BOD2

[quote name='AndyMartin' post='225952' date='Jun 24 2008, 03:34 PM']Rush - Spirit of Radio, the middle bit about salesmen[/quote] I think faux "reggae beats" were cool in the eighties, so everyone seemed to incorporate at the drop of a hat. "The Police" have a lot to answer for....

Ladies and Gentlemen. I present to you.....the S-Tek Bridge. [attachment=9994:S_Tek.jpg] Nice design. very solid. Excellent contact with body. Through body option. Fairly easy to adjust. BUT.....each string passes over a hardened steel "saddle" (the dark bit with the two allen key recesses). This saddle is locked into place with another allen bolt that lies horizontally under the strings at the front of the bridge. And if you don't ensure that bolt is tight then, when you take off a string, the saddle falls off. Now imagine, at a gig, you break a string and the allen bolt isn't tight. Off goes the saddle. It's small, black, and you're on a dark stage with a black floor. Better hope you have a spare bass handy....

For future reference, another option is an [url="http://www.bonnersmusic.co.uk/buy/Art/DTI_Dual_Transformer_Isolator"]Isolating Transformer[/url]. This breaks the physical connection between the phantom powered mixer and the DI device, therefore stoppong phantom power from reaching the device. It also can be used to eliminate ground loops. It's not particularly cheap but it's one of those "problem solving" devices that a good sound engineer should have handy.

There should be no problem in connecting a larger impedance speaker to the amp. The actual output power (Watts) is meaningless as it doesn't not equate directly to volume. A more efficient 8 ohm speaker might still give the same perceived volume as a 4 ohm speaker. Also the difference between 150W and 100W in volume terms is not as much as you might expect. It probably would still be better to obtain a 4 ohm replacement speaker, if possible. If you still want to go down the 8 ohm route then that should be ok. To wire in an extension socket for a second speaker take two wires (one from each connector on the combo speaker) and wire them to the tip and sleeve of a mono jack socket. Mount the jack socket somewhere on the back of the amp. It's that simple. That will give you a parallel speaker connection so that connecting an 8 ohm cab (to the 8 ohm combob speaker) would give a total load of 4 ohms. With this method there is a 50/50 chance that the second speaker cabinet could be wired "out of phase" with the combo speaker. If this is the case simply reverse the wires on the jack socket.

[quote name='Biggsy' post='225113' date='Jun 23 2008, 03:58 PM']Thinking about it, are there any other ways to achieve my goal of being able to use my Eden with 2ohms worth of cabs? Perhaps modifying the electronics, some kind of impendance converter or something? I'm not too bothered about the power aspect, I just want to move more air [/quote] Well, if you use two 8 ohm cabs together that would give you a 4 ohm load. So you'd have the same amp, but two cabs. If this interests you then popular advice is that the best results might be obtained with two cabs with the same speaker sizes rather than going for a different size speaker in the second cab. There's a recent thread on this. Another alternative is to go for a more efficient speaker cab (e.g. the BFM type). There are threads on this here too.

[quote name='Biggsy' post='225107' date='Jun 23 2008, 03:50 PM']There's a couple of line level outputs from what I understand, if the DI counts as one. From how you understood my mail, am I right in thinking that line-level isn't subject to any impendance, or at least that impendance is so (low/high?) it becomes irrelivant? I guess that would make sense.[/quote] Yes - line level doesn't have the same impedance restrictions that a speaker output has. As long as you put a line level output into a line level input you'll be ok (and there is quite a big variation in what constitutes an acceptable "line level" so there's a lot of flexibility there). Your DI will be line level but check if it's "post" or "pre" EQ. If it's "post-EQ" then that means the tone controls on your Eden will control the sound. If it's "pre-EQ" then the signal is tapped off before it reaches the tone controls which might not give you the sound you want when fed to a power amp.

It's possible to link amps together but not in the way you suggest. You cannot take a speaker output from one amp and feed it to the input of another amp. The signal from a speaker output is way too big to feed another amp, not to mention possible impedance problems etc. - either way something would get seriously damaged ! What you need to do is take a "line level" output from the first amp, then feed that into the second amp. If you have a "preamp out" on the first amp, that will do. Alternatively you should be able to take a signal from the "Send" of an FX loop from the first amp. Both of these would be "line level" signals. For the second amp it depends on if it's a proper bass amp or just a power amp. If it's just a power amp then feed the signal straight into the input. If it's a bass amp look for a "power amp in" or the "Return" of an FX loop might work. You may still be able to use the normal input of a bass amp but you'd need to put the input gain way down as the "line level" signal will be hotter than a normal bass guitar signal. As always when connecting equipment together, start with all the volume/gain controls way down then slowly bring these up to avoid overloading anything accidentally. Perhaps someone with experience of the Eden WT300 will post with more specific advice.

