Jakester

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

Does anyone know whether there’s a stereo equivalent of something like the Xvive U4? I love the simplicity of it - a band member uses one - but I’m wedded to my stereo IEM mix after years of mono and don’t really want to go back. I know I can get a ‘proper’ IEM system that’ll do stereo, but (for various, boring, reasons) I’d prefer the U4 form factor.

I do this but with some wood glue as well. Haven’t had one fail yet.

I was recently (i.e. this month) quoted £275 for a new DB bridge, so £500 sounds v steep to me. When I demurred, he said he'll boil it off and clamp it to straighten it instead and will chuck it in with the fingerboard work he was doing!

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.

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.

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

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: 🤣

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.

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.

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!