Phaedrus

Hi, Why do some manufacturers make some of their pedals 18v and some 9v? My MXR El Grande is 9v, but my mate's MXR BlowTorch is 18v - why do this? I prefer the fuzz from my El Grande, he prefers his BlowTorch (he plays bass in a different band, and we sort of share the same pedalboard). I've wired the board up with a GigRig Distributor, but I'd have to buy extra stuff to bring the BlowTorch into my board. Pain. Does 18v provide cleaner (less noise/hum) fuzz than 9v? Thanks, Mark

This is so sad. It feels odd to become upset over the passing of a person you only interacted with online, but from all the posts on this thread, it's clear Si was as nice & genuine in person as he was online. I bought his Ibanez Weeping Demon a while back. He posted it to me even before I could get the money together to actually pay him for it . . . Gonna give it a good ol wow-wow-chicka-wow-wow next rehearsal . . . RIP Mark

Hi Gang, I love the gritty tones I can get with my Hartke VXL Bass Attack, but the inability to control its volume boost when the Harmonics is engaged is a problem I can't work around. I'm using an MXR BlowTorch for fuzz (think Muse's Starlight), but I also need something for dirty grit (think Roundabout, Siberian Khatru etc). The VXL does Roundabout etc really well, and I love the Shape control of the VXL, but what's out there that can replace the VXL for that gritty tone? I only need the tone, not the connectivity functionality of the VXL. Tech 21 Bass VT? It's pretty expensive, but I'd consider it if it was the right pedal. FWIW, I bought an MXR El Grande for fuzz, but the noise is atrocious when I pump the gain to get the fuzz tone I want - the BlowTorch doesn't seem to suffer anywhere near the same amount of noise. Thanks, Mark

[quote name='Conan' post='812195' date='Apr 20 2010, 08:11 AM']Oh right! Cheers. Still, he bears an uncanny resemblance to DT!! Can't say I care too much for his voice though - especially singing in harmony... [/quote] Jeez . . . I'm glued to Pink Moon every chance I get - I love the dual vocal on it. Mark

Just watching this now (recorded it on BBC HD). Danny Thompson's playing on Pink Moon is spectacular. Love ND's songs. Mark

Does that "Stompbox 8" from effectpowersupplies.com have the 8-way daisy chain hard-wired to the actual PSU, or is there a single connector coming from it that connects to the daisy chain? If the 8-way connector [i]is[/i] hard-wired, where can I get a 9v PSU with a single 2.1mm centre negative connector with a high mA rating, like 3000 mA or more? I'm going to use GigRig Distributors, rather than a power brick type PSU, but I don't want to pay €100 for the GigRig Generator 5000 mA PSU. I think I swallow the thoery that the more mA available over the exact rated sum of all pedals, the better, and I think my pedals will sum to 1100 - 1300 mA or so. Thanks, Mark

The two 1/4" outputs on the VXL are: "[b]LINE OUTPUT[/b] - 1/4 inch jack carrying the line-level output signal, either affected or un-affected, depending on the Pre/Post switch." ...and... "[b]PARALLEL OUTPUT[/b] - Standard 1/4 inch output jack for sending the original signal to the on-stage amplifier" Are they both the same signal level? Will either be ok to go straight into a power amp? Thanks, Mark

So which do you select - instrument or line? Could something like either one of these fit the bill between a regular DI and a power amp? [url="http://www.jimdunlop.com/index.php?page=products/pip&id=253&pmh=products/p_and_e_detail"]http://www.jimdunlop.com/index.php?page=pr.../p_and_e_detail[/url] [url="http://www.jimdunlop.com/index.php?page=products/pip&id=265&pmh=products/p_and_e_detail"]http://www.jimdunlop.com/index.php?page=pr.../p_and_e_detail[/url] Or would something like this be more suitable immediately before the power amp? [url="http://www.smproaudio.com/produkte/preamps/tc02-2-kanal-roehrenvorverstaerker.html"]http://www.smproaudio.com/produkte/preamps...erstaerker.html[/url] Thanks, Mark

Isn't the TVX basically this season's TXF? Mark

We have four HK Audio Powerworks RS122MA active 1x12 monitors. At times they've struggled to cope when on-stage drums & guitar (and by necessity, bass) got too loud (we put just vox & keys into them too), but overall we're quite happy with them - decent tonality, tough enough so far (4 years on the go), look the part. "Good" active monitors can be pretty expensive. If I coud buy again, I'd probably be looking into stuff like Yamaha MSR400, RCF ART312A, Mackie SRM450. Not tried them, but all well respected, and all under €600 each. Over €600? I'd check out DB Flexsys F12 and Dynacord D-Lite D12A. Under €400? Maybe DB Basic 400? Anything under €400 or "own brand" may struggle with volume or just sound crap, no matter what the spec, and I'd suffer on till I could get the right monitors rather than convenient monitors. Mark

