ratman

I have an MA400 that I use for pub gigs. Very handy little unit that can mix 2 audio signals so you can blend in the FOH mix with your bass signal. Get some KZ AS10 in ears, upgrade the tips to Sonic Foam SF1 for a way better seal & fit, and you'll need a short headphone extension cable. All in around maybe £80.

And you can download a ton of other captures on it too. 

I have the larger one. I bought it from the used section for a song. I don’t much like any of the effects on it but it did get me out of a fix on a gig, just using it as a clean pre amp with the on board DI. It didn’t sound too bad at all. And for that reason it stays in the back of my van as very handy back up. 

I tried a few Tonex captures of the Noble and found one I particularly liked. But the Regal model on my HX Stomp is my go to pre amp now. My basses have never sounded so good. I’ve never had the opportunity to play a real Noble so I can’t say how accurate the digital ones sound, but I love what they do for my tone. 
A Tonex One might suit your needs. The Radial J48 has sounded really good in some recent YouTube DI shoot outs although it costs around £250, a little above what you want to spend. 

18 minutes ago, Dood said:

 

I'm moving to either the Sensaphonics system or something similar with the mics on the IEMs themselves, as I love that I can leave everything on, walk away from the stage and use the pack and IEMs as active hearing protection when the DJ starts banging out the "classics" at 1 billion decibels ha ha!

That's kind of how I use my ASIs. Either mics fully off, just hearing aux mix. Or attenuated to taste like ear plugs, sometimes with bass signal from my board mixed in via a Behringer P2 belt pack. Either way, I usually flip the ASI volume up to 0db between songs to catch any band chat. And I also keep them in until I leave the venue if there's an in house PA running.

One of my bands is now ampless and all IEMs. My bandmates don't need to worry about FOH as it's my responsibility. (I made a bunch of XLR adaptor cables so we can all have stereo wired mixes which improve our IEM mixes a lot) I start each set without my IEM mix so I can check the main mix and I periodically check it during the gig. It definitely keeps me on my toes because if it sounds sh*t, it's all on me. Like @Al Krow just said, our singer can also now be clearly heard, which didn't used to be the case. I think it's working well for us and our punters like it, private clients & pub management too. It also means I can keep control of our volume too which can be a big bonus in smaller venues & pubs.

1 hour ago, Dood said:

 

That's the UK Dist' I'd be given too, hmmm, I find the universals not ideal as my poor lil ears have narrow canals. Full moulds are really the best way for me and if I were to, I'd need to go down that route rather than risk an ear piece fall out mid performance. 

I liked the ASI universal tips but replacements aren't cheap. Although when I got my ASIs I had to buy them from the US so their tips may be less costly now they're in the UK. I've been using these replacement foam tips https://www.sonicfoam.com/ because I wanted a tighter seal and they do a size slightly larger that the usual foam tips you find on Ebay. Once ASI get their act together and start making moulds here I'll be all over that. I think it might be a big deal breaker for a lot of potential customers.

1 hour ago, Dood said:

 

I have a set in to review right now and it's a game changer!! Absolutely and utterly brilliant. I love th eonbbaord EQ and limiter as well as the extra onboard functions. I set the volume control up so I could quickly switch to hear people talking and then right back to gig level without straining, or having to remove an ear piece.

 

Expect a video very soon! 

It's a cracking product and I wouldn't be without mine on any gig now.. The only thing that ASI need to sort out ASAP is the facility to make silicone moulds here in the UK. I chased up the UK distributor, 3dwaveaudio, and they told me they need a specialised 3d printer do do this that they don't have. If I get ASI in the US to make them it'll cost me $175 plus shipping and import duty too. @Dood - have a word in their ear please

It's great to see somebody else making an ambient mic IEM system. I really am surprised that there aren't more around. On the Hearmix the only controls are ambient mic volume and treble & bass EQ cut. It looks nice and simple to use. Like the ASIs you daisy chain your normal belt pack into this. A brief search suggests they cost around £500 in the EU, so importing to the UK would likely make them similar in price to the ASI system.

For electric bass my main board is built around a Stomp. But I also have a Tonex as a smaller, more portable option. If I'm out playing my Fender Kingman acoustic bass I use a Laney Digbeth pedal.

I also still have an MS60B which I still rate highly.

And in the back of my van I have a Valeton Dapper that I picked up used & cheap here as an emergency back up for me or any band I'm doing sound for. I actually got to use it last year when I left my Stomp pedal board in the back of somebody elses car (yes, stupid mistake lol, but it was dark, late & we were tired & rushing!), and although I don't like the FX on it, it has a DI & tuner and it got me through the gig.

