amnesia

I think everyone on this site will have a similar story or two. I nearly quit playing after I left my previous band 18 months ago. For me a band does three things - they write new material, record new material or gig. My previous band wasn't doing any of these. The guitarist was in another band and it was obvious where his priorities lay. Rehersals became stagnent and hard work with too much messing about. People not turning up on time. The rub was that we had our own studio that had recording kit but we never used it! When a practice was cancelled, it wasn't rescheduled for another day in the week. It took me about three months to make the decision and I was completely jaded by the time I quit. I didn't even pick up a bass for 6 months. I got the bug back when I went to see a friend of mine standing in for another band. He was having way too much fun and I decided it was time I got back in the saddle. Interestingly - the drummer has just left for the same reasons I did!

[quote name='lettsguitars' post='1139219' date='Feb 23 2011, 09:32 PM']it's what old rockers get from all that headbangin![/quote] Touche. Do you also look like a turtle? The slightly more sensible answer (sorry) is that the balance of the instrument (when on the strap) is off so it pulls the headstock towards the floor. Can make instruments very difficult to play as you have to support some of the weight with you fretting hand.

My experiences... Warwick Streamer LX4 - perfect balance Warwick Streamer Stage I - perfect balance Warwick Thumb 5 bolt-on - terrible balance, massively head heavy and a heavy instrument also if I recall. Sold because of this (and the move to 5 strings didn't suit me) Gibson Thunderbird - famously head heavy but almost managable with a decent strap. It does depend on the shirt I wear though. I put up with it because it plays brilliantly, sounds immense and looks ace too.

I can feel another thread coming on..."Where do I stick my fingers when I play with a pick?" I play with a pick all the time so luckily I don't have to worry about this sort of thing. Remebering the tunes is hard enough!

[quote name='deathpanda' post='797086' date='Apr 5 2010, 10:41 PM']Most of the songs I love to play are my own ones.[/quote] Exactly. Someone has to write the songs for all these cover bands to play!

A friend bought a guitar, so I bought a bass. I walked into the shop, pointed at a shiny black one and said "I'll take that one". It was an Aria Pro Magna II. I got a few lessons and then joined a band about 5 rehearsals before their first gig. It's all been downhill from there!

Every step in the chain from manufacture to retailer will probably double the cost. £1 from the manufacturer could easily get to £30 or £40 before you can find a retail outlet to sell it to you. Looking at the prices 'direct' from Warwick they have obviously gone through several distribution stages - Manufacturer - distributor - MEC - Warwick at the least I would imagine.

Certainly more difficult than it used to be - for an unsigned original rock band anyway. Locally it seems that promoters don't actually do any promotion. They are the middle men that hand over tickets for the band to sell a minimum quantity of, then they take a cut for not putting up any posters, flyers or any other form of advertising. Facebook and myspace posts don't count as advertising in my eyes and don't work effectively anyway because they only reach the already converted. The advent of tribute bands* has definately had an affect too. When I was a lad, we would go every thursday to a local live music venue because it was a rock night. We had no idea who was on, but we would take a risk and pay our couple of quid to get in. We saw some real gems too. The onset of tributes and people's naturally lazy nature means that less people are willing to take a risk and see a band they haven't heard of. They just want the safe option. Its a pity really, but with finite cash what are people going to do? *Tribute bands are a different thread...don't get me started....

Just bought a live-in flightcase for my VBA. I went direct to the adrenaline website, not via ebay. Price is reasonable, although I paid a little extra for the aged copper finish. It was custom made, so it took a few weeks. We had good email contact throughout and Tony's responses we usually the same day. Quality is fine, but the handles are a bit small so if you're not careful you can catch the back of your hands when lifting on and off stacked cabinets. It smells nicely of glue. Which is probably bad for me but I don't care. I would deal with them again no problem.

[quote name='waynepunkdude' post='1112562' date='Feb 2 2011, 03:46 PM'][/quote] It's wrong to laugh at that joke. it only deserved...

Marcel Jacob (RIP)

There are a couple of places in the States that do '63 - '65 plates. Maybe I'll mail them and see if they can do one for the newer models.

It certainly does, thanks for that. Looks like the white one will be staying for the timebeing.

Does anyone own both a Gibson and Epiphone T'bird? I am getting the urge to swap the white scratch plate on my Gibson T'bird for a black one. (Assuming my little teething troubles are solved and I can fall in love with it enough to keep it!) So - Epiphone have black plates on some of their T'birds - but are the dimensions the same as Gibson? Could I get my hands on an Epi scratch plate and it would screw straight on?

Ah good old fashioned audiophile BS. Gotta love it. My home audio cable buying guide... Mains leads - use the one that comes with the piece of kit. Unless you already have one plugged in the right socket. Or you have one with a nicer shaped plug. Speaker leads - rule of thumb - the bigger the cross section, the more likely your amp will love you. If they are on show, pick a sleeve colour that you like. Co-ax - OEM co-ax's look a bit weedy but I am sure will work fine. I normally replace them - Does it look a bit chunky and cost less than a few quid? Deal done. Optical - Shine a light in one end. If it comes out of the other then its good enough. £1.99 delivered from eBay HDMI - buy as short as possible because its tidier. Gold connectors. A £70 Monster cable WILL NOT out-perform my sub £10 leads when measured with my ears and my eyes. While it is true that some expensive leads do outperform cheaper ones in theory or lab tests, they are installed in my house. The limitations of domestic layouts and human senses means that if someone tells you they can 'hear' that your CD to amp co-ax is fitted the wrong way round they are lying.

