Skybone

Failed promises?

Another vote for t-shirts, never been a big fan of polo shirts either, though maybe offer a couple of colours as well as black. I ordered 100 t-shirts for an old band, and they turned out to be the only profitable thing we did. The unit cost was £4 for a single colour print on the front of the shirt (black), sold them for £8, gave a load away to friends, and still made a return on my investment. I'd recommend talking to ShirtySomething in Nottingham, as the guy who owns & runs the company is also a bass player. The BC header logo on black, blue & red shirts (adjusting the font colours to suit each shirt) should sell well, and make a some money to support the running of the site. I'll have an XL please.

I can't show any proof or links, but what I can say, is that I've done it with a Vintage V300. I bought it from Imusic (before they were taken over by Musik Produktiv), and although it was good, it kind of lacked some 'warmth' (it's a solid spruce top with laminate mahogany back & sides). It came with plastic bridge pins. I decided to chance £10 on a set of new, wooden pins, more because they looked nicer than the plastic ones, but also hoping that they warmed the sound up a bit. They did. Yes, it's still a budget acoustic, but it sounds better than when I first got it.

My first recommendation would be, get a new lead. Buy a good quality, shielded lead. You can a really good one for about £15-20, and it should last you a good few years if you look after it. Always remember to unplug your bass after you finish playing if you have an active bass. Leaving it plugged in will eat your batteries. Try using the amp in a different room, or use a different socket in the same room (not the other socket on a double, but on the other side of the room).

Actually managed to watch all of the latest half hour episode without fast forwarding through anything other than Chas'n'Dave. Gaz Coombes was really good, Nakhane was really good, Chic were good, the Americana one with the Ripper bass was a decent song, and Goat Girl were alright (very mid-90's indie IMO).

Bit late to the table here, but the "Vintage" brand guitars are pretty good. I bought a VA100 (IIRC) a few years back, brand new, for £100. Great little guitar, sounds good, and great to have "just lying around". It's a "Grand Auditorium" or "000" size body, which is not too big or deep, but still sounds nicely resonant and has plenty of projection. Anything bigger for a beginner is a challenge, anything smaller won't have the same kind of sound, and can get a bit too "boxy". Likewise, Tanglewood acoustics are pretty good too. The thing with any cheap acoustic guitar, is to make sure it has a solid top (whether it's spruce or cedar). The solid top will give a sweeter sound than anything with a laminate top. Most acoustics in that range are laminated mahogany back & sides, great to learn on, but can also sound a bit "boxy". Consider getting new, wooden string pins for it, instead of the standard plastic ones. They will also make a difference to the sound. Some rosewood or ebony style pins will really help to "warm" the sound up a bit. Also, don't go for one with an onboard pre-amp to start with. The low end ones not only compromise on the pre-amp, but the construction of the guitar itself. Go for one that is just an acoustic guitar. My first acoustic was an Applause (a cheap Ovation) bowlback. It was really nice to play, but ultimately, it was a bit too "piano-y" and "boxy". The pre-amp was pretty good though, and recorded well. Part-exed it for a more traditional acoustic because of the sound.

I always have a couple of silicon gel sachets in my case (you know, the ones that you find in the boxes of most electrical equipment you buy). They draw the moisture out of the air, so in theory at least, they'll keep your strings in reasonable condition when the bass is in it's case. Stainless steel strings always last that bit longer as well as retaining their brightness.

Line6 POD HD500x Rockinbetter & Bass Collection Fakers.

And especially with more and more bassists using DI pedals. My guitar setup was fully analogue, cost a fortune, and sounded amazing. Boutique, UK made valve amp, hand wound pickups, the only digital element of the signal chain was the true bypass tuner pedal. Annoyingly, I can now get a very similar guitar sound from my Line6 HD500x. Though it doesn't have the same touch dynamics of the analogue setup, it's 80-85% there. For bass, the HD500x is my go to kit. My bass amp lies in the spare room unused, and the pre-amp of the rehearsal room amp gets bypassed. I think it sounds great, and I've had no complaints from the rest of the band. In fact the only "complaints" I've had were down to my No.2 bass having new pickups, and the heights weren't quite right. I'd like to get a Helix, but for now, the HD500x is more than what I need, it's ace.

Squier Affinity or Standard P. Vintage P (the JHS brand)? Harley Benton P? Something cheap & unwanted from Gumtree?

Just do it.

IMO, it's certainly going to hit most, if not all, of the US Manufacturer's. Add CITES into the mix, and we could potentially have a situation like that of the late 50's/early 60's where US made instruments were out of reach from all but the very well off. Gibson's recent financial history doesn't help the situation either, and Ric's are just seriously overpriced outside of the US anyway. The EU appear to have "targeted" these tariff's to key Republican States, so whether they'll hit the guitar manufacturer's, we shall have to wait & see.

I remember my Thunder 1A as being a solid and great sounding bass. The biggest downside of them was their weight though. Bloody heavy basses, but when they sound like that, you can manage. The cachet is coming from people of a certain age, who bought & used them as their first/second instruments, and went on to use them in our first bands. Add to the fact that they have the Matsumoku history, and better build quality than some of the other "budget" instruments of the time, and now that people of a certain age have a bit more time available and a bit more disposable income, then prices start to rise. Yes, I would have another one, purely for nostalgia purposes, but it'd have to be at the right price. Saying that, I always wanted a through neck Thunder II or III.

Sell both the P and the J. Then buy a sunburst P with a rosewood fretboard.

We agreed on "Overrun".

I used to use them, but found them a bit too rough. They were good, but not great. Bargain though. Think I was paying about £11 a pack (bulk buy from Thomann). Switched to Fender 7350M's.

Shock news, we came up with a name, and everyone's agreed on it!

So what's happened since Kopite? Did you go with the bezel, or soldiered on without?

Took the BC along to rehearsal last night, knew I should have taken a screwdriver with me! Overall, the new Retrovibe pickups sounded good, just the string definition wasn't quite right, the skinny strings were getting lost in the mix & the fat strings were booming. Great sound from them though, a few tweaks with the screwdriver sorting the pickup height should sort it I reckon. The Retrovibes are brighter sounding than original pickups, which is a good thing. I did take my No.1 Rockinbetter (RickenFacker) along as well, and reverted to that one part way through, mainly because I've got the pickup heights just right, and it sounds ace IMO.