Jakester

19 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

 

It's not a mic stand if it's just holding your tablet. Get the K&M holder that fits to the top of the stand (rather than the side) and the appropriate K&M "mic" stand to got with it. IME the K&M stands and accessories are virtually bomb proof and should last you for the rest of your gigging days.

Thanks - I have a K&M stool so  agreE they’re great, but then I have to carry a mic stand, which I want to avoid. At present, all my gear fits into a bag, including the presently flimsy tablet stand. A mic stand won’t break down small enough to fit. 

On 09/10/2023 at 18:01, jimmyb625 said:

No help from me I'm afraid, as I use the K&M one. I don't find it much of a problem to take an extra mic stand for it, but I know everyone has a different setup.

On 09/10/2023 at 21:50, SuperSeagull said:

Likewise have a K&M one permanently attached to a mic stand for when I’m playing at Church. 

The problem is I don’t want or need a mic stand - I don’t sing or have any vocal interaction whatsoever, so it’s really overkill.

Does anyone have any recommendations for a tablet stand?

I use an iPad for my music (I play in an orchestra) and also for controlling the PA when gigging and it's not set up next to me. 

I have a cheapo stand but the threaded bolts are already coming loose, and it's not the most sturdy of things. 

I prefer a specific tablet stand to a music stand because they're smaller and easier to carry (handy when you've got a bass, amp, pedals, double bass, and PA to shift!)

I don't want a "clamp-on" one that fits on a music stand - I'd much prefer a dedicated stand. My usual first port of call would be Hercules, but they seem to only do a clamp one. K&M seem to offer one but only on a mic stand bass, which means it would be less portable than I'd like. 

Anyone use anything else?

27 minutes ago, Andyjr1515 said:

And on a question of scale - those are my small clamps

Ah, I just thought they were very far away.

Just now, LukeFRC said:

Are you saying that if I had given into my temptation to try and fix it … it wouldn’t have been the fun rewarding project I thought it would have been?!

I am saying I am a complete moron!

Oh my blimmin' god. I can't believe it. I am actually, demonstrably, the world's most incompetent man. 

And I think owe the repairer a fairly profuse apology. 

So, what happens, when you have a power-hungry pedal, and don't supply it with the correct power needed? It won't work properly. 

In the course of zip-tying and finalising the replacement Bassbone on my pedalboard, I looked at the PSU. "Hang on", I thought. "Are those jumpers upside down?"

Yes.

Yes, they were.

Which meant the PSU was sending 12v to the pedal, instead of 15v. 

Which means that when it was tested using the original PSU, it would work fine. But when run off my board PSU (set incorrectly) it would struggle. 

I've just tested it again with the original PSU, and it worked perfectly. 

And the replacement on the board with the PSU set correctly now works fine too. 

I cannot believe just what a humungous todger I am. A full-on, weapons-grade 🔔🔚.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!!!

Wow, they've gone up quite a bit in price since the first lot, haven't they? 

Well, I'm looking to get shot of it now, so drop me a line...

Tiger guitarists' stool, with footrest and stand built in. 

I bought this to use when playing upright, but it wasn't quite right and I ended up with a K&M stool, so it's just not being used.

Has a guitar stand built in so you can store your instrument when you're not playing. 

I can't post it so pickup only please.

These are £48 plus P&P at GAK, so £35?

I don't have a picture ATM but it looks like this:

Donner pedalboard PSU. 

Handy little power supply which gives lots of options - 7 9v 100ma outputs, one 9v 500ma output, and single 12v and 18v outputs. 

It was used on my pedalboard for years until I got a pedal needing a 15v supply - now it's just unused. 

Comes with all the connectors and PA-tested wallwart. 

£25 posted?

TC Electronic Hypergravity Mini compressor. 

Multi-band digital compressor with wide editing options via the TC Toneprint app or desktop editor. 

Great little compressor, just not used now.

I don't think I have the box and it didn't come with a PSU. Fitted with velcro on the underside. 

£45.

I am even more of a moron than that litany of woe would suggest. 

