Matt P

i can see this making a fantastic personal monitor for EUB , any chance of it having some kind of kickback option? I'm thinking it would be a great cab for small gigs and then a personal monitor for use when running into a PA. something along the lines of the crazy 8/88 just a 45 degree cutout on one edge would be enough. Matt

Got to be Denon for tuners (loving my Tu-1800dab) For machine heads I'm usually happy with whatever the manufacturer has chosen, when I was picking them for custom builds I went for usa hipshot ultralite. Matt

polytune's for me, one of the original ones on my main board and a mini 2 (i think) on my micro church board, i had a loan of a TU-2 many years ago (before i got the polytune) and i just didn't get on with it. i've got a budget ebay special micro tuner somewhere as well but it seemed to give a click through my amp when i switched it so it's in my box of unused pedals now. for me the main reason i use a pedal rather than a clip on (of which i own 3 or 4) is that the pedal mutes while tuning, excellent for swapping between instruments or a quick tuning check between songs without having to touch the volume control. Matt

the Octopre doesn't have any headphone outputs so only the ones on the scarlett are available. I have some time off in a few weeks so i plan to test out various options and configs before getting the dremel and the soldering iron out. thank you for all the help, i'll report back once i've got it finished. Matt

cutting into the case surround is my last resort for this, I'm a mechanical engineer by day so I am well aware of changing the structural integrity of the case. the case will always have it's end covers on before being moved and i'm pretty careful with my kit in general so i'm fairly happy that it will hold up fine, i might add some additional support to the inside of the case to compensate (possibly a strip of aluminium glued and rivetted in place, it will depend what i can scrounge from the scrap bin at work) I have some Van Damme Installation cable for this (can't remember the diameter off the top of my head but it's thin enough that i'll have to add some additional thickness with heatshrink to get the strain relief on the plugs to hold it. my plan was to probably make 2 small cuts into the surround and pair up the cables before they go through, then put a couple of stick on tie points inside the case to guide and hold the cables. all edges will be rounded over then protected with edging as well. Before i do anything i plan to test the theory with a cable round the outside to make sure it works how i expect, we were using a 5 way headphone preamp before and the mismatch of levels on the different channels due to wildly differing headphones means that separate volume controls are a must, and from previous sessions the mixes that we wanted were pretty different too so having separate mixes would be beneficial. Matt

has anyone got any thoughts on this before i order £40 worth of connectors to make up the connection cables? Matt

I think i know the answer to this but before i start buying the parts to make the cables and attack the rack case with a drill and a dremel I thought i'd check first. I've just re-jigged my recording setup and am hoping that the monitoring setup can be configured the way i think it can. My interface is a gen2 Focusrite scarlett 18i20 and i've just bought a Behringer HA4400 headphone amp (and an octopre and a trakmaster platinum), am I right in thinking that i can run stereo/balanced jack to jack cables from outputs 3-6 of the scarlett into the 4 aux inputs of the HA4400 and then setup mixcontrol to give me 4 individual headphone mixes? they don't need to be stereo outputs, mono will be just fine. we are a 3 piece band so only really need 3 connections but with the 2 dedicated headphone outputs on the Interface this will give us effectively 6 separate mixes? setting up this way will involve running 4 cables from the front of the headphone amp to the back of the interface but i'm prepared to make the required cuts to the case (everything is mounted in a SKB rack case as this is set up to be portable for "as live" recording wherever we can find the space.) i have access to suitable edging to protect the cables as well as sleeving to make it all neat and tidy. If someone can help with the optimum way to connect this that would be excellent. for the Trakmaster platinum which of the 2 outputs should i use to plug into the scarlett? one is +4dBu, the other -10dBv, i'm assuming that a balanced jack lead into one of the inputs is suitable? the manual seems to say that the +4dBu is for balanced inputs into professional equipment. apologies for all the questions, this is a more complex setup than we probably need and the old setup of a gen1 18i8 and the octopre with a simpler 4 channel headphone pre was probably still overkill but owing to certain circumstances this is what i have now so i want to get the best out of it. Thank you in advance Matt

@Phil Starr the two 10s is switchable from 4 to 12 ohms, so a pair can either be 2 or 6 ohms. Matt

you could try pulling the button up as far as it will go then try and slip a thin shim between the button and the lock and see if you can get it under the pin, something like a very thin plectrum might work or a section of plastic packaging? I had an issue many years ago where the pin unscrewed slightly from the button, you could try turning the button clockwise and see if it screws back together enough to pull the pin up into place. (i found that once screwed together tightly I didn't have any other issues. Matt

they don't quote a maximum loading weight, only that it is for 6" to 10" monitor speakers, at a guess those will be under 10kg a side so with 27kg on it i'd expect this to be overloaded and possibly squashed fairly flat? Matt

i might have to get one of these for my boat-anchor '77 P-bass, @fleabag would you be able to measure the diameter of the ring of reinforcing stitching around the strap button hole please, I like to enlarge the hole out a bit to fit Schaller straplocks and don't want to cut into the reinforcing stitching. thanks Matt

@ikay if you're competent with a needle and thread it wouldn't be difficult to cut the webbing section at the base where it joins to the loop at the end and shorten it down by as much as you need, it's only one small section of stitching that would be needed, i've done this type of sewing before with webbing and it's easy to work with, you'd want to seal the end of the webbing before you sew it but that's easy enough with a lighter and some patience. Matt

as my main bass is a short scale 5er there isn't much choice, but the Ibanez TMB35 in green was actually what i was going to buy before i had my custom built so that's what id go for, would either spend the change on an overdrive pedal from the secondhand cabinet or a set of spare strings. Matt

I have actualy made one of these using a 25x25x50mm alu box from ebay and some jack sockets. at work we are asked to only have one earphone in so that we can hear what is going on in the office (reasonable enough for this workplace) so my box has a stereo to mono summing circuit in it (just 3 resistors really) and i used different sized jacks to make it more obvious which way round the box needed to be connected for the summing circuit I think my total outlay was under 8 quid including the box and all the components, and i have it connected via a 3.5mm stereo jack socket to the laptop dock. my box is just blu-taked to the desk under the laptop stand but could have easily been screwed under the desk if i were at home.

