rmorris

There are some decent quality leads available from Adam Hall [url="http://www.adamhall.com/uk/AH_K--Adam-Hall-Cable-Patchcords__p--project_2__k--57__f--1"]http://www.adamhall.com/uk/AH_K--Adam-Hall..._2__k--57__f--1[/url] for £2.50 or less. I have a couple - well made with good heatshrink / metal connectors. The connectors are right angled and not too big. I can see I think a 'rivet' type connection to the jack plug itself so they are probably not as durable as the premium Neutrik connectors but should be fine in a static ( eg pedal board ) application. The all metal plugs also give superior shielding to the budget moulded multi-colour types. I have some of those too and they pick up noise. I bought the Adam Hall cables to replace these and they are much better. I can't see the construction of the cable due to the heatshrink but I would guess lapped screen as they are fairly flexible ( as needed for inter fx connections ) and noise rejection seems fine. [quote name='deej' post='347539' date='Dec 6 2008, 10:19 PM']What cables do you guys use for your pedalboards? George L's seem to be the top ones around, but seem so expensive. Are there any alternatives out there, or are they pretty much untouchable? And what about these cable kits you can buy? Ive heard theyre prone to coming loose, but its a big plus to be able to make all cables to personal size. Im still stuck with my cheapo cables from years ago, y'know, those nice brightly coloured ones.. I need some better ones a.s.a.p. but im looking around for the best options. Ive got quite a large pedalboard too, so lots of cables = lots of money. Damn it.[/quote]

I have one of these. It's simply two 1:1 transformers. It breaks 'ground loops' between different pieces of equipment. It might make a difference to problems from mains / dimmer noise but may not have very much effect in a typical instrument / home setup with unbalanced wiring. If it's dimmer noise it'll be picked up by your pickups ( makes sense !) Dimmers are bad news as standard dimmers chop the mains which causes much noise both on the electrical cabling and radiated. One way to test - does the noise change in terms of frequency balance when the dimmer is turned to different positions ? Also - don't forget that a dimmer light fitting may be hanging below you if there's a room below you - my own experience. A ceiling doesn't provide much shielding. Short of installing a dedicated spur I'd say run a good filter block from one or more sockets and try running all your audio stuff from them. [quote name='gafbass02' post='343769' date='Dec 3 2008, 08:00 AM']My house is really buzzy, im sure its to do with dimmer switches and crappy wiring im sure some of the noise is airbourne, would one of these stand any sort of a chance?[/quote]

In general you probably won't feel much benefit with it in the chain into the Ampeg if you're already happy with the Ampeg sound. But if you're sending a signal for FOH PA then that's where you'd feel the benefit of sending a 'amp emulated' signal to the FOH desk from the Sansamp. Do you send a DI out from the Ampeg to FOH desk atm ? Pros / Cons : You'll always be able to get a useable 'amp sound' . The Presence control allows a great deal of control of how much top end cut / clang you get which you can't get with simple mid eq on the desk. But you do have to be a little careful with amplified noise on high treble / presence settings. The BDDI has only Bass and Treble eq - no Middle - but it seems to work well although some don't like it's default voicing. The Behringer clone may be worth a try given the cost difference ? [quote name='MikeB' post='348493' date='Dec 8 2008, 12:20 PM']I'm thinking of investing in a SansAmp Bass Driver DI, but not sure it's going to be worth the money. I do little or no studio work, all live, and play through an Ampeg SVT-3 Pro. Can anyone out there offer some advise on the benefits / pitfalls of the SansAmp and how you use it. Thanks.[/quote]

For my BDDI I'll either use a standard '9V' unregulated DC supply - which will be delivering a few volts more than 9V if powering the BDDI only - or if I'm taking the XLR output to a mixer I'll use the 48V phantom power from the desk. [quote name='Sibob' post='359760' date='Dec 20 2008, 06:19 PM']I've just got hold of a sansamp and am wanting to purchase a mains power supply for it. Seeing as there is no Tech 21 uk power supplies, what are you guys using to power your sansamps? Cheers Si[/quote]

if you're handy, or know someone who is, with a soldering iron and resistors etc it might be worth rewiring the volume pot on the active bass so that its maximum output matches that of the passive. Assuming the active doesn't have a trimpot to do that anyway.

