Apologies

[maverickf1jockey]

If you remember I have been having troubles with my Orange TT.
From valves to the guitar pickups I checked it all, to no avail.

Then I noticed something terrible.

My new cable, when moved had a great impact on the output.

This was due to a kink that had formed in the actual wire of the cable.

Now I am very meticulous as to how I treat my cables and this cable had had no direct contact with anyone else since it got home.

I apologise for wasting your time as this was the root of the problem and should have been checked much earlier.

On the plus side I now have the opportunity to take the jack ends and place them on my (surprisingly clear and durable) Maplins own brand cable, which has the added bonus of being fluorescent green.

This will allow me to stand further away from my amp and also have the benefits of the magnetic jacks.

[WezV]

its like one of those moments when someone phones up and says their bass keeps cutting out... is it active pickups and have you checked the battery.... what battery

everyone gets caught out by a silly little thing at some point

[maverickf1jockey]

I know it's one of those things but it kind of hit me as I am generally quite gear-savvy.

Anyway, in the process of checking the pickups I discovered that it was possible to use a low density foam object (AKA a sponge) to fill the cavity of the whammy of my guitar instead of a battery or block of wood because the application and removal is easier.

It was also the first time I've really needed to tune the thing since I last strung it (still has the old strings on it - they're almost black... sound good though).

If you are going to use a sponge to fill the cavity I recommend a car sponge with a leatherette side and a cloth side as it can then be used to give the neck a good wipe.

[38thBeatle]

Like the time recently in a recording studio way too early on a Sunday after a late gig the night before(that is the excuses out of the way) I plugged into the output socket of a pedal and could not get any sound-hardly a surprise now but I just could not see it at the time! Engineer digs out new cables and starts to come over to help but fortunately gets distracted and left me to change them ('cos it is bound to be a dodgy cable innit?) and the penny dropped and I plugged into the input and it worked. This had all taken 10 minutes and was far more fraught than I make it sound cos time is money etc. I muttered something about the battery being loose too to cover up my idiocy. I hope that makes you feel better!

[Johnny Mac]

Not music related but I was changing a head gasket on my old Mk 4 Cortina, (yes someone had to own one). Anyway I couldn't get the cylinder head off and thought I had taken all 10 bolts out. So after smashing the hell out of it for 2 odd hours and needing another one from a breakers yard, I realised that I had only removed 9 bolts!  :lol:

My idiocy was much harder to conceal Mr 38th, I had around 5 of my so called mates rolling around in the road p***ing themselves laughing. Well you have to see the funny side.  :lol:  Could be a good thread, disastrous motoring storys!

These things with mechanical and electrical equipment happen to us all!


Or do they...............................?

[MrBump]

Not music related but I was changing a head gasket on my old Mk 4 Cortina, (yes someone had to own one). Anyway I couldn't get the cylinder head off and thought I had taken all 10 bolts out. So after smashing the hell out of it for 2 odd hours and needing another one from a breakers yard, I realised that I had only removed 9 bolts!  :lol:

My idiocy was much harder to conceal Mr 38th, I had around 5 of my so called mates rolling around in the road p***ing themselves laughing. Well you have to see the funny side.  :lol:  Could be a good thread, disastrous motoring storys!

These things with mechanical and electrical equipment happen to us all!


Or do they...............................?

I think I can top that.

Did a similar thing, replaced the head gasket on an old M2 Cavalier, did it outside, 'cos I didn't have a garage.  All went OK replaced the gasket, fired it up and...

THUD!

Nothing...  Had to tow it to the local garage (7 miles away) for them to open it up and larf their arses off.  Because I'd worked on the thing overnight, I'd stuffed some old rags into the chambers to stop the damp getting in, and sealed the engine before removing them.  And they were big bits of cloth too, tea towels or something.

I'm such a muppet.

[Johnny Mac]

Not music related but I was changing a head gasket on my old Mk 4 Cortina, (yes someone had to own one). Anyway I couldn't get the cylinder head off and thought I had taken all 10 bolts out. So after smashing the hell out of it for 2 odd hours and needing another one from a breakers yard, I realised that I had only removed 9 bolts!  :lol:

My idiocy was much harder to conceal Mr 38th, I had around 5 of my so called mates rolling around in the road p***ing themselves laughing. Well you have to see the funny side.  :lol:  Could be a good thread, disastrous motoring storys!

These things with mechanical and electrical equipment happen to us all!


Or do they...............................?

I think I can top that.

Did a similar thing, replaced the head gasket on an old M2 Cavalier, did it outside, 'cos I didn't have a garage.  All went OK replaced the gasket, fired it up and...

THUD!

Nothing...  Had to tow it to the local garage (7 miles away) for them to open it up and larf their arses off.  Because I'd worked on the thing overnight, I'd stuffed some old rags into the chambers to stop the damp getting in, and sealed the engine before removing them.  And they were big bits of cloth too, tea towels or something.

I'm such a muppet.

Well this may sound far fetched and my mates still can't quite believe I resorted to it in a moment of madness brought on by extreme frustration, well I was only  18. I tried to tow the cylinder head off the engine block with a moped and a tow rope!! I read in the haynes manual that you can get vacuums in seal of the head, what a C***!!!!!  :lol:   :lol:   :lol: