CWelsh

Each of the Discworld books can stand on their own, but there are a lot of recurring characters that develop over time. Before I realized it was a collection I read a couple and felt like something was missing, so I started from the beginning and have really enjoyed the flow. Unfortunately, there are three books I have been unable to get through my library.

She is nothing short of amazing!

I'm a huge fan of Terry Pratchett's Discworld series and have been working my way through all 42 books. I'm currently reading "The Shepherd's Crown". It is technically a young adult book, but I don't mind.

Very nice! What is this?

I use the Bluesound Node with the standard DAC running through a single ACA for my Forte IIIs and love it. I've heard that balanced/bridged ACAs sound a little brighter because you lose the 2nd order harmonics, but I don't know that personally. I'm anxious to hear what you think when you make your decision and have it all up and running.

Very cool!

Electronic guitar kits don't require nearly as much working space as an acoustic, and you don't need to spend as much on special tools. The Body Build kits from StewMac are a less complicated acoustic, but you still need quite a few tools most people don't have. Then there is the finishing... i used a pore filler on this one. It looked great at first, but I think I should have let it sit for another week before starting with the finish lacquer. I couldn't really see it while I was applying the lacquer, but as it cured I realized that the filler had shrunk and it wasn't completely smooth. Like you, I actually kind of like the look, but it wasn't what I was expecting.

Thanks! I have built both Strat and Tele kits and have had great success with both. By the time you buy good hardware and electronics, you're going to spend as much or more than you would on a really nice guitar from China, but there is something really satisfying about knowing you built it. Plus, it is a great learning experience.

Thank you! Fortunately, the pictures aren't detailed enough to see the flaws, but it really did turn out well. Best of all, my grandson is happy with it. It sounds good and is comfortable to play. I just finished setting the action yesterday. This is a mahogany body with a medium brown stain. At first I wasn't sure I was going to like the color, but after the third application of stain, it really started to look good.

I just finished this building this guitar for my grandson. It is one of the Body Build kits from Stewart - MacDonald. Not quite as fancy as my D28 copy, but still a very nice guitar. He "helped" me with the build.

My friend makes some great brownies that seem to improve much of the source material I listen to. I have no idea how chocolate and eggs can do that, but it works better than new cables. 😉

I will be interested to hear how you think this amp compares to The Little Sweetie versions you've built.

Someone is sure living right! Great post...thank you for sharing. It's fun reading about your experimentation and experience.

Looking good!

Thanks to @henry4841, I now have a service manual which includes a complete parts list, schematic, and instructions for setting the bias and AC balance. SWEET!

Thank you for the links! I'm going to give it a shot.

Thanks, my friend! This is the encouragement I needed. This is a point-to-point build. Looking at it, it seems it should actually be much easier to work on than the Marantz was, and you're correct about there not really being all that many parts involved. I really appreciate your offer of help. I'm going to download the schematic right now.

I have a Fisher X-101-B (30 wpc integrated) that has been sitting on a shelf in my storage room since 1987. Every couple of years I pull it out and hook it up, but I've always been afraid to rely on it so it goes back on the shelf. Now that I have some efficient speakers, I would really like to have a tube amplifier option so I'm debating whether to restore the Fisher or sell it and use the proceeds to build an SET amp and would appreciate hearing peoples thoughts. The Fisher is actually in very decent shape. It had been donated to the school where I used to work at some point before 1987, but no one knew when or if it had ever even been used by the school. I snagged it when they decided to dump it. I purchased a kit and successfully rebuilt my Marantz 1060 a few years ago and more recently built a Nelson Pass ACA, but I've never tackled anything with tubes. I can purchase a kit to recap the Fisher for not too much money, I just don't know that I'm brave enough to try it myself. Let the discussions begin!

I mostly use streaming (Amazon) because it gives me access to music I don't own. Vinyl is second, followed by CDs.

How about California Honeydrops?

I'm curious why you dumped Amazon HD for Qobuz. As I mentioned above, I'm currently trying Qobuz and haven't determined any real benefits so far, but I may not be looking for the right things.

Today is Wild Turkey 101. That is pretty much my go-to. Although, I do like Evan Williams Bottled-in-Bond. I know...I'm a tightwad, but it is a darned good bourbon for just over half the price of the Wild Turkey.

I donated blood today. Every 16 weeks I do what they call a "double red" donation where they take twice the normal donation amount, separate out the red blood cells, then return a plasma/saline solution into my body. For whatever reason, today I got pretty light headed. Can't say it was a pleasant experience, but I think it might be enhancing the effect of my bourbon this evening.

Stoned? Wait, am I among like minded individuals here? 🤩

I, too, have just signed up for a Qobuz trial. I've been using Amazon Music Unlimited for about two years, also with the Bluesound Node. I've been trying to do some A/B comparisons between the two to see I can tell any difference in the audio quality. Strangely, the only thing I've noticed is that the Amazon signal seems hotter. I haven't tried to measure the SPL difference, but it is definitely noticeable. So far, I haven't noticed a difference in availability of material for what I like listening to, but I've only been using it for a few days. For those who use Qobuz, are there things you think I should look at to compare the two products. KT88, I hope you don't mind me piggybacking on your topic.