[quote name='dangerboy' post='336077' date='Nov 25 2008, 10:35 AM']The Belcat Delay is surprisingly good, too. I also used to have the Biyang fuzz pedal - it's basically a Big Muff with some interesting clipping mods - you can change one pair of diodes for LEDs with a switch. They're mostly made with surface mount components, but then so are the new EHX pedals... Only really matters if you want to mod them.[/quote] Are the surface mount components too small for modding to be feasible. I reckon that you're okay with resistors etc down to 0603 ?

[quote name='Silent Fly' post='342624' date='Dec 2 2008, 08:30 AM']Very interesting... thanks for the suggestion rmorris. Could you post some links? Thanks, SF[/quote] try this [url="http://www.gearslutz.com/board/geekslutz-forum/116542-tube-art-tube-mp-upgrade.html"]http://www.gearslutz.com/board/geekslutz-f...mp-upgrade.html[/url] interestingly a contributor is pointing out that it operates at a low voltage ( true ) and that you don't get significant input from the valve unless you 'crank' it. But presumably if you are looking for some valve character / crunch then you would be. I think the comment there about 'led' behind the valve doesn't apply to ART MP ( feel free too say otherwise if you know different ). That does ( or did ) apply to a Behringer unit(s ? ) which got a lot of press coverage. having said that the more expensive ART mic pres look more interesting but if you're looking to get something physically small on a low budget then the MP looks like a bargain.

has anyone on this thread tried changing the stock valve that it comes with for another valve ? Seems a fairly popular thing to do with other ART units judging by some other recording forums.

[quote name='Silent Fly' post='341705' date='Dec 1 2008, 10:44 AM']I have the TUBE MP STUDIO V3. For the price it is a good mic preamp but I am not overwhelmed by the sound as a DI. It is not bad but if you look for a transparent DI that transfers the sound of your bass to the console without coloration, I would look elsewhere.[/quote] yes. sure - but if you wanted a transparent DI into a desk you wouldn't be looking at anything with a valve in it anyway - simply a good fidelity solid state DI (maybe with a transformer balanced output ? ).

Marconiphone valve based reel to reel tape machine. SPARES/REPAIR free if you can collect from Brighton eves / weekends. Takes small 'domestic' (7") reels. makes big hum / noises atm when switched on and I don't have the time to investigate. 'Magic Eye' tube appears to work and pretty good physical condition. If interested let me know and I can sort a pic. Would be shame to see it go to the recycling skip if anyone interested.

[quote name='BOD2' post='335884' date='Nov 24 2008, 10:16 PM']Ah... damn those electrical pixies !! Something also worth trying if possible is to move any small power supplies around to ses if that reduces the noise. This isn't easy if they are plug-in wall wart types, but I have found from personal experience that some power supplies will induce noise in adjacent cables when they come in close proximity to them. Moving the power supply (or the cable if you can identify it) reduces the noise. If you can keep your cables aways from these power supplies as much as possible then that might help but on a small stage it's not always possible. Could it be that when you reconnected everything you had moved the power supply or the cables around it ?[/quote] yeah - power supplies / transformers radiate lowish frequency 'noise' which cable screening can do little about. Unbalanced and/or high impedance cables are most susceptible to it but it falls off steeply ( square law ? - any physicists want to comment on H-field characteristics ? ) with distance so psu / cable placement and orientation can have a major effect. btw I think the batteries are 'PP3'

[quote name='kdphysio' post='337859' date='Nov 26 2008, 11:08 PM']send your current one to www.auroraproject.co.uk, & let them make a bespoke copy for you....100% exact copy/fit.......tis what i did! [/quote] +1 and the shop is in Orpington so not too far to go in person if you want although you'll need to wait to get it posted back to you. good friendly service. nice shop. did me a copy of a scratchplate for an ibanez 'strat' type guitar - about £20 I think for basic '3 layer' scratchplate.

