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itu

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Everything posted by itu

  1. Whatever length: 1) learn to coil the cable, 2) use quality silicone cable, 3) use plugs from Neutrik, 4) add a velcro to the amp end (Neutrik silent is in the bass end), and 5) always have a spare cable in your bass case.
  2. https://www.premierguitar.com/news/audiospektri-pgv
  3. What I find from @JPJ 's approach, is that an offboard unit can use much more energy than an onboard one. One or two tiny batteries have not very much energy packed to them. But (again) modern opamps consume very little energy, and they are very capable. The sound may be different to every user, so everybody has to choose the system according to their preferences. This goes through the whole rig. And no, I will not start the valve/Mosfet/tonewood discussion now.
  4. This may be on the theoretical side, but I'll just write something down. The discussion about active / passive instruments may mix players minds. While active mostly means low impedance output, many think that the battery will drive the system with super high output, and does some other strange things to the tried-and-true and simple high impedance signal of P and J. (Because Leo did it right in the first phase, and people actively forget MM Stingray, Sabre, and G&L basses.) The level of the hi Z or lo Z signal can be (and usually is) practically the same (you still get more or less signal by adjusting the pickup height). But as the impedance is different, some preamps and FX may behave in a different way to these two signals. An easy example of the output impedance is piezo's very high Z, which can be 1 - 10 Mohm, while a lo Z signal may be 100 ohm, and a hi Z 100 kohm. Piezo's output impedance matching to the next input stage (FX or amp) can be complicated, and can act like a HPF: the signal is degraded and lacks lows. In other words: sound is thin. This can be fixed with a high input impedance buffer. It just matches the impedance to the next input stage, it does not have to amplify it at all. Some like the effect of the hi Z adjustments, some don't. G-word players put treble bleeders to their hi Z ("passive") instruments, because the volume pot cuts high frequencies when it's turned down. This happens in a bass with hi Z vol and blend adjustments, too. I am not always keen on this behaviour, so I like active mixing. Whatever your signal path and adjustments will be, the next thing to consider is the placement of the pickups.
  5. pickups - blend/vol - vol - tone stack - out This is probably the most common signal path of a 2 pickup bass. If you want to do pickup blending outside the bass, you need a complex (i.e. not universal) cable+connector to the outboard preamp. Tone stack is usually the only battery powered part of the system, so if you want, you can easily have tone(s) outside your instrument. One UX type of thing to remember is how to adjust your sound. In a bass you have everything at hand. Outboard pre may be somewhere out of reach, or the adjusting requires funny moves on stage. I do have some FX with super big pot hats, which I can adjust by feet. But only few. I think I am clumsy, and as a true bassist, I am not able to do two thing at the same time. No bubble gum and walking/playing. No dance moves. I suggest an active blend instead of Bourns blend pot (250 k or 500 k type MN). I did a good experiment with Noll Mixpot, and John East seems to have similar solution. It is still pretty rare. Active mixing means, that the pot does not load the pickup, and the pickup sound stays the same no matter the blend pot position. Volume pot affects a passive system sound, but will not have much of an effect if the mixing/blend is active (low impedance). Once again, "active bass" is misleading, as pickups are mostly passive, blend and volume, too, and only some tone tweaking circuitry has battery driven functionality. John East is naturally something else. I call it a mixer. Battery powered low impedance (lo Z) is mostly preferred, because it is more noise resistant than hi Z ("passive") circuitry. I still want to remind you that there are FX (dist, OD, fuzz, some compressors...) that behave in a different way to bass' lo Z or hi Z signal. If your system will have a battery powered part(s), please consider the possibility to override it with a hidden switch (DPDT) or a push/pull pot. This way the playing continues even when the battery has unexpectedly died. You may loose some functionality, but not the bass.
  6. I am using Fusion 360 in PC, Linux, and Mac. PC is hands down the fastest and smoothest, but the slower net connection (another workplace, connection via wlan) with the Mac may affect its mediocre performance. Please take a look at the network AND computer performance. Both may slow the system down.
  7. I have the needed stuff in the mono case pockets: tab, page turner, tools, cables, tuner, scissors for nails, earplugs...
  8. Cello is close to the tenor bass, so Apocalyptica belongs to this thread.
  9. There's one thing I want to point out: the age of the wood is one parametre (if we are not talking about instrument dried wood) in the equation. Weight, shapes, neck attachment, hardware... the system may work with a specific component, but even with some special part, the system is still unpredictable. Do the parts play together or not? The amount of parametres is just far too many. Or at least we know some details that affect the overall sound, like you need a good neck. But how those materials act together, nooo way Jose. Remember, tonewood is just a marketing term.
  10. Please check Repairs and technical. There you can find Recommended luthiers.
  11. If you keep the bass plugged while not playing, the batteries will die quickly. Piezo buffers need very little energy - wondering is there a leak somewhere?
  12. Start from Chladni patterns to get a faint idea of what the shapes mean and affect a log. Vibrating the body with an industrial shaker costs pretty much. That's the main reason it is used in limited scale. It is possible, but the price. It tries to imitate the years long playing effect to the wood. You can dry, roast heat up the wood, if you want to dry it thoroughly. But when you get your instrument, it is affected by the humidity of your house. Sealing the body so well, that any moisture cannot make any changes is difficult. Paints and lacquers are so thin. When I visit a shop, I play many instruments to find the one that plays well. I try to find the one that pleases my ears and hands. It is very easy to find differences between few instruments: our senses are not absolute, but we are good in finding relation between details.
  13. 850! This should be in the bad jokes section.
  14. Caravan, Frenesi, Desafinado & Corcovado & Ipanema, Killer Joe, Mercy mercy mercy, St. Thomas, Sh-boom, Just a gigolo...
  15. itu

