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Showing content with the highest reputation on 24/09/19 in all areas

  1. I'm going to review the Bass Guitar Show attendees instead and give you some perspective from what the show was like as an exhibitor. WHAT a LOVELY bunch of people you all are. For those who took the time and effort to come out to see us, thank you very much. Very much enjoyed meeting everybody. Everybody was positive, polite and game for trying out our stuff. I was really nice to see the familiar faces and old friends. And make some new ones. @romeo2 it was good to see you again. Glad you like the new stuff. I'll try and politely address some of the negativity around the show, and where criticism is rightly and wrongly being directed. I'll agree the show is noisy. But we are talking about a product(s) that make noise. It's LITERALLY what they do. I agree that the quiet periods were not enforced very well, and that the sound police were a bit toothless. I will be raising this very strongly with the show organisers. The management of space wasn't great either, and if there were performances in the booth it backed up into the aisles making it difficult to get to all the stands. I am also raising this with the show organisers. To mitigate the noise, we had closed headphones for those that couldn't hear. If you want a diverse array of stuff gathered in one place. Where you are welcomed and encouraged to put your hands on them and try them out. Where you can talk directly to the product makers - and not just sales staff, who are quite happy for you to buy anything. Where there is a community of like minded individuals and where you can actively support small and local builders and makers - it is the place to go. It is NOT cheap exhibiting. For a smaller company like ours - it's probably just shy of a few thousand pounds. Plus hotels, travel, facilities etc. We do NOT make our money back at the show. Yes - it's a marketing expense. But also it's also for you guys. The venue is certainly nicer. From a sound point of view, the open space makes it less oppressive. It's nice and light. And it's certainly more photogenic. From a selfish logistics perspective it is a bastard to get to in a van. For those complaining of no bargains - we were offering 15%-20% off instruments on the day. As well as organising discounts for show attendees who want to buy afterwards. Rather than having a moan, if you ACTUALLY attended the show, and you feel there is anything we - as exhibitors - can do to improve things for you. Let me know. Other than that I know Sylvia is feeding stuff back to the show organisers. It was EXHAUSTING - but a lot of fun. If the show organisers can assure me they'll do more to tackle the things that annoy me, I'll certainly be back next year. Look forward to seeing you guys at the Birmingham Guitar Show and Manchester Bass Show in Feb and March.
    7 points
  2. Recently traded my G&L for this lovely 2014 American Standard P Bass - I've been playing bass for about 15 years and have always had a stable of at least 3 basses and yet this is my first proper P Bass! Even in bass shops I've never really tried one as I always thought they were boring and were always going to be available. This is the epitome of "does what it says on the tin" type of bass. Does the wooly old school thump and the proper grind with the tone all the way up. I can definitely see why they are so popular for bands/recording, they just sound right! The neck has just about the right amount of finish on it for me - not a fan of heavy gloss and but this has a light gloss that makes it feel like it's protected but doesn't get sticky. Only thing is the strings - forgot to ask what they were but they are very clanky so could be steels. Might change them for something more refined. I was originally trying to sell my G&L so this may be up for sale in the very near future but I'll enjoy it for a month or so Anyway, pictures!
    5 points
  3. Well, finally sorted the Attitude bridge on the orange bass...took much longer than planned as I wanted a luthier to do it for me but got all sorts of “nah shove a badass on it” or “it’ll be £140 to do that”. Some patience and a half hour later...
    4 points
  4. I was 14 years old when I heard this, and I’m still playing it now 🙂
    4 points
  5. Er hmmm. Can I just remind folk that some people are willing to pay EXTRA money for that 'crapped* on' look! Apparently like fake [insert anything you like] it adds that elusive "mojo" and makes your audience regard you as some sort of minor god.
