Dan Dare

I had that problem when building my Bitsa. The original knobs from the Squier donor bass (which I found are actually solid brass, chromed, so of nice quality) wouldn't fit the shaft on a CTS pot. I removed the grub screws, put them in a vice (wrapped in thick card to protect them) and drilled them out to fit. Use a good quality sharp drill bit, so you get a clean hole. Worth a try, given that you've bought them already?

Are you intending to buy new? Having several smaller cabs that you can use singly or in multiples depending on the requirements of the job is much easier - several journeys to and from the car with manageable loads rather than struggling with one enormous one. Having said that, I'm ancient and do live in a first and second floor flat. You may have ground level access (although gigs can present you with stairs) and be younger and fitter. In your shoes and given that you appear to like 10s, I'd go for two 2x10s. A couple of BF 210s would do the job nicely. They do vintage well (which it appears you like from your choice of head). Other makes are available of course.

The flip side of this is that you turn up with your high quality PA and backline to find the other band/bands have been told they can use it by the organiser. Takes a complete lack of compassion/sympathy to refuse as they look at you pleadingly, but I'm a miserable heartless bugger.

Once you get past the cost threshold for something sturdy and functional, which appears to be around the £40-£50 mark, the only thing you get by paying more is nicer appearance and maybe a few extra pockets, better shoulder straps, etc. I have a Fusion, which was not cheap, but I'm a gear tart. I wouldn't claim it does any better a job than a good basic case like the G4M one. You pays yer money and takes yer choice.

It costs 89 euro because it's made in a high tech factory in a low wage economy. If you have a few hundred million to invest in a manufacturing facility somewhere where people will work for peanuts, you too can offer basses for that price. Decent playing, btw.

"Home made"? In a care home, I assume...

I am Spartacus

Oooer

Bass Cub or Double Four then

It's your combo to do as you wish. Deedee has a point re. making the change reversible, although those old TE combos are so heavy, I doubt anyone would want to pay a lot for one.

A PJB C4 and a micro head. C4 is a one foot cube. Works well for guitars, too.

Got to be a folding trolley. The wheels on cabs are generally small, which means they are next to useless on anything but level/smooth ground. A trolley will mean you can use the gear you prefer, rather than be limited to the stuff that has wheels. Avoid the El Cheapo trolleys. You don't need to spend a fortune. I paid around £80 for something with a 120 kilo capacity that is still light and will probably outlast me. It carries all my PA stuff, too, which is a bonus.

I used to play in a bar where they had a giant screen directly behind the band, on which films/movies were projected, sometimes whilst you were playing. Made for an interesting evening...

As far as the original question is concerned, can you offer prospective buyers anything that other builders can't? This is especially true of electric basses, which are in essence planks with strings and not hard to make, unless you want them to be. You can build a very acceptable instrument with parts from Warmoth et al (many who claim to be custom builders do just that and just finish them nicely). My Bitsa P cost me around £200 to make (I used good quality parts) and I genuinely can't tell the difference between it and a US one, save the fact that the US one is better finished. They play and sound as good as each other. You are looking at the expensive end of the market as a custom builder. The budget and medium price ranges are too well catered for by the big manufacturers, who offer some pretty amazing stuff for the money. I'm in my 60s and remember the junky stuff I and my contemporaries had to learn on. When the Japanese started producing decent quality affordable instruments, it was a revelation. So what can you offer/what's your USP? Not attempting to pour cold water, but you ought to think about it before committing money, effort and time to the idea.

I do or have done some of it. I drive a 17 year old car (that I repair/maintain myself whenever possible - unless the job needs specialist tools or a lift) when I have to/have things to carry and cycle/use public transport when I don't. That's not particularly to save the planet. My bike is my way of keeping in shape, but it doesn't hurt that it's a green thing to do. I do recycle (and have for decades) and avoid plastic crap wherever possible. Have only bought two smartphones in my life - just got another after my ten year old one gave up the ghost. Don't have a telly. Do use the 'net (of course - how could I be typing this?). Don't buy endless electronic gubbins and toys (my stereo is all at least 10 years old and I still play vinyl and listen to FM radio). Typing this on an ancient laptop. So no, I'm not perfect, but I try. Incidentally, I appreciate that if everyone did as I do, the economy would collapse virtually overnight.

I ask people to write their request on a £10 note and promise to play it if we know it. If they write it on a £20, we'll play it if even if we don't...

I find clip-ons can have trouble sensing lower pitched strings, too. I always use a plug-in and run the cable direct to it. I keep a Pitchblack pedal on top of my rig with a spare short cable attached so I can connect the bass directly to it. Only takes a moment to mute the rig, unplug the instrument and connect to the tuner.

I don't have any particularly exotic or exciting to tell, I'm afraid. I worked in social care, not security. I did get to attend Parliament (both houses) regularly, which was interesting and it was fascinating to see what happens behind the scenes as far as apportioning public funding is concerned. The major thing I learned is to believe little of what you see, hear and read in the media (all of it)...

I take your point about the fact that the planet having bigger problems, although I think we should address those we are capable, as individuals, of dealing with as well as pressing society at large to do something about the bigger ones. If that means the only thing we can do personally is to try not to over-exploit scarce resources, that's what we ought to do. Add up all the small individual contributions and the total beneficial effect is large. Agree about tone woods for electric instruments. I've also played guitars and basses made from nothing special that really worked (and vice versa). Given that the sound of an electric instrument comes from a magnet with a coil around it sensing vibration in a string and converting it to a minute electrical signal (pickups are not microphones), perhaps that isn't surprising.

Retired Whitehall policy advisor. Now work part-time at the Olympic velodrome in Stratford, East London (always been a bikie - used to ride competitively when I were a lad).

Let's send him to the Lego factory (it's further away): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billund,_Denmark

Elf and Safety, of course. Surprised you needed to ask...

This. Why should others buy you a bass (especially a ridiculously expensive one)? Go out and work and earn the money and pay for it yourself. It took me over 20 years to get a Jazz Bass. Like Nancy, I played El Cheapos until I could afford the one I wanted. Makes you appreciate it more when you finally get it.

It may not need re-finishing. The first thing to do is to clean the board with alcohol. Unless you have worn through the lacquer, that will remove the grease/dead skin,, etc and with it, the dirt. Then you can see whether it actually needs re-finishing.

Cheapskates