Dan Dare

Can I suggest the internal measurements would be better? Also worth including the port length (you may need to adjust that to suit a replacement driver, of course).

Not as simple as that. A pub landlord is very often a tenant/employee. The pub will be owned by a pubco (pub management company - they sprang up when breweries were made to divest themselves of pubs), which controls the purse-strings very tightly. There will be limited or no budget for entertainment and frills. He may well not even be on profit share, just a wage, for which he is expected to work 7 days a week, deal with all manner of awkward customers, employ staff, manage the accounts, etc, etc. He has no security, no property of his own and can easily be dispensed with if he displeases his employer. And if he loses his job, he loses his home - a similar situation to the one agricultural labourers in tied cottages were/are in. Not exactly a bed of roses. As HH notes above, pubcos are often keen to sell their properties to developers - pubs are not the money spinners they once were - so are quite content for them to fail. The landlord has little or no control in that situation. In the case of owned pubs and free houses, if a property developer offers a landlord/owner enough to retire on in comfort, enabling him to live a normal life and not work his @rse off every day, it's hardly surprising he will be tempted to accept. That has happened to several pubs round my way in North London in recent years.

Went for £32. Someone did all right.

"Two humbuckers"? Really? "Anarchist's bass"? What a load of pink torpedo.

The reason pubs are shutting is down to economics. The properties are valuable, often extremely so. A large pub building, especially one in a desirable town centre location, can be converted into a large number of flats that will sell for a tidy sum. Add to that the fact that people go out less often nowadays and it's not surprising that pubs are closing.

I have a Carvin B1000 bass head. Nice piece of kit. Made in the US of A. EQ is excellent. If it goes pop, I'm in trouble as Carvin are out of business, but whilst it works, it's great (it's my backup, so doesn't get a hard life). I've only played a couple of their instruments, but they were very good. Given that the OP says "I love how it feels how it sound how it looks", what's the problem with it? Seems to be the bass for him.

If it's just a one-off job, I'd think about hiring a sub or couple of subs. If you only usually use your PA for vox plus acoustic and it does the job, buying subs will be a bit of a waste. If you do wish to buy and you like your RCFs, have a look at their subs. They're as good as any out there in their price range.

Supply and demand, I'm afraid. A lot of people want to play and will do so for little/nothing, so venues don't have to offer much. Many players have alternative sources of income and do it as a hobby/for fun. The plumbing analogy from earlier in the thread is very relevant. The reason a plumber makes so much compared with a musician is because he/she has a scarce skill that is in demand. T'was ever thus.

The real reason for this nonsense is to keep prices high. A lot of companies do it - destroying last year's stock, less popular models and so on - because people won't buy current stuff if they can pick up older stuff at a bargain price. "Unsafe" my foot. Unsafe for Gibson's margins is what it is.

Because you put up with it. Time to put the kit back in the car and say byeee.

If I'm house bassist at a jam, I'm happy for people to play through my rig (obviously), but if they don't have an instrument, they use my knockabout eBay cheapie. Playing one of my decent basses is a no-no unless it's a friend.

All of the above points to the folly of lending people gear. In the end, who cares if they're thought to be mean? If the choice is between that and spending money on repair/replacement, not me.

He obviously needs professional help. Fortunately, he only does his thang on cheaper instruments, but I suppose there's always a first time...

Speak to Watford Valves. They'll put you right.

I know one doesn't like to appear mean, but lending gear is a no-no for me. If I'm there and someone wants to play through my kit, I'll say yes if they ask nicely (and preferably buy me a pint), but that's it. I never let anything out of my sight. Too much of my hard earned at stake and people aren't always careful with others' stuff.

Looks like a bitsa that someone has put together. if it plays/sounds OK, probably a decent buy.

If you use the hoover, once the cone has resumed its shape, don't pull the tube from it without switching off the hoover first. That's the most likely way to damage it.

If you chuck it through the window of !0 Downing Street or Buck House, it probably will, for a short time at any rate...

An important reason for me for avoiding 4x12 or 4x10 cabs has always been portability. Their width makes them a pain to get through doors, into the car, etc and of course, they are usually heavy. The fact that 2x10s or 2x12s work better is a bonus.

Things such as appalling set-up, rusty strings, etc, etc can be handy devices for haggling the price down. It does depend on your viewing/trying the instrument before purchase, of course.

So how does it work? Suppose I contact Sid Scammer and say "I'll have your Fodera for a quid"? Does he say he's had a better offer and invite me to top it?

I'll pay two quid for it 😁

I once saw an interview with Billy Sheehan, in which he showed what he uses. It was a tough webbing strap, screwed to the bass and with a couple of large metal washers between the screw heads and the strap. Bombproof. You can't take the strap off the instrument unless you unscrew it, but the webbing folds, so it goes in the case with no bother. Worth a try?

Did someone mention Hiscox? Good value, sturdy, well made. Do you need anything more?

Dead right. I hope she dumped the pompous plonker. All this "I never learned enough about music theory to hurt my playing" does smack of defensiveness, imho. It's simply a tool that can help in a lot of ways. It won't rule your life, force you to play in different ways or "stifle your creativity", etc, etc. It's just handy to have. If you know how/why something works, it makes it easier to do it when you want, rather than hope to stumble on it by accident. That's all.