Oisin
48 posts
Nov 29, 2008
1:01 PM
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Guys,
as promised here is me playing the little rig I was teling you about. Unfortunately you can't hear it very well as it was mic'ed up to the PA but on the solo I think you can get the overall sound (a bit).
Hope you like it.
Here's the link and Its the third song down. Tell me what you think.
http://www.zen121286.zen.co.uk/hbj-player/
To remind you this is a Hacker valve extension speaker for an old valve record player and using a green bullet (DX). As soon as I get a webcam I'll try and stick something on youtube.
Oisin
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Oisin
49 posts
Nov 29, 2008
1:42 PM
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Just tried to listen to this again and it's gone! The songs from 26th November seem to have been deleted. I'll e-mail the guy who runs this site to find out what's happened.
Oisin
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geordiebluesman
114 posts
Nov 29, 2008
2:55 PM
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Hey Oisin,I just checked out the link and the song is there,You guys are bloody good!I especially liked the vocals and once again the harp was fluid and considerate and very well done,Nice tone too,real crunchy,Give me another year or so and i'll be chasing your tail,well done mate!
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oldwailer
346 posts
Nov 29, 2008
8:55 PM
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Wow Oisen! And you got this sound with an amp that you made from spare parts? That is so cool. Good Job!
You are right--the harp needs a bit more volume to balance with the guitar (who was also very good)--but you kicked some ass in the solo and on a couple of the vocal fills toward the end. Thanks for posting this--I really enjoyed it. . .
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Oisin
50 posts
Nov 29, 2008
9:19 PM
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Thanks for that guys. I can't wait to get a camera I can use to show you this little amp on youtube. I have bought a few of them from ebay for very little money and although they all need to be mic'ed up they have an awesome sound.
I'm also very lucky in that the quality of the guys who go to my local jam is very high.They even make me sound good.
Oisin
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oldwailer
347 posts
Nov 29, 2008
10:14 PM
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OK Oisen--you've got my interest peaked--where do I find these "Hacker Amps?" My searches aren't bringing up anything on them, and I'd like to find out more. . .
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Oisin
51 posts
Nov 30, 2008
10:43 AM
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Hey Oldwailer, they come up now and again on ebay. Hacker were an English company who produced record players and radios from the 50s to the 70s and are no longer in buisness. They made very high quality stuff which is why these little amps still work so well.
The amps they made were designed to plug into their record players and and would give you a stereo sound. I have also bought the same type of extension amp made by different companies (Murphy and Decca are 2 of the other types I've got). They were low powered little amps which I think are perfect for harp.The only modification you need to do is to change the input from the old RCA type to a 1/4" jack plug.
Here's an ebay add for one of the record players..
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/HACKER-GONOLIER-GP-42-GARROD-DECK-GOOD-ORDER_W0QQitemZ140285710545QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Consumer_VintageAudio_RL?hash=item140285710545&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2%7C65%3A10%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318
The extension speaker looks identical to this.As soon as I see one I'll post a link for you.
Now I would imagine that you yanks would have had the same sort of thing available during the 50's and 60's
so I've searched the US ebay and found these...
http://cgi.ebay.com/VINTAGE-AMPEX-2012-TUBE-P-A-AMPLIFIER-1957-AS-IS-RARE_W0QQitemZ350133453085QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item350133453085&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1234%7C66%3A4%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318
http://cgi.ebay.com/Old-german-Tube-amplifier-Stereo-Klangfilm-items-Shop_W0QQitemZ270310782115QQcmdZViewItemQQptZVintage_Electronics_R2?hash=item270310782115&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1234%7C66%3A4%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318
They both seem a little more expensive than what we'd pay here in the Uk but I guess that maybe because there is more interest in tube gear in the US.
Anyway I hope this is of interest to you Old wailer and when I get hold of a webcam I'll post something to give you a bit more info.
One word of warning though, Tube amps store huge amounts of electricity, even after they've been turned off so don't go messing with the insides unless you know what you're doing. Changing the input is easy and shouldn't do you any harm but messing with capicitors etc should be done by someone with a bit of knowledge. Changing out tubes is quite easy too as long as you know the power has been dissapated from the unit.
Oisin
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Oisin
52 posts
Nov 30, 2008
12:03 PM
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Hey Oldwailer,
I was having another look on US ebay and found this. Looks like another harp player over there has had the same idea as me!!
http://cgi.ebay.com/RCA-Console-2-6V6-1-5Y3-1-AX7-and-1-6av6-harp-amp_W0QQitemZ290278751397QQcmdZViewItemQQptZVintage_Electronics_R2?hash=item290278751397&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1234%7C66%3A4%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318
Oisin
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oldwailer
351 posts
Dec 01, 2008
5:23 PM
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Thanks for the information, Oisin. I am an electrician by trade--I can probably figure out how to discharge a capacitor--I just use somebody else' finger! ;)
I can't get one of these right now, with Xmas looming and all--but I'll keep an eye out for them. . .
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