rmorris

yeah - it's a pretty steep law of diminishing returns. If you work it out the resistance of the cable becomes negligible compared to the input resistance of any realistic input - whether it be a 'high impedance' input of 470Kohms or above - into the Megohms - or a normal line input resistive impedance of, say, 10Kohm. And the resistive element affects all frequencies equally by definition. It's the reactive impedances - capacitance between the cable core and screen and inductance of the cable which matters. Then there are 'secondary' effects like dielectric absorption which depend on the insulation between the cable and screen. In reality the integrity of solder and mechanical joints and the integrity of the jack or XLR etc connection is probably the most critical factor with any lead made with decent cable. Here's a quick way to increase the perfornace of any cable 100% ( ie - it does 50% less damage ) : cut it in half and use a shorter cable :-) If you're using a long cable you should be using twisted screened pair cable ( ie 'microphone' cable ) anyway into some sort of a balanced input ( like on a typical mixer ) to minimise pickup of low frequency fields such as those from mains transformers etc. Screening does little to reduce this - it needs the impedance balanced signal and balanced input to reject the interference. You'll probably need a DI box of some sort to provide this sort of output. [quote name='Al Heeley' post='369777' date='Jan 4 2009, 10:47 AM']There is a definite improvement in tone/clarity when you switch from a crappy old lead to a good quality one, and the longer it is/was, the more the difference. Something to do with latent resistance and capacitance in the cable which can reduce volume and lose some treble. As with all things, the law of diminishing returns shows when you jump from a £4.99 lead to a £19 one the difference is pretty big, but going from £19 to £55 is more of a placebo/status/ego thing, I reckon, than any real, significant improvement in tone, though those convinced by the marketing hype will never allow themselves to be convinced otherwise. As long as you have the money and it makes you happy, then go for it.[/quote]

The audio there though seems to have some 'digital' distortion on some of the peaks. I can hear it and checked the levels and verified it via my soundcard setup. Sort of makes it difficult to evaluate ? [quote name='WHUFC BASS' post='381923' date='Jan 15 2009, 11:50 PM']If you like the sound of an Ampeg, and want a Sansamp - this could be the thing for you... [url="http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Xr8kdWpB3U4"]http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Xr8kdWpB3U4[/url][/quote]

You may not notice any tonal difference especially given the short lengths involved but you probably get better screening against rfi, 'computer' electronic noise etc. [quote name='JonnyM' post='375508' date='Jan 9 2009, 06:36 PM']I've just re-wired my board with George L's because I couldn't find anything else that: 1). you can have precisely the cable length you want, 'cos you cut it yourself. 2). has jacks as small, or 3). cable as slim (it really is skinny: just a few mm thick). Hard to tell if they sound better than the multi-coloured crap ones, as I don't have an identical board with the old cables to a/b with IMHO, robustness isn't really a factor, as pedalboard patch cables don't get moved alot/twisted around/trodden on, unlike instrument cable - unless hobnail boots are your footwear of choice The only way I can see them failing is if the screws comes loose...[/quote]

Adam Hall patch leads - metal connectors / well made / good screening £2.50 or less [quote name='TheBrokenDoor' post='371362' date='Jan 5 2009, 08:39 PM']Hey guys, I searched the forum to find cheap George Ls, but the links I found direct me to prices higher than posted (I can only assume there have been price increases based on the performance of the £). I use the same brightly coloured bits of crap that everyone else starts with, and I love their small footprint over a large Neutrik jack. I'm not a tonophile, but I don't want something crap. What do you guys suggest? Dan[/quote]

Just posting to thank Psychocandy for selling me the EMGs - good to deal with. Similarly for Eskimo bassist who bought my Korg G5 . Sorry about the delay in posting guys - busy / Christmas / all the usual excuses for being disorganised :-)

interesting. What was the desk used ? [quote name='JPJ' post='370670' date='Jan 5 2009, 10:10 AM']Big fat warm tone on my home recordings whereas without the PJB it was just a little flat and lifeless. Hopefully, the studio guys will have the same experience later this month. BTW just to clarify, without the preamp and plugging straight into the desk, my J-Retro equipped Overwater J5 wasn't really 'driving' the mic input on the desk. Yes, we had to back the trim gain thing back a bit to stop it distorting, but in backing it off, I seemed to loose some depth or oompth. With the PJB, I can back the gain on the bass buddy back to avoid distortion but still provide a big fat signal to my desk. Does that make sense, I hope so 'cause thats what seems to be happening?[/quote]

