BigRedX

Thanks! However these days I need 5-string basses for one band and Bass VIs for the other, so unfortunately this doesn't have enough strings for me.

I see you have a thin lead going to the PSU distribution. What is on the other end of that? A "wall-wart"? A transformer block with a mains lead? Captive or on an IEC socket? Might be worth taking a photo of this including the UK adaptor so we can advise further.

Since image is very important to me, and by the time they have passed through my Helix all my basses sound near to identical, so long as I find them playable the aesthetics come first and foremost. I'm not a bedroom/studio only player, and when we gig my band do gig, we don't play on a darkened stage or behind a curtain so how my instruments look matters. I once bought a competitively priced, very ordinary, electric guitar thinking that since I was only going to be using for writing it didn't matter that looked dull and boring; within a couple of years I found myself needing to play guitar live in my band at which point it was replaced with something far more exciting looking (and also considerably more expensive). I would love it for interesting-looking guitars and basses to be priced at Squier/Epiphone/Yamaha Pacifica levels, but that's simply not the case. Currently my least expensive bass - a Burns Barracuda - cost me about £600 and that's just my back-up Bass VI. All my other guitars and basses cost me between £1k and £2k.

That's good news. Personally I'd ditch the adaptor as it's probably putting unwanted stain on the laptop headphones socket and either buy or make a couple of suitable length 3.5mm TRS to dual 1/4" jack leads.

IME you get a completely different level of service from a delivery company when you are a business regularly sending out items, to that of a private individual waiting for their delivery.

I don't so how sending the audio via USB is going to be any lower latency than using the headphone out sockets of your laptop. If you are getting noticeable latency in your current set then the problem lies elsewhere. I'd be looking at the USB bus architecture. Does Windows have a utility like the Mac that shows you how your devices are connected, and which bus each device is on? Remember that separate USB sockets do not necessarily mean separate USB buses. Also with a laptop there are plenty of built-in devices which will share the same buses as the USB sockets and be stealing valuable band width; such as keyboard, trackpad, the built-in WiFi and Bluetooth adaptors, Webcam, any card readers etc. I would start by disabling all of these except the keyboard and track pad and see if that improves the latency. Even on my Mac where the OS is designed to give audio and MIDI priority over non-timing critical events, I still have to have WiFi and Bluetooth turned off otherwise the computer is constantly polling its surroundings for devices to connect to. At a gig that is potentially every audience member's mobile phone! IMO the form factor of the M Audio AIR | Hub looks horrible. I'm sure it would be fine in the studio where it's hardly ever moved, but at a gig it will be a lump that you'll need to find room for. What sort of stand are you planning to put all of these equipment on? Because you will need a stand. You'll also need to use the external PSU as I doubt the USB sockets on your laptop will be able to provide enough power for everything connected. That's another lead, mains and mains socket that you'll require. The problem I have found with small devices is that they tend to get pulled about by the cables attached to them, and can be a definite problem if not all the cables attach on the same panel as in this case.I'd look for something a bit heavier that has all the connections made on the same face.

Thought one of the features of the woodwind family of instruments is that the fingering is the same on all of them, so players can switch between instruments. Also why they are transposing instruments on musical scores.

Here as promised are a couple of photos of my computer set up. Firstly everything packed down into the 3U rack case and K&M mixer stand: The label on the rack top is indicate the front as it only fits properly one way round, and this allows a quicker pack away on dark stage or back-stage areas. And then set up ready to use. I use the mixer stand "back-to-front" so that the front of the case is pointing slightly upwards which makes everything easier to see and get to. Only the top and front panels need to be removed as all the connections are made via the patch panel at the front. The interface is a Focusrite Scarlet 18i20 which in terms of audio ins and outs is complete overkill for what I need, but it scores on very important feature in that it is properly rack mountable and only occupies 1U of space. I previously had a "half rack" Saffire interface, but there was no way of fixing it securely in a 1U space, so it was sold and replaced with this. It also provides a single MIDI In and Out. Hidden inside the rack is mains distribution for the interface and MacBook, and an ART DTI box which provides transformer isolated outputs from the interface so there is no chance of earth loop hum or damage to the interface by being presented with phantom power or anything else unwanted from the PA. The MacBook connects to the PSU and 2 USB leads which are the only connections that do not lock or have been permanently hot-glued into place, since I occasionally need the computer out for non-musical functions. The rest of the time it lives in this case. With the laptop closed there's a piece of foam that fits over the top and the flight case lid holds it all in place. Connections on the patch panel from left to right are: XLR inputs 3 & 4 for the audio interface. I puts these in just in case they might been needed. They haven't so far. XLR outputs 1 & 2 from the audio interface via the ART DTI Box. These provide a balanced line to the PA without needing additional DI boxes. Jack outputs 1 & 2 from the audio interface via the ART DTI Box. Occasionally we are presented with a PA engineer who insists on using their own DI boxes. The we use these outputs. XLR output 3 from the audio interface. This is for the drummer's click track that I use with one of the bands. It goes to Behringer headphone amp. The next two XLRs are for MIDI in and MIDI out and connect to the corresponding sockets on the interface. I'm not a fan of DIN connectors for live use, and where ever possible they are replaced by XLRs in my equipment. The MIDI out connects via a special lead (with 2 spares) to my Helix to send patch changes as the backing plays, so I don't have to worry about being in the right place at the right time to hit a pedal. The USB socket (a necessary evil and with multiple spare leads) is for Elgato Stream Deck Pedal which I use for the remote control of the backing. This allows me to stop/start backing playback, and automatically load the next song in the set. Finally there is a Powercon input socket that connects to the mains and provides power for the contents of the rack. It might look like it's over-engineered, but I've only ever had one problem with this setup in the 6 or so years I've been using it which was on a very "bouncy" stage where the one connector that I didn't think would need hot gluing in place - the mains input to the Focusrite which is on a standard IEC mains lead - became disconnected mid song causing the backing to stop playing. Since this happened with the band that has a drummer we simply played through to the end of the song, after which I reached into the back of the rack, pushed the lead back into place and we carried on. I doubt anyone in the audience even noticed that the backing track had cut out half-way through. On returning home after the gig this last cable was also hot glued into place. HTH.