Hi, My guitarist plays bass in another (sporadically-gigging) tribute band. He's been using an Ampeg rig that's owned by another member of that band (and I've been using that stack for my band's rehearsals), but he decided to get his own amp rig. For gigs, I'd be using my old Peavey TNT150BW, and will be putting gig money by to upgrade asap. I'm currently out of work, he's got a few bob. I got a text from him yesterday saying he'd just bought a Trace Elliot 1215 combo and an Ashdown MAG210 extension cab, and that I'm free to rehearse & gig with it. It's not a rig I would have bought if I had that kind of money to spend myself, but there's no denying the 1215 is a top class piece of gear, so I guess I'm excited and grateful to have access to it. It seems the 1215 has pretty flexible effects & DI-ing routing, so till I can afford to get my own amp rig, it looks like I'll be able to achieve pretty close to what I want. Mark

Old thread, I know, but rather than starting up another similar thread . . . Can I connect my Hartke VXL Bass Attack directly into a power amp? Perhaps it might be useful if someone who knows about this stuff could post the factors that determine whether any DI can be connected directly into a power amp? Thanks, Mark

Been thinking some more on this . . . I'd now also like the two separate signals available to my on-stage amp as well as the PA. If I ditch the idea of the Tour450 and get a stereo power amp instead, I could use two separate speaker cabs to do this. The first DI (in this pic, I've used a VXL Bass Attack cos it's got two 1/4" outs as well as the XLR DI out, but any DI with this feature set (or a DI with one 1/4" used with a Y-splitter cable or a splitter pedal) would do the job), splits the signal to one channel of the power amp (clean, un-effected), one channel of the PA (clean, un-effected), and on into the FX. The last DI (another Bass Attack) sends another signal to the second channel of the power amp (effected), and a second PA channel (effected). Elaborate, I know, but if I understand it and am willing to work it, it should achieve what I want (two separate signals (clean & effected) to both the PA and to my on-stage (and rehearsal)) amp rig, shouldn't it? Mark

Hey Dood, I'm planning on getting a MultiComp - I'd really value your opinion on it when you've had a play with it. Mark

Can't comment on the DH item, but I'm currently using a mate's BlowTorch - it's a pretty versatile fuzz. TBH, with the Torch disengaged, I wouldn't rate it - it's barely a light grind, but with it engaged & the gain & blend cranked, it's a big fuzztastic sound. I use it for Starlight by Muse and everyone seems impressed. I'm personally gonna give the El Grande a shot - soundclips are pretty close to what I want from a bass fuzz. [url="http://www.jimdunlop.com/index.php?page=products/pip&id=377&pmh=products/mxr"]http://www.jimdunlop.com/index.php?page=pr...mh=products/mxr[/url] [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6d9YzoCx3w"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6d9YzoCx3w[/url] [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gx59vZbei4k"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gx59vZbei4k[/url] Mark

[quote name='Higgie' post='788010' date='Mar 27 2010, 05:04 PM']LS-2's are a very quick and cheap solution to the problem, as you can put the effects in one loop, and leave the other loop empty, and then use the level knobs to blend the sound together. [b][i]Personally I use an Xotic X-Blender[/i][/b], as it has a big blend knob you can turn with your foot (invaluable for me as I have a fuzz in the loop, and sometimes just want a soft fuzz and then a heavy fuzz later in the song, so can change with my foot and either gradually fade the Fuzz in or just turn the knob up while the pedal is off) and it also has volume, bass and treble controls for EQ'ing the blended signal, eg to match your clean sound, or a bit of boost, etc. Then having the footswitch to be able to turn off the blend and go to straight effects is also very useful. Great pedal! The best blender available IMO.[/quote] Andyjingram, some of the effects I'm interested in / have tried and like do affect core tone when engaged, so I guess I'm in a different position to you, and I do want to preserve my clean core tone as well as have an awesome effected tone. Like I said in my OP, I had been planning to split signal before FX, but that only gives PA FOH both clean & and effected signals, while my onstage amp gets effected-only. In fairness, I actually care a little more what happens FOH than on stage, so I could live with that, but now that blenders have come to my attention, I'm thinking that one could indeed achieve my goal for both FOH & onstage (and rehearsals). Higgie, the X-Blender is the very product that's caught my attention. I'm aware of the LS-2, but while I don't have an aversion to Boss pedals, I'd just prefer to try something else. So you like the X-Blender? Mark

