Silent Fly

Great bass with super-mwah





- All Mahogany Body and Neck
- Bolt On Construction
- Rosewood Fingerboard
- Grover Tuners
- Black Hardware
- 1 High Output Exposed Pole Pickup
- Active 2 Band EQ
- [i]Gigbag included[/i]

SOLD (collected, London SW18)

[i](the truss road cover on the headstock is not in the photo but I have it and it is included)[/i]

[quote name='Vibrating G String' post='1161503' date='Mar 14 2011, 10:35 AM']Interesting, the 56n's appear louder to me and the 100n's a bit muffled.[/quote]

The louder volume may be due to me playing with more energy.

The 100n setting sounds darker but I think it is a nice to have the option of darker tones.

As promissed, sound samples.

[url="http://soundcloud.com/silent-fly/ultra-mwah-fretless"]Fretless[/url]
Bass: Music Man Stingray fretless 2EQ '98
Strings: D'Addario Nickel EXL220 (40-95)
Directly in the audio interface, no processing.

[url="http://soundcloud.com/silent-fly/ultra-mwah-fretted"]Fretted[/url]
Bass: Music Man Stingray Classic 2EQ 2010
Strings: Ernie Ball Coated (45-100)
Directly in the audio interface, no processing.

I play similar phrases with the stock sound followed by the 56n position and the 100n position.

[i]Apologies for the not accurate playing but I hope you get the idea.[/i]

Fretless bass is great!

If you plan to buy one, IMO there are two things that it is worth considering:

Comfort. With fretless, the left hand fingers must be in certain positions. This makes the bass more challenging to play. This is not only for the intonation itself but also because the left hand/arm has to work harder and more accurately than with a fretted bass. If the bass is not 100% comfortable, the left hand management can be even more difficult.

Lined vs plain. It is very much a matter of personal preference. Personally, I find easier playing a plain fretboard. I am not 100% sure why but I suspect it is because with the lines and dots of the lined fretboard my brain has to process more information and I end up relying more on my eyes than I should.

If you are keen on [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=105178"] StingRays[/url], I recommend you a [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=105598"][b]StingRay Classic[/b][/url]. I have been a JB player for more then 2 decades but I can stop playing my StingRay Classic – fantastic bass.

[b]Status S2[/b]. Very flexible, well balanced and with the graphite neck the bass doesn't need setup adjustments if you play in a dry or high-humidity environment.

[b]Status Streamline[/b]. As above but ultra-light. The balance is not as good as the S2 but with a strap it is more than ok.

[b]Fender Jazz[/b]. It is an industry standard suitable for la genres. I think the problem with JB is that they sound all different and finding one that sounds good can take a while.

[b]Sadowsky[/b]. They aren’t my favourite basses but some models sound very good. A PJ might be the right ticket for you.

[quote name='Crazykiwi' post='1141711' date='Feb 25 2011, 08:36 PM']I'm not sure I understand why someone would wish to make a stingray sound like a jazz...unless they didn't have a jazz bass I guess.[/quote]
I never said that the mod make a StingRay sound [i]like[/i] a Jazz Bass. The mod make a SR sounds [i]more like[/i] a JB but the SR still has its sound.

In practice, the mod adds a new set of tones to the bass. Considering that with the switch in the middle position the bass sounds exactly like a stock SR, nothing is taken away from the original SR tone.

Personally, I find it interesting especially on a fretless (I don’t have a JB fretless) but if one is happy with his SR as it is, it is not a mod I would recommend.

[quote name='Crazykiwi' post='1141711' date='Feb 25 2011, 08:36 PM']What does the mod actually do to the signal? Change the response of the pickup?[/quote]
It interacts with the pickup impedance creating a filter.

You can find more details [url="http://buildyourguitar.com/resources/lemme/"]here[/url]. (Fig.3 and Fig.4).

[quote name='Darkstrike' post='1141943' date='Feb 25 2011, 11:10 PM']is it a cap across the hot and ground of the pickup, (…)[/quote]
Yes, in a nutshell, this is what it is.

[quote name='Vibrating G String' post='1141988' date='Feb 26 2011, 12:41 AM']Yes, it's a low pass filter on the pickup. With such a small capacitor it will only affect the highest frequencies. This is a cool mod and was much more popular before active preamps became so common. (…)[/quote]
Strictly speaking, it is not a pure RC low-pass. The reason is that the inductance of the pickup interacts with the capacitor creating [url="http://buildyourguitar.com/resources/lemme/secrets4.gif"]a different frequency response[/url].

