BigRedX

If you haven't done so already a trawl through the Cheesy Guitars and Fetish Guitars websites might give you some answers. It's got a definite "European" look to it.

In my case it's practical. From what I've seen there are features in the 4.5 update that will be essential to the way I want to use the pedal, so mine is staying in its box until the update has been released.

Which IMO would be a good thing. The world doesn't need any more Fender copies.

Because their "distinctive" headstock was ripped off Bigsby who ripped it off Martin, who ripped it of any number of 19th Century German Luthiers... And besides which version of the Strat headstock? The tasteful 60s version or the over-fed 70s abomination?

Interesting that the way it is presented on-line the event in itself appears to be more important than the artists performing. Although this does appear to be the way that festivals are going, with many attendees there for the "atmosphere" and "experience" rather than because there are a load of bands they want to see. Overall, musically not really my thing. There are a couple of electronic acts that I'd quite like to see but I'll wait for them to come and play somewhere locally indoors.

I think part of it is the fragmentation of culture, music and fashion. In some ways it's a good thing. You can now been whoever you want to be without needing to conform to the current fashion, but at the same time it means that there isn't really a current fashion. Go and see a young band and they just look like they look like they're just out for a couple of pints at their local pub. Maybe if they are aiming for something a bit more pop then they will look like they've dressed for a mainstream nightclub that has an entry policy. Even metal bands tend to look like accountants or quantity surveyors with a few extra tattoos. There are a few music genes where having a non-mainstream image is more common, but they all tend to be fairly niche. There very little danger or rebellion about being a pop/rock musician these days, after all it's taught in schools. It's been taken over by the mainstream and ordinary people.

I've had 5 in line (definitely the worst as it made the headstock and whole bass much too long), 4 over 1, and 3 over 2, I find I get used to each different configuration fairly quickly.

The OP is 16 years old. @Inga seems to be on a mission to revive ancient threads.

IME Android is rubbish for anything to do with real-time audio.

The sound from my wireless system is indistinguishable from the good quality 5m cable I was using before, and doubly so after it has run through the Helix that does all my signal processing. What interests me is repeatability of sound so anything in my signal path that isn't programmable and instantly recallable is an inconvenience. To that end I have disconnected the passive tone control and coil-tap switch from my main bass so only the volume control remains active, although most of the time I use the expression pedal on the Helix if I need to fade out the bass at the end of the song. All other volume changes (as well as all the tonal changes) are handled by Presets and Snapshots on the Helix.

In that case you really can't beat personal networking. If you want to be picked for dep work in a covers or function band then go and see as many as you can in your area and introduce yourself at a suitable point in the evening. Even though I only play in originals bands these days, I got a leg up in the audition process for my current band and the two before that because they already knew who I was from my previous musical activities. I might not have been technically the best player that any of them tried out, but the fact that they already knew me from being in other bands and in the audience at their previous gigs most definitely helped.

IME though, most active electronics aren't designed specifically for the bass they are fitted into. They tend to be some generic 3-band EQ with volume and pickup balance (which is often passive). Your example of the Stingray is one of the few exceptions. And how many built-in pre-amps offer separate tonal control over each pickup? Some Alembic systems, some early Overwater systems, some ACG and Wal. None of those are particularly common. What else allows tonal control over each pickup? A simple VTVT passive circuit. Also IME active electronics are no guarantee of a smooth volume control usable over its full range. The best/smoothest volume control I have come across is in one of my passive basses.

Unless you know someone with a good quality reel-to-reel tape machine who understands how to calibrate it using the test tones that should be at the beginning of each tape get them transferred professionally. If that Ampex tape is 456 it may well require baking in order to be successfully played as they are notorious for losing cohesion between the magnetic layer and plastic backing. Reel-to-reel machines require a lot of maintenance and attention, and a badly set up one could be causing more damage to your tapes. I had a load of tapes that I transferred myself but this was almost 30 years ago when decent quality second-hand reel-to-reel machines were still cheap. I was able to pick up a working ex-BBC Studer for under £100, but it still needed a good clean and a de-gauss of the transport mechanism before I'd consider playing any tapes on it. I was also lucky in that I had duplicate copies of a couple of the tapes that I could use to check how well the machine was treating them as it played before letting it loose on any that were irreplaceable. Since then the prices have gone through the roof and a quick check of eBay has shown that a non-working example is being offered for over 10 times what I got for mine when I sold it.

IMO active electronics in most basses are pointless. Anyone needing a lead so long that it would make tonal changes noticeable in a gig setting would be on a wireless system, and I really can't see the point of shoe-horning in a tone circuit that is most likely replicated with more versatility elsewhere in the signal chain.

The only videos I could provide would be promo videos for the last two bands I was in and they don't really prove anything other than I can can look reasonably photogenic when someone points a camera in my direction. For one of the bands, it's not even me playing on the recordings. Also there's no reason why start-up bands should take a long time to get going. The Terrortones took just over three months from being an idea Mr Venom had for a band to our first gig, and we wrote and rehearsed the first 7 songs in less than 8 weeks.