mrtcat

3 hours ago, intime-nick said:

No probs. Prototype mounting brackets have printed OK. @mrtcat, let me know where to post them via pm. 

Fantastic stuff. Pm sent and I'll get pics of the mounted helix up as soon as fitted. 

12 hours ago, BigRedX said:

AFAICS the other two feet are under the front of the expression pedal to give the Helix a bit of support at that point.

@intime-nick

Yep, pretty sure you're right. Shouldn't be a problem to leave the feet on in the middle as the edge fixings look like they'll be thick enough to balance it out.

6 hours ago, intime-nick said:

Righto, here are the fixing plates for a Helix Floor - top & bottom views shown.  They are slightly thicker and a bit larger overall than the LT versions to cater for the fact that only 4 are used to fix the unit down instead of 6 on the LT.  100% fill, printed in ABS and use the existing screws that retain the rubber feet to attach to the Helix.  Use CSK wood screws to fix to the pedalboard.

Re. the sockets on the back, i've added a bit of extra length so you can rotate them away from any interfering sockets if needed but they should be OK lined up perpendicular to the front & rear edges of the Helix

One thing you could confirm before i print some to test - I am assuming the rubber feet on the Floor are the same as the LT - if you could measure the height of the rubber feet and the diamater of the fixing screw (it should be M3), that'd be helpful

 

EDIT : they don't have to be green !! (other colours are available)

Looking great. Yes the feet are identical on both btw. There are six feet on the helix floor model but two are pretty close together near the middle so no use for a fixing. 

37 minutes ago, dmckee said:

On that front actually, I wonder if that might be tricky with a chambered body..... 

Why would it need routing? Pretty sure John can sell you a pre to fit as it is.

29 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

@intime-nick Here's a photo of the underside of my Helix:

The two feet at the front of the unit (bottom of the photo) centres are both 20mm from their respective sides and 12mm from the front. I know it doesn't look like that but it's a combination the way the sides curve and lens distortion of my camera.

The two feet at the back of the unit (top of the photo) centres are both 65mm from their respective sides and 38mm from the back. However the various sockets protrude 8mm from the back panel which may affect the positioning of any screw holes for accessibility.

If you need any further measurement, just let me know.

Beat me to it but absolutely spot on with the measurements,  I wrote down the exact same. 

56 minutes ago, intime-nick said:

They are 3D printed ABS with a 100% fill and are very strong.  Happy to have a look at making some for the Helix Floor model if you like.  Will need some rough dimensions of where the rubber feet are so i can design them for the board fixing screw access.   You may find it a bit tricky using bike chain side-plates on the Floor due to the feet being inset under that model - I know Dood has an LT which makes it easier using that method as the feet are close to the outer profile.

Wow, that's cool thank you. I'll take some measurements and pics this evening. Obviously I'll happily cover all costs and time etc.

10 hours ago, dood said:

You can either just buy a normal chain off of eBay and a chain splitting tool, thus giving you loads and loads of pieces. Or you can be really lazy and buy the 8’s off of eBay for a disgusting mark up, like I did! Doh!

Haha awesome thanks Dood. Might just buy the splitting tool, my wife hasn't touched her bike in 9 years so doubt she'd notice. 

1 hour ago, dood said:

My method I've used is in no way as remotely as cool as Nick's awesome 3D printing (which just has me amazed!) - I've used the 'Bicycle Chain Method' - Which should be easy to find on YouTube - but essentially, you can get the figure of 8 segments from bike chains and do the same as Nick as above. 

Regular bicycle chain links? Where did you get them? Thats a really clever plan because those little links are really tough. 

1 hour ago, intime-nick said:

Although it’s on an LT, I made these to screw the unit down to my Swan pedalboard (the green bits).   They are designed to replace the rubber feet and use the same mounting screws.  The ones for the Helix Floor would need to be of a different design due to the rubber feet position but it’s possible. 

That's really cool and very much what I had in mind. Are they plastic? Yes the floor unit has feet in slightly less accessible spots.

6 hours ago, BigRedX said:

That looks good.

Where did you get the case from? How much higher does it make the footswitches compare with the helix not being in the case? Also how have you fixed the Helix into the case?

 

It's from Swan Flight cases. It's the medium pedal board one and it raises the whole unit by about 6cm. The helix is velcro'd to it but I'm going to see if I can find a slightly stronger method by using a little base plate at each corner that can screw down to the board. The added height isn't really a problem for me and it allows me to run all the cables under the board and keep everything tidy.

1 hour ago, dood said:

It just looks so tidy! Brilliant on stage and so easy to pack and go!

That's exactly where the helix shines for me and us as a band. With a digital mixer we just recall settings and tweak so setup and soundcheck is done in under an hour. Pack down is about 30 mins. For a function band that regularly has a 2hr plus drive home it's a revelation. 

