icastle

[quote name='markstuk' post='1023294' date='Nov 14 2010, 12:01 PM']It can be adjusted for height/stability...[/quote] I could do with one of those. ...and perhaps one for my bass amp as well...

[quote name='Marky L' post='1023948' date='Nov 14 2010, 08:51 PM']Was just watching a bit of Motorhead live on youtube (2010, Rock In Rio - Portugal) and noticed in a shot how high Lemmy looks to have his action. I grabbed a pic and you can really notice it on his E string (can't recall the song but he was battering away at the A and D). Does it make hammering away at chords on a Ric easier?[/quote] I would imagine that the action is set high so that he can really use some force behind that plectrum without the strings smacking into other frets at the same time.

[quote name='danhkr' post='1023390' date='Nov 14 2010, 01:55 PM']Hi. I've recently purchased a new Ashdown ABM 500 Evo III head and have just noticed it says on the back 'manufactured in England'. I know the Evo II's were English, but I thought the III's were made in China. Not complaining, but can anyone tell me if they are all English, or if not, how I happen to have an English one?? Cheers.[/quote] Well, the components used to manufacture a product will have come from all over the place - semiconductors from Taiwan, resistors from Singapore, capacitors from Japan etc. So, regardless of whether it was manufactured in England or China, it'll be a product made from items sourced from all over the world. Probably a contentious point but... Who is going to have the most experience in constructing a product? A manufacturer that makes hundreds of thousands of items a year or a manufacturer that makes thousands of items a year?

[quote name='bartelby' post='1023630' date='Nov 14 2010, 05:31 PM']I used them when you had to order from the US, even with shipping they worked out cheaper than buying from UK suppliers. I did order 20+ of each component at a time though. Plus they send you a, telephone directory sized, catalogue each year for free. Which helps to quickly find part numbers.[/quote] Yeah. The quantity breaks are a much better price. I think they're more geared up for production runs.

[quote name='umph' post='1023472' date='Nov 14 2010, 03:04 PM']give bob a message he can order stuff in[/quote] I will. I used them for the first time ever last week, stuff was here the following day and was exactly what I'd asked for... so 10x better than M*pl*n without even trying...

[quote name='gafbass02' post='1023535' date='Nov 14 2010, 04:00 PM']Hope this dosn't make me sound like a massive brag, i just needed to share as everyone else ive gushed to about it has just gone.............. "Jaco who?"[/quote] I am so going to resist the urge to ask... Jaco..? Well done though, it puts all the years, months, weeks, hours or whatever into perspective. I'm not so good at being on the barrel end of praise though - I always have the urge to be somewhere a long, long way away at that point. An old blues musician (supposedly well respected but I know bog all about blues people) told me once "you're probably the best bass player I've played with this side of the Mississippi". After some discussion we settled on "this side of the A447" and I still felt uncomfortable...

[quote name='chrisba' post='1023922' date='Nov 14 2010, 08:35 PM']Somebody once called my playing "Simple and understated". As it was my first gig, I was pretty chuffed.[/quote] I got called "simple and understated" once. I wasn't actually playing though...

[quote name='BurritoBass' post='1023762' date='Nov 14 2010, 07:02 PM']"No really, I'm not!"[/quote] ...now move this piano out of the way and pass me the bagpipes...

[quote name='warwickhunt' post='1023678' date='Nov 14 2010, 06:12 PM']I need to source a pair of powered speakers for installation/use in my school, the budget is a max £650. I've decided to go for a pair of active 12's as they are 'probably' better suited to the environment; 10's might be found lacking to fill the Hall (not massive but medium/large) and 15's are likely to be a bit too large/heavy to be lifting off the wall mounts and storing. The cabs may also be required to act as monitors for larger school productions (my RCF system will do the FOH). Looking at Soundslive's site (my local supplier but I'm not tied to have to use them), I've narrowed it down (based on budget and 12" drivers) to the following pairs of cabs. Behringer Eurolive B412 DSP @ £641 DB Cromo 12 @ £600 HK F.A.S.T. 12 @ £649 Wharfedale Titan 12 @ £600 Has anyone any experience of any of these cabs or have I missed an obvious winner that would trump the above? The cabs would need to be purchased new so unfortunately 'used' cabs, no matter how good, are not an option! Many thanks for taking the time to respond. [/quote] I've been looking at the larger Studiomaster stuff, but they also do a GX12A - 12" Active, 140W each - just over £300 for a [b]pair[/b] and they're even prefitted with the standard 35mm top hats! [url="http://www.studiomaster.com/products/gx.htm"]http://www.studiomaster.com/products/gx.htm[/url] We've used Studiomaster desks and power amps for years now, they have a good reputation and have been 100% reliable.

