Dood

Although I can't comment on the other units - I would like to upgrade you from the Line6 XT to the X3 Live instead. - The XT only allows you to run one signal path at a time. ie: Bass> XT in>Pedal>Amp>Cab>Mic>effects> out Whereas the X3 allows you to run two totally seperate signal paths, for example: Bass> X3 in1>Synth Pedal>Bass Amp>Cab>Mic>Stereo chorus> out X3 in2>Distortion Pedal>Guitar Amp>Cab>Mic>stereo multitap delay> out In the above example I have given you a clean STEREO bass tone with a synth sound mixed with a distorted guitar tone with Stereo delay - both mixed at the left and right outputs. Kinda the sort of thing you'd be looking to do with that little Hysteria ditty they do ) - Use a distorted guitar amp patch with the bass, instead of 'pedal distortions' to give a more realistic 'distorted amp' tone. I am sure there are better units out there - but this is one I use as described.

[quote name='ahpook' post='953478' date='Sep 12 2010, 12:37 PM']techy, but perfectly correct....[/quote] Totally agree! More detail than I was prepared to go for - but If it helps, I'll do it next time!

SlyStewart, I you refering to the red peak light on the front of the amplifier? The light flickering is less likely to be an indication of a fault with the amplifier - only that you are driving the input gain towards distortion. Now - if you actually WANT to have a dirty distorted tone - then you WILL see this led on rather a lot! - However, if you don't - and want a nice clean signal - have a look at the SVT 2 manual as I'm pretty sure it will tell you how to set the gain correctly. It will not hurt if it flickers only occasionally on your hardest playing. If you are finding that the LED is STILL on all the time even with the input gain set low - you'll need to engage the 'pad' button that will reduce the level from your bass in to the input of the preamp. You'll then be able to readjust the gain control so that the LED flickers every now and then for a clean tone. As I mentioned earlier, if you want a dirty tone - bringing the gain control up (along with the drive control) will force the preamp to eventually distort and give you that 'gnarly Ampeg tone'. The LED will come on a lot more. As for your drop in 'power' - well - that *could* be attributed to the need for a service - but it's not possible to tell without being able to take a look at it. How long have the valves been in it? have you changed them at all and when? Have you noticed any other extraneous noise? Hiss? Lack of 'tone' - i.e sounding wooly? - When do you find te volume drops - and is it instantaneous? or a slow drop? If nothing else, as my good man Ste has mentioned above, drop the amp in to a tech to have a look at

[quote name='PaulWarning' post='952879' date='Sep 11 2010, 04:51 PM']also try www.we7.com same thing but no need to download any software[/quote] Ahh I'll take a look at that. I also like to trawl last.fm to listen to streamed tracks too.

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' post='952985' date='Sep 11 2010, 06:31 PM']Sorry I do appologise that did come out a bit arsey! But your background to me is not important if you are telling with some authority all about this stuff but do not think a preamp contains a cmos chip? Its not a life and death matter really is it but someone who knows there onions would be able to wrap this up.As I said I know a little and a little knowledge is dangerous so Im staying out of it so you can carry on as you were,Ta.[/quote] Yup, you certainly did! I forgive you though. CMOS aside, I felt that my examples of how raising the supply rail voltage can affect headroom and some real world examples were satisfactory to describe at least two benefits. Again, I expected to remain in layman's terms and without disecting the other posts too much did not feel it necessary to display any electronic prowess in my post. ok CMOS - yes, it IS possible to get terms confused - I'm certainly no expert, but then - never assert that anyway lol lol. However, to my defence - an audio chip does not have to be CMOS. - for the sake of moving on - I'll leave that discussion to the rest of the internet as it's not really relevant to the 9/18v OP.