    4 points
  6. Managed to get time to do a bit on this build cavities are all routed out Just need to re-shape the head stock then give the body a bit of a sand over then a few coats of danish oil Here’s a mock up so far........... I'm hoping that when I danish oil the body it will go almost the same colour as the neck............😀
    3 points
  7. Also known as customers giving feedback 😄
    3 points
  8. Having done exhibitions myself in the past (including at the BDC) I can testify to this. It’s a great feeling meeting folks who are actually interested in what you’re selling and have made the effort to come and have a look. But being on your feet all day, trying to say the same thing hundreds of times in a different way, takes it out of you. Noise at any trade exhibition tends to high (people are just noisy on their own never mind if the product being sold makes a sound too) and the old ears get fatigued too, that said, it wasn’t until mid afternoon that I found it started to become oppressive, an improvement on Olympia. The BDC is very bright, which is a good thing, but it is also acoustically challenged with its marvellous roof. However, there is office space and the like on the top and ground floors which could be utilised as demo areas in the future, should the organisers decide to use this venue again. The idea of bringing your own headphone amp that you’re familiar with is something I’d consider in the future, although this won’t help for amps and cabs of course, but demo rooms could sort that. Finally, it may seem that a lot of people are moaning but, for the most part, Brits can be quite curmudgeonly and an honest critique may come over as negative, especially when we forget to praise the things that we liked. However, if we don’t point out the short comings, things won’t improve and folks will eventually stop coming.
    3 points
  9. Sire Marcus Miller V7 4 string Swap Ash Body Tabacco Sunburst. Condition is Used. Purchased from Andertons 1 year ago. The bass is in good condition with the only blemish I could find on the headstock (image). Lovely sounding bass. Collection from Alcester, Warwickshire Specifications Body Material : Swamp Ash Body Shape : New Marcus Miller Jazz Type Neck Material : 1 Piece Hardmaple Neck Shape : C-Shape Scale : 34” Fingerboard : Hardmaple(Swamp Ash ) Fingerboard Radius : 7’25” Frets : Medium Small, 20 Frets String Nut : 4string : Natural Bone 38mm width Binding : 1 ply Ivory Inlay : WH Pearloid Block Neck Joint : 4 Bolt Steel Square Plate Pickups : Marcus super Jazz Electronics : Marcus Heritage- 3 with Middle Frequency Control Controls : Volume / Tone (Dual Pot) | Pickup Blender | Treble | Middle / Middle Frequency (Dual Pot) | Bass, Mini Toggle (Active / Passive ) knob : Jazz Type Black Plastic Bridge : Heavy Mass Standard Tuning Gear : Premium Open-Gear Hardware Finish : Chrome Pickgaurd : Ivory Pearl(Swamp Ash)
    2 points
  10. New Bass Neck Day So, I’ve three of my fave US 2013-16 Series Precisions, all with maple fretboards. And I was really gassing for a white/black/rosewood Precision a la Vicious Sidney, which is my fave colour scheme. None seemed to be turning up that were within price range or collection distance. So I bought a new US Fender neck. Slightly slimmer depth wise than my others but that’s no biggie, it has medium jumbo frets, tuners fit straight into it from the maple one I’m replacing it with. Pretty chuffed I have to admit.
    2 points
  11. ...To be replaced the very next day with the last one of these available in Europe (well according the Ibby rep.), following Ibby ceasing production of these earlier this year. I had the good fortune to source from a German online store at an end of line price. Wasn't sure I was going to like the colour, but has turned out to be very lovely 'in the wood'. And whilst I'm not usually drawn to some of the 'sparklier' elements on basses, the abalone fret inlays are a really nice touch. Excited about the new material that this will hopefully help me to access on bass, assisted by it's relatively uniform and half way to a bass VI string 14mm spacing.
    2 points
  12. Again not a bass album as such but Hooky's work on " Closer" certainly had some effect on me...I actually had that before "Unknown Pleasures" ( and, strangely, some time before I ever heard LWTUA or Transmission as well...), knew I was hearing something special even then
    2 points
  13. £500- £1000 + = "laminate construction " £50- £500 = "plywood" 😉
    2 points
  14. I think it`s a great film, am not too knowledgeable about specifics and timelines but from a viewing point I think it`s excellent, and not just a little bit sad. I think Rami Malek was amazing in the role.
    2 points
  15. At least, on the scheme of things, bass sits in the "middle" of ease of playing vs ease of reading. For example: French Horn. Fiendishly hard to play well, yes you can make fart noises but anything musical needs years of dedication and hundreds of hours of practice. Even an apparently simple line as notated, is difficult to play. So the reading really is a bit of a non-issue here. Compare with piano. Dead easy to make a noise on, compared to the French horn. A cat, or 5 year old child, can play the lowest note and the highest note and all those in between. And a beginner will soon be learning both hands at once and chords etc etc etc. The notation is clearly more complex than the French Horn, for a start there's 2 clefs, 2 or more notes at once, etc etc. Fortunately, it is convention to learn to read music to play piano. Compare with electric guitar. Very little resources around to learn to read, very little standard notation music published, the same issues with polyphony as the piano (except, sensibly, it sticks to one clef and stave), it would be a nightmare to try learn to read on electric guitar. In fact most people don't, and I don't blame them! At least bass is somewhere in between the extremes presented.
