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Virginia Bassists

#261
DWBass said:
Have you tried Ken at A,L&M?

Give this guy a call. Mark/MJBSales @757 508 0541. He's a new guy in town. I picked up his name and number off a Craigslist ad he placed looking for business.
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Ken is the first to admit he's no whiz-kid with electronics. He's done more than a handful of stock work for me, though.

Seeing as I have no references on the new guy, I think I'll pass. There has got to be somebody somewhere with the background / experience necessary to diagnose and make the necessary repairs without f***ing around in some haphazard trial-and-error fashion.

Riis
 
#262
Zooberwerx said:
Ken is the first to admit he's no whiz-kid with electronics. He's done more than a handful of stock work for me, though.

Seeing as I have no references on the new guy, I think I'll pass. There has got to be somebody somewhere with the background / experience necessary to diagnose and make the necessary repairs without f***ing around in some haphazard trial-and-error fashion.

Riis
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Does the noise occur just in your house, or everywhere? Sometimes with older electrical systems there could be issues with grounding that can cause odd noises. I've had this happen at some gigs. A similar thing can happen with rooms that have fluorescent lights.
 
#264
jive1 said:
Does the noise occur just in your house, or everywhere? Sometimes with older electrical systems there could be issues with grounding that can cause odd noises. I've had this happen at some gigs. A similar thing can happen with rooms that have fluorescent lights.
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As it now stands, I've noticed it at home (older home, questionable wiring) and one club which may have had a "hostile" electrical environment. Honestly, I've been hesitant to take it anywhere else given these experiences. I've not noticed it with any other basses, just the Elrick with Nordy / OBP-3 config. If this is an inherent problem or limitation without hope of reasonable repair, I'd be better off gutting the works and replacing them with a more "forgiving" pup and preamp (thinking along the lines of Bart / Bart). I've read a bit on star-grounding but I have no clue as to whether that may be of benefit. I also don't know of any techs familar with the process. It would also be nice if we could narrow things down to one "culprit" component: grounding vs. pickup vs. preamp.

For the timebeing, the Elrick stays home. Too much of a crapshot as to how she'll respond in a given venue.

Riis
 
#265
JimK said:
I heard AL&M was going out of business.
...how the 'mighty' hath fallen.
Tommy built the place from scratch, too.

As far as Kenny at AL&M-
Great fret work guy; not sure about his elex, though.
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+1. Heard they may stay active in the installation side of things but its all scuttlebutt. I wish them well!

Kinda wondering what Kenny will do if AL&M folds. He's the best at giving impromptu tutorials when dropping off gear for repair. I've learned a lot.

Riis
 
#266
One of my bands is playing the [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] on Sunday June 29th. If you live in central VA, come check us out.

The Festival is well worth it even if you're not coming to hear us. Wine tasting, crafts, tours of Oak Ridge Estate...

We (Link Removed) go on from about 12-3 followed by Seldom Scene at 4.

Hope to see you there!

PS - I'll be the one with the bass :bassist:
 
#268
Zooberwerx said:
As it now stands, I've noticed it at home (older home, questionable wiring) and one club which may have had a "hostile" electrical environment. Honestly, I've been hesitant to take it anywhere else given these experiences. I've not noticed it with any other basses, just the Elrick with Nordy / OBP-3 config. If this is an inherent problem or limitation without hope of reasonable repair, I'd be better off gutting the works and replacing them with a more "forgiving" pup and preamp (thinking along the lines of Bart / Bart). I've read a bit on star-grounding but I have no clue as to whether that may be of benefit. I also don't know of any techs familar with the process. It would also be nice if we could narrow things down to one "culprit" component: grounding vs. pickup vs. preamp.

For the timebeing, the Elrick stays home. Too much of a crapshot as to how she'll respond in a given venue.

Riis
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As far as grounding, it looked OK to me and the schematic. Not much noise at the shop, and I have fluorescents. Maybe it could be the combination of the pup/pre, but I don't see why it would. I had an OBP-3 go bad, and I had to replace the entire preamp. It was a headache for me to finally figure out that was the culprit, but I solved my problem.
 
#270
rikshaw said:
anyone know of a good amp tech in the hampton roads area? i have an old gk 800rb that needs repair work (caught on fire). the big guys that i know of (alpha and al&m) couldn't/wouldn't fix it.
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Those rapid-fire Jacoesque runs were just to much for it, eh?

Good luck finding anybody locally. Might want to contact GK for recommendations. Probably looking at the Richmond / Northern VA / DC areas. If you need a loaner, just let me know.

I owe you a visit!

Riis
 
#272
Zooberwerx said:
Those rapid-fire Jacoesque runs were just to much for it, eh?

Good luck finding anybody locally. Might want to contact GK for recommendations. Probably looking at the Richmond / Northern VA / DC areas. If you need a loaner, just let me know.

I owe you a visit!

Riis
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it was an ebay special. it worked great for an hour or so until the smoke and sparks started.
it looks like chester is the closest place. i was just hoping that someone knew of a place/guy/gal that i didn't know about.
 
#273
neurotictim said:
Isn't Alpha a licensed dealer/repair facility for GK? I can't remember... Might use that as an excuse to make a visit that way...
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i took it to alpha. i don't remember his name but the amp guy there said that he couldn't fix it. alpha isn't listed on the GK site for repairs. i just took it to them because of the recommendations that i had from some others and because he said that he would try.
thx
 
#275
rikshaw said:
i took it to alpha. i don't remember his name but the amp guy there said that he couldn't fix it. alpha isn't listed on the GK site for repairs. i just took it to them because of the recommendations that i had from some others and because he said that he would try.
thx
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In my 30+ years of playing around here-
I can name on 2 fingers the guys I would trust with amp work...
>Mr. Judd at AL&M (70s- early 80s era). He retired years ago.
>Sonny Meeker...a Leo Fender guy that worked at Stringed Instrument Repair in Isle of Wight/Smithfield about 15 years ago. I'm sure he is retired, too.

Unless there's someone I'm missing...FME, the majority I wouldn't trust with any soldering iron near my ****.

One time, I took my sick Music Man 65 to the junior 'amp guy' at AL&M (mid '80s)...he told me-
"...ya know, you would get better tube life if you ran this amp in Standby".
What?
"Run the amp in Standby...your tubes will last a lot longer".
OK...
What the Hell was he talking about?!?
 

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