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Purple Reign - Prince

yeah its definitely not working correctly. One of the settings for the Range basically either produces nothing, or it produces noise. And the hi-lo switch is doing something, but I'm not convinced its doing what it is meant to. I don't know if I can face debugging this. The fact that it partially works means that its going to be extremely hard to work out what is wrong 😢

Blue Hat For A Blue Day - Nick Hayward

In late 2011, Prince Rogers Nelson walked into Capitol Guitars, a modest music store in St. Paul, Minnesota. Dressed in dark shades and an overcoat, he browsed quietly, barely speaking. The staff recognized him instantly but chose to respect his silence. He pointed at a few guitars, asked about the tonal difference between maple and mahogany, and then paused when the owner mentioned a recent conversation with a local teacher. The teacher had said that students at Anwatin Middle School in Minneapolis were losing access to their music program due to severe budget cuts. Prince nodded slightly and left without purchasing anything. Three days later, a delivery truck arrived at Capitol Guitars. Prince had returned but not to shop. Instead, he gave the owner a handwritten list and a simple instruction: “Everything on this list, pack it and deliver it to Anwatin.” The list included guitars, drum sets, violins, keyboards, amps, microphones, and recording equipment. When the owner asked if the instruments should be marked with a donor name or message, Prince replied, “No names. No credit. Just send love.” The delivery created confusion at the school. Teachers and administrators at Anwatin Middle School had no advance notice, and the delivery slip listed only a phone number that led to a private voicemail. Music teacher Kenneth Simms opened the shipment, stunned by the quality and quantity of the instruments. He assumed it was a mistake. It took several days of asking around and comparing handwriting on the note that came with the shipment before a staff member connected it to Prince, who had visited the store days earlier. When a friend later asked him about it, Prince said, “That’s between me and the kids. Not for headlines.” He declined to make any public statement or appear at the school. According to Minneapolis-based journalist Jon Bream from "Star Tribune", even the school district wasn’t formally notified. They only learned about the donor’s identity after teachers pieced the story together. Those close to Prince knew his silent generosity wasn’t a one-time impulse. During his early years growing up on the north side of Minneapolis, he often spoke about the importance of music education. His mother, Mattie Shaw, was a jazz singer and heavily involved in the local music scene. Prince once said in a 1999 interview with "Ebony", “If I hadn’t had access to a piano when I was seven, I don’t know who I would’ve become. Music wasn’t a hobby, it was a lifeline.” Former bandmate Sheila E. recalled in her 2014 memoir "The Beat of My Own Drum" how Prince frequently funded youth centers and music camps without telling anyone. “He believed in giving kids a chance to create,” she wrote. “He didn’t want applause. He wanted them to play.” At Anwatin, the new instruments transformed the energy of the school. Simms recalled how students began coming to class early just to practice. A hallway that once echoed with silence after the final bell now hummed with guitar riffs, drumbeats, and laughter. “We didn’t just get instruments,” Simms told "MinnPost" in 2012, “we got hope.” Store owner Alan Geller, who kept the receipt from Prince’s bulk order tucked in his office drawer, shared later that the musician didn’t even ask for a discount. “He said, ‘Charge full price. They deserve the best.’” For Prince, who had often used his wealth to quietly support causes tied to youth empowerment, the act wasn’t about visibility. His friend Van Jones later commented during an interview with "CNN", “He believed that if you help a kid find their rhythm, they might avoid chaos. He never needed a stage for that.” The donation never became a national headline. There were no photo ops or ceremonies. But in a city where music had once saved a young boy from the streets, it was returned, quietly, to the next generation. Prince gave them music when theirs had been taken away and never asked for anything in return.

This guy has labeled his go for low pass Turn peak all the way up - that’s going to make the effect more pronounced then volume is output volume - just whack that up too. Then set the input gain down… and play notes while switching the range switch - one should sound dark and the other bright. The dark one is “up” stick on that then play notes while turning the input gain up hit with enough gain the filter should open if it does, it’s working properly if it’s already open turn down the signal going into it if it’s won’t open try boosting the signal

Soul II Soup

Their glam records? Metal Magic, Projects in the jungle, I am the night and Power metal?

I guess that's really how i do it, until i'm happy with a bass but being an engineer i like to measure the end result. That's probably why my VM4 is slightly lower than other basses. I adjusted it after changing to Elixir strings which have a little more tension and it just felt right and when measured it was 1.8mm no fret buzz. Some basses i've tried taking lower but i either get fret buzz or choking and when i reach that point i just bring it back a touch and then measure it. Its more a reference point in my head. Dave

Red Berocca - Rush

I never measure when I do a set up. Every bass needs something different so I always do it by feel alone.

Like their first four albums. Great stuff.

Yep that's the Sandberg bug. It sneaks up on you and when it bites you get it big time. Just great basses. I've never had a bad sound using my VM4. Its why i tend to take it to every gig these days. It just never lets you down. Dave

I mostly play fingerstyle as well these days, and yeah this one started at 2.5mm at 12th, I got it down to almost ~2mm. No buzz, even after I straightened the neck a bit, still leaving a very light bow. I prefer even lower action as well (1.6mm - 1.8mm) for soft home playing, but the Sandberg feels so smooth even on ~2mm, I can't even explain it. Consistent tension on all strings and everything, impossible not to love!

Of course my troubleshooting isn't being helped by there being no easy way to work out which way to set the toggles and rotary to match the original!

Its weird but my VM4 arrived set up perfectly for me at 2mm altho i think it was done by Classic and Cool guitars. I think its down to 1.8mm at the moment. My MarloweDK which i had assumed would have a very low action arrived at 3mm at 12th fret. It was 2nd hand. When trying to set it up i had some major issues with the saddles bottomed out it was still high no matter what i did. I eventually had to shim the neck very slightly and its now around the 2mm at 12th fret too. I usually start at 2.5mm right away if its not there or lower and then slowly work my way down to 2mm. Anything less i tend to get some fret buzz when i play harder which is something i'm trying to remedy. Play lighter, save my fingers but 2mm is usually my target figure. The VM4 was tweaked a bit further by mistake and it was fine so i left it there. NB : i play fingerstyle. Dave

Thanks, Ped. I definitely think there is something wrong with the Range toggle, but I'm not sure if it's just that analog filters are weird...

I keep forgetting that I've got a cheap Chinese neck on a Variax that I've recently gutted after the electrics died. I had the neck fettled and fitted about 18 years ago. Some cheap necks are absolutely fine!