    2 points
  16. A quick update after a lot more testing and a band rehearsal. I have measured the distance between the central woofer dome and the rear of the grille and I now have 37-38mm of space. That should be plenty for the woofer excursion. If it hits the grill, the driver is going to die...or is already dead... I sat down with my test setup and a comparison cab. The One10 is about half the size of the BC 112, lol. It’s actually not a bad cab to compare to. Long throw driver, well braced, rated for 250W though apparently will take up to 500W with clean sounds. So it’s a potent little driver, albeit a 10”. I maxed out the volume available from the One10 with the amp set optimally flat and the Gain at 3 o’clock and the Master at 12 o’clock. At that point I could distort the woofer with note accents. The One10 gives a very satisfying low end, easily comparable to the BC 112, but only up to a certain volume. I’ll call it jazz gig volume. It’s very good, but there are limits. it also takes a huge amount of bass boost before it farts out. Veiled top end, but enough, just. The cab clearly adds more colouration to the sound as it gets louder. It’s a nice colour and it really suits bass. It’s a great cab. Swapped over to the BC 112, leaving the amp set optimally flat. Gain at 3 o’clock and Master at 12 o’clock, as before. The upper mids and treble sparkle and the clarity is great. As expected, really. Cranked in max bass boost on the amp and the cab tolerated it at this level. Impressive for such abuse. Put bass back to flat on the amp and turned up. Could get the woofer to fart out with accents with Gain at 3 o’clock and the Master at 3 o’clock. It was stupendously loud; the wall and window shaking volume I described previously that will drown out any drummer and will definitely keep up with a full band. It remains clear at volume. Slapping at that point caused a click noise which I suspect might have been the voice coil hitting the back plate, or just a very unpleasant transient. It didn’t sound natural so I stopped doing that. (If it was the woofer travelling beyond Xdamage it would have been wrecked. It obviously wasn’t...lol...). Adding any bass boost at this point also caused woofer distortion. I am confident that this is the mechanical limits of how far the cabinet can go. I won’t go near this again; the amp can give a lot more but it will kill the cab. I started adding an HPF but had to stop to pick up the kids. Took the cab out to a very moderate volume keys/sax jazz rehearsal. Carrying it around was easy. Had to turn down the bass frequencies at the amp; otherwise I just plugged and played. Great sounds all night. The band loved it and the keys player may want to build his own after we tried the keys through it and it sounded amazing. I may have retired my One10 from the moderate volume jazz stuff. I have concluded two things. 1. The setting of volume knobs on the amp is not a good indicator of the power getting delivered. Basically this amp is very powerful and can distort woofers at settings far less than maximum. Not a surprise. 2. The BC 112 is a very capable cab. The BC cab reminds me a bit of the Faital-loaded Berg CN112. The same smoothness of the mids, mainly. However that cab was a little bass-shy; the BC 112 has more lows (more like the BF BB2). And the high end is smoother sounding than the CN112 as well, and extends higher also. I’m probably only going to bother with an HPF for loud gigs or rehearsals. In my ordinary use it doesn’t look like it will be necessary.
    2 points
  17. Update: I now have all the cab kits and they look lovely! The Celestion compression drivers will be with me on Friday, by which time I should have some of the crossovers ready. Anyone wanting to collect is welcome to do so at the weekend. I'm going to start sending boxes of goodies out next Monday. It'll take me a few days to pack everybody's orders up. I just hope the local supermarkets and stores have enough spare cardboard boxes.
