Jakester

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!

For E's and Wizz?

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. 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. 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!

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.

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.

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

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!

Like you, I've seen a lot of comments suggesting that subs under tops is less than optimal, but whenever I've played venues with that setup, it's never been a noticeable issue. I have a single sub which comes out at bigger gigs - generally for ease it's stacked under one of the tops. Provided you've got your crossover set properly (usually via the sub itself if its powered) locating a single sub at the side of the stage under a top shouldn't cause too many issues. The "ideal" location is right at the front though. I just run both tops off the sub (i.e. using the crossover in the sub). That way you don't get up with the problem above.

It's the Bassbone OD - same chassis, but instead of a boost, it has the drive switch. I presume it's largely the same with the addition of an overdrive circuit and controls!

Them and Real Electronics - with whom I’ve had a poor experience in past too when “servicing” my Mark Bass amp.

In fairness to him, it wasn’t new - I got it from someone on here. It could have been loose, but pretty sure I would have noticed it before I sent it off. I get it’s a slog to identify intermittent issues - I’m sure we’ve all had some rattle in a car that doesn’t manifest for the dealer. But over 3 months and it come back worse than went it was sent? I can only think it was more damaged initially than either of us thought (though I would have thought he’d have picked it up at the outset when he sent the video, and the mute switch is at the other end of the board to the PSU), or he didn’t in fact know what he was doing and took a punt, which failed. I’ve now dropped Surrey Amps a line (what I should have done in the first place!) to see if they can give an estimate for repairing the identified issues, to see whether it’s economically viable to repair.

CIOKS Sol - specs say it does 400mA at 15v, which is what the manufacturer says it needs: https://cioks.com/power-supplies/future-power-generation/cioks-sol/ https://www.radialeng.com/product/bassbone-od/specifications

Well, this just gets worse and worse. I figured I could make do without the OD, as that was really just a handy bonus over the core functions of the Bassbone. But, went to rehearsal for the first time since getting it back today and not only does the drive not work, now the mute switch isn’t working, which means it’s impossible to quietly swap between bass and DB or tune silently. God knows what’s up now with it. I’m now faced with shelling out yet more cash for further potential repairs (sunken cost fallacy?) or just bin it and buy something I know that works. 😡😡😡

This just popped up for me - properly widdly but some lovely grooves and playing by all concerned: Hiromi has a great ear for bassists - she's played a lot with Anthony Jackson over the years.

I think GK do/did do a couple of powered combos which were supposed to be driven from a line out from their 'normal' combos - eg https://www.andertons.co.uk/amps/bass-amps/bass-amp-cabs/b-stock-:-gallien-krueger-112-mbp-powered-bass-cab The fact they're discontinued suggests there wasn't much of a market for them.

I think he got it 2nd hand.

Lol - just sent the details of the A&H to a mate who's literally just bought a TM16. Crying face emoji was the response! I have one, I've had it for a while - it's great for what I need it for. It has way more Auxes than the A&H (it has two stereo aux outs as well as 6 mono ones) and has the same features. The TM16 has more channels than the A&H too, but has broadly the same feature set. I daresay the A&H user interface is a bit better though! If I was looking now, the £500 price differential between the QSC and A&H would be too much for me - I'm lucky, I got mine 2nd hand from a large retailer, so I have their warranty and the price saving which meant it was less than the A&H. Doubt I'd buy one new now though.

Ah, that's way too much stuff for very little benefit. I was trying to avoid getting a rack mount wireless system, as it's just one more piece of gear to lug round, cables etc, whereas the U4 is just two small pieces of kit. I currently use a wired connection to a P2, but it's a pain when you move around (to adjust a mic, for example) not realising you're still wired in! Hmm, I may see whether I can cope with going back to mono then. Edit: I wonder whether I could use two U3 systems in reverse - i.e. use the mic packs in the mixer and the receiver ends into my P2. Expensive though! https://xvive.com/audio/product/u3-microphone-wireless/

But would they transmit to one receiver? Edit: looking at the specs, they don't.