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' post='952890' date='Sep 11 2010, 05:03 PM']Im not being funny Dood but you are talking tripe mate! Like I said before I dont know enough to make a proper statement on this but I know enough from your last few replies that nor do you? Im not going to get too involved in this but for a start all 2EQ Stingrays contain a cmos LM4250CN IC chip.Voltage does not work like you say either (I am an electrician!)and a cmos chip will work down to 5V which I as just said ARE found in these circuits and I imagine most.Im going to leave it at that as I dont feel either of us know enough on this one and it will become a silly flawed debate.[/quote] Well, I'll certainly concede over the CMOS part - that's fine - but as I said in my post, I was endeavouring to not be too techy as not to get in to too much detail. However to suggest I don't know what I am talking about is a wee bit silly as you don't really know anything about my background. I certainly haven't done the same to you, have I? I'm just trying to offer a [b]simplistic response[/b] to the OP.

[quote name='molan' post='952022' date='Sep 10 2010, 05:13 PM']So - little addendum to my TC Electronics thoughts. Having got close to a sound I wanted out of my RH450 when rehearsing I was still coming up a bit short on my old favourite '80's mid-scoop sound. Still lacking that top end zing I've always liked. Went out and read lots of reviews & comparisons on the Staccato '51 and decided to take the plunge and bought one to test back to back with the RH450. I have to say I'm amazed at how different they sound 'out of the box'. I knew the frequency centres had all been changed & the top end had been opened up but the core sound of the amp seems different to me as well. Feels like there's some compression dialled in even when it's set flat & maybe a little more drive through the TubeTone as well. I'm very happy to say that the base sound with everything set flat is pretty much exactly what I was after - couldn't believe just how 'right' it sounded to me. I knew I'd like some of the top end but was worried it might be a bit too bottom heavy for me having read about this in some reviews but it's just great! The factory setting wasn't actually with everything set flat, it had the compression & the tube tone at 12:00 and this sounded very nice too, touch too much compression (although this was quite dependent on which bass was running through it). I then had a go at replicating a 'stock' RH450 tone, got vaguely close but still hearing more top end, may need to play with that a bit. Of course the big clincher is the colour - I haven't seen a single pic that really does the bright metallic red finish any sort of justice Anyone else here got/tried a Staccato - I haven't spotted any yet?[/quote] Barrie and I have been havin' a good chinwag via PM, Indeed an RH450 and controller has arrived at Dood Towers for a bit of playtime too Comments will be forthcoming in time!

[quote name='markstuk' post='952788' date='Sep 11 2010, 03:13 PM']Found the following over on BGRA - may have some perspective... "Bartolini: "NS2TMB-183", 18 Volts. Bass This is Bill Bartolini's latest and most refined design. It is quieter and more transparent than anything else out there (108 dB S/N, THD .003% @ 100Hz) and really sounds good. To quote from the spec sheet "The (bipolar) +9V/ -9V system allows a completely DC coupled signal path. There are no capacitors to diminish in any way the low end punch, clarity and frequency response of the instrument". Bill has used wide bands that overlap slightly to avoid the honky sound of other midrange controls. The 250Hz mid could be useful as a cut option when recording." Now all we need to know are the benefits of a completely DC coupled signal path :-)[/quote] Over complicating things now! I'm trying to stay away from being too tech - but the [i]idea[/i] being discussed above is that the more passive components you add to a signal path (such as resistors and capacitors) the greater likelihood that distortion, phase change or noise will be added to the signal passing through them. If you can design a circuit with fewer of those components then *hopefully* you will have a cleaner siganl path. The bipolar design tries to deal with that issue by balancing the powersupply around a reference 0v ground.

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' post='952732' date='Sep 11 2010, 02:17 PM']Im not an expert but I think cmos chips only run up to 15v (like my Ray preamp etc) headroom would not be found if you put 18v round it! So like I said they are obviously different chips if they are 18v circuits.[/quote] Bass preamps won't be CMOS. That specification is more likely to be found in control systems, not audio.

[quote name='lowdown' post='952770' date='Sep 11 2010, 02:51 PM']Does 18 volt go up to eleven so its that bit louder? Garry[/quote] lol. Actually no - having an 18v system doesn't actually make your bass any louder. *unless* the preamp is specifically designed to add gain.