I had a similar duff string problem a while ago. Tried damping all the parts of the bass then found it was the string itself - I guess a loose winding. But I was wondering what the truss rod problem rectified was - was that an action thing or was it actually causing another rattle ? [quote name='ednaplate' post='349105' date='Dec 8 2008, 09:37 PM']Okay I've had this problem sorted and it turned out to be quite interesting and a combination of two things. I took it to Ged Green in Cheadle and he diagnosed a slight truss rod problem (easily and quickly remedied). However there was still an annoying rattle which after taking the E string off and replacing it was completely solved. What Ged thinks was the problem is that the winding on the string wasn't tight enough allowing the core of the string to vibrate against the inner surface of the winding and this is what I was hearing. All I can say it was a quick ten minute job although I could have stayed in his workshop all day. He is in the process of making a couple of jazzes and all I can say is the quality of the work is stunning. The red jazz in particular is just beautiful. Check out www.gedgreen.co.uk[/quote]

[quote name='BigRedX' post='366934' date='Dec 31 2008, 11:09 AM']I never use a pre-amp while tracking. Split the signal direct from the bass with a quality DI box, feed one back into my rig so I have the sound I'm used to for playing and the other goes via a quality compressor/limiter with very subtle compression and just enough limiting so if I get carried away during the recording I still get a good hot signal without any nasty digital clipping. All the tonal decisions are made at mix down when ALL the other instruments are in place (which is normally at least twice as many as there would be from just a straight live recording and probably many more vocal harmonies). Then I can either use a plug-in EQ in the DAW or re-amp via my rig or send to some other piece of outboard kit depending on what is right in the context of the whole track. Putting on EQ while you're recording can limit what is possible at the mix.[/quote] +1 I'd always recommend splitting off a pure bass signal to one track whatever other signal paths are being recorded. Depending whether you are playing in the studio or the control room affects what you need to hear through the amp / monitors. And it's good to try and record what is likely to be the final tone anyway but yeah - having the clean track keeps all the options open and takes some pressure off agonising about the tone too much. EQ can, to some degree, be 'undone' in the mixing / re-mixing though it's best not to have to. But if you are using any form of harmonic enhancement / distortion etc then you can't get rid of it. It helps if you have a co-operative recording engineer of course and hopefully number of tracks isn't a limiting factor in a hard disk digital environment as it might have been with either digital or analogue tape.

in which case your amp is providing the 'Direct Injection' DI function which may or may not be what you want depending on amp spec ( noise etc ) and facilities like pre/post eq switching. Essentially the DI accepts a high impedance lowish level signal and outputs an impedance balanced signal either at mic ( low ) level if it's a passive transformer DI or probably at 'line level' if it's active. And it will usually have the facility to optionally break the ground ( screen / 0V ) connection to handle ground loops between, for example, your on stage amp and the FOH desk. [quote name='tonybassplayer' post='365854' date='Dec 29 2008, 11:02 PM']Could someone please advise me just what are the primary functions/reasons for using a DI box ?? I just plug my bass in to my amp and when we live record or play through a bigger pa I take an xlr out of the amp in to the recording/mixing desk. Many thanks Tony[/quote]

presumably that's the speed of the ac electromagnetic wave 'in' the copper relative to the speed in vacuum ? ( from a physics perspective the ac field is sort of 'in and around' the conductor but let's leave the A-level physics there for now :-) What that is supposed to do for the sound itself isn't clear ! [quote name='beerdragon' post='364846' date='Dec 28 2008, 02:39 PM']PROPAGATION: 86% the speed of light What the hell does that mean?[/quote]

