ped

Pretty much full all the time, but if I pull the knob I get a 12db boost which I can then turn down if I dan't want to walk back to my amplifier (or pretend I haven't touched anything)

[quote name='ras52' timestamp='1476722015' post='3156653'] I was recommend to use a glass-fibre eraser - I bought one from Maplins but haven't tried it yet! [/quote] Let me know how it goes if you do. I'm going to keep an eye out for an ink rubber at work on Weds...

I'm tempted to clean up the magnets in these pickups. They're Alnico 8 type. Someone suggested using an eraser on them which didn't work. I don't fancy taking them apart or using anything drastic; I actually rather like the 'mojo' but open to any suggestions if there's something worth trying? Cheers ped

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1476648381' post='3156008'] Hopefully this will make what I was asking a bit clearer: A bass guitar note has a very distinct amplitude envelope - fast attack, and then a slowish decay during the sustain portion of the envelope until it has decayed to an audible level, you play another note on the same string, or you stop the note with your hands. There is very little you can do to alter this decay/sustain portion of the envelope. A compressor will help to boost the volume so that the decay portion happens later and more slowly, but even that cannot make the note sound beyond the point at which the string vibration has decayed to nothing. On a synth a note will sustain forever so long as you hold down the key and the volume will remain constant at whatever value the sustain level is set. Also the release portion of the envelope will allow the note to continue sounding after you have stopped holding down the key. So to what extent can the VB99 over-ride the amplitude envelope of the incoming bass signal? Can it make the note sustain at full volume for as long as there is still string vibration to be detected? I could probably nail the sound in that song in under 5 minutes given any decent analogue synth with a full set of parameter controls. [/quote] Ah ok that makes sense. Yes I can play a note and either hold it indefinitely by holding an assigned pedal or by waving past the d-beam controller. OR I can set the note to remain as a consistent volume until the string vibration isn't recognised at which point it starts to break up. But yes a keyboard would be easier.

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1476453997' post='3154489'] AFAICS the VB99 system is essentially signal processing the audio signal from your instrument on a string-by-string basis. Can it do anything to massively alter the amplitude envelope of outgoing sound compared with the source signal? and can you get it to sustain for longer than the original note? [/quote] Not sure what "alter the amplitude envelope of outgoing sound" means but you can hold notes and play over them if you like. I reckon I could get close to the sound in the vid... I'll have to spend a day or so trying.

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1476448451' post='3154405'] If you want to do pitch detection (to enable you to use other wave forms and therefore open up all the synthesis possibilities and not just filter and amplitude modulation) then for all pedals and most "guitar controller" systems the laws or physics are simply against you. In order for them to detect the pitch of the note being played they need a minimum of 1½ cycles of the waveform. And this is for the very best pitch detection systems - most of them will require a few more cycles to accurately detect the pitch of a plucked string. 1½ cycles of the waveform for the open E string on a bass guitar is 36 milliseconds. That's well into slap-back delay territory! At around the open G string you stop getting noticeable latency between plucking the string and hearing the synthesised sound. Of course that's before we consider instabilities in the detection system due to the playing technique not being completely clean and the accuracy dropping of as the note dies away. Tony James of Sigue-Sigue Sputnik who has been using synth bass from pitch detection pretty much longer than anyone uses a guitar controller (where the latency is half of what it would be on a bass due to the strings being an octave higher) but still has to play slightly ahead of the beat in order for his synth notes to be in the right place rhythmically. If you really want to play synth type sounds from your bass you do have a couple of more useable options. 1. You could daisy chain a load of pedals together, with something like a distortion feeding into a filter and envelope shaper. However your source tones are limited compared with a real synthesiser and you are also restricted by the note length and to a large extent by the envelope of the original bass guitar signal. Also setting up a new sound is nowhere near as quick and easy is pressing the button on any programmable synth. 2. Look for a system that doesn't require pitch detection to produce note information for driving a synthesiser. There are plenty of "game controller" type devices that will produce MIDI output from something that looks a bit like a guitar. 3. If you really need to use a "normal" bass guitar then your only option is the [url=http://www.industrialradio.com.au]Industrial Radio[url] system. This uses sensors in the frets to detect the pitch of the notes and therefore does away with most of the latency of the pitch to MIDI systems. You are also able to use it as an ordinary bass too. I've played the previous version of this technology that was licensed to Peavey, and it is by far the best of all the guitar type systems that I have used, although you still need to clean up your playing technique to get the best out of it. In the end I found it was easier to just learn how to play a bit of keyboard. I got the results I wanted far quicker and far more accurately and consistently than any bass to synthesiser system, plus I could buy whatever keyboard I needed to get the sounds I was after. If some with very little technical ability like me can do it, then anyone can. [/quote] Or a Roland VB99 - no latency, no pitch conversion. With patience and skill you can cook up anything on that thing.

