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Post by bobcarter on May 13, 2024 20:49:57 GMT
I remember seeing this comparison elsewhere: One option, if you're comfortable with a soldering iron, might be to replace the stereo plug with one that is likely to be a good fit everywhere, e.g. Neutrik. Interesting! The words "comfortable" and "soldering iron" rarely go together in my experience, sadly (I'm lucky if I don't lose an eyeball flicking bits of molten metal about), but I'm getting some avenues to investigate. Thanks!
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Post by bobcarter on May 13, 2024 17:55:00 GMT
I've never used stereo plugs, Bob, but have had occasional problems with mono ones and can confirm that they do indeed vary , especially the profile of the tip, with some being more rounded and some more angular. I've always accepted it as being the intransigence of inanimate objects that some leads work best on some guitars and others work fine everywhere. As all my guitar jack sockets are whatever K&K supply with their pickups (you may well have sockets from different makers which could be another point of variance) I've assumed that the difference for me is in the leads - borne out by careful scrutiny of the plus tips. I'd imagine that with stereo plugs there could also be some variation in the width of the ring contact...? Keith Thanks Keith. I think that's very likely the key thing, actually. Side-by-side comparison reveals some significant variation in ring width! Intriguing! So now I just need to rip out all three jacks and replace them with exactly the same model in each one, then find the cable that fits all three! Darn. Suddenly the "let's just do it in mono" solution seems strangely appealing.... :-)
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Post by bobcarter on May 11, 2024 22:44:45 GMT
Sounds like the contacts may need cleaning? Thanks for the thought. It could be that. My problem is it happens on all three guitars, and the three different leads I have work more or less well on each guitar differently. At least one of the jack installations is almost brand new, and the others not more than a couple of years old. It's been an issue on all three since my original cheapy Hossa cable failed and I had to try different leads. Perhaps jack plugs vary very slightly in size between makers and the nature of the stereo needing good contact at two points brings this out much more.
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Post by bobcarter on May 10, 2024 22:57:50 GMT
I have 3 guitars with Fishman Rare Earth Blend pickups (magnetic + mic).
Of course they can be used with normal mono lead, blending mag and mic with the onboard dial, and they sound great that way.
Unfortunately, my inner geek can't resist wanting to do the fancy option, which is to take a stereo out (1 x stereo jack to 2 x mono jack) so you can treat the mag and mic signals separately (different EQ or effects). The tip of the jack then carries the signal from the magnetic pickup and the ring carries the mic.
The problem is, I have terrible trouble finding a cable which gives a good fit with a reliable connection with the stereo jack into all 3 guitars.
I have 3 stereo cables - a Klotz, a Roland (both decent quality) and a Stagg (cheapy). The Roland and Klotz work best on 2 out of 3 guitars, the Stagg works quite well on one but is really glitchy on the others. None is 100% solid and all are prone to buzzing if the jack is jiggled.
The first cable I had was a really cheap Hossa one and it worked nicely on all 3, but it broke and I haven't found another. I suspect that might have been luck anyway.
Of course I should just make life easy for myself and use a mono feed, which I never have a problem with. But it irks me.
Anyone had the same experience and can offer any advice? Are stereo jacks notoriously fussy? Much appreciated! :-)
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Post by bobcarter on Apr 9, 2024 18:40:50 GMT
Adrian Legg Ritchie Blackmore Isaac Guillory Eddie van Halen
At the end of the evening we'd do a 20-minute bluegrass/latin-inflected wig-out of Space Truckin'.
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Post by bobcarter on Feb 16, 2024 19:29:37 GMT
I like Furchs very much. I have an older series GM20CM/C (from when they branded them as Stonebridge) and it's lovely - light, responsive, and very comfortable to play.
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Post by bobcarter on Dec 23, 2023 8:15:32 GMT
Nice board! Love the DIY Fuzz pedal! Thanks Bob! It was part payment for a mastering job I did about a decade ago, built by Gael from Touellskouarn pedals/modules in Normandy. It's an original Germanium Fuzz Face circuit with NOS Germanium Diodes and all built point to point. It sounds insane! I just leave it with Fuzz at max, Volume to complement the bypassed level, and control it from my guitar volume control. Thinking of also trying a Hudson Broadcast pedal in the same position at some stage, might give a bit more nuanced control of distorted tone, when all out craziness is not needed. View AttachmentThat's very cool! :-)
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Post by bobcarter on Dec 22, 2023 11:17:09 GMT
I got an H90 last week, after eight years with an H9. Both amazing boxes. I use them mostly with electric and amp, but when I do use them with my Lowden, I have them plugged into an Elysia mic pre/DI in stereo going into the ATC studio monitors. I have that feed 100% wet and at lowish level, so I just hear the effects, plus the raw acoustic in the room only. Can be very fun! Usually stick to the basics with the acoustic: reverb, delay or maybe a little modulation. Nice board! Love the DIY Fuzz pedal!
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Post by bobcarter on Dec 21, 2023 20:56:26 GMT
I can't see myself buying another guitar in the foreseeable future. I have 3 steel strings and 1 nylon string that I use live. All have different characteristics so I (at least to myself) can justify all of them. Any new ones and I'd have to get rid for space reasons and I wouldn't want to part with any of them.
