Gunsfreddy2003

Agreed - I have not bought it yet!! Looked at them late last year and then did nothing about it but I remember at the time that they offered a lot more cover than the NFU do for named items on my household policy. I am looking at them again now so will confirm what they cover later today. [quote name='BottomE' timestamp='1340699887' post='1708144'] If it were me i'd want to be 100% certain otherwise whats the point? [/quote]

I am fairly certain that the New Moon policy insures the gear wherever it is, left at rehearsal room, in the car or at a venue. That is what attracted me to it. [quote name='bertbass' timestamp='1340661905' post='1707890'] The only time the bass is covered seems to be when you're actually holding it. [/quote]

Interestingly StringsDirect had them today - placed my order there as they were £10 cheaper than Thomann! Will let you know how I get on with them. [quote name='dave_bass5' timestamp='1340608429' post='1706774'] Cool, I'll be interested in your thoughts. I normally use Stringsdirect but haven't seen them on there yet either. [/quote]

Thanks for the link, will order some today. I normally try to use stringbusters when I can as their prices are good and delivery quick but they don't have them listed. [quote name='dave_bass5' timestamp='1340577463' post='1706634'] Thomanns have them in stock. [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/elixir_stainless_steel_medium_bass.htm"]http://www.thomann.de/gb/elixir_stainless_steel_medium_bass.htm[/url] There is another thread about these strings on here, although it seems to have died out as it was just about availability in the UK. [/quote]

Where can you buy these from? My normal online retailers just seem to have stock of Elixir but no mention of stainless steel so assume that these are the regular nickel ones?

I use them on all of my basses and really rate them. As Molan says they last for ages and give a really nice tone. If the stainless steel sound a bit more like tradional strings when they are first put on then I might be tempted to give them a blast. [quote name='molan' timestamp='1340456646' post='1704682'] The newer the Elixirs the better the feel. Original ones were quite 'sticky' but I think the latest ones are really good. Last for ages & easy on the fingers for long gigs or if you don't have really tough callouses [/quote]

Is stainless steel supposed to give a brighter sound than nickel then? [quote name='molan' timestamp='1340406324' post='1704255'] The steel ones are the new ones. They have upgraded the nickel ones as well apparently. I don't know anyone who's tried the stainless ones yet though so can't comment on tone. Official release says: [color=#4C4C4C][font=Arial, sans-serif][size=3] "Our new Stainless Steel Nanoweb Coated Strings are perfect for players who love the ‘zingy’ clarity of steel, but have been put off in the past by the rough texture these strings sometimes have. Our product has that classic steel snap, but it also offers a smoother, more natural feel, thanks to the Nanoweb coating.”[/size][/font][/color] [/quote]

I have a question about Elixir strings - are the stainless steel or nickel new? I have used them for a few years now and can't work out from their website which ones have just been launched!!! I even sent them a message through their website and heard FA back. If stainless steel are the new ones are they brighter sounding? Any advice would be helpful.

I have a passive jazz bass and went through this same dilema - I opted in the end for the J-Retro by John East and have been really happy with it as for me it just makes a good bass sound even better. I don't agree that changing pick ups is a better first start option as that really is going to alter the fundamental sound that your bass produces. I personally like the tone of my 70's pick ups but needed a hotter signal with more bass boost to make the switch from my Stingrays or GB easier as before I was having to re-set the EQ on the amp and adjust some of my pedals too. The Sadowsky is a great pedal and sounds awesome but fiddling around on the floor is a bit of a fag - I have kept mine on my board to give a slight boost when slapping but I could just as easily do this on the bass with the pre-amp. The J-retro is great on a vintage bass because it does not need any mods or altering so you can go back to original with no problems, only down side is that you have to change the original knobs.

Had some T2's for a while and yesterday upgraded to T1's - they really are the business!! [quote name='Telebass' timestamp='1340307784' post='1702768'] I've persuaded my band to go totally in-ears now. The guitarist and I use radio systems, he with Shure off the shelf phones, me with the basics from the kit I bought, but soon to be replaced with ACS T3 custom moulded jobbies. Lots of dosh (phones cost much more than the rest of the wireless lit), but worth it. Downside: have to have much more stuff miced up, even on the smallest gigs, because the phones produce such good isolation! But it means a huge reduction in kit-carrying (no monitor speakers), and less noise in the hearing holes! Other downside: wasn't particularly pleasant having all that silicone squirted into my ears this afternoon! [/quote]

Try Newmoon Insurance, they specialise in music gear and offer great cover at sensible prices. [quote name='mikegrovesmusic' timestamp='1339091500' post='1683572'] Hi everyone, I need some advice about insuring my yamaha trb6p mk1. I have up to £2000 pounds cover with the MU and was wondering how much I should list the yamaha for? I don't know how much they cost when it was made as i was a 1 year old haha. I bought it for £900 from a fellow basschatter, but to get a replacement instrument of the same quailty i'm not sure how much i'd have to spend :S any advice on this would be great. Cheers!! [/quote]