Read the thread for more details, but basically I thought this was fecked, but in fact I've been using my pedalboard PSU at the wrong voltage, causing all manner of issues. 

So, I don't think this is faulty after all - I'm just a Richard. 

That said, it has been repaired because I initially connected the wrong PSU, so how about this:

£150 posted. The cheapest ones I've found second hand are £250; Bass Direct has one for £286, and Polar has a B-Stock one for £350+.

Right, this is a tale of incompetence on my part compounded possibly by someone else's...

Shortly after acquiring this Radial Bassbone OD, I managed to plug in the wrong polarity PSU and cause a roomful of smoke. 

I sent it away to what I thought was a competent repairer, but it's come back with more problems than it went away with. 

The full sorry saga is here: 

I've decided to cut my losses and I've got a replacement, so this is now surplus to requirements.

It still works, in that it's still a two channel DI with separate EQ, HPFs, FX loops and headphone amp. It also has a high impedance input for piezo inputs for DBs and the like. 

Full details are here:

https://www.radialeng.com/product/bassbone-od

However, it has the following issues: 

• The overdrive is intermittent. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

• The mute switch, previously working fine, is also intermittent.

Everything else worked fine the last time I used it. 

The repairer said the OD drive pot was loose when he received it (which was odd, because it wasn't when I sent it!!), so it could be a combination of a dodgy replacement pot work and faulty mute switch. I've blanked out the repairer's name on the photos as I don't think they're on BC, but will happily share details for those that want them. 

I've given up on trying to get it fixed but if you don't need the OD or mute it still works fine. 

It comes with the USA PSU (WHICH IS CENTRE-POSITIVE, NOT CENTRE-NEGATIVE!!!!) as I used a CIOKS PSU, and has 3M Double-Lock on the bottom. 

I don't really know how to price this - the cheapest ones available in the UK at present are around £280, and Polar Audio has a B-stock one at £399, so I think £100 is a fair starting point for a quality DI, even with the intermittent issues. 

\

For sale, my Providence DBS-1 Dual Bass Station preamp pedal. 

In good working condition - some small chips to the finish.

Comes with original box and all paperwork and 12v PSU.

It has two channels A and B, which can either be run as dual input, or two different EQs for a single bass. 

Each channel has bass, mid and high, with adjustable mid frequencies. It has a main output and an always on tuner out, and a mute footswitch for silent changeover/tuning. 

Great little piece of kit, now just not used. 

Looking for £175 £140. Happy to post at buyer's expense.

http://www.providence-ltd.com/pedals_03.html#h_dbs

Literally just connect a mic as normal, then have the level to FOH down, and the levels to the relevant aux sends up. 

That's it, unless your mixer is either very basic or very complicated! 

1 minute ago, Harlequin74 said:

Perhaps you need 2? Just saying

With my luck, I might well!

Ah, wish I’d not just bought a different preamp…🙄

For E's and Wizz?

1 hour ago, Pirellithecat said:

The choice of Ear plugs is problematic - the guitar player is pretty set with what he uses - not sure what they are but not cheapy foam bungs.   Drummer really just wants "cheap" so varies between foam and etymotic "knock offs".

These are what I used to use: 

https://www.alpinehearingprotection.co.uk/products/musicsafe-pro

They're not wildly more than the Etymotic knock-offs you mention, but IME have a flatter frequency attenuation across the spectrum and have the changeable filters.

I've got the ACM custom moulds now - the attenuation is the same, they're just comfier for a longer period of time. 

1 hour ago, Pirellithecat said:

Like the idea of a speaker stand for the drum monitor - I'll push this, as he could use my monitor which can be stand mounted if I can't get him to use IEM's. 

Yep - I tended to find that in order to hear a floor wedge it had to be cranked to overcome the drum volumes, whereas if it's stand mounted it can be lower. Even those diddly little Mackie/Behringer jobs work on a mic stand loud enough to be heard. 

