Stub Mandrel

Folks with bright sounding or active basses might find better results if they pluck near the middle of the string.

Double bass changed my life... 🙂

Selling an acoustic guitar to a complete beginner 'you need a solid spruce top'...

I saw a video on BBC News today about the illegal trade in Rosewood from Senegal. I will make me think twice about rosewood fingerboards in future.

I've had no indexed content available for a couple of hours.

🤣

Remember to turn up the volume and switch on your pedal 🙂 TU3, Snark and the one on my Orange practice amp all work fine. Some cheap ones are dire. Harmonic at 12th fret if you are ever struggling.

Me? When I need to shorten my strap, I just pump my pecs.

Really odd... a 15V AC input should stand up to 9V dc without going pop. The damage should be limited to that power regulator chip as the worst case is that 9V gets through it to the circuit board (that big diode should prevent any reverse polarity) which is pretty much what it expects anyway. Should be fixable, even if it means bodging in an alternative regulator.

My brother is a lefty but can play most fretted instruments either way up. 🤬

Not at all. I rest my thumb on the string below the one I'm playing, it's part of my damping technique.

More seriously, I do worry about sustainability and I'm happy to have more sustainable woods in my basses. I also feel that making fine instruments is a good use of timber (not least as the carbon should be locked up for a decent time) and because high-value end uses help support good woodland management. Too many basses look like coffee tables though , and I can't lose sleep worrying about the effect of different woods on sustain etc.* *common sense suggests that the curiously close correlation between timber cost and tonal quality is more than a little suspicious...

If I get a bass and discover it contains ethically and sustainably sourced timber, I go out and kick a badger to level things up.

Took me 35 years before I could afford to buy a relatively expensive bass new. In the end my PPI came through and even then it was 'only' £950. Save what you can, be patient and be prepared to settle for second hand. Life isn't fair but fate helps those who help themselves. Otherwise - join a band, save all your gig money. Write articles and send them to magazines. Do a night shift at a local garage once or twice a week. Plus late summer there will be loads of work potato and fruit pickling...

The neck profile... 🤢🤮

I'll be interested. It's almost painful to me to try and get either hand to do the other's job!

I'm not convinced the left hand/right hand argument makes much sense; as a right-handed person the movements required of the left hand are just as complex, precise and time-critical as those of the right, just different.

If it moves, the fixing will gradually break down the plasterboard and fail. Use a proper plasterboard fixing like in the video I posted earlier in the thread.

3 1/2 hour gigs suddenly don't seem quite so bad!

Tim Blake: "Hold my pint..."

Has anyone thought about the touch screens at most supermarkets?

All the drivers have been replaced with new Eminence units, which undermines some of the case for originality... The irony is @fleabag is right about monetary value; it cost next to nothing. I've seen the preamp alone sell on here for what I paid for the whole combo. Ditto I've seen the speakers (Alpha 10s not Beta's, sadly, advertised go s/h on eBay for what I paid) so I could double my money and and that would leave me with the power amp as well as a large box... so value isn't an issue. Although I'm 57 I can lift it no problem at the moment (which embarrassed the young lad I bought it off - his mate who'd come to help him shift it cracked up when I picked it up carried it over to my car and put it in the back car unaided 🤣 ). The plus point of splitting is not just portability, but being able to use it with a smaller speaker and allowing me to use the 4x10 (amd my even bigger Peavey 1x15) when pride asks for a stack 🙂 . The plus point of keeping it original is it's the amp I wished I could have had when I had to settle for a Laney head and I do love the sound. Also folk may think I'm stupid for having a 95lb amp but no-one is going to say 'you need a proper/louder/better sounding amp'...

Why miles per gallon and litres per kilometre?

Saw @dave24421 last night, playing the Flea with Dunlop 1/4 pounders through a Bass Terror and 6x10. Really great 'growling' sound but what struck me was how it kept plenty of power behind the sound right up past the 12th fret, without any compression. Dropped D last song and I could feel my insides wobbling 20 feet from the rig 🙂!