Jakester

But what I mean is the Mark stand is only designed to be used with MB cabs which are covered in carpet - it’s not supposed to be used with other cabs!

But if the cab doesn’t have carpet, the Velcro won’t work?

I have one and it works fine if you set it up right (which can be a faff!) - but you need the Velcro stuck to the cab bottom, which holds it in place. I’m assuming the BF cab is Tolex?

I recorded our gig last night direct from our XR18 into a program called RecAll by Audified - basically it takes the direct from desk signal with no processing and records it. Last time I tried it I got lots of stuttering which I think was down to the default buffer size being too small. This time I have no stuttering, but instead lots of crackling across all the tracks. I know the crackling wasn't present during the gig as I was wearing IEMs and I would have heard it. Apparently crackling can also be a sign the buffer is too small - but it was set to 1024 samples as all RecAll was doing was recording, with no monitoring or effects processing so I assumed that would be better for the recording. Should I have had a smaller buffer than 1024? Any other suggestions (all audio connections were fine so that's ruled out as a caused as it was across all tracks)?

I've used Schallers, knock-offs and the BC strap retainers (like Grolsch bottle seals). The rubber ones are great but a sod to use if you change straps - I found the easiest way is just to unscrew the strap button rather than wrestle with getting them on and off. Leave them in the sun first before trying to put them on though! The Schaller knock-offs are frustrating as the sizes are just slightly different and don't fit actual Schaller buttons. I have a tub full of different parts, none of which fit each other and are completely useless. I bought some new Schallers recently, and they're way better than the old ones - they use a thick knurled lock nut rather than the thin nut of before, meaning you can torque it right up more easily, and there's a slot to add in a hex key to use as leverage when tightening. They also have locking grub screws which eliminates the occasional nut loosening of the old ones. Highly recommended.

Could be higher frets on that particular bass?

Anyone seen Brother Strut on their current tour? I saw them in Bristol last night and it was absolutely storming. SUCH a funky groove - PT just plays right in the pocket. Great live show too, the whole band tighter than a duck's behind. Highly recommended if they're anywhere near you. A vid of their soundcheck is here - well worth checking out if you have a few mins: https://www.facebook.com/BrotherStrut/videos/345378821008075/

I once received a cymbal sent wrapped only in black bin liner. Thankfully it survived the trip. Unlike some mugs I once bought from eBay which were sent in a taped up carrier bag. They did not survive the trip. In mitigation, the seller offered that it was her mum that packed them, not her, so it wasn't her fault?

Therein lies the rub - I find one easier for somethings, the other for other things! Yep, this is something I'm really struggling with. I seem to tense up straightway. I don't think I can have the bow grip right at all, though I've looked at various vids and have a copy of the Simandel book. Yep, I'm really struggling to find a teacher. Two local teachers just didn't respond when I contacted them, and the third said he isn't taking on new pupils. Ah well, I will keep looking! DB isn't ever going to be my main instrument - bass is itself my second instrument so DB is 3rd/4th, but it'd be nice to develop a bit more facility with it!

Sorry for the total noob question - not yet found a DB teacher so muddling my way through as best I can for now. When I started messing around with DB I picked up a cheap bow from here, but not knowing the difference between French and German, I just assumed you played it French style. So that’s what I did, until a kindly cellist pointed out the difference. I tried German grip but it felt unnatural, so I bought a French bow. I still really struggle with the grip - my hand aches after about 32 bars, but I presume it‘s a strengthening thing. I’ve contacted a couple of local teachers but none have responded to be, so still on the hunt. Anyway, I’ve been struggling with a particular piece and out of frustration I picked up the German bow, and instantly found it easier to play that piece. Then I went back to another piece and found it was hard to play with the German bow, but easier with the French. So, is there any reason (other than looking like a dork) I can’t use both?

For anyone what's interested, it was a loose connection in the jack - all sorted now (hopefully!)

Yep, fair play to them they are quite responsive. Interesting they appeared happy to send the neck to you - they said they would need me to ship my whole bass to them for any neck swap (early German Streamer B/O).

Warwick repair prices are nuts. I was quoted best part of £900 for a replacement neck! If it were anything other than a Streamer Standard I’d say go with Guitar Guitar, but even the early German ones don’t hold their value well, so an RB one probably even less. I’d keep an eye out for an RB neck or body on eBay or FB.

In one band we use a Google Calendar. Fairly straightforward, and can be synced easily. In another, we use a Google sheets spreadsheet setup by month - you fill in availability etc. Finally, the orchestra I play in uses an app called Spond, which syncs with your device calendar and can send out notifications and request attendance/availability etc. I’ve only used it client side, rather than admin side, but seems to work well so far.

Thanks, I did - Kindle is £15 per part (it’s split into 3 parts) or £48 for a paper version! https://www.amazon.co.uk/Behringer-XR18-Digital-Mixer-Handbook-ebook/dp/B09676QRJY

I *think* the effects are also controllable via MIDI though I’m jiggered if I’d even start knowing where to look for that…!

No, haven’t seen that before, but looking on Amazon £45/48 is quite a lot!

Good luck! At worst, if you fancied getting to together to talk it through, you're only down the road from me so let me know!

And a bit more detail here:

And this is a very quick explainer for inserts:

Right, did a bit more Googling, and this video from Behringer seems to provide the answers - @stewblackhopefully this helps you: So this explains routing signals to the four FX buses, and they do it in the way I understood it worked - i.e. you select the FX bus on the RH of the screen, and then raise the relevant faders to send it to that effect. The key issue for me was that as we were doing a monitor test, I didn't have the main LR faders up, so it wasn't sending the signal to the FX bus properly. I will see if I can find a good explainer video for using inserts as well. I think this video is really helpful.

Well, if I knew how it worked, I wouldn’t be asking for help! How do you route it? Where is it found? Who am I? Why are we here?

I’ve been using my XR18 for a while now, it’s all been fine, but I still really struggle with using the effects. I can get a reverb on main vocals, but cannot for the life of me figure out how to get that same reverb into the vocalist’s monitor (I know there are loads of reasons why you shouldn’t put reverb in the monitors, but he keeps moaning…) The way I do effects is like this: select the main mix LR, then pick the effect in one of the four FX ‘slots’ (buses?). Click on that effect slot on the section below then Aux outs labelled FX1, 2 etc. Raise the faders of the channels I want the effect to affect - so for reverb, the vocalists, in differing proportions depending on who wants it. Tweak to suit. That’s fine, it works. But how do I send the same effected channel to the aux sends for monitoring? Clicking the particular aux out for the monitor mix and then adjusting FX1,2 etc does nothing. When I played around with inserting the FX on the aux we got the most god awful feedback. I don’t even know how it happened, just that it did! I wondered whether changing the aux send point might help (ie post-fader etc) but it didn’t. Can someone tell me an idiot’s guide to how to use the effects please? Fanku.

Thanks, that looks really interesting - but pretty expensive! US$240 plus shipping - hefty.

Finally had the chance to get it out and take a look - it *seems* like there's no contact issue - the contacts are strongly sprung and the battery seems fairly tightly held in place - no wiggling or movement at all. I'll drop the bass in to the local shop for them to take a look at at the weekend!