[quote name='M@23' timestamp='1476381322' post='3153858'] British designed anyway! I don't know why I sold mine. Desperate times I guess. About to pull the trigger on another as it's pretty much the perfect super protective, light, loads of storage gig bag. [/quote] It doesn't weigh anything empty does it - and it's satisfyingly rigid too, a bit like a hard foam case. I prefer it to the mono based on the straps alone. Inside it certainly seems more flexible.

Fusion has just arrived. I'll do a proper review soon but first impressions - it's a beautifully made case which is quite rigid and allows the instrument to fit snugly with the provided dividers. It's really comfortable to wear as it sits high and has a waist and chest strap too. For the price I'd expect it to be exceptional and it certainly seems so. And it's British

[quote name='Geek99' timestamp='1476303051' post='3153248'] Just list it here and invite offers [/quote] Against the rules though

I've got a Fusion Double gig bag on the way. Will post a full review.

[quote name='Horizontalste' timestamp='1475345112' post='3145279'] So this is what the Gaffa looks like! We salute you sir. [/quote] At ease, soldier 😎 *whispers* thanksssss 👍🏻

I think the right hand does the hardest job. A bit like the difference between your left and right feet when driving; the dominant appendage has more sensitivity to attack, various technique and creates a 'feel' whilst the left hand though more busy doesn't require the subtle neuences the right hand does. Flip what I said if your a left hooker

[quote name='alyctes' timestamp='1475327904' post='3145077'] Has someone tried to change the pup and botched it, perhaps? [/quote] The holes are where someone installed a scratch plate but he also says in the listing that it's been "updated" with new Vigier pickups etc... however the pickups in the bass are the original ones that came with it, unless he means the pickups in this evolution of the model are upgraded over the previous version (although that's actually wrong too, they're the same with a different casing)

It's been on eBay for ages. Who on earth drilled holes for a scratchplate!

Hurt my back trying to do it in the 'traditional' method 😂 Sybil was meant to be in the pic too but the little raggermuffin jumped down milliseconds before the pic. She has a skill for doing that. Anyway that's her blanket!

I had to force Sybil off the sofa to take this

Really sorry I couldn't make it this year. Steve came to stay all the way from China and it would have been too complicated along with everything else going on. I can only thank the organisers for again for creating an event which sums up this community - it's so important for members to meet up and have a chat face to face. Sometimes I take the forum for granted and events like this make me realise how much I owe to the members old and new. Looking forward to seeing more pictures and hearing more about it. Cheers ped

I played the bass at the weekend. I was really taken with it. Seriously versatile and the build quality is fantastic. I have a pic somewhere. The bass has lots of neat details like the bridge cover and the binding.

Minging

Either of these two

Most [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/290872-nsd-lakota-leathers-3-strap/page__view__findpost__p__3122109"]comfortable strap[/url] I've tried Nothing complicated, just extremely soft leather and 3" wide.

That's wicked... but I just can't be doing with headless basses