Jakester

I have a pair of Yamaha DXR12s which are more than enough for all of the gigs we've done so far. That's included pubs, weddings, outdoors, large halls etc. 

I picked the pair up including covers used for £700. 

If it's a bigger venue, I pair them with an old Mackie powered sub.

On 08/08/2023 at 16:15, Jakester said:

Wahey, my care package from ACS has arrived!

 

 

A set of Engage Classic IEMs, some Pro20 earplugs, and a set of sleep earplugs. 

 

I'll give them a test and report back.

Just thought I would update this. I should say I primarily got these for playing drums, rather than bass, but hopefully I'll get the opportunity to use with both in future. 

Tried the IEMs both at home with my kit (with a Focusrite Scarlett setup, so no EQ) and at rehearsal (from a REALLY shonky rehearsal room desk and only with a single OH on the drums).

The first thing that got me was the occlusion - it really is a game-changer. I've used earplugs and universal IEMs for years, but this is the first time I've ever felt properly isolated, which meant the in-ear volume could be reduced significantly.

The second thing was the response. It was VERY clear - meaning I could hear *everything*, including the wonky tuning on a couple of my toms, the rattling t-rods, and the awful, awful rehearsal room kit. I haven't had a chance to mess with the stereo field yet (there's no pan out of the box on the Focusrite without messing with the apps and the rehearsal room mixer was a single mono output) but I didn't feel like I was missing anything. I've seen comments on the lack of bass response from 2-driver IEMs but the (DI'd) bass came through absolutely fine. Everything was clear and with a decent amount of bottom end on the bass. I have no doubt when they're going into my 'proper' mixer with suitable EQ they'll sound great. Far, far above my experiences with universal IEMs - about as big a leap as it was going from earplugs to IEMs in the first place.

The downsides were few, but worth mentioning: the twisted cabling rubbed the tops of my ears so became uncomfortable after a while. I reckon some thin rubber tubing or heatshrink slipped over it would sort that. I also found the body of the RH IEM became uncomfortable pressing against the outside of my ear after a few hours. Hopefully not a major concern and something I'll get used to.

And finally, there's the actual fitting in to wear - ACS suggest using their 'Comfort Cream' (which I have seen mentioned elsewhere is basically just KY Jelly). For me, it's absolutely essential with all of their products - the IEMs and both sets of earplugs. I simply can't get them into my ear canal without using the "cream" (lube), so I think I'll need to make sure I have some to hand (oo-er) at all times, which is one more thing to think about. It's a bit weird - you only need a small amount, and it really (ahem) aids insertion (ahem), but if you use too much it all feels a little gloopy in your lug hole.

However, that all said, those are minor things easily sorted and the benefits definitely outweigh the issues. It's a strong recommend from me.

Wahey, my care package from ACS has arrived!

A set of Engage Classic IEMs, some Pro20 earplugs, and a set of sleep earplugs. 

I'll give them a test and report back.

2 hours ago, BigRedX said:

One thing to consider does the effect on/off toggle with the same MIDI message or do you need two different ones for on and off? (In which case you may need two footswitches.)

Yep, that's the one thing I need to work out - I may give it a go using a USB MIDI keyboard to see what happens first.

QSC Touchmix 16. It's a USB-A socket.

I did see that before, but whilst there are options that would work, they're all pretty expensive or over-featured. 

I may take a punt on that eBay one. 

Has anyone come across a cheap MIDI USB footswitch that has only one or two switches?

Basically I would like our singer to trigger a vocal effect on a tune. The mixer can do it, but only supports MIDI via USB. It can learn the commands which can then be used to switch the effect on and off, so the actual commands sent aren’t really an issue. 
 

I’d ideally like it to be a single switch so as not to cause too much confusion for our singer. 
 

Disaster Area does the MIDI Baby but that needs their USB Host too - not a big issue, but just an added point of potential failure at a gig. Plus it’s £££. 
 

This chap appears to sell custom pedals and is around the right price, but it’s a bit of a punt on the unknown!

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/225596406007?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&fromMakeTrack=true

Any other suggestions?

I recently got one of these and it’s great:

https://www.k-m.de/en/products/drummer-s-thrones-benches-stools/stools/14045-stool-black-imitation-leather

6 minutes ago, tinyd said:

You will also end up getting gigs (and you can debate about how shallow this is) based purely on the look of a DB.

There's the old chestnut, "the first week, I got my DB and had my first lesson on how to bow. The second week, I worked on intonation. I missed my third lesson because I was out gigging!" 

I’ve always got mine (Lo Rider nickels or Sunbeams) from Amazon. Pretty good prices - I think about £35 for a 5-string set?

If it were me, I'd be on to some NSW lawyers getting them to do a letter before action for me giving him 14 days to either confirm the (adequately insured etc) shipping details or a refund. 

Whilst I'm not familiar with the specifics of NSW procedure, I'd bet it's fairly close to our own with a comparable small claims process that wouldn't cost you a fortune to do. 

Amazon have done same-day delivery of stuff like that in the past. I tend to buy a pack of 5 or 10 at a time as they often go walkabout...

Apparently from recent post-gig comments I am more associated with dancing like a tw@t on stage than any particular piece of gear! 

