Dan Dare

It can be useful to send some bass (and some kick drum) into the PA so your backline doesn't have to be loud enough on stage to fill the entire place. It fattens things nicely.

[quote name='Phil Starr' timestamp='1510337784' post='3405791'] Why not list what your band use at the moment? Then we can suggest upgrades that won't cost the earth and would improve your sound. Who knows; you might get more gigs as a result of sounding better and if not you still own the PA. I went out and bought my PA to prevent this being an issue in any band I'm in. Buy used and you can cash it in any time and get almost all your money back. [/quote] I did exactly that many years ago. I got fed up with playing through iffy PAs, so bought one myself. I started out with something basic but decent and have upgraded over the years to something quite good. It also means I get offers of work over better players than me because people know I come with a PA (for which I charge, of course, but I'm still cheaper than hiring).

[quote name='Cato' timestamp='1510337584' post='3405787'] He gets paid per click for the 'free' videos he puts out on YouTube, hence the clickbait. Once you get past whatever gimmick is the title of the clip, there's usually (although not always) something useful in there. [/quote] Agreed. I find his boundless enthusiasm a bit wearing at times, but he gives some good advice and a lot of helpful stuff.

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1510335997' post='3405759'] Tbf I'm not sure all ampeg heads have a DI on the back so the sound crew might have had no choice, still not great putting the phantom up you though. I'm not sure that's supposed to happen either tbf, the phantom should just power the di box to save batteries afaik? [/quote] Phantom is switchable for individual channels on all but the most basic mixers. So the sound crew (provided they are competent) shouldn't feed it to you if not needed. If your amp has a transformer DI out, it will ignore phantom.

[quote name='TimR' timestamp='1510337599' post='3405788'] Phantom power is used to power condenser mics. Some equipment will ignore it. Some will go up in smoke. [/quote] Good point. Check the manual for your amp and if in doubt, don't risk it. A passive DI box transformer will ignore phantom power. If you get an active one, you can use the phantom of course.

[quote name='Phil Starr' timestamp='1510337230' post='3405779'] It may be about which mixer you use. Some cheaper mixers use the jack input as a line level input and the XLR as a mic level input, which is much lower. If your amps DI output is line level it would be too high output for the XLR mic input. If the mixer has no way of padding (reducing) the input then you can't use it with the XLR to XLR connection. Using the jack connection is better as explained above because it is quieter. Using the DI will allow your guy to match the inputs and use a low noise connection. It means you lose control of what the bass sounds like out of the PA. [/quote] A way round this is to buy a passive DI box and run a feed into it from the effects send on your amp (which shouldn't be at a very high level). Most mixers will have an input gain that starts from below zero gain, which should accommodate all but the hottest signals.

A further suggestion re. band PA systems. Don't buy everything jointly. It can get complicated when people leave or the band splits and you have to sell it all (you rarely/never get what it's worth from a utility point of view) or get replacement members to buy into it. Best for individual members to own individual pieces of equipment - one owns the mixing desk, one the speakers (or one each), etc. That way, if you part company, you each take your own stuff with you and if someone leaves, they take what's theirs and the replacement member just has to provide similar.

[quote name='Tubster' timestamp='1510188299' post='3404594'] In our cases: 1. Wireless lost connection, pa continued to run but no control of any functions but show continued 2. Mixer stopped passing audio to speakers on vocal channels - no vocals audible - pa crapped out and show stopped Case #1 is perhaps avoidable with external router or physical connection. case #2 is not. We were not prepared to wait for #3. Maybe we were just unlucky but our reputation is on the line so we moved to safeguard it. The benefits of digital are manifold but peace of mind trumps them all. [/quote] A digital mixer that doesn't depend on Wi-Fi is the answer here. I use an Allen and Heath Qu, on which you can control everything manually if the iPad fails.

I agree that kits can be made up of pretty cheap components. By the time you've replaced the iffy stuff, you may as well buy the parts individually (from Allparts, Warmoth et al). That way, you can choose everything yourself and not be saddled with replacing the stuff the kit seller got at the lowest price and still get the pleasure of building your instrument yourself. It can often work out no cheaper than buying something ready made, though.

The desk you're using does have XLR ins, doesn't it? If so, follow advice above re. using a balanced mic cable from your DI to it. Personally, I'd use the DI out on the Tech21, unless you're using dirty or heavily overdriven bass tones. Going straight to the PA from the instrument via a DI box tends to give a very sterile sound that the eq on the average desk can't do much to correct.

[quote name='Rocker' timestamp='1510242475' post='3404950'] Bashing audiophiles [aka audiophools] is a common theme on guitar/music forums. By guitarists that will debate endlessly about the colour of a scratchplate on a guitar!!!! [/quote] I'm pretty sure those guitar players wouldn't claim that the colour of the scratchplate has any effect on the sound, though. I think we're all in agreement that cables made from decent quality components, properly constructed, will help. It's the snake oil, cables made from unobtainium, etc that we draw the line at.

Yes. I'm not good enough to play the stuff I like..

