Stub Mandrel

I think it depends on your ears and the style of earplug. I have no issue getting a good seal with ordinary 'three cup' earplugs.

I fitted plain washers to my B2 about 40 years ago, and more recently to my Jack V. Still a bit of annoying stiction when you first turn the tuners (although these are the only bases I've ever encountered that can stay in tune for over a year!) You've inspired me, so I've ordered ten thrust bearings for £6 from eBay, that will leave me one spare!

My computer feels dirty now.... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumble_(company) To give credit where it's due, the bass playing is the best thing about that video.

Is it safe for work?

OK, as they are silly cheap, I ordered three sets, including one for my brother who wants to try flats. First impression - packaged in an attractive, nicely finished proper box, not an envelope. In individual sealed plastic envelopes with very clear numbering. Other brands could do this, it feels premium compared to most brands. Colour coded ball ends, though not as nicely finished as Fender ball ends. Red silk wraps. Feel surprisingly slinky. Lighter gauge than the Fender flats I took off, so hard to make a really fair comparison. The HB strings are marked as 45-100 and measured as 44-99. The Fenders 55-105 measure as 56-104, both sets are stainless steel. Very clear the wrap pitch is much narrower on the Harley Benton strings, which should make them slinkier for a given diameter. Bent over the ends before cutting and no problems with the wrap slipping (presumably helped by the hex core. They also feel smoother than the Fenders, appear to be closer wound. Sounded much brighter/richer than the fenders, with tension much lower than I'd expect from the diameter difference. I had to slack off the truss rod by at least half a turn. Lower tension feels much better. I suspect a lot of this is the 45-100. So if they bear up and keep some of their richness, these are a much better score than the Fender flats for me. Obviously comparing with Fender 45-100 would be fairer, but at less than 1/3 the cost these are a great deal. I will try their rounds as well.

I don’t think telling a customer to cancel an alarm meets the requirements of our local guidance: https://www.southwales-fire.gov.uk/app/uploads/2024/09/Guidance-on-Safe-Investigation-of-Fire-Alarm-Signals-1.pdf At the very least a pair of competent people appointed by the building owner/manager should check the premises. For Pirate I'd assume they should have security on 24hr callout.

Just received some Alpine Musicsafe pro earplugs, lots of hits on here for them saying they are good. I've tried them on the silver ~22db inserts and they definitly work. They do cut the highs more than teh lows, which is how they are designed. I'll have to see how they work out at a gig/rehearsal, but should be a good solution for controlling harsh snare/cymbal noise.

But they would give advice on what to do, and I'd trust them more than Pirate.

I love the sound of my Joyo BadAss, but it's only 50 watts. In all honesty, it sounds better than my Orange Terror. It doesn't seem ridiculous to think about the potential for re-casing it, substituting a class-D module for the integral Class D output amplifier. Or even building my own valve front end. The £10.999 500W modules on Amazon are probably not a good idea for long life. I see that Profusion sell a 700W ICEpower module with power supply for £223. Price doesn't seem to be strongly correlated with power, so presumably there are other differences (such as robustness, e.g. SOAR protection, thermal performance, efficiency). This 500W module looks like it could be suitable: https://gb.profusion.uk/uk/icepower500asp Does anyone know which of the ICEpower modules are widely used in class D bass amps? Or indeed any thoughts on the practicality of this approach? (I grew up with a father who repaired TVs as part of his business and I have been building my own amps etc. on and off for 50 years, so I'm unlikely to kill anyone).

While there is a gap in the price range for something around £500, power wise the TE1200 is only about 7dB more powerful than the Elf, something in between doesn't make much sense as the differences up and down would be so small. Indeed, the difference between Elf into 4R and TE-1200 into 8R is only 6dB. So, in practice, 500W and 1000W amps are both adequate for pretty much any situation meaning a 500W version, while probably having a market, isn't really 'needed'.

Used to use Pirate in Nottingham without major problems, had to ring once or twice for dodgy access codes. Got used to expecting the Ashdown combo to have really weird settings. Used Cardiff a few times... a bit scruffy and it closed after a few months. Other studios are a mixed bag. Not much difference in price, but the better ones tend to be booked up well in advance. I usually use my own gear and we just use the pa and drumkit less breakables.

Surely the sensible thing to do would be to ring 999 and let them decide what to do?

The top one is my practice rig at home. The bottom one... I had to park over half a mile from the city centre venue, and I had PA support so it was just a monitor (hence up on a stool).

I don't know exactly why, but I have never 'got' Rics. I suppose to me, the various design elements just don't look like they go together. But that's just me.

I saw Alice Copper supported by Bobbie Dazzle on Tuesday at Cardiff Indoor/Motorpoint/Utility Company Arena. The sound for the support was awful for the first part of the set. Dominated by drums especially the snare, vocals weak, bass inaudible. My ear for a mix must be getting better as by some miracle the snare was tamed and everything else balanced to get a decent (tough not exceptional) mix by the end. I imagine their sound engineer is still getting used to huge venues. Sound for Alice was exemplary, as you would hope.

Is it good for metal?

Gratuitous green and red 🙂

Rumbled! 🤣🤣🤣🤣

Prejudice is not one sided

Well as I said, taste is subjective.

You mean the traditional design Fender adopted?

I realise anyone stating 'best bass I've ever played' is opening themselves to scepticism (but every bass player has played a 'best bass ever' even if they've only ever played one). I do find the rash of "have ever tried a bass that isn't a Fender" comments both patronising and a touch pathetic. In my own experience, I've played a lot of basses and my love for a 'different' feel means it's hard for me to call any if them 'best'. I do know that I've met many disappointing ones, and a few of those were Fenders but plenty have been 'elite' brands whose reputation didn't meet my expectations. It's so subjective though... more than once I've been offered a try of someone's pride and joy and found it totally alien to my tastes.

And a video of my first song with the guys. VID-20250727-WA0006.mp4

Sounds like a break is exactly what you need. Then maybe hire a rehearsal space with lits oftime and no pressure to set up the whole pa from scratch... everything set to defaults before you start.

Photo from last night. Should say we got lots of dancers later.