[quote name='escholl' post='335965' date='Nov 25 2008, 12:28 AM']My housemate has the third one, the one going for 33 pounds, and I've been really impressed by it -- I know someone else who has one as well, and loves his. They're pretty tough, and all metal on the outside, and they sound great. Never figured out why they were so cheap, guess they're just simple....probably just due to their not using high voltage. Really though, you can't really go wrong for the price, if it was me, I'd probably go for the v3 model....or the cheap one.[/quote] I've got one of the chapest 'basic' models too. I think they're even cheaper from Thommann - depending on postage costs. [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/art_tube_mp.htm?sid=db1b4cd05b303026ff8ff837fdb4b96e"]http://www.thomann.de/gb/art_tube_mp.htm?s...f8ff837fdb4b96e[/url] I've mainly used it on vocal mic rather than bass, where I tend to favour my Sansamp BDDI, but it sounded pretty good on bass and also in series with Sansamp. A lot of people seem to reckon on changing the stock (Chinese ?) tube 12AX7 or 12 AT7 type I think for something a bit more refined. Google it and see. But I haven't got round to it. It is indeed something of a bargain and will also do well for a bit of 'character' on vocals if you sing or are into the recording side of things. One thing to note is that the jack input impedance is 840K ( or 1M0 on some versions I think ? ) so some may feel it's not ideal for very 'hot' pickupos which have a higher than normal impedance. But personally I don't think an ultra high input impedance is critical with bass.

[quote name='BigAlonBass' post='303696' date='Oct 10 2008, 10:04 AM']Sorry, me old mucker. I seem to have hi-jacked Waynes thread here. I'm happy with my set-up, and I got everything working the way I wanted by the "try it, and if it doesn't go BANG! it works" method. I was just telling Wayne that he wasn't the only one to suffer from a type of "word blindness" when someone is describing an easy (to them) way of sorting something out. It seems that Wayne and I have the same type of problem-show me a picture, or show me how to do it-sorted. Use words of which I have no conception of their meaning-panic! I don't actually think we are thick, it's just that if you have no idea what something is, there's no way you can envisage utilising it, therefore a "middle ground" has to be found. I wasn't getting at you personally, or anyone else on this site, as I've found us all to be an extremely helpful bunch, but just as an example from an earlier post-[i]In that case you would need to use a 'stereo' or more accurately TRS jack at the sending end and connect the tip to the ring to link the signal through the socket. Same as you would do to use a mixer insert as a Direct Output (eg for sending to a PC/Recording Device) and still have the signal go through the channel. Easy enough to wire up.[/i] What the heck does that all mean? To someone who uses electrickery a lot, it probably IS easy to wire up, but to me??? Silly things (to you) like the difference between parallel and series wiring remain a mystery to a numpty like me. The diagrams look pretty, but when I look at speaker configurations in the back of a cabinet, I seriously cant tell the diffference-it's all spaghetti. RTFM!!! doesn't help much either. When I first got my 3630, it rambled on about "sidechains" and "stereo recording" and "signal differentials" and "twin channel outputs into two amplifiers" and the like. About as helpful as a chocolate fireguard to someone who had no intention of utilising any of these, so I plugged it in on one channel and turned the knobs until it got the sound I wanted. Not very scientific, I know, but it worked. I didn't want a tuner in the "chain of command" so I didn't bother plugging it in, which makes me of no use to Wayne whatsoever. Sorry for the rambling post, but please keep trying to find "the middle ground" where everyone can benefit from the knowledge that is so obviously present in this sites members. [/quote] Sorry - I forgot to come back to this thread and confess that the 'techno-rambling' above was my doing. I must admit that when I read it back after posting it it sounded a bit too complex for what is a simple wiring setup to tap a signal off with a 'Y' connection. It's worth getting familiar with insert point switching though if you do anything with audio wiring. But the problem is that things which are easily drawn or sketched in terms of a schematic can end up sounding complex when described in words. But it seems sort of inevitable in a text based forum unless using links to the web or - at a push - those 'diagrams' made up of punctuation marks and letters etc.

