Balcro

[quote name='Murph_Orpheus' post='338678' date='Nov 27 2008, 05:26 PM']Hey guys, I'm looking for suggestions to try out new strings. Mainly I've used Warwick Black Label over the last 2 years and before that it was Roto Sound and D'Addario. So, any suggestions? [/quote] I'm just running in a new set of "Elites" Stadium Heavies 50 - 110. £13.95 post free from Stringsdirect. I think that's good value. It's early days, but at the moment I have zing and depth. Long scale is good enough for a 35" scale via bridge or like mine, 34" through-body. Good luck with the search. Balcro.

[quote name='leschirons' post='337906' date='Nov 26 2008, 11:56 PM']Hi, Anyone got any experience with Nickle allergy problems? I reckon I have this. A small itchy rash mainly on fretting hand but has now spread to picking hand. Can clear it with Cortizone cream but as soon as I spend about an hour on the bass, it's back again. Need some info on Nickle-less strings. Have been in touch with Elixir about the Nano webs but thay can't tell me if they have any Nickle in them or if the coating will wear off (Doh) It's a lot more common that we think. Thanks, keith[/quote] Yes Keith it's alot more common than you think. I picked up on this a some years ago when as part of my job I inspected ear-piercers and body piercers. It's a well known problem in the "beauty" business. I would think that most girls know about it, particularly from the "sleepers" in pierced ears. It's one of the reasons I will never knowingly use strings with a nickel content, either as content in an alloy or as a plating. I dont have this allergy and I don't want to acquire it. I've only been a member here for a few months, but knowing what I did about nickel, it amazed me that nickel continues to be used for guitar strings. I dont have scientific proof in front of me, but I think that the allergy reaction will be so much more immediate where you have tiny cracks or splits in the skin to start with. Good luck. Balcro. PS. Dear Admin, May I suggest this topic is pinned for a short while before being transferred to the "wiki".

[quote name='bluesparky' post='335377' date='Nov 24 2008, 12:03 PM']Hi all, i have been known to use [url="http://www.gear4music.com/inventory-detail/index/?int_product_id=9533&gad=COO_5foBEgjUTSM1_6-iXBi0mZL_AyDfv5AR"]Fast Fret[/url] to add a bit of zing to my strings and make them feel a little smoother and silkier. Then someone (who's opinion i value) said it eats away at the wood in the neck and doesn't do it any good in the long run. Does anyone know anything about that? Or does anyone use any product on their strings to add like to them? I'm sure it's probably been covered before in a topic somewhere but i couldn't find anything about it. Thanks[/quote] This subject is just apt for me, as I've just ordered my first ever bottles of Fast-Fret. One for me and one for a mate. Elsewhere, in the "Repair & Technical Issues forum, "Mottlefeeder" makes a good observation when talking about cleaning his Warwick. He uses boiled linseed oil to nourish the wood and a Colron polish for the body. Now that makes sense to me. I think I'll use the F-F for a [u]quick clean[/u] of the rosewood neck. I guess it may have some astringent qualities which will neutralise a build up of finger grease. I'll rub it on to clean, then quickly rub off with a dry cloth to remove the grime and oil residue. There's no way I'm going to rub in WD40. If you've ever had a really mucky session under the bonnet you'll know it has a tendency to dry up your skin something rotten. So what's it going to do to the natural oils in wood? Why would you rub a mineral oil into wood when there are plenty of wood related oils? To nourish the wood, it's Linseed oil for me. Apply generously, rub in, wipe of the excess and leave to dry for a day or so. Before use, thoroughly wipe down the neck again with a clean dry cloth. You don't want to get any of these products on the skin for any length of time. Any more takers for Linseed oil? Balcro.

[quote name='markytbass' post='326326' date='Nov 10 2008, 09:52 PM']How do you find out what power rating of a speaker is? I know it is printed on most units, but what if it isn't?[/quote] You could start by posting a couple of pictures. Front, back & sides. If you remove the unit from the cabinet, then you will usually find some sort of serial number or code stamped or cast into the chassis. That info and the pics could be a starter. Then the opinions will come flooding in. Balcro.