Had a quick look at the specs for the Zoom 506 and BDI 21. The Zoom manuals says it needs a 300 mA power supply. The Behringer manual says it needs 50 mA or greater. From that (and your experiments) it sounds to me like the Zoom uses a fair proportion of the 300 mAmps from your original power supply and didn't leave enough to fully power the BDI 21. Can you borrow a 1200 mAmp power supply from anywhere ? It would interesting to see if that would power everything without any humming - it's a pain to have so many power supplies on the go ! Be aware that power supplies can generate humming that can be picked up by guitar pickups and even through guitar leads, under certain circumstances. You'll have no problems with the actual DC power leads that go to the pedals (hum isn't generated on DC leads) but be careful wher you place the power supplies themselves in relation to other equipment in your chain.

How about this [url="http://www.absolutemusic.co.uk/shop/view_product.php?product=fosmr8mk2"]Fostex MR-8 Mk2[/url] ? This is the Compact Flash version (although note you'll need to allow for the cost of additional CF cards). It has 8 tracks, but only 6 faders since tracks 5/6 and 7/8 are stereo pairs. You can, however, record 4 tracks simultaneously as unusually it has 4 separate inputs. You can also "bounce" tracks onto the stereo pairs (i.e. reocrds tracks 1-4, then bounce to 7/8 then record 1-4 again, then bound to 5/6 then record tracks 1-4 again). It has a USB port which allows you to connect it to a computer. You can then transfer your recordings as standard WAV files which can then be written to the CD drive on the computer. There's also a Hard Disk version [url="http://www.absolutemusic.co.uk/shop/view_product.php?product=fosmr8hd"]Fostex MR-8 HD[/url]. I've just bought one of these myself and have to say it's very easy to use.

[quote name='squire5' post='224123' date='Jun 22 2008, 01:18 PM']OK chaps and chapesses,all tests complete 1.With batteries - all fine.No hum at all. 2.With daisy chain only - with 1 pedal,no hum.Any more than 1-Hum. 3.With 2 wall warts,one feeding each pedal - No hum at all. Conclusion......The 300ma wall wart with daisy chain is not capable of supporting more than 1 pedal at a time.I've sat here for the past hour swapping patch leads and power input leads and even thought that the bass was at fault at one point.Swapping for another soon dispelled that theory.I also noticed that depending on the order of the pedals,hum was more pronounced in certain combinations than in others. Looks like a more substantial power supply is the answer.[/quote] Check the ratings on the pedals themselves. They will usually quote the current (mAmps) required by the pedal. Add the figures together. If the total is more than 300mA then that power supply is definitely not powerful enough.

[quote name='cheddatom' post='222907' date='Jun 20 2008, 01:37 PM']Anyone who brings a childish picture of a penis with "tom" written on it will get a pint.[/quote] But not "dick" (or even "harry") ? I'd love to go but Stoke is to far away so I'd be a long time coming.... Enjoy the gig !

[quote name='waynepunkdude' post='222816' date='Jun 20 2008, 12:14 PM']Thats fine but why would you usev a di box when there is a balanced output on the front of the amp.[/quote] The main reason would be that, depending on the amp (and the sound guy can't be expected to know all amps), the level from the balanced output on your amp may change if you adjust the volume on your amp. You might (quite reasonably) do this to hear yourself better onstage but this could have and adverse effect on the FOH sound.

It won't do any harm but if you don't like the look you could try rubbing it down with something. Probably easier if you can remove the pickup cover first (to avoid scratching the plastic). I would try "Brasso" (can you still buy that ?) or "T-Cut" on a cloth first. If that doesn't work then gently rubbing with fine sandpaper should remove any surface rust.

How easy is it to open it up and have a quick look ? Any fuses should be fairly obvious and if they're glass-bodied you can tell if they've blown easily enough. A quick visual check of any connectors inside the amp wouldn't do any harm either. Also, doesn't that amp have a preamp valve inside ? If so then it might be worth reseating that in its socket.

Fuses ? Since the fans are spinning the fuse in the mains plug is OK. If there's a fuse below where the mains lead plugs in then this is probably OK too (although it would depend on it'e exact location in the circuit). Are there any internal fuses that can be replaced by the user ?

Note there are two types of footswitch - "Latching" and "non-latching" (or momentary) A latching switch is one that switches over and stays switched over until you press it again. A non-latching (momentary) switch will switch over and then back again with one press. You need the correct type to operate your equipment (check the manual, or quote the model number and someone should be able to identify which type you need). Beyond that, as cheddatom says, a footswitch is just a footswitch and some of them have the option to be set "latching" or "non-latching".

