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itu

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Everything posted by itu

  1. pickup - vol - tone stack - output pickups - blend (or vol) - vol - tone stack - output Practically any component can be battery powered (low impedance, "active"). Some system are even PSU operated (like Alembic Series II). Coil-magnet pickups are "passive" (high impedance, hi-Z) components. As @Boodang so well put earlier, the basic idea to modify a "passive" pickup to an "active" one, is to add a buffer to it (EMG and few others). Then the lower output can also be compensated with that buffer. Yes, there are active units like infra red sensors, but they are rare. I have used an acceleration sensor: response starts from DC... amplifier cries... the system has now some HP filtering. NOTE: The output of a pickup can be adjusted by the amount of windings, or the buffer settings. Hi-Z pickup output may be far more powerful than its lo-Z sibling's. The most common way to mix two pickups is to use two vol pots. Pots are of mediocre quality, but very cheap - and therefore so common. The complicated thing is that this way of mixing loads pickups: the sound is affected. Vol pots are tone pots, too. Some preamps are mixers (John East, Noll Mixpot). They can adjust the levels of the pickups without loading the pickups. This way the blend adjustment is independent from each pickup, which certainly is not the case with a simple potentiometer based system. Tone stack may be just a cap and a pot. Cheapo, but functional. If you see an ad of an "active bass", usually only the tone stack is battery powered. Did you notice that a £300 Sadowsky preamp has simple vol and blend pots in front of B&T? A battery powered tone stack may be a tone, a filter (LPF), a two or a three band eq, a tilt eq, a semi-parametric... or nearly anything. There has been lots of solutions, although B&T is probably the most common at the moment. It is cheap, modern opamps have ultra low power consumption, and many of us like its simplicity. One thing that you should find out yourself is the output impedance. It affects (this is something I have found out by testing lots of stuff, and interviewing people) the input of OD/dist/fuzz and some compressor pedals (I have different pedal boards for hi-Z and lo-Z basses). Maybe your pedals are less critical, some of mine aren't. I do not see any reason you couldn't use an external preamp with any bass you have. You can use any effect pedal, and you can use any preamp you want. Trust your ears. Do not rely on opinions, only your ears. Like OC-2 was made for g-word players. Then Pino found it.
  2. But... where are the pictures? (Coat, coat, where's my coat? It is by the door! Merrily merrily merrily: your wives are like a dream.)
  3. True: usually around 4-5" is enough for my basses. If you need to cut to the thick part, you should stop the unwinding by tinning, or gluing the end.
  4. By the way, although I love necks with no front dots, you could ask for something special. Just few ideas: http://www.whocollection.com/john's_basses.htm
  5. I do not have short scale basses, but what is this question of cutting strings? I cut strings every time I attach them to any of my basses (33.8" - 36"). I only use D'Addario or GHS SSRW.
  6. The first one was in line with the graphics.
  7. - nothing (this is one very delicate solution) - double sided tape - velcro / 3M Dual Lock - cable ties - bike chain links (attached to the fx case) - fx case screws through the board from behind
  8. Very reasonable. Be involved in the process, and get the profile of your dreams.
  9. One certain off white Moon bass has a built-in stand for mic.
  10. I think you need an Ashula. The older, the white one, or the new one. That will fulfill all your needs. Strings, that's up to you. Learn this table, and your instrument can have practically any tuning you want. Do not forget piccolo strings. https://www.daddario.com/globalassets/pdfs/accessories/tension_chart_13934.pdf
  11. GHS had good Long scale plus sets, although they were pretty hard to find. One shop said I need to buy a box (10 sets) at a time. I do admit they offered the boxes at a really attractive price!
  12. The next bass could have the volume/tone pot, or a switch hidden to the bridge.
  13. I had a cheap Washburn copy. With a 30-90 set it was really playable and fun, but its neck was everything but stable. If I was rich, then or now...
  14. Please use some nail lacquer in the thread and the screws do not open by themselves. Colour from your girl friend / fiancée / wife / other.
  15. Buy a 30-90 set and be your own Mark K. Lovely, straight from the 80's.
  16. Argh, my favourite bass from the 80's that's affordable. Wish I had the money now.
  17. Just a sidestep: years ago I was playing a small tour in Switzerland. Salzhaus promised to rent all equipment our band needed. My set was an old 4x10, and that fab Mesa 400+! That is one powerful and well behaving amp. It is still pretty expensive, but the glow of the tubes and sound it produces... I am using a solid state Glockenklang Soul, because it weighs much less.
  18. Oh dear, that looks fab! Compact body, good looking beauty.
  19. Smith and Jones talked about Renault 5... Electrorux delivered me a dishwasher that had electricity connected to the metal cover, and the ON/OFF switch had failed. I reclaimed the company, but they said I have to call a repairman! NEVER EVER AGAIN! Never. Ever. Never. Ever. Dyson's vacuums use all their electrical power to make an incredible amount of noise. No suction power at all. I managed to sell the top of the line unit to a colleague. She does not talk to me anymore. Philips was said earlier, MTV, ikea, and Yahaya turntables (including cartridges) belong to the same trash. All is the same Chinese crab. I also hate this T9 predictive text system (actually: the chastity corrector).
  20. Try to find D'Addario's string tension guide, and learn from it.
  21. An addition: If the effects of your board cost £1000, why do you want to power them up with a £20 PSU? This is slightly similar than an amp + a cab. If you have invested £1000 to an amp, why are you trying to pair it with a £100 cab? A good cab (or a PSU) is a complex set of knowledge, development, and quality materials - although it doesn't have lots of knobs, or fancy lights.
  22. Some basic rules: - capacity of the PSU is measured in amps (like 3000 mA, or 3 A) * the capacity needs to be more than the consumption of the pedals * check the manufacturer's website for specs and add all mA together (chorus + comp + eq +...) to get the total consumption - separate, isolated outputs lessen ground loop, and noise issues * may be or not necessary depending on the complete board * analog and digital may not always work together if they are daisy chained - some daisy chaining may be necessary if the board has many fx - a dist/OD/fuzz usually consumes just few mA, while a digital reverb, or a delay may need hundreds of mA (and one output) - a functional PSU does not cost an arm and a leg * extras raise the price, special fx may need those functionalities (12 VAC, 18 VDC...) * secured cabling is important for a functional board - it is not uncommon that a PSU creates changing magnetic field around it (because it works with a changing electric field, 50 Hz) * the field degrades very quickly, but a wah wah (or any unit that gets interfered) should be situated far from the PSU: every inch counts - liquids (water, beer, wine...) are not good for any electrical unit * a board with high feet may be good against sudden waves - as with audio cables, keep all cables in pristine condition to prevent shocks!
  23. Dear @TheGreek, here's a sheet to different chord voices. Few things need to be corrected, I printed this with a matrix printer around 25 years, no, sorry, 35 years ago: v = diminished d = major y = augmented
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