vând HGE Contraptions - Pedale Chitara Handmade / Modari Pedale / Cablaj Chitare / Setup / Reparatii Ampuri

[Razvan S. 2,482]

* A Gibson US Explorer came in for a setup with some nut issues fixed & fretwire polished

Cool guitar!

 

 

*An Ibanez MIJ Prestige RG2560Z Team J. Craft came in for a setup + pickups were swapped + fretwire polished and screws cleaned/repainted

Rad guitar!

 

 

 

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* Got a chance to swap some capacitors and the tube, in my old 60's Sencore Tube Tester

Great tool to have around

 

* Another HGE Contraptions JHS Morning Glory clone
(123rd pedal built!)

 

* HGE Contraptions Catalinbread SFT II clone, with the stoner switch. Very cool QOTSA sounds from this mean od/fuzz thing. I used Motorola MPF4393 transistors as per the original.
(124th pedal built)

Vid sample

Important later edit:

In the meantime I discovered a general error that existed for this schematic on the web, and corrected it for the owner. Now the Gate from the Q1 position FET is seeing a stable voltage. This is totally wrong online and I will do my best to alert anyone who does this to correct this. Basically moved one leg of the 470K resistor at the input 2 rows down(at the other side of the 100nF resistor).

[Razvan S. 2,482]

* HGE Contraptions Boss CE-2 Analog Chorus Clone (2nd version)

Built this for bass, but it's just slightly different from the guitar one. The owner didn't want the original blend, so I built it in the regular version.

I used shielded wires this time for all the INs and OUTs.

125th pedal built

 

Video sample and pictures:

[Razvan S. 2,482]

* Swapped 2 faulty pots in a Rocktron Gainiac 1

 

* Retubed/biased/resoldered all the tube sockets on a Brunetti Pirata 141. 

A very cool amp with a unique Valve Mix option. You can combine EL34 and 6L6, or choose between the two.

 

 

[Razvan S. 2,482]

* Did some work on a Squier Classic Vibe 50's Strat:

-guitar is a leftie but the owner is right handed, and he wanted to use it right handed, so I swapped the nut for a right handed one, and adjusted everything accordingly;

-the usual setup with the trem made floating;

-gave the fretwire some shine;

-electronics were good stock;

 

* Some work on a beat up Fender 70's US Musicmaster Bass:

-had the neck refretted/cleaned/lacquered at a local luthier in my country, because it had extended fretwire damage (thank you very much Mr. @EugenRo2001 );

-did a full setup/derusted/replaced all screws/cleaned everything (this was a very very messy and unplayable instrument prior to everything);

-had to buy a tuner key to match the other ones (very hard to find, but I had some luck in the US)

-the wiring was a mess, so I redid it with appropriate pots and also redid the aluminum foil on the pickguard back, and also repalced the pickup wires with cloth ones;

Sounds great now and plays very good for such an old forgotten bass. I quite enjoyed it

Some after and before pics, and also a video of me testing it:

 

 

Before:

 

[Liviu.Pop 2,912]

On 05/03/2019 at 13:10, Razvan S. said:

A very cool amp with a unique Valve Mix option. You can combine EL34 and 6L6, or choose between the two.

Ioi, bine că mi-ai amintit. Am de reparat un Mesa Nomad care are opțiunea de a selecta tuburile finale. Era cât pe ce să uit. Fiuuuuu.... fir'aș ...

[Razvan S. 2,482]

Epiphone LP Standard came in for some work:

-general setup + nut slots filed
-tuners had to be tightened
-fretwire made smoother to the touch and shined
-electro parts cleaned (stock wiring was decent enough)

 

[Razvan S. 2,482]

* Repaired a Ferrite EQ

 

 

 

* A Carl Martin Octaswitch came in with some issues on the DC Jack.

I replaced it with a new one, and also tightened all the switches/jacks + electro cleaned.

The buffer part is not working when it is on (no sound), but the owner needs it and it will come back at a later point to investigate. This would also take up a lot of time for finding the fault as the PCB is quite big

 

* Fixed a Bugera V22 Infinium

A tube failed (I measured it with my Sencore TC136 Tube Tester and it had 2 shorts, and everything was out of spec), and had completely desoldered one of the screen grid resistors right off the PCB, leaving it rattling around in the amp!

I replaced both, and to be easier for future service if it is needed, I mounted them on the other side, so that these are easily desoldered  (not needing to take out the whole PCB)

 

 

 

* Squier Strat - fixed the solder joints on the input jack and also tightened it heavily

 

 

[Razvan S. 2,482]

* Did some repairs in a Marshall 6100 LM Anniversary Series @crispaul.tdc

 

 

* Fixed some Pioneer SE-MJ722T-W headphones

Had some trouble finding a flat wire, but after a long wait, it finally came in and I could replace it.

The old one was literally eaten by a dog haha

 

* Fixed some AKG K727HD Austrian Headphones

 

[Razvan S. 2,482]

* Mad. Prof. Autowah clone (2nd one done) - 126th pedal built

 

* Pete Cornish G2 HGE Contraptions clone (2nd one built) - 127th pedal built

 

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* Changed a FSW in a Diamond Quantum Leap pedal. Old one was busted

@crispaul.tdc

 

* Epiphone LP Special II Setup

 

[Razvan S. 2,482]

* Setup on an Ibanez S520EX + fretwire made shiny and slippery again, tarnished screws were cleaned and some were repainted

 

* Squier Stratocaster Pro Tone Series setup

 

* One coil from the bridge humbucker on this Epiphone LP Standard Pro was faulty. I tried to repair it but the coil was broken in two places(because it had a manufacturing error with some slack on the winding,it got caught in the upper rim in the wax, and when someone removed the cover, the coil broke).

