JapanAxe

Does your TV aerial have a mast-head amplifier?

I think the lines I play mutate slowly over time. I start off pretty close to the original though.

[quote name='spyder' timestamp='1463237817' post='3049843'] I had a hum problem with basses and amps in part of the house. I was using home plugs (Internet through mains) and if I removed them the hum disappeared. They pollute the mains with noise that can be picked up on your bass or amp. [/quote] I had this too but only with one particular fuzz box!

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1463229822' post='3049744'] Unfortunately there is a pretty expensive bass in the BC classifieds right now that I'd love to own. I keep logging on to look at it!! If I told my wife she's just say "get it", but I don't play at home and I don't have a band I can use it in. It's an absolutely pointless purchase. . . . but. . . . ! [/quote] Bwahahaha! Sorry

The rule-of-thumb with impedances on valve amps is you can go safely either way by a factor of 2. So if your Dominator's output socket is rated at 12ohm, you can run it into anything between 6ohm and 24ohm - in practice, you should be fine into 8ohm or 16ohm loads. There should be no problem driving your 250W Celestion - you won't hurt the amp or the speaker.

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1463228973' post='3049735'] ...some of the music that gets called prog now sounds almost like a metal sub-genre and I don't really enjoy that stuff. [/quote] That would be prog metal then. Happy to help!

My day job pays the bills and feeds us. Mrs Axe has a part-time job for her fun money, I have gigs for my fun money. The practical limit on the amount of kit I have is storage space - within that I buy what I like and can afford.

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1463219094' post='3049607'] A pro classical guitarist friend tells me a modern guitar has only about a 10 year useful life. [/quote] Based on what evidence!? Why? Are we talking modern classical guitars? Modern acoustic guitars in general? All modern guitars?

Has an earth connection come loose? Many (if not most) electric guitars have an earth wire running to the bridge so that when the player is touching the strings, s/he too is earthed and provides screening for the instrument. This is why touching the strings usually reduces or eliminates buzzing.

It's a long shot, but if you happen to be in the Vienne valley on the evening of Sunday 22nd May, pop along to see us in Gouëx (about 25 miles SE of Poitiers), where we are playing for the evening festivities that follow the brocante - basically a car boot sale! As well as both kinds of music (country AND western) we'll probably throw in some pop numbers. Follow the noise coming from the marquee - I'll be toting a white Fender Mustang bass and a black cowboy hat.

[quote name='Twincam' timestamp='1462824631' post='3046096'] obviously never lick a capacitor! [/quote] [i]Now[/i] he tells us!

Sheridan Smith not available then?

If it's any comfort, I have never used the stereo capability of any of my guitar pedals either. I recall Steve Morse having a system where he ran one amp for his dry sound and the other for his delayed sound, but I'm always trying to slim down the amount of kit I carry, so a second amp would be a no-no for me.

TC, if you are being taken in by flashy playing, remember it is more important to do the simple things well. Don't know whether that was in the Karate Kid, but if not it should have been!

I've visited a couple of times - it makes a welcome diversion after I've done a Gatwick run. Great selection, knowledgeable staff, and cool with you trying anything you fancy. So far I've only bought from them on line though!

[quote name='Machines' timestamp='1462893475' post='3046735'] I can see these flopping massively and being discontinued fairly quickly. [/quote] That's what I'm counting on. If it sounds like a great Precision, is light, and plays like dairy-based spreadable fat, then I may snag myself a Cutlass. Not keen on sunburst, so these are my options in a year or so's time:

Are you sitting comfortably children? Then I'll begin... Back in the day (let's say the early 80s) I would fit my strap to my guitar each time I played and remove it afterwards. Before too long the leather around the slotted holes became fatigued and all chewed up, to the point where it could not be relied on to stay put. After a few near-misses I would reluctantly toddle off and buy a new strap, although I kept the old one 'just in case'. Once I started gigging regularly (90s) I decided I needed something more reliable. As I usually took 2 guitars (not basses) to a gig, I purchased 2 sets of plastic doodads and fitted them to a couple of straps. I can't find a picture on Google, but they were terrible. The bit that enclosed the existing strap button was ok, but they were secured to the strap with the worst fittings ever - the screw heads had wide, shallow slots, with which no screwdriver bit known to man would engage. Eventually I gave up and started fitting Schallers. I still have these on most of my skinny-string guitars, but they are not without their problems, namely: (1) There is no way to lock the large nut to the strap, so it tends to come loose; (2) I have had the whole thing come apart, with pins and springs rolling round the stage; (3) They can creak as you move the instrument around; (4) If you have an instrument designed to be stood on 2 strap buttons, the strap lock doesn't allow this; and (5) The arrangement puts a greater torque on the screws that secure the strap-lock buttons. On my basses I have now gone over to Grolsch washers. I have a Neotech Mega strap 'permanently' attached to each of my Precisions, and a Comfort Strapp on my Mustang. It's a relatively costly solution, but the most secure as far as I can see. Arguably I could dispense with the washers as the slotted holes are not getting stretched over the strap button flanges, but hey-ho. I have also tried the black plastic disc-type locks. They are generally fine if you have 3 hands (1 to hold the guitar, 1 to hold each part of the lock) but it seems to take excessive force to remove them from some strap buttons. If there is a moral to this story, it is only that there is no single perfect solution. Also it is surprising how much boring guff I can type when the mood takes me

The one time I was fired was about 20 years ago. I auditioned successfully on guitar (up against at least 1 other), worked hard at nailing all their songs ('we do this specific live version of [i]Why Do Fools Fall in Love[/i]'), but struggled with some of the material ([i]Toccata & Fugue in D minor[/i], anyone?). I was pretty narked when I got the call, but in some ways it was a lucky escape - they played incredibly loud (the guitarist I was replacing used two 100W amps!) and they had their own van (i.e. a money-pit).