Dubs

[quote name='Crazykiwi' post='386688' date='Jan 20 2009, 08:33 PM']I think there's a lot of wisdom in that approach. Using one instrument helps develop muscle memory and I've found that also allows me to think less about adjusting to the instrument and more about choosing how to play it. I just need one that can cover a wide number of basses.[/quote] I played better 4 or 5 years ago when the only bass I owned was a Streamer Std and I played directly into a Trace combo – I was well beyond what Rockschool classed as grade 8. Since then I’ve owned about 6 different basses and it’s felt like I’ve had to relearn so much. I've become a bit of a gear slut and bought and sold loads of stuff and completely changed my setup twice in the last year, and I feel that it's only had a negative impact on my playing. I think there’s a lot to be said for keeping it simple.

My pedalboard is a bit noisy. Today is the first day that I’ve put my pedals together in 1 whole chain (I only use 5 at the moment) and there’s a bit of noise that I’d like to reduce/eliminate. I usually use a Pod XT Live with 2 other pedals in a chain and I’ve not experienced this noise before. I’ve got a noiseless power supply so it’s not that. I’ve got cheap patch leads so it could be them, but then I’ve used the same type for years and I’ve never had a problem with them. Could the order of the pedals affect the ‘dry’ signal? – could rearranging the pedals and putting them in a specific order reduce the noise? Any advice would be appreciated.

[quote name='Al Heeley' post='386410' date='Jan 20 2009, 05:04 PM']Here's a schematic for an A/B/Y box with pretty LED's I am ordering some more LEDS and 3PDT footswitches to put one of these together as my next stompbox project. (Note: Obviously still a passive box, battery is just used to power the LED indicators.) ***If it looks like some of the wires are missing you have to click on the pic to get full size, the lines are only 1 px wide***[/quote] I’d be really interested to hear what you think of it if you do make it. If you think it’s good I might have to make my own.

[quote name='alexclaber' post='386329' date='Jan 20 2009, 04:12 PM']The thing is, if you're thinking about your gear when you're playing music then you should really be playing better music![/quote] amen

[quote name='bilbo230763' post='386231' date='Jan 20 2009, 03:27 PM']I note that a lot of the posts here are about the purchase, selling, trading etc of gear - basses, amps, effects etc. Perfectly acceptable; I have got gear off here myself and very successfully. I particularly agree that buying effects is a legitmate form of experimentation and that there is no other readily accessible way of changing your sound so radically as the purchasing of a new effect. But my question is; how much of the GAS we experience is motivated by frustration at the shortcomings of our gear and how much from the frustrations that arise from our unhappiness with our playing and teh sound we can get with our own ability to use the eqs on the amps we have. I knew a guy once who loved guitars; he bought and sold them and tweaked actions and changed pick-ups and experimented with strings. His guitar playing was dreadful because he spent so much time playing with the technology that he never had time to practice the music. Like most of us, I covet many of the basses I see here and elsewhere and mutter under my breath about how unfair it is that I can't afford any of them. But then I ask myself; is it the gear I want or more time getting better with the gear I have got? If I could practice more, would I get to where I want to be because I could play as well as I can and, more to the point, would spending £10K on a new bass lead me on a fool's errand because my playing wouldn't actually improve because of it and, having spent the money, I would still feel the same frustration. I must practice more, I must practice more......[/quote] It’s an interesting one, but I think this sort of thing has come up before. The expression “the grass is always greener” is quite a good explanation to describe the reasons why I move on a lot of my gear, but then I do already own basses/other gear that I think are great and great for me and what I like to do so I doubt very much that I’d ever move these on. I think you summed it up best when you talked about the experimenting of different bits of gear; how well can you really get to know a bass after playing it in a shop for 15 minutes or half an hour or even a couple of hours? You can definitely get an initial feel for it but in my experience I’ve found that you don’t really properly get to grips with an instrument until a week or two of playing it. Effects are a completely different story though – an effect won’t change how well you can play your instrument but just change how it sounds. The instrument itself will help you play better if it suites your playing style, but in my experience a £300 bass can feel as good as a £2k bass but it’s just made in the far east and made from cheap cuts of wood and has been finished much more cheaply – a £300 bass isn’t going to be finished like a Fodera It’s like a drum kit; you can end up paying £2k on top of the normal retail price for a custom or special order finish. You could have it diamond incrusted but the fact that it’s worth £3 million doesn’t make it any easier to play than the standard £1k kit that’s been finished with a pot of black gloss… I don’t think I’m making much sense :wacko: but yeah, I agree with you I think, that there’s no substitute for just being a good player – a good player will make a sh*t bass sound good because they’ll be skilful as f*** and know what they're doing

[quote name='Stylon Pilson' post='386060' date='Jan 20 2009, 01:44 PM']But then you run the risk of the adapter sliding off. I think you should cut three suitably-positioned rectangular holes in the top-left corner of the board, and then you can plug the adapter into there for transit. Maybe have a couple of pegs to wind the cord round too. Edit: though this does reduce the amount of space available for pedals. But you get the idea. S.P.[/quote] That’s potentially a really good idea. I’ve got enough space on the back of the board for the holes for the power supply so it wouldn’t mean sacrificing any pedal space (not that I’ve even got enough to fill it at the moment ). See here: [attachment=18943:back.JPG]

