The Admiral

My favourite bit of the whole episode was talking to the American bloke on the Apple help line. I gave him the serial number so he could check the age of it etc, and his response was "Wow man, that's a seriously vintage bit of kit"! Mrs A bought it to replace a white MK 2 which was stolen at a gig - in November 2006. I have underpants older than that - which I guess are equally 'seriously vintage'.

Thanks for all the input chaps, and I had a look at the fix it yourself site, but given that they rate each job in terms of difficulty, and a new hard drive was 'very difficult', I thought better of it. Especially with my fat fingers and lack of patience with all things fiddly. I've decided to send it to the company suggested by Bumnote , and they'll actually upgrade with a new 120 mb drive, from 80mb for £79, which doesn't feel too outrageous. I'll update when I get it back. Cheers

My beloved and very well cared for iPod Classic, has, after 6 faultless years, made some horrible noises this morning as the drive spins and whirrs, before giving me the 'contact Apple' message. Does anyone have any experience of this type of thing? I'm taking it into the local Apple store tomorrow, but I have a horrible feeling it could be expensive to the point of writing it off. All comforting comments welcome!!!!

Shakey - biography of Neil Young The Heroin Diaries - Nikki Sixx INXS - Anthony Bozza Nolan, Bowie and the Brooklyn boy - Tony Visconti My boy - Philomena Lynott And the new Morrisey autobiography is apparently very entertaining, with no hold barred by the author - as one might expect.

You could give my mate Mike a call at HQ studios. Central Manchester - right by Strangeways. Not posh, but the desk is great, he's a really nice bloke and a good engineer, and can offer you a copying service too. No idea if he's free, but we'll worth a call. http://www.hqstudios.co.uk

[quote name='jackotheclown' timestamp='1385045363' post='2283793'] Well I have decided to look around for other clinics closer to home (in and around Manchester), looks like i will have to go privately though cause the NHS may take too long, (I need the medical complete by beginning of December). Does anyone know of any places to try out in the North West? [/quote] BMI have a hospital in Cheadle - The Alexandra, and I would imagine they could help. http://www.bmihealthcare.co.uk/alexandra

I'm looking at doing a bit of work on a tele copy that I picked up recently, but I'm stuck regarding the p'ups. There are a bewildering number of options, and prices varying from pocket money to second mortgage. I'm looking for direct drop ins - I don't want to do any woodwork, and £100 is about top whack, but options at £50 would be welcome, and it's a traditional Tele sound I'm after. I also need some new machines as the stock ones are hopeless, and similar suggestions of suppliers and suitable replacements all welcome. Thanks!

[quote name='gary mac' timestamp='1384417602' post='2276335'] It's not actually painful, just not pleasant. I think the main thing is to relax, which, is as you can imagine not easy when you see the Doc gloving up. One of those grin and bear it situations, I'm afraid. [/quote] I'd agree with the 'try and relax' comments. My dad died from Prostate cancer, and consequently my GP has me on an higher risk list, so I get it done about every 3 years, now I've hit middle age. That said, the last time I went in, he was off for some reason and I was seen by a young (about 26 I would guess) female locum, who happened to look very much like Kelly Brook, which was very disconcerting. She asked me if I wanted a chaperone in on the examination, which amused me. A mate of mine suggested there are plenty of people who would have paid good money for a similar experience, but I have to say it didn't make it any less unpleasant, although the fact that she just saw me as 'another old bloke' was a bit of a reminder of the passing years!

As many will be aware, the Wacken Festival performance was cut short after 30 minutes after Lemmy was taken ill. Various versions have been circulated, including he was taken in an ambulance to hospital, but this month's Classic Rock has more detail, and the Classic Rock Special Edition of the new album (dedicated magazine and cardboard cover cd) has even more. The members of the band were all interviewed separately, and it's clear that the othe guys worry for Lemmy, and openly voice their hope that he will start to look after himself a bit better. He has apparently curbed some of his behaviours, but he is probably a bit long in the tooth to start doing yoga and eating tofu. Watching the Wacken video, I certainly felt that he was not right from the start, and was visibly struggling, despite the tempo of the songs seeming to have been slowed slightly : in the CR inteview the band admit they should never have agreed to do it so soon after his heamatoma treatment, but I'm guessing they were contractually obligated in some way, and/ or the money was to good. The new album is very, very good, and I'm certainly going to try and catch a show on the tour, as, and I hope I'm wrong, it may be a last chance. Lemmy will I'm sure never retire, he'll just go out with his boots on. He is certainly a massively influential figure in the rock pantheon and a national treasure. Finally, interesting the the picture even managed to avoid any additional Rick content on BC. Bizarre.

