BigRedX

On the Helix/HX range here may be multiple modules that do the same basic thing, but IME I quickly found that there was one version that I preferred over the others, and that's the one that gets used in the vast majority of my Presets. Occasionally when I'm creating a new Preset I will have another look (listen) at the alternatives, but always end up going back to the variant I originally chose. The first thing I did when I got my Helix was to build up a default Preset that included all the effects I wanted to use with a sensible default settings applied to each. Then I saved it to a location where it wouldn't get accidentally overwritten and I make a copy every time I want to create a new Preset. Mine has actually been refined recently as firmware updates have introduced new models (although only the preamp which has replaced separate drive and EQ models has changed since my default Preset was originally created), and is currently just a compressor, pre-amp (for EQ and drive), chorus and delay. If a song requires a specific additional effect this just gets patched in when I create a new Preset for that song. It also helps if you use the HX Edit app which makes creating new Presets far easier than the front panel controls which in my case are only used for fine-tuning Presets and Snapshots in the rehearsal room.

You should never be using a shim to counteract neck. That's what the truss rod is there for. No you don't. The whole point of using a partial shim is that you can get away with something really small and thin (and probably invisible once the neck as been re-attached) that changes the angle at which the neck fits into the pocket which allows the saddles to be at a sensible height to get the right action. I once did a series of diagrams clearly illustrating this but they appear to have been lost when Photobucket started wanting payment for image hosting.

Unless you are going to mic up the cab, IMO there is little point in using an amp for recording.

It looks interesting? TBH for the size of venues that these bands are playing on-stage amplification will make zero contribution to what the audience hears, and depending on how the monitoring is configured somewhere between zero and very little to what the musicians hear, so they might as well do something interesting with how the backline is arranged. For all we know the cabs are stage props only.

As an aside from another thread on here about graphic design for boutique pedals does anyone know how many pedals of a particular type are produced for each batch?

Please show me photographic evidence of this. Also have all these instruments with alleged ski-jump in the neck pocket area had shims fitted? If so please show the shims too. Also how long has it taken from the fitting of the shim for ski-jump to become a problem.

IME it's only worth buying from abroad if the item in question is something that has no official UK importer/distributor.

Out of interest who "owns the copyright" on this? Whoever input the song parameters or the those who own the AI code?

Here's both of the Overwaters I used to own - the 1983 version on the left and slightly later one on the right: IIRC the 1983 model was the first 5-string that Overwater made and was based on their C-Bass design. This one used to be owned by the session bassist Michael Féat, and may possibly have been used on some very high-profile albums, although I can't find any direct evidence for what it was played on. They were both very good basses, but overall didn't suit me as well as my Gus G3s and therefore weren't getting much use. Both were moved on when I had my big clear out some years ago.

What you diagram fails to take into account is that the action of the strings on the whole length of the neck is far, far greater than that of the screws acting against two almost insignificant pivot points approximately 50mm apart. For ski-jump to be caused by the presence of a shim it would have to occur between the neck bolts, yet all the anecdotal evidence I have seen points to it happening elsewhere - somewhere between the centre point of the neck and the heel. So while ski-jump might possibly be a thing, it's not being caused by fitting a shim.

What part of the neck is being shown? Is it along the neck or across the neck? What are the forces pushing up from below and what are the force pushing down from above? Because if they are the strings and the screws, the strings pull at an angle with respect to the neck and not vertically What's the curved dotted line? And what are the two triangles above them? Pivot points? Because if so that's not how a shim would act. This could probably be the most useless diagram ever drawn to show a physics problem solution.

I used to own a 5-string Overwater Original that according to Chris May was made in 1983. My other Overwater original 5-string which was my main bass for most of the 90s was made in 1985 or 86.

When I was playing dad rock covers I could have got away with a two string bass with E and A strings for a substantial part of the set. I once took my fretless Atlansia Solitaire 1-string bass to a rehearsal. The fact that it was fretless was more of a hinderance then the fact it only had a single string. These days I only play 5-string basses and Bass VIs. I sold my last 4-string bass during the COVID pandemic.

The bridge design had been carried over from Fender's Jazzmaster and Jaguar Guitars, where the wobbly bridge was an advantage when used in conjunction with the vibrato mechanism, and later used to great effect by bands like My Bloody Valentine. On the Bass VI is of less use since the vibrato has significantly limited effect even with the lighter Bass Vi strings fitted at the factory. You are best off finding some way of stopping the wobble either by changing the bridge for a 3rd party version or adding sleeves to the posts.

Or like the DX7 it suffers from pre-set over-use. There's probably lots of DX7 sounds on records that you never spot as being DX7 because it's not one of the common presets like the Electric Piano. Of course it's far from the only one. Jump by Van Halen is the first preset on the OBXA and Wonderful Christmas time by Macca is a very slightly modified version of one of the CS80 presets to name just two. Producers like SAW used to be in a race to get new synths on their recordings so that they had used all the "best" sounds before anyone else could.

The problem IMO with a lot of these complicated sound generation synths is that the subtleties that sound great when played solo quickly disappear once you start adding other instruments to the mix, and all that programming complexity becomes a distraction and hinderance to getting sounds that work in the context of the song. In my case for the last two years the vast majority of synth sounds created for my band have been done using the very simple Retro Synth plug-in that comes with Logic. Most of the time I can get something close to what I need within 5 minutes and a further 10 minutes at a later date fine tuning it once the rest of the arrangement is in place.

In the past a band I played in got around the problem of having a guitarist who thought he could be multiple bands by booking gigs for every Friday and Saturday as far into the future as possible. When his other bands realised that he wouldn't be available to play for them for the next 3-4 months they quickly dispensed with his services.

I know that this is at least slightly tongue in cheek, but it is already perfectly possible to make an audio file auto play with standard html code.

That to me suggests that there is something fundamentally wrong with the piece of wood chosen for the neck. One trick I have seen is to slacken off the truss rod and then apply downward force to each end of the neck with your knee behind the neck at the point where "ski-jump" is. Then while maintaining this pressure re-tighten the truss rod. You will either need a second person to help or a build a jig to do this. You need to apply the reverse force at the problem point in the neck or the truss rod will tend act at its centre point, which won't produce the desired result.

Surely the whole point of buying a synth is that you create your own sounds? I don't think that in the 40+ years I've been playing synths that I ever used a sound that wan't programmed by myself or another musician in my band. Sure there are plenty of impressive sounding patches that come ready loaded since user programmable memories first appeared, but no a single one of them has ever been of any use for any music I have created. For ever synth I have ever owned after noodling through the factory supplied sounds then next thing I have done is to set a patch up with a basic sound that I can use as a starting point for my own creations.

Only reason for this is if you are essentially a dep player, and find yourself in situations that require different amplification solutions. If my no backline band was to come to and end I would only be interested in joining another with a similar outlook to amplification.

I do physics. Can you please produce a diagram showing the various forces at work prove they cause ski-jump.

Not necessarily. Unless the neck is bowed and needs straightening with the truss rod, you will need to add a shim to get a sensible action. Therefore if shims have the potential to cause ski-jump it becomes relevant.

Do you have photos showing it?

Wood, especially that used to make guitars and basses, is incredibly strong, despite the fact that lots of musicians appear to think their instrument is made out of twigs or balsa. I've yet to see any direct evidence that ski-jump exists and the anecdotal evidence appears to point to the fact that if it does it occurs elsewhere than in the location that would be caused by a shim. My suspicion is that is most likely cause by poor selection of lumber for the neck blank, in which case it will occur whether or not a shim has been added.