I didn't post here for so long, I feel obliged to let all you anoraks know about my rig updates, haha!
You know that I have a PC3K8 from that unpacking thread (//http://www.frost-music.co.uk/frosties/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2464), right? Well, I got friends for it, too! (NOTE: Right-click then View image to see the full picture!)
(//http://img638.imageshack.us/img638/3072/lairt.jpg)
Namely:
Yamaha AN1x (what a beauty!)
SM Pro Audio V-Machine (actually I got this way before PC3K8, I use it for running GSi VB3, best Hammond sim ever, and SQ8L for that Ensoniq vibe)
Korg TR-Rack (because a man needs to have Trinity in some form!)
Korg NS5R (because I wanted to keep some of my old Korg X5D sounds with me)
Washburn EA20SDLK electroacoustic (sounds very very nice)
And all that on K&M Spider Pro stand, along with Beyerdynamic DT 880 Pro headphones.
Another new thingie is the electric guitar, I got her real cheap (below $300) NEW... it's really good for the money, I'm very satisfied. It's a Washburn RX50 Black Sunburst:
(//http://www.audiopro.hr/images//artikli//USM-RX50FBSB_BS_1.jpg)
(//http://www.audiopro.hr/images/artikli/USM-RX50FBB.jpg)
Now I just gotta get something to amplify it! :)
All in all, I feel like a happy camper for now. Although I already have a plan to fill a monster 24U rack that I've purchased recently. :)
That's a nice looking axe. :)
Is there a techy reason for the way the strings are anchored (in that staggered way) or is it just done like that because it looks so damn cool? :D
It's because of string length, which is directly related to string tension, consequently intonation. At least I think. :D
I think it's just 'cos it looks cool :D
Nope, asked my friend. It's because of string tension and intonation, I was right to assume. ;)
Quote from: "EvilDragon"Nope, asked my friend. It's because of string tension and intonation, I was right to assume. ;)
Well I'd buy that explanation if I were asking about the staggered arrangement in the bridge.
String length and intonation happens between the nut abd the bridge, doesn't it?
MachineHead-----Nut-------------------(bit that vibrates over pickups)---------------------Bridge-------FancyAnchorPoint
What happens outside of that length (in the bits that dont' move when plucked) possibly has something to do with resonance or tuning stability (so string length, yes)---but that can't affect intonation...can it?
Yes Pedro, you're correct - this is purely for looks. If you are really serious about getting the correct individual string length / intonation, you need a fan-fretted instrument like a Dingwall Combustion, which varies the length of each string and the frets accordingly. :shock:
http://www.dingwallguitars.com/basses/c ... n-gallery/ (http://www.dingwallguitars.com/basses/combustion/combustion-gallery/)
Never played one (yet!) and would like to do so but fear it might warp either my mind, my fingers or my credit card! 8-)
Quote from: "Pedro"Quote from: "EvilDragon"Nope, asked my friend. It's because of string tension and intonation, I was right to assume. ;)
Well I'd buy that explanation if I were asking about the staggered arrangement in the bridge.
String length and intonation happens between the nut abd the bridge, doesn't it?
MachineHead-----Nut-------------------(bit that vibrates over pickups)---------------------Bridge-------FancyAnchorPoint
What happens outside of that length (in the bits that dont' move when plucked) possibly has something to do with resonance or tuning stability (so string length, yes)---but that can't affect intonation...can it?
Right, right. The bridge is for intonation. But this is for string length, then, consequently, tension.
All this talk about the guitar... no love for that splendid AN1X (it sounds fab!)? :)
Another reason for 'thru body' stringing is that it changes the tonal quality/resonance as the strings are more 'interactive' with the body of the guitar rather than being 'strapped to the top' of it
Aah, the AN1X... or as we used to call it, the Anal-X (and you will too now that you have seen it). I always liked the sound of that synth. I never had one, but I did get an EX-5 which includes the same engine, so I am covered. The EX-5 really was (is) a great sounding board, but got hammered by the Triton for ease of use and programming. Still, as a live synth...
I must get my Variax to a Luthier sometime.
If tuned perfectly, fretted notes on third string are slightly sharp.
Nut needs filing or something like that.
Quote from: "Rook"Aah, the AN1X... or as we used to call it, the Anal-X (and you will too now that you have seen it). I always liked the sound of that synth. I never had one, but I did get an EX-5 which includes the same engine, so I am covered. The EX-5 really was (is) a great sounding board, but got hammered by the Triton for ease of use and programming. Still, as a live synth...
Too bad EX-5 only has 2 notes of polyphony for the AL engine. That's such a massive down point I can't even begin to describe it. AN1x has 5 times that.
Actually, I have nothing against how AN1x looks. I am sad that it doesn't have endless rotaries instead of knobs (or at least soft takeover mode for knobs, which it doesn't have).
