Proud Owner

[worldwidese]

I finally went ahead yesterday and bought a Crate Limo. Dandy! Now, I would like some input as to what is the best brand to get to hook up to it. i would like pros and cons regarding Cd player, minidisc or tape deck. Help me out guys and steer me in the right direction.

[Doctor Eric]

Buy the cheapest CD player you can find, they all sound like crap through a portable amp, and you are going to break them left and right.

[Butterfly Man]

Fresh Batteries Every Show

Disagree ... minidisc (easier to edit) ... get a remote (www.magiloon) if you wish ... remember your wireless needs to be completely battery powered (transmitter & receiver) ...

things do take a beating ... but remember tupperware is your friend ...

have all wires hot sealed at connector points when you buy it ... make sure your costume has a specially fitted pocket in place ... use ace bandages to secure everything but your future.

[Chance]

mixed bag

I agree with Moth Head that the Mini is a better choice than the CD option. But, I also agree with the good Doctor that just about anything sounds like crap when filtered through a portable amp cheaper than the Anchor series of amps.

Since you have the Crate, buy whatever you can afford, but always try for the best in any category. The extra $25 bucks will pay for itself later, some how, some way.

In case you are wondering, there are also ways to wire it so that your Crate is also powering the Mini and Mic, all from one battery. There are some older threads dealing with the subject already...

[worldwidese]

Wiring And Other Stuff For Dummies

Butterfly Man, I have a soldering kit, but have never used it. I suppose I need to strip away a bit of the wire casing to solder the connections..Duh?

][/QUOTE] remember your wireless needs to be completely battery powered (transmitter & receiver) ... I have a 12ft long wired headset that plugs into the Crate. True, it's not so convenient re movement, but it's less complicated to set up.I'll probably move on to a wireless as I get more technically savvy...


Chance, there seems to be a plug for both the music player and the mic on this new lighter weight model.

QUOTE "The TX50DBE amp has a generous 50 watts RMS of power thru a 10" specially designed woofer and high efficiency Piezo tweeter, has two channels to use (each with it's own level and EQ controls) and 8 built-in digital effects. The cabinet is lighter than ever, and has improved bass frequency response.
Channel 1 of the Limo has an XLR input as well as 1/4" input to increase versatility, and other features include a headphone/line out jack, footswitch jack to control channel switching and to turn effects on and off, a speaker stand mount that is perfect for getting the Limo up above the crowd, and even a pair of RCA inputs that will accommodate a CD player, tape player, rhythm machine, etc. the built-in rechargeable battery provides up to 8 hours of use, and both AC adapter and cigarette adapters are included as well. the Limo has Crate's 5 year transferable warranty. the Limo's size is just 18.5" x 13.5" x 12.5" and it weighs approximately 22 lbs. List $529.99. for convenience, you can order using the shopping cart or call toll free 1.888.753.6684. #TX50DBE
NOW IN STOCK!!!! Pulse's price $349.95"

Have shows in a Shopping Mall this weekend. Will see how it works out!

[Doctor Eric]

Chopping Mall...

Heh, heh, a Limo's 50 watts and admittedly nice bass response is gonna rip a hole in the side of that shopping mall, watch the natural reverb worldwide.

By the way, for the record, I have a laptop, and two nice little programs, one is called WaveLab, for raw editing of .wav files, and the other is Nero (cd burning util) between these two, I can accomplish more, in less time, with my crappy $20 cd player (that is no big deal to replace), than most can do with an MD player, then again, those nifty remotes only work on MD's.

[Rick Martin]

I've been using an MP3 player made by Digital Research. It's called "My MP3 Player" it's 128 MB and it costs $80. It uses one AAA battery which is the same as my microphone transmitter so that's convenient. The best thing about it for me is that the buttons are big enough for me to see without my glasses. It's smaller than a deck of cards and I have it velcroed to my Crate Taxi. I also use the Samson Airline headset and power that reciever ( also held to the Taxi by velcro) from the Crate's battery. This has been very dependable for two years.

[worldwidese]

Panic Button

Today I had some time at last to play around with my new toy, which I found by the way is a Crate 50 D not a BE. But it has to go back to the store tomorrow to get it fixed as there's something wrong with the Level control for the music input. There's no change whether I put it at 0 or higher. It still comes out at the same level- LOUD! (or is that what you meant, Eric? The Mic level works fine.

Rick- I think the big button tip will be very useful, as sometimes I find myself having to look at things from behind, or sideways. You may have dissuaded me from buying a Sony MD Player, which I was pretty sold on. Will have to mull it over.

[Doctor Eric]

Music input level?

Loud is what I meant, but there is no music input level on your amp, if you're having a problem, it is with whatever you are using for music, not your amp. Although you didn't go into detail, I'm 99.9% sure what you are talking about is real simple, it sounds like what you did was plug in your cd player (or whatever) via the direct out, not the headphone jack. Use the headphone jack, direct out is exactly that, it will bypass volume, bass boost, and everything else, just pure signal + amplifier, the headphonejack works exactly the way, well, like it works when you have your headphones on. As far as I know, unless they recently added this feature, Limo's have no level control for your audio in. As a side note, Chris Karney plugs his cd player into his second input because it's louder that way (it's also why Chris' music sounds like dog-!@#? on a stick), but using this method could give you the control you want, get an RCA to quarter inch adapter, (female to male, just ask at the counter at radio shack).

-EDIT- I just reread your post. Scratch what I said earlier unless it's right. I think you plugged your cd into your audio in, yes? And then you changed the level on the volume knob on the same horizontal plane as your audio in, follow? If this is what you did, you are changing the level of your second input, NOT your audio in. Turn down the volume on your cd player.

[Frisbee]

Just invest in an i-pod/i-pod mini...you can fit all the music you could ever want for your show on it and you do not need to worry about any scratched discs over time.

-Frisbee

[Spike McGuire]

I just got an Ipod as well, it is just pointless to do a show with anything else. Plus you can get a remote. And the battery life is crazy.

-----Spike

[Doctor Eric]

iPods are the pet rock of the new millenia. Maybe they do work well, maybe I SHOULD use one in my show, but the cult like hypno fever surrounding them makes me want to vomit. Not only that, but it makes me want to garrote all the iPodiphiles with a USB cable, plus, the damn things are so CUTE, I mean really, how can I store my 11 GB death metal/noize collection in one of those things, and Chopin would roll in his grave if I threw his piano sonatas in there....

[Frisbee]

Ipod

If you just put a skull and crossbones sticker on your ipod and etch Sucks underneath the ipod logo it will probably solve most of your image issues...and will allow you to use your USB cable whip for good as well as evil.

-Frisbee

[Rick Martin]

The ipod is definitely a cool tool, but it's $400 and $250 for the Mini and they hold hundreds or thousands of songs. Most variety acts use only a few songs, maybe six at the most, so one of the little cheapie MP3 players will do the trick for under $100.

[Butterfly Man]

cheap bastard that I am ...

I just bought the white earphones only ... now I can ignore everyone and look cool at a fraction of the price!