Dood

[quote name='bassmeg' post='807020' date='Apr 15 2010, 12:13 PM']The bass has had this issue with both the original and new pups in it. so i would have thought that would suggest somthing else being the cause of lack of volume/output. I relly would like a j-retro, as i like an active sound, but just the cost at the moment- could do with trying to sort this the cheapest way. I think i am looking for more output from the bass.[/quote] Was the harness changed for a new one at the same time as the pickups then?

[quote name='bassmeg' post='807025' date='Apr 15 2010, 12:16 PM']Errr, whats a harness?[/quote] wires/volume pots/components, not including pickups.

Like this [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2-CHANNEL-FOOTSWITCH-FOR-GUITAR-AMP-MARSHALL-TYPE-99p_W0QQitemZ150432779656QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_MusicalInstr_Amplifiers_RL?hash=item23067e0d88#ht_500wt_1182"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2-CHANNEL-FOOTSWITCH...8#ht_500wt_1182[/url]

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='806973' date='Apr 15 2010, 11:31 AM']Should be able to chop of the jack and put a new one on from Maplins or wherever, just note which wire is connected where.[/quote] Yep, Maplins get a +1 - though - if the plug is moulded - checking which lead goes where would require a continuity tester of some sort to find out which of the three wires connect to tip, ring and sleeve. I will bet a cup of steaming cappuccino that the wiring for your foor switch is: So, you could (if it's possible to unscrew the footswitch casing) find out which wire goes to the different terminals on the plug. If I hadn't have butchered my own dual footswitch at home for another purpose I would have sent it to you for free to help you out! It was a Marshall one - infact thinking about it - you could probably find a suitable footswitch on ebay far cheaper than 20 quid.

[quote name='bassmeg' post='806997' date='Apr 15 2010, 11:50 AM']Yeah, the C & D strings just dont have the volume power of the Icon series. I was thinking, newer technology would improve the fender. I love playing the fender, ive had it for years, so how do i know if its a pile of poo? I want to believe that its electronics. Would changing the resistors increase output, or am i looking at this the wrong way round/[/quote] Well, trying different pickups/ different harness would certainly rule the existing ones out for sure! You *could* wire each pickup directly to the output to test with, if you are handy with a soldering iron so that you can hear them on their own. That would also rule out the harness. As for the 'resistors' I think your guitarist friend is refering to the 'Variable Resistors' - ie - the volume and tone controls. There are no other (fixed) resistors in a standard jazz bass harness. They are usually of two values - either 250K Ohms or 500K Ohms. It has been said that 500K Ohms for volume pots will give you a 'better' tone. No boring with technical stuff.... Or even replacing them if they are old and gnarly - as the tracks in them maybe worn / contaminated. My first port of call, which will cost you nothing will be to try bypassing the harness first to see if the problem goes away. If it doesn't - then see if you can at least borrow some jazz pickups to drop in and test.(With and without the harness) If that doesn't sort the problem, you can rule out buying a preamp - as it won't solve the problem - maybe just hide it! The 'proverbial sticking plaster'.

p.s. - I just thought I'd add, on the whole £150 vs £1000 debate - years and years ago I went shopping for a new bass and spent many many hours in the presence of thousands of pounds worth of basses including Alembic, Warwick, Musicman etc - and I didn't really have to worry too much about budget (wow - can't do that these days!!!) - and the best sounding and playing bass that day was less than half the price of all the 'TOTR' instruments. I bought it and always had compliments about it's great tone.

