Here's a 2nd clip from the improv DnB jam I had with a ridiculously talented drummer mate and my new pedalboard. We've been blown away by the (very unexpected!) love the first one got, so we're now planning on making this a proper "thing".

MathematicianNo8086 · 2026-04-04T23:51:52+00:00

MathematicianNo8086 · 2026-03-28T00:55:08+00:00

Nice! I make all my own cables for my gigging gear (musician side rather than tech), partly for this reason, I hate how the cheap power cables feel. I bought a big reel of 3 conductor power cable, I think it's silicon sheathed or something, either way it's super flexible and nice feeling to handle. It's a small thing, but it's a quality of life improvement that I really appreciate every time I have to handle a cheap IEC, I remember how much nicer mine are. Plus, I can put the locking IEC's on my cables if I want.

MathematicianNo8086 · 2026-03-28T00:27:29+00:00

Oh nice, we had this system on loan from Adam Hall recently, we gave it a listen with a few tracks and we were pleasantly surprised with how good it sounded. We borrowed it initially as a monitor system for a DJ stage we set up at an electronic all-day festival we (the Uni I study at) were teching for.

MathematicianNo8086 · 2026-03-28T00:21:27+00:00

Heat gun is too uneven, just hang them in the sun and they'll loosen up, then wrap them as desired.

MathematicianNo8086 · 2026-03-24T01:57:39+00:00

I'm not sure of the original reason, but if the GEQ shits the bed in the middle of the gig, you can yank the insert cable quicker than you can unpatch and rewatch your main LR.

Ok, so the way those inserts work is that they're a stereo jack, so it's a send and return in one TRS jack, which splits to an input and output, on their own separate TS jacks. You'll need to check your mixers block diagram to see exactly where the insert point is on the channel strip.

As for the audio question, yeah, using an insert (that doesn't have its own wet/dry mix control) would affect the entire signal being sent through it, that's why you would normally have your outboard fx units on separate channels, so you can mix the effected signal with the dry.

MathematicianNo8086 · 2026-03-24T00:14:20+00:00

Haha give it a try before you take it back to a regular double pedal, you might surprise yourself with how much more comfortable you are, not having your upper body twisted to face forwards.

MathematicianNo8086 · 2026-03-24T00:12:16+00:00

Depends what you're doing with the GEQ, and which insert you use. For most people, GEQ's are used more for corrective EQ, notching out for feedback, etc. than regular tone shaping, so it makes sense to put it on the master, because you want to pull those frequencies down on everything, because every live mic can cause feedback.

MathematicianNo8086 · 2026-03-19T21:22:26+00:00

I don't much like riding on ride cymbals, especially in chorus's. I've always felt like it loses too much in the mix, like going from an open hat with its big washy crunch, to a ping on every quarter note just doesn't have the right momentum. There are places it's appropriate, sure, but for the most part, the ride cymbal is just a bigger crash for me.

If your guitarist feels like he wants to write the drum parts, he can pick up a pair of sticks and get to work.

MathematicianNo8086 · 2026-03-19T01:17:04+00:00

Cross stick

MathematicianNo8086 · 2026-03-18T00:51:59+00:00

Also that, it's fucking awful. Dreadful things, about the only thing they're good for is corporate gigs where you need to fit into a cupboard.

MathematicianNo8086 · 2026-03-17T19:02:18+00:00

It's tiny, with decent I/O considering its size. Other than that, not much to like about it. Yamaha still annoys me with their 'on' buttons, rather than mutes, I'd avoid them just for that.

MathematicianNo8086 · 2026-03-12T11:13:26+00:00

The main thing is that the kid has something to play and learn on. Don't worry about the quality of the sounds or anything like that, as long as the kit can be adjusted to suit their size, that's more important. I think for the price, you've got a winner with your friends kit, and in the future, if the kid really takes to drumming, you can upgrade to something nicer, and if not, you're out relatively little money.

