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Best £45 you will ever spend.


neilb
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[url="http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/news/2556194/The-Scottish-Sun-investigates-vice-in-Dundee.html"]http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/news/2556194/The-Scottish-Sun-investigates-vice-in-Dundee.html[/url]

Only in Dundee would you call a ford focus estate a "flashy silver sports car" :lol: :lol: :lol: ... according to the article I got my pricing a little wrong (not far off though) .. having said that that was back in 2009 you might get a better deal now!

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Just in from my first gig with the gramma pad tonight ... First impressions are very positive! In addition I nicked a couple of acoustic ceiling tiles and dense foam backed carpet tiles from my work and built a couple of pads for the monitors and for under our singers heavy circular based mic stand. Starting with the monitors ... the pub we were in tonight has very hard surfaces around the stage area (tiles everywhere and timber floor. With a bit of ceiling tile and carpet isolating the singers mic from the monitor I was able to get her monitor considerably louder without it feeding back at all. On to the bass, As others have stated the pad really does get rid of a lot of mush and tighten the bottom half of your sound .. the one think you have to do almost instantly is adjust your eq from your usual settings. For me this meant dialing back in a bit of bass. The one think that took a bit of getting used to was the fact I was getting a fraction of the vibration I'm used to feeling it through the floor .. that said I actually had my amp a little quieter than usual .. not for any other reason than it was cutting through nicely and sitting great in the mix. This whole de-coupling idea really does seem to work to great effect (I guess It's fairly obvious why). I've got another gig tomorrow night .. then on Sat so I will report any additional findings then.

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[quote name='CBbass' timestamp='1330702250' post='1561900']
Can anyone suggest where the cheapest place to get one is? Thanks
[/quote]

I have just bought one from Dolphin Music
[url="http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/product/36069-auralex-gramma-amp-monitor-isolation-riser-single-.html#sterling_uk"]http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/product/36069-auralex-gramma-amp-monitor-isolation-riser-single-.html#sterling_uk[/url]

£38 plus £4 postage. I couldn't find it any cheaper?

I havent tried it out yet, that will happen on Wednesday at a pub gig on a hollow floor. I have played there before and I will def notice if there is any difference in sound...............

Jas

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I'm making mine at the weekend. I would've had to go for the Great Gramma which is about £68, but I reckon mine's gonna cost about £20, and that's with the proper Auralex Platfoam! I'll let you know how it goes.....:D

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[quote name='TRBboy' timestamp='1331141100' post='1568401']
I'm making mine at the weekend. I would've had to go for the Great Gramma which is about £68, but I reckon mine's gonna cost about £20, and that's with the proper Auralex Platfoam! I'll let you know how it goes..... :D
[/quote]

Excellent :)

Someone else (apologies I can't remember who it was) made themselves one a while back and reported that it worked just fine.

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After being so impressed with mine (and the concept) I've put together a couple of pads for our stage monitors made by sandwiching an acoustic ceiling tile in between two foam backed carpet tile samples and taping it together .. you can easily get noticeable results DIY'ing it .. I've been able to get a decent bit more volume out of our monitors before them feeding back for free! For me the gramma pad is good value for money though. It's really well made, looks pro, lightweight, sturdy, comes with a carry handle and really works. When you consider the amount of money we all spent on our amps and other gear .. £40 for a nice looking plinth and for it all to sound better is well worth the dosh.

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I'm not totally convinced just yet, only having tried the Gramma pad at rehersal last night. The room we use has a very thick wooden floor, so I guess the sound/bass is pretty focused and tight bouncing off there anyway.
I did have to raise the volume knob slightly from what I was normally using (either that or the sneeky guitarists had turned up!). The main reason I got it was for gigs and trying to keep a uniform sound so I'll see how I get on there.

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[quote name='Beedster' timestamp='1331224942' post='1569828']
Anyone know whether there's any benefit of using one of these with a down-firing speaker such as the Mesa Walkabout or Acoustic Image Contra?
[/quote]

I don't see any reason why the benefits wouldn't be the same. It's just about isolating the cab from the floor, and preventing the transference of vibration as far as I can see.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Did mine yesterday :D

[attachment=102893:IMG_1795.JPG]

[attachment=102894:IMG_1796.JPG]

[attachment=102895:IMG_1797.JPG]

Quite pleased with it actually, it's turned out really good. No overlaps or staples; I left a few inches to wrap around the back, mitred the corners and then cut a piece to fill the middle of the backside. You have to look hard to see the joins, so I'm pretty chuffed how it turned out. The board is 18mm MDF, and the adhesive I used is Stuk Professional Rapid Spray Glue - Heavy Duty Formula. The adhesive was cheaper than some of the big name brands, but I was advised that a lot of professional carpet fitters and upholsterers use it. It has stuck the fabric to the board and the foam to the fabric VERY securely. It did stick my knees to the dust sheet I was working on too! The fabric is actually some disposable industrial matting from work, but it feels very much like the right sort of material, and it can withstand months of heavy industrial foot traffic, so it should wear fine.

looking forward to trying it out on Tuesday! I've got a rehearsal for a gig I'm doing with the local Soul Choir, and the rehearsal is at a school hall with a suspended timber floor, so it should be a good test.

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[quote name='TRBboy' timestamp='1332106096' post='1583451']
Did mine yesterday :D

[attachment=102893:IMG_1795.JPG]

[attachment=102894:IMG_1796.JPG]

[attachment=102895:IMG_1797.JPG]

Quite pleased with it actually, it's turned out really good. No overlaps or staples; I left a few inches to wrap around the back, mitred the corners and then cut a piece to fill the middle of the backside. You have to look hard to see the joins, so I'm pretty chuffed how it turned out. The board is 18mm MDF, and the adhesive I used is Stuk Professional Rapid Spray Glue - Heavy Duty Formula. The adhesive was cheaper than some of the big name brands, but I was advised that a lot of professional carpet fitters and upholsterers use it. It has stuck the fabric to the board and the foam to the fabric VERY securely. It did stick my knees to the dust sheet I was working on too! The fabric is actually some disposable industrial matting from work, but it feels very much like the right sort of material, and it can withstand months of heavy industrial foot traffic, so it should wear fine.

looking forward to trying it out on Tuesday! I've got a rehearsal for a gig I'm doing with the local Soul Choir, and the rehearsal is at a school hall with a suspended timber floor, so it should be a good test.
[/quote]

That looks pretty damn close to the 'real thing' apart from the gap between the two foam platforms.
Mine has a foam infill made of ridged purple foam with a vvvvvvv sort of pattern.

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[quote name='icastle' timestamp='1332112216' post='1583577']


That looks pretty damn close to the 'real thing' apart from the gap between the two foam platforms.
Mine has a foam infill made of ridged purple foam with a vvvvvvv sort of pattern.
[/quote]

Thanks! Yeah, I experimented a bit with the position of the foam before I glued it, and it just seemed like it would offer the most stability spaced like that. The foam pretty much matches the outside dimensions of my rig, about 1.5" inset from the edge of the board. As I'm trying to keep costs down, I figured I could do without the vvvvvvv foam for now but I can always stick some on at a later date if needs be. Auralex say it's to "eliminate wolf notes" or something, so I'll keep an ear out for any howling. :D

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I should add that I made it 27" X 21", I think about 3 - 3.5" bigger than a standard Gramma Pad (which my rig would've overhung slightly). That might be part of the reason that the gap in the centre looks bigger.

Edited by TRBboy
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