This is why the same circuit attached to the output of the preamp would not work in the same way.

[quote name='Vibrating G String' post='1141988' date='Feb 26 2011, 12:41 AM'](…) I think it's a great way to give more focus and less glassy highs to a bass (…)[/quote]
It does that but it also boosts the mids before the cut-off frequency.

[quote name='Vibrating G String' post='1141988' date='Feb 26 2011, 12:41 AM'](…) but many are wary of the concept as you're losing some signal and that's always seen as bad even though it shouldn't be.[/quote]
If the capacitors are the right value you shouldn't perceive any signal loss.

[quote name='mcnach' post='1140285' date='Feb 24 2011, 06:59 PM'](...)
I believe the Taliban use the forum in their training.

[/quote]

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='1140205' date='Feb 24 2011, 06:01 PM']Haha it was just a joke mate. They'd rip you to shreds for suggesting such heresy. [/quote]

Do you think so? Why?

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='1140186' date='Feb 24 2011, 05:42 PM'](...) You should post it over on the EB forums. (...)[/quote]

I probably should but I am not registered and I don't want to register for just one post.

If you are registered please fell free to post the diagram. This is the location:
[codebox]http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll268/photomx/Mods/StingRay%20ultra%20mwah/StingRayultra-mwah10.gif[/codebox]

[quote name='mcnach' post='1140135' date='Feb 24 2011, 04:40 PM'](...)

Could you post any clips to illustrate the effects of the mods (any or all variations welcome )?[/quote]

I tried the mod only with temporary wiring. I am waiting for a spare control plate to use for this mod. When I receive it and I implemented the mod, I'll try to record a couple of clips.

I recently purchased a second-hand StingRay fretless 2EQ and I really like it.

I think it has a more than a decent mwah but compared to a JB it is somehow different. It is more “liquid” and with less focus on the midrange.

Initially, I though that a different set of strings (I use D’Addario EXL220 on this bass) would have helped but I wasn’t entirely convinced by idea that different strings could lead to such a dramatic change.

I thought about the differences between JB and SR I found this simple solution that I think works great.

It is nothing innovative but it really opens up a total different set of sounds. It requires the drilling of a hole in the control plate for an on-off-on switch so if you have a pre-EB bass it might be a good idea buying a spare control plate to use for the mod.

Needless to say, the mod works equally well on fretted basses. I tried on my StingRay Classic and it makes it much more JB/Jaco sounding.

Below the schematic.

Free bump for a very cool bass.

bump

[url="http://www.bosscorp.co.jp/products/en/LS-2/"]Boss LS-2[/url] in very good conditions. With original packaging and paperwork.

[s]£40 posted (to UK mainland)[/s].

[b]*** SOLD ***[/b]

bump with price drop

A+

He brought an Avalon U5 from me.

Top bloke to deal with. Fast payment, great communications.

Highly recommended.

[url="http://www.digitech.com/products/Pedals/BassSynth.php"]Digitech Bass Synth Wah[/url] in good conditions with original box. Unfortunately, no user manual but you can [url="ftp://ftp.digitech.com/pub/PDFs/Manuals/XSeries%20Manuals/BassSynthWahManualV.pdf"]download[/url] it from the Digitech web site.

*** SOLD ***

PayPal or bank transfer.

[url="http://www.bossus.com/gear/productdetails.php?ProductId=819"]Boss RC-2 Loopstation[/url] in great conditions.

It comes with original box and user manual.

*** SOLD ***

[url="http://www.avalondesign.com/instrudi.html"]Avalon U5[/url] great condition, never racked, inc box, paperwork etc.

[s]£350 (+ £10 UK delivery)[/s] SOLD

[quote name='DanOwens' post='1108603' date='Jan 30 2011, 08:18 PM']Found this enclosure at Banzai [url="http://www.banzaimusic.com/Enclosure-BB-Orange-Bulk.html"]HERE[/url]. I've got all my other parts but I'm unsure about the size of this.

What do you experts think?[/quote]

It is difficult to say without knowing the circuit you plan to put in the enclosure.

I suspect that with a BB enclosure you may end up with the pedal almost completely empty.

[quote name='Ghost_Bass' post='1106574' date='Jan 28 2011, 06:49 PM']What about adding to SFX products some kind of micro-blender you could apply inside a pedal? Are you interested in taking on that market niche?
It could be something like the guts of a normal blender without jacks or switches, just conectors so we could desolder the wires from the jacks and connect them into the blender and pick the atached wires and solder them on the right places... of course there will be some kind of schematic to teach you how to do this and maitain the footswitch working! I just don't know enough about 3PDT switching to complete my thoughts...