[quote name='tayste_2000' post='276838' date='Sep 4 2008, 10:59 AM']Amp DI wouldn't be my first choice for use in a studio[/quote] so why not ? - if all you want is the signal from the amp ( however that gets to the DI output - pre / post eq etc ) on an impedance balanced XLR or TRS jack ? If you're looking for speaker emulation etc or a 'transformer' sound then that's a different matter and a transformer may result in better noise rejection but I don't think that's the issue here. Definitely worth trying to get some response from Hartke on the problem - can't do any harm. A thought - it might be a stubborn 'dirty connector' problem. I'd try giving it a good swab with a Caig DeOxit cleaner - and if it still doesn't work then not much money wasted as you'll still have the rest of the cleaner which is great stuff for repair and maintenance. ( no - I don't work for Caig or anything to do with them :-) Also, I know you've buzzed it out, but it's still worth reflowing any solder joints you can get to just in case.

[quote name='BOD2' post='329490' date='Nov 14 2008, 11:47 PM']If the interference isn't mains-borne then there's no mains conditioner that would help. A ground loop can still occur if everything is plugged into a single socket - it's possible to get ground loops on signal cables. A ground loop is just effectively a loop of wire that acts as an antenna a picks up noise in the environment. It's probably more likely that there was something "noisy" in the room that was generating airborne interference and being picked up by everything else. It could be something in your equipment or it could be something at the gig - dimmer switches are a favourite suspect. There's no easy answer to this, although if it never happens again then it does point clearly to the venue.[/quote] +1 The term "Ground Loop" is often used as a catch-all for different electrical wiring issues which have similar end results. With unbalanced connections any system beyond the most simple setup is likely to have a 'ground loop' of some description as the 'Ground / 0V / Screen' connections are performing more than one function ie they are both a signal connection and a screen. It may or may not have a significant effect depending on the electrical environment in terms of interference / earthing. If it's a constant low frequency hum then almost certainly a ground loop issue assuming all connections are sound. Is the hum still there if basses/guitars are unplugged ? - to take noise being picked up by the pickups out of the equation. yeah - dimmer switches are bad news and the interference noise changes with the setting ! 'energy saving' ccfl bulbs and fluorescent strip lights can be a problem also. If you have chance to diagnosis it again the usual approach would be to plug one thing in at a time until a problem appears and work out what is happening then. It's useful to have some isolating transformers or di boxes to break suspected ground loops.

[quote name='Telebass' post='330246' date='Nov 16 2008, 07:52 PM']EEEK! A TelEB3! Wrong. In so many ways...[/quote] yeah - kow what you mean -it does look sort of 'funky' though. But I'm not sure about the straight edge on the scratchplate and how it blends ( or doesn't ) with the control panel cover ?

[quote name='Clive Thorne' post='327367' date='Nov 12 2008, 10:16 AM']I don't want to get into a protracted discussion over this, but I just wanted to make it clear that I don't own or use any pedals, and don't own or use anything made by Behringer.[/quote] yes - that's all clear. [quote name='Clive Thorne' post='327367' date='Nov 12 2008, 10:16 AM']I'm not sticking up for Behringer specifically, or for manufacturers in general, but for the principle that if you don't use equipment according to the instructions (eg connecting the wrong power supply) then it might get damaged or destroyed. While manufacturers could improve their designs to make things more tolerant it is ultimately up to the user to take responsibilty and ensure that it is used correctly. Perhaps they should print a warning on each pedal saying "Warning: Conecting the wrong power supply might destroy this unit", but this is rather remeniscent of the ridiculous "warning: contents may be hot" on the coffee cups.[/quote] I agree that a user should be expected not to treat a product recklessly or unreasonably. But alongside that I think it's fairly well accepted in design and manufacturing that reasonable steps should be taken to avoid damage due to easily foreseeable inadvertent mistakes in use. Regards

[quote name='Silent Fly' post='327581' date='Nov 12 2008, 01:43 PM']I think I get your point. On the subject, you may find these pages interesting. [url="http://www.geofex.com/article_folders/mosswitch/mosswitch.htm"]http://www.geofex.com/article_folders/moss...h/mosswitch.htm[/url] [url="http://www.geofex.com/Article_Folders/cheapgoodprot.htm"]http://www.geofex.com/Article_Folders/cheapgoodprot.htm[/url] [url="http://electronicdesign.com/Articles/Index.cfm?AD=1&ArticleID=9945"]http://electronicdesign.com/Articles/Index...;ArticleID=9945[/url][/quote] Thanks. As it happens I've seen the two geofex articles before. I hadn't seen the third article although I've used fets in a similar manner for a different application. I prefer the that way of doing things for its relative simplicity and lower parts count compared to the mosfet / bipolar approaches. Cheers

