bass_dinger

35 minutes ago, RhythmJunky said:

BTW don't forget that you don't have to do Classical grades. There are Jazz grades and Rock grades these days. I occasionally throw in a piece from one or the other from the respective books into my repertoire. 

Nowadays, even the ABSRM syllabus is not entirely classical.  For Grade 3, students have 48 pieces to choose from.  I am learning Henry Mancini's Moon River, and a simple ragtime piece from the 1950s.  And, I confess, the entirely classical Chanson Italienne by Tchaikovsky. 

There is also a choice of Joni Mitchell (Both Sides Now), something from Oliver, a piece from Spirited Away, the Muppet Show theme, and Can You Feel the Love Tonight from the Lion King. Admittedly, even this is not really cutting-edge and modern, but they are recognisable tunes (well, not when I play them, but you get my drift). 

 @Mediocre Polymath bought a mandolin off of me, coming to my gaff to pick it up.

Lovely chap, easy sale - and more space for me!   

On 06/12/2025 at 16:13, Stub Mandrel said:

 

1950s German. Under UV light.

I had one of those, until about 11:30 this morning, when it was bought by @Mediocre Polymath.   He was so pleased with it, and played it so well, that I nearly offered to buy it back from him! 

In other news, lots of basschatty mandolin updates can be found here https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/327383-i-fancy-a-mandolin/page/2/#comment-4879070 

That makes sense: sell the item into its home market, and people recognise and favour that brand, and pay a premium for it.

An update: I spoke with the seller, and asked him whether the pedalboard was indeed a Midi item.  "It's Midi, and it's not Midi".  I think that he saw anything with multi-Pin connector, which can be plugged in, as a type of midi.  I have put it down to a lack of expertise, rather than willful deception (although he used to run his own music shop, so he should know better).

The item is unused - it is New Old Stock - and had a retail price of about £300.

Given the above, I am happy to have the item to either resell, or to retrofit with a midi module. (Or even, shove it up in the loft for my children to rediscover when I am dead!) 

One can purchase a midi retro-fit kit from Doepfer, and turn a normal pedal board into a midi trigger device:

1. Doepfer midi module https://www.thomann.co.uk/doepfer_mbp25_elektronik.htm

2. Doepfer Panel https://www.thomann.co.uk/doepfer_mbp25_frontplatte.htm 

3. Connection cable https://www.thomann.co.uk/doepfer_connection_cable_pd_3.htm

4. The manual https://doepfer.de/pdf/MBP25_Manual.pdf  

The manual will hopefully give me enough information to guide me. Oddly, the usual sources of information (YouTube and Redditt) are silent - I haven't yet found detailed advice on installing an MBP25.

On 22/12/2025 at 12:10, fergs40 said:

Here’s the modern equivalent of that stylus: https://www.audioaffair.co.uk/ortofon-dn-165e-replacement-stylus/ (EDIT: I now see @Hellzero got there before me with that…:-))

This is what I ended up with - the turntable sounds great and Mrs Dinger and I are enjoying our vinyl collection again.

I had forgotten (or perhaps not realised) how lifelike an LP can sound.  Dual 505 > Arcam Alpha 9 > Gale speakers on Atacama stands.  And an IKEA "HiFi Rack".  It brings me great joy.          

20 minutes ago, neepheid said:

 

No, not this year.  You will be out this year, but be OK for next year.  It goes by date of order, not date of delivery.  I appreciate that you probably won't physically acquire anything this year out of the transaction, but it has to be that way round to allow people to complete the previous year's orders and still be in.

Yes, this is probably the best way to do it, and consistent with precedent.  I bought a bass guitar in bits, with a damaged neck in 2022; paid to have a new neck made in 2023; and paid to have the bass rebuilt in January 2024.  The latter two actions were repairs (and allowed), so I was only out once, for the initial purchase in 2022 (rather than out on the day when the bass was completed and playable).

2 hours ago, Hellzero said:

That said, those pedalboards are quite rare and putting it back for sale with the right description will certainly put over £21 in your pocket, so you eventually made a good deal.

If those pedalboards are genuinely rare and desirable, then it would be a shame to hack it about, even to modify it for the more useful midi configuration.  However, I don't see any for sale on-line, and the matching keyboard is perhaps 35 years old now - so they are either super-rare, or so obscure that they are no longer wanted by punters.  

I am impressed that you managed to find a clear photo of the rear panel!         

It's a good photo - it shows all the kit.  And it's a lot of kit for the money!

There is a whole thread on buying electric pianos here https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/520144-stage-pianos/page/3/ so there seems to be interest in such instruments on Basschat.

https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/457140-doepfer-mbp25-midi-bass-pedals/

This thread touches briefly on the subject of adding midi capabilities to a pedal board.

