SteveO

Look, I know, I'm sorry, this has probably been asked a million times etc...

My old zoom 506 stopped working a while back (well, to be technical it got a bit squashed by a 1x15 being dropped on it) I was thinking of getting the B2.1u (nearly bought Kennyrodg's, but was foiled by the Norwegian banking system and Paypal not liking each other very much) I've been thinking. The only things I used on the old Zoom were the tuner and compressor.

My plan is to get a cheap compressor. I don't care if it's stompbox or rackmount, it's not gonna get turned off, just gonna plug in and leave it sat on the amp to do it's thing. So... here's the question...

Has anyone actually got / tried one of the cheapies.. Behringer, Harley Benton etc... I'm just looking for something to last for a month (until payday, when I'll look for something more permanent, and obviously less money spent on this = more beer money, and over here you don't get much beer for your money ).

I know there's the build quality/ wouldn't buy that cheap crap issue, but I don't care. I just wanna know if they do what they're supposed to do or not.

thank'ee kindly very much
SteveO

Me

You thought it was hard teaching a guitarist how to play a riff propperly? try getting 25 different people to play what [i]you [/i]want instead of what they [i]think [/i]you want (or what [i]they [/i]want)

Although you do get to put on a sarcastic voice and ask them to play what's on the page, if it's not too much trouble


[edit] I write orchestral music if it isn't obvious [end edit]

Pop out's always seemed to pop out at the most awkward moments. I pulled all mine out and got a sackbarrow (advice from BW a long time back) which was great - could move the 1x15, 4x10 and head all at once (with a strap around them all )
Now, my cabs have all got permanent castors, but I still use the sackbarrow, it's a hell of a lot easier to move around (i'm using Behringer cabs with wheels at one side only which means having to lift the other end to move about

You all sit and polish your basses???

You need to get out more.

I've had my RBX 375 for 3 years now, I can honestly say that there is no way that I'd get rid of it. The fretboard feels fluid, the range of sounds from the twin pups is enourmous, even before you start messin with fx, it isn't a backbreaker and it has to be the best value for money bass that I've ever played. There are nicer 5 strings out there, but you're looking at much more money. After trying one out in Uncle Tony's in Middlesbrough I knew I had to have one, and if I'd had £400 I'd have bought it there and then (I thought £400 for it was a bargain, based purely on what I thought it was worth). After looking on Thomann, I got one for £200 inc delivery and I still grin like an idiot whenever I pick it up .

[quote name='uptonmark' post='214381' date='Jun 7 2008, 03:27 PM']...another thing is that the pup originally supplied had one [b]RED[/b] wire running from pup to pots yet the wizard has two wires running from pup to pots, one [b]BLACK[/b] and one [b]WHITE.[/b]

using a diagram from the internet i wired the black to the centre of the pot and the white to the middle of the three little bits that protrude from the pot.

any help much appreciated[/quote]

[quote name='warwickhunt' post='214381' date='Jun 7 2008, 01:22 PM']I'm fairly certain that the Wizard pup won't be a HB and only has 2 wires not 3.

Have you tried to speak to Andy yet?[/quote]


OK, I have actually bothered to look at the wizard 84's this time before posting.
Yup, the're not humbuckers, forget everything I've said above, there's only 2 wires.
I find it hard to believe that the original had only 1 wire, there must have been 2 for the electrons to go round and do their thing... so that means that there was annother wire going somewhere... the 2 wires from your wizard's need to go where the 2 wires from the original was. it's that simple.

... oh and swap them if you get phasing problems.

Oh, bugger, that's all been said before by other peeps now hasn't it. you'd better ignore this post aswell then.




... looking for coat...

[quote name='uptonmark' post='214381' date='Jun 7 2008, 03:27 PM']another thing is that the pup originally supplied had one [b]RED[/b] wire running from pup to pots yet the wizard has two wires running from pup to pots, one [b]BLACK[/b] and one [b]WHITE.[/b]

using a diagram from the internet i wired the black to the centre of the pot and the white to the middle of the three little bits that protrude from the pot.[/quote]


Some humbuckers have a centre tap on the coil, which basically means they have an extra 3rd wire joining the coil at the halfway point. with a bit of creative wiring you can choose between using the pickup as a humbucker or as a single coil pickup, or a blend of the two. In your case it sounds like the original didn't have this centre tap and the new one does. You have a choice, you can ignore the third wire and use it as a direct replacement for your original or (and this is the option I would choose) you can rewire to give yourself the extra range of tones of having an additional single coil for free.

