Skybone

All parts UK, WD MusicUK, Guitarparts, StringsDirect, HotRox

It is a family show... Good job the wall hangers aren't up then...

We avoided places like Las Ramblas when we were there last year, and I hear it is bad around there. We went there a few years back, and you certainly had to keep your wits about you. As in many large cities, there's plenty of people on the streets trying to sell you tat. We were there around Easter, so not really a real Tourist-y time of year, and we only did a bit of a whistle stop tour of certain bits (mainly the tourist bus routes). We were with the kids, so weren't really going to many of the "big" tourist areas.

Another one lurking in the spare room & the cupboard in the spare room. Used to have them on the wall of our old house, can't do that now, because of shelves & other stuff. Having them out on show certainly made me pick them up more.

Nice

I've not seen any of these "in the flesh", but have been seriously considering either the 420 or 620. I've owned a couple of late 70's 2619's in the past (same specs), which were real LP Killers, fantastic guitars, and with the addition of the Tri-Sound switches, they add some really useful, and easily accessible sounds. The 2619's pre-dated the "AR" range (even though they were "Artist"), and the specs are slightly different, the "AR"s tend to have thicker bodies, more like those of the LP / Yamaha SG, where the 26** series had thinner bodies. Some of the previous reissues of their 70's/80's range guitars have been superb, so I wouldn't expect anything less from these.

Did you use some buttah?

Yup, Ric 4004Cii. There was an interview with him a while back in BGM (can't remember his name... Andy ?).

Got a Thomann pedal bag when I got my HD500x, extra large pocket on the front, so leads, PSU & other stuff goes in there. Sorted.

Bizarrely enough, I've just bought a Mono Betty strap from Amazon for £35, including free postage. Bargain, seeing as they're about £42 everywhere else.

Yup, can totally agree with that, but I could do with a decent amp as well. Maybe some other stuff... Dunno, I quite fancy another bike as well. It's your money, do what you will with it, and enjoy.

Can't remember which song it was, but one of the Sia songs, the backing track was samples of her voice. Thought that was brilliant and creative.

Get the info up on the many UK Instrument groups on Facebook. Usually a pretty good way of letting people know, and the thieves will probably try to flog them via Facebook.

The miming was one of the best bits of Top of the Pops

Can any one recommend a good, reasonably priced online string retailer? Looked at all the usual suspects, like Stringbusters, Strings Direct, eBay, etc., but are there any others out there that folk use and can recommend? All this talk of string brands, and the qualities of the different lines makes me want investigate various options.

Always used to find Stadium Elites quite bright, and stayed bright for quite a while. I'll also second Lozz & SH's recommendation of Roto RS66's. Fender Stainless Steel's stay pretty bright too.

Every MB4 as well.

Is there a bass somewhere that doesn't play like a dream? I think I've owned quite a few of them over the years!

Good to hear a positive Ric owner story! Welcome!

Tha reet cocker? Welcome!

Always liked Elites & Roto's, but I'm sticking with my Fender's just now.

The thing that gets me, when you rip a CD to MP3 for the car, is the change of volume from album to album. Even the ones that claim to be 'remastered'. Minor OT whinge, sorry. Yes, there are quite a few bands albums that I can sit through without skipping a track, but like a lot of other responses, I'm another 40-something who grew up with vinyl and cassettes before CD's became the norm. Can't match the Delberthot's boast of 24 albums without skipping though.

I still regret selling my good old MIJ Tokai Love Rock, it played superbly, looked ace and sounded monstrous with a set of BKP Emerald's in it. It was so good, I sold my Gibson LP Studio because it wasn't getting used. I had quite a few Tokai's, but none of them were quite as good as "Bluey". I also managed to pick up a couple of Gordon Smith Graduate 60's, one in black which I sold on to a mate, and the other with a stunning pommelle nato veneer top (kind of like a birds eye burl type). Superb guitar, unfortunately, it was bought as a back up to the blue Tokai, so didn't get used as much as it should have, and subsequently sold on (to another friend).

After 30-odd years of using a plain, single ply leather strap, thought it might be time to invest in some padding for my shoulder. Ordered a Mono GS1 today. Seen a few that look very promising too. The Kliq one looks good, as does the Ibanez Bass Works one (they also do one with extra padding). The Comfort Strapp one looks pretty good too. Wait for the Mono to arrive & see what I think to that.