    2 points
  18. I have never been to the show and I was thinking of attending this year but was put off by negative comments about past shows. Having read the post-show comments I think I will attend the next one because it easy to sit here clicking across the web making decisions based on feedback and or whinging but there is nothing like personal experience to make up one's mind, that sounds blimmin' obvious but I think it is particularly salient since the Internet arrived. This thread has made me realise that I personally make far too many decisions based on what folk say online, I'm not saying online advice/opinions aren't valid or extremely helpful (I mean just being a member of Basschat has utterly transformed my bass playing world!) but I've avoided the BGS for reasons that, on deeper thought, I can't recall and I think I really I should go and see and form my own opinion based on the experience. I was the same about the Bass Bashes, I heard a couple of negative comments (not on here I hasten to add) and given those and my misanthropic leanings I just assumed a Bass Bash wouldn't be for me, a not very good player with a couple of basses. How wrong was I, I love a bass bash! I sit there with my FRFR rig often unable to hear myself and I don't care, it's great to meet and hang out with other Bass Chatters and even get your dream bass built by a dude you've only met a couple of times! So, next year I'm going to this Bass Guitar show just like last year I went to my first Bash and had my preconceptions upended by great people and a lovely day... ...I've kind of lost my thread. No gathering together of enthusiasts can be tailored to suit each individual and as such we should accept that some compromise has to be made, take what you can from the event. Although I wasn't an attendee I do know one way in which this event could be improved and that's to get the wonderful and gorgeous catering team in from the Great Big SW Bass Bash to do a food stall at the show, attendance would rocket and it is so difficult to whinge with a huge scone stuck in your gob.
    2 points
  19. 2 points
  20. Yep to the Rattus Norvegicus, and most Rush stuff, lots of bass driving the songs. Slightly more subtly, Lizzy's stuff is a favourite, too. Solo bass albums? I've bought a few and got rid: a bass solo'ed is like a comedian explaining comedy: instructional, and occasionally interesting, but not the point.
    2 points
  21. Price is in euros: 2040 GBP approx. New. Collection only. No trades. Great opportunity to also visit Lisbon, cheap flights and I will show you around the city Posting this bass would be crazy. No introduction needed. Bought a while ago but never got the courage to actually play it. Paperwork, cases & keys all included. Straplocks and a new set of Sheehan strings offered. More info https://usa.yamaha.com/products/musical_instruments/guitars_basses/el_basses/attltd3/index.html#product-tabs Any questions? Just ping me. Catarina
    2 points
  22. Can I just throw something into the noise debate, because I'm finding this all a bit tiring... I do some work for Markbass/MSL (as a pro musician, not employee), and was on the Markbass stand all weekend. Interestingly in the Exhibitor Manual for the show, there is no specified noise level, just a reference to noisy/quiet times. I took my brand new and freshly certified calibrated db meter with me to the show (not a £25 ebay chinese jobby, a proper one... and before say you did the same with your phone, no mobile phone app can measure accurately over 90db, because of the limitations of the phone's microphone), and I left it logging for some long periods. The noise levels measured at our stand rarely exceeded 97db, even when someone was slapping away (its a thing... get over it). That's nowhere near a standard concert volume, but is about as loud as a band should ever need to be at a wedding/function, but across the day the levels tended to average at between 70-88db. Thats about the same volume as the vehicle noise standing at the traffic lights down the road at Pentonville Road. OK, the frequency of the noise and sometimes percussive nature of it will contribute to ear fatigue, but I didn't feel the need to resort to my ACS moulds (thank you #hearformusicians) at any point during the weekend. We also discouraged any jamming this year, and didn't have any ad-hoc performances on the stand. Yeah sure it got louder than 100db at times, but that was very rare, and usually due to an ad-hoc performance at someones stand, and the coincidence of half a dozen or so people trying something out at the same time and resorting to the volume knob to try and hear themselves... Everybody contributing, no single guilty party, and generally initiated by the visitors, not the guys manning the stands. Regarding the show itself, I am beginning to struggle with what sort of show you actually want or expect? There were definitely some other bigger brands missing, but they were either never, or rarely, there even when the show was at Olympia anyway. There were fewer smaller builders there, but they'll have their own reasons for that, and make no mistake, if people don't turn up and actually buy stuff it can be hard to justify, because believe it or not, directly or indirectly thats the only point of exhibiting! ...Who knew? Personally, I prefer the room, but didn't appreciate the extra 1 hour across London slog in the van before and after the show, but apart from exhibitor issues, those are my only thoughts on the weekend. On another point, can I also say, if you didn't even go, why on earth are you posting negative comments here? Thats not contributing to the debate in any way. ...and those of you who missed Cody Wright playing with Eric Gales to close the show performances (you probably didn't go because Eric is a guitarist not a bass player, and you just wanted a bass show...), you missed an absolute treat of the tightest improvisation and very best musicianship...
