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Plastic People - Frank Zappa & the Mothers of Invention

Reni was (probably still is) a staggeringly good drummer. Pete Townsend tried to nab him for some of his solo stuff, and likened his natural carefree playing to that of Keith Moon. His and Mani’s styles complimented each other so well. Some of the rehearsal footage in Shane Meadows’ documentary/film is wonderful, with the dynamic duo just laying it down with not a care in the world. They made it look all so easy. And fun. Never forgetting fun…

Bend Me, Shape Me - The American Breed

The spec says "Bolt-on neck: caramelised Canadian hard rock maple with Roseacer skunk stripe". Are they lying?

I picked up a HoTone Thunderbass 5 watt amp for a song on kijiji. Fairly cheap , it looked like a funky little thing , total impulse buy. I had a nice practice rig , so I didn’t spend much time using a speaker with it , but I was surprised by the time I spent using it as a headphone amp. Had a mini aux in so I could plug in a tablet and play along. I was spending considerable time with the headphones memorizing material. I didn’t want to drive Herself bonkers. Later I found a Phil Jones BigHead on kijiji , the HoTone worked wonderfully but I couldn’t resist the PJ. It’s a more elegant solution. Before the HoTone I had been using a GK MB200. It also has a mini aux input. Many little Class D heads can be run without a load , and have a mini input. https://i.postimg.cc/B68wBfcn/IMG-2672.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/G2358s95/IMG-0060.jpg

I’m hoping the new premises will have mine with me soon 😁

Interesting read, cheers. I gigged the Bongo last night. Sounded great and attracted very favorable comments 👌

Just finished with a hour to the deadline. This is the ritual of visiting the seaside as seen by an observer from another planet. Instruments and fx from logic plus Epiphone Casino, Fender Starcaster bass, Fender Mustang GTX100, Shure SM58.

Yes, check it. I’d use a known good stereo lead and a multimeter set to continuity or diode mode and see which one goes to tip, ring or sleeve.

You're not far from Session themselves at Farnham.

Not a grey-burst fan, but that thing looks pretty damned good to me.

If the pickup doesn't work with the amp, consider a high impedance buffer between them. Then you will get good lows. Sometimes a buffered effect may work well, too.

A good set of photos. Gary ‘Mani’ Mounfield: a life in pictures | Stone Roses | The Guardian https://share.google/sRIKKhwOwOd9ZVmmo

For me, it was worth it (in spite of my occasional grumpiness about things on this thread). I have benefitted from the discipline of forcing myself to work on aspects that I struggle with; of playing stuff that is initially beyond me; of getting ready for a gig wherein the audience (of one) will not just listen to me, but assess me. Again, for me, I was not very good at teaching myself the piano - I could not muster the ability to independently move the fingers on both hands, until I started lessons in August 2024. (45 years prior, I had learned to play a two manual organ; 15 years ago, we had a piano in the house. In spite of all that, I still couldn't manage an independent left hand, so I took lessons and passed Grade 1 piano seven months later). Importantly, I feel that there is a difference between the lessons, and the syllabus, and the exams. The syllabus requires that I (for example) play a D minor scale with both hands, perhaps using the recommended fingerings; or play three of 48 pieces; or listen to and sing back a phrase. The Grade exam will test how well the candidate does so. And the lessons teach how to work on the syllabus (and perhaps, how to pass the Grade exam). So, the Grades don't teach one how to play the piano - the lessons do. In conclusion, I could have had lessons, and ignored the exams. However, after 45 years of bumbling incompetence and failure, it felt like the right time to try something different - and that was Piano lessons, with Grades. It worked for me.

So I bought a Ditto mini looper from Juan Alderete. I’m a fan and wanted a looper, so I bought it from him. Anyway with one thing and another I only just got around to booting it up, and hey presto, the last loop he was working on with his fretless bass is still on there! It was a bit weird hearing it to be honest, I mean he’s not dead or anything but it’s very cool to have one of his loops. So do I keep it? Can you save them?

The real Slim Shady.

That looks great! Glad you're pleased with it! I look forward a gig review of it!

Can’t go wrong with a Lionel Loz.