casapete

One man's dream, another man's nightmare...

Must admit I did consider this in my situation, but really then you end up with who makes the most noise type daft stuff, which quickly escalates into stupid stuff. Think my SVT 8x10 rig would have won mine though.....

Great post!

I live at the end of a terrace, and had dreadful problems with our neighbours shortly after we moved in. Their 17 year old son was learning drums at college,, and the first time I heard him practice it was like the kit was set up in my living room, really! After this happening quite regularly, I went round and had a polite word, pointing out that it was stopping us living our normal time at home etc. The parents asked me if they could arrange a set time for him to practice, which we reluctantly agreed to. Sure enough, after a short period the lad would beat ten bells out of his kit whenever his parents were out. After compromising so much, this was the final straw so I went round and politely told them to stop completely or I would seek advice from the council. ( Acoustic drum kits in terraced houses are just a no no, as are bass and guitar amps in my opinion.) The result was they didn't speak to either of us for years, and despite the drumming stopping they bought him a small electric kit to practice with (as I'd suggested ages ago) which I could still hear when he hit the pads, but thought it was tolerable following what had been going on before. The neighbours actually came round a bit after the lad left home, and we do now speak etc. I think they thought I would be okay with the drumming as I was a muso, but didn't get it when I told them it was like working in a loud factory environment all day and coming in to the same row when I got home. Much as I dislike them, headphones are really the only solution I'm afraid. Or move house of course...

I like this, though more of an old school vibe for me. That sound of when the guitar amp's power amp valves are just at the right level, making it full and on the edge yet somehow still clean and ringing with no fizzy crap. For me it's Keith Richards (Honky Tonk Women etc, not Satisfaction!) , Pete Townshend, Mike Campbell etc etc. I dislike the way that guitar sounds have changed to it being all about lots of distortion which robs the true tone of the guitar, and the way sounds are now obtained via masses of pedals and obligatory single preamp valve type things. A lot of players now never touch their instrument's volume and tone controls, just preferring to dance on pedals for every adjustment and often ending up with a thin 'wasp in a jam jar' noise. A good guitar, straight into a quality valve combo, is for me still the best way to a great guitar sound.

Try it! Keep the volume low and increase it gradually, letting your ears decide if it starts to sound like it’s struggling / distorting. Bear in mind it wasn’t designed to have to belt out such low frequencies though. As a low level practice solution it may be ok, just don’t expect SVT standard levels / tones

Agreed. Although in our set there is one song which finishes on a long open E, which I let ring on into the intro of the next song also in the same key which starts with a long keyboard intro. One gig a while ago I couldn’t use my active bass ( due to electrical interference for some strange reason?) and had to use my spare P-bass replica. The note didn’t hang on quite as long and left the intro rather empty. Isolated incident though, just saying.

Know this won't be everyone's cup of tea, but the new Eric Clapton biopic 'Life in 12 bars' has a 'live' UK release this coming Wednesday, 10th January, with various cinemas all over the UK showing the movie and a live Q&A session afterwards. More details here - https://www.planetrock.com/news/rock-news/eric-clapton-life-in-12-bars-live-uk-cinema-event-announced/

As with nearly everybody else, my main one is heavy amplification. Barefaced literally changed my life, so much that even small conventional cabs now seem too heavy. No GAS either for - Any effects pedals whatsoever Anything with more than 4 strings ( too heavy and can’t get my head around them) MM Stingrays - probably my favourite ever bass, but unless anybody has one for sale that is > 7.5 lbs then it will have to be a distant memory. Rackmount tuners Coated strings - tried some and wasn’t blown away, especially for the price. Will stick with my usual D’Addarios.

I really dislike gold hardware too, would be a deal breaker for me I think. Probably because all the great basses I’ve ever owned or had GAS for have had chrome or nickel. Currently have 3 Fender Precision Lytes, and made sure they were all the later models with chrome hardware. The earlier ones had gold which IMO not only looked blingy but also had a reputation for peeling off very quickly.

Thanks. Always good to know a music fan appreciates what we do, as we are primarily a theatre band. I always check out anyone in the audience wearing official ELO T-shirts etc to make sure they stay till the end!! Any links to the Lee Pomeroy article you mentioned greatly appreciated.

Know what you mean. That distorted and slightly sharp thing can get tiresome.