[quote name='Stylon Pilson' post='386027' date='Jan 20 2009, 01:21 PM']Presumably you've got a power supply brick somewhere out of shot - would it be possible to mount this to the underside of the board? It makes for one less thing to carry. S.P.[/quote] Yeah I was thinking about trying to implement that kind of idea, but I use one of these - [url="http://www.effectpowersupplies.com/9v-dc-regulated-power-supply-with-integrated-6-way-daisy-chain-2-p.asp"]http://www.effectpowersupplies.com/9v-dc-r...y-chain-2-p.asp[/url] - which is great and has loads of power (1.3 amps!) but it has to be plugged in directly to a socket. My solution to that is just to have the adapter placed on top of the pedalboard when I’m not using it and transporting it, then plug it into my extension socket that I’ll have near to the board when I’m using it, so realistically it’s not too much of a problem. I’ve probably not thought through the different possibilities properly cos I just finished it this morning.

[quote name='budget bassist' post='386014' date='Jan 20 2009, 01:16 PM']Haha that turned out pretty good looking! i didn't think ply would be very strong at all... How have you attached your pedals to it? Velcro?[/quote] Cheers mate. Yeah it's all Velcro - nice and simple and keeps the pedals attached really firmly.

Just finished this and put a couple of pedals on it: [attachment=18936:15.JPG] [attachment=18937:16.JPG] [attachment=18938:17.JPG] [attachment=18939:18.JPG] The board isn’t finished and I’ll be adding a compressor, a phaser, and at some point a good tuner, but that’s only when I commit to this as an alternative to the Line 6 Pod XT Live that I’ve been using for 3 years and has been so reliable and handy for me. [attachment=18940:19.jpg] Build diary here - [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=38784&pid=385975&st=0&#entry385975"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=...mp;#entry385975[/url]

[quote name='bass_ferret' post='385962' date='Jan 20 2009, 12:49 PM']Here is where the idea came from: [url="http://www.ampeg.com/pdf/B500DR.pdf"]Ampre B500-DR[/url][/quote] I almost bought one of those new in a SoundControl sale about a year ago for around £500ish. I passed on it though...

[quote name='fifeq' post='385953' date='Jan 20 2009, 12:44 PM']Do it man![/quote] [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=38784&pid=385975&st=0&#entry385975"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=...mp;#entry385975[/url]

This week, I’ve been mostly building…a pedalboard! I thought I’d share my experience of this and bore you all with a very long thread that will be a hugely laborious read, but at least there are lots of pictures A lack of money in a combination with vast amounts of free time (put two and two together…) meant that I decided to build my own custom solution to a pedalboard. We had lots of wood lying around, (albeit shyte wood, but nevertheless wood) I drew up some very basic designs based on what I had available and then jumped in at the deep end without any real knowledge of how to make stuff, let alone saw in a straight line. I started by cutting out 2 long pieces of thin ply that I wanted to use as the platform/surface are of the board. [attachment=18917:1.JPG] [attachment=18918:2.JPG] I then guesstimated the incline angle and cut out 2 end pieces/feet/support thingymagiggy’s. [attachment=18919:3.JPG] [attachment=18920:4.JPG] [attachment=18921:5.JPG] I then cut out 2 stronger piece of pine to support the flimsy ply that I was using as the surface of the board, and then I glued them in between the 2 end pieces. [attachment=18922:6.JPG] [attachment=18923:7.JPG] Turns out that that wasn’t the best idea because the ply wood was sh*t and the glue that I was using for the supports wasn’t going to be strong enough so I sacked off that idea and went down a new path. I cut out 3 pieces of the pine that I was using for the support but this time I decided that the best way to do it would be to use them as the main surface area of the pedalboard. I cut them long enough to be attached to the end pieces/feet from the top down and then drilled them in. [attachment=18924:8.JPG] [attachment=18925:9.JPG] [attachment=18926:10.JPG] I then filled in the gaps between the main planks with small chunks of pine so that the top of the surface area of the board would all be level. [attachment=18927:11.JPG] Then, guided by some random DIY cab building guides, I painted the board with some leftover black paint that just happened to be the perfect wood paint for the job. [attachment=18928:12.JPG] I then spent 2 days carpeting the bastard (sorry for the lack of pics on this bit but I was preoccupied with slicing my fingers off with a really f***ing sharp Stanley knife). [attachment=18929:13.JPG] [attachment=18930:14.JPG] And then it was done Behold… [attachment=18931:15.JPG] [attachment=18932:16.JPG] [attachment=18933:17.JPG] [attachment=18934:18.JPG] I’ve got to admit that it’s a small miracle that it’s turned out this well, but there are a lot of things that I’ve learnt from this process that I’ll be able to improve on next time because there are a lot of things that I could have done a lot better, and there probably will be a next time when I can be arsed… Here it is next to the Pod XT Live that I’m thinking of selling in favour of setting up the pedalboard properly with a decent compressor and tuner, and at least another synth type pedal: [attachment=18935:19.jpg] If nothing else, this was a fun project, but I think I’ve ended up with a great board that I’ll use as my main pedalboard. It’s solid as a rock and will support my full weight jumping up and down on it – not sure why I tried this out cos I would have been really f***ed off with myself if I’d put my size 10’s through it. I might put some handles on it, or I might leave it as it is, but I’d be interested to hear people’s suggestions for improvements. BTW, the whole thing only cost £2.50 to do, and that was only postage for some carpet that was very kindly given to me by Alien - cheers mate