I had exactly the same problem compared to my Musicman basses and GB the passive jazz just had such low output and sounded so thin. I used a Sadowsky outboard pre-amp to overcome the problem which worked to some degree but was very hard to tweak in mid-song etc! The J-Retro solves this problem perfectly - really beefs up the jazz sound and now I can use the Sadowsky for a slight bottom end boost when slapping etc. Job done. [quote name='Gust0o' timestamp='1338993247' post='1682099'] I've got an equally silly question... so, I now use my Musicmans/Musicmen for live work; but my Jazz is still a delight to play... but is now very much lacking the punch. I was considering putting something like a Sansamp Bass Driver into my effects chain to "beef up" the Jazz - so I can still enjoy playing it, but get a little more oomph from it. I hadn't considered fitting a pre-amp. Something I should look at, perhaps? This sounds a little refined, considering I'm a dirty rock player - would people have suggestions for where to look for more information? It's a Lakland DJ4, for information. [/quote]

I have both but would say that the j-retro edges it for me! [quote name='Prime_BASS' timestamp='1338930546' post='1681391'] the MMSR preamp is even better [/quote]

Do it Andy! Popped up to see John last week and got one put into my '74 and it is amazing. Just makes a good tone even better. I can't recommend them highly enough.

Had a j-retro by John East fitted into my '74 jazz on Friday and I just have to say again how awesome these pre-amps are!! I put one into my MM Classic Stingray earlier this year and was so impressed that I decided to do the same to the jazz after a few months of deliberation. I have to say that the j-retro is even better than the East MM pre-amp in terms of available tones and sound. If you have a jazz then you really should get one of these - you won't be disappointed.

Turns out that the IEM transmitter actually has dual jack/xlr inputs and I didn't realise! Hoping to try the xlr cable this weekend and see if it sounds better.

Yeah I agree what you say about money doesn't always buy the best sound but surely with two seperate drivers and one for bass only the laws of physics say that it should produce more bottom end? Have e-mailed ACS to see what they say. BTW checked the IEM manual and it says that it is a dual jack/xlr input - doh. Never seen one before but will try and see how the cable fits when I have 2 seconds. [quote name='Monckyman' timestamp='1337593136' post='1662312'] They should sound better yes, but it`s all relative. I`m really quite happy using £40 sennheisers for drummers on IEMs so long as the mould they sit in is good. I can only really say what I said in the other thread about IEMs and quality, which is if the ATs sound good, then use them. Try not to get sucked into the £100 more gets you x10 the quality, because it often doesn`t. Re: your other thread about balanced to unbalanced xlr to 1/4 jack, have a look at the manual and check if the input on your transmitter IS balanced, because it matters and bottom end is where it matters most. I`ve been where you are now, running around in circles trying to pin a problem down, but my advice is get the input sorted properly, before you worry about the phones. MM [/quote]

Ok will try that but they certainly feel like they are in properly. I'm not wrong in thinking that these should sound stacks better than the AT buds am I? [quote name='Monckyman' timestamp='1337554282' post='1662025'] Only thing I can think of is you aren`t getting a good seal with the ACs and for decent bass response that`s essential. Or, they aren`t seated right in the mould Try slightly warming the moulds to make them a little more pliable and once you have the ACS inserted, gently squeeze all around the seal area. MM [/quote]

Anyone able to help - this is driving me mad!

Yes I did. I have an xlr to xlr cable that goes into the desk but the input for the IEM system is jack only so thought that a mic cable would work being xlr to jack. I was obviously wrong! [quote name='StraightSix' timestamp='1337545314' post='1661821'] I thought you said you tried an XLR-XLR cable and it was quiet so I guessed you already had one...? Also, IMHO an XLR-Jack cable is not a 'standard' mic cable - almost all modern decent mics should be low impedance so XLR-XLR cable. [/quote]

Cool at least I know now. OBBM can make me up a balanced one so will get that next week and should solve the problem. [quote name='StraightSix' timestamp='1337544389' post='1661797'] The XLR-XLR cable is balanced as EH says but the XLR-Jack cable is unbalanced so it is introducing noise. There's your answer. If you have a balanced output, you should always use a balanced input where possible. [/quote]

I did wonder if it was the cable, so used it to plug a mic into my bass rig and not one bit of hiss or noise. I think that you could be right about it not being balanced though as that seems to be the only difference. [quote name='EdwardHimself' timestamp='1337544150' post='1661789'] What is happening is that the signal from the XLR-XLR cable is "balanced". That is to say, 2 signals have been sent out of phase from the DI to the mixer, which then puts them back in phase. This means you get a louder signal, and most of the noise picked up by the cable is cancelled out. Sounds as if there is a lot of interference coming from the cable somewhere if it is buzzy, or it is just a crap cable. [/quote]

Mono I believe - it is the same as my guitar cables. [quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1337539358' post='1661660'] Mono or stereo jack? [/quote]

Messing around with my IEM system today and something perplexes me. If you take the Di out from my amp to the desk (so xlr cable) you get a nice clean and strong signal. If you use a standard mic cable (xlr to jack) and plug direct from the Di out into the jack socket of the IEM system then it is really weak and buzzes like hell. Is this something to do with the type of cable?