Spotted in my local rehearsal studio:

🤣

1 hour ago, EBS_freak said:

Am I alone in thinking that Comply tips are a super case study where the branding has won out over the actual product? I never had any luck with them... and then tended to fall apart.

 

To be fair though, I never found anything that would stay in my ears - I don't know if thats because of the shape of my ears or not... but it was that that send me on my merry way down the customs route.

 

Spintfits were my favourite - but again, silicone - so if silicone not anybody's bag, probably a bit of a non starter.

 

Anyway, as you were.

Nah, you're not alone. I've spent a small fortune trying lots of different tips but could never find 'the one' that worked for me. The Comply-style ones were okay to a point, but I never seemed to get the isolation everyone else said; I suspect I have weirdly shaped ears. 

In the end I've opted for customs too, so hopefully that should put an end to the searching!

I'm not sure you need to rejig the outputs that much - I have an 1820i and a Saffire Pro 40 via ADAT and I can send different mixes to each of the headphones outputs on both interfaces, giving you four separate stereo headphone mixes.

2 hours ago, fretmeister said:

Have you tried it without the DI box?

Yep,  my first question would be why are you using an additional DI box when there’s a ‘proper’ DI out on the head? I’ve had lots of issues with my MB heads but the DI isn’t one - I’ve used it on stages and gigs with all manner of different setups and it’s been fine. 
 

When you say ‘line out’, you’re definitely using the DI, right? Rather than the effects loop, or from one of the cab thru sockets?

Well, a sad and disappointing update to this, unfortunately. When I received the pedal back, the OD circuit didn't work. At all. The repairer said it worked when he sent it back, and there's a video of it he sent demonstrating it. He said that when he received it, the OD pot was loose, so he replaced it. Unfortunately he couldn't get the exact same pot, but replaced it with one he said would work just as well. He suggested I send it back to him to take a look at. He thought it could have taken some knocks in transit, although it was packed well in the manufacturer's packaging and additional reinforcement and no sign of damage to the packaging. 

So since March, I have been in sporadic communications with the repairer, and he says he's not been able to trace any fault in the OD circuit whatsoever, which is strange because he got me to do a full video for him, carrying out various tests etc and there was simply no drive whatsoever.  There seems to be the implication I'm doing something wrong, though what (beyond plugging, setting the gain etc and switching it on and off) that could be isn't really clear. 

It's been with him since March, with very limited updates. I've chased and got a rather huffy reply where he said he's exhausted all options so I'm going to have to shell out yet again for it to be collected. 

From my perspective, I sent a fully-working pedal with a blown diode, and I will have received back a pedal where one of the major functions doesn't work whatsoever, and I'm now out over £100 on various repair and postage costs. 

The real kicker for me, though, is that because he's had it for so long, I can't now bring any claim against Royal Mail, as it's outside the time they let you make a claim. It was sent fully insured via Special Delivery so I could have claimed at least some of the value of the pedal back. 

As it is, I'm left without a working pedal and no recourse whatsoever, and out quite a bit of money. 

I suppose it was the false hope that kills you. If I'd just have continued using it with the blown diode, all would have been fine. Instead, I've paid to have it repaired and now to all intents and purposes it's fecked. Sigh. 

On 17/06/2023 at 20:35, TheGreek said:

Did any of these suggestions work Jake?

Haven't had the chance to fiddle about with it as I've been gigging solidly - but thanks for the reminder, Mick, I'll have a go at it today and report back!

7 minutes ago, NickD said:

Fair enough.

 

I've never seen one like it, any idea who made it?

 

Previous owner's ad here:

12 minutes ago, thodrik said:

then I set the threshold (i.e. when do I want the compression to kick in?). The LED will change when the compression kicks in so it is easy to tell when the compression is working;

For the OP I think this is the key point.

4 hours ago, NickD said:

I'd be sorely tempted to try and fashion wooden replacements for the brackets, that would finish it off really nicely.

Some steam-bent high-end birch ply would look lovely...

I’ve struggled using compressors in the past - I’ve never been able to get them working properly for me, and the most recent one I had was unusable due to the noise floor.

However, a recent gig showed that I really need one - we were through the house PA but hadn’t really had the chance to sound check, and when I popped a note in a funk tune it nearly blew everyone’s eardrums.

So I resolved to dive back in, and get my hands on one of the ‘high end’ analogue pedals rather than a cheaper digital example. 
 

I had my eyes peeled for either a Keeley or a Cali76. I’d been uhmming and ahhing about a couple of the Calis on the classifieds (the size was putting me off as I’d need a whole new pedalboard) when a Keeley Bassist popped up.

I snapped it up, and the seller was even good enough to post it next day (unprompted by me!) so I could try it out at my gig the following evening. 
 

The gig involved me playing active 5 string, active fretless and amplified double bass, and the Keeley was a revelation. It just tamed my wayward playing and helped any volume issues on the DB too, with no noise issues whatsoever.

I am converted!

Delighted to be able to keep this going, Rob sold me his Keeley Bassist, and posted it so fast it arrived next day! 

Highly recommended - thanks Rob. 

Thanks Andy - I have a gig tomorrow, so don't want to fiddle with it until after that. I'll have a play and report back.