EliasMooseblaster

Thank you most kindly for those links - I've been quite pleased with the saturator plugin that comes with the Calf Audio set, but I'd be interested in experimenting with some different ones. Better if I can chop and choose a few bits of software to ultimately get the same result from filling up more space in the house with several underwhelming bits of gear.

Yes, I think it was the original run about which the Tonerider rumours started - I don't know a great deal about the newer range.

Wasn't there a consensus a while ago that Squier were putting Tonerider pickups in the CV series? From my (admittedly limited) experience, Tonerider are in a similar league to Wilkinson - i.e., the "Hardware That Really Shouldn't Sound As Good As It Does At That Price Point" category. I imagine you could do a lot worse than to keep them where they are. Looks nice with the green refin, by the way!

I'd probably include Hooverphonic in my top ten...but then they write lyrics almost exclusively in English.

My personal favourite: somebody was convinced that first line from The Doors' LA Woman was "Well, it's been about an hour since an hour ago..."

For me, Black Sabbath's finest effort is this couplet from The Wizard: "Casting his shadow, weaving his spell, Funny clothes, tinkling bell" I seem to recall Zeppelin have a few howlers as well; they just buried it under lots of shrieking and "ooh, babe, babe, oh yeah," and even Deep Purple's best works have featured some lines which just make you hit pause and think "Really? That was the best you could come up with?" I always think it's a shame The Kinks didn't get more widespread recognition. If you look past the heavy guitar riffs, Ray Davies really knew how to paint a scene with his words. See also: Tom Waits, though it's usually a much darker and seedier scene.

It is extraordinary, when you first hear it, how much the switch between flats and rounds can transform the sound of the same bass. I still have an old set of Fender flats which came with my late fretless Jazz, and I do get tempted to try them out again every so often...but they're not really "me." I drank too deeply from the cup of Live at Leeds to renounce rounds. Rotosound Swing Bass have been my cheesegraters of choice for a couple of decades now, though I did get very favourable results from D'Addarios, Dunlops, and Warwick Reds in the past. Now that I'm not gigging and recording enough to justify frequent changes, I am tempted to invest in a few sets of Elixirs, just so I can keep things sounding fresh each time I blow the dust off the guitar cases.

The selector really isn't necessary; the only issue I can envision is if you one day find yourself wanting to switch quickly between pickups mid-song! Surprised you can't get hold of a wiring diagram for something like a Gibson Thunderbird - those are typically two HBs with a V/V/T control setup.

To look at it another way, I'd say this is a sign you're pretty happy with the tone it's giving you! Maybe hang onto the head for the time being and try changing the cab first.

There's no hard and fast rule as to which is better, but generally separate units give you more flexibility to chop and change components - or even to bring more or fewer speakers with you for bigger gigs, whereas combos have an element of convenience about them, and can often be acquired at very reasonable rates second-hand. It's also worth noting that a lot of gigging-size combos often have a socket on the back to connect an additional speaker cab, if the need should arise. Still, speaking of second-hand, I have just seen that you might get your hands on a Laney RB9 head (300W) for as little as £100: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Laney-RB9-Richer-Bass-Head/173913574026?hash=item287e0e8a8a:g:OeQAAOSwIoNdMXi5 ...or there's a Laney HCM160 combo (160W) currently going for just £60: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Laney-HCM160b-Hardcore-Max/323323137071?_trkparms=aid%3D555018%26algo%3DPL.SIM%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D57923%26meid%3D7d12849bd92144c8809b48d474f9afba%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D3%26rkt%3D12%26mehot%3Dpf%26sd%3D173913574026%26itm%3D323323137071%26pmt%3D1%26noa%3D0%26pg%3D2047675&_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851 - 160W will probably be fine for most pub gigs (I once gigged its 120W little brother at Covent Garden Arts Theatre without PA support, for reference) My first instinct was to search for Laney, as I used various models myself for twelve or thirteen years, and I generally found them to be pretty reliable and versatile. Because they've never been an especially fashionable or sought-after brand, prices tend to stay on the lower side. But it's also worth seeing what you could get from, say, Ashdown, Hartke, Trace Elliot or Orange in a similar price range. Afraid I can't comment on the Wharfedale cab; hopefully someone else has some experience with them. On the PA/DI question: most of these amps have a DI Out socket, so you can run your signal from the amp to the PA system for extra support. Though, as Teebs rightly points out, if you can depend on a good PA system at your gigs, you might prefer to dispense with your own amp altogether. There are plenty of preamp+DI combination pedals which can help to buffer your signal and shape your tone on the way to the mixing desk. Behringer BDI21 pedals frequently go for peanuts, on here and on eBay (I recently sold my own for £12...), and plenty of people swear by theirs. The choice of pedal may be determined by who you want to sound like, however - more so than if you're choosing an amp, I'd argue. Hope that long ramble was of some help - happy to answer any questions!