    2 points
  23. The most important thing is the reason why they wouldn't consider going, I think. IMO they're still valid comments.
    2 points
  24. I think weight has a part to play, just like everything else. I think it's often a by-product created in pursuit of rigidity, which I think is one of the main factors influencing the way a bass vibrates and reacts. Traditionally that can be achieved through lots of laminates (my Alembic had 11!), heavier woods that are stiffer or new materials like carbon necks, which of course are quite light. Nowadays I don't think there's a need for a rigid bass to be heavy and although I generally play in the studio sitting down I still prefer a mid weight bass just because from a technical standpoint I don't think unnecessary weight is acceptable. For me it's all about a rigid neck and a softer body wood to give that 'weight' to the sound, so it feels like you're slapping a suspension bridge cable rather than a piece of twine affixed to a dowel.
    2 points
  25. I’ve been doing an even worse job than usual of lurking!! But huge thanks to @Andyjr1515 for the setups and the mods..! Am excited to put the Squier to work @Sibob so cool you were at PLASA!!! And hilarious to be recognised by my modded bass Cheeky advert.. If any basschat crew are around I’m playing a (very!) small show with Nyah in Hackney Downs tomorrow: https://www.facebook.com/events/1334421266721824/ Cheers y’all! Tom
    2 points
  26. This is just such a great musical album with all players being in topform but for me as a bassplayer Jeff Berlin stood out even more.
    2 points
  27. Well I love the Bee Gees and Heart too....
    2 points
  28. The Yes Album. I had never heard bass sound like that, played like that, and such an important part of the composition. Back in the day it was a revelation, to me at least.
    2 points
  29. UB40 split and became two, as if one wasn’t already too many.
    2 points
  30. Being born in '73 I was too young to appreciate Joy Division when they were around. I got into them in my early teens through New Order and JD's Substance was the first album that really made me think about the bass, that and Power, Corruption and Lies.
    1 point
  31. Good to hear from a Jellyfish fan, I agree with everything thing you wrote. Such well crafted song's with killer hook lines/ choruses. Some of the song's sound like they were written in the late sixties or early seventies. I remember seeing them on MTV and thinking they looked pretty groovy, I think the video was "The king is half undressed" absolute perfect "power pop" tune. I've just ordered the deluxe edition CDs and I've heard the extra live tracks and spent the last two weeks trying to find as many live performances on YouTube...... I'm almost obsessed with them.....it's almost like discovering The Beatles for the first time. I don't think there's a bad track on either album. Certainly no justice in the world, when a band is so talented both playing, and in songwriting that they fall by the wayside. Check out on YouTube "produce like a pro" for one and a half hour interview with Roger Joseph Manning jr , where they go through the whole of Bellybutton. It's really interesting.
    1 point
  32. Exactly this. Only downside for me was that I think the cinema I saw it in had a lot of dust in the air, because towards the end my eyes kept watering. It must've been in the air because my wife's eyes were also watering a lot.
    1 point
  33. I ran a 9V daisy chain with several pedals for years with no issues. When I started doing a lot of practice with headphones, I noticed a lot of noise in my chain, so got a Cioks DC5. It did not solve my noise issues, that turned out to be my patch cables! Nowadays I have my pedals mostly sprawled over the floor of my music room with a 9V daisy chain and don't notice any noise issues with 7 pedals in the chain. Zoom/EHX digital pedals (TC and Mooer seem to be fine!) and some pedals with internal 9V-18V charge pumps seem to be the main culprit for noise in my experience and will require a separate power supply or just one with isolated outputs.
    1 point
  34. I didn't think it was that noisy; It was a lot less of a slapfest than I thought it would be. It was my first visit so can't compare to past events. I spent a lot of time in the bass workshop room and didn't find noise from the hall was a problem - the lack of space and no air-con was. I would go again, the cost of the ticket got me a decent amount of time listening to and learning from four top pros - this was the main reason for going. I'm never likely to turn up and walk out with a £2k bass, maybe a set of stings..
    1 point
  35. This is so awesome. Proper community stuff.
    1 point
  36. There are shortcuts by learning frequently used rhythms, and dividing it all mathematically initially. I will definitely make a video course!
    1 point
  37. It went to the first person who expressed an interest, unfortunately I think @mcnach was second or third. I wish I had six to sell then you could all have had one!
