Mottlefeeder

[quote name='Musky' post='379806' date='Jan 13 2009, 10:57 PM']You've got a PM. [/quote] Sold, in 22 minutes!

I have a spare 5-string set of La Bella Deep Talkin' Bass Strings 760FM if anyone is interested. That's B=0.128, E=0.109, A=0.089 , D=0.069, G= 0.049. They were the unused spare set for my Corvette fretless, and I kept them when I moved from the Corvette to a Yamaha. I fitted them to the Yamaha, didn't like the sound and took them off after about an hour. The Yamaha is a 35 inch scale bass, and the strings have been cut - about 4 inches beyond each tuner head - for 3+2 head, so you should have plenty of slack, unless you have a 4+1 head. £15 posted to any UK mainland address. David

[quote name='budget bassist' post='378328' date='Jan 12 2009, 09:59 PM']What on EARTH is that?[/quote] What bugs me most is the body wood laminates suggest a neck through, until you turn it over and find it is a bolt-on - that's not nice.

[quote name='Linus27' post='377932' date='Jan 12 2009, 04:41 PM']Any recommendations of a good metronome to buy?[/quote] Are you paying cash or buying it on tick? The Sabine MT9000 is about the size of a pack of cards, and has a reasonable woodblock sound which I prefer to a bleep, but its tuner is really slow on bass unless you play the octave harmonic and tune that.

[quote name='mcgraham' post='377479' date='Jan 12 2009, 11:08 AM']Hi all I've been using a Korg Pandora for many years now, and whilst I love it, it's noise gate is starting to grate on me. Even on maximum possible volume I can't get the full dynamics I want from this device, i.e. when the level is too low it doesn't give produce sound. Also has nasty hiss that gets let through whenever the noise gate goes on and off, although that could be the instrument. As such I'm looking to some other alternatives that DON'T do this, that allow portable practice with at least a metronome and a headphone out. Something that will fit in a gig bag ideally and run off batteries. First thought is a Pocketpod, but I don't know if it has a metronome feature. Anything else that anyone can recommend? Mark[/quote] I have a Pandora, and I have never noticed a hiss, so they may have improved over the years. It might be worth checking out a newer one. Also, although you have had it for a number of years, can you check that the input level is correctly set for passive or active - that could affect the hiss and also the output level. I tend to use mine without effects other than reverb, and I use the built-in drum patterns a lot. As far as I know, the noise gate is switched off. Incidentally, switching the noise gate on will reduce your dynamic range, but that may be a compromise you have already accepted. A couple of other things worth checking - does it also hiss when connected to another bass, and does it hiss when connected to other headphones. If your headphones are loud on top, and lacking in bass, they might make the problem worse. With regard to the alternatives, the message I am getting is that if it is pocket sized, it will use components that draw less current, but the downside is that they will hiss more. A couple of possibilities spring to mind - A S/H Zoom 708 will cost about £30, and would fit in a large gigbag pocket, and running from AAs rather than a 9v block, it is probably takes more currrent and so would be quieter. At the other extreme, the Tascam GT R1 is a combined guitar/bass trainer and stereo recorder, so you can use it as a practice aid, record yourself as you practice, and also record rehearsals. It retails about £230

[quote name='thepurpleblob' post='377524' date='Jan 12 2009, 11:50 AM']Stupid question time.... What do you actually play while your metronome/drum machine is ticking away? Maybe it's because I'm one of those cover band types, but I always play along to some bit of music I'm learning. I honestly can't think what I'd do with a drum machine.[/quote] Two things spring to mind, a) you can practice the core skills - scales and arpeggios, speed building exercises, etc, and use the beat to make sure you are being consistent. if you are working from sheet music or tab, you start by working out what the notes are, and then you try and play the song. Using a beat for the second bit makes it easier, and as you improve your skills, you can do both steps at once.

[quote name='GreeneKing' post='371353' date='Jan 5 2009, 08:30 PM']I just wondered if I'm missing something obvious here...[/quote] I don't think so, but the detective work you have done so far suggests that you have a fault in the analogue signal path, and these types of fault are much easier/cheaper for amp techs to find. I know you have on-board FX, but if you also have Fx out and Fx return sockets, you could use those to see whether the distortion is in the early stages, by plugging your Fx out into another amp, or in the later stages or main amp, by feeding a good signal into your Fx return. Hope that helps David

[quote name='TheRev' post='364744' date='Dec 28 2008, 12:02 PM']I use a Fishman Platinum Pro EQ so I haven't got that many controls to mess with, but I find compression set at 10 o'clock and the depth at 2 o'clock give a nice even sound.[/quote] I have the same unit, but little experience of using it so far. However, the block diagram for the signal chain seems to show a hi-pass filter (depth), followed by 3-band mid range, followed by compression, followed by bass and treble. So they have tone shaping both before and after the compressor. That might make a difference to how you set up your system.

Unless he changes his mind, Mr Foxen is taking all of it. Thanks for your interest.

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='353289' date='Dec 13 2008, 12:27 AM']Interested in this. Gotta be ok for recording practice right? Oli[/quote] OK, Oli was first, so he has first refusal. The minidisk recorder comes with a mini (mono) microphone, built into a 3.5 mm jack plug. With that, you can use the recorder set to record in mono for twice the time of a standard minidisk, so you have 144 minutes per disk. It runs on AA batteries, or a Sony walkman 4.5 V wallwart. Our band rehearses in an L shape, with the drums in the corner and the microphone picks up everyone, just sitting on the edge of my music stand. Alternatively it will take a stereo mic, or a stereo feed from the desk. Unless you want to build up an archive, you probably won't need 50 disks, but you have first call if you think you will.

