Plasma Music Limited

12/06/2026

I've been working on guitar and bass amps since 1985 but this year, while in the middle of requesting technical literature and ordering parts, it was suggested by the men in black themselves, that Plasma Music Limited apply to be an BlackStar authorised service centre.

I've never been pushy when it comes to relationship[s with manufacturers and distributors but on this occasion, it feels quite special to be recognised.

I'm over the moon!

05/06/2026

A LIGHTBULB MOMENT... I rarely use this kit, but when an amp comes in that’s continuously blowing fuses, the current limiter that I built last year is now quite indispensable. How did I manage without it?!?!?!

My current limiter doesn't just save me from swapping out fuses every thirty seconds. It helps me diagnose the problems but more importantly, it does that safely.

On this occasion, the customer wasn't too lucky. It took me a couple of minutes to ascertain that the heater windings of the power transformer were shorted out. Off the top of my head, I don't know what the resistance of the winding should be but 0.6Ω seems pretty short!

01/06/2026

Back in about 2014, I thought I'd make myself a Telecaster. At the time, I fitted Lola pick-ups and although the neck pick-up was exactly what I wanted, the same couldn't be said for the bridge pick-up. Don't get me wrong. It sounded lovely but it just wasn't 'me'.

Over the weekend, I swapped out the bridge pick-up for a Seymour Duncan Jeff Beck Jr. WOW! That's more like it.

You can read my review here: https://plasmamusic.com/seymour-duncan-jb-jr-for-tele-review

29/05/2026

Since being back at work (officially), I’ve had one or two orders come in. Some of these are complete but unfortunately, everything that uses Vigortronix AC/DC converters won’t be going out for another couple of weeks as I’m desperately waiting for an order to come in.

At the back are seven Aurora replacement power supplies for the MKS-80, only one of which is fully built. The red Supernova replacement power supply for the Roland Juno-106 is also waiting converters.

All of the five P0004 replacement power supplies for the JX-10 and MKS-70 (front, left) are now built and have also been tested. These should be shipped in the next few days. The same with the two black Galaxy replacement power supplies for the Behinger DEQ2496.

Also shown are two Nebula balanced outputs for the Roland MKS-70 and my first two orders for Nebula-X balanced outputs for the Roland JX-10 (front, centre-right), one of which needs a Molex connector which arrived a few minutes ago.

To the right of them are three FSR Aftertouch Interface (FAI) PCBs, one for the Roland D-50, one for the Roland JX-8P, one for the Roland JX-10. I’ll be building the sensors for those over the weekend.

At the back right, is my first Gary 7 sale. Gary 7 is a MIDI patch change to Simmons SDS7 kit change converter which was one of my Christmas 2025 projects, the other being Nebula-X.

Also pictured, is my 2026 batch of PML-TX01 replacement transformers for the Marshall JMP-1. Some will recall the issues I had with last year's shipment. ParcelForce just couldn't get it right and the delivery was months late.

This time around, the transformers arrived much quicker as the factory decided to use a different courier.

As if that's not enough... While building all that stuff, I’ve also managed to catch up with ALL the repairs that came in prior to my operation and have been accepting repairs for the past few weeks.

22/05/2026

Over the past few months, there have been some major changes regarding exporting to the US and the EU. One would be forgiven to believe that the whole ‘globalisation’ thing that took more than thirty years to build, is now falling apart.

I’m trying hard to support my customers in the US and my neighbouring customers in the EU and have published a little information on my website.

I’ve been forced to split my previous ‘US and Canada’ shipping rates due to the cancelling of the 800 USD de minimis. Previously, imports into the US with a value of less than 800 USD were exempt from import duty. Now, everything from the UK is subject to a 10% tariff. I normally pay this 10% duty when I ship stuff. As such, I’ve had to separate and increase my US shipping rates.

Last week, I received a notice from DHL advising that after 1st July 2026, the €150 EU customs duty exemption will be abolished. Import duty will apply to every shipment sent to the EU from 1 July 2026, with no minimum threshold.

Although not a percentage tariff, exports to the EU of a value of less than €150 are now subject to a €3 per item import fee.

I haven’t checked my shipping portals yet but I imagine that Royal Mail for example, will do something similar for shipments to the EU as they do to the US and give me the opportunity to pay the €3 in advance. The fee is relatively small so if I can pay it in advance (when I ship items), then for the time-being, I won’t be changing my shipping rates to the EU.

It’s incredibly sad that things have gone this way and one can’t help but feel that our freedom is being shipped away. Instead of working closer together, our leaders seem to be trying to keep us further apart.

Anyway, we’ll leave deep political discussions for another day. In the meantime, please check out my website for more information: https://plasmamusic.com/store

If anyone is unsure about that or just wants to chat, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

SUPPLY CHAIN ISSUES (14th May 2026) Finding the balance between using the best components and at the best price is a challenge for any manufacturer, even a micro-business like Plasma Music Limited. Buying components directly from the manufacturer can often be the cheapest option but recently, cost s...

07/05/2026

Gary 7 MIDI Kit Selector for the Simmons SDS7

Emulates the original kit selector pad allowing selection of sixteen kits but via MIDI.

Can easily be set to any MIDI channel which is remembers after power-down.

Also remembers the last kit selected either via MIDI or the sixteen on-board switches, before power-down and outputs the last kit five seconds after power-up.

An original Simmons Selector Pad can be connected.

Supplied with connection cable to SDS7 and 9V power supply.

All my projects are special to me but Gary 7 will be particularly remembered as the project that saw me through a very challenging time. In November 2025, I was diagnosed with prostate cancer and Gary 7 was a very welcome distraction as I underwent tests and treatment. As such, ALL proceeds from Gary 7 sales will be donated to Prostate Cancer UK.

Read the full Gary 7 story here: https://plasmamusic.com/gary-7-midi-kit-selector-for-the-simmons-sds7

29/04/2026

A BIG THANK YOU TO ALL MY FAMILY, FRIENDS AND CUSTOMERS

Thank you for your patience and understanding and all the lovely messages I’ve received during my post cancer surgery recovery period.

I am totally committed to my customers. Over the years, many have become dear friends and our relationships mean something special to me. Occasionally however, life throws something quite unexpected at us and back in November 2025, I was diagnosed with prostate cancer.

After being told that it was operable, my family and I made the decision to look forward with all optimism. On 11th March 2026, I had an operation to remove the bad stuff.

My family and in particular, my wife Julie, have been remarkable. I also however, feel most obliged to thank my customers for their patience.

I have had to suspend repairs for a while as I’ve been told that I can’t lift anything heavy for a few weeks. I decided to keep my online store open, though as I needed to keep myself occupied and quite honestly, building stuff isn’t particularly physically demanding.

People have been so kind and I thank each and every one of you.

I’m hoping I’ll be back to 100% soon.