mcnach

20 hours ago, Inga said:

looks like my egg yolkes.... in the morning 🍳🍳🍳🍳🍳🍳🍳 good yummy

slow day? 😄

3 hours ago, BigRedX said:

 

Imgur is blocked to any UK IP address due to various reasons mostly do to with unwillingness to comply with UK data protection legislation.

 

If you really need to see any images hosted with Imgur you'll need a VPN set to a non-UK location.

The Opera browser has a built-in switchable VPN that comes quite handy. Imgur image not displayed? Click on VPN and refresh. You can manually select a rough location worldwide, but whatever it chooses by default seems to work, so far. Click again the VPN button to turn it off, and you're back in the UK.

4 hours ago, ghostwheel said:

They probably mean it actually is Squier, not Squire.

Doubtful, it seems pretty far fetched.

🤭

On 15/10/2025 at 21:09, Kev said:

Unfortunately, from the various angles in all 3 photos, it consistently looks like the bridge is a tad too far to the right of the neck, you can see it from how the E string doesn't align with the pickup and the general look of the strings across the neck, but probably most obvious when looking at the truss cover.

 

It's an awful lot of work that is going to be needed to get all of this right, before he lifts a finger I would ask for a full schedule of the works he is doing, if you're insistent on going through with the repairs and not demanding a refund/heavy discount.

I'm not sure. To me it just looks like the neck is *slightly* misaligned, the sort of thing you fix by unscrewing the neck screws a bit, pushing the neck in the right direction and tighten screws again. The bass had issues, but this is getting overly picky now, I think.

9 hours ago, Fionn said:

In 8 years of touring we never said a single word to the audience that wasn’t integral to the music/ performance.
 

Zero patter since day one 

That's... something!

I don't know exactly what it is, but it is something.

Not even by accident? 😄

Johna bought my markBass Octaver pedal. Good chat, a pleasure to deal with  

On 05/10/2025 at 13:54, Lozz196 said:

I’ve just always used Lozz - with records/publishing etc that’s what I’m listed as for credits. 

But... what happened to the 195 ones before you?

On 08/10/2025 at 08:03, Breaking Bass said:

Este es un problema con prácticamente todos los Sire activos (hablo de bajos) tengo 3 (2 series M y 2 serie V) y los tres se comían la pila en 3 días y daba igual si desconectabas el previo y quitabas el cable cuando no lo uses… se descarga igual, yo ya lo he solucionado gracias al conocimiento de mi Hugo mi luthier. 
1.- ¿Dónde está el problema? El problema es el conector Jack hembra TRS donde Sire decidió poner uno de baja calidad. Este conector no hace bien el aislamiento entre sus 3 componentes y hace que el previo consuma batería de forma continua da igual que el previo y el cable estén desconectados.

2.- ¿Cuál es la solución? En mi caso (en mis 3 bajos) fue cambiarle el conector Jack por uno de calidad que haga bien el aislamiento… yo usé la marca Switchcraft que es de los mejores y cuesta solo 5-6€, lo cambias y solucionado la batería dura de 6 meses a 2 año dependiendo de cuánto lo uses.

3.- Problemas derivados. Aquellos músicos que desconocen esto no hacen más que cambiar la pila de forma continua y como el Battery Box tampoco es de gran calidad al final acaba dañándose o partiéndose. Por /0€ más puedes poner un Gotoh.

4.- Conclusión. Por 25€ y lo que te cobre tu luthier si no eres muy manitas en esto… has corregido el único problema serio de un Sire porque lo demás está hecho para durar.

 

Que mala suerte has tenido!

22 hours ago, Mickeyboro said:

I have been advised not to discuss the guitarist’s extensive collection for fear of burglary😮

That's cute 😄

... and two years after moving house I found the box containing all those pedals I don't use anymore  so, still available

3 hours ago, King Tut said:

How do you find the pre in the z3 vs the z7. Can you cut the treble on the z3 or is it boost only?

 

Treble is cut+boost on both Z3 and Z7. It's just that the Z7 has an additional passive tone control (which is of course cut only).

