BOD2

^ what he said. Turn all the volumes down, connect up to either input then bring the volumes gradually up to a working level and see whcih sounds best. As long as you control the volume you won't do any damage. Wouldn't recommend a bass amp for guitar, though. The amp/speaker response might be lacking in the higher frequencies and that could make a guitar sound a bit muffled.

I've found the same thing, especially on more complex songes, BUT even when you feel you're forgetting it all some of it is sinking in subliminally. If you keep at it there will come a point when it suddenly clicks unexpectedly. I find this usually happens after a break ( i.e. a day or two) and when I go back i find I can remember more than I'd been expecting. I did have probelms remembering the note sequence in Simple Minds "Waterfront", though

[quote name='fusionbassist1' post='57940' date='Sep 9 2007, 10:20 PM']Thanx for that. I guess it's down to personal preference then.[/quote] That seems to be the conclusion.

[quote name='fusionbassist1' post='57889' date='Sep 9 2007, 07:56 PM'][url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/furman_pl8e.htm"]http://www.thomann.de/gb/furman_pl8e.htm[/url] where abouts in the entire bass/head/two cabs setup does this go :s??[/quote] You plug the power conditioner into the mains supply. Then, on the rear of the power conditioner there are 8 IEC power outlets. You get a male IEC to female IEC lead [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/apart_mbac.htm"]like this[/url] and plug one end into the power conditioner and the other end into the power in for your amp. You can repeat this for another 7 devices (provided you don't exceed the max load of the power conditioner). As its rack mounted, it's ideal for supplying all of the power for up to 8 devices in a large rack. Permanently wire up all of the rack devices with IEC-IEC leads inside the rack then you just need to connect one lead to the mains to power up the whole lot. Of course [url="http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=33534&doy=9m9&C=SO&U=strat15"]this[/url] is a whole lot cheaper and depending upon how you read the debate above, may or may not do the same for your sound !

The other "basic" rule about monitors that is easily overlooked is to keep the level as low as you can manage with - lower levels mean less chance of feedback. To that end, as mr gig suggests, try to get the monitors as close to the ears of those using them as is practical as this means you can turn them down more.

I agree with what dirtystatic said above .... Assuming you've removed all trace of "Rice Crispies" from the amplifier... In order of ease of operation the possible solutions are 1. Clean the pots and jack sockets using a contact cleaner fluid (e.g. Superservisol) 2. Check the circuit board for dry solder joints 3. Check/replace capacitors The second option requires you to be handy with a soldering iron. Solder joints should be shiny and silver, not dull and grey. With a little care you can resolder "dry" joints fairly quickly. Option three is much more serious, especially as it requires you to source new capacitors of exactly the same ratings. This is not something to undertake lightly - it's time consuming and there's no guarantee it will fix the problem.

Are they powered wedges ? If so check the EQ settings to make sure that the controls haven't been nudged in transit. Set the EQ flat to begin with. Try to avoid boosting any EQ if possible. If you have a graphic EQ try cutting the EQ on each slider in turn (set them all flat then put one slider down - try that then put it back to 0 then try the next slider and so on). For most mics the best feedback rejection position is directly behind the mic "on-axis" - i.e. not off to the left or right but directly behind the mic. If you are playing with a solid wall immediately behind you, try moving the mic forward, away from the wall. You'll get sound reflections off the back wall that will go straight into the mic and can cause feedback. Moving the mic away from the wall - even only a foot or two, can help here. If all else fails you can get "feedback destroyers" and attach that between the AUX send and the monitor. This will look for "ringing" frequencies in the monitor path and automatically reduce the level of that frequency to cut the feedback. A feedback destroyer shouldn't be necessary if you follow the above steps but is there as a last resort.

The speaker cabs are wired correctly, you just got the terminology wrong. "Daisy-chaining" cabs in the way you describe will actually connect them in parallel not series. The important thing, however, is that two 8 ohm cabs in parallel give you a 4 ohm load and the impedance selector on the amp should be set to 4 ohms. Note that if you ever use just one cab you must change the impedance selector to 8 ohms. The only potental drawback of daisy-chaining the cabs is that all of the power goes through the first cable. If thats a good quality heavy cable then that should be no problem. If you have two speaker outputs on the amp and wire one output to each cab then the power is split equally between the two leads. Again, this shouldn't be an issue with good, heavy speaker leads. Valve amps do run hot. Exactly how hot depends on how hard they are driven, how well they are cooled, and how hot the ambient temperature. You should check that the fan is working ok. If the valves are not biased correctly this could lead to them running hotter than normal. I'm not familiar enough with Ampeg amps to know if this is likely to be a potential problem. If the amp is new then the "slght burning smell" might just be things settling down. Did you buy it from a shop ? If so I'd ask them about it just to check that it's ok. You could also contact Ampeg directly and ask them if they think there might be anything worth checking out. They have a [url="http://ampeg.com/support.html"]Support Page[/url].