    1 point
  38. I speak from the experience of someone who's been playing one since something like 2010*. It's madness because: they weigh a tonne, they are rather neck-divey, and they have a very particular sound. It's the best idea ever because: that particular sound gives you a nice, fat low-mid authority which can sit well in certain styles of rock music; they're also very articulate at the dusty end of the neck, and the neck profile is rather nice for twiddly stuff. Having the two humbuckers does also make them surprisingly versatile. (Upgrading the neck humbucker with a DiMarzio Model One tightens up 'that' sound nicely, and is coil-tappable for even more versatility.) And, perhaps most importantly, they look f***ing awesome. *I recorded the majority of this album on an EB3, if you want to hear how it sits in a rock context
    1 point
  39. Nice to hear some positive feedback, too. I personally recognise many of the negative comments but also like to look at the show through the eyes of a younger self, who was wide eyed and awestruck at the first event I went too. I even remember being blown away by Nigel Clutterbuck slapping the hell out of something. I suppose it's fair to say that many of us here have a pretty in depth knowledge of gear and what's new - and I'd argue that the show isn't designed to cater for you as much as someone newer to the instrument who doesn't spend hours a day on gear forums. So I think it's important that we don't expect the show to have things that our fairly narrow niche tastes might crave, but instead try and support the show as much as possible. I've been to so many now that I know every stand there, and rarely want to play anything - and I get tired of some of the marketing and advertising and the whole thing can feel a bit creepy somehow at times but again I just remember walking in to my first one and thinking 'wow this is awesome' - and now I can appreciate the show for what it is, rather than expect it to blow me, personally, away. That said my experience is generally limited to the stands as I never get a chance to see any workshops etc, so that's a whole section of the show that I think is a big attraction, and it's a shame if they get drowned out. I really liked the format of the Manchester Bass Day where there was an auditorium for talks (a bit like our own SE Bass Bash!) which also lends a more professional feel to the performances and much better sound. Apologies that there was no Basschat stand this year, several reasons why mostly involving new parenthood but also costs and distance this time conspired against us. It also doesn't make much sense us having a stand unless we have something to show and sell, so in the future we might have a 'meet and greet' corner or arrange to meet at a certain stand so we can all say hello to each other. Cheers ped
    1 point
  40. I'll bare that in mind, if I do sell I'm very happy to post though.
    1 point
  41. Some good deals in the FS and worth keeping an eye out for something decent meeting your budget cropping up. This amp is in budget and has had positive comments from other owners (I've not had one myself, so can't vouch either way).
    1 point
  42. Needs must, no function band any more and new shiny things imminent so here's my full fat Helix up for sale, complete with the official Line 6 rucksack/carry bag. I bought it new from Bass Direct where it had been a show demo, so it had a full Yamaha refurb before me. It is is perfect working order. It's running 2.81 which is the latest version and has always updated perfectly every time. There are some tiny scuffs which I have tried to photograph but they've been touched up, and it also sports a full set of display protectors from Intime Nick's Designworx company. These are easily removable with no fixings left behind. It's a solid, weighty bugger so if it can be collected or we can meet then that would be preferable but I can post if necessary though that would cost extra. No trades please unless it's a Barefaced retro 610. (Sorry about the photos.my phone takes these extra wide images!)
    1 point
  43. Depends. Bands aren't like football clubs. Granted, if replaceable supporting members go then it's no big deal but if a main songwriter or iconic front man go IMO a band should change their name. After all, think of all the bitter disputes there've been over ownership of b(r)and names e.g. Floyd, G n R to name but two I dunno how Dr Feelgood can still carry on under that name as there are none of the original band members who wrote the material they're known for.
