Jakester

Thanks Ped!

Not really bass related, but I once saw Herbie Hancock live with the Headhunters and he played the first tune of his set without having switched on any of his outboard rack synth stuff, so it was all just default piano sound. Still good, but not quite what he was going for… On a more sad note, I saw Oscar Peterson on his final tour, and he played the first tune, then the second tune, then played the first tune again, then the second tune again, then the second tune again, and then then first tune. His band were getting more and more agitated and one of them went over to speak to him between tunes, and they were waved off. So over the whole performance we only heard a couple of tunes. A real shame.

Yep. After trying everything for a weird volume issue that had been going on for years, I sent my Combo Amp II (basically a LMIII) to Real. They couldn't find anything wrong with it. As a precaution I agreed to all the pots being replaced as they said there wasn't anything else it could have been. Used it twice since then so I'm hoping that cured it.. a pretty expensive trip if not!

Ah, tried those too, for my wife’s snoring - unfortunately their largest size is too small and they disappear into my ears requiring tweezers to get them out!

Why *is* it called Digbeth? I mean, there's been a few good venues and a couple of notable gigs, but it's not like it's really a massively influential part of the music scene?

Lol - I've been using ours for a while too. We only had a couple of occurrences - usually the singer walking in front of the speakers or something, but it's just that slight feeling of a lack of control. I don't know why they put a headphone control but not a master level control/mute on it too. I'm not sure whether it's the right thing or not - as you say, it's belt and braces and if there's no obvious reason why not then relatively cheap too.

A weird one, this: I use a wireless mixer for our band's gigs - an XR18. It's great, but the only thing that really bugs me about it is the lack of any hard mute or volume control. We've had a couple of horrible feedback moments in the past when setting up which, on an ordinary mixer, you could kill in seconds, but on the XR takes a couple of moments to find the correct screen and fader - and even more time if the device controlling it has gone to sleep. I also have a slight (probably irrational) fear of some horrible digital error from one of the connected synth devices blowing the speakers if I can't reduce the level quickly. I have a Behringer Xtouch which works fine as a hard controller; however, it's just one more thing to lug around and for smaller gigs a bit of a pain. I was wondering if there was any in-line volume controller or kill switch which would work and came across this: https://www.gear4music.com/Recording-and-Computers/Behringer-MONITOR1-Passive-Monitor-Controller/20L4 Although it's for monitoring, I don't see any reason why it wouldn't work with the main PA outs - it has the 'instant' kill if needed and you can reduce vol a touch easily during a song using the vol control. I assume to set it up effectively you'd set it for max vol at the usual gig volume and only tweak it if needed. So - any reason I should get that to run the main PA feeds (to powered speakers) through? Any other alternative products?

Honestly? If someone asked for advice on a small hatchback, would you say 'nah, forget that, you need a Ferrari - does the same job but better'? Or more relevantly, if someone asks for advice on a good starter bass, would you say 'get a Fodera, it's miles better'? No? Thought not. There might be a myriad of reasons why someone can't stretch to the £139 cost of a set of custom plugs. Frankly your response just came across as crass, and given that the specific question asked, specifically precluded the option of getting custom plugs made, not a little dim as well. There are a number of off the shelf options which attenuate volume by around 20dB without having to spend hundreds on custom plugs. I was simply asking if someone could recommend some which were more comfortable than ER20s.

Fab, thanks - two totally useless replies. I am well aware of the need to protect my hearing - that’s why I’ve been wearing hearing protection for 20+ years. The ER20s work fine, they really just very uncomfortable and I’m looking for alternatives, that’s all. Do you actually have any practical recommendations?

