Dan Dare

"Market value" is what a willing purchaser is prepared to pay. Market value is not what we, as individuals, think it should be.

I agree. It works out at roughly 10%, which is a lot less than auctions, having an item sold by a shop, etc. Sure, you have to deal with prospective purchasers, etc, but if you're sensible and not afraid to tell chancers to get lost, that's no hardship. For me, the biggest advantage is not having to set a price and let the market decide. I start things off at obviously less than their value to encourage bids and let it carry on from there. Occasionally, I've been pleasantly surprised.

Not sure about that. Some things, such as cars, consumer electronics, appliances and similar, are worse. Sometimes much worse. Anything that becomes obsolete or for which desire is ruled by fashion loses value as if it was sitting in a bath of acid.

Very true. In practice, the price you can expect for a used item (barring rare, collectable and similar) in good condition is normally around half new retail.

It might appear on eBay at fantasy island prices, but that doesn't mean it will sell for them. I've seen stuff sit on there for months because the prices were obviously straight from la-la land. If stuff wasn't selling at your reasonable price, it's highly unlikely to shift on eBay at a stupid markup unless someone naïve buys it.

Hotpoint or Electrolux?

Freddie and the Dreamers?

As one of the (not particularly vocal) minority, I have to say that flats are way more versatile than you assert. Yes, a well worn set of La Bellas will give you that Motown thud, but there are many more options. Ernie Ball Cobalts, for example, or even D'Addario Chromes, are much brighter, especially if you use the lighter gauges (which have the added benefit of being easy on the fingers).

Yes. As Nile points out, just get the 4 pole plug wired on pins 1+ and 1-. I wouldn't bother going to Designacable for something that simple. They're good, but you'll pay for the privilege. Speakons are very simple to wire. No soldering needed. You just strip the cable, push it into the terminals and tighten the cross head screws. Job done.

Appreciate that, but large all in one racks will always be heavy and cumbersome. I switched from a large rack to multiple stackable rack cases. It's a lot easier to make several journeys into the venue from the vehicle with manageable loads than it is to struggle with a single behemoth.

If you use sufficient numbers of small drivers, this isn't an issue. Mine have 12x4" plus tweets in small horns and put out plenty. They go surprisingly low, too, although that isn't needed with subs. As is always the case, you need to spend proper money to get good results with mini line arrays.

No. The gap between the strings flares out from the nut to the bridge end. If it didn't, you'd never get your right hand fingers between them to play. Measure the spacing between the strings on the bridge and look for something equivalent. Whilst the existing bridge may be quirky, it's also cheap 'n nasty. I'd replace it and keep the original. Something like a Gotoh 203 would be a great improvement and not expensive at less than £30.

Bill's advice above is on the money as usual. If you are going to put 15 top boxes on stands, those stands need to be heavy, stable, strong and consequently expensive. The risk of a drunk/careless punter walking into a stand and bringing down a large, heavy cab on peoples' heads is real. I've seen it happen. You can't always position stands/cabs out of harm's way to prevent it. Good quality 10s on poles/stands, plus a single sub will be more than adequate for the average pub/club. You don't need stereo/two subs in any but the largest of venues. I have two, but very rarely need to use both. I usually end up dialling back even a single sub - see Bill's comment regarding reinforcement from floor placement. Low bass frequencies are omni-directional, so coverage from using just one is not an issue.

I feel your pain. I got just £150 for a mint RMX1450HD in a rack case when I switched to active speakers. Heavy beast, but bombproof and uber powerful.

Good advice. Peavey are also decent. All can be had used for little money if you don't mind the fact that they weigh. Avoid really cheap power amps which are aimed at the rubbish end of the disco market. They have little to no protection circuitry and can take out your speakers if they blow up.

Pot, kettle, etc

That's rather naive. Any business that doesn't keep a grip on the bottom line isn't likely to stay the course. Would you willingly pay more than you needed to for anything? I wonder how much debt you're carrying if you would. As for "building relationships over the long term", that may be true in the case of a product or service that is unique or hard to source, but bands are ten a penny (no offence meant to Stew and his colleagues). Plenty out there to choose from.

No offence, but, as I pointed out, no business will pay more than it has to for anything. Yes, they will have a figure that they expect/are prepared to pay, but if they can get it for less (provided the quality is of the desired standard), they will be more than happy with that. As I also pointed out, there is no "standard fee" for many things. That's why I suggested quoting the relevant MU rate. It isn't about trying to "screw a band out of a few quid". It's about the bottom line. Any business will save whatever it can, wherever it can because all those "few quid", multiplied over the course of a year, can add up to a significant sum. That too is one of the "basics of business". Have a look at Stew's most recent post above. Had he quoted what the band originally discussed, do you think the venue would have responded "Too low. We'll pay you double that"?

They won't want to pay more than they have to. No business will, which is understandable. Not everything in life has a set price (who determines what it is?). I'd start by quoting the relevant MU rate and take it from there.

Or Psychotherapist

JMB, like any open-to-anyone site, has an enormous variety of people posting. They range, as does all of humanity, from the sublime to the ridiculous in terms of personality, ability, manners, etc. The fact that a few may be less than ideal is no reason to knock JMB itself. I've joined a couple of decent bands via JMB. It was especially helpful when I moved to a completely new area and wanted to make contact with local players and find a band or two to play in. Sure, I had to follow up on a few red herrings and sort the wheat from the chaff, but that's just what you have to do in most aspects of your life. If you don't mind paying, BandMix is worth a look.

I wasn't suggesting anyone should apologise. I was pointing out that we all have different priorities when it comes to instruments. Your reference to self-styled savvy "muso" types comes cross as rather defensive.

The ones I own, of course...

Never tried it, but I would imagine it wouldn't look great once it got a few scratches and the original colour started to show through (unless the new colour was close to it). I'd just get another pickguard made in my chosen colour. Plenty of places will do that for not a lot of money.

Toaster