[quote name='edstraker123' post='325911' date='Nov 10 2008, 01:43 PM']Saw Hadrien Feraud at bass day yesterday and undoubtedly the guy is a musical genius but boy was it dull ! It was obvious that loads of people there loved this kind of music but I really don't understand it's appeal - just sounds like a babble of random notes to me. What's it all about ?[/quote] It depends upon whose jazz you're listening to. Some of its listenable/accessible and other stuff is purely academic. Twirly sounds & twisted themes, borrowed/imported thems, disappearing themes, returning themes and completely off the theme. I guess it's musicians entertaining themselves rather than the audience. I would also hazard a guess that half the audience don't get it either, but they go along with someone else who does because they want to be cool. I've bought CD's by the following: - 1. Ray Brown - EUB, 3 CD's 2. Stanly Clarke - guitar and EUB, 2 CD's. 3. McCoy Tyner Trio (Charnett Moffat - bass). 4. Tokyo '96. Jarrett/Peacock (bass)/DeJohnette. 5. Brian Lemon Trio. (English). 6. The Organ Trio, (English). 7. Alec Dankworth & Co. EUB, to name but a few and I've download many others. As far as I'm concerned 2,3,and 4 are a complete waste of my time. 2. SC hops, pops & slaps all over the place and plays so high it's almost alto. Virtuosity of the Bass neck. 3. Bass is relatively comventional but McCoy T's arrangements to me, are off the wall. 4. It's all off the wall, famous album or not. Played it twice but won't be bothering again. EDIT: insert Bilbo's large 3rd para from 3.15pm post. Crackin! Getting it is not compulsory. You're not a lesser musician or human being because you don't. I started piano lessons/reading music when I was 6 and you can see my opinion above. Listen to Noel Redding or Billy Cox playing the bass on Hey Joe. Then listen to L.Zep "Whole lotta love". Same notes? Does any of it matter? Technical wizardry doesn't equate to great song writing. Balcro. PS. anybody want 2 Stanley Clarke albums - going cheap.

[quote name='bass_ferret' post='313736' date='Oct 24 2008, 12:56 PM']Not again! We need a smiley for yawn![/quote] That's a good idea. A brilliant exposition, gentlemen and I wouldn't dare to intervene. There are still 2 rounds to go and by my reckoning and a slight "non-scientific feeling" Thunderhead is probably ahead by 15 points to 14. My knowledge on the subject has increased by 2% - the rest has gone completely overthe top of my head. I think BOD2 summed it up nicely and a nice entry from johnnylager. Personally, as I have a hi-fi cortex and a bass cerebellum I'm quite happy to match anything with anything. Never had a problem. Keep it clean; of you want overdrive or distortion - add a pedal. Why has no one ever devised simple lockable gain/volume controls? I can password lock my suitcase for a £1. Right bass_ferret, shall we go down the pub. Balcro.

[quote name='bass_ferret' post='310728' date='Oct 20 2008, 07:38 PM']+1 for through body TIJF - so far so good anyway. I thing this is in one of the myriad of threads on this subject or maybe the basschat wiki. It has come up before.[/quote] [quote name='kennyrodg' date='Oct 20 2008, 05:14 PM']- If it helps ive used TI jazz flats on a thru' body.The were fine.The Labella D/T's have a much higher tension than the TI's so maybe thats where the concern is.[/quote] Thanks guys. I've scanned many a web-site & even other forums on this. I think think this question of tension is part of the problem. I gather that "Fenders" are also high tension, while the TI'JF's are probably the softest. Perhaps that's the tiny amount of nickel in the composition. Balcro.