He could always have his own brand : [url="http://www.chinawholesaleguitars.com/electric-bass-guitars.html"]http://www.chinawhol...ss-guitars.html[/url] There are a few people on ebay doing this and at $67 US a piece (about £42) wholesale, he could knock them out at perhaps £129? Also, this is the first wholesaler I found on Google, and it may be possible to get below the quoted minimum order of 100 pieces, particularly for a standard style, like a sunburst or black P copy I would think. Certainly the ebay guys are buying fewer than 100 at a go I would imagine, as they are clearly 'run from home' businesses, and how would they store 100? They may of course be buying a mixed collection of guitars and basses within that 100. One eBayer sells salmon pink Strats for about £49, so God knows what the wholesale price is. His feedback suggests that the buyers who actually know guitars are ok with what they get - and they are playable, albeit not fantastic guitars, but for £49, they are never going to be! His uninformed punters all seem happy too. Your pal will want better quality than that, but it may be worth exploring. Just a thought.

[quote name='paulconnolly' timestamp='1360709387' post='1975343'] Chripes but he doesn't look well in that picture [/quote] Looks like he's morphing into Barry Manilow - and I'm really disappointed that DLR vents aren't a feature of his Jacket. It would be great to be able to order someting with some DLR vents......

Rural Boss looked the best to me from that list, but I saw mentioned in a BC thread the other day a piece about the WW2 fighters buried in SE Asia, and thought what a great name for a band - The Burma Spitfires. Any good?

[quote name='fumps' timestamp='1360572824' post='1972337'] Right don't take this as a dig at anyone here because it really isn't but I went on a rant about music this weekend at a person saying pretty much the same thing as the OP, below is basically what I said to him, in a balanced laid back way, this is my opinion only & like all opinions it's how it come out of my head, not a well balanced perfectly researched argument. The issue I have with this is that we hear older guys harp on about how the older bands (Like Zeppy-Beatles-Queen-Deep purple etc) are so much better & the style of music is far more superior but then get annoyed at new or younger bands pay homage to these very same bands. I hear older guys say that new music is crap & they don't like it but them moan when young kids play music from the very same generation that is supposedly better...... I mean is there anything that younger bands/kids can do that is ok by the old gits nowadays ? I personally love it when you get bands like Wolfmother who unashamedly show their love for Deep Purple & Led Zepplin, let them be true to who they are & bring this music to younger audiences, they are not hurting anyone, they are playing music that they love (Which just happens to be the music that older guys love too) If for instance some 12 year old kid listens to these newer bands & then checks out these bands influences, you are going to get kids being influenced by older bands who broke the mould in a fantastic way, is this a bad thing ? I don't really think that it is. I think to a point it's the "I was there maaaan" attitude that the oldies hold so dear. Lets face it, through the saturated world of modern music, it's almost impossible to do something different, all you can hope for is something good & taking influences from the 60& 70's is no bad thing in my book. [/quote] I'm the OP and I agree with you on this - and I think I made it clear that I think RS are a great band, I wasn't having a pop at them, or suggesting that older bands were better than the current crop. I was merely reflecting on the fact that I seem to have hit this middle aged malaise - where everything seems so derivative. I think it's more an age thing and a failing on my part, if anybody, and I wondered if I was alone in this - and it would seem not. Also, you are dead on when you make the point about the link between what you like - and working back to where it came from : I've found some fantastic stuff from Robert Johnson, Albert King, Howlin' Wolf, Davy Graham and Bert Jansch etc, working back from Zeppelin, Clapton and Steve Ray Vaughan. With regard to the comments about listening to genres other than Rock - I do. I have a catholic taste when it comes to music and there are two camps - I either like it, or I don't. For example : I've posted on here asking for tips on jazz albums to try, as I wanted to broaden into wider areas, and following a typically well informed BC community steer, I've found Sonny Rollins, early Herbie Hancock and Theolonius Monk as a consequence. I'd also say that the best CDs I've bought so far this year are the Trojan collections, which at £5 each from Amazon are fantastic value, and show what you can achieve without Pro Tools, as most of the tracks were recorded on gear that was considered primitive at the time, let alone now - but it sounds great. I also think that an Akon CD which was suggested to me last year, was one of the best things I heard in 2012 and I also had a Northern Soul compilation and several folk albums on very regularly in the car. I'd certainly rather the influences of some great bands came through because kids still listened to them, rather than them being lost forever and One Direction being the poster boys for aspiring 'musicians'.