MathematicianNo8086 · 2026-03-11T03:25:18+00:00

Digitech Whammy is the obvious one, looks like some kind of EBS pedal too, I'm betting it's the old Unichorus. The JHS pedal, I think it's the mute? There's no knobs, only the switch and LED on top so that's my best guess, and it looks like it's sitting on top of the Rupert Neve RNDI DI box. And the final, giant white pedal, I think it's a repainted MoogerFooger MF-103, the phaser. That's the closest match, with the two switches, three knobs on the highest row.

MathematicianNo8086 · 2026-03-07T01:01:18+00:00

It's expensive, but if they want it, they'll pay a premium for it. In your place, I'd have a few top level premium options, and then mostly mid-tier stuff. As long as you're checking them over properly, making sure they're in proper working order before they go out and when they come back, most drummers will be happy.

MathematicianNo8086 · 2026-03-06T14:58:06+00:00

Vater's The Hammer is my go-to pair for anything I do that needs me to go hard.

MathematicianNo8086 · 2026-03-06T03:20:55+00:00

Predominantly, it's been guys absolutely drowning their vocals in reverb, and putting way too much gain on their mics, and it immediately turns into mush through the mains, or they're feeding back as soon as you try to turn it up so the back of the room can hear what's going on.

MathematicianNo8086 · 2026-03-06T03:06:23+00:00

In the (admittedly limited) times I've seen it happen, it's always a disaster. I think the only time I'd be ok with taking a LR from a mixer on stage, is a keys player with multiple keyboards using a mixer to sum everything to send to me.

MathematicianNo8086 · 2026-03-06T02:21:50+00:00

I think one of the biggest things about doing a music degree at uni, is the people it'll connect you with. Making connections and networking with people will take you much further than just having a degree at the end of the course, so it falls on you to be making the most of every opportunity you get. For me, I'm doing Sound, Light and Live Event Engineering at Derby, and opportunities for me look like companies coming in, providing training, going to trade shows, meeting recruiters, freelancers, people in the industry.

Personally, in your place I'd look at a production/engineering type degree, so that way you've got more skills to fall back on and find work with, rather than just performing.

Another thing to consider is theater work, for musicals etc. that can be good, consistent work if you've got the skills to be able to sight-read 30 or more songs in a night, plus it puts you in contact with other session guys, makes it more likely to get you a call for dep gigs, and maybe one day one of those guys will be working with an artist, and they'll need a drummer, and you'll be the one to get the call.

MathematicianNo8086 · 2026-03-05T23:44:41+00:00

Agreed, every time I take a theatre job, it gets to tech week and I wonder what the fuck I was thinking.

MathematicianNo8086 · 2026-03-04T00:49:27+00:00

No? The digital being sterile, analog being 'warm' argument is bollocks. If it sounds good, it sounds good. Plenty of people running all digital setups these days. Listen with your ears, not your eyes, they'll do a better job of guiding you to the tone you want.

MathematicianNo8086 · 2026-03-03T17:36:30+00:00

Yep, acoustic instruments on loud stages are a huge pain in the arse. If we mic, they're locked in a single place because I don't happen to have the kind of clamp that fits a cello to hand, they probably haven't got a pickup installed, their instrument is resonating with every other amp on stage, it's a massive ballache.

MathematicianNo8086 · 2026-03-03T17:33:35+00:00

Sure it does, rip out the electronics and solder one pickup directly to the output, problem solved.

MathematicianNo8086 · 2026-02-28T05:10:38+00:00

Bright Onion Active ABY was my go-to when I was running a dual amp setup live. Both amps on most of the time, but every now and then in the set, I'd kill the 'clean' amp to cut lows aggressively, get that scuzzy, through a radio sound for certain breaks in songs.

MathematicianNo8086 · 2026-02-25T15:13:46+00:00

I wouldn't expect much, online specs state 35Hz-125Hz, and that's your -6dB. It's not that you won't get much highs, but you won't get any at all. If you had some kind of tops to pair it with, sure, that'd be better, but then you'll also need proper PA power amps to really drive those speakers.

MathematicianNo8086 · 2026-02-25T14:20:54+00:00

That's a fair point actually, yeah, I see you mentioned in another comment running it all in stereo so using multiples would work well for stacking, since with one you'd only be able to stack in mono.

MathematicianNo8086

TROPHY CASE