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We'll leave it, as we have very different thoughts on the subject. I don't agree with your inferences, and have other notions of what constitutes 'middle and upper class'. Carry on carrying on; onward and upward. Peace.

I thought you retired from gigging?

Happy daze. I had a 200w Hiwatt PA head, and its associated four PA 'fridges' (2 x 15 below, and a 2x12 with horn, on each side...). The head got destroyed in the 80's (kids, eh..?), but I've since replaced it, and it's still in service as a bass amp. I foolishly sold the cabs on. Heavy, you say..? Yes, I had a Peugeot 403 ambulance to cart 'em around... Happy daze.

You clean and refinish the bass, change strings, and what? This sounds different! If you love your 50 year young serial produced instrument, but it does not look right, what should you do? Grab a RAL-code colour leaflet. If you have a friend working as an AD or similar, ask a rendering of the new design. By the way, what's the name of the band? Björn again?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/317029233244?_skw=bass+guitar&itmmeta=01JYNHZFXDWZZWDNPGDNTAYSQM&hash=item49d06a325c:g:uj0AAeSwNrZoW8dN&itmprp=enc%3AAQAKAAAA0FkggFvd1GGDu0w3yXCmi1cRSWZQTKGy7ZqAinWSfO8gUn3L8YoK1YMG%2BwL1HnqYQz%2BQ7Usb0ClbUyOmN81el1Fo1o3yTFUa4IPqJx1zR3uvmphB758O4x2OX8zmMUy2tdp2VTnBu%2BHnmlJ0X5z0o3516Rr6pCVFT7zZUD%2BbwE4nG4aCHuETa9KSDzYLxTR4pIFMttWRxaQx76BW%2FoFsLxiFhOc%2FDt1oQSW3oxToYWxdkoKBH3USbcgAtnhf3p4cqsLchKA6b7f3iW2DWTynHNM%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR_z-_bH1ZQ ..... really ?....

So, to be clear, we're not talking about playing for free at a street party. I do this all the time. We're talking about commercial music festivals that generate a profit (which Glastonbury undoubtedly does.) The system that exists effectively tells artists who play for free that they're worthless (by choosing not to pay them), while charging people for tickets to see them and making a profit. You may be happy to support this system or shrug it off as somehow being a natural order, but I don't think we should. As well as devaluing the contribution small artists make to festivals like Glastonbury, it also constructs barriers for those who lack the means to play for free. We'll end with music being the same as the rest of the arts, populated almost entirely by middle and upper class people who are subsidised to play. In my view, either nobody gets paid, or everyone does. Even if that means Coldplay, Rod Stewart or whoever else earns less money, then so be it. In my industry (writing and journalism), people are routinely asked (and some will offer) to work for free to gain experience and exposure. I've always refused to work for free and paid other people if they have done work that generates a profit for me (or the company I operate).

Quicker inviting both the crowd to your gaff and playing the gig there then? 🤭

Ditto. Watching TV without sub-titles can prove difficult, especially if the speaker(s) happen to be female. I can still hear Big Bazza White clearly enough though. 🗣️ 👂🏻🫨

I was chatting to Nathan East and Victor Wooten, as you do. They both have tinnitus and neither wear any hearing protection! I have tinnitus and I've been using ACS plugs for over 20 years. I dread to think what my hearing would have been like without them. The subtitles and sound bar help, but in my house we're at the, "Do we really need the TV to be that loud?" phase!!

Very tasty bass and a good, clear overview. Cheers Dan.

But it is possible to make a bass from an upright piano! That's possibly the best future for an old acoustic, if the wood is wood, not particleboard. Like @BigRedX said, think about the tuning. If the piano was left without it for several years, retuning requires several times and some money.

If you want to make money in music, then become a covers band specialising in weddings. They seem to be fairly profitable.

yep so did mine. It was always fine and I didn't notice it, but since I had covid, it's definately worse

Any expectation following on from my actions is not my responsibility, it's that of the expectee. As goes the saying : 'Blessed are those that expect nothing, for they shall never be disappointed.' I choose to play for free, whatever the venue, commercial or otherwise. What about the sums involved..? Getting paid a pittance, when others on the same bill are receiving thousands; is that a problem..? In this strange 'logic' of no-one being disabused, shouldn't there be some sort of equivalence, then, so that the artists get [ more | less | the same ] (choose one...) as the hot dog stand owner, or the headline act..? Why is it a problem if someone gets paid and another chooses not to..? Being asked to play for free is not the same as asking to play for free, or even turning down payment. There's no 'moral high ground' to any of it; all are able to make their own decisions, and abide by the consequences. I think no worse of those making different choices to mine; I would like to think that these notions could be reciprocated. I expect nothing in this regard, of course, and am never disappointed.

Update; dropped my bow off with the local repairer, it should be ready next week. We're going with some chestnut hair he has, since I know quite a few bassists like a somewhat coarser/grippier hair for Spirocores.

x

I used to have a Hiwatt stack, 200watt amp and 2 412 cabs. I never lifted it. We had roadies for that sort of thing. Just rereading this thread made my back ache!!!

@Jean-Luc Pickguard Yes I have noticed worse tinnitus during periods of high stress, so I can relate to the “feedback loop”. I’m fortunate that mine is low level and not really disruptive, and probably average for my age. I would add that in my experience earwax plays a part. I spend long amounts of time wearing headphones, as well as ear plugs, and that can move earwax around leading to issues.

Kawai and Yamaha are about the only two that seem to have any real resale value and even then the depreciation on a new piano is huge. We bought a Kawai K300 a few years ago and it’s a lovely intermediate-level instrument. It does, however, need room for the sound to “blossom” and when we moved house we ended up with it in a smaller room that, no matter how we treated it acoustically, made it painful to play at any volume. With hindsight, we should have bought one of the hybrid pianos but in the end we swapped it for a Kawai digital. The market nowadays seems to be swamped with Chinese pianos that have European-sounding names but no real heritage - I’m sure like most things from China these days they’re fine instruments and I daresay one could get a lightly-used example for a bargain price. If I was buying a new piano today, even if I lived in a mansion, I’d go with a Yamaha or Kawai hybrid that allowed silent playing.

You see, if you played jazz then gigging it would expose it to fewer people than at home. Job done!

A standard multimeter set to read volts applied to the Ring and Sleeve of the output jack on a bass with active electronics won't give an exact reading, because placing the multimeter in the circuit in this way is in series with the preamplifer and battery, which would be correct if trying to take a current reading. A standard multimeter should be placed directly across the + and - terminals of the batteries for the most accurate reading. I.E, in Parallel with.

Orange LBT is an amazing amp and can get gritty too if you crank the compression Terror Bass also a good choice I’ve never really liked pre amp pedals as i have always had an amp and good cab. Decent pre amp pedals nearly cost the same as a head these days but it’s the cab that’s make the difference