well good shielding on the mains cable can have a benefit in attenuating noise being radiated from the cable. yes - the house wiring is almost certainly standard twin+earth etc but the radiated field drops off rapidly with distance - a square or cube law I think - so the cable nearest the equipment is the most important in that context. Whether this actually makes a difference in any particular instance depends on , well, everything eslse - how much noise on the mains to start with and how susceptible your amp / pickups are to it. So you may not notice the difference but it could explain the benefit stated on the SVP Pro. [quote name='Lfalex v1.1' post='364926' date='Dec 28 2008, 04:24 PM']To be fair, there was a guy who ran a dedicated supply from a nearby substation to feed his hifi. Using good cabling, naturally. It had a separate meter, the lot. It might just be worth it in that context. It might not be helpful to add that my "humble" £80 (1m) XLO mains cable stops my SVP PRO fom buzzing... That, at least, is a tangible benefit.[/quote]

All the views here seem to me to have merit. But I do think it's a good idea to define what you want a 'DI' to do - basically do you want to send a balanced low impedance 'pure' signal to desk etc. or are you looking for signal processing - eq / drive / speaker emulation etc. in which case it's really a pre-amp function combined with the appropriate output signal electrical 'format'. yeah - the BSS DI has been an 'industry standard' for years. Not cheap but has the reputation of surviving under the feet of musicians / roadies and all that. Certain other DIs look very similar :-) [quote name='casapete' post='365533' date='Dec 29 2008, 03:34 PM']A lot of engineers prefer to use a seperate DI box - in case the bass amp stops functioning then they still have a signal to use out front. I have a BSS box which I've used for years,no probs.[/quote]

There are some decent quality leads available from Adam Hall [url="http://www.adamhall.com/uk/AH_K--Adam-Hall-Cable-Patchcords__p--project_2__k--57__f--1"]http://www.adamhall.com/uk/AH_K--Adam-Hall..._2__k--57__f--1[/url] for £2.50 or less. I have a couple - well made with good heatshrink / metal connectors. The connectors are right angled and not too big. I can see I think a 'rivet' type connection to the jack plug itself so they are probably not as durable as the premium Neutrik connectors but should be fine in a static ( eg pedal board ) application. The all metal plugs also give superior shielding to the budget moulded multi-colour types. I have some of those too and they pick up noise. I bought the Adam Hall cables to replace these and they are much better. I can't see the construction of the cable due to the heatshrink but I would guess lapped screen as they are fairly flexible ( as needed for inter fx connections ) and noise rejection seems fine. [quote name='deej' post='347539' date='Dec 6 2008, 10:19 PM']What cables do you guys use for your pedalboards? George L's seem to be the top ones around, but seem so expensive. Are there any alternatives out there, or are they pretty much untouchable? And what about these cable kits you can buy? Ive heard theyre prone to coming loose, but its a big plus to be able to make all cables to personal size. Im still stuck with my cheapo cables from years ago, y'know, those nice brightly coloured ones.. I need some better ones a.s.a.p. but im looking around for the best options. Ive got quite a large pedalboard too, so lots of cables = lots of money. Damn it.[/quote]

I have one of these. It's simply two 1:1 transformers. It breaks 'ground loops' between different pieces of equipment. It might make a difference to problems from mains / dimmer noise but may not have very much effect in a typical instrument / home setup with unbalanced wiring. If it's dimmer noise it'll be picked up by your pickups ( makes sense !) Dimmers are bad news as standard dimmers chop the mains which causes much noise both on the electrical cabling and radiated. One way to test - does the noise change in terms of frequency balance when the dimmer is turned to different positions ? Also - don't forget that a dimmer light fitting may be hanging below you if there's a room below you - my own experience. A ceiling doesn't provide much shielding. Short of installing a dedicated spur I'd say run a good filter block from one or more sockets and try running all your audio stuff from them. [quote name='gafbass02' post='343769' date='Dec 3 2008, 08:00 AM']My house is really buzzy, im sure its to do with dimmer switches and crappy wiring im sure some of the noise is airbourne, would one of these stand any sort of a chance?[/quote]

