jamesf
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Everything posted by jamesf
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bump... I'm open to trades for high quality effects... -
[quote name='steve-soar' post='216486' date='Jun 10 2008, 11:02 PM']Brilliant! I really like the versatility you have got there with the different cabs and a PJB Bass Buddy, saweeeeet. What amp are you using? Nice Tingray.[/quote] Thanks! i'm using a samson servo 550 to power it, just because it's the only amp i had lying around and it sounds good. I need to get one which will accept a 2 ohm load though to run the whole rig from the 'buddy - i have to use it in stereo to utilise the whole rig at the moment. My stingray is lovely, i agree - i think the matching headstocks look great!
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Ultimately, copper wire is copper wire, no matter how much you pay for it; it still facilitates the 'flow' of electrons in the same fashion - any marketing gimmicks trying to persuade you otherwise are going to be BS about 80% of the time. Of course, capacitance and resistance vary, and differences in material such as using silver cable affect this to some degree - ideally we want a cable which has no electrical resistance, but that just isn't possible. What you pay for in decent (note: not necessarily most expensive) cables, is the quality of the connectors, which directly affects the reliability and therefore the lifespan of the cable, and secondly, you're paying for the amount of shielding on the cable. Hum is usually caused by insufficient shielding on the cable, both the jacketing and the shield conductor. I've had this conversation/argument many times with physicists and recording engineers, and it all usually comes down to the same thing: buy van damme cable and neutrik connectors, it won't cost a fortune and they'll last years. Sure you can pay a million pounds a metre for Mogami, but any precieved difference (placebo effect?) can be replicated simply by cutting down your cable runs to the minimum you need; by which I mean 'need with medical urgency'. just my 2p, don't mean to offend anyone who buys Mogami!!
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Here's some photos of my recently completed rig. The cabs are BFM design, built them myself, 1 x omni 10, 2 x omni 10.5, all loaded with Eminence Deltalite II 2510's, no expense spared in getting all top-quality parts for them. Tweeters are wired series/parallel on the O10, and parallel in the 10.5's. Dual locking neutrik jacks on the 10.5's for daisy-chaining, up to the maximum power of 1000 watts at 2 Ohms. I only intended to make an omni 10, but then I wanted to compare it to a 10.5... after which it seemed such a shame to just leave half a sheet of plywood just sitting there when it could so easily be made into a monstrous bass rig... you know how it goes. Sitting on top of them is the Phil Jones Bass Buddy, and i got the speaker grille to match the silver of the 'Jones - i think it looks rather good. Off camera there's the power amp used to power the whole thing, but it's shared between this and my studio monitors at the moment. To the left of the rig is my Bass Collection SB300 in matte pearlescent purplish type colour, and to the right, my 2001 black sparkle stingray 3EQ. The whole rig is ridiculously loud (just one of the little cabs is fine for most applications), it's got a flattish frequency response across the board, and it doesn't weight that much either. The only problems i'm having are that it's TOO clean! I'm currently looking for some mojo-inducing grot-boxes to liven things up a bit, albeit painfully aware that i;m stretching the boundaries of the talent:gear ratio just a little far as it is...
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I almost didn't buy my Bass Collection SB300 because it doesn't have front markers and I thought I'd never get used to it and get lost all the time. Half an hour later I'd completely forgotten what a front marker looked like. Buy it; plain fretboards look slick!
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Hi Everybody, I have regrettably decided that, due to my lack of being in a band at the moment, my need to move out of my parent's house and into a tiny one-bedroom flat, and despite how handy wireless is, some of my gear has to go. This wireless system, despite being on sale, cost me a small fortune a few years back (especially for a 16 year old) from a shop called A1 music in Preston, which is now Academy of Sound. I think it was around £250 back then, on sale. Please see the attached photos to verify that it isn't offensively big (the cab in the photo is a BFM omni 10.5 and the preamp is a phil jones bass buddy for size reference), and that it is in as near perfect condition as is possible - anyone who knows me will tell you I take fastidiously, obsessively good care of my gear, and as such, the units are perfect, have all been tested by me today (which almost made me not put this advert up due to me remembering how awesome wireless is!). There are a couple of minor marks on the case, but I do mean minor cosmetic blemishes with no cracks or splits, the interior foam plugs are still all in place. Testing today confirmed that with a semi-fresh Duracell, which I'll throw in for good measure, the range is excellent, and even picks up through a solid brick wall!! I'm not sure what the limits of range are, because I ran out of garden, but i'm sure it'll be fine for any gigging situation. Frequency is 174.5 MHz, marked both on the transmitter and receiver. Come and see it for yourself if you're in the Blackpool area, any questions or anything I've missed out, let me know and i'll get back to you as soon as I can. I'm looking for [s]£100[/s] NOW £75 inc. UK postage but will entertain sensible offers. I'm also open to trade for high quality effects, but cash would be good too (the markbass amps are calling to me).