I'm saying this because i have a Behringer VT911 (valve dist) guitar pedal that i like to add a blend but buying a blender is more expensive than the pedal itself... and i would end with lots of spare parts from the blender... and there are lots of other cool guitar or bass pedals that could benefit from a clean blend to acomodate bass.

I know taht in this case the mod would be easy to do because the pedal has lots of free space inside and that would be a pain for more crowdy stompboxes but if anyone would be willing to do a rehousing than virtualy avery pedal would be blendable...

What do you think? Is my idea too crazy?

Cheers[/quote]

I think that from the user perspective is a useful idea. I am not sure from the business viability though.

Different pedals may require different wiring and customer support can be a total nightmare.

[quote name='PauBass' post='1105894' date='Jan 28 2011, 09:16 AM']I know there's been a thread already about the smallest blender pedals on the market but I can't find it

Anyway, I'm looking for a small blender pedal, something that's not going to take much space on my board.[/quote]

I guess it depends what you mean by "small"?

The problem with blenders is that they require 4 jack sockets + the power supply socket. I never tried but it [i]might [/i]be possible build one in a micro-enclosure.

[quote name='DrDave' post='1099001' date='Jan 22 2011, 07:42 PM']Is it better to use the send/return for effects rather than through the effect and then into the amp?[/quote]
Not necessarily.

Send/return connetions are usually placed between preamplifier and power amplifier. In the majority of amps they are at line level (in orther words they are hotter than the signal of your bass).

Not all pedals or multi-fx units can operate at line level. A good example are fuzz pedals , distortion units or compressors that are usually tuned at instrument level.

Moreover, the return jack is a low impedance input that it is likely to overload the output of the effect connected to it.

To summarise, you should use in the send/return loop effects that are designed to operate at line level. Some pedals can operate succesfully at instrument or line level (e.g. the [sfx] micro-Thumpinator) but they are exceptions. Rack units on the other side are, in the majority of cases, designed to operate at line level and not at instrument level.

There are ways to connect standard [i]instrument level[/i] effects in the s/r loop but it requires an attenuator after the send jack (to reduce the signal from line to instrument) and a line level driver before the return jack (to boost the signal to line level and match the impedance).

[send]-->attenuator-->(fx)-->(fx)-->(fx)-->line_level_driver-->[return]

[quote name='DrDave' post='1099001' date='Jan 22 2011, 07:42 PM']I guess that the main reason is that when the effects are off then the sound should be pure, but i guess that its not as simple as that [/quote]
If the pedals are true-bypass, they are connected properly and they are off if shouldn't make any difference if they are between instrument and amp or the send/return loop.

The reason why processing units placed in the send/return loops operate better is that the signal is already preamplifed. If a processing unit produces noise (all of them do) the noise is amplified by the preamplifier only if it is place [i]before[/i] the preamplifier. As the s/r loop is after the preamplifier the output noise is lower.

[quote name='DrDave' post='1099001' date='Jan 22 2011, 07:42 PM']Also, would you guys use your usual guitar leads for this connection?[/quote]
You should use standard guitar leads for send/return connections.

The only exception are balanced s/r loops that require jack TRS connections or XLR connections. It is unlikely thay you will find them unless you use separate preamp and power amp.

[quote name='xgsjx' post='1095860' date='Jan 20 2011, 12:36 AM']Is there a pedal that will allow me to merge 2 mono audio signals (well, one stereo out as 2 1/4 jacks) with individual levels & in/out switches to one mono audio out (as 1/4 jack)? (...)[/quote]

If I understand correctly, you are looking for a 2 channel mixer with two footswitches to turn on / mute the two channels.

I should be able to put together something for you. Essentially, it is a [sfx] S&M without the split section (the jacks on the right side) and with a switching system for the mix section (jacks on the left side).

Alternatively, you can remove the EQ and use a [sfx] X&M.

If you send me an email we can discuss it further.

[quote name='dumelow' post='1073392' date='Dec 31 2010, 02:20 AM']how noisy is the unit when recording[/quote]
Some amp models are guitar specific but there are tons of effects that work great with bass.

[quote name='dumelow' post='1073392' date='Dec 31 2010, 02:20 AM']how noisy is the unit when recording[/quote]

Very good. After the input, the signal is converted in digital format and you record via USB no noise is picked up from the outside world. The unit has also stereo XLR out that are excellent from the noise viewpoint.