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Just me, the BL has downsized to a Speed 400 from a T120, the guitarist is a former biker but I think it was mainly two-strokes. In the other band, Dirty Roses, two of us have Triumphs - it was three but the guitarist sold his T595. Still, I've got two Bonnies and have had four previous ones so the average Bonnie ownership across the two bands is 0.75.

@Owen I think this wee example may illustrate the difference between those who target "niche/hobby" and trade. There's this 51 slab body and you just know it's screaming out for binding 😁 Rabbeting bit is needed but those sold by B&Q/Screwfix/Toolstation etc cut too deep 😕 Luckily Stew-Mac can save the day, they sell a kit $102 or a cutter for your Dremmel for $140 or the LMI $69.99 + $5.99 for the bearing. They're a one stop shop as well as a respected name 👍 Here in the UK we have Wealden Tools, they only sell cutters, drill bits and blades for machine/wood shops. Their rabbeting cutter is £18.99 + £3 for the bearing 🙂

Me too... I've been buying from the D'Addario store on Amazon where they're proper cheap, and not fake as a) they're from D'Addario b) the code works on Player's Circle.

Had a look at the 5-strings. Js and Ps around the same price, £160-170. One peculiarity - normal price of B-stock is £75 less than mint, however the B-stock discount is only £5 for the sale instruments. I'd be very tempted at < £100 even though I'd have to remove the paint, but sadly (or perhaps happily, seeing as I'm trying to reduce the herd) they're £172.

I’m a Maruszczyk fan boy too. My Elwood 4a 32” is the nicest instrument I have ever owned and the neck is amazing. If money wasn’t an issue, I would have a Jake 32” in a flash. A Mensinger with a MM style pick up would be next. Just great gigging basses.

Just get a set of light round wound strings. Rotos or Ernie Ball are fine. I like d’addario. Buy from a reputable dealer as the internet is full of fakes.

We've got a sub on our wish list now that we've got a band member who is able to store and transport it! I appreciate a single 15" sub is usually considered inferior to two 12". But did you notice a significant improvement of the 15" over a single 12"?

Unfortunately this is often the root cause of 'not cutting through'. Educating guitarists that 'their tone' which sounds great at home is banjaxing the whole mix. Getting them to roll off slightly on the mids might help.

In the case of our Boss multis it's just the former though, right? Ie assigning parameters to the knobs and expression pedal?

I would have the G&L, but the problem is there aren't many for sale in the UK so finding one will be tricky compared to the eleventy million Sire basses there are out there.

I wrote a very long list to Santa outlining all the basses I wouldn't mind having for Christmas But as expected, I got socks, pants, gloves and a woolly hat 😞 Oh well, try again next year 😂

Yep, my JMJ is my heaviest bass, which is odd given it’s the smallest. Lightweight tuners definitely make a difference (certainly more than the just the numbers suggest). My love affair with the JMJ may now be over, after nearly 5 years. I’ve gone back to my 33” scale, customs. Will probably move it on.

Think I'm in the club now, GAS was cured within 24hrs. Got this in a local trade and a bit of cash from me. It's pretty much pristine, no doubt I will ding it very soon. It came with Chromes fitted and as much as try I find flats too sticky with my sweaty mitts. I think I may have to sand the glossy neck too.. again, too sticky. May change the tuners for ultralights as there's quite a bit of neck dive, additionally I think it's now my heaviest bass at 7.9lbs so may shave a few ounces with lighter tuners. Now strung with Bootsy Dr’s this thing has stolen the Fonk from Old Gregg for sure - digging the tone right now 🤩

As I said the vocal presets are fine for me. Nothing excessive just a little sweetening. I do not take them as is, but as a starting point. Some mics need more twedking than others, whether I use the preset or start off flat. I tend to use both reverb and compression sparingly as both can be a feedback problem. With both, I think that if you can hear them, it is too much. My band has two gigs in January and currently nothing until April. However I will be running a monthly open mic from Feb so will undoubtedly have lots of fun there. I will probably end up with several of my one shows and scenes, none of which resemble the factory presets. I currently have 6 mics and only two are the same. However the two mics of the same model are the most expensive. So I will not use those for Open Mic. Should be fun trying to get different mics to sound the same.

A signature sound? No. However, a sound that I’m currently really happy with and can’t see a reason to change is my passive, MM type pickup, fretless bass, into a Sadowsky SBP2 preamp, then into an MXR M87 comp (Dr Pepper type setting), then into a Tech21 VTDI which adds some grit and high end sizzle. These are on all the time and I ride the tone control (0.1uf) for smooth or a bit more aggressive tones (I’ll also use a pick for more attack when required). This seems to work with the 3 different amps I’ve used the set up with (EQ set flattish). My own rig is a Phil Jones Flightcase into a powered PJ cab.

Do you mean round wound?

In the early 70's an electrician explained cable maintenance to me. I don't deal with extra long runs but the twist while you are looping method has worked for me since then. My guitar lead is 15' and just passed it's 40th birthday. I bought another cable as a spare about 10 years ago and it's never been used. I fixed the twizzle problem by not moving on stage. Works every time. The other part of cable maintenance which is often ignored, Lay all cables on stage where they won't be stood or walked on.

Chas and Dave! Now they are gone there's really no substitute and probably never will be. Sadly, I'm old enough to remember when the general consensus of opinion amongst the British public was that Jim Davidson was hilarious and anyone who took exception to his routines was an eccentric weirdo. I don't think Jim should be edited from history though. Better to leave him in it and let people face up to what was considered perfectly okay at the time.

Just tried this with my gen 1 Go on an Android phone (Pixel 10 Pro XL, so definitely up to date). Bass records fine on the standard camera app, the streamed sound doesn't. Doing a little dig around, it seems it should be possible (for anyone with a bit of knowledge of these things, preferably more than me, there's a MediaMuxer class you can use with the MediaRecorder API which allows multiple input streams, audio and video, to be recorded). Now I just have to find an app which uses that. And after some experimentation, I can't. Edit: don't have to use a different camera app at all! Go into the Katana BTS app, and into SYSTEM, then USB SETTING, and set LOOPBACK to ON. Leave both USB INPUT and USB OUTPUT as 100%. Then the common or garden Google camera will record video with both your bass and the output sound - which I think is sent over USB when the USB is connected.

The Herpes

Are these tuners worth the £160+ price tag. Advice please.

I don't expect it to be easy for a moment - but like any learned co-ordination - singing whilst playing, left/right hand independence whilst tapping or playing a keyboard instrument - practice & persistence will surely open the way. I would recommend as large a clearable practice area as available, ideally with walls already in need of replastering, and using a bass that is as close to expendable as possible - or already headless. And please make certain all & any wandering pets, children or partners are either excluded or appropriately restrained. Do consider this to be a disclaimer refuting all responsibility for any adverse consequences arising from your personal decision to follow my entirely baseless and untested 'advice', should you choose to do so. Good luck!

I bought this blue Pbass during Black Friday for 65€. Shielded the cavities (very poorly cut inside) and put some ETB92 Tapewounds i rescued from a long gone bass and it sounds and plays wonderfully..