[quote name='Balcro' post='307012' date='Oct 15 2008, 12:35 PM']My apologoes if this is slightly off at a tangent to the original post, but it may be relevant to "Wazz's" & CarazyKiwi's earlier replies. I've been looking to treat myself to a set of Flats and had narrowed the choice down to La Bella or Webstrings/Detroit Bass. I looked at La Bella's catalogue this evening and they say Deep-Talking flats [u]"are unsuitable for thru-body stringing"[/u]. They suggest a "flexi-core flatwound" as a suitable alternative, but I can't find any such product in the catalogue. Google came up with just the one same reference at La Bella. As I've got thru-body stringing with heavy brass saddles and no bridge-only option, I've e-mailed both La Bella & Webstrings for further info as to suitability. Anyone come across this before or have any recommendations. Thanks folks. Balcro.[/quote] Further to the above, I also mailed Picato, as I'd never been to their site before. 1. They (Tony Roberts) said the standard length string -766FLW- was not long enough, but they could supply a string of suitable length. They were silent on thru-body stringing. 2. Webstrings/Detroit Bass replied courtesy of Wayne Preis. More informative. I quote "In regard to your question: first if the bass is 34" scale you will probably be fine. Keep in mind that flats will break much easier than a round wound string so be sure that the angle over the bridge is not too steep." Thank you Wayne. 3. La Bella. Question re- "flexi-core flatwounds" - no reponse at all. So I think that is it: Flatwounds are inherently more likely to break (in general?) or maybe more so with through-body stringing. However no one knows which angle is too steep and no one's saying openly how much angle is too much. It's all down to physics and mettalurgy. As I'm a stubborn critter, I'm going to modify the angle over the bridge with some custom cut tap-washers and see what happens. Just don't stand in front of me while I'm playing. Balcro.

[quote name='molan' post='221544' date='Jun 18 2008, 05:10 PM']Only just noticed that my new Lakland JO 4 has a thru-body stringing option. I've never owned a bass with this before! I realise there will be some different stresses on strings through the body given various angles etc. and that if I experiment and don't like it then I'm left with a set of strings to throw away. However, I just wondered if in "real world" sense, there was much difference between the two options?[/quote] My apologoes if this is slightly off at a tangent to the original post, but it may be relevant to "Wazz's" & CarazyKiwi's earlier replies. I've been looking to treat myself to a set of Flats and had narrowed the choice down to La Bella or Webstrings/Detroit Bass. I looked at La Bella's catalogue this evening and they say Deep-Talking flats [u]"are unsuitable for thru-body stringing"[/u]. They suggest a "flexi-core flatwound" as a suitable alternative, but I can't find any such product in the catalogue. Google came up with just the one same reference at La Bella. As I've got thru-body stringing with heavy brass saddles and no bridge-only option, I've e-mailed both La Bella & Webstrings for further info as to suitability. Anyone come across this before or have any recommendations. Thanks folks. Balcro.

[quote name='molan' post='221544' date='Jun 18 2008, 05:10 PM']Only just noticed that my new Lakland JO 4 has a thru-body stringing option. I've never owned a bass with this before! I realise there will be some different stresses on strings through the body given various angles etc. and that if I experiment and don't like it then I'm left with a set of strings to throw away. However, I just wondered if in "real world" sense, there was much difference between the two options?[/quote] My apologoes if this is slightly off at a tangent to the original post, but it may be relevant to "Wazz's" & CarazyKiwi's earlier replies. I've been looking to treat myself to a set of Flats and had narrowed the choice down to La Bella or Webstrings/Detroit Bass. I looked at La Bella's catalogue this evening and they say Deep-Talking flats "are unsuitable for thru-body stringing. They suggest a "flexi-core flatwound" as a suitable alternative, but I can't find any such product in the catalogue. Google came up with just the one reference at La Bella. As I've got thru-body stringing with brass saddles and no bridge option, I've e-mailed both La Bella & Webstrings for further info as to suitability. Anyone come across this before or have any recommendations. Thanks folks. Balcro.

