Bob_Vila

yes. 5T5 power supply.. its all coming back to me.

now they are not 12ax7 on the pre side. not sure what they are, but i believe you are right in that one is for each of the nobs

and there are no 'bits o paper' anywhere.. not even a model number.

where do you look for vintage amps online? i want to know more about ARC. any suggestions?

..and..as an afterword.. there was a time that this little girlie amp woulda got a headstock thru the speaker with its single little 6L6. i mean really! everyone knows its 4 or nothing!

,..but in my old age i have mellowed some and now its all about that vintage tone.. and man does this ARC ever have it.

Hi. I'm Bob Vila. Some of you know me as the home improvement guy from tv, but you may be suprised to learn that I am also an accomplished guitar player. In fact, my two guitar instructional videos (Bob Vila's Speed Metal Workout, and Fret Shredders Vol.3) are top selling in their respective fields. Some of my session credits include Yngwie Malmsteens Rising Force album, as well as backing tracks for the Sugarcubes.

On today's edition of This Ol' Amp, I'm looking for the collective knowledge of the audience to help identify an old garage sale item picked up last year that I'm finally dragging out of the attic to re-tube.

The problem: I don't know that the existing tubes are factory spec. I want to replace them all, but other than the faded, almost non existant markings on the tubes themselves, I have nothing to go on.

Here's what I do know.

It's an old ARC tube amp.

2x12" low wattage speakers (small magnets.. they ain't like the Celestions mom has in her MesaBoogie)

2 inputs

4 knobs (vol/on, tone, rev, trem)

rev and trem are foot-switchable.

6 tubes... 4 are preamp, two are power (i think)

one was a 6L6, and one was a 5T5.. does that make sense? is the 5T5 like a crossover tube or something? what class amplifier would this be?!

I'll try to post a pick.

any help would be greatly appreciated.

now i have all my nights free to actually PLAY hockey! 5 times a week, mofo's!

not watching the NHL has taken 20lbs off my gut and is probably adding years before i blow a valve in the ol' ticker. i'm thankful.

that little canoe hut will be packed tonight i bet.

i hope i'm there early enuff to grab a table or the big couch up front.

black

...and what kind of a colon would you have if you were a 'braniac'?

open letter to the guy that stole my bike

((--based loosely on the KITH skit, but infact a true story about my day yesterday, the loss of the best bike i ever had (right off my roofrack in the work parkinglot in the middle of the day!!), and a forum for the venting of my anger. GRRR!--))

"Well, why did you do it? Are you some sort of jerk or something? It's *my* bike! What did you think, that I'd -- drive home and not notice it was stolen? What are you then? Some sort of *prick*? Some sort of *idiot*? Some sort of *thief*? You *human loser*! Well, why didn't you buy your own bike if you wanted one so badly. That's what I did.

Well, well, what were you thinking?! *JERK*!"

--------------------------------------------

Open Letter to the fellow employees *Who Watched* the Guy Steal My Bike

"Well, you knew it wasn't his bike! What did you think? He was inspecting it? Doing service work? Fixing the lock for me?!? Well, why didn't you do something? Why didn't you say something? You human piece of apathy! Why didn't you say, "Hey! That's not your bike!" Well, didn't you think I needed it? I did! Good work, Einstein! Pus!"

i feel better now... not really.

i dunno. it has housed mostly accoustic acts and such as far as I know... but apparently BNB is coming this month so who knows? its a very mellow place.

are you an accoustic sextet? i'm guessing not.

i don't have contact info for shannon, but i'm sure someone else here does.

oh it'll fit six people... tightly.

My 'aunt Cindy' runs the boathouse, but I think Shannon Lyon is doing the booking for her.

They haven't had a 'full band' in there yet to my knowledge. There is a house piano though!

very limitted seating, but a swell atmosphere and staff!

its a saturday 'around noon' cd... (most spoken word stuff is).. i'd play that cd while cooking a late breakfast/lunch. probably something with egg, maybe bacon.

i like jomomma alot.

listened to a bit.... surprisingly enjoyable.

Bruce McCulloch on JAZZ

"Wow. One thing I hear a lot is, people say, "Bruce, what's this with you and Jazz? What's the beef with you and Jazz music?"

I say, "Well, I really hate Jazz."

They say, "What do you hate about poor old Jazz?"

I say, "The sound. The sound that Jazz instruments make when they're being manipulated by Jazz players to the delight of Jazz respondents. I think of it as musical barf."

They say, "I don't think you've given Jazz a chance."

Well, I maintain, I haven't given suicide a chance, but. . .Well, I did give suicide a chance, but that was only because I was threatened with Jazz. You know. Jazz music.

One thing I hate--One thing I hate is being woken up in the middle of the night, when I'm dreaming about, say, promiscuity with dignity, by a rap-tap-tappin' on my window by those guys with goatee things on their faces, saying, "Hey. Can we come in? Beano's clarinet's gettin' wet." And then they go into this sorta Gene Krupa trance. Jazz schmazz. I'm sorry; I've got to go that far. Jazz schmazz.

