Rich

I'm quite taken with some of the examples of 'steampunk' instruments I've seen online. I'm half tempted to have a go at a mild steampunking of a bass, as it would fit quite well with the quasi-Victorian/Edwardian stage image I'm currently putting together for one of my bands. Have any of you lovely people ever done anything in a similar vein? I don't envisage doing anything quite as complex as this Jazz, but I am quite taken with the milder look that's been done to this Tele.

What do you understand the term "luthier" to mean?

Scarlet - Rolling Stones ft. Jimmy Page

Same bass, same cab, I don't drink

Oh I do love a sweeping generalisation.

I was really hoping nobody would ask me that... TBH it was just one of those je ne sais quoi things, an indefinable 'something'. Perhaps it was the EQ centres, I don't know. But even with the EQ flat it just sounded... better. I'm sorry for the vagueness, I wish I could nail it down.

I spent a very pleasant day with @MoJoKe a couple of years or so ago trying out the Marcus heads, and was really impressed. I far preferred them to the 'ordinary' MB amps. I was completely sold, and intended pulling the trigger on a Marcus 800 head until a Shuttle 9.2 came along at a price I couldn't resist.

Not really an issue unless the OP's going to be skiing, which he hasn't mentioned. I know I wouldn't... I like mountaintops, and have never seen the sense in throwing myself off a perfectly good one

Likewise with my Line 6 G55. First thing I did was get one of obbm's excellent braided cables to replace it. FWIW I've had Trantec, Nady, Shure, Ashdown and AKG wireless sets in the past and the G55 is better than all of them. The Ashdown was totally unfit for its purpose, just made a wall of noise with a mangled signal. For rehearsals I've got one of those tiny cheapo Ammoon rechargeable sets** in the gig bag and it does fine for that. If I was buying a new wireless now I'd definitely investigate that Harley Barley one, it'd fit a treat on my wee pedalboard and would free up rack space. ** apparently they do a 5.8GHz one now too. Interesting.

My practice amp is a Behringer BX600 60-watt 1x12 combo. Remarkably heavy, but also remarkably loud for its size -- it's easily loud enough for rehearsals with my horn-sectioned band. I found the sound to be a bit muddy though, so I added a crossover and bullet tweeter and now the tone is really pretty good. Including the mods, it owes me about 40 quid.

The Trail of the Lonesome Pine - Henry Burr and Albert Campbell

And that's before we even touch on the whole art of proper mic technique. Some people are totally clueless there.

...apart from the fact that a properly-played one is a great thing to have.

Weirdo - The Charlatans

Not strictly a covers band. They released a number of albums of original material too. The purely Hendrix and ZZ Top stuff came later.

One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer - Amos Milburn

Glass half empty... it's an unpaid gig. Glass half full... it's a free rehearsal space.

Good score! Congrats. I suspect that will be pretty much impossible.

Yes, we appear to have a persistent one...

Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines - O.S.T.

I’ve been to several great gigs, but there are a few real stand-outs... It Bites at the Astoria on the Once Around The World tour, just unbelievable... Level 42 back in the very early 80s when they were still "who?"... probably the single best one was Mike Stern at the Jazz Café. MS was absolutely on fire that night, plus he had Alain Caron on bass, the best fretless playing I have ever seen... one of AC’s solos was so damned melodic, the tune actually got stuck in my head and I found myself whistling it next day. Worst/most disappointing gig ever was Pat Metheny's Trio, 10th April 2000, Birmingham Symphony Hall. A great trio, Pat with Larry Grenadier & Bill Stewart, it should have been amazing... but I have never in all my days seen such a poor choice of venue. A jazz trio in a gigantic symphony hall, FFS. Place was 80% empty and there was absolutely zero atmosphere. The same band & set at Ronnie Scott's would have been superb, but as it was it was flatter than a crepe. In fact, 'crepe' pretty much sums it up as a live experience.

I saw Dream Theater on their Scenes From A Memory tour (oh my god, 21 years ago...). 1st set, the SFAM album in its entirety... short break... 2nd set, 60+ mins of greatest hits. Amazing gig, and a good compromise I think.

29 Palms - Robert Plant

The truly awesome Becky Baldwin depped for me once. I was amazed (and bloody lucky) that I kept the job..!