I'm brilliant - and don't you forget it!

I'm leaving my latest purchase with its stock strings until after Christmas. Then I'll give it to my guitar tech and get it setup for drop C tuning with a fresh set of strings. I don't have a real preference for strings other than I have always played roundwound, and I don't really like Elites. Out of the case its great for standard E, just about passable in standard D, but rattles like a pill-popping junkie on a trampaline in drop C.

I woke up with a sudden need to be Nikki Sixx, but with more hair and not quite so drug dependant. Not quite sure why but there ya go. So with the aid of the omnipotent and omnipresent interweb I set about my research. It rapidly came to my attention that Gibson have one of the worst reputations of guitar manufacturers on the web. Everywhere you turn there are stories about broken necks, crabby design and terrible quality. That dented my desire for a T'bird somewhat. However I persisted with a few PMs to past and current owners on BC (thanks retroman and Farmer61) and they restored my confidence somewhat with some sage advice. The basic story seems to be that if you get a good one, it will be great. I can't wait to see what it makes of 400W of valve amplification. 5 or 6 hours (and 30 minutes of playing) into ownership here are my list of pros and cons - Pros: Possibly the most rock n roll bass shape known to mankind Superslim neck profile The smell! Damn its good Popular opinion holds it as a 'one trick pony'. Thats fine, it does the one trick I want! Cons: Didn't come with added groupies. High gloss finish - for those added finger prints Tends to hang away from my waist slightly, so it needs straplocks before it goes anywhere [b]"There are many like it, but this one is mine"[/b] 2010 Gibson Thunderbird aka Dita [attachment=65697:Dita1.jpg] [attachment=65698:Dita2.jpg]

I named my basses after some rather tasty pin-ups...and an actress: Bettie (Page) - Crafter BA550EQ Acoustic. Cheap and cheerful, great for those quiet noodle sessions. Jessica (Rabbit) - 1993 Warwick Streamer LX. Owned from new, currently on loan to longtimefred. Arguably has a nicer neck than her more expensive stable mate. Milla (Jovovich) - 2004 Warwick Streamer Stage I. Bought second hand in 2006. Not sure why but there is no serial number on the headstock. No signs of removal though. Dita (von Teese) - 2010 Gibson Thunderbird. Latest addition to the household. [b]Bettie[/b] [attachment=65691:Bettie.jpg] [b]Milla[/b] [attachment=65692:Milla1.jpg] [attachment=65693:Milla2.jpg] [b]Dita[/b] [attachment=65694:Dita1.jpg] [attachment=65695:Dita2.jpg] [attachment=65696:M_D.jpg]

To the OP - have you found somewhere with a Gibson T'bird actually in stock? I don't mean showing on a website as available to order but hanging in a wall in a shop? The reason I ask is that I have one on order and the shop doesn't know when it is coming in. I asked another Gibson dealer (Dawsons in Manchester) and they said delivery is 'whenever'. [quote name='bassmachine2112' post='1038603' date='Nov 27 2010, 09:58 AM']...fears of the mahogony necked gibsons which can fall off at the joint if you bang it off something.[/quote] Is this a real issue or an internet anicdote based on no evidence?

[quote name='Stewart' post='1034179' date='Nov 23 2010, 06:18 PM']Four of these would probably be fine: [url="http://www.rapidonline.com/sku.aspx?tier1=Electronic+Components&tier2=Resistors+%26+Potentiometer&tier3=Power+Resistors&tier4=Aluminium+clad+wirewound+resistors&moduleno65217&catref=62-8140"]50W resistor[/url][/quote] Sheet 3 of the datasheet says that a HS50 running at 50W on a 'standard' heatsink will have a surface temperature of 150degrees. Standard heatsink is defined on sheet 2 as 535cm2, 1mm thick. As an electronics engineer, I would not specify a component rated at xW, to operate at xW in its normal duty. If temperature rise wasn't an issue in terms of personal contact (ie burns) then for example 50W load I would use a 75W or 100W rated component. If temperature was critical, and good heatsink cooling could not be acheived then I would rate a much larger component. The Marshall Power Brake - [url="http://www.marshallamps.com/downloads/files/PB100%20hbk.pdf"]http://www.marshallamps.com/downloads/files/PB100%20hbk.pdf[/url] Fitted with fan cooling to dissipate heat from the load so you don't burn your fingers! Thats my 2p.

[quote name='Lozz196' post='1031173' date='Nov 21 2010, 09:53 AM']...Marshall VBC 412...[/quote] Had one...sold it!

[quote name='umph' post='1030432' date='Nov 20 2010, 01:58 PM']+1 maybe even go use some ashdown combos or something and go back to it and fall in love again ;o[/quote] Good idea.

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='1030416' date='Nov 20 2010, 01:46 PM']Get it biased again and checked out, might just be the bias has gradually drifted and doesn't quite sound the same any more.[/quote] An awful lot cheaper than replacing it, thats for sure!

[quote name='umph' post='1030273' date='Nov 20 2010, 11:44 AM']these havn't been doing to well at the moment, i've seen them go for around 350 - 600 on ebay. You're not gonna get the same kinda valve power for that kinda money.[/quote] I appreciate that I will have to get my hand in my pocket. I'm just looking for options that people have experience with.