Thanks for all the WBs guys. The forum has really grown. Took me a while to figure out how to navigate with all the nice new goodies!

Reinhard wrote: WB Graeme ! ? Good to see you back on the forum

Thanks Rein! Hope you are doing well.

Sean wrote: Welcome back Graeme!

Thanks Sean, great to be here!

aja wrote: I am in a similar boat - carry on doing what I do now or take a pay cut and do what actually makes me happy.

Are you still happy with your life though, generally speaking? Glad to hear you find guitar time though!

Not doing what I really like has made me not generally happy with my life. Probably the main drive at getting back onto the forum again.
Working for a boss sucks. Working in SA has also become extremely difficult. It is a case of slogging your heart out in an ailing economy to get the dollars you need to survive. The joke of it all that my expenses have increased tremendously with not much cash on hand after paying expenses after payday. I am sure there are many of us in this situation. I find playing for a few hours a week helps though.

Manfred Klose wrote: did someone dig up a dinosaur? ?

how i miss those days in welgemoed cranking amps

Haha Manny me too! No chance of cranking where I live now. OK now I have ideas to look for an old large house again ?

aja wrote: Welcome back! hehe

Can you not consult so that you have more spare time?

Thanks aja. That could be a long term plan ?

Thanks Pete! See now, an old friend already ?
Feels great to be back!!!

It has been ages since I have been on or posted on our beloved forum, so I thought it fitting that I explain what happened to me ?

I was offered job in the industrial valve sector selling valve actuation equipment into the local industry. Well the job kind of consumed me and left me with virtually no time for anything I once enjoyed. GDP Audio was dismantled and I also ceased making Tube Tamers. Recently, Manfred proposed that we hand the TT project over to someone that would be interested in keeping it alive. After reading his email to the proposed successor, I clicked on a link to the article describing the development of the TT and once again, I was back on the forum!

I have missed being involved here dearly. My job pays well, but sadly, I can never be as happy as I was running GDP Audio, repairing valve amps and equipment and of course building TTs. It is sad that SA is so off the map and nowhere near as thriving as overseas, as I would have liked to have continued in the industry, but there was not enough volume to sustain it.

Anyway, as the thread subject states. I am coming in from the cold, having forgotten so much that I learned here - it took me a while to remember how to start a new topic! The good news is that my playing has advanced in leaps and bounds, albeit small ones ?

So I am going to try my best to be involved - it is just so much more real than what I do most days... and most nights with my current job.
I am looking forward to chat with all my old friends and also new ones that have joined since my last post.

Sounds awesome! Can't wait to get mine. I have been restricted to Ampkit lately.

That's a beautiful match you got with the 2 pieces of ash there! Looking good Craig!

Looks awesome Manny. The finishes look very good. Looks like you found a winner!

Awesome stuff Karel! I'll bet that Amperex GZ34 is still the original. Good luck with the speaker. I hope it's only cab lint in there ?


EDIT: Strange mark on the one 6L6... Has the tube cooked or is that just a weird place for getter flash?

Sounds like a short circuit in the pedal is causing the supply to shut down. Maak oop and check the diode near the DC input! Should be a 1N4007. Most pedals have a reversed biased protection diode across the supply that will conduct and short the supply (protecting the pedal) if the DC is connected the wrong way around and they sometimes fail.

UncleGoatLips wrote: So for amps that are static, as in, they stand in studio's most of the time ripcord should be fine because I can always put a normal sized jack on it.

Just make sure of the current carrying capacity of the cable used. Personally, I would make up speaker cables using Mogami and Amphenol from Max.
I made up a few cables last week using Mogami 3082 (2mm2 coaxial speaker cable, R18/m) and Amphenol TM2P 1/4" jacks (just over R20 each) and it worked very well. The cable has a great feel and is very flexible. I will only use Max's products in future. He is a cool guy to deal with too!
Link to 3082 cable: http://www.mogamicable.com/category/bulk/speaker_cable/pure_sound/

UncleGoatLips wrote: 6.5mm jacks are R40 a pop.

R20 for good ones. See above ?

Dave.W wrote: unfortunately there was a mix up in the caps and I didn't have enough 0.022uF Caps but other then that all the components are on the board!

Oops, sorry, that was my mistake! I have ordered another 7 0.022uF 600V mallory coupling caps. Should have them in a week ?

Your build is looking great!

+1 Makepeace, the noise will be inaudible. My money is also on the jack being AAF.

Averatu wrote: Would the same apply for my Peavey Classic 130?

Can't seem to find any info on this amp. If it's a valvetronic amp, it will usually have only one preamp valve.

Alan Ratcliffe wrote: ...more importantly are they NOS orange sticks? ?

These are NUS, New Ursh Stock ?

bottledtone wrote: I also import orange sticks! where you get yours from ?

I import them from my girlfriends make up bag ?

Dang! Only one error in the whole order. I got two 25k linear pots instead of 5k.
Sorry Reinhard, this will delay the repair on the Marshall and also upset Dave, who is building an October club >

Everything else has been checked and is perfect Always one error! What a PITA!!!

Just took delivery of our parcel! Get hold of me to arrange collection ?