Fishman Pocket Bass Blender...HELP!!

ClassicalDB · #1 04-12-2006, 08:40 PM

I just recently got my Fishman Bass Blender and on my upright bass, I have a Realist Pickup and Gollihur's Golden Trinity Mic. As of now, I have two seperate outputs on my upright bass (one for the transducer and one for the mic) however, I was looking through the Fishman Blender Manual and they were talking about connecting the mic with a ring cable and the transducer with a tip? Bottom line is, how do I connect my mic and my pickup into the blender (or what do i use to do so)? Cuz the fishman blender only has one input and output so I somehow need to combine the two into the input. I bought a Hosa Y cable with 1/4" mono plug to two 1/4" jacks so it basically means I can take an instrument cable from both and they both feed to one but will that work? Please help!

**Chris Fitzgerald** · #2 04-12-2006, 09:07 PM

Quote:

I bought a Hosa Y cable with 1/4" mono plug to two 1/4" jacks so it basically means I can take an instrument cable from both and they both feed to one but will that work?

If I'm reading your setup right, you'll need a stereo 1/4" male plug that splits into two 1/4" male plugs to get the signals into the blender - this is assuming that the two pickup leads end in 1/4" female jacks.

But beyond that, I thought that the K&K mic required phantom power...where will that be coming from?

ClassicalDB · #3 04-12-2006, 11:31 PM

Well the mic plugs into a preamp and then outputs into an instrument cable so theres no difference really.

ClassicalDB · #4 04-12-2006, 11:43 PM

chris, where can i get that kind of cable? I cant find it anywhere!

mje · #5 04-13-2006, 07:54 AM

Quick solution: Call BobG. He knows K&K stuff as well as anyone, and can supply custom cables.

**Chris Fitzgerald** · #6 04-13-2006, 10:09 AM

Agree that Bob knows best. That said, I always go to Radio Shack to put cables like that together so i don't have to wait. You can buy a bunch of premade adapters that will do the trick, or if yer up to it, just buy the cable and ends and solder it yourself.

mje · #7 04-13-2006, 01:12 PM

If I need to put together cables, I skip RS as their wire and most of their connectors are garbage. I only buy there if I need something NOW for an emergency repair. I generally order wire from Markertek (http://markertek.com). Good Mogami cable and Neutrik connectors, they handle small orders, and their turnaround is fast.

ClassicalDB · #8 04-14-2006, 10:47 PM

Like I said, I have two instrument ouputs and only one output on the blender. I can't wire anything like it says in the manual I don't think. However, I still dont know exactly what cable I need to make this thing work. All this stereo and mono and ring tip stuff is really confusing. Can any one just tell me straight out what I need?

bolo · #9 04-15-2006, 05:29 AM

I can't, but at the risk of sounding repetitive, I betcha Bob Gollihur can.

Call (609) 624-1470 weekdays between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. (East Coast time).

**Chris Fitzgerald** · #10 04-15-2006, 10:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ClassicalDB

Can any one just tell me straight out what I need?

Yes. Google "Fishman Bass Blender", then choose and post a link that leads to a picture/description of your blender. At that point, we'll be able to help.

ClassicalDB · #11 04-15-2006, 03:45 PM

Alright. This is my exact blender.
http://www.marcandella.ch/WG3/FISHMA...et_blender.jpg

**Chris Fitzgerald** · #12 04-15-2006, 09:42 PM

Great - then it's as I said at first:

Use two 1/4" patch cables, one from the Realist, and one from the K&K preamp (I'm assuming it isn't a blender in and of itself...they do make one). Connect both to a "Y" adapter that converts two mono signals to one TRS signal. The layout of the adapter will be two mono 1/4" female jacks leading to a single 1/4' male TRS plug.

Like This, only with 1/4" jacks instead of 1/8". Good luck!

sixandeightstringer · #13 04-17-2006, 02:48 PM

Chris' solution, above, will work.

You can also use what is called an "insert" cable - available at your local large music store (or even most small ones). It is essentially a Stereo/TRS (Tip/Ring/Sleeve) cable on one end which splits to two mono cables (sleeve and tip to one cable, sleeve and ring to the other) on the other end. All you need to do is plug the TRS end into the Fishman and the two other ends into the mic and pickup outputs. That should do the trick for you!

The cables are called "insert" cables because they are usually used in a recording studio, for "inserting" effects into single channels on a mixing board. There are jacks on most high-end boards which are single jacks that incorporate the send and return on the same jack (tip=send, ring=return, sleeve=common ground) - so you can add a reverb unit to a channel with a single (split) cable.

It's a very common cable, you just need to know what to ask for.

If you can't find them locally, we also have a couple of these cables at Gollihur Music - give us a call, I don't remember offhand how much they cost, but they're US-Made with a 5-year guarantee.