[quote name='Pete Academy' post='1023795' date='Nov 14 2010, 07:19 PM']What kind of year have you had regarding gigs? Has there been a poorer turnout? Has the recession hit your gigs? What have you done to compensate? What are your plans for next year?[/quote] Definately more gigs this year than last. We tied up with a hotel that does the "complete wedding package" things and have had one or two weddings a month out of that. Pub and festival scene has stayed pretty bouyant around here and we did 4 consecutive nights during August - money has remained pretty tight in this area and we've not seen any tangible increase in income on this circuit. Local dep work has gone up massively, but dep work further afield has gone down a little - so all in all I count that as a "plus". On top of that, five studio sessions this year (only two last year) has meant I have even managed to afford a special meal out with my wife this year, even if she did complain that her Big Mac was overcooked... Next year, pretty much the same format with the exception of a new three (or perhaps 4) piece put together to work the local folk scene and a tour in Belgium with a reformed (or deformed as I call them) band from the time of the dinosaurs

[quote name='warwickhunt' post='1023800' date='Nov 14 2010, 07:23 PM']Tweeter has started making some none too pleasant noises (other than the nasty noise I make when I play), is it a case of replacing the whole unit (and do I need an Aguilar part) or are there replaceable components? I'll go off and do a search on t'interweb but wondered if anyone had first hand experience! [/quote] Aguilar's website reckons they have a 10 year warranty, but that is stateside and I dare say there are a different set of rules over here. You can usually get a replacement diaphragm assembly for tweeters (as long as they're not piezo, in which case they just get binned). Replacement diaphragm + torque wrench + 5 minutes = working tweeter. BUT - (and I can hear you swearing that there's always a damn "but") there will also be a crossover and associated cabling inside the cabinet - the problem might lie there. If it was me, before tracking down spare parts for the tweeter, I'd make sure that the connections to the tweeter are solid and perhaps find an old tweeter from something else and connect that up just to make sure it's not the crossover that's breaking down...

[quote name='bartelby' post='1023358' date='Nov 14 2010, 01:26 PM']I used [url="http://uk.mouser.com/"]Mouser Electronics[/url], but before they had a UK presence...[/quote] Not come across them before. Big range of components there but some of their components are twice the price of bitsbox unless you are buying 10 at a time. I'd perhaps use them for the more obscure components that bitsbox don't supply.

[quote name='icastle' post='1023054' date='Nov 14 2010, 12:49 AM']Ok. How about a cheap "no frills" pedal board (Stagg or something like that?), put some 1/2" wooden battens around the inside edges and make a plate out of a sheet of mild steel to sit on top of them?[/quote] Or perhaps something knocked up out of 19" blanking plates and some L brackets?

[quote name='The Twickerman' post='1023042' date='Nov 14 2010, 12:34 AM']Getting the innards in![/quote] Ok. How about a cheap "no frills" pedal board (Stagg or something like that?), put some 1/2" wooden battens around the inside edges and make a plate out of a sheet of mild steel to sit on top of them?

[quote name='1976fenderhead' post='999257' date='Oct 24 2010, 07:10 PM']"I", couldn't build my own if my life depended on it mate I guess you mean the price of parts? So parts + labour how much would you value?[/quote] Parts wise - I'd expect some change out of £20

[quote name='phil.i.stein' post='1022494' date='Nov 13 2010, 02:55 PM']..that might be the only way i'll ever have the time and willpower to learn how to read music. (assuming we'd both fit in the same cab)[/quote] I'm sure I could fit you both in. You'd have to take it in turns to blink though...

[quote name='The Twickerman' post='1022805' date='Nov 13 2010, 07:20 PM']I thought of that too - problem is accessibility![/quote] How do you mean? Getting hold of the stuff or getting into it once you've built it?