[quote name='KERMITNT' post='303774' date='Oct 10 2008, 12:34 PM'][font="Comic Sans MS"]I remember myself like the bass since I was a kid I loved the bottom end from the beginning. When I listen a song the first thing I concentrate is bass. Nothing more or less. There always bass to me when I am listening guitar and play it I don’t feel like bass and I stop after 10 minutes, I am a bass player never liked other instruments like bass I don’t know to play other instruments. I love BASS So what about you?[/font][/quote] A long story, timewise anyway. Piano lessons at 5; church choir at 6; school choir at 12; voice broke at 13 so shifted to bass and then tenor. First bass nodule implanted in brain. Still doing piano but hated practice - got to grade 7 at 18 - stopped. 1969. Went to college and started growing up. During a break in the canteen one afternoon, I moaned about the boring lifeless music from people like the Moody Blues. I wanted action, power, pace. A young girl at the table (from Ross-on-Wye in Herefordshire) said to me "I know oo'll you'd loyke". Listen to some friends of mine, they're called Maart the 'Oople". Went to one of their very early gigs at a pub called the Cooksferry Inn on the North Circular Road. Me and 15 others! BANG. Deep growliness embedded in the brain. WoW, what a sound. It was really the bass and the organ combination. Thanks Phally. Second bass nodule implanted in the brain. Parents bought a home organ and with pedals! Built a 1x18" speaker and shook the whole house!! Yea. Third Bass nodule implanted. Joined some mates in a group and tried playing Atomic Rooster and Deep Purple. Bought a Selmer TnB 50 watt valve amp. We practised in a college room about 6 times, but it all faded out - I played too much like a piano. Went back to studies. Time passed. Caught Hi-fi-itis. Built 2 sets of speakers. Late 70's. Came across Uriah Heep. Fourth bass nodule implanted. Listened to the climax of the "Live" album. Blown away by the power of Blue Suede Shoes. Bass & organ combo again. Also heard the 3rd movement Saint-Saens 3rd Symphony. Now you know why they need 32`pipes. Simply Oooh. Nodule number 5 implanted in frontal cortex. "What would like for your 40th", said the missus. "Something special". "Fizz! Pop!" said the 5 nodules in harmony. "I'd love a bass guitar please." Work got in the way of the fun. Aaargh! Parked the bass in the corner. Discovered computers. Retired early -Yippee!!. Bought myself a proper big practice amp and off I go. Even after all those years I still find nothing goes low enough & loud at the same time. That's the hi-fi-itis. It keeps coming back like a good cold-sore. Lower, lower. Even so I love it. Balcro.

[quote name='markdavid' post='304519' date='Oct 11 2008, 06:53 PM']Hi, Ive got real bad gas at the moment for a Thunderbird, however theres no way that I can afford a grand for a Gibson Thunderbird , Ive been considering the Epiphone Thunderbird but am wondering whether I could do better with what I have available to spend ( £400 budget ) , is there any other Thunderbird clones/copies around as I haven't seen any btw it would be cool if it sounded kinda similar to a Thunderbird (Strong lows and low mids)[/quote] If the tone is the thing, why not have a look at basses with mahogany bodies, a la Gibson. Ibanez do a few in the SR, SRX and BTB series. The official web-site has its own selection, while Nevada Music appears to import other models. SR500, SR530, SRX690DX and SRX 690DX , BTB200 (35" scale), and the JTKB200 (basic electronics). Some models also show the frequency response of the town controls. Happy surfing. Balcro.