If you just wanna replace then I would guess that the centre tap is the white one, but you can test by measuring the resistance between any two wires. the resistance between the centre tap and either of the other two will be lowest of all other combinations. I suppose the easiest way would be to find a specsheet on the web. Disconnect this (don't cut it off at the pickup end, just use a bit of insulation tape on the free end to leave it there in case of mistakes or if you wanna use it later) wire the remaining two wires as your original and bob's your mothers brother. (now, you may get the phasing problems. If so, reverse wires and job done)

OK then, lets look at option 2 The original pickup had one wire to the pot, where did the other go, is it running to ground on the jack or do you have a preamp. I take it you've put the 3rd wire of the new pickup to the same point... I suspect that you're getting the phasing problems described in the above posts, but because of the way you have it wired you're only getting partial cancellation from one half of the humbucker, and swapping the wires has just given you partial cancellation from the other half of the humbucker instead.

Tell you what, if you can draw a diagram of the current wiring I should be able to see where the problem is and make recommendations.
(a photo would be useful as well)

Ahhh feck it. only one way to see and that's to try it, so this here Squire is gonna have it's nuts cut and get restrung tomorrow.
Cheers for that WH, it does make sense, coz tension, mass and length dictate the vibration frequency (I knew that physics GCSE come in useful oneday ) To get a lower frequency, you can decrease the tension or increase the string mass (or do both).

Anyway. seing as It's a disposable bass the worst that can happen is it ends up in the fire. If it works out then I'll look to spending some cash on a nicer Bass eventually.

Was just thinking.... I use my yam 375 when playing metal (to get down to a B ) and the squire P when playing everything else. I recon that I´ve not played a note on the G-string on the 5-er for about 3 years. I much prefer playing 4 strings so I´m thinking... how´s about getting rid of the 375, picking up another bass with the usual number of strings and tuning it to BEAD?
Has anyone tried this? is there anything to look out for regarding string tension / neck warpage. Would probably look at threading with BEAD strings - I hate the flappyness associated with detuning - which would mean re-cutting or replacing the nut...
I admit that i´ve not thought this through yet - just in idle curiosity stage at the mo.

Ha Ha. I´ve just gone and ordered a white pbass scratchplate. Sod´s law innit.

Wouldn't say its the best bass by a long way, but I think I know what you mean. You know exactly what you're gonna get when you pick up a P. (Unless it's a really bad copy - £50 with practice amp and strap thrown in... I don't think so). Have tried quite a few basses over the years and still prefer to use the Squire as the main plank. Admitedly I've not played anything worth more than £600, so It's not an informed opinion. In all genres there seems to be bassists using P's so I guess it's versatile, but i'd think of it more as the Mondeo of the world of basses. Does what it says on the tin, but i'd rather have a Ferrari.

[quote name='chris_b' post='205483' date='May 24 2008, 01:06 PM']Since the advent of electric tuners tuning should have become a non event for everyone... [snip][/quote]
Yup, it should, but it aint, but I've never been one to have blind faith in electronics. As you say though, it'll be obvious that you're out of tune so there's no point in insisting that you've just tuned up to your tuner so everyone else must be wrong.
Interestingly when I played with the 12 piece soul band on trombone tuning wasn't an issue. I wonder if bad tuning is not as noticable as the numbers of instruments increase. We all tuned by ear to the main Gitarist and never had a problem.

It's strange to think that such a small problem can cause so much greif (that's small as in easily fixed, not small as in of little worth). I always tune the E with the zoom pedal when practicing (I wish I could remember the model ) then tune by ear for the rest. I agree with [b]foal30[/b], you gotta be able to tune up by ear, or at least be able to tell when you're out of tune. Batteries can die, strings stretch, machine heads slip... whatever, if you cant tell when you're going out of tune then you should really include it in your practice routines. It's the one thing that everyone recognises. it doesn't matter how good your band is, if you're not in tune then it sounds sh*te and everyone at the gig will think you're sh*te (with the possible exception of musicians who'll think you're just sh*te for not tuning up properly)
When it comes to rehersals and gigs, I always insist on everyone tuning to one tuner (or to the keyboards if present), then I'll do a quick check against my pedal. As mentioned above there are two standards for A (see FJ1200's post, [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?s=&showtopic=17656&view=findpost&p=181541"]#45[/url]) plus the tollerances in the electronics, plus accidently recallibrating the unit ([b]jono b[/b], post [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?s=&showtopic=17656&view=findpost&p=184884"]#65[/url]). If my pedal concurs then I know i can use that for emergency tuning between songs if necessary. If not then i'll recallibrate my pedal
It might sound a bit excessive, but in practice it's dead simple (9 times out of 10 all the tuners agree anyway, and it's worth it to catch that 1 gig in 10)