[quote name='bassmeg' post='806964' date='Apr 15 2010, 11:26 AM']I have 2 basses at the moment. 1) A 78' fender jazz, as far as i know original except for wizard pickups i had installed. (still have the original ones though). 2) A vintage icon series (jaco copy) fretless Can i ask for some opinions as to why the latter has a more powerful sound across the 4 strings. I am finding myself using this one all the time now. And unusually people are commenting that the jaco copy sounds better. Guitarist in my band has suggested changing the resistors in the fender. Should i drop in a j-east retro? Any advice welcome.[/quote] You say 'across all the strings' - Does that mean you are finding an uneven volume between strings? If the strings on the bass are relatively new (just to rule any dead ones) - and the strings are all equidistant from their nearest pole pieces - it would suggest something up with the harness. Because the way Jazz pups are wound would make it difficult for an individual 'pole' to be able to fail in volume. Maybe if the harness is wired incorrectly, then the pickups *could* be out of phase. You'd experience a lower volume, more hollow sound when both pickups are on together. On the flipside - it may just be that the output of the wizard pickups is much lower and that can *sound* like they are thinner in tone. Something I experienced with Seymour Duncan actives Vs EMG actives. It wasn't until I dropped in an EMG gain booster that I experienced what I perceived as an improvement in tone. I would makes sure everything 'under the bonnet' is correct before thinking about preamps etc - but being an 'actives' fan - I would expect an improvement if you did choose to drop a preamp in.

The liquid is there as a protective cushion against further damage from too much pressure. If I have had to, I have used a bit of gaffer tape to stop the blister from bursting and to add a bit of protection. Depending on which finger has the blister, it may be possible to work in another finger instead! Sometimes why a three finger technique is useful. I don't wanna teach to suck eggs or anything, but of course, if big blisters are re-occuring it might be worth looking at technique to prevent it happening in the future. Blisters are caused by playing too hard (obviously) and sweaty/wet fingers. Keep 'em dry and you'll suffer less! Also, as has been said already - any methods for toughening up the finger tip skin will be useful too, such as rubbing in Surgical Spirit.

Larry told me t'other day that production starts in July with the product being available at the end of August. - there ya go - straight from the man!

Heh heh ! Thanks for the replies! - It was all a bit of a laugh - but the more I look at it - it's really functional, light weight and the frame is so strong! It wont bend if you stand on it, it just springs back again!

I've never really played any GK gear - well - not long enough to form a proper opinion. However, on the strength of the full interview with Bob Gallien in Bass Gear Magazine a couple of months ago - I have mucho respect for him as an amplifier designer! Real no-nonsense architecture!

[quote name='Wolverinebass' post='804153' date='Apr 12 2010, 09:02 PM']I've been wondering for ages why nobody has done a lightweight amp with a decent graphic EQ. Discounting the Superfly by Ashdown (for reliability problems) and the MoMark by Markbass that have rather primitive 6 or 7 band EQ's how come nobody has done one with a 10 band? For some reason I like sliders rather than dials and yet the fashion at the moment is to have more dials than you can possibly imagine. As much as I love my Hartke, I just can't be bothered with the weight sometimes and nobody seems to do something comparable. Anyone got any suggestions?[/quote] I spotted a TBC on a lightweight unit by Peavey due to come out soon called the 'Headliner': [url="http://www.peavey-eu.com/product_detail.php?flag=GB&lan=UK&key=3009"]http://www.peavey-eu.com/product_detail.ph...UK&key=3009[/url] Picture: [url="http://www.peavey-eu.com/picture_display.php?sys=ALL&type=PDM_6_PL&level=PDM_6&tbl=system&def=A_3&key=7423"]http://www.peavey-eu.com/picture_display.p..._3&key=7423[/url] It may have 7 bands on the graphic - but there's a whole multitude of other tonal options onbaord - so that may make up for it? Errmmm How about the new Ibanez Promethean head? Again, a graphic and additional tone controls. Finally, the Markbass F500 features a parametric EQ which I think is just as flexible as a graphic. Infact I feel that in some ways it's better a graphic with tooo many bands. A phase nightmare if poorly designed.

A smooth and quick exchange today - folding stuff for a great power amp. Thank you Jamie! Oh! and coffee too! )

[quote name='jbasss' post='803244' date='Apr 11 2010, 11:59 PM']I have the schematic somewhere. What I can recall the only difference between bright and normal inputs is a low pass filter, possibly separated with a buffer. Shouldn't be a big issue, most probably a bad solder. Will check.[/quote] Yep, I was thinking a dry/cracked joint / loose connection too. Sometimes the PCB track lifts through vibration or a sudden jolt - it's just a matter of time before another vibration starts to crack it through. Usually a simple fix though.