[quote name='6stringbassist' post='299895' date='Oct 5 2008, 02:31 PM']Odd question, but I was wondering how many people were like me. I like what I like basically. I hate 99.99% of popular music played on the radio, so I don't listen to the radio, in my car I play CD's, and at home I play CD's, I don't have a TV, so I tend to listen to lots of albums and read. I had a discussion last night, the same one I've actually had many times before with various people..............how can I be a musician when I don't like most types of music. I won't play covers of songs that I don't like, and most of what I do like others don't, so I don't play covers, I did a few dep gigs earlier in the year for a couple of function bands, and hated it. I play in a jazz group doing standards, that's as far as it gets for doing covers. New music that I 'discover' and like is usually via word of mouth from people who I know have similar taste to mine, Porcupine tree for example, I discovered them last year after reading about them on the Steve Lawson forum. I listen to lots of jazz, I love stuff by Michael Manring, Steve Lawson, Steve Reich, Talk Talk, Jonas Hellborg, Peter Gabriel. So am I weird ?.[/quote] Nope. I don't think you're weird, just sensibly discriminating like most of us. I've got a lovely hi-fi but I hardly ever turn it on for my own benefit, so to some extent I'm lucky enough to miss out on most radio playlist output. I'm prepared to listen to most things; rock rock-pop, jazz, classical, early music, world music, organ music, film-scores, even commercials etc,. Everything from Al Kooper to Mott the Hoople, Dave Grusin, Beethoven and Motorhead but I draw the line at rap & its derivatives. That's a defininite switch-off. The other "what in the hell is that" reaction is usually reserved for what I call academic/pretentious jazz, classical or rock. When I was flush with the cash I would treat myself to 3 jazz albums every Christmas, but I've bought a few lemons over the years. Stuff like the supposedly famous Cologne concert with Keith Jarret, Jack de Johnette etc.. Pass. Can I have my money back? Likewise Jaco.P and McCoy Tyner. I downloaded Victor Wooten and wished I hadn't bothered. Stockhausen, Harrison Birtwistle and John McLaughlin all get the delete button. Where's the dividing line between brilliant technical prowess and musicianship? Come to think of it, I wouldn't want to play that stuff, anyway. Since there's so much other stuff you do find worthy, just relax and don't worry about. You're still a musician. Would Paganini have like the Sex-Pistols? I don't think so. Balcro

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='299038' date='Oct 4 2008, 12:16 AM']Dunno if this is a lucky score or an extra wardrobe. Figuring its a lot like a 18" folded horn a lá Acoustic 361. Think the 150W is wrong from the valves I can see. Anyone know anything about these? Or feel the urge to pick it up and drive it to my practice space. [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=170266941211"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=170266941211[/url][/quote] Nope. Don't know anything about them. It looks like they made a few for fun and then stopped. Web-site info suggest the makers are a sound-hire company. Their description talks about the top half of the cabinet being some sort of resonance chamber. This sounds like an old Audioquest Hi-fi idea to achieve bass extension, not the famous folded horn. It probably has a nice warm tome to it, but I suggest you turn the cab upside down and put the drive unit at the top. Looks good value though. Good luck and enjoy. Balcro

[quote name='Steve_nottm' post='293212' date='Sep 27 2008, 12:30 AM']Agreed on the double bass funny how when he's soloing they cut away to shots of everyone else in the band other than him![/quote] +1 on the double bass player. The camera work drives me mad. On "Later" and Jonathon Ross, why do they keep swirling the cameras around and avoiding everyone except a close up of the lead guitar and or the front man. It doesn't make it more exciting, just aggravating. Did Keane have a bass player? A tape, or was the keyboard player metronomic? Balcro.

[quote name='timmyo' post='285768' date='Sep 17 2008, 12:30 PM']You know how it is, there's what you [b]need [/b]and what you start looking at 'cos it's shiny . . . All I really [b]need [/b]is a practice amp - something that'll make a noise and which is a bit more engaging to use than headphones from the PC amp sim. Where my head keeps taking me is to look at stuff that'd stand up in a small rehearsal as I would like to play with others as soon as my ability allows (I'm an adult migrating from/supplementing guitar). So I go round in circles from teeny tiny things that are easy to pay for and own, through to the occasional apparent secondhand bargain that's more powerful. So help me organise my thoughts by 'talking' aloud and getting your responses: I could grab a Peavey Microbass - have heard good things about them I have seen an Eden N8 for £70 - have read good things about them I have seen an Eden Nemesis N15S for £200 (getting bigger - unecessary ?) Oddly there are 3 Fender rumbles (2 60s and a 100) for sale locally ranging from £60-£100 Occasionally see bigger/louder/better stuff at 200-300+ : possibly walk before run going on here Tim[/quote] Hi Tim, I've been through this same process with jamming & rehearsals in mind. As you're migrating from a guitar, technically you're probably way ahead of me, but I looked at it this way: - what I need is a headphone socket for near silent home practice, an aux-in/CD input socket for playing along to tracks/mp3's. If the amp didn't have those simple facilities then I crossed it off the list. After that it was a case of having enough power for that rehearsal. Most practice amp/combo's also have line-out sockets for powering an alternative speaker such as a 2 x something (10,12,15) The Fender Rumble 100 probably ticks your boxes, as "andyonbass" says. I agree. The Eden N15 also seems fine, 200w & but probably more expensive and heavy at 45lbs. Enjoy the angst, Balcro.

