MartinB

Do the AliExpress versions have a limiter like the Fischer/Behringer?

You may need to look at "other sellers" to see the £18.99 deal - I was shown the more expensive price by default

We've had all these arguments before - it's time to shuffle them around for new and exciting match-ups: Pick vs. 5-string Tort vs. rounds "Play it like the record" vs. active etc.

This might be a stupid question, but how does a "passive gain boost" work? Some sort of transformer wizardry? Or more likely that the "normal" position is attenuated, so that the "boost" is comparatively louder?

Now it's art

I used to use a Peavey Microbass combo (20W, 8") to rehearse with my surf band - bass, 2 x electric guitars, drums. Loads of volume to spare. Context really is everything - it probably would have been absolutely useless for rehearsing with a drummer with no volume control and a guitarist with a Marshall stack and no understandng of frequency slotting.

Democractic Republic of the Cungo?

Could you not just stick a battery in the tuner? It's not like it's going to be switched on for more than a few seconds at a time, so it'll last ages. Plus the noise problems that folks sometimes have with rechargeable 9-volters are unlikely to be an issue for a tuner.

£699 at Andertons, £677 at Thomann. I think those are probably the only options since Wembley Music Centre closed down.

Collect all the Beach Boys! They're conveniently alphabetical - Al, Brian, Carl, Dennis. We don't talk about Mike Love 😒 The Punchline's getting some glowing reviews over on the other bass forum... but everyone seems to want to replace the knobs 🤷‍♂️

The same paint was "Burgundy Mist" when applied to an Oldsmobile, "Royal Amethyst" on a Pontiac, or "Lido Lavender" on a Buick 😆 It was 1959... I'm pretty sure everything was black and white until shortly before then, so they were only just getting the hang of these new-fangled "colours"

Worth checking that everyone involved is on the same page for this one - it follows a typical 12-bar chord progression, but it repeats every 11 bars if you play it like the original version. You only get one bar of the I chord at the end each time round.

First gig for Black Hole Jets! I am likely to be playing it sitting on a chair, as I've recently ruptured my achilles tendon

We're all on headphones for band practice; I use a pair of (over-ear) Audio Technica ATH-M50s. I'm direct to the mixer, the (acoustic) drums are mic'd, and the guitar amp goes to an isolation cab. The only sound in the room when not wearing headphones is the drums, the vocals, some muffled noise from the iso cab, and quiet twanging of guitar strings. I was originally using in-ears, but it turned out that full isolation just wasn't needed - the M50s are enough to get the drums to a comfortable volume, and the cymbals that get muffled I can bring back in through the mixer. And they're a lot more comfortable to wear for a long period, and less faff to get in and out.

I was looking at a Debut as a modding base, but I ended up going for a Sonic instead (£30 more), because the average weights of the Sonics seemed to be lower. Mine came in at 8lb 11oz; not a boat anchor but more than I was expecting. Now that I've hacked a cavity in it big enough for a MM-type pickup, and some weight relief holes under the scratchplate, it's 8lb 4oz, and I should be able to get it down to 8lb with lightweight tuners. Spent about £230 in total so far. Proper alnico pickup and 2-band Stingray pre-amp circuit. Definitely better value than those new passive ceramic pickup Sterlings at £349

I've never had shocks, but I've had crackling sounds when touching the scratchplate of a guitar where that scratchplate is quite large (e.g. Jazzmaster). It's easily fixed by adding some conductive tape to the back of the scratchplate, and making sure that this is grounded - e.g. run another bit of tape out of the body cavity where there is shielding or conductive paint, so that the two are in contact when the plate is screwed on.

Paging @agedhorse

Popular, contemporary, funk - pick two. You're unlikely to find any real funk, but something moderately funky is a possibility - pop acts have been drawing from the early 80's post-disco/boogie well for years now. This year's "song of the summer" is one example:

GHS Pressurewound strings might be worth a look. The 44-106 set (M7200) is slightly higher tension that bog standard rounds (and the E is good amount tighter, which is great since that's usually the floppiest string), but their construction also makes them feel stiffer. Unfortunately, being GHS, they are a bit spendy 💸

Roughly equivalent to standing 7 feet further away from an amp, IIRC

That looks cool! 😎

£499 at Andertons! 💸 https://www.andertons.co.uk/Squier-FSR-Classic-Vibe-Bass-VI-in-SSP/

You could attach one of those anti-static wristbands to the bridge 😆