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I use Beyer DT150 for practicing, both through a Phil Jones Bass Buddy and through a Mackie Onyx mixer, and they sound fantastic. They're also closed back so you can use them for live-room cans for recording, and they don't cost a fortune. I bought them in my first year at uni on my music technology and acoustics course, and I still believe they're one of the best pieces of kit I've ever bought - a great investment in my opinion. Be careful though, because some (eg. mine) only come with a cable with a 1/4" jack connector, although i've seen some of the new ones with a 1/8" jack with an adapter, so you can use them with your ipod etc, although the cable is replaceable so you can get whichever cable you need. Hope this helps. J
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welcome! i remember having a westfield 'back in the day' - fine basses for the money if i remember, and a step up from the Encore i started on!
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[quote name='charic' post='198620' date='May 14 2008, 11:43 AM']The tracks were a good 30 seconds long, the source was actual instruments rather than white noise. The inaccuracy was due to the fact that the timed spectral analysis is due to the very slight differences. Its plausible just not in the timeframe. Bare in mind i got 63 recordings from this work aswell lol. The microphones positions which were compared were all the same microphones so as to be a fair test so the response graphs seemed unneccesary. I do wish to carry on this work, i just need the correct situation again. And your input is very much appreciated [/quote] no problem. didn't realise the tracks were so long! i meant using swept sine tones in calibrating your test equipment, and using the frequency response plots from the microphones - either from factory testing or your own, and also in plotting the response of amps and other noise-making equipment, and not as a source for comparison, as you're working on real instruments; however, to compare the response of a mic position with the response of an equaliser set-up to deliver the same results would be an interesting addition to further works - and then the subjective application of that data to real instruments would provide an empirical baseline for your results. i agree 63 recordings is a lot, i bet you went nuts analysing it all!! J
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Amp / Cab Shootout! - Spur-of-the-moment Geordie Bass Bash!
jamesf replied to wateroftyne's topic in Amps and Cabs
thanks for the advice, i now have some tweeters on the way, as well as the resistor. i agree that for £15 and a bit more sawing i can probably get a more shiny sound out of the omni - just wanting to know what else is out there and how the EBS paired up with some of the smaller cabs available. i tried a gormET350 in the studio last year and loved it but it was just too heavy. i'll let you know how i go on with the tweeters in the omni J -
Amp / Cab Shootout! - Spur-of-the-moment Geordie Bass Bash!
jamesf replied to wateroftyne's topic in Amps and Cabs
is that the buckeye burl sei millenium 6 with blue LEDs from the gallery? if so, i was going to buy that bass but decided that a flat was more important - plus i'm terrible at 6 string. i'm beginning to realise i made a horrible mistake after seeing it again, it looks incredible in the photos! did you pair the EBS TD650 with the schroeder? I have a BFM omni 10 sans tweeters at the mo, and am looking for something a little more HI-FI and shiny - i love the sound of EBS gear, but the cabs are just too heavy. I know schroeders aren't the lightest cabs in the world, but i think it's great compromise for the tone - just wondered how it paired with the EBS in the 'shiny' department. my BFM has a middy, growly old-school tone that sounds great, but doesn't have the 'sheen' that i'm trying to achieve. i know this is hardly an objective comparison and it would be incredibly difficult for you to try and quantify any of this, but just thought i'd try and get some (very) subjective and hearsay comparisons before i drive the 300+ miles to go and try them out for myself!! J -
hi, just finished reading it. i was going to make a post about ten minutes ago half way through, but i was only going to suggest everything you put in your '5.2 future work' section. like i said earlier, i'm sure you could make such an application using Max MSP, it's a pretty cheap and very well supported objective programming environment which i've seen apps written similar to the one you describe before. In the context of relating mic positioning to EQ, i would have thought that timed spectral graphs would give far more objective, quantifiable and relevant data - was the inaccuracy you logged due to using white noise as a test source? from experience, swept sine tones across your test frequency band give more than adequately accurate results for relating the frequency response of a (calibrated) mic position to a similar response from an equaliser. I would have liked to have seen the response graphs of the microphones used to give a context for testing and to be used as a calibratable baseline for assessment, then the differences in position could be overlaid and analysed in the way you describe in an environment such as Matlab. overall, a very interesting read which has given me some great ideas for improving my mic technique - i especially liked your section on drum overheads - some surprising results which i'm itching to try in a session. Don't think i'm being patronising by the above statement, they are just suggestions for future work which i'm sure you'll pursue due to your enthusiasm evident throughout the project. I look forward to hearing your responses to the above points, it's great to be reading something 'real' again (i'm teaching A Level music tech at a sixth form at the mo!)