Actually there was a particular (beautiful) lead in the AN1X that I coveted that the EX-5 does with its limited AN polyphony, so I am covered for at least that. I think it was called "Earth lead". I am travelling right now and Synthless, but should hopefully have an Ultranova to play with soon. Lets see how that stacks up :)
"Anal-X" is just how we chose to read "AN1X".
/R
Yep, Earth Lead is nice. I like preset 61 Suzy more, though. I have edited it to my taste, now it's fatter and... and actually it's similar to the lead sound from BLM. Not quite there, but it bears a resemblance. :)
Related: I just bought a not-that-expensive new toy... http://www.drarok.com/files/RGA8BK.jpg (http://www.drarok.com/files/RGA8BK.jpg)
Ibanez RGA8 8-string! It's a monster! :twisted:
Congrats - that's a seriously impressive piece of kit but it has 2 more strings than my simple brain could cope with, I'm afraid! :lol:
Quote from: "D S"Congrats - that's a seriously impressive piece of kit but it has 2 more strings than my simple brain could cope with, I'm afraid! :lol:
That's 3 or 4 too many for me!
Quote from: "D S"Congrats - that's a seriously impressive piece of kit but it has 2 more strings than my simple brain could cope with, I'm afraid! :lol:
It certainly takes some getting used to, but I already learnt that lesson with the 7-string I've had for a while. :mrgreen:
Oooooohhhhh...
I am supposed to be getting one of those as payment for services rendered. How is it? I heard that it is a great axe but the pickups aren't much chop. Should I be bugetting for new pickups when I get it?
I suspect I'm not really the right person to ask; I've never once replaced any pickups! I think for the guitar connoisseur, they're "nothing amazing", but they seem to do the job perfectly well for me.
I only ever really use my guitars either through the Boss GT-8 pedal, or via amp sims on my DAW, so I think even crappy pickups would be masked by those.
I've managed to concoct some hideously filthy Djent-style tones on both the pedal and the amp sims so far. Great fun! 8-)
Edit: I think they claim they are "active pickups", but in reality there's an EQ switch (and maybe a pre-amp circuit - take the batteries out and things get really quiet no matter if the EQ is on or not). It only runs on 2x1.5v AA batteries, so it can't be "real" active pickups.
Yeah they are active pickups.
Quote from: "Drarok"It only runs on 2x1.5v AA batteries, so it can't be "real" active pickups.
Not sure of the logic here, however, as always I'm more than happy to gain more knowledge in this particular area if I'm missing something.
This is my understanding.
Magnetic (i.e. traditional, non piezo) pickups all work in the same way. They are simply a big coil of wire wound around a magnet. Any ferrous object, i.e. a vibrating string, that disturbs the magnetic field of the magnet will induce a current in the coil, amplify that current and you get your noise!! I say "simply", that is the principle, however pickup design depends on lots of things including dimensions, field strength, number of turns of wire, diameter of the wire, etc and some people, e.g. Mr DiMarzio, have made a lot of money by exploiting these parameters.
Most guitars are passive. The coil of the pickup is directly connected to the amplifier with a volume control and a tone control which do nothing additive to the signal, they only cut amplitude and high frequencies by dumping them to ground. A big disadvantage of this system is that electrical noise can enter the circuit and can add itself to the signal causing hum, and other unwanted cacophony.
Active pickups have a small amplifier built in to the guitar which basically increases the signal before it leaves the guitar. The advantage here is that the amplifier is located right next to the pickup so there is less wire carrying low level signals that noise can add on to. Once amplified, the low level noise is in effect "drowned out" by the higher signals leaving the in-guitar amp. The disadvantage of active systems is that based on the old adage - "you don't get something for nothing", i.e. to amplify the signal you need a battery on board as well. If the battery dies, things suddenly go very quiet! However, having the powered electronics on board means you can use this to lots of stuff, e.g. boost your frequencies, hence the more elaborate EQ controls seen on active axes.
True "active" pickups have less windings and I assume weaker magnets as they don't have to produce so much current to get to the backline amp thanks to the one in the guitar. Reducing the magnetic field means there is less "drag" on the vibrating string by the magnet and hence greater sustain should be achieved. You can of course make any "traditional" pickup active by installing your own preamp into the guitar - lots of modules are available, look them up on the web, or make your own ;-)
Back to Drarok's comment, as long as you have basic soldering skills and can cope with some potential adjustments to the guitar, fiddling around with replacement pickups and wiring, including trying out different combinations can be a lot of fun, and is not too difficult.
Sorry for the ramble, had some spare time this lunch ;-)
Quote from: "Pedro"I must get my Variax to a Luthier sometime.
If tuned perfectly, fretted notes on third string are slightly sharp.
Nut needs filing or something like that.
Shouldn't need any nut filing if the actions fine, just a bridge saddle adjustment to set the intonation...
Five minute job with a screwdriver :)
QuoteSM Pro Audio V-Machine (actually I got this way before PC3K8, I use it for running GSi VB3, best Hammond sim ever
I'm really interested in this exact combo to add decent Hammond to my fantom rig. Is the V-machine good? I heard some of the early models struggled with processor speed.