[quote name='J.R.Bass' post='950166' date='Sep 9 2010, 03:53 AM']Pretty sure it's to do with headroom, as Vin can't exceed Vout. So with a 18v preamp, Vin is bigger thus Vout can be larger.[/quote] Excellent place to start. I agree. Now - the thing is, with modern pickups - is that their outputs can be much higher as well. For example, I use active EMG pickups with a very high output. According to the EMG specs can be 1.4 volts peak each. If you then add a few dB's of EQ boost or what have you, then you could be looking at say 2 volts each. Now - plug a 9v battery in to an onboard preamp - lets say for the sake of arguement that it consumes 2v from the battery as well. Ok, so here's my example: If you are playing and peaking at your 2v and the preamp is pulling a good 2v on peaks as well, maybe more in those dynamic moments - you can say that 4v is being used up out of your 9v available. I'd say that was a fairly large chunk of consumption! What happens now if you are using say, a rechargeable battery? - Well - they don't charge to 9v anyway. 8.4 at the most, but less efficient ones, you're actually looking at 7.2v!! - so that's a little more of your available power gone. Or, obviously - the battery is a bit on the flat side? 6v if it hasn't been changed for a while? So running both the pickups and preamp at 18V now seems a far more sensible thing to do in my mind. (The products you are using must be able to run at 18v mind lol!) because even if the electronics were able to pull 9v at any given moment of performance - you still have another 9 to play with. In the real world? - Well, I have actually upgraded two systems from 9 to 18V. I noticed two differences. I think the other differences were too subtle to say for sure that the upgrade made a marginal impact. The first was that my top end had a more pristine 'sheen' to it. Especially recorded through quality monitors. I also noticed that when I slapped hard it sounded less choked. - or indeed 'compressed' - Which in turn meant my bass appeared to have more bottom end 'thump' to it. Always a good thing eh? Finally - I went to look up for consumption and capacity figures for a 9v battery - quite happy to see that my figures were pretty close! - but it's worth noting that some 9v batteries just don't have the capacity that you might hope for. To put it in to perspective - it's like running a mini at 90Mph vs a Jaguar! I've tried not to be too boring and not go in to too much detail about current etc!

Love Spotify! - KK, I'll remind myself to check it out later when I'm plugged in to decent speakers!

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='952244' date='Sep 10 2010, 08:54 PM']1) Study really hard. 2) Be nice to everyone you meet. 3) Have some good fortune. 4) Be willing to play absolutely anything and smile while doing it.[/quote] 5) Get some real business knowledge and support under your belt. For example - on going to just one 'starting up your own business' type course I learned a whole bunch of stuff that I didn't even think about at first. It IS very important because there is some very valuable advice to be had. This could also include taking advice from professional bodies such as the Musician's Union and Music Leader to name just two. 6) Always chase up leads and be contactable. If you don't take the bait, there 200 bass players who are chomping at the bit instead. 7) Be punctual if you are depping / doing session work. Infact - just make sure you stick to timescales and show that YOU are in control of your time. 8) Like any job C.V - You should be able to make examples of your playing available at a moments notice. That's up to you to decide how you do that - but there are plenty of online resources out there! I'm gonna stop there - as I could list ideas for days!!

Hi Wbm28, That's actually a really difficult question to answer - that's a bit like asking 'I'm painting a room, what's the best colour to do it in?' Firstly, there's personal taste - you might hate (perish the thought) the sound of an SVT stack, but love a modern SWR type sound. Also, we know nothing about the kind of gear you are plugging in to. Are you playing directly in to a PA? or do you have some backline to contend with as well? What gear are you using? I am assuming that by your ID, you play a Warwick? Obviously that will impact the tone too! - So - quite a lot to think about - and there is certainly no 'one best tone' because you have too many variables to think about. Put it this way - grab the Line6 manual - make sure the unit is configured to run with your set up (I say that, because so many people don't bother to check first and wonder why it sounds woolly and horrible) - then IGNORE all the pre-programmed patches - they are naff! - Start dialling a few patches with your rig and find out what sounds nice and what doesnt. You'll soon start to find certain amplifier combinations that work and others that dont. Oh - and me personally? When it comes to playing live with a backline and I am using my X3 - ALL of my bass amp sims are switched off - as I see little point in emulating a rig on the X3, when I have an amazing one stood behind me! - It's a different story if I were to use in-ears or straight to PA. I do however use guitar amp sims and cabinets for distortion patches instead of distortion pedal 'sounds' from the X3. Hope this helps and is food for thought. Dooooooooooooooooooooood!