So happens that I had an Ibanez premium humbucker with just one coil working also, and I used this good coil with the other LP coil and made one humbucker!It sounds great and it's even better now,because this new coil has much more output than the old one, and gives a nice bite to the guitar now. Very cool!Glad I could fix it in such a short time without ordering another humbucker which would of meant additional cost

After:

 

Before:

 

 

 

[Razvan S. 2,482]

* Checked and also changed the jack on a pair of AKG K240 headphones

 

* A Stagg G300 came in for a setup.

I also polished the fretwire, and checked the electro part, and changed all the tuners because the old ones were busted and poorer quality.

A very nice and playable guitar now

 

[Razvan S. 2,482]

* HGE Contraptions Wampler Triple Wreck Clone without the Cream part (I never cared for it). The enclosure was done like that by the owner. 3rd Triple Wreck built, and the 128th pedal built.
This and the BE-OD are my fav Od/Distortion in a box pedals. I'll try and make a video later this week.  @octakhan

 

* Fixed an Apex 430 Microphone.
It had intermittence issues, and I found numerous cracked solder joints and redid them.

Did not get to test this, so it will probably come back if there are additional issues.

 

* Started a more ambitious pedal project for someone who already has 4 of my pedals ( @Mr Vintage )

HGE Contraptions Custom 6in1 Pedal:
Cornish Buffer -> Keeley 4 Knob Comp -> Maxon OD820 -> Mxr Phase 90 -> Madbean Leviathan Delay -> Cornish Buffer

 

 

 

[Razvan S. 2,482]

* Yamaha John Patitucci signature setup and fretwire shined. I also changed the input jack socket

A very cool bass

 

* Repaired a Mackie Big Knob Studio audio interface

The USB connector was completely busted and broken. I also added some missing screws from the XLR sockets.

[Razvan S. 2,482]

Am decis sa postez direct linkurile catre blog de acum inainte: 

* Repaired a Solton A.P. bass amp.

* An Epiphone AJ220 came in with a severe E kinked neck in the 12th to the 16th+ fret region.

* A Vision by MSA strat came in for a general setup.

* Yamaha BB234 setup, fretwire polished, and totally rewired with new SD pickups + foil shielding.

 

[Razvan S. 2,482]

* Repaired a C.Giant classical guitar. The neck wasn't glued on anymore, I polished the fretwire and also adjusted the string height at a nut.

* Orange AD140TC repair/retube/rebias

[Razvan S. 2,482]

* Finished work on an Epiphone Riviera P93 Custom Shop

[Razvan S. 2,482]

* Deluxe Bass Big Muff repair

[Razvan S. 2,482]

* Harley Benton GA-120H Solid State head cleanup

* Had a Stagg Acoustic in, that had multiple issues and now are solved

* Dunlop 535Q wah in for some connectivity issues

* Squier Bullet Strat Indo setup and nut changed to left handed

* Had an early 80's US Fender Lead I in for a setup

 

For Fun:

https://hgecontraptions.blogspot.com/2019/07/scalloped-necks-done-some-years-ago.html

[Razvan S. 2,482]

* Dunlop GCB95 fix

* SMD IC to DIP IC adapter

* HGE Contraptions Custom 6in1 Pedal (134th effect built)

* Marshall Valvestate 8080 repair

* Measured 57 tubes with my Sencore TC136 Mighty Mite IV Tube Tester

* Harley Benton LP Tuners Replaced

* RAN Custom Guitar Rewiring

* Digitech GSP 2101 Repair

* HGE Contraptions attenuator build (Ken based)

* Yamaha F310 TBS acoustic guitar general clean and setup

[Razvan S. 2,482]

* Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro driver repair

* Rewired an Epiphone LP Custom Pro

* Cornish Buffer clone built (135th circuit built)

* Repaired a Denon 3808CI Receiver

* Old Reghin Hollow Body Rewiring

[Razvan S. 2,482]

* Restring and pot clean on a Kramer Baretta 84

* Schecter Omen Extreme 6 overhaul

 

[Razvan S. 2,482]

* Fender Stratocaster MIM 2000 came in for a general tinkering

* Jay Turser resonator guitar

[Razvan S. 2,482]

* Reghin 1981 4/4 Violin

* Fender MIM Jazzmaster tinkering

* Electroacoustic preamp repair

[Razvan S. 2,482]

* Swapped the switch in an LP

* An ENGL Screamer 50 came in for some work

* Gretsch Electromatic tinkering

* Peavey Classic 30 work

* Started diagnostics on a Marshall JVM410H Head

[Razvan S. 2,482]

* Empress Effects Multidrive (cleanup)

* ESI Monitor repair

* Marshall JVM410H (follow up) -> now repaired

* Regal Classic classical guitar repair (old Harmony rebranded model sold by Fender back in the 60s)

IMPORTANT Mention :

Because I have already a lot of work to do for the following, at least, 2 months (as some may not know, HGE Contraptions is only a weekend activity done by only one person, with no *during the week* activity, so these months for me are only about 13-15 weekends!), I will not be taking any more work for repairs/pedals/setups/amp repairs until the next year, until I finish what I have on the attached list which would be until mid/end of January

Thank you! 

[Razvan S. 2,482]

* Randall RG1503 Combo repair

 

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* Epiphone Sheraton II, Korea 1992

* Takamine G220 general setup and adjustments

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* Refret and setup on a Charvel 275 Deluxe made in Japan

* Epiphone Hummingbird Pro overhaul

* Klira German jazzmaster type guitar overhaul