51m0n

I dont understand the need or desire to dumb down the formula for impedance. Firstly, it really is not complex, if you havent mastered fractions and simple algebra yet, and are an adult you should look into some evening classes to be honest. Secondly you need to know and understand the simple formula so that you can work out for yourself if what you want to do with your kit will break it, without asking on here always. After all we arent there in the shop, on the gig with you to hold your hand always. If it were some seriously complex mathematical formula then I could understand the need for a simplified version, but it isnt at all, and any simplification on it will not work properly. If someone asks for something to be explainedsimply then I find stepping through the explaination carefully and accurately to more often than not be the best bet for everyone, if they then ask further questions about the detail thats fine. Telling them the wrong answer because they asked for a simple explanation is patronising, stupid and prone to cause damage to their kit.

Theres[url="http://www.delamancha.co.uk/dynamite_cowbell.htm"] a cowbell vsti[/url] which I found to be excellent for this kind of thing...

See what we have here is a basic failure to disclose the truth. The truth is that due to its clever digital preamp processing it can ring a lot out perceived volume of the signal. There are several ways you can do this, you can bin any tricky frequencies likely to soak up a lot of power (that would be sub bass), you can compress and limit the signal before it leaves the pre and hits the power amp, you can have very clever control of the power section current too. Its all great and it definitely makes the most of the actual power of the device. There is one thing it does not do though, it does not change the wattage RMS rating of the head. Not a bit. So if you claim it to be more powerful than it really is, you are lying. And as our mummies told all of us, dont tell fibs because you will get caught, and at the very least look like a bunch of complete prats.

Immerse yourself in real funk. Complete and total diet of old school funk that a lot of those guys were inspired by such as:- The Meters Curtis Mayfield Kool and The Gang Aaron Neville Jimmy Castor Bunch Betty Davis Gil Scott Heron Pfunk Bootsy Roy Ayers The Delfonics Tower ofPower The Headhunters The Vibrettes After a few days of nonstop funkiness, start jamming along with a random playlist of these gems (youtube/grooveshark can really help you here). Its not how many notes, its not 16th vs 8th notes or anything like that, its the 'shape' of the swing and the rests that define funk feel. There is no better way to get it than to get on with listening to it all the time.

Typically (as in , the industry standard complied with by all cabs and amps I've ever seen or used) any multiple socket array of outputs/inputs to/from speakers are wired in parallel not series. This is very important. So it makes no diff to the circuit wether you use the two outs on the back of the amp, one to each cab, or the two outs on one of the cabs to daisy chain. The resulting circuit you've built is the same, two speakers wired in parallel to the amp. In order to work out the total impedance in a parallel circuit the formula is as follows:- 1/total = 1/speakerA + 1/speakerB + 1/SpeakerC..... through all the speakers stated impedances. In the case of 2 8 ohm cabs in parallele weget:- 1/Total = 1/8 + 1/8 = 2/8 = 1/4 so Total= 4 Ohms. That 4 ohms is the total load across the amp, if it is rated to 4 ohms it is a happy amp at this point. Things get complex when you have differently rated impedances on the speakers though, since the lower impedance speaker will get more current than the higher impedance speaker. Simplest rule of thumb is to stick with the same impedance cabs for now!

[quote name='larrybassman' post='1359135' date='Sep 1 2011, 07:28 PM']Hi, Stick with 15 inch speakers or even multiples of 12 inch speakers , 10 inch are far too middly and dont really have that real depth that 15's do. I can honestly say that I have tried them all and found 10 inch speaker far too middy and toppy, we are after all BASS players.[/quote] Nope, you are very misguided, diameter has nothing to do with tone at all.

[quote name='Bilbo' post='1358884' date='Sep 1 2011, 03:25 PM']I'm with Doddy - practice more. The better my technique, the better my sound. Practice with your amp. Turn it up louder and play softer. [b]Also, get your drummer to try different cymbals - that will have more effect than a compressor!![/b] [/quote] No it wont.

[url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=143267&st=20"]This Barefaced BigOne will gove you a very big smooth deep sound[/url]?

Well kinda, its excessive bass peaks that cause the needle to jump out of the groove. If you have everything banging headlong into a brickwall limioter (like the issue at hand here) then you get greater overall volume at the expense of the peaks. That is to say the ratio of RMS level to Peak level is higher. So the song is louder on average, but has no peaks, so no punch and a huge amount of distortion. In short it sounds like 5h1t

I just love this track....

