Richard R

U2 are all well aware of the contradiction of being uber-wealthy and encouraging everyone to give and share. By contrast, how many Bono-haters on BC are aware of their massively privileged position in the world (living in a stable country, food to eat, income to spend on gear, not being bombed, flooded, or fleeing persecution..) and actively do anything to help those elsewhere who need it? U2 were always a political and protest(ing) band, from day one when they were skint they made it clear what they tried to stand for and used the band as a platform. From day 1.5 they were also clear in their goal to be the biggest band on the planet. They got where they are by a little bit of luck, a lot if self-belief,a sh!t-load of hard work and some very good songs. So why would they suddenly stop using the band as a platform, or stop being political, when they became famous? That would be far more hypocritical than continuing to do what they had always done. <end of post before it becomes political >

Let me check I understand this: If the input signal level to the desk is in the green, and the aux output to the IEM headphone amp is green, then the sound is clear, but the volume in the phones isn't high enough and there's no headroom. If the output from the aux is up in the yellow (-6db?), then there's headroom, but the sound you hear is distorted. Monitoring the aux output straight from the desk, the sound is clear. That's odd. It does suggest the HPA doesn't like the bass, definitely worth a serious cut below 40Hz. Are you using an XLR to XLR for the IEM feed? XLR to TRS may be wired balanced, or unbalanced, and the wrong one will sound odd. We use mainly Behringer P2s at church, from an Allen & Heath desk, and the youth band have the same from I think a Presonus rack. Never had any problems with the output level from either, they are industry standard. ( I can't remember the conversation from dBu which is what the desk spec is and dBV on the monitor, which is annoying!) I find I run the P2 at about ¼ of the way up the volume level and its loud enough into my cheap headphones.

This is mine, with a 35" bass in. It sits high, so doesn't bash my legs but I have to seriously duck through doorways. It has well padded pockets on the front for pedals and the like, and a padded laptop sleeve too. I do walk to practice these days, about .8 mile, and it's comfy enough. I also now play a 5 string that is a bit heavier than the 4 in the photos. There's a thread somewhere on cases with waist straps, but I can't find it.

Very cool! Completely useless to me, but nonetheless - very cool!

Welcome aboard! Hats off to anyone who can play EUB, I have tried a couple and found it hard going so I retreated. 😁 Lots of church bassists here, do say Hi on the playing in church thread.

Long shot: A friend of mine is a sculptor, he makes bronzes cast from clay models. He had a used set off me to make into a set of wire scrapers. A loop of the wire in a wooden frame, something like this: https://www.fruugo.co.uk/3-piece-clay-sculpture-tools-big-loop-scraper-knife-with-sawtoothstainless-steel-wooden-thick-handle-flat-wire-clay-pottery-sculpting-tool-set-pack-of/p-183208336-391205758?language=en Maybe if you have an art college or school nearby that can either take and use the strings as is, or make them into tools?

I've heard him tell the story of the playback of "Like a prayer", with him sitting next to Madonna, a couple of times, and it never fails to make me laugh. 10:42 in the video above, but the whole thing is quite entertaining.

Two of my favourite sounds in one sentence!

Welcome aboard, again!

In the meantime I asked ChatGPT "Write a short paragraph explaining why the Christian God plays bass guitar" To which I got the response: "The concept that the Christian God plays bass guitar is a metaphorical or whimsical notion rather than a theological one. People often ascribe human characteristics or behaviors to deities as a way of relating to them or to emphasize certain attributes. In the context of this playful idea, one might say that the bass guitar provides the foundational rhythm and harmony in a band, much like how the Christian God is perceived as the foundation of the universe and life itself. Just as the bass guitar supports and uplifts other instruments, God is seen as the support and guide for humanity. It's a creative way to think of God's role in a musical context."

Yep. Give it a while and I'm sure we can find a very tenuous interpretation of a really obscure verse to back that up. 😉

Good point!

Very, very indeed. Hillsong ain't got nobody who can play like this!

That all makes sense, tap-tune with the plate fitted. In the video that wasn't the case, but he was using scrap tops. In the case of an acoustic guitar I can see it's not " voodoo", everything really will affect everything else. Starting with a top that rings as much as possible would be the best option, every other component will then act as some sort of filter/eq on top of that. In the case of a solid body then my suspicion is that the strings and pickups are > 90% of the sound. But let's not open that debate here.

So, after all that careful taping and brace shaping I watched in the video, the luthier plonks a great lump of wood right in the middle and therefore changes everything. Could the top be voiced with that block in place? This is why I am not a craftsman, a tendency to overthink things...

https://breedlovemusic.com/acoustic-guitar-blog/how-many-sound-holes-should-my-guitar-have-exploring-the-side-mounted-soundhole Well I never!

A side sound hole? As in, a hole in the side to let sound out? Never heard of or seen that before.

I think I have posted before that 1 week in 3 would be ideal for me. Currently about 1 in 12, but that's because of other commitments I can't shake.

Fascinating stuff! Solid body electric instruments are so much easier! I remember now, the maths involved in calculating vibrations on a cylinder top/drum head/speaker cone are Bessell Functions. Which I haven't used or needed since university 😊

I can see the bottom two braces aren't symmetrical with the centre line of the top, presumably to avoid unwanted resonances. Where to the notches go, is it all by ear or is there maths and measurement to start with?

Darling, I'm building a vibrator, can you help me? p.s. please post on Build Diaries, in English.

Do you have the designs or details on these? I'm thinking the hardest part is the transducer, did you source that or build your own?

I initially wondered if your drummer not turning up to the sound check was a regular occurrence....

Welcome aboard! A folk band that sounds " a bit rage and a bit chilli peppers"? Sound clips please!