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Welcome to the forum! (i'm pretty new here too!!) 'in between projects' is how i would describe my general state too, so yes, i feel it's a highly appropriate term. J
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no kidding about the clock, i've had similar experiences with a pair of neumanns through a DACS Clarity Micamp. Just read the first 8 pages - seems to me you could have built an application for all your FFT needs in Max MSP. The aims of the project are well thought out and the differentiation strategy you focus on from the start shows great promise and it looks like i have an interesting read ahead of me. It also shows great potential to be built on at a higher level - MMus or phD (i aim to do mine in a couple of years) - with the ability set up scientific experiments as a definite plus-point which will garner favour with academic markers. I look forward to reading the rest, and will hopefully give you some more useful feedback!! J
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PM'd, sounds like an interesting read, and something which will be useful to everyone on this site who records. i finished my music tech degree last summer but went the acoustic design route instead of recording. Haven't really played with mic placement on bass as i usually DI due to me living above a medical practice. when i get to open the taps, a U87 in omni usually does me fine, but i'd love to read your thoughts on it. J
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[quote name='ped' post='197254' date='May 12 2008, 04:05 PM']Ever since I found Elixirs I have been in heaven. I used to avoid playing my bass when I put new strings on because I didn't want them to go dead!! I have had the same set of Elixirs on my number one bass for over a year now!!! I don't sweat much and play really lightly but still, very impressive. I have three new boxes and recently put a new set on to see if it was just my mind playing tricks, but nope, the same. Brand new sounding after a year.... ped[/quote] Did the same with the elixirs, they rock, but the coating is coming off my D string all the way up to the 5th fret... anyone had this problem? instead of boiling strings, which only has limited effect, i've found that a pan (or other container for that matter) half-full of boiling water from the kettle, with about a tablespoon of bicarbonate of soda works like a charm - you can literally see all the crap floating off your strings, and they're clean in about 20 seconds. i'm claiming to have invented this method of cleaning strings, as i've not heard of it being done before, but it works great.
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[quote name='Happy Jack' post='191876' date='May 4 2008, 10:04 PM']My most-used single piece of kit is the pjb Bass Buddy. It's the size of a portable CD player and it's my headphone/practice amp for the evening, my DI box in the studio, and my pre-amp for my main home practice set-up. I probably use less than half of the features, because it does a whole load of other stuff too.[/quote] +1 on the bass buddy, i use it for recording and practicing. The in-built power amp even gets my recently completed BFM omni 10 shaking, and to a decent enough volume for living room practice. It's truly a hi-fi bit of kit, and the EQ is outstanding. The compressor isn't half bad either. I thought i had some problems with the DI out, but it might be the bass. I don't have any other preamps at the mo to try it with, but the unit seems solid. I'm considering pairing it with a power amp and calling it a rig, it's that good. Haven't tried any of the big stuff or the cabs, because i built a BFM instead of getting a PJB 4B, but i want to try a P1 preamp or possibly an M500 head to go with the rest of the BFM's i'm building.
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thanks, it seems a really friendly forum - glad to know i'm not the only newbie as well!!
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The Markbass stuff looks incredible quality, but I've yet to try one out. I'd certainly consider one against the Phil Jones, but then again i might just combine the bass buddy with a power amp and see how that holds up. As for the 5-string, thanks for the tip on the G&L, i haven't looked too much into them, but i'll be scouring this very forum for every 5'er i can to get some comparatives. I was considering a Dingwall Afterburner, but i don't know how well i'd get along with the Novax system - it looks quite intimidating head-on, i'm not sure how it would look from the playing position. Plus i'd have to spend the next two months food money... again. Thanks for the warm welcome everybody, and from what little i've read of the forum so far, it's quite apparent that there's a lot of experienced and genuine players, and that i'm not the only one with insufferable GAS! I look forward to bombarding you all with questions in the near future. J.
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Hi everybody, just thought i'd introduce myself. My name is James, and i've been playing bass on and off for the past 8 years. i started off playing jazz, moved through metal to industrial, and over the summer was playing in the band for a musical, which took up a lot of time, but was good fun. I'm a producer and sound engineer mainly, and i'm incredibly pedantic when it comes to 'my' sound on bass. I play a 2001 EBMM Stingray 3EQ, single p'up, black sparkle finish, matching headstock and maple fretboard, and i love it to bits. I also have a 90's Bass Collection SB300, in matte pearlescant purple, absolutely mint condition, and a Hohner B2A Pro in red, one of the good ones with the XLR output and switchable active/passive EMG's. I have a Squier P-special, which plays very well but doesn't get much attention since i got the stingray and the SB300. Amp-wise, i've been using an ampeg BA-115hp for the past year, but it spent most of it's life being repaired, and was pathetically underpowered when it did actually work. Before that i had a Trace Elliot Series 6 GP7 AH-130 and Peavey 115 BX-BW, which i sold before moving to uni (yes, i'm an idiot, i know). I'm using a Phil Jones Bass Buddy at the moment, and a pair of Beyer DT150 headphones for practicing. I'm not part of a band at the moment, but i'll have amp GAS soon enough. The Bass Buddy is incredible, and i want to check out some of the PJB amps. Currently i'm GASsing for a 5 string and an amp of some description, possibly a 'jones as i previously mentioned. Sorry for the lengthy post, but just thought i'd fill you in on my rig, and feel free to call me an idiot for selling my trace, it might just prompt me to buy another one. James.