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itu

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Everything posted by itu

  1. An interesting point was mentioned in another thread here, that if there are two speakers from the same manufacturer, but the impedances are different, the speakers will not be similar. If the Z is different, there are several other parametres that will be different, too. Therefore 4 and 8 ohm cabs will sound and behave in a different way. @bremen's comment about amp's ability to push voltage and current are of great interest. When Z gets lower, current rises, and everything will get hotter from amp's components to speaker's coil. Think Z this way: You have a rod that you push with your thumb. Bigger Z means thicker rod, and is easier to your thumb. Lower the Z and rod gets much thinner. Pushing the spikey rod will hurt your thumb. Power is connected to loudness, but watts do not represent sound level. And because ear is not linear, like watts are, comparing watts is pretty fruitless. From 50 W to 500 W you can hear a difference, but 500 W to 1000 W the difference is close to nothing. dB seems to be too complicated a unit to most of us musicians.
  2. By the way, the headphones do not represent the same response as the cab/speaker. The sound is not the same. I decided to use a battery operated small headphone amp with AUX in. Amplug by Blackstar. Easier to carry around than a 12 kg head.
  3. An age old idea to produce low output from the power amp is to use simple resistors. If you do some search, there should be schemas available (sort of a power attenuator). Beware, headphone socket switches aren't the most reliable ones, as so many of us have seen/heard an unexpected mute.
  4. You can try to fret the notes from the top of frets. Sound is not exactly the same but most likely closest you can get with a fretted neck. Fretless isn't that complicated, like @Hellzero said.
  5. I forgot this, but a looper is a good unit to get instant feedback.
  6. Book: Standing in the shadows of Motown. Teacher: Some local young lad. If no chemistry, find another. Repeat ad lib. Basics: You can tell about players (records) and instruments. Check he gets a good bass with new strings. Use mirror to show him posture etc. Band: If there's a possibility to join to a school or similar band, please encourage him. Support: an amp, and a car (you are the taxi driver...).
  7. Neither do I. I do own two HGs, and one mini (3 knobs), and have programmed them a lot. Now I am happy with the sounds and all the options the knobs deliver. HG's knobs have up to three adjustments each, too. By the way, clean blend is worthless with these units.
  8. Digitech Bass Squeeze is everything but transparent. There are a few more in www.ovnilab.com If Spectra feels too "simple", HyperGravity offers four adjustments.
  9. Precision is not the most versatile nor the brightest instrument in the world of bass. Therefore roundwounds (RW) could give you more highs that you can tame with tone, and keeping the strings in the bass over a year. They become dull, and stiffer. To find your favourite set, here are few basic ideas of different string types: - SS RW (stainless steel), brightest string type - nickel RW, somewhat duller, but also more even response, most common, very good for fretless - groundwound/semiflats, nearly as dull as flatwounds - flatwounds (I include tapewounds here), dullest, "gets better while aging" Then the RW gauge (these differ from manufacturer to another, because of the string construction): - 30-90 very light, these strings shout slap! - 40-100 light - 45-105 regular - 50 and up, heavy Gauge has a lot to do with the feel. Be warned that practically every string gauge can produce very similar sound, because your touch dictates (or should dictate) the sound. It may be feasible to find the gauge that you feel at home. Do some testing in a shop. If your bass has not been set up by a pro, it should be done with a brand new set.
  10. An addition to my previous list. + the accurate adjustments enable cutting the room boom Yesterday I was playing a gig in a wooden house which was amazingly boomy. My first thought was that soundwise this will be a nightmare. I had adjusted the PTEQ to fit our rehearsal room. Ha! I took the middle adjustment to make an educated guess of the boom freq: adjusted a slight notch (6-9 dB or so), Q in the middle and turned the f back and forth. There! Now everything else was functional again and the gig was a success. I added a Stompshield to the overall level pot. It will not move accidentally anymore.
  11. https://www.bestbassgear.com/ebass/bass-of-the-week/studio-63-headless-36-fret.html Next step is to make this a 71 fret bass...
  12. Outside this forum there are just a few who know these mentioned above. Or any bassist. "I know Pistorius is that runner from..." I might suggest Tony Joe White, and Danny Whitten. If we take any band from the 80's, who knows about them except the name of the band, and maybe the singer? Sure, we do know a few, but we are the rare exception to the rule. Church? Dexy's midnight runners? Classix Nouveax?
  13. Have to mention, that the ball-end is not the best to turn tight screws. Full length hex has more surface.
  14. itu