I prefer the Z3, but that's just my personal preference: the semiparametric mids control on the Z7 can be very useful but in general I find the fixed mids on the Z3 to be just where I want them.

If having a Jazz neck pickup is important to you, I'd say go for the Z7. Otherwise, while the Z7 definitely feels more 'premium', I find the Z3 more to my liking.  

One thing about the Z7 that is worth thinking about, is that some people find the neck J-style pickup to be much quieter than the bridge pickup. Whether this is more for the 5 string than the 4 string versions I don't know. Mine was noticeably weaker and impossible to balance with the bridge no matter how much I tried adjusting the pickup heights. I didn't mind too much because the J alone sounds great, it's just quieter than the MM... which makes it complicated if you wanted to switch sounds live, but you do get a wide range to blended sounds that work very well.

Sire is installing a different pickup now (the older one had the small twin poles per string like a Jazz, the new one has big single poles) which seems to fix the issue. I got one of those new pickups from Sire, I just haven't tested it yet.

3 hours ago, Sean said:

It is said that these are very close in quality, playability, sound to a Stingray. All those MM basses are really off my radar so,  what's the verdict with these Z7s? Are they up there with the ATK as a "Stingray Killer"?

I have both a Z3-5 and Z7-5. I no longer have an EBMM Stingray 5, I have the Ray35 which isn't that different from the 'real thing' (and the 4-string EBMM Stingray that was my main bass for over a decade). My comparisons are based on that specific sample of basses, and my opinion is just that: like, my opinion, maaan.

The Sires' built is more than decent. Their necks are just beautiful. The Z7 is the winner in terms of looks and feel. The neck of the Z3 wasn't as well finished, but this is not so much to say the Z3 was bad, rather that the Z7 was superb. I think it would be very difficult to match the general build quality of an EBMM instrument. But they also cost quite a lot more, and these do not feel 'budget' at all (especially the Z7).

Both can sound very Stingray-like, with the Z3 closer than the Z7, to these ears o'mine.

I've been using mostly the Z3 live, since I bought it. 

38 minutes ago, BassTractor said:

OK, I'll bite.
So, I get up at 7AM and start my work for the day. It's gonna be a busy day, and, trying to cater for the customers' perceived (or preferably real) needs, I hardly have time for a coffee or lunch break, so my wife shoves food down my throat with a goose stick - at every opportunity. Customers even come from the extreme North of Norway to the extreme South where I live, specifically to talk with me and to try my boats. I sell hundreds of boats and do not have the capacity to sell even more, as that would detract from the level of quality that my customers wish for and that I think they need.
After 7 or 8PM, the shop now closed, I'm having a few hours of administration. At 11PM, I start answering emails, and am not done before 2AM, after which I'll get five hours of sleep.

Then, just as I'm to shut down the computer, an email arrives from someone who knows better, the email telling me for example that my website isn't good enough, to which I reply: "If my website had been any better, I could have sold even more kayaks, and that would mean less time spent with each individual customer. I don't wanna do that."
That same email could also have been about my lacking email response.


IOW: please do not curtly say that "ignoring your clientele is not a sensible way to do business".
It's not certain that you're a better judge on this than the shop is.


As I said: IME and IMHO, email is the least sensible way of communicating.
It's detrimental to the customers' interests, whatever those customers might believe (of course depending on the nature of the emails).

email may be the least sensible *to you*, but not necessarily to everybody else...

I personally do a lot by email, because it gives me a written record and I can do it at times when most shops are closed. I'm not against other methods, but if offered I'll probably take it.

If email is not an option that works well for a shop, then do not offer that as a method to communicate? Can't really blame people for using a method that is right there in the list of ways of contact. 

11 hours ago, andytoad said:

So is the only way transmitter/receiver to wired IEM? I need to contact starfleet see what Uhura was using in the 60's lol... *tongue in cheek humour*

No, you can use wifi or radio transmitters.

