Mottlefeeder

Looking at graphic eq to fix a hearing problem, I concluded that half of the faders would be flat, and the rest at max- then I ran some tests. Interestingly, my audio test chart appears to show my hearing as ok up to 1kHz then dropping by 30dB for most of the rest of the spectrum. However, playing with the eq on a DAW I found that a low Q boost of 8-10dB at about 4kHz brought back most of the clarity I was missing. I presume that this is the difference between detection threshold and normal listening levels as described by the Fletcher Munnsen curves, but I'm well out of my depth on the theory. David

We mainly play outdoors using an analogue powered mixer, and I was hoping to avoid having to share our 3m x 3m gazebo with rack mounted gear. A 7 band pedal eq might be worth a punt. Thanks for your thoughts.

As a fellow hearing aid user, I have noticed that when you take hearing aids out and put in-ears in, you lose the mids/top end that the hearing aid was providing. Does anyone make a monitor amplifier that has suitable eq built in? David

+1 on this. Nice and clean and a DI too. Also, the pedal can be powered by battery, external 9v, or from the mixer desk phantom power. David

With respect, I strongly disagree. Daisy chaining adds extra connections into the earth path, which needs to be low impedance to blow a fuse quickly under fault conditions. Also, a faulty earth connection will not show up under normal operation, only when tested, or when it fails to protect you. There is an argument that the pub RCD will protect you, but most of those are tested for sensitivity, and not speed of operation, so I wouldn't rely on them. David

I didn't have a balance problem, but I did have a problem with the bridge being about 5cm to the left compared with my other basses. I solved it with a boot lace. Thread the bootlace through the bridge end of your strap, and tie the ends to the two strap pins, with the bootlace on the back of the bass. Move the strap-end from the bridge-end pin towards the center of the bass and see if you can find a spot where it balances the way you want. If it works for you, knot the lace into a loop to hold the strap-end at that point. It's cheap, reversible when you sell the bass, and barely noticeable in use. David

Apologies if I have gone off-topic. HRC have noise monitors/limiters for a reason, and the most likely one is complaints from residents. My initial comments were about why that might happen with an established venue. With regard to the sound level at the audience, unless it is a concert, and they are there to hear you and maybe talk in the interval, there should be a sound level where it is loud enough to be exciting, but in my opinion, not so loud that punters have to shout at each other, or at the bar staff. In addition to that, the early guidance on minimising the spread of Covid suggests that music should not be loud enough that people have to raise their voices, because in doing so they will project droplets further. The venue's stance on sound levels could be the result of any of the above. I agree with the others that the guy with tinnitus is probably a chancer, or a professional complainer. David

Some drummers can play quietly, but some can't. It seems to be a skill that they don't learn if they don't see a need for it. David

I can see both sides of the argument when pub A has no bands due to Covid, and during that period, punter B buys a property close to the pub. When the pub music restarts, punter B complains that it spoils his peace and quiet and pub A appeals because they were there first. As an older musician with hearing aids, I stopped going to a local open mic night because everyone played at the level the house band had used to keep up with heir drummer. Playing three songs and spending the rest of the evening shouting at people beside you is not my idea of fun. The point I'm getting to is: why does the music have to be that loud? - if the drummer cannot play quieter, get him/her on an electronic kit through the pa, and control the sound level. If the guitarist has an overdrive-based signature sound, get it from a pedal and put it through the pa. It's not rocket science, it just needs people to push hard enough, and it sounds like that is what they are starting to do. David

Another downside to the 'modified sine wave' invertor is that the harmonics it produces will kill small transformers - they run so hot that the thermal fuse melts. Not a problem if your FX power supply is modern and switched mode, but it is a problem if you have an older transformer based wallwart, or want to run a small mixer where the power supply is something like 15-0-15 AC. I lost several transformers before I worked out what was going on. David

As an alternative to converting battery power to mains and back down to amplifier supply rail voltage, you could consider a car booster amp. These are designed to work from a 10-15V supply, contain a dedicated voltage converter, are built to withstand harsh treatment, and have a sensitivity that allows you to connect an active bass to them and get something approaching full power without needing a preamp. £70-80 will get you 75W into 8 ohms or 150W bridged into 4 ohms. All you have to do is bolt it to a piece of plywood, connect speakers, power and input jack socket, and you are good to go. The amp even has its own fuse so you don't have to provide one. The amp on the left is Class AB as described above. The amp on the right is Class D, giving 35+35W into 8+8ohms or 90+90W into 4+4Ohms - it's 4 amplifiers wired as two bridged pairs. David