You know what? I'd like to declare this a Jazz-free zone, about forty miles as far as the Jazz-hatin' crow flies in any direction. Just paradise. Those guys would go to work, and it wouldn't be there.

I'm gonna ask a question. What sort of music do you think there is in hell? You know, H-E-double hockey sticks? Well, I think it's probably hateful, free-form Jazz. And in heaven? Country and Western music. The choice is pretty obvious. It's not Jazz. It's not bop-a-dop bop-be-bop-bo Jazz. [to flutist:] What's that? A recorder or something? I'm not into it. Fuzz pedal, that's what I'm into. You know? "

oh yeah, and re Messenjah, I know Erol Blackwood is still kickin around (he played the FREAK13 fest last year).

yeah rob, did you insert it? after menstration?

umm.. just a quick clarification. I am not THE Dave Foley. I thought that by pasting the whole monolog including the "Hi, I'm Dave Foley" part would give that away, as I'm sure the real Dave Foley isn't reading Jambands.. not that Jambands isn't worthy of being read by Dave Foley, I just don't think he's a registered user. He might be 'lurking' though.

I also thought 'Beats' had a bad attitude towards menstration, and I wanted to post something in that vein.

As for bears... well... ya. They're pretty sick animals.. one of the few in nature that would eat a woman while she is menstrating.

I open the floor to crude humour at this point.

Hi, eh, just writing a letter to someone in the hospital. You know it's always kinda hard to find the right words to say.

You know somehow 'How's the weather in the hospital? sure is nice outside.' just doesn't work.

But you gotta try, you know, you gotta show your concern so here's what I got so far.

Dear Guy I Clotheslined As You Went By on Your Bicycle.

You don't know me, but I'm the guy who broke your collarbone.

Now I've asked myself over and over why did I clothesline that guy. Perhaps I watched too much slapstick as a kid and expected you to get up after being violently assaulted. Imagine my confusion when you did not. Although not so confused that I'd actually hang around.

In all fairness, It was pretty funny, I mean the last thing you'd expect as you were riding merrily by on your bike is that someone you didn't know at all would stick out his arm and crush your throat.

I mean, you really should have seen it, It was just like WAM! BAM! (hahaha)

ANY-WAY....

In closing, as you lay there convalescing in your hospital bed, I'm forced to wonder 'What were you doing riding your bike on the sidewalk anyway, Huh, ya a$$hole? side-WALK!

Maybe sometimes we bring heartache upon ourselves.

Signed, the guy that collapsed your trachea.

Thanks.

Goober and the Peas

Hi, my name's Dave Foley, and, uh, something you might not know about me is that .. I have a good attitude towards menstruation. That's right, I'm the guy! The guy with a good attitude towards menstruation!

Oh, I know a lot of men are made uncomfortable by this monthly miracle. But not me. No, I embrace it. Embrace it the way the way some men embrace the weekend! Why I anticipate it the way a child anticipates Christmas!

Did you know that, uh, in alot of native Indian cultures, menstruating woman were forced to leave the village, less thier *powerful* magic should overwhelm the Shaman? If I were Shaman, I wouldn't be so competitive. I'd be more open and giving. I'd be a shaman with... a good attitude towards menstruation!

'Cause after all, what is it? a cluster of blood vessels, awaiting a fertilized egg. Providing a safe warm place for that egg to grow. And if a life does not occur, the whole thing is flushed away, and the cycle begins again. Now is that anything to be ashamed of or disgusted by? No, this is the nesting stuff of humanity!

That's why the woman I shall love will be able to menstruate as fully and freely as she desires. Even if her monthly flow should build in intensity to a raging rust colored torrent! An unbridled river of life giving blood flowing from between her legs! An awesome cataract plunging off the edge of our couch. I wouldn't be fazed! No, no, even if coureur de bois would come up stream, battling the rapids, and singing a 'jaunty song'! I would take no offense, rather I would ford across that mighty womanly river, and fetch herbal tea and Pamprin. And then I would mop her brow and admire her fecundity. For I...Have A Good Attitude....Towards MENSTRUATION!

another very fun and engaging thread.

thank you, participants. my afternoon is better for having experienced this. serious.

and no... you cannot change a person, but you CAN coerce (spelling?) them.

the words "clean up your fu©king laundry or i'll cut your fu©king balls off while you sleep tonight" went along way toward improving my poor cleanliness habits.

i've been lurking for many months now.

i used to post blatant self promotion a while back.. using the sight as a 'tool' if you will...

then i started to enjoy reading it (all of it)... so i tried to get involved a bit by posting something other than "my band is playing at..." but that didn't work out so good for the same reasons approximately as were mentioned by the guy earlier. either that or i just was not verbose enuff to warrant a decent response. no matter really.. the real value to me wasn't the interaction or dialog i shared, it was the interaction or dialog i read. this is a very humorous/interesting/silly place allot of the time.. even when those emotionally attached aren't laffing so hard.