Radio transmitters have extremely low latency but sound quality can be 'meh' especially at the lower end of the budget range, but they do work.

WiFi systems are all over the place. There's lots of very cheap ones, but latency tends to be higher on those, up to 12ms in some. On their own that might not be a problem, but if you have other digital devices in your signal, all adding their bit of latency, it can get noticeable, but this is very much depending on your use. 

11 hours ago, andytoad said:

I know latency. Would it be that bad for the average pub player tho, or truly shocking?

Worst than truly shocking

One thing that catches people at times is that there is a little internal battery, same as computer motherboards have. It was not even mentioned in the manual! The battery lasts a few years and when it dies, so does the V-Amp. It stops being able to save/recall presets and things just generally do not work well. Really easy to replace, if you're aware there's a battery inside in the first place.

Well, I liked mine

I still have it and use it sometimes, there was a handful of guitar amp models that sounded pretty decent. FX are not very good.

I confirm the box/papers exist and will be included

It wasn't quite a band yet but...

I wanted to start a new project in a particular vein, as a side thing to my main band, with as many new people (to me) as I could. I made it very clear I wanted it to be a collaborative thing, writing together etc. Mostly reggae-tinged.

One guy stood out, who played guitar and sang and we seemed to be looking for a similar thing, so we met. It was fun initially. He showed me some of his stuff, singing mostly in French (he's from Senegal), and it was cool enough. He was going to do a little solo thing at a coffee shop in a couple of weeks and I agreed to play his stuff with him, mostly on bass with a couple of songs on guitar. 

It was fun, and then we went busking and it was fun...

Until it wasn't. Very quickly it turned into just playing his stuff, and only the way he wanted. Basically I had no input... and since this was not bringing money or what I had set out to do, I brought it up one Sunday afternoon while jamming at his, with his teenage son playing various percussion instruments, and it was as I had farted, no, sharted on his face. He basically kicked me out of his place

I was a little amused by it because it felt so crazy. As I was packing my stuff he was just ranting about his integrity as a musician and how it's impossible to find someone to play with because everybody wants to do their own thing and be creative with HIS songs. I had to remind him the premise under which we first met, which only aggravated him more. His son looked like he didn't know where to hide...

He slammed the door behind me, and as I walked to the car I was laughing, it was so surreal...

A bit later I was talking to somebody who had seen me busking with the other guy. I told him I was not doing that anymore and that's when he smiled and said "I didn't think it would last". He knew the guy...

3 years later, the guy is still playing solo. It sounds good, I enjoy his stuff, I just don't want to play with the guy. His erratic sense of timing in particular was really difficult to deal with... but as a solo artist he's good.

21 hours ago, fiatcoupe432 said:

Need to get Danny sapko involved 

It wouldn't be the worst possible idea, you know?

replied

2 hours ago, 6feet7 said:

PM'd

replied

My understanding is yes, it should fit the design right up to 2018 when they re-invented the Stingray with the smaller tuners etc.

Yes, postage (within the UK) is included.

4 hours ago, SimonK said:

 

Get someone in the states to buy it and send to you? At £3.10 plus probably about £10 postage it isn't a massive risk...

why would anybody buy that from the US? It's not like MusicMan make those sockets...

I bought this preamp because of its features, but it doesn't fit into the small control cavity of my Sandberg VM4. I didn't check before I bought it

I've had this in my drawer of parts for a while, and it's not looking like I'm going to be needing it anytime soon, so here it is... 

This is the 4-knob version, with black knobs.

It's designed for 2-pickup basses. The output of each pickup can be adjusted with two internal trim pots, ensuring perfect balance. Semiparametric mids, passive tone control, active/passive switch, bass EQ frequency window is user-adjustable (low bass 20-80Hz, high bass 40-200Hz), flat or pre-shape (slight mid scoop with boosted low/highs) options...

Check full specs here:

https://www.east-uk.com/product/uni-pre-4-knob/?v=7885444af42e

It costs new £220. Selling for £150 including postage within the UK.

This has never been installed. I only took it out of the box to take measurements.