Anyway, back to my point... We're musicians. we know that being out of tune or refusing to tune to each other is a crime of the highest order. What's the problem? we're either all in tune or it's going to sound sh*te. Tell your git-artist put their ego aside, or you'll all sound terrible, them included. If they really refuse to tune up properly then tune to them, then sack them after the gig / refuse to dep with them again etc. Gonna stop now before this turns into a rant aginst playing with amateurs

[quote name='Oxblood' post='39703' date='Jul 31 2007, 09:26 PM']...It seems to be a commonly held view among certain companies that in selling to musicians, they are ipso facto selling to idiots who are easily impressed by shiny objects and flashing lights...[/quote]

Mmmmmmm flashing lights and shiny knobs. Yup, that's pretty much all I look for when buying gear

WOW! that is an excellent program. I've been using the granulizer in Fruity loops to slow down music enough to practice along to. TBH fruity loops is much better quality but a) it's not free, and b ) it's not as easy to use.

This is the link to [url="http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=180308&package_id=208475&release_id=564506"]Best Practice[/url] if anyone wants it. (it's only 634k, click the "bpsetup_1_03.exe" to start the download, the big orange "Download" button is just advertising sh*te)

[quote name='elros' post='203890' date='May 21 2008, 09:38 PM']I'm quite Norwegian by heritage. Lived here pretty much all my life.
I've never really been to Hønefoss though. I'm studying for a BA in music here in Kristiansand. And there's no snow here, that's long gone. [url="http://hallgeir.no/bass/ansgar/snow1/"]It was like this for a while though[/url].[/quote]

Cool. One of my biggest regrets was not studying music (I decided to be a Chemist instead, then I ended up working for 10 years as an accountant! ) I wish you all the best.

The snow's gone over here as well, it's only on the tops of the mountains now, but it's only a 6k walk from here to the snowline It was great to be able to ski to work for the first 5 weeks that I was here. I've totally fallen in love with Norway, I just need to find a pretty tall blond viking and learn Norsk to make my life complete

[quote name='elros' post='203631' date='May 21 2008, 01:04 PM']Hello from Norway back. Where are you in this beautiful country? Anywhere near Kristiansand in the very south? Or Stavanger in the south-west?[/quote]

You're absolutely right, it [i]is [/i] beautiful. Snow, mountains, scorching sun, great fishing, long walks in the forests, crazy vikings on the piss (I haven't seen people drinking as seriously as this since I was in Glasgow)... I think I'm in heaven. I do miss the smell and smoke from ICI in Teesside though, but I just spent the weekend near Drammen and felt right at home

I'm up near Hønefoss, about 65 km north of Oslo. Do you live over here or are you out here working?

Hi there, How're you all doing?

So, a bit about me... I'm Steve, 36, play bass (doh!), trumpet, trombone and a bit of keyboards (if I have to ). I'm living in Norway, I moved from Middlesbrough in Febuary 08 for a new job and to be closer to the kids (it wasn't a hard choice). Joined a 'viking metal' band over here (they sound like Metallica but in Norwegian lol, but I'ts a paying gig so hey ). I would say i'm a bit of a below-avarage bass player - I can happily cover most songs, maybe not accurately but good enough to dance along to, but i'm hopeless at improvising. Been playing about 10 years now on and off (more off than on TBH - trumpet's my main instrument). Not got any gear over here yet, so at the mo i'm playing a borrowed squire p-bass through the PA with no fx at all My usual rig is a yamaha 375 and squire p-bass through a zoom multifx pedal - god knows what model it is - into a Behringer 3500 amp, with Behringer 115 and 210 cabs. not going to get your GAS juices a-pumping methinks, but it all does fine for me. (wish I had a couple of grand to go shopping with, but don't we all.). Oh i've got a cheap acoustic bass from thomann a couple of years ago as well - can't remember the make... harley benton or something like that - great for messing around with mates on the 6strings after the pub but i wouldn't use it live

I did stick my head round the door on Bassworld a couple of times under this very moniker, but I doubt if anyone will remember me - I don't think I posted more than a hundred missives.

Toodle Pipsky
SteveO