dannybuoy

[quote name='Rubbersoul' timestamp='1500159413' post='3336033'] My chain just recently developed a bad hum. Nothing new added, just out of the blue. I read about ferrite clip on thingys that you attach to the power cable supposedly reducing noise, so I've ordered one off eBay to see if it helps. I've ordered a new adapter as well. I run 2 daisy chains together running 8 pedals btw and this is on my guitar rig, not the bass. I'll let you know how it pans out. [/quote] It can often be one faulty patch cable with a bad earth connection. Testing each component one at a time is the only way to go! Also a cable tester is very useful for finding cables with intermittent faults - plug in both ends and give it a wiggle, if either part of the cable drops connection momentarily the LED will stay lit. I use the Behringer one.

[quote name='Salt on your Bass?' timestamp='1500100027' post='3335572'] If it's very close to the parapedal then that represents decent value I think.... But still a lot for a wah [/quote] I doubt it will be a Parapedal clone. Also a comment on Talkbass said it was a more subtle sounding wah than the regular Dunlup bass wah, whereas the parapedal is anything but. Chicago Iron should have made a Geezer Butler sig out of their Parachute pedal!

Not cheap though! https://www.gak.co.uk/en/dunlop-gzr95-geezer-butler-cry-baby-bass-wah/905277

[quote name='lee650' timestamp='1500063098' post='3335473'] A very interesting thread! I've developed a bit of a problem myself with my Diago micropower. I've been using it for a while,bit all of a sudden I'm getting really bad ground hum from my basses. The problem disappears when I plug straight into the amp. I've got two daisy chains connected and a diago 9-18v voltage doubler on one pedal. My cables are high quality ones made by OBBM so I don't think the problem is there. There are a few of the daisy chain power connectors loose underneath, does anyone know if that could cause these problems? Or is a new power supply the answer. Thanks everyone for any help [/quote] The only way to debug this is to start from scratch. If you don't get the hum direct into the amp, start with testing one pedal only. Then test all your pedals this way, one pedal at a time. If that works out ok then start building up the chain one pedal at a time. You might only get hum when a certain pedal is sharing power with the others on a daisy chain too. It will likely either be one pedal or one cable at fault, or an issue with power sharing. I've had this issue before caused by all 3 on different occasions!

[quote name='T-Bay' timestamp='1500049496' post='3335393'] Slight curveball but what about a zoom b3? You can use as an amp emulator and have the other effects as well. [/quote] No aux input on this btw, unlike the cheaper B1on, but you might be able to play back via USB? But the biggest downside for me with all the Zoom units is weak headphone output. However my cans are 80ohms which is above average, they will probably drive lower impedance ones just fine.

I use a PJB BigHead. Battery powered and charges from USB, and is about the size of a fag packet. Sounds great, ultra clean with a 2-band EQ, zero noise even with the volume up really high, and can drive high impedance cans that some lesser headphone amps struggle with. It also serves as a USB audio interface for recording into a laptop, or playing back music over USB instead of the regular aux in for a better sound (the converters inside are much better than those in your average laptop or phone).

Yeah, I associate grit with overdrive too. Also the fact you reference fuzz settings on the Darkglass amp probably means you are looking for overdrive. Overdrive/Distortion/Fuzz are pretty much just different degrees of the same thing, but overdrive sounding more like a cranked amp, and fuzz being waaay beyond that. Maybe post some sound clips of the kind of tone you're going for? If it is more traditional Ampeg style tube drive you seek, check out the Tech21 VT Bass (or VT500 amp) on Youtube perhaps?

I want to experiment running a parallel chain to a guitar amp with different different pedals in each chain. I've been looking at A/B/Y boxes and was sold on the Radial Twin City as it offers transformer isolation, ground lift, and phase invert switches for the second amp, as I understand ground loops can be a problem in setups like this. This is all well and good, but what if I split the signal at the start of the chain, then power the separate bass and guitar chains from the same non-isolated power supply? Would the common ground between the pedals for the bass and guitar side then re-introduce ground loops, undoing all the good work done by the Radial? I do have an isolated supply btw in the form of a Cioks DC5, but I run a few splitters and a daisy chain from it. Just trying to plan in advance if this supply will be up to the job if I need to ensure all each fx chain is isolated from each other in terms of power!