Cheers - we are playing the Churchill Theatre in Bromley on Wednesday 7th March. We have 2 cellists and a violinist, all ladies although can’t guarantee how sparkly they may be We did get a visit from Lee and some of the other guys from ELO to a gig in Richmond a while back. They were rehearsing with Take That nearby and decided to come to see us afterwards. They introduced themselves after the gig, and we chatted for a while. Lee is a great bloke, and it was really good to see them, and quite nerve wracking too! I would love to see the article where we get a mention if you could let me know? Thanks.

Given all of the above, it never ceases to amaze me where the rrp comes from for cabs like these. Two (maybe not so custom) speakers in a nifty cabinet - still seems like a lot to me. I do love Aguilar stuff but this will be way down my (realistic) GAS list. 🙁

In this country BJ Cole has been probably the leading pedal steel player for years. Amongst his credits are sessions for Sting, Robbie Williams, Robert Plant, David Gilmour, Gerry Rafferty, The Stranglers (!), Groove Armada and Tom Jones. I believe he also still plays with Hank Wangford & the Lost Cowboys, a great band if you get chance to see them.

Great stuff. Also like a bit of B-bender guitar, enabling steel guitar effects to be played on a standard Telecaster etc. Bernie Leadon was a master of this, as on 'Peaceful easy feeling'.

I love pedal steel done properly too. We have a steelie in our band who’s a great player, using some effects to make it really sound individual. He’s also a sh*t hot guitarist as well. As mentioned previously, the old country ‘whining’ style put a lot of people off I think, but it has been used in many other genres too - as well as Gilmour, check out Stevie Wonder’s ‘Ain’t gonna stand for it’ for example. Don't know if anyone on here plays / has tried to play one, but they are ridiculously hard to play well. Using both hands, one foot on the volume pedal, one foot for all the pedals, and then knee levers as well. Oh yeah, no frets too. Respect the steelies!

I love - proper Hammond organ ( Stevie Winwood, Booker T etc ) - Great brass sections, especially with baritone sax I hate - that crap piano sound on 80’s and 90’s dance music ( think ‘ I - beef - a’ ) - that horrible drum machine sound on most of the above which accelerates into impossible speeds every now and then - the kind of noise you used to hear from a passing Vauxhall Corsa - Guitars with stupid amounts of fizzy distortion / no definition, hiding any real tone. Oh dear, starting to sound a right old tw*t here, better stop now.....

I put a Fender Noiseless Jazz pickup in my Precision Lyte, really pleased with the result. Matched up well with the factory P-bass pickup too.

I have this itch which won’t go away for a Taylor GS bass. Yes, I know it’s an acoustic bass and all the pitfalls associated with them, but having played one it just felt and sounded so right for one of my regular gigs. Only thing that’s stopping me getting one is a) I don’t have £699 spare right now, and b) If I could afford one then bet your bottom dollar my residency would disappear, leaving me with yet another bass in the spare room not earning it’s keep. Decisions decisions....

Not very cheap or cheerful to be honest - dreadful beginners brand from probably early 70’s. Bit like the Kay stuff that people try to flog on as collectible vintage instruments, when really they’re just as lousy as the day they were made. IMO of course!

Just got my stand out now for it's regular airing on NYE. Can't wait....

I was once ill, and struggled to get a dep. Only guy I could get was from 50 miles away, and demanded more dosh than just his extra travel costs, which my band agreed to and then asked me for! Similar problem really I guess. ( Can't remember the outcome either TBH, so had better stop waffling.)

In the mid 80's I had just got married, with my daughter on the way and not a lot of spare cash. Saw an advert in the York Evening Press for an early 60's Strat, and they wanted £250 for it. Rang the guy up,said I'd be on my way etc and managed to claw together £235 in cash, thinking I would wave this under his nose and a deal would be struck. Got there and the Strat was proper, even had the original Selmer case too. The seller (quite rightly) wouldn't take my offer, and I left thinking I'd let him think about it and get back to me, which of course he didn't - it sold on the next enquiry straight away. Valuable lesson learned about not being greedy / looking a gift horse etc. although to be fair on myself I couldn't raise any more. Reckon that £250 guitar would go for £15k + now, which even allowing for inflation, would have been nice for my old age.