Pirellithecat

Any "Central" users out there? Be interested to know how you're getting on with them ........... have a VM4, fancy a VT/TT Superlight, but can't find a 4 string Central to try before deciding (and then saving, and then negotiating with SWMBO and ......... ) Can't really find much comment on't internet so thought I'd ask.😁

Thanks, Freeze pedal Sustains the note you're playing when you stomp on it! Leaving you free to play on - a kind of Drone. I don't use any delay or reverb, So I guess any volume pedal can stay at the end of the FX chain. Any recommendations in terms of Brands/Models ?

Hi, From time to time I need to use a volume pedal - sometimes just to fade in/out, but more importantly to tailor any volume "jumps" when using effects pedals. Use active and passive basses and the Volume Pedal sits at the end of a modest pedal board (Bass >Tuner> Compressor> POG> Drive> Big Muff>Freeze>Volume Pedal > Amp). I'm guessing that, whether I'm using an Active or Passive Bass that by the time the signal gets to the Volume Pedal it "sees" an "Active" signal and therefore I need a low impedance Volume Pedal. But am I right?? Any guidance on models that work well in this situation? Active or Passive pedal? I have a small Sonik Cake Volume Pedal, but as it has no spring/resistance it's rather difficult to use in a subtle way, it tends to be either on or off! Any suggestions?

Thanks POW_22 - I've been in touch with mike and it all looks promising. Excellent ... many thanks for the contact.

Hi, Anyone know of a PA repair company in the Northwest of England? Volume drop on one of a pair of Mackie, SRM450 mkii's. Be great to get it sorted, but struggling to find anyone who undertakes this kind of work up here. Suggestions gratefully received!! Thanks Ian

And this morning .... Reply from Holger. I'm impressed!

Contact made .... Marc got back to me straight away. So many thanks for the contact details!!

Hi - Has anyone got an e-mail/facebook etc. address that "works" for Sandberg? I need to contact them and haven't had any response to messages on their website contact page or their e-mail address? Been trying for over a month now so getting a little frustrated - I know that some have had good and timely responses so I wonder if there's a better contact address/strategy. Any help much appreciated.

That looks great! How does the sound compare with the VT (in terms of brightness/Old School/Modern). I tend to use my VM4 pretty much 100% Neck pickup, but interested to know if the VS 4 sounds less "modern".

That sounds great Al!! Great band .... great sound. Recently , moved to "damn the Torpedoes" mode and bought the RCF 932's plus 705asII sub !! Just as I was thinking I might have overdone it, it turns out weekend gig is an open air event (in a field and with no organiser provided PA). I'm taking the new AND the old as we will need all the beans we can muster!! I'll let you know.........

Yep - Nut checked out! The bass is actually much better than it was, still not perfect though. I will check it vs other similar models though to make sure it's not my Ears that need fixing rather than the bass!

Thanks for the ideas. The bridge has been swapped back and forth with a couple of different saddles, to no avail. Now back to the original (plus original saddles). It's a MIJ P bass and I'll try it next to a Squier/Fender P when I next get to a Guitar Shop - maybe well be that I'm just being "picky"! .... I'm sure most folks wouldn't notice, particularly those in the Pub audience!!

Belated response to this ........ but I've now tried pretty much all the above suggestions, thanks everyone! However, there's still a difference in the sound of the e String - it just sounds "muffled" . The bass is nice and much better than it was to play, but as I've been using it as an "back up" whilst my main bass is off at the "Doctors" I have renewed interest in trying to fettle it. If the bass wasn't a Triggers Broom already, it is now .... replacement Tuners/Bridge/Strings/Nut "fettled"/String tree added/New Pups and electronics (courtesy of KiOgon)/Shielded and grounded. All made a difference, although not necessarily in a positive way, and non sorted out the problem. If a compatible neck came up, I might see if this does the trick as I'm not sure I'd feel comfortable selling it on as it is and it seems a pity to use it as an ornament. Anyone able to recommend a UK based replacement Fender compatible neck supplier? Or any hints at a donor bass should a cheapy come along? It's a 40mm at Nut P Bass, and I wouldn't really want anything much broader, might even go for a Jazz neck if something similar is difficult to find.