I'm not sure if it's possible with the Schro', but if you have a cab with push in wheels, pop the back two out and it points the front of the cab upward. I guess the bigger the wheels, the larger the angle it 'kicks back'. Failing that - MB1's idea is by far the simplest.

[quote name='yorick' post='803446' date='Apr 12 2010, 09:58 AM']Looks good.... any flex?[/quote] flex?

[quote name='sk8' post='803580' date='Apr 12 2010, 12:05 PM']apaarently my Diago 9volt can power the nova dymanics but not ever put this to the test. Thats what James said [/quote] just test my little 10v SMPS on the TC and I saw very little difference in LED brightness if at all.. and the sound seems unchanged too - so I guess YMMV with respect to what PSU you use. But i'd recommend a regulated one for several reasons.

[quote name='deksawyer' post='803577' date='Apr 12 2010, 12:02 PM']Dood, a couple of quick questions which I hope you can answer.... Will the Nova Dynamics work ok running from a 9v supply? I know some of the other TC pedals work ok this way but if you could test for me I'd appreciate it. Also, how does it sound..? cheers D.[/quote] I ran it on a 'higher' current 9v regulated supply and it seems to work ok, but you can tell the LEDs at least are a little dimmer. Sound-wise - there wasn't a great deal of difference in my testing - but I have to say I only tried a few settings before I decided to try the TC's 12v supply on my other pedals instead - which seemed to make far more sense. Interestingly, you will find that if you read the voltage off a great deal of unregulated DC supplies - the output is a lot higher than it's suggested rating. For example I have an old 9v 1A supply in a box - it's output is actually 14v. I have a 5v as well - and that comes out at around 8v. Most pedals have some sort of regulator in anyway - so if you pushed 12v in to them, the circuit still only gets 9v anyway. Though I wouldn't state that is read across the board, so don't take my word as gospel for every pedal. - As I said above - I'm running all of those pedals from the TC 12v supply and they sound great together - probably better than on a 9v supply, if electronics theory ref: headroom pans out here. How does the TC sound? Well - I loved my C300 and I expected to take a step back in quality with this pedal - but it is just ace! The multiband settings is fantastic for chords and tapping - and the fullband settings are great for getting squishy when pushed!

[quote name='ahpook' post='803465' date='Apr 12 2010, 10:15 AM']aren't there some pedals that do this freaky [url="http://www.bosscorp.co.jp/products/en/AC-2/index.html"]magik[/url]?[/quote] Ah beat me to it! I think there are one or two others out there - but I reckon this one will be a good bet.

or a bottle of Barry Scott's finest kitchen cleaner!!

[quote name='munkonthehill' post='795519' date='Apr 4 2010, 10:00 AM']first pic is my awesome little lad rocking out with elmo........[/quote] It seems your lad uses the same guitars as Paul Gilbert!!

[quote name='AttitudeCastle' post='802381' date='Apr 11 2010, 09:56 AM']The SFT does seem along the right track! i will have to investigate getting one! And yes you right, Duff is using an GK 2001RB which has a dirty channel according to the description of that DVD i found on t'internet [/quote] *somewhere* online you'll also find a video where 'they' run through all of his gear. I have a sneaky suspicion it was a link on the Dunlop/MXR site.