When I say "don't negatively affect tone", I don't just mean pedals that have crap bypass noise - I mean also pedals that, even if they're completely transparent when bypassed, when engaged they rob bottom end, for example. Thanks for the replies, Mark

Hi, Lots of effects sap tone in some way or other, so I'm wondering what folk do to prevent it? Only buy FX that really don't negatively affect tone? Use a blender/line-switcher/looper? Use two separate amps (one clean & one effected)? Send two separate clean & effected signals to the PA? Something else? Personally, I've been looking at sending two separate signals to our PA - one clean & one effected - by splitting the signal with a DI before the effects, but that'd leave me with just effected signal in my stage amp. So I've started looking at using a blender instead - that'd give both my stage amp and the PA mixer the same blended signal. Obviously this isn't an issue for guys who don't use effects . . . Thanks, Mark

Thanks for that SF - lots of clear detail in there. Mark

Rather than using both together, I'm wondering if an auto-wah can do almost what a wah can do? For You Oughta Know, I'd like to use an auto wah to accent those little fills & burps, and of course, that big slap, but for Cochise, I'd like to use the wah. Could an auto-wah give me the type and amount of wah I'd need for Cochise (as an example)? Mark

Could be some useful info here: [url="http://www.radialeng.com/re-jdi-faq.htm"]http://www.radialeng.com/re-jdi-faq.htm[/url] or here: [url="http://www.radialeng.com/re-j48-faq.htm"]http://www.radialeng.com/re-j48-faq.htm[/url] or in any of the Radial J- or Pro-series DI Product FAQs: [url="http://www.radialeng.com/re-products.htm"]http://www.radialeng.com/re-products.htm[/url] I'll be getting one of these once the gig money from the new band starts rolling in : [url="http://www.radialeng.com/re-pro48.htm"]http://www.radialeng.com/re-pro48.htm[/url] Compact, active, phantom-powerable, claimed to have plenty of headroom for active basses (both my bain basses are active), Radial quality & reputation, decent pricepoint. Mark

Hi. Little more to ask than what's in the title - anyone running both wah & auto-wah? Thanks, Mark

It seems my max curreent draw will be 1100mA, so would I be right that any one of these PSUs, along with two GigRig Distributors, will serve my purpose? [url="http://www.effectpowersupplies.com/9v-dc-regulated-power-supply-for-single-effects-3-p.asp"]http://www.effectpowersupplies.com/9v-dc-r...effects-3-p.asp[/url] (1300mA) [url="http://www.dv247.com/guitars/visual-sound-1-spot-9v-power-supply--42548"]http://www.dv247.com/guitars/visual-sound-...r-supply--42548[/url] (1700mA) [url="http://www.johnnyshredfreak.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=8&products_id=12&zenid=240abf60e7861096f4161bdc982e658f"]http://www.johnnyshredfreak.com/store/inde...4161bdc982e658f[/url] (1500mA) GigRig Distributor: [url="http://www.effectpowersupplies.com/distributor-twin-pack-131-p.asp"]http://www.effectpowersupplies.com/distrib...-pack-131-p.asp[/url] Thanks, Mark

My knowledge of leccy isn't too good - I take it "isolated outputs" means that each individual output of a multi-PSU somehow gets a separate feed of electricity from the mains, thus meaning that each separate pedal effectively has its own separate PSU? Which in turn means less potential for noise in the chain? I'm sure I've listed my stuff before, and I'm equally sure nobody was particularly interested, but this is what I'll have by the time I'm done creating my FX set-up: Korg DT-10 tuner EBS Multi-Comp Radial Pro48 DI (needs no PSU, as it'll be on phantom from the PA mixer) Ibanez Weeping Demon or Morley PBA-2 Dual Bass Wah MXR Bass Auto Q EHX Mole MXR El Grande Bass Fuzz MXR Micro Flanger EHX Memory Toy EHX Steel Leather Hartke VXL Bass Attack (this'll also be on phantom power from the PA mixer, but I'll want it to be on a PSU as well, for when I'm not hooked up to the PA) That's 10 pedals that will need mains power. AFAIK, they're all 9V DC, and all take 2.1mm centre negative connectors. I'm going to look up what the current draw is for each pedal too, so I can get a sum mA requirement. Will I need two separate multi PSUs with isolated outputs? Or is there a 10-output PSU out there? These multi PSUs are more expensive than some FX pedals . . . Does the GigRig Distributor have isolated outputs? Thanks, Mark