Thanks for the lead, Steve McB. If I can't figure out my volume-drop problem I may have to ditch the DIY route. Others have mentioned the DOD 240 passive mixer, or the Boss LS-1. Have you tried either in comparison to the Behringer? I'm not automatically against anything from Behringer unless I see a ton of bad reviews (and this box seems okay on that front), and the price is certainly right (I easily spent $35 on the components for my DIY mixer) but the extra wall wart for the 12V is an added hassle. At the moment I'd be leaning toward the LS-1 because, if I've read the manual correctly, I can bypass the Unibass completely ( thus keeping my signal totally analog) when Im not using it - which is most of the time as it's a one-trick pony that's only needed on a couple of our songs.
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Is this a dumb way to hook up a Unibass?
- Thread starter BarStarzBass
- Start date
Can't go wrong with the LS-2. Such a useful box. There are lots of companies that make "mini mixers" at various price points besides the LS-2 though. Rolls, wounded paw, carl martin, to name a few.
Stick with the DIY, you'll get it. And once it's debugged the satisfaction will be worth the investment.
Stick with the DIY, you'll get it. And once it's debugged the satisfaction will be worth the investment.
Well, I found my problem - and I feel like I should hand my DIY badge back. It was indeed a power supply problem - I had the dang leads wired BACKWARDS!! I'm surprised it worked at all. I figured I probably fried the one polarized component in the circuit so I swapped it out. Works great now. There is still a noticeable drop in both volume and treble when I engage the mixer, but overall it works in the mix, and the two signals do seem to be getting along better than when they were hardwired together. The Unibass is NOT a subtle effect so the slight drop off in my dry bass tone is not that noticeable.
Any ideas if I might have damaged the IC with reversed power? I'm thinking I might swap it out for a TL072 at some point anyway.
Any ideas if I might have damaged the IC with reversed power? I'm thinking I might swap it out for a TL072 at some point anyway.
glad you found the problem. Everybody makes silly mistakes. That's why when you trouble shoot you always start with the stupidest things first! When I did my first powered build, I just may have *cough cough* made that same mistake. Fried some parts in the process.
Just a little post-script. My DIY mixer was doing fine . . . But just for laughs I started scouting used LS-2's on EvilBay. Found one in like-new condition with box and manual for $58 shipped, so figured I'd check it out since it's a nice little Swiss-army-knife to have around anyway.
Hooked it up so my "dry" (sometimes dry, sometimes run through the VT Bass) signal goes thru the bypassed position, and through Loop A. The Unibass is on Loop B - and just using the "effect out" on the U/B so my dry signal never goes through the A/D converters on the U/B. Set the LS to "A+B" mix.
In a word, it works great. No volume drop like my DIY. Even though all the pedals have an output level control, its super-convenient to adjust the mix between the dry and U/B signals right on the LS-2 And since my dry signal doesn't run through any A/D converters, my basic bass tone stays all-analog and both the VT and my Walkabout can breathe easy and interact with each other and with my bass like they're supposed to.
Perfect!
Hooked it up so my "dry" (sometimes dry, sometimes run through the VT Bass) signal goes thru the bypassed position, and through Loop A. The Unibass is on Loop B - and just using the "effect out" on the U/B so my dry signal never goes through the A/D converters on the U/B. Set the LS to "A+B" mix.
In a word, it works great. No volume drop like my DIY. Even though all the pedals have an output level control, its super-convenient to adjust the mix between the dry and U/B signals right on the LS-2 And since my dry signal doesn't run through any A/D converters, my basic bass tone stays all-analog and both the VT and my Walkabout can breathe easy and interact with each other and with my bass like they're supposed to.
Perfect!
Ba55Man1ac
Gold Supporting Member