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='1016865' date='Nov 8 2010, 08:22 PM']I've never built a pedal before and I don't really understand electricity drawings either, but I love Big Muffs (and I cannot lie) and I've always thought it would be nice to have a Muff that can also go gated, and I've always fancied building something. Anyone think this is a really bad idea? Chances of me actually dying I think are fairly slim, I suppose I could annoy myself to death.[/quote] Couple of things that might be useful to note for this and any other projects you might get tempted to do: 1) Make sure any breaks that are needed in the veroboard are done before you start soldering. 2) Make sure you don't bridge the gaps between the copper stripes with solder. 3) Make sure that electrolytic capacitors and diodes are the right way round (capacitors have a + marked on them and diodes have a stripe that is represented by the stripe on the diagram). 4) Make sure transistors are mounted the right way round - on a layout diagram imagine you are looking down on your veroboard - the transistor should look the same way round. 5) If you need a reminder of how to translate resistor colour codes this is a neat little site: [url="http://samengstrom.com/nxl/3660/4_band_resistor_color_code_page.en.html"]http://samengstrom.com/nxl/3660/4_band_res...de_page.en.html[/url] 6) Unpolarised capacitors have a number of different identification methods. If the marking isn't obvious then [url="http://www.csgnetwork.com/capcodeinfo.html"]http://www.csgnetwork.com/capcodeinfo.html[/url] is useful. 7) Semiconductors are heat intolerant (transistors, diodes, chips etc) - use your soldering iron as little as you can get away with. A good rule of thumb for beginners is to solder one "leg" of a semiconductor and then find something else to do for a minute before soldering the next one (stops too much heat building up). 8) A 1N914 diode is the same as a 1N4148 diode in this scenario. If your project doesn't work when you plug it in and try it - don't panic. Go back down the list above and make sure you've followed all the points and check the layout of your components on the board to ensure the leads go into exactly the right holes on your veroboard. Had a quick look at bitsbox.co.uk and they sell all of the components needed for this - reckon on about £10 for the whole lot. Have fun

[quote name='daz' post='1016947' date='Nov 8 2010, 09:42 PM']I should have a go at this. I have a big kit of electronics components and some 'thingy' board (cant remember what its called now, the board for soldering onto) I also have a soldering iron and some solder, so the only thing stopping me is the layout designs.[/quote] <whispers> ...veroboard..?

[quote name='blind pilot' post='1020425' date='Nov 11 2010, 05:26 PM']right - I now have five pedals on my board, each with their own supplies, varying from 2.2mA up to 200mA, I have a power supply rated to 2 amps, my question is thus - can i just daisy chain from this ( in parallel) to power all my pedals? will i get issues with ground loop hum etc? Just sick of having so many wall warts! thanks y'all [/quote] Yep. I bought a premade 5 way daisy chain lead off the internet for £4 a few days back and then spent another £2 on odd connectors to make little adaptors that fit pedals that don't use a 2.1mm Neg tip input - works just fine

[quote name='Mog' post='1022387' date='Nov 13 2010, 01:45 PM']I've no problem using the ladies if its closer to the the bar [/quote] LOL - Do you get many repeat bookings or does your ASBO forbid them?

[quote name='warwickhunt' post='1022372' date='Nov 13 2010, 01:32 PM']re. the attitude of some bar managers. I'm finding the same thing and I wonder if it is just the pressures of running a bar is getting to them, hence their attitude to bands is 'factious' or could it be the actual calibre of bar managers! If you think about it, a few years ago I'd likely as not have dealt with the same manager for years on end when getting bookings/rebookings (generally on first name terms and matey with them) however, now I'm lucky if it's the same manger that is in place 3-6mths after we have booked/played. IMHO the calibre of manager is woeful as it's likely that many good candidates are thinking that the bar trade is a dead-end and likely to failure, hence any old bod is getting the job regardless of experience or attitude... all just my opinion mind! [/quote] No, I think you're spot on there. I can't be a lot of fun being in an industry where 10 pubs a day are closing (or whatever the latest figure is). As for the calibre of managers, absolutely - you'd need to be crazy to want to join a shrinking industry where the failure rate is as high as it is.

[quote name='Lord Sausage' post='1022323' date='Nov 13 2010, 12:46 PM']Maybe its because of the Elite clique![/quote] Can't be all that elite if people talk to me

[quote name='phil.i.stein' post='1022165' date='Nov 13 2010, 08:17 AM']fixed - to the wall. it needed brackets.[/quote] Right. That's you [b]and[/b] Doddy on my list of people to track down and insert into 8x10 cabs...

[quote name='The Twickerman' post='1022319' date='Nov 13 2010, 12:43 PM']Thanks for the link. Not really, no. I need something long and thin (ooo-errr).[/quote] Think you might have a problem buying something that shape "off the shelf" as I can't think of a generic use for it. Perhaps take a look at companies selling aluminium extrusion by the metre, cut it off to the right length and make a pair of end panels to fit? There's also metal conduit, usually galvanised steel - usually from electrical wholesalers and again sold by length. HTH