warwickhunt

Genuinely appreciate the suggestions and don't be put off by the fact I've tried them. I tried the internal switch literally as soon as I plugged it in for the first time. I may still try it again as there is never a guarantee that something has changed elsewhere in the signal path in the meantime. I'm actually wondering if there is a way I can record what is coming into my P2/IE... wondering if I can connect something simple into the headphone output rather than my IE?

I'm using the KZ10s @la bam which are used by many of you and recommended as the budget starting point by @EBS_freak and others. Aside from that I can run my bass direct into my P2 direct to my IE and the bass sounds fine/great. This is an absolute ball ache for me as I can not get my Aux sent IEM sound to even resemble a bass that I can use as a reference sound for how I'm playing. Everything on the Soundcraft ui16 is showing as registering normal, no overdrive or compression yet the tone is like a bee farting in a watering can! I'll see how the Rolls PM351 works out but because we've never had time for a full tech rehearsal, I keep trying little tweaks and adjustments on the go. What I will try this weekend is to plug my IE into someone else's Aux and see what they are hearing as nobody has said anything about an awful bass tone in their mixes... hmmmm maybe they've never cared. LOL

@Bassmonkey2510 FOH is fine. Metering - nothing is overloading/clipping. Wireless AND wired through IEM or studio headphones is exactly the same. It is a total mystery why my bass (and none of the other inputs to the desk) in the Aux mix should be so bad but in bypassing the Soundcraft desk/mixer and using the bass into a Rolls PM351, I can hear my clean bass tone and get a mix of the rest of the band.

LOL Presets I'm happy with but I'll need to find one which does loads of low pass... which I'll need to listen to on my PC.

Not done it that way yet but does that allow for editing etc?

Anyone got any recommendations for a chorus template or setting which will let a lot of the bottom end through and only chorus the top end/harmonic overtone. Our guitarist/PA guy is whinging about my attempts to generate a faux 12 string sound and that the chorus is way overpowering... 'deal with it' was met with a stony face! I'm sure I selected a bass specific template but I'm looking for tips before I start hooking my Plethora up to my PC and messing about.

That's the nice easy version... which I've tried. #1 - wireless is flaky due to the number of devices using the congested 2.4ghz. In my short and limited experience of using IEM I've had drop outs from bass radio gear and/or IE wireless; presently I'm going wired to a Behringer P2 to IE. #2 - I'm OK with mixing on my phone and that is a doddle, which leads to my personal issues... The tone of my bass in FOH is fine, the sound through my IEMs is truly and absolutely AWFUL! We aren't talking a bit of EQing, it is a horrendous compressed, overdriven mush! I've tried plugging in good headphones - same. I've used my IE with a variety of sound sources - fine. Ergo I know it isn't my IEM and has to be the desk or associated equipment. My present plan is to use a Rolls PM351 so that I have a clean bass tone in my ears and a feed from the desk with all other band members which I can blend.

How would I hear the rest of the band? Guitars use no backline so the FOH is the only sound source, likewise vocals. I don't need to have the drums through my IEM as I get enough of the drum bleed through either the vocal mic or ambient; the guitar on the other hand is non-existent as are the vocals, how do I hear those?

Do you have pics? Rather than trying to tension the nut further, can it be removed and replaced?

Pic and brief background + my initial thoughts on amp less/IEM Plethora - essentially there for me to attempt to replicate the sound of a 12 string... not proving to be so easy and a bit of reverb/delay for the acoustic guitar. Fishman - a really nice clean pre that isn't too coloured but gives me a notch filter (useful Hofner Club bass being hollow) and a LPF but no IR/cab sim/drive. Sansamp Para DI - recent replacement of my Sansamp DI. Gives me the cab sim and a bit of drive which the Fishman doesn't. I've played bass 45 years always with amp + cab. Presently play in a Dad's rock/pop/ covers band (more of which later) and a tribute to Cheap Trick band + a duo where I play acoustic guitar (Fishman has a switch to select between guitar/bass EQ). The guy who is main man and guitarist in the covers band owns the PA (RCF 715 tops) and bought a Soundcraft UI16 (or whatever) and went full IE no backline, which he has encouraged me to do as it gives more control and a better experience for the audience. Now this it may do but we are having ongoing issues due to the frankly awful IE sound I get of the bass; it doesn't even sound like a bass, never mind MY bass but it is fine FOH. This is where @Baloney Balderdash touched upon my main gripe with band sound; I play music for my enjoyment as much as the punters and if I'm frankly hating what I hear, then why do it? I've taken a long time to conclude that while playing average music, for an average audience in a frankly average pub may pay me more and with greater frequency than being more selective, I've voiced that I won't be playing just what the average p*ssed up punter wants to hear and I won't be playing in some of the flat top, estate pubs where a live band could as easily be replaced with karaoke. Quality gigs, even if at reduced fees and less often is the future with me and I'm going to sort out this IEM sound issue or I'm going back to amps/cabs and plugs for attenuation. Oddly the tribute band has had the same issue with IE sound as it is the same PA/guitarist until Friday night when we used in-house engineer and a very big/nice Yamaha desk... no issues with sound whatsoever BUT I had no control of mix once we started and the band mix seemed to skew and I struggled to hear things. Hey ho, we shall see.