    1 point
  44. Here’s a section I’ve just written that I’ll probably add to the manual. (Formatting is better in the proper document. What do you guys think? Building your first sound Loading a pre-existing sound and playing around with the various parameters can be a very good way to learn how to manipulate sounds to your liking, but at some point you will probably want to start creating your own sounds. This next section will give you a few pointers on how to do just that. The examples assume you are creating a sound using the audio input for triggering. Connect the FI to your computer (a single cable is sufficient for this, unless you want to write your sound to the FI straightaway). Launch the Editor. Let’s start by zeroing out all the parameters so you can start from a clean slate. Using the block adjust tool in the bottom right of the Editor click Select All and Reset. Note that due to the various gain stages in the signal path you may need to raise several sliders above minimum in order to hear anything. To hear your dry instrument signal, turn up the INSTR slider in the Main Mixer. You should hear sound straight away (providing the pedal is not bypassed). To hear a sound using the synth you will first need to turn up no less than 5 volume sliders! These are as follows: At least one VCO waveform amplitude slider - e.g. VCO1 AMPLITUDE SAW; That VCO’s master volume - VCO1 AMPLITUDE VOLUME; The synth volume going into the filter - VCF INPUT SYNTH; The VCF outputs of the main mixer - MAIN MIXER VCF LIN and; MAIN MIXER VCF LOG. If you are in one of the two ADSR modes then you will also need to set the VCA envelope before a sound can be heard. To start with, set the S slider to 127 and leave all others at minimum. This gives a simple on/off gate signal when playing a note. (If you are in Vintage envelope mode then leave both the A and R sliders at minimum to achieve the same effect.) Lastly, the filter will need to be set with a sufficiently high cutoff to allow sound through. (You could set VCF TYPE to OFF to bypass it completely but for this example let’s use the filter.) Click the Vintage/New button to put the filter into New mode, set the slope to 24dB and raise the cutoff (VCF FRQ) slider to 122. You should now hear a sawtooth alongside the sound of your instrument. Lower the filter cutoff back down to 64 and you’ll hear the sound become more muted. Now raise the A and D sliders of the VCF envelope to 64. This sets an envelope shape, though you still won’t hear any difference until you apply this envelope to the filter. To do this, raise the AD/ADSR slider in the Filter section; set it to 64 for now. You should now hear a synth brass-type sound. Experiment with the positions of the A and D sliders of the envelope, the VCF FRQ slider, the AD/ADSR slider and the RESO slider to find a sound you like. If you want the filter to sustain at a cutoff level above that set by the VCF FRQ slider then raise the S slider of the VCF envelope. We recommend only using a single oscillator to start with until you have become familiar with the controls. Adding multiple oscillators adds complexity and you need to be careful with the levels if you want to avoid foldover distortion and clipping. When you are satisfied with your creation, click save to archive it to your computer. Let’s now look at creating a sound using the Distortion block. Use the block edit function to zero out all the blocks again. To hear a sound using the Distortion block you’ll need to turn up the following sliders: At least one slider in the Harmonizer Mixer section - e.g. INSTR The distortion block signal going into the filter - VCF INPUT DIST The VCF outputs of the main mixer - MAIN MIXER VCF LIN and; MAIN MIXER VCF LOG. Again, if not bypassed, the filter will need to be set with a sufficiently high cutoff to allow sound through. Let’s bypass the filter this time so set the VCF TYPE slider to OFF. At this point you should hear sound but it might be very faint. This is because the sound is being made using your instrument as opposed to the synth and the synth has a much hotter output than the instrument signal. If you recall, unity gain of the instrument input is achieved when its sliders are at 127. Turn the VCF DIST and HARM MIX INSTR sliders to 127. Now raise the DISTORTION TONE slider to 127 and you should notice a marked increase in volume. If it’s still not enough, try raising the VCF LIN and VCF LOG sliders. Now experiment with the positions of the DISTORTION GRADE and TONE sliders. You may need to back off some of the volume sliders at high GRADE settings. Now raise the HARM MIXER VOICE2 VAR slider until you hear distortion at a 5th above the original sound. Adjust the HARMONIZER TRANSPOSE VOICE2 slider to hear the different intervals. If desired, repeat the process with VOICE 3 and add in the VOICE1 slider. Experiment with different combinations, paying attention to the volumes, until you find a setting you like. You could also mix in some of your dry instrument signal using the INSTR slider in the Main Mixer. When you are satisfied with the result, click save. Hopefully you now have a better idea of how to go about creating your own sounds. Remember that you can create a sound using a mixture of the synth and the distortion blocks. If necessary, go back over the explanations given in the parameter block descriptions to acquaint yourself with what the VCO, LFO and effects slider do and experiment, again within a single VCO until you are comfortable. Don’t be afraid to try things out and let your ears be your guide. We hope that your Future Impact v3 brings you many years of joyful music-making!
    1 point
  45. Bought a stack knobs kit for my jazz bass. Arrived very quickly indeed & was fitted without too much hassle (after I read the instructions properly ). John was super helpful & really patient with this here dimwit 😁 The kit has massively improved my once active bass.
    1 point
  46. So much ukulele hate here, I didn’t realise ukelelism of this sort would be tolerated on this forum, moderators! Some of my best friends play the ukulele imagine their poor bare laps once we leave the EU... 😁
    1 point
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