Hammertone Bass-O-Matic

[dhuebert]

Here's a little something I cobbled together last year which has pretty much sat on my bench since:






Of all the devices I've built over the years, this is one of my favourites. It is studio quiet out of the balanced port and plays well with all kinds of other equipment.

I have access to a shear and brake, so I cut and folded this box myself. Not quite a professional job and it took 3 tries to get it this good but I love the look of it.

Don

[ioginy]

Hot damn that is pretty! Well done!

[Shannon Parks]

Nice box, Don.

Shannon

[nyazzip]

is that a (2)el84 with a tube recto?

[dhuebert]

Don

[nyazzip]

man i was way off, wasn't i?

[dhuebert]

Think of it, I built this thing at the request of a local bass player who is on the eternal quest for tone perfection. After all this time we finally got together so he could put it thru its paces and see if it was what he wanted. Well it didn't turn out to be flexible enough for him, he wants an amp that will do everything. As this one only has 3 knobs on it, it is not nearly flexible enough to give him even a small fraction of the sounds he wants. Thats OK with me, sitting down with him was enormously enlightening and I came away with alot of new knowlege about what bass players like and expect. If I do anything with it, I'll probably put a parametric eq in it. I have a friend who wants one for his harmonica and this is a project that intrigues me greatly. How about a 2 band parametric eq using 12A?7s. Hmm maybe like they do sound boards, 2 band para eq with bass control, 2 tubes maybe.....

Don

[cw]

nice work Don. i have not been onsite for a long time and i find your project very interesting. i am a bass player and i have been looking at London Power preamps. the bass preamp they offer seems a bit complex but i like the thought of having a mid frequency adjustment and an output adjustment. a presence or maybe a master volume is okay in my book = take it or leave it.
the option of an output is nice because as i am building my rig i intend to have a preamp that can go from my tube amp a dynaco mark 3 to a solid-state hi wattage power amp for larger venues.
i have a 60's Fender 2-12 Bassman cab with Celestion G12T 75's in it total 150 watts RMS for smaller venues with a modified 50 watt Bassman 10 driving it. just got a Fender clone of a 15" tone ring cab made and it is going to have a Weber 15" speaker mounted in it that will be driven by my Mark 3. my next project will be a folded horn 15" for larger venues with the solid state power amp. it takes some power to drive a bass as you know but a nice flexible pre goes a long way with making it familiar and easier to get the tones i like.