3rd jack socket is for the expression pedal, power is on the side. I agree about the readability issue, but when I had one at least, it was a case of set it and forget it, then sweep the filter with an expression pedal.

This looks cool: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afoKjlONxPg

https://www.positivegrid.com/summernamm17 I for one think their bass amp models in JamUp and BIAS for iPad sound rather meh in comparison with their competition, but I'm looking forward to seeing how this turns out!

That pic reminds me I have a very similar reliced surf green Precision body I still need to build up!

Depends on what you want to do with it. If you need that extra functionality then it is worth the cost, if you don't need it then it's overkill. A phase reverse switch is very handy to have on a blender though, which the LS-2 doesn't have. Although you could just get yourself a mini One Control Mosquite blender (or a pair of them!). The Xotic stereo job looks well overpriced and only useful if you absolutely need to blend pedals that output in stereo.

This looks interesting: http://youtube.com/watch?v=TWbVF7blRSI

[quote name='ambient' timestamp='1499876541' post='3334272'] I'm looking for a new/better power supply. Which is the best one? [/quote] That depends on size/budget constraints and what you need to power? If you want cheap, and zero footprint on the board, only have 9v pedals, and no awkward pedals that need isolation - One Spot Something isolated, flexible 9/12/18v that fits under a PT Nano - Cioks DC5 A monster that will power everything under the sun - Truetone CS-12 Bargain isolated supply - Fame/Vitoos DC8

If weight is a concern, FWIW I've had a Ray35 which weighed a ton (probably the ash body) and the cheaper Ray4 which was very light indeed (no I didn't weight it)!

Just check everything works hum-free before you go drilling the mount holes for the DC5!

[quote name='lee650' timestamp='1499817049' post='3333888'] what happens when they fail Dan? do they just revert to 9v? Reason I'm asking is I'm currently using the diago to power my Cali76 cb [/quote] One did just that, which went undetected for ages. Another one I had started making noises like the Dr Who theme!

Oh, a word of warning. I had the Diamond and for some reason it picked up a lot of noise when placed close to the DC5!

[quote name='M@23' timestamp='1499811658' post='3333856'] Good shout. Having done a little more reading that prob is best. If I could find the Cioks DC5 in the UK I'd buy one. The Palmer PWT05 looks good, but is maybe a bit too tall to fit under a Nano. [/quote] I got mine here - they really need to get themselves in Google shopping results! http://www.hotroxuk.com/cioks-dc5-link.html

B3K sounds more aggressive and has a mid scoop along with a bump in the upper mids that really accentuates the snarl of, say a J bass with both pups up full. Best suited for modern rock and metal. The VMT is a lot smoother, more going on the midrange and a duller top end. Best suited for classic rock and blues. But any comparison between these two should also include the Pike Vulcan! It (controversially) descended from the Darkglass pedals, and has two distortion sounds your can blend between, one modern, one vintage. Harder to find especially on these shores, but I prefer it by a long way.

I have had a couple of those 18V Diago tips fail on me in the past so I'm a bit weary of using them now. If buying a new isolated power supply, just get one with an 18V output rather than using an 18V Diago tip - like a True Tone CS7, or Cioks DC5 if you want to squeeze it under a Pedaltrain Nano/Metro. There's also a cheap one named the DC8 made by either Vitoos or Fame that is gaining some fans around here!

These Ray4's have a very slim neck like the SLO / Sterling. The Ray34 is chunkier like a proper Ray. I had a black/maple one and the fretwork was very impressive for a cheap bass, with a nice satin finish to the neck and board. Very light and resonant too. I miss it!

Or £1 cheaper with free delivery: https://www.scan.co.uk/products/valeton-loft-series-octave-oc-10-guitar-pedal-based-on-the-boss-oc-2-octave-pedal However, for that price you can pick up a used OC-2 which means you won't take a hit when you sell it on!