[quote name='Jase' post='56053' date='Sep 5 2007, 04:43 PM']Right, so....if 280 watts RMS is just that, then what does it mean if it says 580 watts peak ?[/quote] RMS is effectively an "average" power across a wide range of frequencies which gives a good basis for comparison between different amps and speakers. "Peak power" indicates transient power peaks, which can be sustained for very short bursts anmd may be frequency dependent. It's best to ignore "peak power" and "music power" and any other power ratings and stay with RMS as this gives the most standard indication of power rating.

[quote name='Phaedrus' post='55730' date='Sep 5 2007, 09:13 AM']But if I interpret [url="http://www.prosoundweb.com/studyhall/jbl/lowpower.php"]this article[/url] correctly, underpowering a speaker can cause as much damage as overpowering it.[/quote] Oh no !! don't bring this debate back This has been discussed in depth earlier. The key issue to note for we bass players is the statement in the article "These harmonics can be particularly dangerous to high frequency drivers." This is not such an issue for bass amplifiers/cabinets. However, the Guidelines at the bottom of the article are all very good advice - in particular "Do not drive the amplifier into clipping" and all of the advice above is sound.

Is the battery for the preamp ok ?

Active basses uses a stereo jack socket with, as you say, 3 connections. If you look at a stereo jack PLUG you'll see how the three connections work - TIP - connects to the tip (ball end) of the jack RING - connects to the small metal ring immediately behind the tip SLEEVE - connects to the large metal sleeve of the jack barrel, immediately behind the ring Stereo jacks are also know as "Tip, Ring, Sleeve" or "TRS" jacks. See here [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tip_ring_sleeve"]Wikpedia[/url] A MONO jack has only a tip and a larger sleeve. When you put a mono jack into a stereo jack socket both the ring and sleeve of the socket will touch the larger sleeve of the plug. This effectively connects the ring and sleeve contacts of the socket together. This principal is used to switch the active circitry on when you insert a jack plug into the socket. The negative side of the battery is connected to the sleeve contact and then a wire goes from the ring contact to the preamp. The positive side of the battery is permanently wired to the preamp. With no jack in the socket the ring and sleeve contacts are open (not connected) and no battery power can go to the preamp. When you insert a monmo jack into the socket the ring and sleeve contacts are shorted together (by the barrel of the mono jack) which connects the negative side of the battery to the preamp and switches the preamp on. Example here [url="http://www.emginc.com/downloads/wiringdiagrams/BTseries.pdf"]EMG preamp wiring[/url] Consequently - don't leave a jack plug in the socket of active guitar when you're not using it (the battery will run down) and don't use a stereo jack lead as the contact between ring and sleeve will not be made.

Latching switches usually has two wires going to it. When the two wires are connected together the device is in one state and when the two wires are not connected together the device is in the other state. If I understand your requirements correctly you need one latching switch to operate the "mute" function of the amp (a SPST switch will do this) and another switch to switch the two AG500s off/on together (one off when the other is on and vice versa). Assuming there is no problem "daisy-chaining" the two AG500s in the FX loop of the amp, and that the latching switches do operate as you suggest then the circuit diagram below should do the job. [attachment=2040:Switches.JPG] One switch operates the mute function. The important thing about the other switch is that the two "sides" of the switch should be wired differently as shown. This will ensure that one pair of wires is connected when the other pair is not, thus giving you the "one on while the other is off and vice versa" function. Put the whole thing in a box with 3 jacks to connect the wires and you're working. A further refinement would be to use a 3PDT switch instead of a DPDT switch. This gives you a third set of poles that will switch off/on to which you could attach an LED circuit to show which AG500 is selected. Any questions - please ask.

I'd agree with Dood above. MIDI isn't ideal for this purpose (and it may not even be possible to send all the right message simultaneously) plus MIDI foot controllers aren't cheap on top of the cost of the switching box itself. Using DPDT switches might work (there are even triple pole switches) depending on the complexity of your switching needs, Another possibility is to use a powered multiple-pole relay. There are various options available. I've used one before that could switchover 4 poles simultaneously. You hook the relay up to a simple footswitch and a 12V power supply and when you press the footswitch you switch all 4 poles from one state to another. There's no reason why you couldn't use more than one relay/switch in the same box.

Started off on guitar. Played that for 25 years before being asked to help out on bass, which I did and then became much more interested in bass. Although strangely enough I had "taught" two band members in previous bands how to play bass (showed them the basics and wrote tab bass lines for them to get them started) and I've had a bass in the house for years and years - I guess the writing was on the wall although I never realised it. I'm not in a band at the moment and am now torn between the two !

[quote name='Phaedrus' post='52811' date='Aug 30 2007, 02:38 PM']Can anyone else even pretend to be interested? [/quote] Ok I'll pretend. Sorry mate - no exprience of that gear but I do agree with your overall pihilosophy

I made a really cheap one with a flat piece of plywood for the cab to sit on and two wedges of plywood screwed to each side of this. It didn't look pretty but once painted black it was fairly invisible and did the job.