I've got spare skb rack nuts but no bolts/screws to go with them. Happy to drop them in the post if you want them. Matt Edit - the threads are 10-32 so not a standard metric thread.

i might have 4 spares from the rack i've just re-assembled, I will check this evening. (there are definitely spares but can't remember how many) Matt

are you looking for Acoustic-style Phosphor bronze strings? If so then i'd get in contact with Newtone for some custom ones, they're not as expensive as you would think and they will be able to make strings tailored for the scale and tension that you want. I've been using their acoustic strings for 15 years and they last really well and the tone is unparalleled. looking at the gauges of the D'addario ones (37,50,62,90) and putting that into the custom string configurator gives a price of 27.50 for phosphor bronze on hex core, it's a bit more (a few quid) for the platinum spec strings which have a smoother feel. they will take a couple of weeks to arrive but will be made to your spec. as the D'addario ones are over 40 a set this is a real bargain. I'm currently waiting for a huge order myself and have a 5 string stainless set being made for my Swift short scale 5. Newtone custom string configurator Matt

I skipped on the Fender cases and went straight to a Hiscox Liteflite, my '77 p-bass is a good fit and it offers the best protection (IMO) it's possible to add little padded cushions to tailor the fit but i've found that they are a pretty good fit as standard. I have Hiscox cases for almost every instrument I own (11 of them at last count) they're not cheap compared to some but i think cheaper than the fender branded ones (possibly not by much), and short of something custom or a flight case they offer the best protection. If you're prepared to search round for a used one then they can be had quite cheaply, i think the cheapest i've paid was 30 quid but 60 or 70 is more usual. Matt

i've just realised that since my last post in this thread I have bought and re-valved a Mk 1 Orange terror bass! I went with these NOS Philips valves from Langrex, Linky I went for the 12AT7 as they are lower gain (60 vs 100 for the 12AX7 I think) and the price with postage etc was very good compared to other places and the WA spec ones are supposedly military grade. the amp is now much more usable with a better range to the Gain control, it still gets really dirty when it's cranked but the gain control is far more progressive and usable. there is a great thread by @Happy Jackall about this which is where I got all my info about what spec valves to try. HERE Matt EDIT- just remembered that i also swapped out the screws that hold the top "cage" onto the amp, the original ones are pretty soft and easily damaged, i swapped them for some decent socket head (allen) screws, they're M3 thread, and i think 8mm long (I'm lucky that i work for an engineering company so things like this are easy to get, i think i scrounged these screws from the scrap metal bin after the last workshop clearout)

Is this for a dedicated rehearsal room that is permanently set up? If so then the solution that i used many years ago in that situation was floor wedge monitors (10" or 12"), they don't need to be super fancy ones just something from a reputable brand that is in good condition, I'm guessing it is just the vocals that are running through them so it shouldn't be difficult to get a decent sound. I'd guess that after selling the current speakers and buying some powered monitors (or passive and a power amp or 2) you will have some money left over for other kit. Matt EDIT - as many bands are swapping over to In-ear monitoring I'd expect the secondhand market to be fairly full of wedge monitors

It's mostly about upgrading whilst you're in there, the standard pots on many basses aren't that brilliant so swapping them out for good quality ones with decent reliability makes sense for the relatively small additional outlay, I've done this on many basses, not to improve the sound but so that i know that what's in there is good quality so can be relied upon. from experience of cheap enclosed barrel style jack sockets that would be the thing i changed out first (i've lost count of how many of these i have swapped out over the years) Matt

from the diagram it looks like the switch is part of a circuit board so bypassing might not be so easy, can you get photos of the actual part? it might be a case of simply bridging some connections on the board Matt

My starting point for any wiring task is always the Seymour Duncan website HERE, they have clear easy to follow diagrams for most arrangements. as you are rewiring and replacing one of the pots i would suggest replacing all of them with good quality ones (CTS would be my top pick, with Alpha second choice) while you're in there, I will often make most of the harness out of the bass and then make the last connections before fitting it back into the bass, i generally get a bit of thick card and mount the pots into that while i'm soldering everything together if the pickup wires are long enough you should be able to do all the work out of the bass except the output jack connections. another thing to check/replace is the output jack, that style are notorious for failing, fitting a switchcraft version should give you the longest life. Matt

you are correct, i'm not sure how i was confused there, i'm sure i have configured a custom set before and the cost was pretty much the same as a standard set. (within a couple of quid at least) they offer extra long as an option on the standard sets, might be worth asking what length that is? matt

Newtone would be my suggestion too, the platinum should fit the bill perfectly, the custom option works out as the same as the standard options in terms of cost. I'll be ordering a short scale 5 string stainless set this weekend. Matt