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I guess it depends on circumstances. I saw The Hamsters play numerous times in pubs throughout the country. I suspect they made a reasonable living and a 3K instrument would be worthwhile. I know a photographer that used a camera and lenses costing way more than 3K to photograph plenty of bands - many playing in pubs.

Another LHZ installation yesterday. This time my first LHZ-04 (it’s a smaller version of the LHZ-03) into a Korean-made NS2000/4. The passive EMGs came out (up for sale here) and some actives went in. This is my very first solderless installation. It came with the pre-wired jack and the EMGs just clip on and away you go. It had a full fret level, and dress yesterday too with a fall off from the 15th fret, new strings and a fingerboard glow-up. It plays and sounds fantastic now. Ideally it should be refretted bt I think I just managed to squeeze one more out of it before having to get the serious gear out.

I think ending up with the double 4 is the best possible outcome. They are great amps - knowing your music Rob, going beyond bass if you do have or acquire a pickup or mic system you can move across all your wonderful guitars the double 4 will reproduce all the tones perfectly. I use mine as stage amplification for my woodwind instrument.

I think the point here - for me anyway - is why would I spend £3k on a bass if I'm just doing pub gigs?

Here’s the modern equivalent of that stylus: https://www.audioaffair.co.uk/ortofon-dn-165e-replacement-stylus/ (EDIT: I now see @Hellzero got there before me with that…:-)) I suspect you could also use any of Ortofon’s OM range of styluses (https://ortofon.com/collections/om-hifi-concorde-series-1), which all fit on the same cartridge and run from £40 up to spendy - the OM10 used to be a fairly standard fitment on decent mid-price turntables, and the OM20 is a nice step up, albeit three times the price. Or, as @Matt P suggests, change the cartridge - the Audio Technica ones he suggests are very good and open up a whole range of different stylus options. It can feel a bit daunting, but I’d say if you can do basic setup on a bass you’ll probably manage fitting and aligning a new cartridge. I’d also agree with @Dan Dare that if you’ve never replaced the belt in 40 years it’s probably a good idea to do so. Thakker in Germany is a good source (https://www.thakker.eu/en/belts/turntables/), but I’m sure there will be UK-based suppliers too. Whether you need any other maintenance is really down to your judgement about whether everything is running and moving smoothly - if the platter isn’t making any unpleasant noises, and the arm raises, lowers and tracks across the record smoothly you’re probably good to go. You can also download apps that use the motion sensor in your phone to check whether the rotation speed is right (a worn belt can certainly affect that). Finally, you might just check you’ve got your tracking weight (the downward force on the stylus) right - that might be a cause of the original bending. Plenty of guides online for that. HTH

Yes, if you go to rifffactory.co.uk/gigs they're all on there. Headsticks are playing in April which will be my first chance to play on my own stage! 😂

hah, I had not noticed that! No idea what it was but I can assure you there are/were no weapons, real or "play"

That Bridge 'n Monster Pup Surround... Mighty Meaty... like a Telecaster on Steroids! And love a natural finish

Expensive or not expensive I would still take the bass out and play it . What is the point otherwise of owning a nice instrument? It's like buying a nice car just to have it parked in the garage

My Thumb NT cost £900 in 1988, which apparently is the equivalent of £2750 in today's money. The equivalent would be a Masterbuilt, €8900 plus shipping. That's wildly outstripping inflation, and shoots past "too f*cking expensive" into "you've got to be f*cking kidding" territory.

Ha there we go. Tim typing exactly what I was saying at the same time

Love this era of Yes. No guarantee that what you’re hearing is what you’re seeing. Bruford is air drumming and Chris’ bass plays itself on more than one occasion (right hand behind his back).

Let us know what you think of the amp and the cab. A criticism of this amp back in the day was that it didn't seem very loud, but this was apparently from people turning the knobs as they would on an amp they were used to ie judiciously. Don't be afraid to push the gain right up.

I have the 5.2. You need to push the gain as far up as you can, you almost want the 'clip' light just coming on most of the time.

I'm using the PS for +/- 1 and +/- 2 semis - works just fine! It struggles with +12 semis for octave up though which is where the "Overtone" fx comes into its own. Still not perfect or as clean as the dedicated Boss XS-1 for octave up, but certainly usable and the full patch, as outlined above, with amp sim and GEQ in the chain is a tasty tone thickener - very Fishman Powerchord! Actually that kinda summarises some of the key pros & cons of the Boss multi-fx vs dedicated Boss pitch shift pedals: Boss XS-1: accurate pitch shifting without undue "flubbiness" for +/- 3 to 4 semis. A number of users have commented it's one of the best octave-up pedals around. But only able to do one interval at a time (albeit can mix wet and dry volumes). Whammy capability with external expression pedal. Couple of presets possible with external footswitch. Compact format. Boss XS-100: as XS-1 plus built in expression pedal for whammy-style effects. Multiple presets. Still only one interval at a time possible. GX10: decent, but more limited "usable" pitch shift range. Presets plus expression pedal can be assigned to any fx parameter. Fishman Powerchord tone thickening available with Overtone patch.

Yes, but it's nice to have all that power in reserve. Still enjoying mine. I compared it with some very nice, high-end amps at the last SE Bash but I didn't hear anything that would make me want to change.

Good stuff seals a cut or burst blister, without the bulk of a plaster, and skin going soggy underneath. micro pore... always worth having a roll - sticks to itself more than sticking to things.

Indeed. Have you changed the setting in your measurement software yet?

Phil's right about crossover modelling software. It can get close most of the time, but not always, and only an idiot would rely on it entirely. The main benefit is that it saves time, and allows you to experiment more easily with complex circuits. As with any other modelling software, you need to understand the subject area and the assumptions that the software is making. But you still need to build, test and fine-tune your crossover(s) the old-fashioned way. Otherwise, it's like making a recipe for a cake without baking and tasting it.

Oh yes, XS. Which sounds more like a Jag to me! What was wrong with PS - they have a PS-5 and 6, could this not be the 7?

I've adjusted the truss rod but not sure what you mean by 012m ?