Finally got mine flight cased up. After recently adding a wireless I wanted a plug in and go set up. Had the helix 6 months now and absolutely love it. I don't use many fx but do use the built in darkglass od pedal lots and love how easy it is to switch basses between songs and just step on a setting ready for each one. Both me and guitarist have ditched backline completely now. Helix and IEMs all the way baby!

Great to hear that the UE6s were impressive. I've been weighing up options and think these are now strong contenders. 

3 hours ago, uk_lefty said:

I'd like to try this but we don't have the kit to make it happen, sadly. Not sure if there's the option to rent out this kind of stuff in a decent rehearsal studio? Suppose in-ears aren't something you want to be renting.

There are some really good universal in ear monitors for around the £40 mark but it really needs the full cooperation of the whole band and a mixer with enough aux outs. It's a beautiful thing when you start to hear everything in balance and clarity. 

Our drummer used to use a sennheiser Freeport but had to change to a regular mic because he tends to hum whilst playing. Took us ages to work out what it was lol.

I just can't deal with loud rehearsal. It seems like such an antiquated way of working. We use a decent electronic kit, amp modelling and in ears to rehearse. The clarity is awesome and by plugging a laptop into the mixer we can record the whole session. At gigs the only difference is an acoustic kit instead of electronic and a pa speakers so no boomy wall of sound there either. 

My local shop is PMT in Northampton. They're perfectly good and always friendly. Sadly I rarely use them because I hardly ever buy basses new because of depreciation (and my recent new custom build had to be returned lol so there's another reason I'm likely to stick to 2nd hand in future) and anything that's tech like my helix, wireless stuff, pa gear etc I just buy from whoever gives the best deal online. I know what I'm looking to buy and find this very forum far more reliable when it comes to advice on what to buy than any shop I've ever used (the In Ear Monitors thread is a glowing example of what this forum can give in terms of advice and shared knowledge).

I don't blame PMT for not being my go to shop because, like I said, they're perfectly fine but I just don't really need the advice and of course if you look hard enough you can always find stuff for a better price online. 

1 minute ago, wateroftyne said:

...or do you mean from one Polish facility to another? If so, my apologies.

Yes, I remember when my first was built it was one of the very last before they moved to a new factory.

1 minute ago, wateroftyne said:

FWIW, they've been built in Poland for years...

Do you think this might just be an upscaling issue then? Seems a real shame tho cos my first Maruszczyk was sublime.

This is really sad to see. 

My personal feeling is that the move to the new production facility in Poland has caused a real decline in quality. Possibly (and this is mere guesswork) new staff being trained on the job coupled with the pressures of settling into new facilities alongside rising numbers of orders. The pressures are causing the cracks to show.

I really hope El_JimBob gets his bass sorted. That's not right at all.

Best drummer I ever gigged regularly with was an absolutely brilliant player but a complete tool. He once turned up at a wedding reception in a room that we knew was going to be tricky (high ceilings, marble floor, nothing to break up sound at all) with two kick drums and a China ride on either side of him and totally leathered the kit all night. The day we sacked him it was the biggest relief ever. Impossible to work with idiots like that.

We have 2 equinox megabars which are great but no longer available.  Guitarist has a set of the stairville ones but although the light output is equally as good they're definitely more flimsy. We had one equinox bar damaged once but a local guy did a great repair job for not much money so might be worth considering repairing before replacing. 

I'm pretty sure that the price is set around £25 a piece wherever you get them in the UK so have a quick search and see who'll do free delivery. 

We play the Freddie G drum academy at Sparsholt college in Winchester. The venue is just the campus bar but we get to play with the celebrity drummers. So far we've played with the likes of Gregg Bissonette, Steve White, Ian Matthews (kasabian), Craig Blundell and Woody from Bastille amongst others. Always great fun.

1 hour ago, bubinga5 said:

Does anyone think he/his company might have over stretched themselves sales wise and in doing so compromised quality. Im not saying this is the case, Just a thought. Ive owned an Elwood 5 and it was superb.

 

But,.. I went for a meal in Stratford 2 weeks ago. Was awful. Wifes food was cold, food was bad. Next night it might have been wonderful food. Wont ever go back, why would I bother and risk having a crap meal again when there're a hundred more restaurants that will take my money. Reputations can be destroyed with one bad experience. This meal was only £50. Adrians basses are over £1000. This is why builders like Roger Sadowsky are on the top of there game all the time.. He probably understands the power of TalkBass etc also.

I think yes to a point the business has become a bit stretched but Adrian still seems fully committed to putting his money where his mouth is and getting involved. I think that with my issue he actually learnt something about his own business. They have opened a new production facility which isn't close to where Adrian is based and I think maybe he's realised he needs to keep a closer eye on what leaves the factory. 

I will continue to watch with interest and, if it looks like he is back on top of things, I'll definitely consider buying another Maruszyczyk.