^ yes - what he said (is there an echo here ?) It wasn't clear from your original question that you had mini-pots already (I'd assumed it was a Fender which would have full size pots). It would certainly be less work to replace like with like.

^ yep - what he said. No difference except the size. Japanese makers seemed to favour the mini-pots for some reason but they did the job just as well as the full-size ones.

[quote name='Sibob' post='51791' date='Aug 28 2007, 03:57 PM']So the old pots have "A500k" then the ohm sign after it, so obviously its two 500k pots (overkill for a passive bass?), dunno what the 'A' prefix means. They looked kinda small, but i didn't think anything of it! Just been to Allparts and picked up two 250k linear pots, got them back and tryed placing them in the bass, and they're too wide for the routing!! Cool.... lol So i it looks like the originals were 'mini' pots?! I think i'll just try sanding some of the rout away so the full size pots fit in! Si[/quote] A500k = Audio (logarithmic) Taper 500 kOhm. B500k = Linear Taper 500 kOhm So you've had log taper pots but if the 500k value was too high then this could shift the usable part of the pot into a very small band. It'll be useful to know what difference you hear with 250k linear pots. Just out of curiousity, what make of bass is this ?

[quote name='Sibob' post='51714' date='Aug 28 2007, 12:59 PM']I would say that the way the Volume increases/decreases on my Passive USA Jazz and my P-Bass copy is completely different. The Jazz is a smooth transition and the P-bass is how i described above, to my ears the later is pretty unusable in a gig situation if looking for subtle changes. Cheers for quick replies btw! Si[/quote] Have a look on the metal shell of the old pots for any writing. Usually that will identify the value and type of pot. If you find anything post it here and we can see if we can identify what you've got already then recommend what to replace it with.

[quote name='Sibob' post='51707' date='Aug 28 2007, 12:46 PM']I thought Log pots were the ones with all the variation at one end of the pot?? Now i'm confused lol[/quote] Well yes you're right but that mimics the way our ears actually respond to volume - hence why log pots are often called "audio" pots. TBH fitting audio or linear pots will probably not make that much difference and it's something you would quickly get used to. Max volume and min volume would be the same with both, it's just the bit in the middle that would be different. Fender fit audio pots to their basses so most people generally do the same when they replace the pots.

The pots for a P-bass are usually "logarithmic" (or "audio-taper") and not linear. A logarithmic/audio pot gives a smoother variation in volme throughout the travel of the pot, whereas a linear one would have all the variation at one end of the pot travel. Strictly speaking you should use a logarithmic pot for the volume control and a linear one for the tone control but no-one (including Fender) seems to bother about that but it should be logarithmic/audio for the volume. You also need to check the shaft of the original post and get the same shaft-type for the new ones (to ensure the knobs will fit ok). There are two shaft types - splined and solid. Just pop the knobs off and check what's underneath. Stock Fender P-Bass post are 250k log/audio and usually splined shafts. The best makes seem to be CTS or Alpha. Go for full-size and not "mini" pots. [url="http://www.wdmusic.co.uk/shop/products.php?category=317&page=4"]WD Music[/url] sell a big range.

[quote name='Chopthebass' post='49961' date='Aug 24 2007, 09:31 AM']Thanks guys. So, if I get a gig on a boat or powered from a generator, are you saying that the voltage or current can fluctuate and that's why you need a conditioner in those circumstances? And you mention about USA mains - does this spike, and is that what the conditioner protects against?[/quote] "Surge protectors" are used to protect against spikes. These are cheaper devices, although most "power conditioners" will also include surge protection. A power conditioner removes "noise" from the mains supply. In this context "noise" is more subtle variations in the voltage as opposed to spikes are surges which can be quite brutal. If you think of the AC supply as a sine wave (whether or not you can remember what that is will probably depend on how long ago you left school ) then "noise" can be thought of as small jagged lines superimosed on and distorting the smooth curve of the sine wave. A power conditioner should remove this and restore the smooth sine wave. For "temporary" mains supplies (e.g. generators, outdoor festivals etc.) there is more chance of noise on the mains supply whereas standard indoor mains supplies in the UK should be quite stable. So if you play outdoors a lot then there is more of a case for a power conditioner - although for best results all band equipment and not just the bass should go through one. The big debate is how much audible difference you will notice with conditioned versus normal mains supply. Hi fi buffs will tell you there is a big difference. I've never A/B'd this so I have no idea. I suspect the difference might not be that noticable in a live situation, given all the other variables that come into play, but it might be useful in a studio. At the end of the day you pays your money.....

From the horse's mouth [url="http://www.furmansound.com/page.php?div=01&id=WHY_PWR"]Furmansound.com[/url]. The consensus seems to be that these are not actually necessary in the UK as the UK supply is fairly "clean", whereas US power supplies are not. Note that if it's just "surge protection" that you want then there are many much simpler (and cheaper) devices available.