Stephen from LFSys arranged for me to try out one of his LfSys Monaco speakers, so here’s a rather belated review. The Monaco at home and directly compared to my Mesa Subway Ultralite 12 using an Ashdown ABM 600 Evo IV and a Genzler Magellan 800. Basses were passive P Bass with TI Flats AND A Sandberg California VM4 with D’addario NYXL’s. Tried out in a 4m x 4m room with solid walls, an acoustically treated wooden floor with a large central carpet square. The speakers were positioned side by side in free space (Mesa “Portrait orientation” to better match Monaco). I found the following; 1) Mesa noticeably quieter than Monaco 2) Monaco more bass presence and punch than Mesa 3) Mesa more mid-range presence than Monaco 4) Monaco had better note definition in the low ranges -particularly up to 5th fret on E and A strings (using flat EQ settings on both speakers) 5) Slight upper mid-range emphasis with the Mesa but not with the Monaco 6) The Monaco seems to have slightly less forward mid-range than the Mesa. 7) Via The Monaco the Sandberg’s mid frequency “honk” is tamed a little, making it sound a little more P-Bass-like - but much clearer 😎 The Mesa is brighter and more mid-range focussed - the Sandberg mid-range “Honk” is back when using the Mesa. 9) The Monaco has a fuller bass response than the Mesa 10) Putting the Monaco on the small tilt stand makes only minor differences to the sound – a little clearer perhaps but nothing significant. 11) The Mesa benefits from being on the small tilt stand which tightens up the bass and makes everything easier to hear. 12) The Sandberg has roundwound strings so there some string noise BUT this is present to the same extent with both speakers. I like the size, and the light weight - very handy and manoeuvrable. The Monaco seems well built and the top handle does NOT get in the way of the Genzler nor the Ashdown (which overlaps the speaker but the feet locate on the top of the Monaco so no problem). Nice Speaker and at home, if I had to choose between them for a “complete” home speaker the Monaco would win. Part 2 - The Monaco at a 3hour rehearsal. We are a loud 4 piece, and a single Monaco was used to replace a 2xVanderkley EXT112 stack. In this context the Monaco was insufficiently loud and I didn’t feel sufficiently bold to crank it to excessive levels on the amp which was being presented with an 8 Ohm load rather than the 4Ohm Vanderkley stack. However, despite the lack of that familiar bass “hit” associated with the inability to hear what I’m actually playing, the opposite seems to be the case with the Monaco. Less trouser flap but more information about which notes are being played. Very odd, but good! After an hour, I added one of my Vanderley EXT 112's (set up beneath the Monaco). This combination sounded great. Very full and certainly "better" than 2 VDK EXT 112’s. Very punchy and very easy to hear without being "in yer face" - a kind of magical property and somehow the opposite of what I usually find i.e. I'm plenty loud enough in the mix, but I can't hear what I'm playing! There was very good sound dispersion around the rehearsal space - I could hear what I was doing throughout the room which is not the case when using the Vanderkleys alone – where off axis and relatively close to the speaker there is a noticeable decline in volume. I haven't compared the Mesa's directly in this regard, but I have noticed a similar property in the past, so I'd be confident that the same would hold true. For context I had a Barefaced Big Baby 2 a few years back and, from memory, I’d say the Monaco is a more coherent speaker with a “better” low frequency response. Certainly, in terms of hearing more of what’s being played, the Monaco seems noticeably better. As per the Monaco, a single BB2 was not loud enough, so I used it in the same way as the Monaco, - a single VDK with BB2 on top. This combination was OK, but not better than 2 VDKs. So going for 2 BB2’s to replace the 2 Vanderkleys would probably not have been a worthwhile (or inexpensive) move. I prefer the overall sound of the Monaco to the BB2 as the former produces a surprisingly punchy bass for its size without being “boomy”. It is a more articulate and coherent speaker - you can really hear what you're doing. I suspect that the design really does pay dividends in terms of hearing what is being played, and, in moderately loud bands (particularly with PA support in bigger venues) I’d say that a single Monaco would be more likely to be used successfully than a single BB2, VDK EXT 112 or a Mesa Subway Lite 1x12. In a louder setting, I think two Monaco’s might be needed. Overall, the Monaco is a great moderately sized speaker. It’s very even across the frequencies, it’s punchy and it really is easy to hear what you’re playing, whether standing right in front of it or at some distance. It has a fuller sound than the Mesa 12inch and I strongly prefer it to a BB2. It’s light, easy to shift and well designed and built. So, big “thank you” to Stephen and LFSys and I hope business (and its growing range) gets the success it deserves and I’m sorry I took so long to produce this review!!