And of course, the pedals will (should) already have electrical contacts (on-off switches), so I won't need to add magnetic reed switches. 

So, do I have a mis-sold item that allows me to request a refund? 

Or an inexpensive, neat and tidy pedal board to which I can easily retrofit a midi device?

Let me sleep on this question...

Do they do Gibson 335-type guitars? Asking for a friend...

I just found the circuit diagram for the 6 pin DIN input to its host keyboard.  I am none the wiser, and £21 poorer.  I am guessing that this is not a midi foot pedal. 

However, I am still positive: I may be able to fit some magnetic reed switches and a midi signal generator device into the pedalboard.         

I recently won an eBay auction for what was labelled as an Elka organ pedal board.  Those of you more observant than I was, will have spotted that it has a 6-pin male midi plug, rather than the traditional 5-pin male midi plug.         

A little research suggests that there is no such thing as a 6-pin-DIN female to a 5-pin-DIN plug, so I need to create a 6-to-5 converter.  

And a little more research suggests that it is not an Elka pedal board that the seller advertised, but a General Music model, perhaps a GEM WS2 Keyboard Workstation add-on, made in Italy ( see here 

I was considering taking the 6-pin output of the footpedal and connecting it to a 5-pin, using two sockets (6-pin, and 5-pin) and a box to mount them into, and 3 lengths of wire to solder to the tags.  However, without knowing what signals the 6-pin outputs, I can't do that. 

Can anyone advise?

1 hour ago, SimonK said:

I would say band purchases count as a fail - I have periodically taken great delight in buying pieces of PA, microphones, and even stage lights for band usage, and my wife (who is the ultimate authority) has counted all of these as GAS related!

Thankfully, @neepheid is in charge this year, so, fill your sparkly silver platform stage-wear boots!   

19 hours ago, RhythmJunky said:

Classic rock radio stations who play "all the classic hits from the 60's, 70's and 80's"

"Classic rock radio stations play all 60 classic hits for people in their 70's and 80's"

Fixed it for you . . . .  

Sliced Ham tastes better in a sandwich when it is all crumpled and rumpled up, rather than laid flat.

I went out in a blaze of glory on 31st December 2025.

A 13-note midi pedal board, won on eBay at 4:40pm and a Roland FP-30X  piano ordered online at 9:20pm.

5 minutes ago, Merton said:

I’m absolutely in, 2026 is a year of learning to play rather than learning to spend more 😀

Is that because you already know how to spend more?!

I am in for both Tier 1 and 2 - simply because I reckon that purchased everything that I needed (or wand) in 2025.

And, of course, because it's terrific fun to try to abstain.

More seriously, it also makes me consider whether I really need an item.

I am in.  Oh yes.

17 hours ago, Pea Turgh said:

I’m in Swansea.  Have you already bought it?

I have now!

For £21, which feels like a bargain (until I add the cost of the rail trip to Neath....)

10 minutes ago, Pea Turgh said:

I’m in Swansea.  Have you already bought it?

Not yet purchased it, but I am exploring other options. 

Ideally, the seller will realise that the market in Neath for midi pedal boards is limited, and will instead offer postage. Certainly, that's what I asked him for.

19 minutes ago, stewblack said:

Gigged in Neath on Saturday

Encore! Encore!!  One more song, ideally at about 4pm on Wednesday....

1 hour ago, Norris said:

organ with drawbars

@ash is selling a module which replicates the organ sound, here.

You can connect it via MIDI-din, and use the Line In on your Yamaha PF-85 to amplify the sound. 

As for your next piano, I would suggest that you try before you buy.  With your real acoustic piano, and your old but worthy Yamaha PF-85, your standards and requirements will be high.

Certainly, I would suggest that you go for something better than what you have now, rather than a sideways move. 

Can anyone help with an Ebay purchase, for an item in Neath?

It's a 13-bass pedal board,  and the seller is offering Buyer Collects only. 

Is anyone close enough to Neath to pick it up and pack and post it to me, in return for payment for your expenses, time, and trouble?

Alternatively, are there couriers that could help me?

5 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

 

I can see the advantage of using the UMC1820 as a single device for all the audio inputs and outputs. However for MIDI control of the Roland surely it would be easiest to just use the USB connection direct to the computer?

I will try both options, and see which works, and report back.  If both work, then that would be good news too.

I must confess to being fascinated by midi when it first came out, and wanted nothing more than to connect up various devices.  However, it is only now, 45 years later, that I have the opportunity to make it happen. 

https://ebay.us/m/5E9p3T

"Handmade bass bass. New. Now you can not only tune a guitar but you can also tuna fish. Body of the guitar is handmade out of solid oak. Large mouth bass graphic. Glass eye. Constructed with all new parts including neck, strings, pickups, and knobs."

$50,000 is a lot to pay for a pun.