Quote from: "gav"Quote from: "Pedro"I must get my Variax to a Luthier sometime.
If tuned perfectly, fretted notes on third string are slightly sharp.
Nut needs filing or something like that.
Shouldn't need any nut filing if the actions fine, just a bridge saddle adjustment to set the intonation...
Five minute job with a screwdriver :)
I've yet to prove it, but it seems like everything is fine except the distance from the nut to the first fret on the third string.
This makes me think that if I had a similarly adjustable nut, I could make it perfect. Maybe I'm missing the point...
Quote from: "Brom"Quote from: "Drarok"It only runs on 2x1.5v AA batteries, so it can't be "real" active pickups.
Not sure of the logic here, however, as always I'm more than happy to gain more knowledge in this particular area if I'm missing something.
Well, usually they run on 9V batteries, and I read this:
QuoteThe Ibanez site says the pickups are active, but that is something I would contest. I have never seen active pickups that use 1.5V AA batteries. The norm is a 9V battery. 1.5V per pickup is just not enough. Also, if you open up the back plate and take a look at the electronics you quickly notice that the battery wire goes directly into the EQ chip set, instead of the pickups. Which makes the pickups passive.
Quote from: "MarkOneMusic"QuoteSM Pro Audio V-Machine (actually I got this way before PC3K8, I use it for running GSi VB3, best Hammond sim ever
I'm really interested in this exact combo to add decent Hammond to my fantom rig. Is the V-machine good? I heard some of the early models struggled with processor speed.
ALL models have 1 GHz CPU, so they all struggle. :) However, it's good at running GSi VB3, which is the best Hammond sim IMHO.
I see this thread has degenerated into guitar talk... :P
Quote from: "Pedro"Quote from: "gav"Quote from: "Pedro"I must get my Variax to a Luthier sometime.
If tuned perfectly, fretted notes on third string are slightly sharp.
Nut needs filing or something like that.
Shouldn't need any nut filing if the actions fine, just a bridge saddle adjustment to set the intonation...
Five minute job with a screwdriver :)
I've yet to prove it, but it seems like everything is fine except the distance from the nut to the first fret on the third string.
This makes me think that if I had a similarly adjustable nut, I could make it perfect. Maybe I'm missing the point...
Hmmm... Sounds a bit odd to me, unless there's a large chunk taken out of the nut around the third string :?
Quote from: "EvilDragon"I see this thread has degenerated into guitar talk... :P
Well let me bring it back to synth goodness... looks ike I won't be getting the RG8 just yet. I just placed an order for the whopping Komplete 8 Ultimate bundle. Turns out I have an ancient version of Reactor that still qualifies for the crossgrade, which is half price this month, so...
For $400 I couldn't pass that up. I mean, wow. And seeing as how I am traveling and all, a mobile setup is perfect for me now.
/R
(and if Native Instruments want to send me any free swag with my order, like a T-shirt or a Maschine package for this free advertising and product placement, I'm absolutely fine with that :) )
Quote from: "gav"Quote from: "Pedro"Quote from: "gav"Quote from: "Pedro"I must get my Variax to a Luthier sometime.
If tuned perfectly, fretted notes on third string are slightly sharp.
Nut needs filing or something like that.
Shouldn't need any nut filing if the actions fine, just a bridge saddle adjustment to set the intonation...
Five minute job with a screwdriver :)
I've yet to prove it, but it seems like everything is fine except the distance from the nut to the first fret on the third string.
This makes me think that if I had a similarly adjustable nut, I could make it perfect. Maybe I'm missing the point...
Hmmm... Sounds a bit odd to me, unless there's a large chunk taken out of the nut around the third string :?
I wonder if this is what I'm picking up on...
//http://www.earvana.com/
QuoteI wonder if this is what I'm picking up on...
http://www.earvana.com/ (http://www.earvana.com/)
Might work for you, but try reading this first and see if this way of tuning works for you (if you are not already doing it this way anyway)?
http://www.edgeguitarservices.co.uk/gal_tuning.htm (http://www.edgeguitarservices.co.uk/gal_tuning.htm)
Some people go the opposite way and have compensated frets - see here!
http://www.petrucciforum.com/forums/sho ... post780871 (http://www.petrucciforum.com/forums/showthread.php?62101-My-review-of-Buzz-Feiten-and-Earvana&s=bf4802c9b0a59e3720753568157ae1e3&p=780871&viewfull=1#post780871)
So as I said, I was getting Komplete Ultimate... well, it arrived! Yay. Umm. Looks like I'll have to upgrade OSX to run it. Umm. Looks like that will break Cubase 4 so I'll have to update that too. Dammit. Thats money I didn't want to have to spend.
Ok, I am now set up with Cubase 6.5, OSX 10.6, Komplete 8 (or as much of it as I could fit on my hard drive) and an Ulranova. Now I can get back to writing music!
Woo!
Or... like... learning all this new software and auditioning sounds....