1 hour ago, Pirellithecat said:

It's really odd that the other members of the band don't see any link between what they do and the ability to get decent sound quality, on and off stage.   It's made worse when having seen "competitor" bands😅 they come back and say  "T'Other Band and Vibes sounded really good" - how do they do that?"  So I suggest  ..... "could it be the  quiet stage, having everything in the mixer, IEM's or sensible use of monitors, not too loud" to get the inevitable response , "yeah but ............ (insert appropriate excuse)". 

 

Frustrating, innit? I'd suggest a good way might be to get them to trial some universal IEMs at a technical rehearsals - the KZs get good reviews here and use them at rehearsal to get used to them. 

Ah, thanks for this! 

3 hours ago, Pirellithecat said:

 

The guitar cab is on the floor (for some guitar voodoo reason) and the guitar player uses ear plugs so he's not really aware of the true volume on stage.  To him, the vocals seem quiet in the monitors so wants them turned up (even asks for the bass to be louder on occasion!).  The drummer is also using ear plugs and from his standpoint he's not too loud (given that everyone has now turned up). He has tried IEM's twice, but doesn't like the "detached sound" - although pretty much everything is in his monitor feed.   I do ask whether the sound is any clearer via the ear plugs, but patience is needed.   He also sings and his mic/monitor is a major cause of onstage noise and feedback. I'm experimenting with IEM's rather than a monitor, but so far I'm not getting on that well with them although, at least, the left one acts as a drum suppressor!   

I think these are the main issues you need to look at.

What ear plugs are they using? Something even slightly better than foam bullets can make a world of difference. I used to use Alpine Musician Pro earplugs, and they were much clearer across the board than cheapo foamies or even the xmas tree style ones. Perhaps the guitarist should try some specific attenuation plugs - with those Alpines you can change the attenuation level.

The drummer mic/monitor thing is probably a positioning thing - is it a floor wedge? if so, try getting it up closer to his ears, ideally pointed backwards to his head - perhaps a speaker stand might help?

For the IEM isolation, try sticking an omni mic at the front of the stage, or a stereo pair at either side of the stage behind the speakers pointing at the band. As long as that's just routed to those with IEMs and not FOH, then it can really help to combat that sense of isolation. I've used a cheap Behringer measuring mic before and it works fine.

1 hour ago, martthebass said:

We were advised to go down the passive route by the vendor....

At the risk of straying into my day job a touch, s10 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 provides that goods must be reasonably fit for a particular purpose that the buyer makes known to the vendor before sale. So if you bought the crossovers from a shop on the advise of the salesman, I'd be going back, quoting that section, and asking for my money back. 

I suspect those products were designed for DJs rather than live band use, where there’s much more of a risk of increased peaks. 
 

I’d use something like a DBX Driverack or the Behringer equivalent. 

29 minutes ago, martthebass said:

An update to this......

 

Unfortunately 2 very fraught gigs and 2 exploded crossovers later we are at an impasse.  Despite the passive crossovers supposedly being rated for 1000W they seem to be being slaughtered by our Dynacord powered mixer which should only be delivering c.700W into 8 ohms.  The only passive crossovers we seem to be able to find on the market are these or rebranded versions of these.  I have no idea on active crossovers, could anyone advise?

What crossovers are you (or, rather, were you) currently using?

19 hours ago, Bill Fitzmaurice said:

Lots of things aren't particularly noticeable if you're not able to make side by side comparisons. When you put subs under tops you not only lose boundary loading, by not have them close to a wall, you also can have cancellation notches when they're 1/4 wavelength out from a wall. If they're split by less than two wavelengths you will have power alley comb filtering. That's the science, and the science is never wrong.

There are three reasons why people put subs under mains.

#1: "That's how everybody does it".

#2: "It's the only way we know to do it".

#3: "We don't know any better way to do it/we don't know why it's the wrong way to do it".

 

Now you know.

Well, the science may not be wrong, but in practice if it isn't objectively noticeable, then what's the issue?

There's 'ideal in a laboratory setup' and then there's 'shoving all the gear in the corner at the Dog and Duck'. Most gigs tend toward the latter than the former. 

I was most surprised to learn they have finally got electricity in Trowbridge!