Dad3353

I'm not clued up on basses to any great degree, but my Hofner guitars (and bass, come to think of it...) are over fifty years old. Why did I choose them, at the time of acquisition, over the 'new' equivalent..? Basically, price. The 'vintage' Verithin I bought for £250. The modern, very excellent Verythin (in some ways a superior instrument, I'll allow...) is well over £2500. If I had the money, would I buy the newer one..? Yes, I would, but if I had that sort of money, I'd buy the 'vintage' one as well..! Why..? Maybe in absolute quality terms, as an item, the new one is 'better', but my memories of learning to play guitar, listening to the '50s, '60s and '70s bands, have tuned my (now cloth ...) ears to 'that' sound. I've more modern electric guitars (and basses...), but 'my' music comes from the instruments I grew up with and loved at the time. Same with drums; my kit is from the '60s. Is it good..? Yes. Would I swap it for a new DW kit..? Not for a fortune, despite the absolute qualities of the latter. So, nostalgia..? Partly, surely. Mostly, though, because I find that my old, worn slippers bring me much more comfort that a new pair. Old dogs, and all that..? Just my tuppence-worth.

Wishing, for all, a better 2018 than 2017.

... ... ...

A close call, FB; a close call. Quality stuff. (Not that the others were totally without merit, of course..! )

Not much more and we'll have enough for a soap opera.

...and a Happy New Year to one and all.

And the winner is... The Lurks Family..! Here, then, is your Winner's Certificate (download and save as pdf file, then proudly print and frame...) ... BC_Chal_Cert_2017_12.pdf ... which looks like this (but bigger, of course..!)…

Can I press my luck with just one more..? Please..? No..? OK then.

I hope for your sake you never have to find out.

Indeed. Anyway, I can't think of any more puns. I've an iron deficiency.

I'm out of here, to get a fizzy drink. It's soda pressing.

No, just board.

That joke fell flat, I think. Be careful what you wish for. .

Q.E.D. I rest my case.

Dare..! No; double dare..!

Well, just one daft 'example': consider all the 'Norfolk' jokes; some folks may not enjoy continued ribaldry on the subject. There are doubtless other 'reasons' (I was born and bred in Norfolk; it holds no stigma for me, but for some...).

I think it's just a question of where on the 'tin-foil helmet' scale one stands, really. Some folks are reticent by nature, and will only advance the minimum required, just because that's the way they're comfortable. Others are more 'devil may care', and some would even have their PIN code tattooed on their forehead with no qualms. There are those that dig atomic shelters, and others go naked, and all sorts in between. 'Nowt so queer as folks' covers much of these musings, in my view.

Alex... You seem to be suggesting that this 'reduced footprint' is because of the stage space allotted you at certain venues..? If this is the case, would it not also be the case that these same venues are, themselves, somewhat small..? Following this 'logic' further, and still bearing in mind the acoustic duo nature of your band, I would think that the power put out by your present powered mixer (150-180W into one 8 Ohm speaker...) should suffice. Many decades ago I played drums with Porpoise, a light folk-rock group of buddies. Our set was heavily biased towards vocal rendition, but even with drums (played lightly, and damped...) a bass, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, mandolin and violin, we never had PA problems in small halls, clubs and such, using a 200w amp turned up to about 1 (of 10...). Later, in France, I've played weddings in restaurants and small halls with drums and accordion, with pretty small Montarbo PAs, about shoe-box sized. It's true that we couldn't have turned up to 'deafening' if we'd tried, but we never lacked volume, nor 'punch'. For bigger venues (normal pubs..?) you'd be using both speakers, anyway, but one Wharfedale will do the trick, I'd say, even with your current mixer/amp. Any louder and you'd be running into feedback issues, in any case, I reckon. I could be wrong, but without spending quite a lot more than the budget announced, I'd say you've already got the best you need. I'd add that, in those heady times described above, there was no question of IEM, or even foldback at all..! We just listened to what was going on, that's all..! Just my tuppence-worth; hope this helps.

I wouldn't know (half-deaf, y'see... )

I am trying; very trying.

Not telling..! Nah..! Nah..! Nah..! ... ... No, seriously, I can't say I've noticed, but it could be the case. I'll try to remember to look, next time such a notification crops up, but be warned: I don't always remember stuff. Now, what was the question again..?

I'm not certain as to the ire felt by some, but it is definitely an anomaly to declare a sale to be 'Collection Only', yet not give a location from whence to collect..! Other than that, it's simply an inconvenience for those wishing to consider whether to buy the item or not, I think.