Woodwind

If you want to get the most transparent sound you can from your Laney plug your pedalboard output into the FX return socket on the back of the amp. Technically the inbuilt FX loop is for line level signals which are louder than instrument level signals, but as long as you can get a healthy volume level from your pedal board you'll be doing ok. By doing this you bypass the preamp section of the amp where, theoretically, most of the tone colour resides.

As long as the frets are all level you can get the action as low as you want really. I can't tolerate high actions or higher tension strings so have actions of around 1mm on all my basses, but I play with a light touch as a result. Also Don't be scared of adjusting the truss rod in future. Just being careful - small turns and let the bass settle to the new tension before adjusting more, but it doesn't seem your current setting needs adjusting unless you change strings. Good luck

Bit late to this, I love my Line Audio OM1s which I use as a stereo pair, or use singularly combined with a ribbon for close mic'ing. Their CM4 is meant to be great as well and I very nearly bought one on eBay recently for live use where I would want a cardioid pattern rather than my omnis. Line audio are made in Sweden in small batches and are at bargain prices. https://www.lineaudio.se/ Since leaving the EU it's tricky to get them directly, but there is a UK distributer - I haven't used them as I bought direct years ago. https://pinknoise-systems.co.uk/collections/line-audio---microphones?srsltid=AfmBOoqlo1VbCHSPNyRVw8t286EIRm_r-2ZJiQBzCkJPjHCxW_Fog9k2#

Only bass I regret selling. Groove 5 string. Phenomenal bass. I initially wished it sound more like a stingray, but then realised the sound was "better" - more useable. And Yes that neck, damn. I saw my old one up for sale and didn't move fast enough to buy it. As you say, they're rarely on the second hand market

Is this similar to your current one? https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/177048483189?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=nrhfh01pq1o&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=IEanl3fNSaK&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

I go to quite a few flea markets around London. I have seen old washboards for sale on a couple of occasions, but as with anything at these type of markets it's when you aren't looking for it that you see it. Car boots would be another avenue to explore, but as Reggaebass says waiting for one to turn up on eBay might be the best bet.

I hadn't heard of hearthis. I will be in a similar position to you later this year where I'll need to share some works in progress and I was totally put off setting up a new SoundCloud account, so I will give it a look

You could use bandcamp for this, but personally I wouldn't as it's primarily designed as a sales platform for finished recordings. YouTube is quite handy for this. You can mark the video as unlisted so it won't show up in searches, but you can then send the link directly to players who might be interested in joining. Obviously you need to upload a video, (which can just be a still image) rather than just an audio file. I ditched SoundCloud a long time ago so I don't know how useful it would be in either its free or subscription form.

I would take that Covent Garden address with a pinch of salt. The address is very familiar to me as I have dealt with various companies and charities that use it. It's an office complex that offers all sorts of services from postal boxes, to hot desking, meeting rooms up to shared office space. Many, many companies are registered there: https://open.endole.co.uk/explorer/postcode/wc2h-9jq

This is the thread you want -

It's not your perception. I only use Instagram. It's still immensely useful, but a poor relation to how useful it used to be up until a few years ago. The algorithmic approach where it feeds you more of what you like is completely at odds with the organic way people search for things. Previously I discovered many, many artists, labels and promoters through basic general searches (and was discovered in a similar way). These connections proved very fruitful leading to releases, gigs, tours etc etc Now whenever I search, Instagram just shows me stuff it thinks is related to what I have liked previously, Usually from an American perspective. Similarly people don't discover my stuff unless they search for me specifically. A lot changed when they stopped you being able to search hashtags chronologically. It was great to see the latest posts tagged with #whatever, but now it's just the most popular posts tagged with #whatever, which could be years old and just become a cyclic regurgitation. I don't know what the answer is, but I would suggest you're better off on there than not in the short term and look for something else in the meantime. I never got Facebook or twitter to the point of being useful for me even with a fair amount of time invested and deleted both years ago.

Professional is a relative term I feel. If you're in a covers band that wants to generate bookings then I can see a *good* website helping. This isn't necessarily true for an originals act. I have been a long term user of Squarespace. It's never been cheap, but the latest price increase has led to me cancelling the renewal. The usage I get from it isn't worth the money it costs. I've just put a one page site together with Carrd. As a concise introduction to my music it's fine, easier to edit on the fly than Squarespace and a tenth of the cost of Squarespace! https://www.thomasstonemusic.co.uk Social media (mainly Instagram ) is by far and away more useful for me with the genre I occupy. I don't even run an email list anymore, again replaced by Instagram and the messaging capabilities on bandcamp.

Just had a play. Got some really interesting word combinations that were either perfect bands names for genres I do or have occupied or results that led to a train of thought that gave me new ideas for names. Great work @Jean-Luc Pickguard !! Out of interest have you got your new band name yet and if so did it come directly from this system?

I totally understand. It would look absolutely amazing though - I'm sure Laney would like seeing it.