Originally published at: Plug In Ebook. Replies here will cross-post to the original lesson page.
Use this thread to ask questions about dialing in your gear, share experiences, and discuss how to get a better sound.
Post your gear here and we can help you try to get the best sound out of it and advise any upgrades that could help improve your setup.
Hello Brad and everyones ! Aloha ! My gear (just beginning to play plg-in…) :
1 ) active mic : Misi uke
2 : Preamp / Basic EQ : Fishman ProEQmini
3) Amp : Ibanez Acoustic Troubadour TA 35
For now, it’s working. I try to find the right sound with “EQing” (have to read your eBook).
But what is annoying me for now is the noise (not so loud but) of the Amp when just plugged. I tried to resolve ground issues by plugin in the same electrical socket but still there…
Mahalo ! Patrice
Does the noise get louder when you turn up the amp volume? Try moving the amp to a different location in your house - or even to a whole different building. It might just be the inherent noise floor from the electrical components in the amp, but it could be interference from RFI/EMI pollution (computers, certain types of lights, etc.) or poor grounding in your electrical circuit.
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Aloha Brad and thank you for your reply ! And yes, I have to check first I think the grouding of my electrical circuit…
Aloha Brad ! In fact and hopefully not a ground noise issue ! Just a wrong choice for the cable plugged into my uke : a TRS instead of a TS one… Work fine now, just beginning to learn to EQ … Mahalo !
Aha! Yes, the extra ring on the TRS jack can make contact in the wrong place and create noise. All kinda depends on how the input jack is constructed. It’s always a good bet to save TRS cables for input jacks that are marked “balanced.” Then you know for sure that they’re meant to receive TRS. If it doesn’t say, it’s probably unbalanced and you should use a TS instrument cable.
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Mahalo Brad for sharing tour knowledge
Aloha, Brad,
I enjoyed the Plugging In book! I didn’t understand everything, but I’m glad I have it as a reference should I need to!
My little band of two singing ‘ukulele players and an (appropriately quiet) drummer does very well gigging with two Fishman mini-loudbox amps. We are adding a U-bass to our situation… do we need to get a bass amp? We mostly play breweries and taverns where we don’t need to be super loud.
Your advice much appreciated,
Robin
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Yes, a bass amp is designed to create the extended low end from a bass tuning. The Fishmans are only intended for an acoustic guitar’s lowest note. A bass is a whole octave below that. You can plug a bass into the Loudbox, but it will sound thin and won’t have the oomf you want.
I’ve heard good things about the Fender Rumble amps for the price. Keep in mind that it takes more power to create low frequencies, so you’ll need more wattage from a bass amp to match the same from your Loudbox. (For what you do, I would probably look for a 200~ watt amp.)
Check Craigslist. It seems like burnt out bass players are always selling their bass amps!
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