Personally I'd try and avoid using a USB Hub in a gig situation as it has too many points of potential failure (all those extra USB connectors) and go for an audio interface that also has MIDI connections on it. Connect your MIDI devices using MIDI DIN leads with metal bodied DIN plugs, and just have one short USB lead to connect the interface to the computer. Don't use a jack adaptor for the headphone it will put extra strain on the headphones socket on the interface which is probably only held in place by the solder connections to the PSB inside rather than actually attached to the case. Either get some headphones with the correct plug on them or replace the existing one with the right plug to plug directly into the headphones socket on the interface. I do quite a lot of gigs with bands who use computers, and almost always they turn up with a bag full of leads and other devices, have to try and fit it all on a table or chair from the venue because they don't have a suitable stand for it (or even worse stick it all on the stage floor) and spend ages connecting everything up. My set up comes in a 3U 19" rack case which goes on a K&M mixer stand. The top and front panels come of the case and all the connections are made via a patch panel on the front. It takes just a few minutes to set up. I know of at least one other band who having seen what I do now have something similar to use at gigs. When I get time I'll post some photos of it, so you can see how I have tackled these problems.

The problem with Ethercon cables is that they will only plug into Ethercon sockets, so if the equipment you want to connect doesn't already have Ethercon Sockets you can't use them. I've still found that the weak point of all ruggedised ethernet cables is the cable itself which needs to be treated much more carefully than your typical mic or instrument lead, and while they are more durable than the standard office ethernet cable they still don't last particularly long (1 year as opposed to 1 month IME).

I'm assuming that this is a computer running Windows? Is it possible to set it up with a separate log-in/user for music use like you can on MacOS? Although my MacBook spends the majority of it's time being used for music, I do need it for work occasionally and each usage is on a different login with the preferences tailored to suit - Wifi and Bluetooth are turned off and notifications along with a load of other stuff is disabled for the music user.

Also for live use I'd be very wary of anything that uses consumer-grade computer connectors and cables, which means anything that you would plug in to your typical tablet or laptop. In my experience they are simply not robust enough for the rigours of gigging. I use a MacBook Pro live, but it is semi-permanently enclosed in a flight case with all the cabling between the devices in the case cable-tied and hot-glued into place and all the external connections made with XLR cables apart from one unavoidable USB connection for the footswitch that controls the laptop, for which I have multiple spare cables.

The problem with Android is that historically the OS was not designed to prioritise real-time audio and MIDI in the way that iOS does. So unless the more recent versions have changed to accommodate this, it is the OS itself and not the peripherals that are the bottlenecks and source of latency.

Welcome back! It must be a while the method of posting images changed several years ago, which is why there are now lots of old threads with broken image links. That bass looks great! If there is no real requirement for being able to hear the acoustic sound and pickup is using the soundboard vibrations how thin could you actually make the body?

If you do all you forum browsing on your phone you'll never see anyone's signature.

I was involved with Student Radio in 1979/1980 and if it wasn't for the fact that the programs were also piped directly into the student union common room and bar, a broadcast audience of 25 would have been something we could only dream of. So in some ways nothing much has changed. However both Student and Hospital Radio have always been great ways to learn both the technical aspects of putting together a program and presentation. That's something I think many producers of podcasts and internet "radio" would benefit from. As a listener nothing puts me off quicker than mis-matched levels and poor presentation technique.