So, ok as long as using wireless system, but not if using stereo cable from bass to passive mixer . Many Thanks

Supplemental question if I may ............ Will a passive mini mixer (Behringer MX 400) work as the means to combine the stereo output from the bass, or is this just replicating the original wiring issue within the bass? I guess I'm asking ... do I need either an active 2 channel mixer or dual channel pre-amp .... and if so ..... any ideas?

Probably time to start a new thread .......... But before I do .... I like the sound of the separated Pickups - jerry rigged into a mixer and then into my amp. Obviously not at all practical at the moment and until I use it "live" I won't know whether to keep it "modified". I could wire up a stereo jack output on the guitar, use a stereo lead, to a Y cable and onto separate channels on a mixer and then, combined, to the amp. If it sounds OK I'll see about a wireless set up - I see there's a Legato Stereo Wireless "dongle" available - might this do the trick? I could reinstate the volume controls on the bass (no tone control) wired separately to the stereo output. It would give me the chance to modify the tone by adjusting the volumes of each pup. Any reason not to do this? Thoughts invited - probably all a waste of time but I do like the bass in terms of playability etc. and if all this works it'll be a lots less expensive than buying a replacement. I'll start a new thread with the "build" plus photo's if it all looks promising after the rats nest stage. Thanks for the advice so far.

OK - it's a rabbit hole ......... but through a small rig it sounds VERY promising. I guess I'd just need to find a 2 channel pedal board pre-amp to make it practical ........ oh and fill up lots of holes in the Scratchplate and get hearing protectors for all the flack I'd get from the rest of the band ....... The wireless bit would be between the pedal board and the amp 🤣

Well that's a surprise/disappointment ... so no real advantage to an active bass used wirelessly then...... Anyway, I now have my P and J pups wired separately to a mixer and it sounds very good and significantly different (albeit via the mixer head phone socket) If it sounds this good through my bass rig, it'll be a problem!!!!

So .... been experimenting and I guess there might be a good reason for active basses - even with Wireless .......... I invite all to comment and put me straight if this is complete ^*&llocks!!! Thinking about PJ basses (or basses with more than 1 pickup) I have always been a little frustrated by the effect that changing one volume control (certainly at "max") affects the Volume/tone of the whole caboodle - insertion loss I believe - which seems perfectly logical to me and my albeit limited understanding of electronics, and which is somewhat inescapable in a passive circuit. So, I guess one way round this is to amplify each channel before "mixing" the signal subsequently in the chain. As I have a "mule" bass I wired the P and J pickups separately to a mixer this morning. And it works really well! Better tone and ability to mix each channel with no effect on the other. Added benefit of tone control on each channel too! So, I thought, why not just build a stereo-out and use the same setup "live" - got quite excited ........ before realizing that this would preclude wireless operation (unless there's a stereo wireless system out there?) And then the mists cleared and it dawned on me that an active bass does exactly this! Doh!

Yep - had several cables from them now, all good and UK assembled @ reasonable cost. 👍

So ....... no need for an Active unless I feel the need for more tone controls ON the bass rather than the Pre-amp/Amp ............ How disappointing, Gas Evaporating ............😌

Yep - I did find the issues with cheaper Wireless systems - so always have a cable to hand should there be interference problems. However, I haven't had problems with dropout since changing to a Boss WL 20 and I can not detect any change in signal quality, when using wired or wireless. I've used the Boss WL20 with active and passive basses with no issues (I did read up about it when choosing between the WL20L and the WL20 and chose the non L version for a reason I can no longer recall!) - however my Gigging bass is active and I have no "impedance issus that I can detect. So these technical issues associated with wireless units aside, is the reason for choosing Active vs Passive now purely a preference as to where one wants to set the tone, i.e. on the amp (pre-amp)or on the guitar? I tend to leave the tone on the bass alone and maybe use a change in the blend between the pickups for different styles during a set. The Amp gets set up for the venue acoustics at the get go and that's about it apart from pedals for Drive/Octave etc. I'm interested as I have the urge to buy a "new" bass and am weighing up the active vs passive options.

Oops - probably should be in the Bass guitar section ........