I am about to move from Minidisk to solid state WAV/MP3 recording, so my old gear will be sitting around doing nothing from Christmas onwards. I have a Sony MZ-R37 portable minidisk recorder, in working order, and just over 50 minidisks. If anyone wants either, or both, for the cost of the postage, please let me know. David

[quote name='Dan_Nailed' post='351245' date='Dec 10 2008, 09:24 PM'] Just got this from Ebay as a replacement for a worn out jack, turned up and has 4 connectors. I'm only used to seeing 3 connector versions, what's the best way to wire this? Obviously the ground is the same but it's the other 3 that I'm unsure on! Cheers, Dan[/quote] Assuming it is a quarter inch jack socket, it is unusual. I would suggest getting a battery, wire and torchbulb and a three pole jack plug, and checking what connects to what before and after plugging them together. You could have a mono change-over switch + earth. If it is an 1/8 inch (3.5mm) jack socket, they make a four pole version for video cameras.

[quote name='bigthumb' post='337566' date='Nov 26 2008, 06:50 PM']Can anybody point me in the right direction as to where I can get some replacement crossover fuses for a Eden Metro? Ta![/quote] Eden? If you can find out what kind of fuse you need - current rating, slo-blow or fast-blow etc, then CPC or RS would be a good starting point. Alternatively, pick an amp-tech and hope that their mark-up is not enormous - some want to help, some want to make money.

[quote name='the funk man' post='337023' date='Nov 26 2008, 09:58 AM']well 2 be quite honest i would rather put in the time money and effort to build my own coz it wold probaly make me feel better that going and payin a sh*t load of money to get a half desent amp that i figure i dnt like after a week[/quote] The chances are that you are more likely to dislike an amp you have built than to dislike an amp you auditioned in the shop before you bought it. Think about hum, hiss, distortion, crap front panels etc. Fixing those kinds of problems takes time. Also, an amp you bought can be sold on - an amp you built can only be sold with difficulty. I used to built stuff until my wife pointed out that everything I built I was dissatisfied with, and usually ended up replacing with a commercial item, so only build stuff that - a) you cannot live without, and cannot find to buy, or b) is cheap and basic and you learn from the process.

If you haven't picked it up already, the WD in WD40 stands for water repellant or something similar. It isn't a cleaner and it isn't a lubricant. You need to get a can of something that says it is an electrical switch or contact cleaner.

Thank you all - some useful stuff here. David

[quote name='steve-norris' post='308847' date='Oct 17 2008, 06:42 PM'][color="#FF0000"][size=4]No one mentioned martindale ring testers, they cost a few quid basically you plug it in to the socket and it tests the wiring is ok. Stops you plugging into a badly wired socket in the first place! [/size][/color] [url="http://www.hse.gov.uk/electricity/socket1.htm"]http://www.hse.gov.uk/electricity/socket1.htm[/url][/quote] The earth connection to the equipment is there to make sure that if there is a fault, the fault current will be high, and will blow the fuse quickly, which disconnects it. A plug-in tester is fine, provided you know what it is testing. The ones that have three lights on them will confirm that you have an earth connection, but will not tell you whether it is the last strand of a frayed cable (no use at all) or a thick cable with good connections at both ends. When you turn up at a venue, any test device that does not measure how good the earth is (earth fault loop impedance) is probably no help to you at all. Granted, it will tell you if there is no earth at all, but then so will your plug-in RCD which will not latch in.

I don't have an EUB yet - but there are a lot more posts on that topic. I couldn't find any threads just about bows. I am assuming that the same rules apply here as apply to HiFI and many other things - at the bottom of the price range, a small increase in price gives major improvements in performance, but at the top of the price range, a large difference in price gives an improvement so subtle it would probably be wasted on me. One suggestion I heard was that a bow should cost about 25% to 33% of the cost of the DB, but does this still hold good for an EUB with less range of tone and subtlety? Another suggestion was that carbon fibre sounds as good as wood that is twice the price - is that a point that is generally agreed, or only agree above a certain price point, or just plain wrong? I suppose the answer I want is that for an EUB starter, with a new budget EUB, or s/h mid-priced EUB, reasonable bows start at £x, and the law of diminishing returns starts at £y.

[quote name='Toasted' post='307688' date='Oct 16 2008, 10:16 AM']Glad you're still with us!! Would you guys use an RCD on each wall outlet your using, or just one for the amp?[/quote] Ideally, you make sure that everything is powered through an RCD, either by having one upstream of your distribution board, or having one per socket in use. The problem with just having one for your gear is that if the house PA is faulty, and makes the microphone casing live, your RCD will not trip when you touch the microphone and your earthed bass strings, because your amp is still working correctly. The RCD has to be upstream of the equipment that develops the fault if it is to detect that fault. This guidance may help - [url="http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg247.pdf"]http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg247.pdf[/url]

Working with any group of people can be a pain, but if it's what you want to do, hang on to the thought that you will do it all again, but better, because of this experience. [quote name='Galilee' post='298346' date='Oct 3 2008, 09:49 AM']I would sympathise, but I don't understand your second paragraph at all, even after reading it three times. [/quote] I think cytania is comparing being a solo player, and having folders full of music you like, with being in a band, where you end up with folders of stuff you may or may not like, but you worked on it for other people.