[quote name='wjoyce' post='1357378' date='Aug 31 2011, 12:07 PM']I've listened to it a few times and I'm reserving judgement on the songs so far. It took me a while to get into Stadium Arcadium. HOWEVER, the mastering is atrocious. Just like Californication it's overly compressed and distorted throughout. Why spend so much money producing an album only to ruin it during the mastering process. sigh.[/quote] Dreadful isnt it! I dont get it at all, and I wont master like that for anyone, as far as I am concerned I care enough about the music not to ruin it for that last 1.5dB RMS. Worse still is when you destroy the sound like this it only ever sounds even woprse on radio, which was one of the srguments for louder masters in the past.

From Self Evident Truth Of An Intuitive Mind by TPower

The one in my sig - luckily for me

[url="http://www.reaper.fm/userguide.php"]The Reaper Manual[/url] should become regular reading for all you new Reaperheads

[quote name='cheddatom' post='1356353' date='Aug 30 2011, 02:58 PM']I'm trying it at the moment on my laptop. It's frustrating to be so slow again, but i'm sure i'll learn this faster than cubase. One thing i'm missing is a list of keyboard shortcuts - anyone got one?[/quote] shift->F1 in Reaper will open a browser with a full list of standard shortcuts and mouse modifiers....

[quote name='redstriper' post='1356323' date='Aug 30 2011, 02:33 PM']OK I get it now - it's an honour system where you only pay for it if you're honourable and it's not expensive anyway. I like this business model [/quote] Its an incredibly trusting and fair approach. It really does let you try out the software in a variety of ways before you commit even that little bit of cash.

Wolverinebass is right on the money here. Natural light in a studio is hard to implenet and mainly not done as the door because that will leak like a sieve.

[quote name='Herbie The Rad Dorklift' post='1356211' date='Aug 30 2011, 12:53 PM']I have noticed that volume definitely makes a difference. In short, I'm not really sure what kind of tone I want.. I'm new to bass. I just thought there was maybe something that everyone ALWAYS uses. Like, in my guitar rig I'd always use a graphic EQ pedal, but never thought about it for bass. Are compressors something you'd have on all the time if you had one?[/quote] Big topic, compression. Search on this forum for compression posts, I've explained a lot about how you can set up compressors and what makes a good (especially for a beginner) compressor. IMO & IME a single knob compressor on an amp is usually a pretty awful worse case scenario. and you would be best off just not going there, if you aren't very lucky it will probably do more harm than good. A decent compressor, well set up, definitely can be an 'always on' thing, a compressor can certainly be something that you cannot perceive in operation unless you are in a full band setting, where upon it will change the envelope of your bass such that it can be heard better in the mix, whilst remaining to your ear unchanged. A compressor can also being very obvious, both in terms of how it feels to play with it in the signal chain and how it sounds. This is usually detrimental, but again not always. My advice would be to buy a cheap rack compressor with good metering of the in level, out level and gain reduction, read up on a bunch of threads about using oine and then play abou twith it. You will get better results from a £100 rack comp than a £100 pedal comp, just because the metering is more useful. Having said that dbx did a desk top compressor with great metering and a full set of controls that sounds fine, and that could be had for asd little as £25 on ebay sometime back.

Yes, it was about £25 when I bought my copy. The download will not expire, it will nag the hell out of you, and rightfully so. If you find yourself using it after 30 days you should buy a licence, its the decent thing to do after all.

[quote name='redstriper' post='1355329' date='Aug 29 2011, 03:36 PM']OK I'm convinced - I'll try Reaper.[/quote] Hope it gives you something more than Cubase 1, any questions just ask!

Having said the above I like compression, not necessarily a lot, and not necessarily so you would know it was there without checking themeters, but I do love compression all the same. It helps keep the bass in the mix.

Define 'better'.... Could be a really nice compressor, or a little bit of tuby dirt or a smidge of chorus, or octaver. Couldnt say what would work for you though...

[quote name='lojo' post='1355304' date='Aug 29 2011, 03:05 PM']Is there a way to really measure output at varying volume settings, if so , then one of the magazines should surely set up a test when reviewing and give some sort of rating or benchmark, which at least would allow you to compare across the board with a level benchmark As I said before whatever amp I use I always seem to end up with the dial in the same place anyhow[/quote] Yes. Take an anechoic chamber, a reference system measuring actual dB of sound, and test pink noise and frequency sweeps to accurately plot the volume at various frequncies and the slew rates etc over time of the entire rig. You could even work out THD from this. Personally I dont think most bassists are ready to try and take the output from the corresponding figures and try and work out if that would make it asny good on a gig.

I have one of the lowest gear turn over rates on the forum I think. Still cr4p at playing bass too

[quote name='cheddatom' post='1351009' date='Aug 25 2011, 08:58 AM']I'm looking for a VSTi for strings. I don't need the world's best sounds, just something better than the microsoft MIDI voices. Is there anything free?[/quote] Try DSK Strings. Its not the best I've heard, but its pretty cheap (ie free!) - does require a fair bit of effort to get a good result, but that is probably as much my fault as the vsti