Oh, if you can get a clear recording of the distortion, by miking up the cab - we can have a listen!

[quote name='Dudgeman' post='951351' date='Sep 10 2010, 12:35 AM']Running Ashdown ABM 300 EVO2 and while looking for a clean tone I am getting distortion on Ab ( On E string) ..not on G or A or even pounding out E's. tried the cab with other heads and no problem there..any idea what would cause distotion on such a specific frequency? Thanks[/quote] It would depend on the type of distortion you are refering to - and would be difficult to tell, without hearing it. My first thoughts that you are hitting the natural resonance of something. Have you tried a different bass in to your amp and cab? Could you also plug your bass directly in to the 'return' of the effects loop and play to see if you get the distortion there too? Then we can start to see what *could* be causing the problem. I think the EVO has a preamp valve? for example - that could be loose / in need of replacement - but it could be so many other things!

What's the name of that 'law' that suggests the perceived desirability of a commodity goes up as it's price does?

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='951335' date='Sep 10 2010, 12:14 AM']You forgot fingerboard LEDs. [/quote] He he he!!!! I did! Yup - Those too!! - and....and... swirly dot shapes... and ...umm.. nah.Can't think of anything else .. Active pickups!! and.. ramps!! [/coat]

[quote name='sjohns' post='947306' date='Sep 6 2010, 03:31 PM']Thanx Dood! I will have a look tonight! I am looking to turn it into a rig for both g*****r and bass (at seprate times) just didnt know how and once again the knowledge of the bc world helps, tho i really should have read the manual lol Thanx again, Steve[/quote] You can use the X3 as you describe - and for example, set up multiple patches on channel A for guitar sounds and lock channel B to bass sounds. The guitarist will still be able to change his channels and your bass tone will remain unchanged. There is a lot to explain - but to be honest, grab yourself a coffee and grab the manual. Line 6 write their manuals in quite a friendly way - and as soon as you start having a play with it - you'll get the hang of it!

I'm glad you have it sorted now Cetera. I was about to go shoot myself cos I thought I was losing my touch! - damn those pesky leads ey!!!

Headless Basses, Singlecuts, Silly multicolour paint jobs, aircraft landing strip sized fretboards and ones with too many strings

Very unacceptable!!!! - Stag knows a GREAT repair guy who has looked after him who lives in 'our area' - and the turn around was days, not weeks. AND I would expect the shop where you purchased be falling over themselves to be helping you. Name and Shame my good man - then you can let them we have over 11,000 bass players could see how shoddy they are!

[quote name='michael-faces' post='950186' date='Sep 9 2010, 07:34 AM']Yeah it was £38. Thanks again for all the help! I've learnt from this, but still feel so silly . All I had to do was flick a switch at the back and i'd be fine![/quote] Ahhhhh mate! Well, I'm glad you are up and running again and that the additional cost has not dulled the experience. It's a bit of a rare preamp these days - so worth hanging on to!

[quote name='michael-faces' post='948818' date='Sep 7 2010, 09:08 PM']Nah, mine was cheaper including postage and everything. Or it was before I do this repair. I bought mine from craiglists (bit risky, but I did know the guy from ebay with a perfect seller rating). By the way, any idea how much this might cost to repair? Dood, you're beginning to look like a bit of an expert on the amp front to me![/quote] Ahh! Ok, gotcha - it was just after our strangely coincidental conversation about preamps the other day - and having seen the BC-1 on TB! Ok, you got me - I am actually fanatical and slightly rather geeky about all things Bass! It probably wouldn't be an understatement to say I have studied Bass for over 20 years lol! [quote name='umph' post='948912' date='Sep 7 2010, 10:26 PM']depends on what you've fried, if the PT is fine i shouldn't expect it to be a to hefty bill.[/quote] Yeah I agree - ball park figure including labour? Most reputable local repairers will probably charge about 30-50 quid.