.....because I'm finding that I just keep pricking up my ears at the stuff they have 'borrowed', in many cases I'm sure, unconsciously. Case in point - I really liked the first Rival Sons album and suggested it to an american friend, who had a listen on iTunes and emailed me back along the lines of " do we really need another Led Zep tribute act". Now, I'd admit it's very deriviative and the first time I heard it I thought - 'hello, someones got a copy of Led Zep 1', but it's still a great a record and they are fantastic live - I saw them opening for Black Stone Cherry (another superb band - who are improving with every album), at Manchester Academy last year.. I've just bought the second RS album, and............... it's alarmingly like LZ II and III, even down to the acoustic stuff and general feel and a similar route of maturity in respect of it's relationship to the first album. I've listened about 5 times right through, and all I keep hearing is more little riffs and fills which are so derivative of LZ II & III that they are bordering on parody - and I'm beginning to find it annoying. That said, anyone who hasn't heard the source or isn't that familiar would not be phased by it, but I wondered if I'm alone in this kind of 'spotting'? Clearly, everything new is a reflection of the influences of the writers, and we don't even want to go down the Beatles/Oasis cul de sac, but perhaps I'm just doomed. I know Andy Partridge from XTC doesn't listen to current music anymore, because he finds, after 30 years as a writer, he just distills everything down to it's ingredients : "50% Beatles, 30% Slade and 20% Abba" for example. (The full story is in Will Hodgkinson's book Song Man for those who are interested.) I'll never have 1% of the writing or general musical talent/chops as Mr Partridge, but I get where he's coming from. Just me and Andy then, or is it a general thing which comes with middle age and there are others out there?

[quote name='Marvin' timestamp='1360318356' post='1968429'] Wet wipes and that alcohol based hand wash stuff. If you're single, condoms. You may be the bass player, but you never know. [/quote]

[quote name='pendingrequests' timestamp='1360251685' post='1967423'] So at the end of February I will be stepping out of the studio and heading out with The 1930s (https://www.facebook.com/the1930smusic) on a short tour on the mainland of the UK. Like good old fashioned rock and roll, accommodation will be limited to floors/bedrooms/couches of friends. Obviously two of the main things I am keeping in mind is: 1. Travelling light 2. Keeping warm Any help in any area, not just what I should bring, but general advice would be very much appreciated. I don't want to break any friendships [/quote] Invest in a copy of Martin Atkins book 'Tour smart and break the band'. Amazon have it at about £13 I think and it's a brilliant book : covers all you need to know and in a very 'no bullshit' fashion, including how to survive on tour, particularly if you are doing it on the very cheap.

[quote name='jaybass 70' timestamp='1359236683' post='1952081'] thank you Admiral, this looks really handy, I didn't know! and I don't care if its in the wrong forum or hasn't got pics. [/quote] You are welcome. I thought it was just me.....but clearly not. This 'points scoring' is the kind of thing that I just don't understand on what is supposed to be a forum for a group of guys and girls who have a shared love of something which is frankly, quite marginal as a pastime/hobby/choice. It seems to be happening more and more too, and it's not a positive development. Perhaps I'm being a bit thin skinned, but I posted this for the general benefit of others and I consider the sarcastic tone of the 'correcting' post totally unecessary : who is to say which is the 'correct' forum, and does anyone really need a picture to find a sack truck in Aldi? I don't for a minute consider posting in any way a competition, but it perhaps bears some consideration that in the 'wrong' forum, it's received roughly twice as many views as the 'right' one, and given that I was looking to share this very quickly and as widely as possible - as a 'heads up - they are in stock if you want one' - maybe it was not inappropriate to put in a forum which gets heavy traffic? If anyone else was offended by my 'mistake', please accept my unreserved apologies. I know what I must do - I'll be out in the stables with a revolver, tell Daphne I loved her...........