but i still would come around and read stuff.. expressly for the entertainment value. i think thats why all people post and read on all message boards and online community type places. maybe not though.

i got great entertainment value for my money reading this thread... and yeah maybe alot of it was at other peoples expense i guess but funny is funny. i laff when people slip on ice and stuff. i also laff when i slip on ice and stuff. i laff at stuff. stuff laffs at me. its all good if no one gets hurt... (physically i mean... feelings don't really count)

that said, let me tell you about my buddy Derek who made his own wok out of a plowing disk... a trick he learned from some menonite dude. its great. he takes it camping and just throws it in the coals of the fire.. adds oil and stirfry stuff and gets the best stirfrys ever.

so ... like the giant squid of the atlantic ocean, i have copulated, and now must again return to the oceans deepest fathoms where i shall LURK for yet another year.

a tale of [color:"red"] 3 Sarahs

So like... you have to earn a one-name monicker. If you give it to yourself it leaves alot to live up to. It's like giving yourself a nickname. You just don't do that, but don't tell Madonna or Bono. ("Hey Bono, what's it like to live with Cher?".. not sure where I heard that, but damn that's funny.)

I once tried to convince the world that I should be known as simply 'Bill', but inevitably, as I refered to myself in the third person during conversation, I got the same stupified looks and inane question.. "Bill who?" It just didn't have the same affect on people as other monosyllabic titles like Bob, or Neil.

At some point in a great artists career, and in the life of thier dedicated fans, the performer goes from the traditional first/last name status to a higher level of recognition... the first name alone. Elvis. Jerry. (Ringo.)

Such is the case (arguable so if you are one who likes to argue) with one of my personal favorite singer/songwriters.. Sarah McLachlan. It wasn't long after her Surfacing album that she became known to me simply as Sarah. Often, when her name was spoken in the circles I ran in, it was followed by a short pause and then a long sigh. Just Sarah. Sarah. When you spoke of Sarah, there was never ever any doubt about who you were refering to. Who else could it be?

Well, my Sarah-singular world came crashing down around me last year when I got turned onto a new Sarah. Sarah Harmer. The hype got my curiousity peaked, the cd 'You were here' grabbed my full and undivided attention, and finally her performance at Copp's last newyears openning for the Hip sealed the deal. She was my NEW Sarah. Not that the old Sarah was gone, mind you, but now there were TWO Sarahs in my life!

But how could that be? Was this lunacy? It was like some Lovecraft-ian novellette where the knowledge of such an instance was not to be understood by the minds of mortal men, lest they go mad! MAD I SAY!

Which brings me to Meghan Riley. She was the far away butterfly soon to decimate my coastal area with a Tsunami of epic proportions born of her mere words.

I remember frantically telling her with eyes afire about this insane revellation, of the two Sarahs, of the madness that had taken my mind, and of the shear joy and wonder of this musical effort by the Harmer woman. I pledge my alliegence there and then for a two Sarah mandate, for the musical realm in which I dwelt could no longer be ruled by one single Sarah alone!!!

"Yeah, but have you heard Sarah Sleen yet?" she replied.

There was silence. I looked deep into her eyes and saw that same wildfire that I knew was in mine, only hers burned with the intensity of a thousand suns. I instantly decided Meghan must clearly be under the influence of some mind altering substance. My doors of perception refused to open to the thought of any Sarah other than the two that had already consumed my irrational thought trains at the time. Three Sarahs?!? Was this chick on glue?! Unfathomable! Perposterous! Blasthphemous even!! I dismissed her as babbling naive, best suited as a ward of the state in some maximun security asylum for her own safety, let alone the safety of others.

And then it happened... one fatefull day... many months later... I found it. Hidden beneath the messy livingroom pile of baggies, tatoo mags, empty cigarette packs, and spilt bong water at Kate and Tim's place was the talisman of greater understanding.. the key to enlightenment... the fall of mankind... Sarah Sleen's 'Nightbugs'.

I covetted the cd away unbeknownst to the others there, and took it home for further examination. I marvelled at the intricate lines and contours of the jewel case. I stared in awe at the quality of the screen print and the colours of the liner. Trembling with the fear of the unknown, I openned the case to behold that which was not for earthly eyes. I longed to know that which I was not meant to know... and to hear that which could, and inevitable would, destroy me and any notions of sanity that I still had!

Cd in hand, disk tray open, I trembled alone in the dark of my quiet livingroom. The eerie glowing light of the blue LCD display on the cd player danced devilishly along the liner notes as I slowly and carefully placed the disk in the tray. I hesitated at the thought of what could possible lay ahead should I go any further... but with great resolve, and strength of will, I steadied my quaking hand... Meghan's repeated words echoing in my mind... "have you heard Sarah Sleen"... slowly, with utter fascination and an unholy dread, I pressed 'play'......

So anyway, yeah this cd is pretty cool.