I am also very fond of my HT-1, and I I got an opportunity to compare it with the HT-5 in a shop. I was just after something for home practise and recording, as I wasn't gigging on guitar at the time, so I saved my pennies and plumped for the 1W; under different circumstances I might have been more tempted by the 5W. Both are good for doing high gain stuff, but I was mainly looking for something which could do a could "clean-going-into-breakup" tone, and they were good for that. Worth trying the HT-5 before buying if you can - they have "a sound," and it can be a bit divisive. Also worth bearing in mind that they're hybrids - I forget which way round it is, but either the preamp or power stage contains the valve, while the other is solid state.

Is that the feller from King King? I thought he looked fairly hefty even from the back of the Shepherd's Bush Empire. Mind you, if you think a Strat looks small on him, you should look up Buddy Whittington. Go on; I'll wait.

The level of influence you have often depends on the makeup of the band. If it's just three instruments (guitar, bass, drums being the usual example), then as long as you're audible, you have a chance to take control. I've played in bands where everyone's been perfectly good at playing in time with each other, but the drummer's had a tendency to tense up a bit - whether due to stage fright, or "mic fright" in the studio - and they've counted songs in far too fast, or been playing ahead of the beat. In these circumstances, you play a bit harder, maybe simplify the bassline a bit if necessary, and really emphasise where the accents should be. Almost, if you like, play passive-aggressively behind the beat, and if the drummer's actually listening to everyone around them, they will fall in line. It's easy to blame drummers, but they aren't solely responsible for the tempo of a song. Nor should they get the final say over it!

I hear good things about the Hotone. I haven't tried one myself, but I recently got my hands on one of their B Station preamp + DI pedals, and I've been rather impressed by that. The headphone socket was a massive plus for me too! Haven't tried it in a rehearsal or live setting, but for home practise and recording it's been very useful.

That's the point where it becomes a defence mechanism, as you can no longer sit upright, let alone muster the motor skills to type in your card details...

At the risk of sounding unimaginative, I keep finding myself going back to my Schecter. The passive Model T is still one of my all-time favourites. I can't quite work out whether Shecter have discontinued them in favour of the newer active model, but anyway: one of those passive ones, maybe with a second P pickup in the bridge instead of the J. And maybe both pickups reversed. I'm easy to please.

It would rather take the shine off an otherwise enjoyable evening.

I couldn't agree more! Where did the myth come from that one has to do a slew of these kind of gigs to "make it"? I mean, sure, we all end up doing them, it's probably a bit of a rite of passage in learning how to deal with public rejection and soldier on, but I've met far too many people who seem to think there's something noble in playing to the bar staff for no money. There just seems to be a philosophy - not universal, but certainly widespread - that it's part of the long road to success, that driving from London to Leeds and back again, in the pouring rain, to play to an audience that's smaller than the band, will prove to be "worth it", because there will be "more people next time", because if you're really good, that one distinerested punter and his dog will definitely "tell all their mates." No, they bloody won't. One of them is alone in a bar for a reason (grateful as you are for their support), and the other one is a dog. It's part of the very short road to exhaustion and cynicism.

The nuclear option: stop gigging.

Ah, reminds me of the days when active basses were petrol-powered; none of that namby-pamby 9V battery stuff you get these days...

Ah, I thought to mention the other two as I was aware of Gilbert being a (former?) member of Mr. Big, and Vai being a regular member on Joe Satriani's "G3" tours. The preference over which cohort to listen to is, of course, very much down to one's personal taste.

Fixed...

Oh good god, I didn't realise that was put out as an album. I'd stumbled across a handful of tracks from that session on various compilations, and they are...pretty awful. Morrison definitely sounds half-cut. The rambling guitar work on the title track suggests Jimi is on a different planet from the rest of the band.

I can't say I'm a fan of either participating artist, but based on everyone's comments so far, I had to give it a try, out of morbid curiousity. Bugger me. I think the following comment under the Youtube video summed it up nicely: "ST. ANGER: I'm the worst Metallica album ever LULU: HOLD MY BEER"