22 hours ago, Phil Starr said:

Turning up the high bass increases the articulacy of the sound and the 'Low Bass' lets you have a deep bass presence without overwhelming the rest of the mix. You'll have to wait for details.

 

Nice idea. What is his crossover point?

I use reverb & delay on most vocals thesedays. My main mixer is an A&H SQ5 and my basic settings are as follows:

Plate reverb - 1.5-1.7 seconds, 50-70ms predelay, low cut at 700hz, high cut at 5khz and a slight dip at 2.5khz.

Delay - speed set by tap tempo, low feedback for 1 repeat, low cut at 220hz, high cut at 1khz.

I chop out all the FX lows and highs so nothing is boomy or harsh and fighting the vocals. Reverb predelay also helps with vocal clarity. And as has been mentioned above, I also don't put delay in wedges or IEMs if people don't want it, but I may still put a little in FOH.

I have set up a mute group for the plate reverb & delay. (If I'm playing bass & running sound, I have a footswitch for this, if I'm just doing sound I have a soft key) The FX mute is to kill their plate reverb & delay between songs, I don't like hearing singers talking with their main FX happening. Then to avoid them sounding too dry when they're talking I have one more subtle room reverb running all the time just to take the edge off. You don't notice it when the plate reverb & delay are engaged. The room reverb has a predelay the same as the plate reverb.

He was a pleasure to deal with when I bought my 51 P bass. I even sent him the strings I wanted on it and he cut the nut for them. It was well set up and very playable bass out of the box. I really like the neck too. Like I said earlier, this won't be my last Retrovibe. I have a hankering for one of those blue Tele basses...

ASI 3DME. They're not cheap at £650 but you could easily spend that on normal IEMs. You can use the built in ambient mics to attenuate the room volume, and you can mix in an IEM feed too. I've had mine almost 2 years and I think they're awesome.

https://3dwaveaudio.co.uk/

On 30/04/2024 at 16:58, fretmeister said:

So - this is basically going back to the original Genzbenz Streamliner that had 3 valves in it.

 

 

The Streamliner had one sweepable midrange, other than that does look very much like a repackaged Streamliner.

I bought one of his yellow 51 P bass shorties a couple of years ago. What a lovely bass it turned out to be. It won’t be my last Retrovibe. 

On my SQ5 I send the whole band (except the break music) to a DCA. Instead of muting the DCA which would mute the band, I just take the DCA fader down which takes us all out of the FOH and allows everyone to hear their IEMs. Doing it this way does kill the vocal FX though but only until the DCA fader is back up to 0db again.

If I know there will be a speech or announcement on the main vocal mic, I'll assign that to a second DCA so I can bring that up independently of rest of the band.

You're sending messages to the Stomp fine, so you are definitely sending those messages on MIDI CH 1 from the MC3. Make sure the messages for the C4 are being sent on MIDI CH 2 from the MC3.

And make sure MIDI THRU is enabled in the Stomp (Global Settings > MIDI)

2 hours ago, Jackopie1 said:

It seems like it would be ideal, but some posts about that digital sound are making me hesitate. Would it work well for this situation?

 

A Stomp will be perfect for your needs. And they sound great if you take the time to dial in your sounds. 

Try using the Regal by itself. The Noble is a DI after all.
When the Regal was released recently I tried it with my tried & trusted Bassman-IR-Para EQ preset that I’ve been using for a while. I wasn’t impressed. Then I tried using the Regal block by itself, and it sounded really good. So much so, that it’s my go to sound now.
I have a Japanese FSR Mustang that I was about to sell here which now sounds better than I’ve ever heard it. I’m not selling it now. I’ve actually had several musicians & engineers comment on my tone since I switched to the Regal. 

15 hours ago, Lfalex v1.1 said:

I use the inside of the rear edge of the soundhole on acoustics (if the Kingman has one!)

It does have one. I tried that and my hand just doesn't sit right there. And when I used a feedback buster I got black rubber all over my thumb lol.

They have added some cheaper options on the shipping now. £16 for a 1st class international package. I’ll probably try one now.

I have a Fender Kingman acoustic bass. As there's no pick up I'd like something to rest my thumb on without screwing or glueing it on. I'd try something like this if they weren't taking the p!ss with the shipping costs.

I would have bought one of these. $20 would have been worth a punt. But their website quoted me $60 for shipping to the UK. Add on import duty and it's definitely not worth a punt.

It doesn't have any onboard effects, just loop switching and MIDI in & out.