For me it's all about how the instrument balances and feels on the strap rather than the actual weight. I've only owned one bass that felt noticeably heavy and that was only sold because it was too big and unwieldy to use on most of the small stages my band was playing rather than its actual weight. Every time I turned round I risked injuring a band member or someone in the audience at the front of the stage. It wasn't worth keeping for the 2-3 times a year we played somewhere suitably big and therefore it went along with everything else I wasn't playing at the time.

I've been and on-and-off user of Newtone Strings since the early 90s. In those days ordering involved phoning Malcolm to discuss what you needed, then sending a cheque for the payment and getting your strings in the post couple of weeks later. The process has certainly become simpler since then! At the time there were very few off-the-shelf options for those of us who needed something other than standard gauge 34" scale 4-string sets. Newtone came through for me when Rotosound had proved incapable of making a usable low B-string for my 36" Overwater, and while it was possible to get a suitable set of Elites they were nothing special and they still took a couple weeks to order in a my local music shop. A guitarist friend suggested I try Newtone, and when the strings arrived in the post I found them to be exactly what I needed in terms of feel and sound. I even tried a set of their short scale strings for my old Burns Sonic bass and once again they were so much better than the standard shop-bought options at the time. I continued to get Newtone strings for all my basses for the next 10+ years until I discovered internet bass forums and this along with the ease of ordering on-line from anywhere in the world opened up a much larger range of options for strings. By this point I was also mostly playing 34" scale basses, so finding usable well-made strings was less problematic. However since I started playing Bass VIs I have gone back to Newtone for their Axion Bass VI sets which are a fraction of the price of the main alternative from Labella. When I have used up my current reserves of 5-string sets I'll be ordering replacements for those from Newtone too.

When you get around to introducing scatter-winding would it be possible to save the stepper motor movements for each "random" option as they are used? That way if you do come up with a pickup that is noticeably better than the others due to the winding pattern it would be possible to recreate it. Or at least see how much the winding pattern affects the sound on two supposedly identical pickups.

IME there are two factors that affect the effectiveness of electronic kits with a more "traditional" band setting. Firstly there is the skill of the drummer in setting up the sounds and their responsiveness to the individual's playing technique. This is the area where I think most drummer with electronic kits fall down. How the sounds respond to the drummer depends on both the sound and how it has been adjusted to match that particular drummer's technique. The best sounding electronic kit I have heard from a "semi-pro" band should on paper have no been brilliant because of the old technology used for generating the sounds, but because the drummer had matched the responsiveness of the sounds exactly to how they played it sound fantastic. Secondly there is a tendency for bands and audiences to listen with their eyes. I used to be a fairly high-tech band which over the years had a number of drummers each with different electronic kits. The one that most people though was the best was the one whose kit was essentially a traditional drum kit but with the shells heavily damped and bugs for triggering the sounds attached to the heads. Interestingly he was playing the same drum parts triggering exactly the same sounds as his predecessors who used more obviously electronic kits. Also he was by far the more "metronomic" when it came to how closely his hits matched a quantised 16th note grid (as we discovered in the studio). So looks do count for a lot. These days there are commercially available kits that look to the average audience member just like acoustic drums. I'd say get your prospective drummer in for an audition and decide when you've heard and seen them.

Is it possible to disassemble the plugs to allow you to rotate the pins? Whenever I have made my own MIDI cables with right-angle plugs it has been possible to orientate the pins at 90° increments in relation to the cable direction when assembling them.

Whenever a band I have been in have used intro/walk-on music it's always something we have composed and is either in the same key as the first song, or has been designed as an extended instrumental intro to it. Also IMO you really need to get your walk-on timings nailed, so that your not either standing on stage looking like a spare part waiting for the music to end or rushing to get in place in time. Normally there is a tendency to go on too soon because everyone is keen to get started, so it's something that needs to be rehearsed almost as much as the songs themselves. At the moment I'm working on intro music for one of my bands that will blend seamlessly at any point into the start of the first song, so we can walk on when we feel like it and start as soon as everyone is ready to play.

Being a strictly 5-sting and Bass VI player these days there are plenty of basses that exist only in 4-string version which I like the look of but would never actually use if I owned them. If I had the money I'd buy a good example of each of those useless (to me) 4-string basses and get excellent luthiers to use them as templates to make me 5-string or Bass VI versions that I could use.

What would you have been hoping for by reaching your current technical standard 37 years earlier? On the whole bands don't want virtuoso musicians. They want people who are competent, reliable and look the part. Also you never stop learning and striving, so even if you had reached your current level of ability 37 years ago you would still have plenty to learn and work towards.

Aren't nitro finished basses supposed to get worn due to interactions with their environment? I believe the term is "Mojo"?