    DIY Effects

    While there are only one or maybe few units per model, @disssa can copy every detail as well and detailed as he wants. If he decided to make longer series and sell them, the story would be another. A single homemade unit is not a trademark issue in any way. I love to see disssa's detailed creations, and waiting for the next one.
  16. Amplified Music Products (AMP) brought semi-parametric amplifiers (BH-260 and -420 + preamp + combo) to the markets in the 1980's. SWR looks a lot like AMP. This is because the former Acoustic designer Russ Allee has been involved with AMP, SWR, and Eden.
  17. I have DigiTech's MIDI expression pedal MC2. Not very common, or small, but functional. Maybe it was released so early the users were few. DOD had also a MIDI pdal, but it was more like bank up/down -type of pedal. Reflex would have been smaller than MC2, but they just do not exist. If I would need a MIDI pedal for my synth, then maybe the MIDIUM would be an option. Maybe. Waiting for the price indication.
  18. I nearly forgot this: https://www.daddario.com/globalassets/pdfs/accessories/tension_chart_13934.pdf
  19. 36" scale, Original body shape. Some more data: http://www.muzines.co.uk/articles/overwater-c-bass/11886
  20. This really depends. This may be true in a small scale civil project, but not obvious in every area. Besides, some problems/bugs may be found, when those two systems are tested extensively. In my previous life one of my coders once said he does not code bugs... well, who does?
  21. Make a search and try to find D'Addario's string tension file (13940 pdf or something like that). It has different tensions for strings, and how the tension changes, if you detune. If you learn to read that, you are able to make even tension sets or special tunings with similar tension compared to a, say .45 set. BEAD is pretty common, just like CGDA. You can tune your bass to fifts, if you like. But that file will help you in your trials.
  22. What I have seen in production - in person - I would say our dear @Quatschmacher is right. Two versions equal twice the testing. Just locking out something may lead to very strange behaviour in the unit. Without extensive tests the limited/disabled version is not automatically stable.
  23. As seen here, it might be eye-opening for many potential users to show different user scenarios: - rack units - certain pedals (FI!) - other unit communicating via MIDI That could help users with less MIDI-knowledge to see possibilities that are there, but aren't so obvious to us mortals.
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