In general you probably won't feel much benefit with it in the chain into the Ampeg if you're already happy with the Ampeg sound. But if you're sending a signal for FOH PA then that's where you'd feel the benefit of sending a 'amp emulated' signal to the FOH desk from the Sansamp. Do you send a DI out from the Ampeg to FOH desk atm ? Pros / Cons : You'll always be able to get a useable 'amp sound' . The Presence control allows a great deal of control of how much top end cut / clang you get which you can't get with simple mid eq on the desk. But you do have to be a little careful with amplified noise on high treble / presence settings. The BDDI has only Bass and Treble eq - no Middle - but it seems to work well although some don't like it's default voicing. The Behringer clone may be worth a try given the cost difference ? [quote name='MikeB' post='348493' date='Dec 8 2008, 12:20 PM']I'm thinking of investing in a SansAmp Bass Driver DI, but not sure it's going to be worth the money. I do little or no studio work, all live, and play through an Ampeg SVT-3 Pro. Can anyone out there offer some advise on the benefits / pitfalls of the SansAmp and how you use it. Thanks.[/quote]

For my BDDI I'll either use a standard '9V' unregulated DC supply - which will be delivering a few volts more than 9V if powering the BDDI only - or if I'm taking the XLR output to a mixer I'll use the 48V phantom power from the desk. [quote name='Sibob' post='359760' date='Dec 20 2008, 06:19 PM']I've just got hold of a sansamp and am wanting to purchase a mains power supply for it. Seeing as there is no Tech 21 uk power supplies, what are you guys using to power your sansamps? Cheers Si[/quote]

if you're handy, or know someone who is, with a soldering iron and resistors etc it might be worth rewiring the volume pot on the active bass so that its maximum output matches that of the passive. Assuming the active doesn't have a trimpot to do that anyway.

[quote name='dangerboy' post='336077' date='Nov 25 2008, 10:35 AM']The Belcat Delay is surprisingly good, too. I also used to have the Biyang fuzz pedal - it's basically a Big Muff with some interesting clipping mods - you can change one pair of diodes for LEDs with a switch. They're mostly made with surface mount components, but then so are the new EHX pedals... Only really matters if you want to mod them.[/quote] Are the surface mount components too small for modding to be feasible. I reckon that you're okay with resistors etc down to 0603 ?

[quote name='Silent Fly' post='342624' date='Dec 2 2008, 08:30 AM']Very interesting... thanks for the suggestion rmorris. Could you post some links? Thanks, SF[/quote] try this [url="http://www.gearslutz.com/board/geekslutz-forum/116542-tube-art-tube-mp-upgrade.html"]http://www.gearslutz.com/board/geekslutz-f...mp-upgrade.html[/url] interestingly a contributor is pointing out that it operates at a low voltage ( true ) and that you don't get significant input from the valve unless you 'crank' it. But presumably if you are looking for some valve character / crunch then you would be. I think the comment there about 'led' behind the valve doesn't apply to ART MP ( feel free too say otherwise if you know different ). That does ( or did ) apply to a Behringer unit(s ? ) which got a lot of press coverage. having said that the more expensive ART mic pres look more interesting but if you're looking to get something physically small on a low budget then the MP looks like a bargain.

has anyone on this thread tried changing the stock valve that it comes with for another valve ? Seems a fairly popular thing to do with other ART units judging by some other recording forums.

[quote name='Silent Fly' post='341705' date='Dec 1 2008, 10:44 AM']I have the TUBE MP STUDIO V3. For the price it is a good mic preamp but I am not overwhelmed by the sound as a DI. It is not bad but if you look for a transparent DI that transfers the sound of your bass to the console without coloration, I would look elsewhere.[/quote] yes. sure - but if you wanted a transparent DI into a desk you wouldn't be looking at anything with a valve in it anyway - simply a good fidelity solid state DI (maybe with a transformer balanced output ? ).

Marconiphone valve based reel to reel tape machine. SPARES/REPAIR free if you can collect from Brighton eves / weekends. Takes small 'domestic' (7") reels. makes big hum / noises atm when switched on and I don't have the time to investigate. 'Magic Eye' tube appears to work and pretty good physical condition. If interested let me know and I can sort a pic. Would be shame to see it go to the recycling skip if anyone interested.