NancyJohnson

Momma.  I am obsessed with them.  

There, I said it.  They're like Veruca Salt and Smashing Pumpkins had a child.

On 14/08/2020 at 19:09, NancyJohnson said:

The little alleyway shop was Adam Music, the old bloke who ran it smoked cigars, every time I smell a cigar my head thinks it's Christmas (when my dad used to have one) or Adam Music.

The Watkins place.  I remember buying a big old 1x15 cabinet off a guy in Egham, but it was open fronted.  My dad knew about the Watkins place...we bought some heavy plastic speaker grill stuff from there.

For the benefit of the Staines Massive @TrevorR @Dad3353 I was just having a peruse on Google Maps...while the street view thing doesn't extend down Station Path, there are photos of the area courtesy of the dental business that now occupies the site of what was Adam Music. 

Almost certain the shuttered building dead centre below is where it was.  Couldn't say for cetain whether the old place got demolished and rebuilt, but it was definitely next door to the end of that  row of houses.

I still have this available - open to offers.

It's too bulky to ship, so collection from Crowthorne (near Reading), please.

Just a brief heads up.  Just ordered the Harley Benton GPA100 - £78.00 shipped.  I could have done without the bass/mid/treble knobs, but I'll just set those to noon and see what happens.

At present it's not going to see much (if any) live action, but it'll do for the odd times I just want to have a noodle on the bass or EUB at home; I'll squirt the GED or dUg into it and report back.  I do miss not having an always available set up in the house.

I was going through some old SD cards last night; all the photographic content should be on a PC and backed up elsewhere, opening one drive and there was a a folder containing a video clip from a gig I played for BBC Introducing at Reading's Purple Turtle in October 2017.  My wife must have filmed it and I'd never seen it until yesterday.

Even though the band all ended very badly/abruptly, I can look at this and take some joy that we were a very tight punky/alternative unit and on fire that night.  I wrote the music, singer the lyrics.

Brother Toboggan

Yes, I know it's only been a few months since the last one, but is anyone thinking of dates for this year?  I was royally narked at missing the 2023 event.

On 16/03/2024 at 15:41, police squad said:

I sold it to @BMBR 6 months later. I wished I hadn't now but we all know how it is

Hope you're well @NancyJohnson

It's odd, I mean I love the Lull, but that white one was the first; bought it in through Ishibashi, somehow I avoided import duties (the bloke at the depot where I picked it up from was a bass player, he asked what it was, I told him, he went, 'Aaw, maaaan,' and nothing changed hands!).

On 08/08/2018 at 11:47, NancyJohnson said:

What do I value? Yikes. Nothing.

My local/nearest shop, and I'll name and shame here, is Amen Corner Music in Bracknell and it's a filthy, ramshackle, woeful dump of a place.  Tired old stock, dire stock selection, ancient string and spares selection, the place stinks of dog and general unpleasantness.  The owner said once that he didn't know whether he would have what qualified as a good year until he knew how many violin kits he'd sell at the start of each school year.

 

It is honestly little wonder it survives and while it's always worth the trek to Andertons in Guildford if I want to peruse gear.

 

Otherwise, I'll buy online.

It's odd seeing a thread resurrection that you have zero memory of contributing to.

The owner of Amen Corner Music passed away a short time after my post and the store had a 48-hour fire sale to clear the stock.  I went over out of curiosity more than anything else, just to see the inside of the place, but had no intention of buying anything.

In death came probably their biggest trading weekend ever; the place was full of people literally fighting over the same tired old stock/junk that had hung on wall hangers ignored for years, all overseen by a few clueless offspring/relatives of the deceased owner.  It was like hyaenas fighting over the scraps of a long dead zebra carcass.

The people clearing the shop were just accepting ridiculous offers on kit and I often wonder whether I could have thrown in a £100 offer for an old Hamer USA guitar and had it accepted.

On 01/03/2024 at 15:36, NancyJohnson said:

You're just down the road from me and @cetera*

 

Julien Mullen in Reading was always my go to guy for anything I couldn't sort out myself.

 

His website hasn't been updated in yonks, you could try the mobile #.  http://www.julianmullenguitars.co.uk/Contact.htm

And @jonno1981

I popped some Ash on earlier.  Just a hits package.  Time for a deep dive.

I sold this to @police squad a few years back as I had a Mike Lull incoming.  He sold it in fairly quickly.

It was dreamy.  I think I'd like to bring it home at some point.

56 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

Does 5.1/surround add anything worthwhile? Especially for an album that was originally mixed for stereo?

 

IME most domestic listening environments are not even set up for decent stereo imaging.

In answer to the first question, does 5.1/surround add anything.

Oh, yes.  This isn't about some kind of tweaking of the stereo image to make it play on more speakers, this is a full-on back to the master tapes remixing/reworking for 5.1/7.1.