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Post by bobcarter on Dec 17, 2023 9:09:25 GMT
I think I might know what's going on with the pickup. It's angled to only pick up the bass string(s) so he can run that signal through an octaver pedal and get that "missing bass player" thing sometimes - can lift a tune nicely when applied sparingly. A lot of folkies do that - Jonny Dyer has one fitted that way (of the awesome Vicki Swan and Jonny Dyer), for example. Since Boss brought out the OC-3, which allows you to set a frequency range to apply the octaves to, such pickup gymnastics may not be so necessary.
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Post by bobcarter on Dec 10, 2023 21:37:53 GMT
Tristan Seume certainly likes his pedals! I do love a reverb - I have a JHS Series 3, which I got after watching Tim Edey gig with it. It's a great, simple, always on pedal. Then a chorus, which gets occasional use but is handy for extra colour on Antonio Forcione / Adrian Legg tunes. Finally there's a delay, but that's used only very rarely for extra depth on siow numbers.
That's pretty much all I can find a use for (except for various EQ, occasional looper and a TC Polytune, but they don't count) but I do love the flashing lights!
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Post by bobcarter on Nov 18, 2023 17:53:49 GMT
Try clipping some ferrite's around the cable, a couple at each end near the jack plugs. You can buy them on the two big shopping sites quite cheaply. As a licenced ham radio operator, I used them on everything, power cables, antenna cables, etc ... They are mostly used for radio wave interference but they do stop mains hum in a lot of cases too, as it operates at 50Hz (in the UK) and the hum you hear is a 50Hz audio tone. What is happening basically, is the audio lead is acting as an antenna and picking up the 50Hz signal radiating from the mains cables. Sticking them at each end of any cables attenuates any signals being transmitted by, or received by, metal wires. Make sure you get ferrites with an inner 'gap' big enough to fit around the cable diameter, but not too big so they wont clip 'to' the cable and slide up/down the lead. Can't guarantee it will work 100% or even 50% but it is certainly worth a try as these ferrites are quite cheap. When you see a box or bulge on a power supply or mains adapter lead, that is what is inside, ferrites to attenuate the possibility of RFI :-) Thanks for the tip! I was assuming it might well be a shielding issue but wasn't sure where to start. I'll look into that! 😀
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Post by bobcarter on Nov 18, 2023 12:54:17 GMT
I have a Vintage Roger Williams nylon string crossover guitar fitted with Fishman Ink undersaddle pickup/on board pre-amp.
There's a problem with mains hum, which I think has always been there, but as it only occurs in certain situations I haven't paid it much attention till now. With the gear I want to use now, it needs sorting out.
It goes away completely when touching the jack lead.
If it's just the guitar straight into the combo amp, there's no hum (or at least so little as to be no issue). That's how I've mostly used the guitar in the past.
However, if I go through other components, even if the guitar isn't connected to them, there's a significant low frequency background hum. For example, if the guitar is plugged into my mixer through headphones, and I turn on the power supply for the monitor speakers (even if the speakers are off), or if I go through my pedalboard, the hum appears and cuts off again as soon as I switch off the offending equipment.
None of my other guitars (various pickups) has any issue with hum.
I've tried all of the following without success:
- Changing the battery. - Plugging the components all into the same wall socket. - Plugging the components into different wall sockets. - Running the guitar through a DI box which has a ground loop switch (Behringer ADi 21). - Taking the strings off and removing/cleaning the saddle a bit (I read on some forums that dirt underneath the saddle or incorrect contact with the pickup strip could be the issue). Touching the saddle can make the hum a bit louder. Admittedly I haven't messed about with the piezo pickup strip itself, but I'm a bit loathe to do that. The pickup strip could be faulty of course, but I think I've only changed the strings once (I know, shame on me) so it hasn't had much chance to be damaged.
I'm reluctant to take it to the shop as they might have difficulty replicating the issue.
Any suggestions for anything else to try before I cave in and take it to the shop? Any thoughts much appreciated! :-)
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Post by bobcarter on Oct 30, 2023 18:18:05 GMT
Good tune! There's a nice clear tutorial for it here:
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Post by bobcarter on Apr 22, 2023 20:38:17 GMT
I think it depends how you use them. I use Elixir PB 12s and change tunings a lot. Once in a while I'll break a G string (almost always while tuning down - never understood why that is). Not often, but often enough that I always bring a spare guitar to gigs as I'm the slowest re-stringer in the world. But certainly if you're not messing about with them too much they are very durable! One day when I'm famous I'll have lots of guitars, one for each tuning, and a roadie to hand them to me during the gig... 😀 Hi Bobcarter It's possible that you are the second slowest guitar re-stringer. Reading your post did remind me of the time I restrung a classical guitar, that took me ages, finished the job feeling quite pleased with myself, so finished of by trimming of the excess lengths of string at the headstock, and cut straight though the main string, went from feeling pleased with myself to totally disheartened. That sounds just like sonething I would do. After I've stabbed myself a few times, that is!
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