[quote name='Silent Fly' post='323311' date='Nov 6 2008, 11:41 AM'][size=1][i](I would like to reiterate that I have no personal interests in Behringer. If anything they are my competitors.)[/i][/size] Regarding what you say, I think we may have to agree to disagree. Polarity protection and overvoltage protection is an expected part of any pedal design. I think we all agree.[/quote] Yes - but I think I'd go further and argue that reverse polarity protection should be regarded as necessary for an effects pedal to be regarded as fit for purpose. Also overvoltage protection to a reasonable degree. A pedal running on a typical unregulated supply is likely running well above 9V anyway. I know Behringer specify use of their regulated 9V supply but let's look at what will happen in reality. There don't seem to be Behringer pedals popping all over the place so I'll assume they are okay with typical unreg' psus. And there is little electronics which is okay with 9V and not , say, 12V. ICs etc may need 5V or 3.3V etc. so this needs regulation in the pedal anyway. A higher input voltage may result in more heat dissipation but even if this is a problem it's unlikely to result in instant destruction. Looking under the desk right now I can see supplies of nominal 9Vac . 9V DC unregulated, 12V - all on similar DC jacks which I could probably plug in interchangeably even though they should be segregated with regard to size / voltage. I really don't want to find myself with a broken pedal due to a simple mistake and I don't want to check with a multimeter everytime I plug in power. [quote name='Silent Fly' post='323311' date='Nov 6 2008, 11:41 AM']I am not sure about the definition of "rubbish design" though. Without going in the semantic of the English language, personally, the level of design sophistication I expect depends on the amount of money I spend.[/quote] Shouldn't that be 'semantics' rather than 'semantic' ? ie the noun rather than the verb ? [quote name='Silent Fly' post='323311' date='Nov 6 2008, 11:41 AM']If I pay a relative high sum of money for a pedal, I expect it performs above the minimum specifications. How above it depends on the company that produces it and its interest in its reputation. If I pay the very minimum that I can find, I am happy to compromise on the design and spend a little bit of extra-time checking the connections before powering on the pedalboard.[/quote] fair enough - but my core point is that this needn't be sophisticated design or expensive to implement. [quote name='Silent Fly' post='323311' date='Nov 6 2008, 11:41 AM'](Fortunately) Nobody forces us to buy Behringer. We all know that their pedals are not as good as the originals. They don’t sound as good the originals and, yes, they fry if the power supply is not correct. But they are dirty cheap…[/quote] Well I don't really have a particularly poor view of Behringer kit as products. I think someone mentioned EHX also having reverse polarity issues and I'd criticise that also although that situation may be down to historic reasons. I have a Composer compressor from the days before they went mega-cheap and I'm not complaining that it's not the SSL (or insert your fav dynamics box here ) compressor and also one of their 2 channel 'humbuster' passive transformer boxes. Of course I'm not complaining that the transformers aren't as good as Lundahl / Sowter or whoever but it functions as I need it to when used. I also have one of their 'Hellbabe' optical wahs - thinking about it there are issues there but not really relevant to the discussion here. There are ethical / legal / copyright issues with regard to the, shall we say, 'inspiration' behind some of their products which leaves a bit of a bad taste but again not strictly what we are talking about here. What is interesting is that I read some 'product teardown type' reviews of some Behringer kit a while ago. This was some rack kit rather than fx pedals - and using some well spec'd devices for handling digital audio. Anyway - it was thought that the analogue stages were less than stellar. Technical investigation showed noticeable noise on the power rails at the op amp pins and an absence of decoupling / bypass capacitors. Caps were fitted and a significant improvement noticed. Now I didn't hear it myself and I'm always somewhat sceptical about third party reports like this. But if we accept the observations it does point to problem(s) in the design / implementation / manufacturing process rather than deliberate cost cutting. Cheers