I bought a convertor block to clamp normal strings, and it gives me a much wider choice of strings. It might be worth investigating. I'm using D'Addario Chromes on a Hohner 5 string headless. David

Why it is 440Hz - a bit long winded, but fascinating. David

The picture below shows: On the left, a Class AB stereo car amp bolted to a piece of plywood, and connected in bridge mode to give 75W RMS into 8 ohms or 150W RMS into 4 ohms. With the 7 AHr battery shown, it gives about 2 hours of playing time. On the right, a Class D 4-channel amp which I use as 2 bridged pairs, each giving 35W into 8 ohms, or 80 W into 4 ohms. Using the 7AHr battery, I busked for nearly 5 hours and it was still going. The mixer I use is the Behringer 1002B, which runs on mains, or two 9 volt batteries. https://www.andertons.co.uk/behringer-1002b-battery-powered-analog-mixer-000-a0401-00010?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=surfaces&gclid=Cj0KCQjwtrSLBhCLARIsACh6RmgidspbWPV-o7EHRGp4bv5UzMbTzEJSkdUOqxtAMiEnW3izZmrxuAMaAgUrEALw_wcB Not a combo, but less than half of the price of a street cube if you use an existing smallish speaker cab. David

The problem with inverter + mains systems is the standing current drawn by the amplifier. It may only be 12 watts which is insignificant on mains, but that alone is 1 amp continuously from the battery, and that assumes that your inverter is 100% efficient. My amplifier plus inverter takes 1.5 amps before it produces any sound. A better route is to use a car audio amplifier connected directly to a 12 volt power pack - less voltage conversion eating up your battery power.

I carry the bands spare mixer. We mainly plug into mains or generator supplies, so I went for a small mixer that could also run on batteries. We've needed it twice in the last couple of gigging years, both times because of generator problems.

The string clamps sold by a US independent have a bowl ended screw pushing the string into a bowl shaped recess. This clamping mechanism pinches the string windings against the core so that the string will not unravel when the tension is increased, nor when the tension is released and the clamp is removed. That works for my steel flatwound strings, but may not work for nylon. David

The three kits are different. The diamond shape of the 4 pots rotates from kit to kit. David

In my defence your honour, I was just following orders. The supplied instructions referred to fixing the module using the supplied screws or cable ties, and made no mention of the need to earth the case, which has no discernable earth terminal. Having avoided cheap far-eastern modules because they have a reputation for being noisy, I assumed that a major brand would have incorporated whatever was necessary into the module. Having said that, to be fair to them, a bass pickup is a lot more sensitive than anything likely to be fitted in a car, so it is probably fit for purpose in their eyes. One learns (or is reminded of things one has forgotten). David

A quick update - Checking out mains power supply options, I noticed that I was getting a high-pitched buzz through the speaker. I rejigged the earth connections to get as close to a single earth point as I could, but then noticed that the noise varied as I moved the bass around, so it was probably radiated interference. With a bit more testing I discovered that the amplifier case isn't connected to earth. Connecting it to the earth star point cured the problem completely. David

I think you mean connected in parallel. Cabs in series would increase the impedance and draw less power from the amp. David

Out with Loose Change Buskers on Sunday, playing at a Makers Market - a 5 hour shift with a front line that changed every hour or so. Also the first serious outing with my combo lockdown project, the "Joe Bloggs Briefer Case". About 150W, but smaller and lighter than a PJ Briefcase - build thread here. https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/445027-combo-lockdown-project/ Our audience was anyone passing, or queuing for food stalls within about 30m of us, and our PA volume was loud enough to be clear, but not so loud that the audience had to raise their voices as they talked. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the "Briefer Case" was plenty loud enough to be heard throughout our catchment area, and the built in battery was still working after nearly 5 hours of playing time, so I now have a viable small rig, and an emergency backup to the larger rig. David

Portable appliance testing is used to ensure that equipment containing dangerous voltages continue to be safe. If your pedal is mains powered, test it: if it is powered from a 9/12/15/24 volt brick, test the brick. David