I own a few 5.1/surround reissues (or in some cases albums issued in 5.1); Steven Wilson has reworked eight or nine XTC albums and Tears For Fears first three and last albums.  For me it's just about reinterpreting the familiarity of what you're listening to, nothing added or taken away, just that the audio is coming at you from five/seven speakers and a sub.  It's more companion piece than replacement.  The first time I heard the tile track of The Seeds Of Love, I honestly thought I was going to cry (and I'm not an emotional bloke in the slightest; it was just glorious).

@hiram.k.hackenbacker may chip in here.

I often give thought to albums I'd love to hear reformatted.  Jellyfish.  Japan.  Certainly NIN.

49 minutes ago, Fishfacefour said:

Yep, dobly atmos, underdubbed and stereo. 

OK, that's a belter!  Weeee!

7 hours ago, Newfoundfreedom said:

 

Have you looked at Tidal? 

 

Can you do me a favour?  Does Tidal support 5.1/surround audio.  I've mentioned Band On The Run.  Is that on there in a surround sound format?

14 minutes ago, Newfoundfreedom said:

 

Have you looked at Tidal? 

 

I've been using it for the past couple of years or so and it P's all over Spotify for content and sound quality. 

 

Beyond a cursory overview yesterday, I've not tested anything beyond Spotify at this point.  A mate has offered me his Qobuz sign on, so I may give this a try over the weekend.

I suppose prompted by the Atmos/Spatial Audio version of Band On The Run, I'm questioning whether it's time to reconsider moving from Spotify to Apple Music (or something else).

I've been with Spotify for years, have no real issues with the general audio quality, although my ears do detect a less woolly quality if I'm listening to a lossless source (ie off a NAS).  I suppose the majority issue is that we have dozens of playlists in Spotify and whether I can be donkeyed enough to rebuild these on another platform.

I'd be interested to hear whether anyone has actually listened to BOTR in 5.1 on Apple Music and what else is actually up there in this format.

[Edit] I've done a bit more reading...  The term 'Atmos' seems to be an all-encompassing and oft misused term; I am interested in audio in a surround sound format (it works extremely well for the Steven Wilson XTC and Tears For Fears reissues), so I would like to investigate this further. 

I'd need to be able to listen in a home theatre/5.1 set up and through my Sonos kit/PC/Android devices/car.

This is all dreadfully sad.   I met Nick a couple of times years ago, literally as a middleman to resolve a bass deal gone wrong with someone I knew (it was a Lakland 5-string from memory).

He seemed a decent enough sort.  Calm and unbothered where I'd have been spitting feathers at the inconvenience of the matter.

Anyhow, boo.  Sleep well, sir.

3 hours ago, Dazed said:

Awesome thanks 😎

I just realised that's the single pickup schematic.  Assuming you've opened the boot, you should be able to chase back the neck pickup and determine where it's wired. 

The pickup selector on yours looks to be a Stratocaster five-way unit affair; I'd assume everything goes through that and then into the onboard electrics.  Go here to see how the 5-way is wired: https://www.seymourduncan.com/blog/latest-updates/5-way-strat-switch-explained-part-2-standard-strat-wiring

I ran racks for a few years back when I was carrying around preposterous amounts of kit.  I loved how self-contained it was; in the main it was a 4U set up, Korg Tuner (1U), Sansamps (various 1U) and a Matrix 2U poweramp (which I'd use in stereo or bridged depending on the application).  Around the back I had a 1U PSU to power everything and I had my wireless unit plugged in.

Just adored how tidy it was at the back; sound guys would delight that there was a short XLR extension, so it was easy to jack into FoH.  Loved the storage additional space for Speakons.  Once you put the lids on, nothing moved.  

Ultimately, the weight/portability of the thing was it's downfall, especially considering I'd be taking any combination of 1x15, 4x10 and 2x10 as well.  Shocking that my current small/modest set up (Darkglass AO900, plus a pair of 1x12s) arguably goes louder.

[Edit]. Weirdly, Facebook threw up a couple of photos today.  This was the RBI set up.  God, I loved this.  Tidy.

I've been using a Palmer DI box.  This just DIs into whatever I'm recording on and allows an additional out to an amp/stomp.

Can't get much more transparent.

3 hours ago, Marty Forrer said:

The only thing with them is if it's active, they always use the Ming preamp

I've heard it's merciless.

Chortle.

44 minutes ago, chris_b said:

I don't understand the need behind signature basses. I've never been a big enough fan of anyone that I would buy the bass they played! I would still sound like me, so why would I be trying to achieve?

I've owned a Geddy Lee and my Jeff Ament Lull.  To be honest the Ged was no better or worse than any other Jazz - Fender or otherwise - that I've played to be honest.  The Jeff Ament is a little different in that respect; when I saw it for the first time, I had no idea it was a signature model, it was more like, 'Wooah, that's what I've been looking for for the last 40 years.' 

It's a custom instrument; while the design-specs lean heavy on a Thunderbird, it's wholly different to the model it owes it's legacy to.