Here's (one of) my latest acquisition(s):
It's a "Howard Classical Series by Baldwin." Saw it at the thrift store around April for $300, and by June it was $22 and I figure it's worth that for the parts. The worst part is it weighs just about as much as an upright piano, though 90 percent of that is the wooden case.
This thing uses '80's (70's?) technology, all thru-hole parts (there's a plaque on the side where it was installed in a local chapel in 1995, dunno if it was new or used then). It's got five boards about 10" square, three apparently for tone generation, each with four 40-pin chips and four 28-pin EPROMs as well as many smaller chips. All chips are in cheap DIP sockets - there's no machine-pin sockets to be seen. Only one keyboard made sound when I got it, and most of the stop buttons didn't work. I've taken it apart, reseated EVERY chip and connector, sprayed contact cleaner into the pots, and have gotten it mostly working. It has a dead battery that apparently holds user presets in RAM - when I press one of those, everything locks up, but I can "write" to one and then recall it as long as I don't power down.. "Standard" presets mostly work. By the way it acts (some stop buttons activate other stops or the tuning, which is a 6-position rotary switch from three steps down to two steps up, and these are all on the front panel circuit boards), I'm guessing one or more of the CMOS logic chips are bad. It would be cheap enough to shotgun them, but not sure if I want to try to get everything to work. Most connectors are MOLEX .1" 2x10 to 2x16 except for three cables each with 40-pin DIP headers (!), and the "improvement" in function from just taking it apart and putting it back together suggests contact reliability problems, the kind of thing you don't want deal with on something with this many connectors. A feature or two that worked a week ago doesn't work now.
I'm about halfway ready to scrap it for parts and maybe make a roll top desk out of the cabinet, even though I have no use for a roll top desk.
It's a "Howard Classical Series by Baldwin." Saw it at the thrift store around April for $300, and by June it was $22 and I figure it's worth that for the parts. The worst part is it weighs just about as much as an upright piano, though 90 percent of that is the wooden case.
This thing uses '80's (70's?) technology, all thru-hole parts (there's a plaque on the side where it was installed in a local chapel in 1995, dunno if it was new or used then). It's got five boards about 10" square, three apparently for tone generation, each with four 40-pin chips and four 28-pin EPROMs as well as many smaller chips. All chips are in cheap DIP sockets - there's no machine-pin sockets to be seen. Only one keyboard made sound when I got it, and most of the stop buttons didn't work. I've taken it apart, reseated EVERY chip and connector, sprayed contact cleaner into the pots, and have gotten it mostly working. It has a dead battery that apparently holds user presets in RAM - when I press one of those, everything locks up, but I can "write" to one and then recall it as long as I don't power down.. "Standard" presets mostly work. By the way it acts (some stop buttons activate other stops or the tuning, which is a 6-position rotary switch from three steps down to two steps up, and these are all on the front panel circuit boards), I'm guessing one or more of the CMOS logic chips are bad. It would be cheap enough to shotgun them, but not sure if I want to try to get everything to work. Most connectors are MOLEX .1" 2x10 to 2x16 except for three cables each with 40-pin DIP headers (!), and the "improvement" in function from just taking it apart and putting it back together suggests contact reliability problems, the kind of thing you don't want deal with on something with this many connectors. A feature or two that worked a week ago doesn't work now.
I'm about halfway ready to scrap it for parts and maybe make a roll top desk out of the cabinet, even though I have no use for a roll top desk.
Attachments
Here's my rig:
Line 6 Spider II 150w (75/75 stereo), Legion 4x12 (wired into two X-pattern 2x12s), Line 6 FVB foot controller, BC Rich Platinum Beast. I've always owned solid state gear, and grown accustomed to it.
I also have a BC Rich NJ ST-III, and an NJ Ironbird that I'm in the middle of restoring.
I'd love to try my hand at building my own SS amp... lurking around on these forums shows me I have a LOT to learn!
Line 6 Spider II 150w (75/75 stereo), Legion 4x12 (wired into two X-pattern 2x12s), Line 6 FVB foot controller, BC Rich Platinum Beast. I've always owned solid state gear, and grown accustomed to it.
I also have a BC Rich NJ ST-III, and an NJ Ironbird that I'm in the middle of restoring.
I'd love to try my hand at building my own SS amp... lurking around on these forums shows me I have a LOT to learn!
Alvarez AD60SC, fantastic build quality and sound (and loud) for a mid-priced Acoustic. Laminate sides but Grade A solid Spruce for the soundboard (thin too), makes for good soundboard vibration - you can feel it in your chest while you're playing {8^D
when I need some volume (small venues) I play through a Crate Taxi 30
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
when I need some volume (small venues) I play through a Crate Taxi 30
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
xD That is no ordinary crate rofl
Rickenbacker 4001
Hi all!
I stopped playing there for quite some time now but this is my Rickenbacker 4001 (1971) with a bank of sound I created for those who make music on a computer.
KVR: Free multisampled Rickenbacker 4001 bass
Regards!
I stopped playing there for quite some time now but this is my Rickenbacker 4001 (1971) with a bank of sound I created for those who make music on a computer.
KVR: Free multisampled Rickenbacker 4001 bass
Regards!
Only the dead and my vypyr 212 have seen the end of the war.
Currently gigging on my squire stagemaster. Set neck, Floyd Rose, stock humbuckers, volume bleed .02 ceramic disk(vintage) and 105k res.(vintage) strings DR 52-10(we are mostly dropped c) and my Michael Kelly Patroit ltd. same set up minus neck pickup. Actually that's not true. I got a mim humbucker from another guitars neck position flipped it and put in bridge position. DR 60-13. I get my sets with my 3 rd wound, better tone. Heaviest picks I can find usually .90 and up. Valveking 100 w/ kt77's and two new flyback diodes, oversized of course. Had it two months and 5 shows before that happened. Done repair myself. Fx all through head, admittedly I'm still not happy with my sound yet. But, that's half the fun anyway!
Currently gigging on my squire stagemaster. Set neck, Floyd Rose, stock humbuckers, volume bleed .02 ceramic disk(vintage) and 105k res.(vintage) strings DR 52-10(we are mostly dropped c) and my Michael Kelly Patroit ltd. same set up minus neck pickup. Actually that's not true. I got a mim humbucker from another guitars neck position flipped it and put in bridge position. DR 60-13. I get my sets with my 3 rd wound, better tone. Heaviest picks I can find usually .90 and up. Valveking 100 w/ kt77's and two new flyback diodes, oversized of course. Had it two months and 5 shows before that happened. Done repair myself. Fx all through head, admittedly I'm still not happy with my sound yet. But, that's half the fun anyway!