[quote name='Musky' post='282584' date='Sep 12 2008, 01:01 PM']The link's not working for me - it seems it need a hyphen after the .com for some strange reason. [url="http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/do-you-want-to-make-music-for-arsenal.com-"]http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/d...or-arsenal.com-[/url][/quote] You're correct Musky. Whooops! My mistake in the copy & paste operation. Thanks, Balcro.

Good luck to all who are out there doing it. I've just seen this link:- [url="http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/do-you-want-to-make-music-for-arsenal.com"]http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/d...for-arsenal.com[/url] Either on your own or with a band. Good luck.

Hello Stu, Further to Saturday's reply, I chatted to the Planning Department this morning, but now I need just a bit more info in relation to sizes. 1. How big is your garden etc? They a get a bit sticky if your building/shed takes up more than 50% of the space. 2. Would a "highway" be effected by the building position or size? 3. Is the building going to be more or less than 5m from the house? Balcro.

[quote name='onehappybunny' post='278677' date='Sep 6 2008, 04:05 PM']I have been given the green light by HWMBO to get an outside space where I can rehearse, record and noodle around on my bass to my hearts content without bothering her or the kids :) I don't have oodles of cash, so was thinking about soundproofing a standard shed (so I don't need planning permission) but despite googling for various tips don't have much of a clue where to start, soooo... * would it be worth going to the effort of sound proofing a shed, or will this end up leaking sound * am I better off getting a cheapish prefabricated soundproof booth (...and if so, what types of soundproof structures are available) * er....any other options or words of wisdom welcomed!! Stu[/quote] Hi Stu, From wanting to practice and record as above, it sounds like you're looking to store equipment as well as have room to move, so roughly what dimensions do you have in mind? I think the garden shed idea is a bit fragile, but building from blockwork might be more realistic. No doubt you want to go loud occasionally as well as being warm & dry. Planning Departments tend to look at overall dimensions before requiring planning permission, so let us know how big you would like to go. I can find out the maximum dimensions before P/P is required, but not until Monday. Balcro.

[quote name='alexclaber' post='275544' date='Sep 2 2008, 03:57 PM']Balcro, I'm not sure why you think 15"s are less sensitive than 10" or 12" speakers. If all else is equal then sensitivity (efficiency) is proportional to cone area. Alex[/quote] Hi Alex, I made the statement because from endless spec checking over drive unit web-sites like usspeaker/madisound etc., I saw a pattern emerging. Of course it is a generalisation but I was also aware from the posts preceding mine, that a developing advice theme of adding more drive units, whatever the size, would assist "tom skool". Hence my remark about yours and BFM's earlier posting. It wasn't a techie scientific assertion. Tom_Skool's original enquiry didn't seem to need any greater depth of drive unit science other than add a drive unit and get 3dB. Balcro.