Hi everyone! Well here's a bit of fun for you! - Here's is my gift to you, in viewing pleasure! As a few of you may know - I have a G.A.S affliction that unfortunately makes me want to chop and change my gear all the time - far too often I think! This time it appears to be for pedals! Or at least - I've decided I am fed up with carrying a rack system around with all sorts of 'stuff' in. I thought I'd have a go at the pedals route! I've always had an M80 in the case anyway, so I wondered if it were possible to make my whole rig as small as possible, so that I can turn up and plug straight in to ANY power amp and cabinet OR PA alone and have as much control over my sound as possible. I guess, this is an all analogue version of a POD, minus all the stuff I don't need! However - this being no different from what everyone else does with their pedals (kinda) I still had one niggle that I still couldn't shift. Pedal Boards. Yup, I can't help thinking that I am undoing all that work to find small light easy to carry pedals by strapping them on to a dirty great pedal board.. Ok Ok.. I'm not taking in to account the whole 'safety whilst in transport' thing here - it's just for fun - so bear with me! My plan was hatched! To find a way of building a super light frame that is strong and has the flexibility to mount pedals in different configurations to. I definitely didn't want to use Velcro. I needed something stronger so the pedals couldn't move at all. ************ Sometime between having this idea, scribbling thoughts down on a piece of paper and mixing a little Rush live with one of Speyside's finest single malts - I had a brilliant idea! Indeed, Geddy was stood there in front of his backline of Washing Machines: [attachment=47065:geddy.jpg] and obviously, kitchen goods are the way to go!!!!! A lightweight framework - A heavy duty refrigerator shelf!! Unfortunately I don't have any 'before' shots of it - but I'm pretty sure you know what they look like! ha ha! - It just so happens I had one laying around, having just dumped my old fridge freezer. It was perfect and below you'll see why! [attachment=47062:Rack.JPG] By luck, the size of the rack was exactly the right size for my pedal layout after I had folded it in to shape. I wanted to make the classic wedge shaped pedal board so I simply offset the halfway point at which I bent the frame over as you can see in the underneath shot below! The hardest bit was actually bending the shelf over! I had to use a couple of sheets of MDF I had spare for added leaverage to make sure the fold was uniform and neat. [attachment=47063:RackBott.JPG] Underneath - You'll see that like any other pedal board, all power and signal cables travel underneath the pedals and conveniently between the 'folds'. There are plenty of places to anchor cables with the all important cable ties!! It's neat - tidy and easy to trace through. Power is provided by a daisy chain cable and the TC Electronics PSU is more than man enough to provide power for all the pedals. I connect directly to the rest of my gear with a home made snake. Andy 'Alien' will recognise this as he very kindly provided me with the sheathing at the very first Bass Bash all that time ago. Still going strong mate! Thanks!! [attachment=47064:SnakeCrop.JPG] Finally - the geeky bit. The Signal chain is a simple one at the moment. Korg PitchBlack > MXR M80 > TC Electronic Nova Dynamics > Sansamp Paradriver > ISP Vector powered cab (or out to a power amp/PA/recording device). The Sansamp stays ON all the time as it is providing all the necessary 'amplifier tone controls' and thus does not need to be at the front of the board - infact, out the way, where it won't get bashed. The TC is actually 4 compressors and 2 noisegates in one box. I use one half as a multiband compressor - much like the one in the RH450/Classic/Stacatto etc heads. The other half set up provides a fullband compressor as a boost for soloing. The M80 has it's own noisegate and I find that this is sufficient. The M80 adds dirt to my signal and additional fat bass in the clean setting. The Korg is at the start of the chain so I can mute everything when I pull my guitar lead out. Simples! That's it! Whaddya think? ;o) Note my nod to Geddy with the Sansamp, Spoon and Whisk!!!!

[quote name='jjl5590' post='789637' date='Mar 29 2010, 05:14 PM']the RH450 is only 450W right? How comes people are saying its louder than a Shuttle 6.0, which is 600W? Is it just a super-loud 450W?[/quote] The RH450 has a proprietary power amp errmm 'box of magicals' errrmmmm there be pixies in there! Oooh arhhhhhhh! ok, I think TC explain it better how they get the amp to peak at 800W:- [url="http://www.tcelectronic.com/media/Active_Power_Management_020209.pdf"]http://www.tcelectronic.com/media/Active_P...ment_020209.pdf[/url]