Anyone that grew up in the ’80s as a guitarist knows about the ADA MP-1 and how it was used by the top guitarists of that era. The ADA MP-1 is a classic rack mount tube preamp that features an…
NAD 7020 Receiver Refurbish
In recent months I got back into just listening to music, no distractions, just enjoying it. I got my old Sony PS-X45 turntable back up and running again but the Yamaha integrated amp’s phono stage was disappointing and the Yamaha,…
Reverb footswitching on Marshall DSL JCM2000
Here’s a simple problem that I came across on a Marshall JCM2000 DSL amplifier: The Reverb works fine but when plugging in a footswitch to the Reverb jack, you cannot turn it on or off. It could also be the other…
Yamaha RA-100 Rotating Speaker Organ Amp
A while back, I found this Yamaha RA-100 organ amplifier in the local ads. I didn’t think much of it but I thought it was very interesting with its dual rotating speakers. It seemed to be in rough shape but the…
1997 Marshall JCM2000 DSL 50 Loop Repair
My trusty old Marshall DSL 50 has been my #1 amp since I bought it in 1997. This amp is part of the 1st production run and I got to try it out pretty much as soon as they…
Alesis Multimix Hum Repair
I bought this little Alesis firewire mixer for home use and recording multiple tracks to a Macbook. It has served me well over the years. The sound quality is decent for its price point. Over the years, the overall level…
Loose, Rattling truss rod
A loose truss rod in a guitar neck can absolutely drive you crazy when trying to chase down a buzzing, rattling noise. Its not always clear what is rattling on a guitar. More often than not, determining whether the truss rod…
“Ski Jump” hump, Japanese Vintage Bass Restoration.
I got this vintage Quest bass in for a new pickguard and general clean up. This bass was in very rough shape when I got it in the shop. The pickguard with the output jack on it were broken,…
Replacing a Fretboard and using Ebony
I’ve always liked to experiment with different wood types when building my guitars. Over the years, I’ve tried several fretboard different woods like Cocobolo, Sheduah, Ebony, birdseye and flame maple, baked maple, Ovengkol, Wenge and Rosewood. This particular guitar originally…
Fretboard Care and Restoration
A lot of times, when guitarists change strings on their guitar, they don’t always think of cleaning the fretboard and conditioning it. In the case of rosewood, ebony, unfinished maple boards or any unfinished wood for that matter, cleaning and…