Mackie 402 has much better (Onyx) preamps than most budget mixers. However, has no pan and minimal eq. The 802 has pan, more in the way of eq and is still pretty compact. That would be my choice.

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1509800984' post='3401734'] A little while. Bear with them. If they feel a bit sticky at the moment, give them a rub with an old t-shirt. [/quote] Good suggestion. I think they put some kind of gunk on them to prevent corrosion whilst they're in the packet. Give them a clean with a spot of meths or white spirit and they feel nicer under the fingers. Fender flats look like re-badged D'Addario Chromes to me. They even have the same coloured ball ends, although the thread winding is green, rather than blue.

Pleasure. One more thing. Give adjustments a little listening/playing time before moving on. The ear can take a few seconds to get used to changes.

Just to be difficult, I prefer the Babicz. I have one on my Jazz. Fits the existing bolt holes, too, which is a bonus. Both are excellent bridges, though and you won't go wrong with either.

Not a bad description. Cutting is generally better than boosting, because it places less demand on the amp and cab. To get started, what I would do is to set a decent amount of cut - say, -6db - and then experiment with the frequency control and see how the sound is affected. You'll soon find a setting you like. Once you have found it, experiment with decreasing or increasing the amount of cut to fine tune it. It's pretty straightforward (it has to be, or us bass players wouldn't understand it...). Have fun.

[quote name='dmccombe7' timestamp='1509786386' post='3401577'] Why not make a day out and drive down to Bass Direct to try out the Vanderkley before buying if there's no other local options available for you. That's what i did when looking for a new 5 stringer and ended up with my Dingwall NG2. Glasgow to Warwickshire think it was circa 300miles each way but wife went with me and we had lunch on way down and dinner on way home. All in all a nice wee day out. You'll be a bit closer so shouldn't be such a long drive. Dave [/quote] +1. If you're contemplating a major/expensive purchase, you simply must try things out. We can recommend what we have/like, but they may not suit you, your amp and instrument. I'd take up the kind offers from BCers to try things, too, but do take your own amp and instrument. Also, unless someone has a roomful of kit, you cannot make on the spot comparisons between different makes/models. I went to BD to buy a new head and ended up buying something I hadn't even considered because I found it worked so well with my cabs and instrument, so the trip was worth it (if expensive...). They're very helpful, especially if you can go midweek, when they aren't too busy with customers and because they have virtually all the major brands, you can compare to your heart's content.

It's a bit more complicated than that. The centre frequency isn't the only one you will be adjusting. Depending on the Q (the width/range of frequencies that are affected) that the manufacturer has chosen to build in, you will alter a range of surrounding frequencies too. On a 'scope, the effect of the parametric will look like a 'V' (pointing either up or down depending on whether you cut or boost), with the chosen frequency at its centre. It's rather a broad brush description to speak of 400Hz as warmth, 800Hz as growly & 2KHz as clanky. You may find that 2khz will be within the range of the high frequency/treble adjustment. It's best to ignore the numbers on the dial and make adjustments by ear.

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1510060451' post='3403605'] I haven't the room to store or the desire to cart around all the heavy old fashioned kit never mind a spare desk and power amp no matter how cheap they are. [/quote] + 1. Age and decrepitude would prevent me from doing so, even if I wanted to. In response to the original poster, I do think £500-£600 could be pushing it a bit for a complete PA that is any good, unless you get very lucky buying used. Itsmedunc's suggestion of used JBLs is worth following up (the old EON15, if you can find a set that haven't been abused, are decent). If it was me, I'd go for used active cabs (most have class D amplification built in and are reliable and not overly heavy) and an analogue desk with some kind of on-board reverb/FX (I picked up my spare, an Allen & Heath PA12 in mint condition, for less than £200). That's the main components sorted, but you do need to factor in mics, stand, cables, etc, etc and they add up.

[quote name='taunton-hobbit' timestamp='1510079193' post='3403835'] Can you buy virgins armpit hair on E Bay? [/quote] You're in luck. I have just one hank left. The last one in the country I'm told. Yours for a grand. On a related topic and in response to Discreet's accurate observation that esoteric hi-fi cables get used on the end of a supply chain built with stuff from Wickes, I do find one of those mains power conditioners worth using. The one I use is a 6 way plugboard from Lindy - https://www.lindy.co.uk/cables-adapters-c1/audio-video-c107/6-way-av-mains-conditioner-power-strip-p8835. Not expensive at a little over £50 and it does make a difference - less background noise. I bought it to use with my PA, but find it helps the hi-fi and my bass and guitar amps

Not just the drumsticks that need putting away. A pal left his beautiful vintage Martin 0042 on a stand whilst waiting to play at a wedding (silly of him, I know). Whilst he was out of the room, some idiot picked it up and my pal found him strumming/thrashing away, singing to his mates. Said idiot, being of a clumsy disposition, had scratched the top quite badly with the pick.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1510053058' post='3403506'] I suppose they are serious musicians, in that they're not very funny. [/quote] Spot on