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It does mean that you're not stuck with a single baked-in amp and cab sound, you can use different ones by using NAM/IR or other modelling.

I think there's some nuance that's being missed here. Trained neural nets absolutely have an application in all sorts of areas, and tools that use this technology are often capable of doing things that were previously unachievable - I'm most familiar with the audio world (see stem splitting, reverb matching, etc) but we can lump in things like image uprezzing, spotting cancer, etc. There is no "intelligence" at work here, it's very effective pattern recognition. These tools have undoubtedly made my job easier, and the results I provide to my clients are better as a result. I also very much view keeping up with the latest and greatest tools (assuming they are, in fact, the greatest, rather than marketing hype) as worthwhile professional development. Generative AI, however, is a wholesale power grab of creative outputs by corporate forces (the creative inputs were provided by anyone who's imagery, writing, music or audio were part of their training data, whether they consented to that usage or not). To me that is very different from a "tool" - it's handing over the reins of creative production to the rentier class. Who stands to capture the value of this? There are reasons to be optimistic, however: Most creative people want to work with other creative people. I respect talent, and the creative achievements of my colleagues are what make it worthwhile. So I think the creative industries will persist in a different (perhaps diminished) form. Part of adapting to the new reality will be forming networks of likeminded professionals. Despite the constant noise that AI is going to take over everything, some more-intelligent-than-me computer science types believe we're already at the point where models won't get much "better" at stuff. There simply isn't the volume of training data available, or the cost of accessing and processing that data is too high. There future may well be in faster, more efficient, more targeted models that swing back to special purpose tools. AI generated output is rapidly becoming a marker of low effort and therefore low value of the resulting product. Or do you buy all those scammy lifehack products on AI generated YouTube prerolls? Even with gen AI not everyone can be an effective art director. We're due a massive market correction once the circular accounting between the AI pushers and Nvidia reaches critical mass. As well as wiping off a huge chunk off everyone's stock/pension portfolio, it will be the morning after the night before for the AI optimists.

I feel your pain guys, but I've engineered a very simple GAS-management rule now, I only own basses that have Fender compatible 4-bolt neck construction. Basses that arrive in my place cease to be basses, they become donors. There's two real benefits, some necks just sing with some bodies, and it's interesting and satisfying to go through that journey, and I can beat the urge for a new bass by simply swapping around a few components. I've about 4 fretless and six fretted necks, and around 10 loaded bodies (Precision, Jazz, Tele, Jag). Obviously neck-through basses like that in this thread rather mess things up, which is one reason I wouldn't chase it again if it came up for sale, no matter how lovely it was, same with the BB2024MX 👍

A lefty friend I know He sells some really nice bases

This is something which occurred to me recently and which may well not be novel or clever, but I found it useful to think about. At jazz jams we try to run them so that the material played is fairly standard, as we'd like to encourage new players to get up and have a go. Nevertheless, anything could be played if someone brings a chart for the rhythm section and, if necessary, lead sheets for horns. Despite this we do get people who do some or all of: - Don't have charts or the ones they have aren't much use (see below). - Can't explain the form or changes to the rhythm section, sometimes saying "just listen"(*) or "just watch my left hand and work the chords out" etc. etc. - Drop or add bars/beats as they please. - Change tempo unexpectedly. It's tempting to think that they are simply bad musicians, but they sound good when playing their own material and are able to get gigs which I am sure their audiences enjoy. So, I think it must be some sort of cultural difference, specifically that I'm thinking of things bottom-up and they're thinking top-down. For the bottom up view there's a set form and a set sequence of chord changes which the rhythm section will lay down. The singers, horn players etc. can add their stuff on top but they must follow that underlying structure. They could perhaps push or pull slightly against the beat, or substitute some chords, but the form must be respected. For top-down the lyrics and melody are the defining part and any accompaniment then follows whatever the singer (or perhaps instrumentalist) is doing - strumming an acoustic guitar to underpin one's own signing would be a good example. The sort of charts which consist of the lyrics of a song with some simple triads and occasional dominant chord written alongside are not much use to me, as the form is not clear in them, but I think they'd make total sense if thought of from a lyrics/melody-first perspective (presumably why acoustic-guitar-strummers use them heavily). Does this seem at all reasonable? If I'm not barking up the wrong tree, suggestions on how it might be easier to work with the top-down people when they turn up are welcome. (*) Of course, at some jazz jams one might be expected to "just listen" without charts but then I'd expect the tune to be a known structure and get some clue like "It's in Bb, AABA form; A sections are 12-bar Bird blues and B sections are a rhythm changes bridge" shortly before the count-in.

