Dad3353

Behringer HB01 Hell Babe... ... for value for money. Works for bass, too.

If you're not playing the amp 'flat out', the HB will do the job nicely. Remember to use the 4 Ohm setting, and switch out the combo speaker when using the cab. To break a 4x12, one has to be playing really, really loud. 'Back then', the tone was obtained by maxing the valve amps, over-driving the output valves. As this was so darned loud (for everyone, including the guitarist...), the trick was to have the cab in another room, or, as we did, laying the cab face down on carpet. This allowed the amp to 'sing' without breaking the windows (still darned loud, though..!). With solid-state valve-sound amps, this extreme volume is not needed, and there are now plenty of pedals to tone-shape without cranking to max. Ear-plugs are still a Good Idea, though..!

It depends a great deal on the volume you're playing at. I can easily understand a 1x12 combo not sounding ideal, so the 4x12 option seems to be better suited to that spectrum. If you're playing so loud as to risk damaging either of the cabs you've listed, you're in a stadium with FOH support, so tone it down some. In any 'normal' clubs, bars or theatres, that amp with a 4x12 will easily fill the venue, even in those frequency ranges. I would, however, un-hook the combo speaker when playing with the 4x12; you will definetly not want it active at the same time as the 4x12. If the amp needs 4 Ohms, get an extension cab at 4 Ohms and switch out the combo speaker. I won't say much about the choice between the two listed, but the Mesa would be one heck of a step up, even second-hand, if you can get one from somewhere in Europe. Good luck with the project (but I suspect you'll be far too loud for my old cloth ears...). Edit: Our Eldest recommends the Harley Benson as better value for money, and well up to the task, and a bargain at its present price, compared to the 1960A.

We were a bit 'picky' in choosing the strip we did; maybe an even cheaper one would have been fine. The Seagull had a pretty decent electrified tone before the piezo clapped out, but having replaced it with the one linked, it's just as good as before, so we're very happy with the operation. If you're able to do the removal and fitting of a new strip into the bridge cavity (that's the only delicate part, to be sure that the strip beds in well, and that the bridge height is not affected, or is adjusted to suit...) it's a no-brainer, really. Piezo are very high impedance, and I doubt that the pre-amp will see any difference, at 10% - 20% more or less. It's certainly worth trying, for such a small outlay, I'd say. Your local tech would certainly be able to do it, if you doubt your own capacity, and it shouldn't cost more than an arm or a leg or so.

If the pre-amp is OK, but it's the strip under the saddle that's H/S, it's a pretty easy fix, and not expensive. I asked for a photo; could you snap the bridge itself, with the strip..? Any replacement will not have the connector, but that's a simple matter of either soldering to the pre-amp pins, or cutting the defective strip cable and soldering the new one to it. It's not rocket surgery, and the impedance of these things is much of a muchness, especially at the price ranges we're discussing. This is the transducer we bought from Amazon... Under-saddle strip ... For the princely sum of less than 14€, it was an easy swap for the original, after modifying the passage for the wire to leave the bridge a tad. If the issue is the strip, it'll be worth a try with something of the sort, I'd say. If it's the pre-amp, though, that's another ball-game.

Simon & Patrick Guitars : Contact Us...

Any chance of a few photos..? Our Eldest has just replaced the duff piezo on his Seagull acoustic with a generic one; it went well (he's a luthier...). You could also try contacting Simon & Patrick in Canada; they may have either spare parts, or suggestions..? Douglas

I concur with my learned friend .

From the few ads I can see, and an 'argus' figure for that model, I'd say around the £2000 mark (would be more for a vintage one...). From the photos, it doesn't look to be too 'reliced', so anything less would be more of a bargain for the buyer (assuming, of course, that the 'Martin' sound is there..!). Way out of my reach, and I can't play well enough to justify it (I'm a drummer, so...), but Good Luck with the sale, if you decide to move it on. For my part, I have too much sentimental value invested in my guitars, so they'll never be sold; their monetary value is therefore academic.

Good evening, @waylander, and ... Plenty to read and amuse you here, and lots to learn and share.

How about a headless hollow-body guitar..?

I cannot say how much (or little...) my vintage Hofner Verithin weighs; every time I put it on the scales, it floats up to the ceiling. ...

Not all hollow-body guitars are lightweight..! Check first.

Are these numbers perhaps fingering suggestions ('4' for pinkie, '1' for index...)..?

Would you then be reading both leftie and rightie topics, then, or missing out on the rightie stuff..? We would be reading both, too, so would still see the 'it's not available to us..!' stuff, but just in a different topic. Hmm... Disclaimer : I'm rightie, but play drums 'leftie'. I don't have any issues reading drum forums.

What is this 'lead' of which you speak..?

I doubt that a change of strings alone will change the characteristics of the guitar all that much (I use Elixirs, too...). If the pre-amp in the guitar isn't producing the 'native' tone of the instrument, I'd look towards changing the pre-amp (radical, I know, but...). As a 'stop-gap', try using an acoustic guitar emulation pedal, feeding the Taylor into it..? Just checking... Is the Taylor going into a piezo-friendly system..? Piezo's, even good ones, can be harsh if fed into a straight 'intrument' channel. Maybe a buffer needed..? Hope this helps.

Do you have a sound-hole plug..? That will cut down some of the resonance. A bit more of a faff, but you might try using a mic on the guitar, and have the electro just as 'support' for the mic (so low volume...). Change the orientation of the combo (if it's behind you, put it in front, facing you..?). Sometimes (extreme cases...), a 'lesser' guitar comes across better (it's a funny ol' world...). Hope this helps.

Good morning, @warwickhunt, and ... Plenty to read and amuse you here, and lots to learn and share (but you knew that anyway, didn't you..?).

I had a 'Shaftsbury' version of that guitar back then (well, I say 'I'; in fact I bought it for John Mac, our 2nd guitar at the time, as he couldn't afford one himself. It ended up in my parent's attic, and goodness knows what happened to it...). I'd not recommend a paint job, prefering to let it wear its battle scars with pride, whilst keeping it from gathering more. It's possible, and relatively easy, to touch up the bouts, but it'll be difficult to match the black's lustre. Let it age gently and peacefully.

Good evening, @Syemon, and ... Plenty to read and amuse you here, and lots to learn and share. Hmm... Bass Hat, eh..? They're a right shifty lot over there...

One 'trick' for 12-string guitars is to tune down a tone, and use a capo permanently at the second fret. This reduces the extreme tension of the twelve strings, and thus the risk of having the bridge pull the table into a 'belly' deformation. Just sayin'.

I can help you with that, in very large doses. Of course you're right (as I wrote above...). There is a built-in, designed, luthiered curve to the top of your guitars. They have not evolved since new, and have been so built by craftsmen to stay that way, giving excellent playability and tone for... Well, even longer than that. I still stubbornly maintain that, in my experience, that's a lot of curveture for a flat-top acoustic. Nothing wrong with that, for those guitars, so enjoy, and for decades to come. Why are they built that way..? That's for their conceptors to answer, but they did it that way for their own good reasons. As I stated, my modest Takamine has a bow of maybe 1mm each side, hardly noticeable until a straight-edge is applied. No, it hasn't moved, and will not do so. Why isn't it bowed more..? Because that's the way this model was designed, s'all. Next time you're off to a guitar shop or exhibition, take a straight-edge with you and see how Martin, Gibson, Ovation etc are all different. Many will be flat, others maybe slightly curved, maybe as much as your models. It's very slight in most cases, and I'd still, by eye, call 'em 'flat'.