by bassybeats | Nov 2, 2025 | Amplifiers
This was project started back in 2013 when my dad and I noticed that Marsh Amplification were producing reproduction 1963 Vibroverb chassis, faceplates and turret boards. I ordered a set when my dad did after I finished my JCM800, and they sat in a box until July 2024 when I finally found the time and money to order the rest of these parts.
Wiring and cabinets
Luckily, my dad had some old his old vibroverb head and extension cabs sitting around and all I needed to buy was the hardware to go on them and I already had some old laser cut badges in a box from my fender champ project.
Most of the parts came from Tube Depot or Mojotone, for me I had to make sure I ordered the correct international voltage transformers and I managed to buy them when the exchange rate wasn’t entirely awful. Most of the caps are new except I opted to use some old mustard caps I had in the stash where I could. I followed the main wiring diagram with not much changes except I added in some extra fuses, omitting the ground switch and wired the speaker outputs slightly different. I originally used toggle switches for the Vibrato and reverb pedal switches but later changed them to the correct RCA jacks due to induced noise.
Testing
I had a fair few issues powering it up for the first time. I was using new old stock tubes and trying to get a matched set of power tubes was not easy. I did use a variac to bring the voltage up slowly so as to not damage the transformers which were the least replaceable part of the whole thing. I was chasing a hum for a while, which ended up being some wiring mistakes, bad jacks/switches and old caps which I swapped out in the end. Most of the passive parts aren’t ‘Period correct’ and neither is the wiring, but I used what I had around to finish the project out and get it working. I had to make a grounding jack for the vibrato as I wasn’t going to use it, and I was chasing a reverb not working issue for a while as well which was a wiring mistake + bad tubes.
Getting it up and running
Once it was all working I buttoned up the missing cab parts and found a weber 12″ speaker to fit the extension cab from my dad, it should 2×10″ but again, i used what I had or what was available. I do want to create a 2×10″ baffle and redo all the grill clothe as it doesnt match between the head and cab but that is a fairly minor concern at the moment, it works and thats all that matters.
by bassybeats | Oct 30, 2025 | Computing
With the annoyance that is Windows 11 I have finally started to migrate my PC to Linux, I decided on base Debian dual booted with Windows 11.
The dual boot
I really wanted to get the theme of dual boot splash screen the correct resolution with rEFInd but my Samsung monitor or the bios doesn’t like it and you get a black screen so i opted for a basic them and simple 1024×768 for reliable booting.
Corsair iCue headaches
Last time I tried to do this booting off a different drive the biggest issue I had was I could not get any software working that could control my Corsair iCue devices. Both my Corsair commander fan controller and the H100i AIO cooler weren’t working. This time I stumbled across OpenLinkHub. This software just worked. It controls all my fans and AIO rgb just fine. I did have to change my rear fan to a PWM fan to get it quiet.
Other software fixes
Some of the other annoying issues i had to fix included adding the NTFS and exFAT drives to the fstab file so they are mounted on boot, I have no idea why you can’t do this in the GUI of debian. I also had to install Solaar to control my Logitech G915 keyboard and G305 mouse, you have to change the G915 to on device settings for the RGB settings to stick between dual boots on Windows and Debian. And I had to get Open Super Clone and MiniPro GUI for my programmers and HDD imaging.
Software choices
Some of the notable Windows –> Linux change overs are:
- Rufus – WoeUSB-ng
- Putty – Zutty
- CPU-Z – CPU-X
- TreeSize – Disk Usage Analyzer
- Guitar Pro – Guitarix
- GPUZ – GPU Viewer
- Notepad++ – Kate
- Crystal Disk Mark – KDiskMark
- MSI Aferburner – LACT
- Logtech GHub – Solaar
- iCue – Open Link Hub
The only daily thing I have not found a solution to is Google Drive, inSync looks the best but I don’t feel like paying for it.
by bassybeats | Oct 30, 2025 | Computing
Time for a new variation of the dual XP and Windows 10 workshop PC.
Hardware
This time I have gone for mATX in a Fractal Design Mini C, a Asus Z77M-Pro, i7 3770k, 16GB DRR3 1600mhz, GTX 980ti. To move over all my harddrives I had to 3D print a top 120mm fan mounted 3×3.5″ sata drives. Inside I also have a 2.5Gbe network card and a PCIe parallel/serial card to allow all my programmers to still work. I chose the Z77 as it has built in USB3 and 3rd gen support and overclocking support. But finding a Z77 board in mATX was really hard and I had to get it expensive from AliExpress. This Asus board is still extremely fussy with ram too, none of the fancy corsair, gskill ram worked, it has the plain kingston ram in it and works fine.
XP install
Nothing too special with the XP install, the SSD just moved across from my last install. I had to change the sata controller over to IDE mode and it booted fine. Reinstalled the GPU drivers and chipset drivers and it was good to go. The only thing that doesnt work is the 2.5Gbe card as there are no compatible drivers.
Windows 10
Nothing special here, all the regular stuff, just the specs in the photos.
by bassybeats | Oct 27, 2025 | Wood Working
I inherited an old bandsaw from my grandfather which worked but needed serious TLC. The wooden stand was trashed and the belt mounting was non-existent. Time to make a new one. Didn’t help I had to fit it in the back of a 350z..
Fixing the wiring
Before i start with a new stand, I had to address the awful wiring. I replaced basically all of it with modern wiring, luckily the motor cover had a wiring diagram on it to determine what direction the motor spins so I could reverse it to have a more compact stand.
New frame and adding a sander
I opted to use 18mm plywood and 100x50mm timber with locking caster wheels to make it easier to move around. It is all mounted with T-nuts to make it easier to dismantle. I added a new blade at the same time, but I had to move the cover bolts to get the shorter, thicker blade installed.
I also added a belt sander on the other side since I reverse mounted the motor under the machine. Having the lower space underneath also gave me space to put my air compressor as well making it an all in one portable setup. The only thing that is left is to remove some of the vibration which I think is belt or blade tension related.
by bassybeats | Oct 27, 2025 | Retro Gaming
So after moving house, my PVM developed an issue where it would intermittently show the red in the picture. It took a while to figure it out as I thought it was just a loose connection but it seemed to be something internal.
The symptoms and fix
After I realised it was an internal issue, I finally could reproduce it by pushing up on the back of the casing and could introduce the issue consistently, this proved it was either a loose connection or a cracked solder joint and not a bad red beam in the CRT itself.
Once I figured that out.I had to find a way to isolate the issue, I ordered some cooking chopsticks on AliExpress so I could poke around the board while it was powered on without risking shocking myself. After reading the schematics and finding the likely area, I finally found that it was the daughter board carrying the signal that was socketed into the mainboard. I powered it off and removed it, put contact cleaner in there and put it all back together and the problem went away.
An Audio side quest
While I had it all part I figured I would address the missing audio. I did replace a few of the caps in the audio section with no success and determined it was the op-amp itself. I ordered a new one and the sound all came back in its mono glory.
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