escholl

i don't know if you're any good with electronics, but you can buy chips that take +9V and turn it into + and -9V (effectively 18 volts), which is the same thing that the diago adaptors do. a couple of connections in and out, and possibly a few extra basic components, and that should be it. one of [url="http://www.littlediode.com/components/ICL7660CBA_Integrated_Circuit_ICL_7660CPA_SMD.html"]these[/url] should work, datasheet [url="http://docs-europe.electrocomponents.com/webdocs/078a/0900766b8078aebb.pdf"]here[/url].

[quote name='OldGit' post='309924' date='Oct 19 2008, 05:15 PM']Ok so what does adding the capacitor do? and should I use a sprague orange cap for best shielding tone?*[/quote] expensive oil and paper is clearly the only way to go for best shielding tone but on a serious note, the capacitor will limit the amount of AC current that can flow through, and will completely block any DC current. AC current is more often the problem, and in this case a 100nF cap will limit the maximum current at 50Hz and 250V to about 8mA, enough to make you curse loudly but that's about it (or so goes the theory). Due to the fact that most noise is above that range, and all of it is AC, it will still act as a ground in that sense, and will still "ground" the strings...In fact, if you wanted to be even safer, you could probably get away with a 47nF capacitor, or even none at all with some pickup configurations. Just make sure that it's no larger than 100nF, and can withstand at least 500V AC. (the yellow round ones from maplin are perfect -- it's what i use) Of course, the body has it's own resistance, which can vary from megaohms to ohms, depending on skin moisture and contact area, but any additional resistance will serve to limit the current even more. This is still no replacement for properly protected equipment, and is only designed to save your life should you be so unlucky -- it shouldn't be solely relied upon (i'm sure that's probably obvious, just thought i'd say it as a warning). The only way ensure nothing ever goes wrong is to get a wireless unit or disconnect the bridge entirely, however this system should keep you from any serious injury.

[quote name='Finbar' post='309108' date='Oct 18 2008, 10:57 AM']The 18v adapter has been out of stock for a long time, but yeh, can you use two battery clip adapters and just plug them to the two battery caps inside the pedal? That'd provide 9v to each one, just like two 9v batteries would I guess.[/quote] that's not actually going to work, sorry :/ the blue box shows your power supply (i'm assuming here that you'd be daisy chaining them), the yellow is the pedal....as you can see, when you try to connect the two +9v and ground connections in series inside the pedal to make 18v, all you end up doing is shorting the supply (red line)

[quote name='OldGit' post='309154' date='Oct 18 2008, 11:59 AM']"get your guitars to a tech and have the earths removed from the bridges" eh? Won't they then buzz like boogery?[/quote] -shield the pickup cavities -ground-->100nF capacitor -->bridge a lot of active, and some passive, basses don't even need to have the bridge grounded these days.

for those of you wondering, he's probably using, if not this, then something similar to, the PT2399 chip, which can be had BIN on ebay for about 12 pounds. a circuit diagram that can be like [url="http://www.tonepad.com/project.asp?id=27"]this one[/url] would be a good place to start.

[quote name='Finbar' post='306327' date='Oct 14 2008, 03:48 PM']Intelligent post ++ Does anybody else find it annoying, on a completely different note, how many turns of the string there are on that tuning peg in the Bass Day advert at the top of the page?[/quote] haha completely OT, but yea i found that really annoying. considering that's the incorrect way to do it, you'd think the organizers of "bass day" would know what they were doing ffs!

i could probably knock one off for about 20 quid, and most of that is the cost of the case and switches...it's just the designing it bit that i cba to do. if i ever have any free time (unlikely), i'll give it a go. of course, i wouldn't sell one for 20 quid.....

i think the cover is for durability, not sound quality. they seem pretty tough, but i'm not sure they're anything all [i]that[/i] special.

i doubt you'll get the schematic, but if you do (and i hope you do), any chance of sharing it with the rest of us?

[quote name='bass_ferret' post='304087' date='Oct 10 2008, 05:49 PM']Diago sell it.[/quote] and it's really, really good stuff too. really durable, and just about impossible to remove (although you can remove it). cost me only like, around a fiver for 2 meters with shipping....i think.

it's really nothing to worry about. the 12ax7 is just a 12au7 with a higher voltage gain...that's why it works fine, as it's not *technically* a direct replacement but it's near enough as makes no difference. As far as i know, pretty much all of the 12a dual-triode series are more or less interchangeable without doing any harm, although they've all been designed for different applications (not all audio) and so will give you slightly different results...some overdrive better than others, or are lower noise, etc, etc...but then again, the same can be true between two different brands of the same exact model. again, it's nothing to worry about.

