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Double Bass Every amp I own is broken. I want to kill.

#21
Update.

AI send the amp back in record time. They didn't find what they thought was wrong with it and said there really wasn't much wrong with it but they did some updates, replaced transistors and made it consistent with their current version. Very nice. Quick.

Apparently my VL208's have blown 8's in them as well. I've ordered replacement drivers for them. Should be here next week. The EA folks were very accomodating as well.

Sent the Woods off to Walter early this week. We'll see.

The Full Circle is also on order, I'm replacing that as well.

I don't know what killed what but I'm taking no chances and fixing the whole signal chain including fresh cables.

Meanwhile I'm playing through the PA. Tues and Thurs went ok. Last night did sound particularly thin but you'll have that. Tonight I'll use a stage monitor with my Focus. That should be interesting.

I'm noticing that my tone doesn't make or break the gig at all. The majority of patrons don't notice or don't mention when it's off.

It's more about my attitude and energy. If I "sell" my performance it works even if I sound like a twinkee.
 
#24
Uncletoad said:
I'm noticing that my tone doesn't make or break the gig at all. The majority of patrons don't notice or don't mention when it's off.

It's more about my attitude and energy. If I "sell" my performance it works even if I sound like a twinkee.
Click to expand...

+1. I've always worked to get the sound so I like it. I could actually care less what anyone else thinks. If I like it, I play better. Period. It's all about my comfort zone. Most people, including other bass players, wouldn't pick up on the subtleties that I hear in my sound anyway.

I have this conversation with sax players all of the time. They'll put one reed in and play and ask me how it sounds. Then they'll put another reed in and play and exclaim how much better it sounds. It ALWAYS sounds EXACTLY the same to me. Clearly, it's a HUGE deal to them but I can't tell the difference. Cracks and canyons. One man's canyon is another man's crack.

mark
 
#25
I try not to think about men's cracks.:eyebrow:

Kenny Werner's book, Effortless Mastery discusses the whole, 'How do I sound to you'? question. Anyone who has read this book already knows his premise. Just forget about it and play. There isn't a day goes by that I don't think about some aspect I need to improve though.
 
#29
Ric Vice said:
Phil,
Do you have line conditioners on your AC to protect the amps and speakers. Might be worth a shot. Crappy AC can wreck just about anything. Some clubs are notoriously bad when it comes to wiring and grounding.

Ric
Click to expand...
I don't. Used to but dumped all that stuff over the years trying to lighten the load.

Btw, put the new Full Circle on. It's really nice. They've made some changes that are very smart.
 
#31
B String said:
And may I ask. What changes did they make?
Click to expand...
Yea I shoulda just said so. Being quick as baby V is grumpy tonight.

Material is slightly harder, not the softer aluminum they were using. The two pieces are held together with 4 small screws instead of press fit and adhesive. There seems to be a thin film of some lube that makes it a whole lot easier to turn under string tension.

Don't know if they changed the elements or electronic connections. The wire may be stiffer and have more durable insulation. Or maybe thats cause it's new. I haven't looked over a new one in awhile.

Sounds good too. Smooth. Less spiky under strong pizz. I suspect my pickup may have been on the fritz.
 
#33
Uncletoad said:
Sounds good too. Smooth. Less spiky under strong pizz.
I suspect my pickup may have been on the fritz.
Click to expand...

Uncle Toad;

Hmm that is interesting.
maybe they did change something internal to deal with spikes.

Have you considered putting your old one on the treble side?

I have the same pickup drawer
that a lot of you have.:rolleyes:
I call them 'my back ups'.
But I've been thinking about just having a
full circle on the treble side as a backup.
then it is already there ready to go.
 
#34
Update.

The Focus was back in time for Tuesday's gig. Worked great. Sounds even better. Made one working VL208 out of my 2 dead ones and got through Tues and Thursday. Got the fresh 8's from EA on Friday so I put them in for Friday and Saturday. Sounded great.

So rebuilt amp, rebuilt cab, fresh Full Circle and everything sounds fantastic. Better than ever.

I'm a happy boy again....




....oh and I'm still waiting for Walter.
 
#38
I got my Clarus and Focus 2 SIII back from AI yesterday. Just wanted to give a public thankyou to Rick and the AI team. They threw in a new Clarus gig bag and paid for fedex shipping back to France. Can't beat that!


PS. If you have an older Focus SIII, you should get that channel bleed modification done. Mine was #0059 (jan 06).
 

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