Jakester

Just got back from a fun gig, made somewhat scary by my pedalboard simply giving up the ghost moments before we started! For this particular gig, I use both electric and upright, and I'd recently rationalised my pedals down to a HX Stomp and drive pedal, with an always on tuner and a MIDI pedal to change presets on the Stomp. It's worked fine since I had that setup, the only previous hiccup being the power doubler cable worked its way almost imperceptibly out of the connection, giving some horrible noises. Once pushed back in though, all good! Used absolutely fine last weekend with no issues. Get on stage in a very rushed setup (15 mins to set up a 45-piece orchestra!) only to find no sound. Quick diagnostics suggest it's the pedals (direct into amp works); and for some reason, it's the Stomp. Ended up bypassing it completely and going direct into the amp; interesting swapping between DB and electric that way! One tune which called for swap mid-tune just had to be played electric. The other issue was when the first tune started I realised I hadn't actually tuned up on stage, so had to mute the amp, unplug, reroute into the always on tuner, tune, and then plug back into the amp before the bass solo part! Bit of a faff is understating it. Also meant no time to really EQ as it was all done on the Stomp, so DB was on edge of feeding back (because no HPF) and electric sounded very harsh until I'd tamed it later on. Still, blasted through the gig and got good feedback from the organisers, so can't say fairer than that! Someone's potato-phone cam footage: 014ab591-c0e8-4d1c-a969-e55664ef2f02.mp4 71b15e94-dbcb-458c-83bd-11248081c44c.mp4

The orchestra I play with, Orchestra of Everything, is playing the Main Stage at the Bradford Roots festival at Wiltshire Music Centre tomorrow at 1.15pm: https://www.wiltshiremusic.org.uk/event/bradford-roots-festival-2025/

If Boeing made speaker chassis the cone would fall out and they would spontaneously catch fire....

I’ve not tried the vinegar/steel wool thing, sorry.

I should say I had a fingerboard which someone else had dyed with leather dye, and whilst it looked great, under 'vigorous' playing the dye tended to leach out over your fingers, staining them black. It is possible to impregnate wood with epoxy resin (often used to stabilise softer woods). You need a vacuum chamber or bag etc and the proper type of resin though, and not sure how it would work on a harder wood like rosewood. (Is it 'proper' rosewood?)

Thanks - had one, it's not needed on the Stomp as you can use a HPF on the global EQ (i.e. affects everything).

Hmm, I do have one setup on my Stomp but I *think* the occasion I’m thinking of I wasn’t using it… will investigate because I usually use one.

Hm, not quite a nobrainer for me - I do like the One10 size, but carrying 3 often might be more of a pain than just one larger cab, plus it does limit me to only using that one head (my other/spare head doesn’t do 2ohm) so if it goes pop, I couldn’t just use any other head. (I find I tend to have to use two most of the time anyway as when I use one I get worried about the visible speaker excursion!) That said, it’s cheaper to get another One10 than the Three10, so that might swing it!

I've used Reaper and Logic Pro.

I have to say, I'm leaning towards a third One10 for my setup. I love the two One10s but in (very) loud environments they get a bit overwhelmed, so with an amp that will go down to 2 ohms I can't decide between a third One10 (with a tweeter - my other two don't) or a Three10 and flog the One10s....

Conversely I've had a Saffire and a Scarlett, and both worked fine out of the box for me. It's not always the manufacturer's fault....

I use a Boss WL20 and have occasionally used it with the DB fine. Because it's so light it could just 'hang' from the jack with no issue, and I've never had a problem with it since I've started using it. It's on your old Realist pickup which the jack is looped through the tailpiece so is sort of held parallel to it (no banging, knocking etc) - though I imagine if you're fairly vigorous it might wobble around a bi.

Thanks, yep, unfortunately I have other health issues which mean when I get something it really does a number on me. Already fully jabbed to the nines. Feeling a bit better this morning but still quite dizzy so I suspect discretion is probably the better part of valour in this case... 😭

I’ve spent the last few months practising for our big winter concert with the pop orchestra I play with. For the second year on the bounce, I’m coming down with flu the night before the gig. If it’s anything like the what my wife currently has, I’ll be in no fit state to play. Months of work down the pan. Grrr I hate getting ill!!!

I had a Baby Sumo; I had exactly the same issue; I think that although the preamp I was using was supposedly a line level output, it wasn't enough to properly drive the amp, meaning for a given value compared to an 'all in one' amp it was quieter. You could try another preamp before/after your main output, or try a buffer pedal that could up the output.

I find I don't need to do anything, I tend to get people afterwards being far more complimentary if I've been playing the upright than an electric - and that's with my very rudimentary upright skills (which are far worse than my electric skills). It seems to start conversations in a way that other instruments don't (and not just of the "ho ho, bet you've got a big car..." type).

I have (and until recently used for everything) a Tonebone OD (basically a Tonebone with a drive pedal attached). The EQ section is 'cut only', so there's no EQ boost at all. I'd say it probably isn't going to give you the 'active' tone it sounds like you're looking for.

You might be better off using a decent set of studio headphones, rather than studio monitors? That way you get decent sound reproduction at a lower cost than having to shell out for quality studio monitors and a subwoofer. That said, I bought some low/mid-range (i.e. cheap) full range active studio monitors and I can hear the bass just fine through them without any need for a sub etc.