Dan Dare

Have to say I agree with this sentiment. One should try to learn a piece as faithfully as possible (taking ability, etc into account - I struggle to recreate the playing of plenty of musicians because they're just better than me). If you want to change or simplify something, be honest if the reason you are doing so is because you cannot play it as it was originally. There's no shame in that.

Were the Gibson and Martin equipped with magnetic or piezo pickups? Piezos pick up the vibration and convert it into a minute electrical signal. Therefore the resonance of the instrument will affect the amplified sound. Magnetics sense the movement of a string in a magnetic field. The resonance of the instrument has little to no effect on that. I have a 1975 Martin D35. It has the Martin piezo bridge pickup installed. Fabulous guitar, but difficult to amplify because it is so resonant and powerful acoustically that controlling overtones and feedback is a real issue. I get better plugged in results with my cheap Yamaha, because it has a neutral and much less characterful sound acoustically. "Stadium gig volume" is a product of the PA system, not the instrument.

I take it his family are the Woodentops.

Hear hear. My job is to nail it down and provide a solid foundation for the music, not to show off.

The various isolation pads that are available would certainly work, but you may find the bass end softens if you decouple your speakers from the stands (and consequently the floor) by adding something like a foam pad between them. You'll have to decide how you strike the compromise between preventing the neighbours from being disturbed and enjoying listening to your music.

Squeal, boy. Squeal like a pig.

Keep an eye out for a used SX. They're pretty decent.

Probably for the same reason Vera Lynn and Tommy Steele aren't.

The problem with loud bass sounds is often structure borne rather than air borne noise/vibration. It travels through floors, joists, etc into the walls and annoys those living adjacent and there isn't a lot you can do about it. Maybe move into a detached property?

I'm sure the money helped console him for the fact that he was "wasting his abilities". Seriously, landing the gig in a major act will give anyone financial independence and enable them to pursue stuff that satisfies their soul when said headline act isn't playing or after they leave. Anyone with sense would trade a few years of their life to be set up for the rest of it. Most of us spend (spent in my case) 45 or so years earning a living doing something not remotely connected to music or the things we really care about.

I loved Denmark Street, too. However, I've mixed feelings about it becoming a "heritage" area, which is the way it looks to be going. That will probably mean it's becoming full of corporate shops (nobody else can afford the rents and business rates) trying to trade on the area's "history" and charging tourist-level prices. The original spirit of it - small, interesting, independent shops, bars, music venues, etc - has pretty much departed, sadly. Is it worth trying to re-create a pale imitation of it or keep it on life-support?

Agreed. I have had the same bass for 30 odd years and have only recently got a couple of additional ones (and I only got those because I can afford them in my dotage - I can't say I need them).

One thing to be aware of if you're thinking of using an outside storage space is damp and especially condensation if the temperature is likely to get low in the space. Will it be heated?

The above is good advice. I've looked again at your photo at the top and noticed something related. Your thumb is opposite your second finger and quite a distance around the curve of the neck - virtually central. The first finger is hooked quite a long way back towards the nut from it. I thought it looked uncomfortable, so have just tried it and found it was. It created quite a lot of tension in my hand and limited my ability to stretch with my third and fourth fingers. That may just be me, of course (we're all made differently), but I'd suggest aiming to have your thumb opposite the first finger, or opposite the gap between first and second at most. I'd also recommend bringing the thumb back around the neck towards the E string side a little. Try to place it so you can see your thumbnail when you look down at it and try not to arch it back (that again introduces tension into the hand). Have it straight or even bend the thumb joint slightly, but not to the extent of wrapping it around the fingerboard, obviously. The photos you see of "ideal/correct" technique - thumb behind the neck, etc - may not suit you. The general rule is, if it hurts/is uncomfortable, it's not right for you.

Exactly. I am fortunate in that I can span/stretch easily, but I still move the fretting hand and don't always use the same finger on the same fret. You have to be aware of where you need to go next. If, for example, I play a C on the G string and have to follow it quickly with a G on the D string, I'll play the C with the fourth finger and the G with the third, because it means I don't have to cut the C short or scramble to get the finger across.

Glad you liked it. My favourite live Pistols recording. Ten strings, a drum kit and three voices and sounds as fat as a full orchestra.

A lot of punk bass parts wouldn't be what you'd call "interesting" in isolation. That's not really the point of them. They're all about keeping it solid and driving the band. The bass playing here is a great example of that - Sex Pistols live @ Phoenix Festival 1996 (complete MTV broadcast 1of2) - YouTube. Might not win any compositional awards, but boy does it do the job.

Shedloads of cash.

It's best not to try to keep your fretting hand stationary or attempt to play out of fixed positions. You need to move it constantly to compensate for a variety of issues - you may have small hands/short fingers that make it impossible to reach all the frets from one position, you may have an injury as |Hiram points out, or it may just be more comfortable for you. We all have to find our own way to get the results we want.

Did you have a previous interface? I replaced my old one recently and had to keep telling the PC not to default to the old one (I've now deleted the driver, files, etc for the old one).

???? I have a friend who is a highly regarded violin maker (players in major London orchestras use his instruments). He also does restoration and repair on some pretty special stuff. I visited him once and he had a viola in his workshop. I asked, jokingly, whether it was a Strad'. "Yes", he replied. "It's actually the only Strad' viola in the country" (there are just a dozen known to be in existence worldwide). I asked him whether he thought the working of an amplified solid instrument was more complex than an acoustic one and he was amused. I shan't mention his name because he would rather I didn't.

Don't fret about it.

Agreed. That's why I don't like the great majority of metal bands. The fact that thousands of other people do something doesn't make it any less trashy, even if it is well executed.

Agreed. Skilfully executed and formulaic.

That's one of the things you pay Ken Smith prices for. It doesn't alter the fact that any half decent instrument (maybe not outright El Cheapos, as I pointed out) will be made from reliable materials. Talk of leaving instrument timber for years for the "grain to align" or exposing it to vibration to "make it resonate properly" is all part of the sales pitch (some may even say snake oil) we're fed by those eager for us to spend our money on their wares. Aren't I the cynic?