Spotted this in Aldi today - telescopic handles and the base folds flat - very light £15.99. Spot on for shifting heavy cabs etc I would think and would take up very little room when folded up. No pics I'm afraid, but for the money they looked pretty substantial. Cheers A

Here you go! : [url="http://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/style/style-shrink/expert-answer-/gq-style-shrink-how-to-dress-well-after-50"]http://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/style/style-shrink/expert-answer-/gq-style-shrink-how-to-dress-well-after-50[/url]

I have an old book by Adrian Legg where he had re- wired a P bass such that the D and G were sent to the left channel on a stereo xlr, and the E and A to the right. He then played in a trio with the D and G overdriven through a guitar amp and the E and A clean through a regular bass amp. Limits you in some ways regarding the lines you play, but I suppose you could play the root and octave together at some points - which would sound pretty thick for classic rock stuff? Maybe something to explore with a cheap P bass from the for sale section? The book is out of print I think, but you can buy them used on Amazon : http://www.amazon.com/Customizing-Your-Electric-Guitar-Adrian/dp/082562262X

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1358713294' post='1943964'] [/size] [size=4]There is a long tradition of little scoopy devices to extract earwax dating back hundreds of years; some vintage examples can be very valuable. This one is a combination ear-spoon and amulet, worn as a necklace. It's Ethiopian - Coptic Christian. Ear cleaners are commonly worn as jewellery 'better to hear the words of God'.[/size] [size=4][/size] [/quote] This is the modern version - the Jobson Horne ear probe! http://entinstruments.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/jobson-horne-ear-probe.html?m=1

[quote name='Mr H' timestamp='1358628018' post='1942599'] I called my wife in to watch that youtube link, The Admiral. At the end we were presented with a smorgasbord of other gross delights, and eventually found ourselves watching [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ThuAV-GCGk"]giant blackheads being popped[/url] for the next twenty minutes or so. After that, [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hh-c320aTgM"]teratomas[/url]. Thanks! [/quote] Glad to be of help! I won't look myself, having been sent a link to a video by a friend a week or so ago, featuring an Indian dermatologist gleefully extracting truly enormous 30 year old blackheads from the nose of a local man. It was the epitome of that dilemma between horrified fascination and almost vomit inducing revulsion - as they were unbelievably vast, and came out with Vesuvian gusto. The patient must have been about 10lbs lighter when he's go all that muck out of his body - over the space of 4 videos. I think it was one of these you may have drifted into!!! Truly disturbing, and I kept re-living it for days - I think I may have been traumatised!!!

I've been having some trouble with my right ear for some time and I had been putting off doing anything about it for ages, but in bed the other night with the radio on, I turned over, and with my left ear into the pillow, I suddenly realised that I could barely hear a thing with my right. Thankfully my GP has access to a 'self refer' ear clinic and I booked myself in for Friday - leaving me a week to get some gunk in there to soften it all up. A Pharmacist friend recommended Earol - which is an Olive oil spray, and I put this in twice a day in the run up to the appointment. I won't bore you with the gory detail, but it took some shifting with the pulse water jet they now use, and as I'm very sad, I asked to see what came out : virtually black, and the size of a hazelnut..... nice. Back to stereo though and it's weird as now its sorted, I've realised how bad its been and for how long. Also, very interesting talking to the specialist nurse, who spends her days doing this. Apparently there is huge rise in the number of people with wax based hearing problems - due it is thought to the wax building up, in an attempt to defend against the very immediate impact of loud iPod 'bud' headphones and sound/music generally. As a consequence, more people are going fishing with a cotton bud, and she was saying that she takes out 5 - 7 broken off or 'shed' buds each week. Also, the incidence of people sticking a bud through their ear drum is increasingly common, with circa 7,000 a year damaging their ears in this way - frequently irrevocably. I wanted to share this, as it occurs to me that we all take great care of our gear, but are we taking enough care of ourselves? You can buy another bass, but they stopped making ear drums for you a long time ago. Maybe time to turn down, or get some attenuators? Particularly as many of us will spend a lot of time standing next to a drum kit, which can easily go to 110db, and even 120db if hit hard., and I am told anything above 85db is considered 'dangerous' by specialists!! Finally - for those who may find this interesting - here is an ear wax removal video taken from youtube. This shows how it can build up in a loud environment - in this case a farmer driving tractors. [b]WARNING[/b] : it's pretty graphic, so maybe not for those who have just eaten!! [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=4qui0YCUKnQ"]http://www.youtube.c...1&v=4qui0YCUKnQ[/url]