Ok, so I’m getting the impression that the EBS is pretty good then? I’ll have to take a rain check on my cash flow cos I think even at about £70 or £80 for a used one it’s out of my price range at the moment, so I might see if I can A/B it against a few others I’m looking at and then decide if I can find the extra dough for it. I’m in the process of moving away from a Pod to a pedalboard of separates so I’ve got a few fundamentals to buy like a good tuner and a compressor of some sort…

[quote name='cheddatom' post='385703' date='Jan 20 2009, 08:56 AM']Heh, it didn't come with a rotatable front. You have to "modify" it a little.[/quote] ahhh Do you have any pics of it in the "show us your pedalboard" thread?

Ok – My pedalboard is finished. I’m fairly happy with the results but I think I could have done better. I’ll take some pics of the finished thing in the morning and then I’ll create a build diary showing what I did.

Looks great, one of the best Stingrays I’ve seen.

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='385299' date='Jan 19 2009, 07:41 PM']Got one of these spare that I just found the power supply for: Got LEDs, will needs it own power supply, and can't be switched. But will sit cheerfully on a board.[/quote] Are you looking to sell it then? Might give it a punt at the right price… What are you using as an alternative?

I'd be amazed if you've blown it at low practise volumes. What amp are you using? Have you tried it with a different amp to see if it's the amp and not the cab? I've blown a few drivers in the past and they tend to give a really dull or dead buzz/rattle with no definition of what you’re playing, and once they do go it’s permanent rather than an intermittent fault. Did you buy the cab new or used? How long have you had it? Is it under warranty? If it’s under warranty then just send it back. It may have taken a heavy knock and they voice coil might be misaligned with the pole piece or the magnet. I’ve had that happen to a subwoofer before and that might explain why it’s intermittent, but it would mean that you’d have to get the driver replaced or refurbished, but if it’s under warranty then it shouldn’t cost you anything.

[quote name='lee4' post='385233' date='Jan 19 2009, 06:27 PM']Just remember,every sale of a $$ requires a booking at a chiropractor!Heavy old things but a great sound,[/quote] Ever played an NT Thumb?

[quote name='dannybuoy' post='385117' date='Jan 19 2009, 04:20 PM']Loads of comps have a glowing LED to indicate the amount of compression going on. The one on the EBS Multicomp works great - the main LED glows dimly when the effect is on, and shines brightly to show the amount of gain reduction. I think the BBE Opto Stomp may do this too but I haven't used one. The Diamond Compressor has a LED that changes colour when crossing the threshold.[/quote] Thanks for the info mate – I’ve heard loads of great things about the EBS Multicomp. I’ll look into it…

Trying to avoid going the rack route if I can manage it cos I’m using a Shuttle and it kind of defies the point of it if I put it in a rack. Tom – what tuner have you got that has a rotatable front?

[quote name='cheddatom' post='385019' date='Jan 19 2009, 03:00 PM']I know what you mean, but comparing signals would give you the same information, even if it doesn't look as cool. Sorry, I don't know any pedals with a VU meter. I'll feck off!![/quote] Haha nah don’t feck off I’m not sure it would give me the same info though cos the output level of the compressor won’t be taken into consideration when comparing the original signal level to the compressed level – it’s not the signal level that I want to monitor but rather the level of compression.

[quote name='benwhiteuk' post='384970' date='Jan 19 2009, 02:11 PM']That’s actually not a bad idea, but it won’t show me what I want to see. I’ll try and find a youtube video of what I’d like to be able to see, just gimme 10 mins…[/quote] Pretty much exactly what the Punch Factory does - [url="http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=atMR5vpgxUI"]http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=atMR5vpgxUI[/url] – not a great video but you get the idea. The display is showing the reduction in level - the compression - not the output level. I might just give it a go and if it’s sh*t I’ll try something else, but I’d still like to know what else out there does this.

[quote name='cheddatom' post='384967' date='Jan 19 2009, 02:08 PM']I don't know if you have the equipment to be able to do this, but you could easily route your dry signal, and your compressed signal to seperate channels on a DAW and watch the level meters or even record the results to compare. Do this while you find your required setting, write the setting on the pedal..... But it won't look cool.[/quote] That’s actually not a bad idea, but it won’t show me what I want to see. I’ll try and find a youtube video of what I’d like to be able to see, just gimme 10 mins…