Am I missing something (I know I am btw) but a click track is barely acceptable IMHO for a live show but to then play to a click AND have the bass on some form of recording... just be done with it and do karaoke... or stick Spotify on and play the album through the PA! Before you ask 'YES' I'm old. LOL

I chose not to ask... because I never get those kind of offers.

Are these 2 statements directly connected... what are the leads used for? I NEVER get those kind of gigs/offers!

I'm in the band that is NOT playing 'Shadowplay'!

I wondered about that but I just checked back through the thread and there really is a fair bit of very constructive info and advice been given over including the bone of contention that if you are driving a 600w amp to the point of it and/or a 1400w cab distorting then you are too loud... leading to a bit of niggle over hearing protection, which tbh having read from a neutral stance is all pretty valid. Defo seems to be all typical BC to me.

Beedster might be referring to the fact that the OP came on asking about speaker cable types and stating that a 1400w cab was distorting and that they were going to double up on said cab, whilst variously either getting a smaller amp to drive both cabs or adding a further 500w amp to drive the 2nd cab... whilst PA support was not an option. Doesn't sound like someone with 20 years experience to me. That's just my take on it mind!

Even if I dare not tackle the caps etc I may have a look at aligning the wiring and taking strain off before resolder and shrinkwrap.

If you have a lot of experience you can often have a very good guess what the gauge is if they are a regular set and not custom 'stepped' gauges but to know for sure you'd need a gauge.

Interesting that you have circled/highlighted several (not all) connections that are original from manufacture. I did take it to another electrical engineer after the 2nd transformer replacement (I couldn't understand how 2 had failed and no fault found); he had it several weeks before declaring it was fit and made zero comment on any soldering etc. 4 days later that transformer burned out. I think many of the informed comments made, highlight the difference between the business approach and the professional/informed user insight... if only some of the business heads actually had an interest in what they were doing. I'm maybe doing them a disservice as they have to make money and time is money, so going over something with a fine toothed comb is expensive. At the end of the day I could end up paying someone double the value of the amp to just give it an MOT/heath check.

Bearing in mind the insightful comments from @Chienmortbb @atsampson @agedhorse @BassmanPaul (and others along the way) I might get the amp checked over while it has a fully functioning transformer. I suppose my dilemma is that the tech doing this work has charged me not a lot of money to do the original transformer replacement and then zero charge for the 2 subsequent replacements, as he felt obliged to warranty the work; now finding someone I can trust to take this to the logical next step of possibly looking at the capacitors etc is not going to be easy.

Genuinely sorry but you lost me at 'How are the...'. If you can use the image I posted to highlight the areas I need to address I'll have a look. I'm not trying to be obtuse, I'm a bassist who's knowledge of soldering et al is making guitar/speaker leads and soldering the odd speaker in/out of a cab.

Ah OK I get where you are coming from. I'm competent with a soldering iron, so if it is a case of making connections more secure I can do that! I can cable tie, shrink wrap etc anything that looks like it may put strain on a joint.

Hence my comment... 'watts are dirt cheap (and mean little)'! I own and have owned a fair few amps over the last 44 bass playing/gigging years and I came to the conclusion some years back that quoted wattage figures were there for the gullible. I know a few companies who I'd likely not need to check their figures and I'd trust them to be representative of what levels an amp might go to before running out of steam but I likewise know those manufacturers that I'd not wasted energy researching how they come to their numbers; the same goes for cabs as well. As soon as a company moves into the high numbers for any attribute of an amp/cab I just start switching off and thinking blah blah blah... and I knock off 25-75% of what they say. Case in point being an Alto FRFR 10" powered cab quoting 2000w... don't be silly. I knew it was closer to a max of 200-300w.