optimize the tone more.

Any and all help appreciated, many thanks !

EDIT : here is a link to details aboutthe amp including schematic.

http://www.rlinwood.com/family_webpage/linkpages/music/music_fender_m80_bass_amplifier.htm
#43
The Newcomer's Forum / Re: Great Forum !
September 08, 2018, 01:58:24 PM
I have connected it to other speakers, even though it was an improvement owing to the larger cabinet, the nature of the tone still lacked girth.
The inside of the combo itself has no dampening material, might this make a difference ?

I am interested in the idea of the possibility of altering tone controls, just in general.
I know I can't expect miracles, just curious if such a thing is doable.

I have had other ss amps that could be fat and warm, what makes the difference ?

Thanks for the help !
#44
The Newcomer's Forum / Great Forum !
September 08, 2018, 01:45:18 AM
Hey yall Happy to find this place ?

What brings me here is my old Fender M-80 bass combo. It's not the greatest amp ever but seems worth saving.
My main question is : Is it possible to tweek the EQ section to dial back the baked in mid forward sound this amp has ? I have to dial it way back and turn the bass way up to get a fatter, more traditional old school tone ?
Thanks for your help !