ped

I always talk to them on the phone. Simple and effective. Always puts any doubts to rest.

[quote name='Twincam' timestamp='1478083312' post='3166566'] Just a thought. It might be good if you had to have a certain post count before access to the market place. I've frequented other forums where they do this and they do seem to get less issues. However I suppose it might take away revenue? [/quote] It's pointless for lots of reasons but the main one being that a post count is no indication if a persons ability to be honest. We always advise people to meet up or talk on he phone prior to doing any deal anyway. It would mean less items being listed so less people coming to look and more pointless posts as people jump up thier count to get in. Since introducing the charge we've put many scanners off because they're required to pay and most scammers won't front any money to do so. It's amazing how few problems we ever hear about when you look at how busy the marketplace is as evidenced by the outrage here! OP, can you send me the users name please by PM? Cheers ped

Hi chaps Wasn't sure where to put this thread. I've been sent one of these to review but I'm finding there's some latency when playing my bass into my iPad. It's only very slight but it's there. Has anyone else got one and heard the same? We're talking a few milliseconds at most but playing along you can definitely feel the pops lagging slightly behind your playing. The support team have been replying but only with very basic things like restart your iPad/update the OS/close other apps/reinstall Amplitude. None work and I'd tried them all already. I've given up with them. Any experiences?

With my more unusual basses I asked a well known bass shop to write a letter declaring the replacement value with a picture, serial number, my address etc. I think any bass specialist would be able to help perhaps for a small fee.

[quote name='orangefriday' timestamp='1477861773' post='3164931'] Wow, that's a tidy example of the breed. Does it still have metal just under the fretboard with the carbon neck? I can see that they have softened a few edges, but it's instantly recognisable. Love the carbon fibre headstock too! [/quote] Yes I noticed the upper horn on yours was a lot sharper. If you look at the series 3 and 4 models they ended up rounding it right off which is a shame. I love the angled bout on the body, making it look like a cello . Nothing under the fretboard but carbon in these ones.

Wow that's nice example - serial number is the number next to the rear strap pin, so it's number 002! I know Patrice made a few wooden necked basses (with brass laminate under the fingerboard) and I think the records of build dates only started with the slightly later models but to have the exact date under the pickup is pretty indisputable! Mine is here http://basschat.co.uk/topic/291608-nbd-more-80s-graphite/page__p__3130880#entry3130880 6 years later than yours but one of the only carbon necked ones I've seen, and I've been into these basses for about 15 years now. My Passion bass is in that thread too, built in 1988 although it was bought as a 'chassis' without any electronics so it's been customised a bit. I love them both and agree that the Benedetti pickups in the Arpege. I notice yours have neat brass inserts which you can see on the back of the body. Lovely example - and great to have the original paperwork, too.. My walnut is a lot darker but I don't have the wood cavity cover which is a nice touch. Cheers ped

[quote name='orangefriday' timestamp='1477775070' post='3164459'] Hi Paulgm1! Good to hear from someone on the doorstep. We did an open mic or two at the Colonial Bar some time ago but it closed down. I'm not sure if the two are linked... Sorry ped - I'd love to post a few pics of the Arpege, but I haven't worked out how to get pictures uploaded yet. Are there any idiot guides you could refer me too? [/quote] You can use the 'attach image' function in the reply page, then click 'add to post' - or email them to me and I'll do it for you, [email protected] I love Vigiers and have a couple of 80s graphite ones myself (Arpege and Passion). Always interesting to chat to another enthusiast.

Pics of the Arpege please!!

Vs before

Quick snap. Don't know why iOS pictures always rotate

Well I just tried scrunched up tin foil on a match head and it's done a fair job of brightening up the dullest ones. Looking a bit cleaner now. I may try a fibre pen at some point but I don't think it'll get much better and I definitely don't want to scratch the covers so perhaps I'll leave it there.

[quote name='ahpook' timestamp='1476983311' post='3159020'] That would have been my suggestion as well. [/quote] Nah I quite like the look of the poles tbh. Silver marker maybe?

Thanks chaps. I've tried nabbing a proper type rubber from work but nobody seems to have one. I think I'll try one of those pencils Dood. Is it easy to avoid scratches with one of those? I assume it's not too abrasive in the sense like sandpaper or wire wool (shudder) would be?

[quote name='Garth' timestamp='1476786395' post='3157163'] HI all, I'm trying to arrange collection for a bass in a hiscox case. It will be bubble wrapped also. 1, Which way do you measure it? Is the thickness the height or width? 2, The dimensions are L -1175mm W - 349mm H - 65mm 65mm seems very small??? Any help would be fantastic Thanks [/quote] https://www.interparcel.com Pop all the dimensions and weight in here.

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