Andy Fraser back in the days of "Free" I recall reading somewhere that he would should Paul Kossof the guitar parts, Paul would take a while to get a hold of them but once he had done this he would adapt them, make them his own, and play them better than Andy could.

[quote name='bilbo230763' post='220710' date='Jun 17 2008, 04:15 PM']I am both but the industry I operate in seems to require a considerably higher number of craftsmen than artists (like most industries, I guess). My aspirations towards being an artist are, therefore, frustrated. I have to, therefore, resign myself to being a craftsman who not only can't create in the proper sense of the word but has to accept that, to use a culinary metaphor, the music business is based around a chain of fast food restaraunts and not delicatessans. I thus have to not only operate as a craftsman rather than as an artist but I as a burger flipper instead of a chef. Pisser, eh?[/quote] And all this in a world where the masses seem happy to be fed the musical equivalent of "Turkey Twizzlers" ? (to continue in the culinary vein). Where is the our Jamie Oliver when you need him ?

[quote name='queenofthedepths' post='220684' date='Jun 17 2008, 03:50 PM']It's probably not worth pointing out that the Latin root of the word "art" is "ars", which means "craft" I do know exactly what you mean, though. I think I'm the artist in my band, since I write nearly all the material, but art doesn't do anyone any good if a craftsman can't interpret it. Otherwise it never leaves the conceptual stage.[/quote] So we are all "ars's" then ? I think you can probably be both - in your example you would be the "artist" but with craft skills allowing you to interpret your ideas. In that case I would say you would primarily be an artist.

I'd be inclined to pull everything gently out of the cavity (undo the nuts on the controls to allow them to move backwards) then examine all the solder joins. It might be a dry joint or a half-broken wire connection to one of the pots or the circuit board. Look for dull grey joints (good solder joints should be shiny) and check for broken strands of wire at all joins. Redo any dull solder joints and cur off and remake any part-broken wires. Also check the battery clip connections and the jack socket.

Inspired by a couple of threads about cover bands and integrity, it occurs to me to pose the question ... "Do you see your own playing as an art or as a craft" ? This is not meant to be a judgemental question, I'm just curious to see people's opinions. My own personal feeling is that my playing is more of a craft. Certainly at the moment. It's possible that I could develop more in the "art" side given the right circumstances but I don't feel I have those right now. I don't feel this is necessarily a bad thing. I think that in a band situation it might be useful to have one or a couple of artists who handle the creative writing and some craftsmen who help interpret their ideas - perhaps a band full of artists might get a fraught due to conflicting ideas. Anyway, over to basschat. What are your thoughts on the matter ?

He's claiming he's a drummer ? Is he trying to suggest that somehow drummers are not intelligent enough to notice these things ? Now where could he possibly have got that idea from....

[quote name='bassaussie' post='220387' date='Jun 17 2008, 09:48 AM']However, if I had to point to some damning evidence, I'd say this might be it. It's the last purchase he's made, 11 June 2008. [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250249467610"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=250249467610[/url] His bass auction was posted 15 June. I don't now if he could've received the neck plate in time for those photos, but it all looks very questionable.[/quote] Now is it just me or does that photo of the bass from the rear look as though it's been "touched up" ? The neckplate seems to jump out of the photo somehow, as if it's not ion the same light as the rest of the photo, and it looks slightly offset to the left ? (Now...where are these photos of the Apollo moon landings ....) Suspicious, moi ?

[quote name='Mr Cougar' post='220258' date='Jun 16 2008, 10:18 PM']Question then: does the variable resistor that is the volume effect the amount of wattage which goes into the speakers? I read the article, it doesn't say anything about the numbers being meaningless, the volume is like a valve increasing or decreasing the amount it lets through to the power amp in terms of signal, so does it also change the watts that the actual amp sends into the cab or is the wattage being fed into the cab uniform regardless of the volume. 14 years playing and I've never thought about this in detail![/quote] Yes. If there is no signal coming into the amp there will be no power being sent to the speakers (apart from a small amount of background noise which will consume some power). If the "volume control" is passive and simply bleeds off some of the signal, then the remainder is sent to the amplifier sections and uses power to amplify it. The more signal sent the amplifier the more power it will use to amplify this signal.

[quote name='Adrenochrome' post='219939' date='Jun 16 2008, 03:44 PM']Fast fret and lots of wiping do it for me.[/quote] Ok enough of the bizarre sexual practices ..... what do you do to keep your strings clean ?