Dan Dare

Roadwork? As in dragged behind a car, I assume.

"I do this as a hobby to keep dimentia, arthritis and God knows what else at bay"... Quite. One suspects he will be keeping buyers at bay, too.

The built in amp on the PB300 is rated at 250W, so you won't need a powerhouse to drive it. Do make sure you connect the drivers correctly. They are probably wired series/parallel to give 6 ohms (or so) impedance. Individual PJB drivers are normally rated at 8 ohms. My four driver PJB cabs are all wired series/parallel to give 8 ohms total impedance. They claim 400W power handling each, but I Find they are happy with a little over half that. Removing the plate amp from the back of it it will leave a sizeable hole, which you will need to fashion a cover for. A piece of ply with a Speakon connector let into it should do the trick as a temporary fix.

To an extent, this is a useful suggestion. However, I don't think anyone deliberately does a poor job. They try their best. All the self-criticism/evaluation in the world won't help if someone is simply not capable of doing any better. Everybody's abilities are finite. It may well be that they are not suited to the style of music (which appears to be the case here), but that doesn't alter the fact that they cannot cut it. If someone's best is not up to snuff, you have two choices. Accept that things will never get any better or replace them. By all means do the deed tactfully and not unkindly, but there's no mileage in shying away from it if they are holding everyone else back.

I highly recommend sarcasm - "Thank you so much for pointing out my error. I would never have known I had made a mistake had you not drawn everyone's attention to it. I'll go home and practice for ten hours a day. Please, please forgive me. I am not worthy", etc, etc.

On a more serious note, this.

Imho, it depends on the instrument. The better Mexican instruments use (or used to use) the same components as US built. I have a Mexican active deluxe P (P/J) which is much better put together than my '72 Jazz. Mind you, A Harley Benton would probably be better built than a '70s US Fender...

Get the band to stand in a line and say "all band members take one step forward. Hey (name of member you want to fire), where do you think you're going?"

I carry two, but only because our singer has a penchant for Eb, so one is tuned down a semitone to give me the low fundamental and make the fingering easier. Obvs, I could tune it up if needed.

Fret sprout is not uncommon on instruments that are built in one climate and shipped to another. Or maybe the wood used for that instrument hadn't been sufficiently dried/seasoned. Usually the result of the wood shrinking as it dries, leaving the fret ends poking out. Not by a lot, but enough to make the neck feel horrible. If a shop hadn't picked up on it and addressed the issue (they usually just need a swift file and smoothing), it suggests that they don't check instruments before putting them out on the racks.

Perhaps not the best response to someone posting who is blind. Ah well, it was a couple of years ago...

Add neglecting to tune your instrument and cranking it in a tiny venue you could take over some of the guitard's duties, too.

I think the discussion might be getting a little ahead of itself. It's difficult for us to make practical suggestions for someone who has hearing loss, especially if they have a limited budget and are looking to buy used. We simply can't put ourselves in a person's position if they are hearing impaired and know what to recommend. You often can't try used gear in a playing environment. I would advise the OP to take the time to try a variety of options at some decent shops. If he finds something that works for him, even if it is out of budget, better to borrow or save to get it, buy once and cry once and at least have something that does the job.

I fear you're correct. Like you, I avoid couples in bands like the plague. Suggest that one might change or improve something and the other is in your face, etc.

She's been working down to it. Tried all the other instruments and couldn't hack it and finally thinks "everyone can play bass, even me". Edit to add: Just realised you were probably wondering about why Linda M never tried , rather than the woman in the OP's band (which is who my comment was aimed at).

Not to mention a rig. She appears to have a bass.

Used bass off the 'Bay? Should be plenty of bargains in January when those who have Christmas credit card bills to pay start looking for ways to raise a few bob.

Not a good strategy. The old man/drummer will support her even if she's terrible to avoid getting earache at home. If she turns out to be decent, they'll be thinking about easing you out to make the gig money go further.

Joe Ely wrote a song about that.

Forgot to add earlier. Look for used, rather than new. eBay and similar are stuffed with used Pacificas, Squiers and the like at bargain prices. People often buy a guitar, for themselves or a youngster, intending to learn. After finding out it ain't as easy as they imagined, the instrument goes in the cupboard, until one day they decide to sell it. Either that, or they (or the youngster) make good progress and decide to upgrade relatively quickly. In both cases, you get to pick up a used instrument in good shape, ungigged (how many beginners gig?) for not much money. If you look after it, you can move it on for not much less than you paid for it when the time comes for you to upgrade. A repairer friend often picks up such guitars for silly money from eBay, gives them a clean, set-up and new strings and sells them on at a profit.

Yammy Pacificas are always a sound choice Can't go far wrong with Squier, either and they sell easily used when you want to upgrade.

If an item was discounted, I wouldn't worry about a few marks. If I liked it, I'd probably try to get a few quid back and keep it.

It's a practice/starter combo. As it's from MB, it's going to be decent, because they have a reputation to protect. Whether it will be enough for you to gig with is something only you can determine. Practice amps don't usually offer a simple upgrade path (for example, by allowing you to run additional cabs), so when/if they are not sufficient to do the job, you have to sell and start again. The market for used practice combos is limited because fewer want them. The new price of the MB is not far short of what you would pay for a more capable used combo. It won't be a bad choice by any means, but it may be a limited one in terms of what you can do with it. I'd advise trying one - plenty of shops carry them. Don't buy on spec' or on the basis of reviews/recommendations.

If you're looking to save weight, modular - several smaller, lighter boxes, rather than one large heavy one - is the way to go.

I love it when people who plainly know nowt about something come up with tripe to boost it - "Whether you're a seasoned musician or a beginner, this Music Man style bass guitar is sure to meet all your needs"... Yeah, right. I wasn't going to buy it, but, having read that, how could I not do so?