Does anyone have any recommendations for ‘off the shelf’ hearing protection? I’ve been using Etymotic/Elacin/ACS ER20s for years, but I’m finding now that they’re a) not fitting as well as they used to, and b) get incredibly uncomfortable after about an hour’s wear time. I’ve tried Proplugs and they’re useless IME - no apparent attenuation at all. I used to use them but not sure what has changed. The soft triple flange type plugs go too deep into my ears - the ones with the little ‘pull tab’, and I recently had a pair get stuck when the pull tab broke, so those are out too! I know the answer is get some ACS custom ones but I’d rather not spend the £££ if I didn’t have to, and I don’t qualify for the MU scheme (and I’m not going to misrepresent my income for it either). Is there anything I’ve missed out, any aural wonders that will save my embattled hearing off the shelf, or do I really have to get ready to be reamed out for custom ones?

Since the festering self-inflicted wound that is Brexit, for me at least the prospect of an overseas purchase from our former nearest and dearest, with its newly acquired VAT and import duties, and no doubt handling fees to boot, is now (and likely for the foreseeable) off the table. However, my former co-citizens in the glorious Union Europa still try to tempt me with their delectable wares, whispering sweet nothings about Foderas, Sadowskys (Sadowskies?) and other, more exotic Continental fare, now and forever forbidden to me by grey, dead-eyed civil servants and *spits* career politicians. In the depths of the realms of power that give life to the wonder that is Basschat, is there any way to shield mine (and, no doubt, thine) eyes from the wondrous bounty offered o’er the narrow seas, lest it lead to despondency and despair about our barren, desolate future in patriotic isolation?

Hmm, looks like a good idea but I would be wary. Firstly, the company is based in France, so if they don’t pay out, you could end up in a real fight. The contract is governed by French law, and any disputes must be dealt with in France. This will now be more difficult as a result of the B-word 👀 Secondly, they have pretty prescriptive rules about packaging. Thirdly, you have to ensure you note any damage with the courier on delivery I order to make a claim - not always possible. I suppose the proof of the pudding is in the eating - you will only know whether they’re any good when something goes wrong, but I wouldn’t rely solely on them paying out.

Why's that? I've used their stuff for years without any serious problems. I have the audio interface and I've had three of the keyboards, and never had any problems that were solely attributable to the hardware. In fact, the interface has been (touch wood!) faultless since I bought it.

Sounds to me this is exactly what happened. Very surprised you haven’t been refunded by eBay though.

"What, this old thing? Nah, had it for years, just thought I'd get it out for a change. See, it's really old. Nope, not new, was in the cases all along". Ahem.

It's absolutely brilliant, really enjoyed it.

Job jobbed, I'd say! Good spot!

Thanks! It’s in the “ones I regret selling” file - at the time I decided I wanted something a bit newer and flashier so sold it for not very much (albeit quite a bit more than I paid for it). There’s a lot of stuff in that file... Good luck with the search!

This was my old Oly - sounded great, I do miss it but ran out of space some time ago! You could try a couple of the Facebook drum groups eg: https://www.facebook.com/groups/507827252616774 https://www.facebook.com/groups/443259535799308 Or try someone like Tristan at Drum Attic: https://www.drum-attic.co.uk/

Schwing!!

It depends what you're playing to. If I'm recording, I really like a cowbell quite high in the mix - and if possible different samples for the first beat of each bar. If playing live, it depends on the tune - for example, if quite percussion-heavy then you might want something more like an actual 'click' noise -rather than a cowbell - ideally something that can cut through the rest of the mix. Sometimes you can have it only in one ear, but I find that quite distracting, so both is better.

The Octafilter on mine was definitely borked - lots of bitcrush-style noise on anything other than a light touch. TBH I loved the idea, but in practice just didn't work for me.

Bugger, sorry to hear that, Nick! I may well do.

Sorry, I completely disagree. The whole point of a band is that the members commit to it - otherwise it just becomes a loose collective of people who meet once a week to play music together. If that's your thing, then fine, but if I'm in a band I make sure I learn all my parts, turn up on time, and try not to let the other people down, unless completely unavoidable, and I'd hope (and, recent travails aside, experience tends to suggest) that the majority of the people I play with are the same.