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='302608' date='Oct 8 2008, 10:52 PM']Contact area innit, same as my the badass is big and machined at the bottom.[/quote] Unless in filing it yourself you completely re-design the badass saddles, it won't make a difference. Both designs have roughly the same amount of contact area, in the sense of what will limit/dampen string vibration.

did this remind anyone else of GLaDOS when they heard it? on topic, i think it's just a simple adjustable sample and hold circuit....kind of like a delay with unity feedback and adjustable other stuff, like delay time..

[quote name='bigjohn' post='301387' date='Oct 7 2008, 02:42 PM']It's not like it's all or nothing with the volume, it's just that it hits "zero" before you stop turning the knob off, there's about another 10-15% of turn where the pot has no effect.[/quote] i have what sounds to be the same CTS pot in my bass, and i've got the same problem. I've checked and triple checked, and it's the right pot and in the right way....i think it's just something with those pots.

[quote name='Rhythmman' post='301597' date='Oct 7 2008, 06:34 PM']if you file the saddles correctly, you will get more sustain than from the pre cut saddle Badass[/quote] how do you figure that?

cheers for the help guys

[quote name='Lorne' post='299694' date='Oct 5 2008, 12:44 AM']also look out for any email addresses that have the same name as the intended member's user name,especially on Gmail[/quote] that would rule me out

[quote name='alexclaber' post='300267' date='Oct 6 2008, 08:15 AM']Does that make sense?[/quote] haha no...well, kinda. so basically where the others would have a dip in frequency response around 70-80 Hz, as limited by their power handling at that frequency, the one modeled in red doesn't, and it additionally has a significantly better output down to around 40 Hz...with the end result being a broader, smoother frequency response at high output? or something? i usually design the amplifier side of things, and have never designed a conventional and high output speaker (only flat-panel hi-fi stuff) so you'll have to excuse me if i'm being a bit thick

[quote name='escholl' post='299869' date='Oct 5 2008, 01:35 PM']...Adjust input gain to suit...[/quote] i should have added, i've got my input gain set so that when i'm playing hard (but not really really hard, or really digging in, or slapping) the red compression LED lights up pretty much all the way. With the compression knob set where it is, this still lets the dynamics through, while evening out any big spikes, transients from slapping, or poor technique :lol

[quote name='Bill Fitzmaurice' post='299898' date='Oct 5 2008, 02:33 PM']The maximum SPL chart is far more informative than a FRD. FRD shows what the cab will do with low level input, but what a cab will do with 1 watt doesn't say what it will do with 100 watts or more. Admiittedly having manufacturers provide FRD would be a giant leap in the right direction, but ulitmately the max SPL chart tells us what most of us are really interested in, which is how loud the cab will actually go.[/quote] yes, but i don't see the correlation between how SPL output at certain frequencies is connected to how it will actually sound....i don't know how to put it in words though. Say the cab could put out 128dB at 100 Hz, and 136 dB at 1kHz (as an example)....but due the varying sensitivity with frequency range of whatever particular driver, it may reach that 136 dB with only 500 watts of power, but need 2 kW to reach 128dB at 100 Hz....or something along those lines. to my mind, it seems a bit like telling the top speed of a car, and trying to use only that number to figure out lap times on a track..it would be irrelevant without knowing the acceleration and cornering ability, etc, etc of the car. does that make sense? i know what you mean though about frequency response at 1 watt, it's often very different than it is under higher power. I guess what i'd like to see is a graph of measured swept frequency response from say, 30 Hz to 20 kHz, with 1kHz being measured at 120 dB and the other frequencies in relation to that. Sort of like the one watt test, except this time quantifying a dB level instead of a power level...in addition, the power required to reach 120dB should be listed and held constant, similar to the way speakers are tested at 1 watt. This way it would be easy to see sensitivity and high power frequency response all in one graph. i keep re-reading it but that's the best i can figure out how to explain it...it makes sense in my head haha

i've got a blackfinger, and i've gotten best results (for me) going: LED, Squash Off, Compression about 2 o'clock. Adjust input gain to suit, and adjust output gain to unity (so the pedal is the roughly the same volume, on or off). don't have a sensitivity knob on the blackfinger so no idea what that does Of course, you'll probably just want to play around with the compression level till you find something you like. Squash will flatten the dynamic range quite a bit, and really only applies to the "lamp" setting according to the manual. The "lamp" setting will compress the highs less than the lows and give a slower attack than "LED" as well. At least, that's what it does on mine.

[quote name='alexclaber' post='291733' date='Sep 25 2008, 01:05 PM']It's showing maximum output in dB SPL as limited by both excursion limited or program power handling.[/quote] err...maybe it's just me, but those graphs don't say that much to me on their own. A graph of frequency response and/or sensitivity/vs frequency, would really be a bit more informative. any chance of that?