The F10dc looks gorgeous. I see Andertons have listed it at £1699 And Thomann £1333! I know where I'll be getting mine in the summer. Over £300 cheaper

Ok, show me some examples of current young practitioners whose business model is to post on online platforms either within music or art, who are genuinely innovating and pushing boundaries (not just pandering to algorithms), and are generating enough of an income from that to buy homes and feed families. Not people with side jobs, not people who are surviving off pre-social media fame and success - genuine newcomers who are making work with creative integrity. Reaching an audience is not the same as getting paid. If you're on TikTok, you can have an audience of 400K if you fart into a phone. Engagement and success are not the same thing, and engagement without the support that comes with it is just attention without value. I don't know of many young people in the Gen Z range genuinely innovating and making art making an actual living purely from posting stuff online right now, and that's when we're still in the early days of AI. The current functional model is either to post clickbait, or to have a day job and do creative work on the side for pocket money. But feel free to show examples of current creative young innovators who are really pushing boundaries and paying off mortgages and feeding families from the online distribution model of their own creative output. To me it seems like wishful thinking, and it's only going to get worse as AI content grows, but I'd be happy to be proven wrong. I see lots of talent and artistic vision out there, but I don't see any of those people surviving without jumping through hoops right now, let alone when AI content corrupts things even further. And those are the people who would need to be investing in products by NI to keep the company going. Ageing boomers nearing the end of their creative careers - and even Gen X artists - are not going to sustain these software companies for much longer.

Holes should be pilot drilled, to the correct depth, otherwise the screw will bottom out and you will round out the screw head. Pilot Drill, correct fitting screw driver, and a bit of hand soap (block) or candle wax on the screw threads. Lots of holes.. so a job not to ne rushed Mark the hoes thru the achie head plate with a scriber or nail I use a hand inion wirly drill and slow and steady as to clear the hole and not break the drill bit. Good Luck

Has anyone got any tips/hacks on centering those pesky tiny screws on machine heads, there's got to be an easy way that I'm just not seeing, (you've guessed by now I'm a newbie to this malarkey) it's doing my loaf in. So I've left my work shop, lights off, come back later. Please help, ta.

Its great and it does normal to madness I moved mine on only due to having the full fooger but its a great pedal

Nonsense, it's the tonewood neck, stainless frets, and the tonemetal skeleton of the guitar body. And the toneair between the tonemagnet tailpiece and the tonemagnet "bridge".

Yep! You could feel the age of the wood, since the softer pores were worn off by the very long time. Nearly like it is fossilized. The body will be high gloss, so it will be like a piece of crystalized wood when ready. No pots or switches - just a pickup in wooden casing, the same materials as in the bass itself, direct connected to the output jack. We didn't want to clutter the beautiful top with a lot of "bits and pieces". Fretless unlined ebony board with green Luminlay side dots.

It makes sense to silly old me...😄...which is why I still own the Studio 220 head. A very specific sound, not for all occasions and definitely not for everyone but quite remarkable IMO.

He has a whole 1 subscribers? Wow, such authority!

The Baby Blue 2 x 8 combo is on my radar but is fairly rare here in the UK. There is one for sale in Italy at the moment, but by the time you add post-BREXIT import duty and VAT it becomes uneconomical for me.

Hier kommt Alex - Die Toten Hosen

If you had, you would have remembered. There is a clarity and authority that you get with SWR that you just can’t get with other amps IMHO. Yes, you can get ridiculously clean tones from other amps but they sound sterile to my ears. SWR has that clean but with warmth and authority (if that makes sense?)

Did he not explain what a time amp is? If it's a device for making your day longer, I might be interested in one but I'd need to check in with Gazz to see if I should get one with valves and what modulation goes best with it. If you do see him, pass on my regards and tell him I said, "See you next Tuesday, Gazz."