hubrad

Hmm. I'm stuck with IE6 as I use Win2000 Prof - nice and stable but lost support from MS. They're pulling support from WinXP in a while.. anyone think that'll give them time to iron out all the Vista incompatibilities? Plucking up courage to switch OS to Linux or just get my hand deep in my pocket and buy a Mac!

I often sell those Stentor ones, including a couple to friends, deffo way better than anything I've seen cheaper. The strings are not half bad to start with; I'm using Evah Pirazzi which just leapt up to nearly £250 a set! A brill pickup is the Realist by David Gage. I've used this for 8 years now, and recently got the mandolin version too.

I'm a freelance and an MU member, hence I have the union PLI cover. However, this only applies to me as an individual and not to a whole band in which I am performing. A couple of bands I do function gigs with now have a policy for the band. I'll try to find out where they go for these. Another reason for MU membership is access to insurers who will give you a decent quote for vehicle insurance (if such a thing exists!) as part of a professional body. On PAT testing, as far as I understand it, any Portable Appliance (i.e. amps etc for us, kettles and computers etc in a standard business) in a place of work is supposed to be checked. Last time I had gear tested, the tester said the hardwired Fender amp was to be done, but for my Trace head only the kettle lead needed doing as that's the bit that actually plugs into the mains. It appears to me that, rather like Building Regs, the rules are open to interpretation. Any surprise we get wound up about this issue? When it comes down to it, I'll still frequently check inside my own plugs looking for any loose or broken stuff, as 12 months is a long time in the life of a mains cable. A loose screw can mean an involuntary earth lift!

All of the above! It's not so much about technique as feel and groove. Sounds like you can groove already, so you just have to soak yourself in the best blues artists' vibes and off you go. I came from folk-rock and folk-punk, and answered an ad years ago while pro in a touring band. I was thinking 'oh, yes, just turn up on the odd occasion, walk the standard pattern all night and a few extra quid in the coffers'. My education started there, and I actually started to appreciate blues rather than thinking of it as an easy middle ground as so many do. Mind you, if you can play funky stuff too, you can add further textures which make you as a bass player and hence the bands you play with just that bit different! Have fun!

Looks like the stacked pots used for blend control.. possibilities for clever stuff like treble off one pickup more than the other? Can we take it in turns to experiment?

Just bought and fitted an EMG soapbar. Price most agreeable, kept me up to date at all times and very speedy at getting it to me. Brilliant all round - Cheers Matt! HUGH

[quote name='neepheid' post='388305' date='Jan 22 2009, 10:42 AM']Ref! Foul! I've sold one bass this year already! [/quote] ..and a pickup!