    Envelope filters

    @ped did so good work, I'll add my 2 cents. EHX - Qtron+ Something I did not like at all. Not technically, not soundwise, just wasn't for me. A big one. Subdecay - Proteus I have this, and it works... pretty well. Simple and functional, but its behaviour depends on the bass. IE - Xerograph DeLuxe This is it! Very complicated, too. The width of the settings is wiiiide. Turn a bit and the sound changes drastically. I love this one, although it requires quite a lot of time to master. No use in month, and I have to get back to the basics. But I just love this unit. OnKart Gromt - Funky Fellow Very good sounding unit. Lots of options, powerful, but well behaving. The tiny display tells, what's going on. Amazingly useful feature. Bought one, when these came out. Audiospektri - PGV This is a peculiar effect. It is a vocoder, and quite some more. I accept that I need time with this one. But it seems it has powers I have not been able to release, yet. DOD - FX25 Bought a used one few days ago. Want to hear this, when it arrives.
  15. It is fine to put that preamp outside your bass, if the space is limited. Recommendation is to put the preamp as close as possible to the ceramic but I haven't have any issues if the buffer has been 3 m away.
  16. It is very common belief that piezos sound brittle. The reason is that the ceramic and the first electronic stage form a high pass filter, if the input impedance of the first stage is not high enough. To get the best out of the piezo, a buffer really helps to tame any brittle sounds. It widens the low end just like the size of the ceramic. A cap will cut highs, but I would rather use a good buffer, and eq the sound later in the amp or an fx board. A buffer has to be with hi-Z input (Mohn to Gohm area). Try a few and find your favourite one. Some amps can eat piezos easily, some fx are also effective. Still the buffer is the thing here. If you have a friend that understands any electronics, a modern opamp, or FET can make wonders and does not cost a lot. Usually the box and the connectors are the most expensive parts. Net is full of examples. https://www.instructables.com/Hi-Z-Opamp-Piezo-Buffer/ http://www.scotthelmke.com/Mint-box-buffer.html
  17. itu

    Envelope filters

    Check this one: http://stompshield.com/
  18. According to Wikipedia: Ek has studied in Sweden, where education is practically free (funded via taxation). He has raised $2.5 billion via venture funding, i.e. he is creating his nonsense content with other people's money. And his own input seems to be under zero.
  19. Is this one producing pink noise? Coat...
  20. Envelope loves full frequency response. Mine didn't work so well in the X-over loop. Now I keep it as the first unit in chain. Maybe you could try it after a comp where you can control the amount of signal the envelope receives? Octaver on the other hand does not like a signal that is changing a lot. And fuzz, some of them behave in a different way from bass to bass, and whether they are the first in line (crunching bass' signal) or after some other fx (eating lo-Z signal). Your question is the same that I have tried to tame for some time. My solution has been that envelope is the first, fuzz the second in a X-over loop (flanger, too), and then the rest. Octaver (or SY-1) has been travelling here and there. I can only suggest brave trials to find what works best for your setup and preferred sound.
  21. First of all the tool you use has to be a quality one. If it does not fit, don't even try. Put quite some more that oil there. Keep the bass up so that the oil can get to the thread. Start to turn a bit. Any direction is good. Then back. And forth and back. Even a fraction of degree helps the oil to penetrate between the nut and the rod and a possible washer. Do this as long as the thread starts to turn bit by bit. Keep the tool in one place. Then you can keep the tension constant. When the thread is working, adjust the rod in 1/8 or 1/4 of a turn at a time. Let the neck stabilize for an hour and check the action. As I wrote elsewhere, write down everything you do. This way you can reverse your attempts. Keep the bass in tune before and after adjustments. You may have to fine tune the bridge.
  22. Ooh, the lovely Anita Baker! And from the pen of our incredibly productive @ChrisDev, thank you.
  23. There's a small and lightweight Axstar for sale in the classifieds...
  24. One Schaller strap lock, or a Neutrik jack. No, wait... my colleague gave me a hint... it has to be a football or the air to one.
  25. Some tips: - paper and pen to write down everything you do: easier to come back - good, accurate tools - good light - plenty of time When you touch action, it is done after changing fresh strings. Adjust the truss rod only a little, like 1/8 or 1/4 of a turn. Write now down what and how you did this. Tune the bass and wait for an hour or two. If the direction was right, but the result was not enough, turn 1/8 more. Leave it there for another hour after tuning the bass. Check bridge and fine tuning by using an electronic tuner. Adjust height, if needed. Tune. Play. If the truss rod nut is stuck, drop some oil to the thread/nut. By using the tool, move the screw back and forth little by little. If the fine oil lubricates that thread, the nut should start to turn. No excessive force needed. If this sounds complicated, do as @Dad3353 said: visit someone that has the experience needed.
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