[quote name='tom skool' post='274961' date='Sep 1 2008, 09:25 PM']hi i'm new here! Ive just got myself a 50 watt selmer treble'n'bass head but as its considerably louder than a 50 watt solid state i've got no idea what size cab i need for it. I tried it out with 15inch 200 watt ashdown cab and that started to fart a bit before i reached half way with the volume. I do like a bit of distort which is why i went for the 50 watt and not the 100 watt but this wasnt particularly nice and i think it was more the speaker complaining. does that seem right? I've seen a laney r410 thats within my budget which i think is 250 watt. would that extra 50 watt make the difference? I play mostly pub gigs playing rock/ indie covers and i've managed for years with 150watt ashdown combo but our guitarist is not only deaf but has serious GAS and has ended up with a 100watt fender twin! Although it is switchable to 25watt (yeah right,hes gonna wanna do that!) tom[/quote] Hi Tom, Good luck with the valve experience. I'm suspicious that you're getting such horrible distortion at 50% on the volume knob. I could/would use mine about that level to start with and not expect any fart! Not even an overdrive sound. I wonder if it doesn't need servicing to check that you're getting the correct output. Just checking - you did use the right-hand side output jack, didn't you? Have you tried both the Left & Right inputs on each channel? One may be a higher gain than the other. In competion, a 15" Ashdown or any other 15 for that matter, is often a decibel or so less efficient than a 12" or a 10", so alex's and billfitzmaurices' posts make sense to me. I used to use mine for an ELKA home organ and an inefficient 1x18". Fine for practice sessions with small combo's and I never heard even nice distortion. At home in the front-room I could make the house shake. However, put it up against a lead guitar through a 100w Marshall 4x12 stack and it got drowned out. Balcro

[quote name='zwischenzug' post='268254' date='Aug 23 2008, 12:31 AM']VSB [url="http://epiphone.com/default.asp?ProductID=114&CollectionID=12"]http://epiphone.com/default.asp?ProductID=...CollectionID=12[/url] Gothic [url="http://epiphone.com/default.asp?ProductID=209&CollectionID=5"]http://epiphone.com/default.asp?ProductID=...;CollectionID=5[/url] :) Gibson [url="http://www.gibson.com/en-us/divisions/gibson%20usa/products/bass/thunderbirdiv/"]http://www.gibson.com/en-us/divisions/gibs.../thunderbirdiv/[/url] VSB is alder body, Gothic is mahogany. :)[/quote] Neepheid seems to be correct. WEb-site info shows pickups to be the same. The gothic has a narrower neck. It will [u]probably[/u] have a slightly richer tone because of mahogany content in the body. For a good guide to tonewood see the following "Warmoth" link. [url="http://www.warmoth.com/bass/options/options_bodywoods.cfm"]http://www.warmoth.com/bass/options/options_bodywoods.cfm[/url] It's which one is better for you. Try at least one. Then the other is warmer or brighter. Balcro

[quote name='lowhand_mike' post='267773' date='Aug 22 2008, 12:26 PM']but it is ok for him to stand out side in the back garden screaming and shouting everytime the music goes on? :huh:[/quote] Straight bat answer. Just like everything else. Once, yes, it's OK. Maybe 30 or 40 times, NO. It could be you were both equally at fault. There are no exceptions. Balcro.

[quote name='Rich' post='267205' date='Aug 21 2008, 05:06 PM']So let's assume that the buyers looked at the house, realised it was close to an established working kennel and thought "oh well, we can soon put a stop to that"..? That's OK, is it? :huh:[/quote] In [u]simple legal terms[/u], yes it is. As I said in my earlier post, there is no defence in law where someone moves next to a noise source. In practice it's a lot, lot more complicated. If you live next door where a dog barks when the postman calls or there's a knock at the door, it doesn't count. If, in addition, the average pooch barks a couple of times during the day, still no problem. If you've got one dog or a large number of dogs that bark for hour after hour on an almost daily basis and through the night, the answer is no. There are a 1001 variations in between, but that is basically it. Many kennels have hardly any noise. The same general idea applies to pubs. Some noise from a pub is normal and the neigbours have to accept that how ever often it occurs. When the noise becomes excessive and is repeated time & time again, it isn't OK. Similarly with lowhand_mikes 5.33 post, if he had made an excessive noise for a couple of hours and repeated it time and again, day after day, week after week, then yes, the neighbours would have had a case. They and anyone are entitled to sit in their home without a radio or telly on. When I was 22, I made a noise with 3 others (2 guitars, drums and home organ) in the front room of our terraced house. The difference was we spoke to the neighbours first (with several days warning) and asked them if they minded. Bless 'em, they didn't. We said we want to play between 8 and 10pm only on a Thursday. They said OK. We played only between 8-10pm and stopped. It lasted 3 Thursdays. No ranting from neighbours. Balcro.