Big_Stu

[quote name='ShergoldSnickers' timestamp='1355058769' post='1893418'] Castle speakers.... respect. Used to be made in Yorkshire too.[/quote] Yeah, Skipton - not far from me now, then they were bought in to Edinburgh. With ref to the "running-in" thread I was told to give them 5-6 weeks of a few hours a day until cranking them. One day I forgot & switched the sources without thinking (the CD has an in built remote volume, the tuner didn't) and boom! Hendrix very loud! Before I could react one speaker was farting enough to damage the ozone layer. The shop wouldn't entertain me, & gave me Castle's number, Castle asked for the s/n off the back & I was put thru' to the guy who actually built them - we arranged a return & they replaced the woofer under guarantee .......... after I'd convinced him "honest guv, I was listening to Ladysmith Black Mambaso when it happened".....to which I got a very quizzical "Hmmm" in response. I've treated them with kid gloves ever since & was very disappointed to hear they'd been bought out by a Chinese company. [quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1355059067' post='1893424']Then you are a lucky, lucky man. I spent a good part of the late 70s and early 80s returning poor pressings and copies that had obviously been played to death in the shop before being sold. And it wasn't just records on independent labels that had gone to the cheapest pressing plants. Pretty much anything on EMI or its subsidiaries would be suspect for pressing quality.[/quote] Obviously different markets ............. and maybe explains why my copy of Cliff's "Wired For Sound" is maybe needing rewired. A few years ago I found a copy of Sandy Nelson's hits from IIRC 1959, still in it's original seal, for a tenner. Now THAT sounds pristinely clear & is one that I have to give the turntable a hand to get going. [quote name='ShergoldSnickers' timestamp='1355058769' post='1893418'] Castle speakers.... respect. Used to be made in Yorkshire too.[/quote] Yeah, Skipton - not far from me now, then they were bought in to Edinburgh. With ref to the "running-in" thread I was told to give them 5-6 weeks of a few hours a day until cranking them. One day I forgot & switched the sources without thinking (the CD has an in built remote volume, the tuner didn't) and boom! Hendrix very loud! Before I could react one speaker was farting enough to damage the ozone layer. The shop wouldn't entertain me, & gave me Castle's number, Castle asked for the s/n off the back & I was put thru' to the guy who actually built them - we arranged a return & they replaced the woofer under guarantee .......... after I'd convinced him "honest guv, I was listening to Ladysmith Black Mambaso when it happened".....to which I got a very quizzical "Hmmm" in response. I've treated them with kid gloves ever since & was very disappointed to hear they'd been bought out by a Chinese company.

[quote name='ShergoldSnickers' timestamp='1355057165' post='1893373']For anyone interested, the deck is a Linn with Ittok LV II arm and Adikt cartridge, the CD player is an Arcam alpha 7SE.[/quote] Well that kicks my Rega's arse sideways but it does for me....... I've got the Marantz 63 KI Sig CD deck, thru Castle Severn 2 speakers, bi-wired.

[quote name='PaulWarning' timestamp='1355056120' post='1893355'] [u]all this is true of course[/u], that's what makes me think it may be a nostalgia thing, or it could be analogue is cutting out 2 processes which could be responsible for a loss of something, the conversion from anaolgue to digital and back again. I'll perhaps go out and buy a modern recording on vinyl and see what that sounds like, anybody done this?[/quote] No it isn't, not by a long stretch, but it's easy to exagerate an issue if you have a point to attempt to make. In over 30 years of buying vinyl I have only once had to return a record to the shop due to damage & I still have the replacement they gave me. I also have albums on RCA & Polydor (orig. mint copy of Bowie's Aladdin Sane which is way superior to my CD copy of the same, among others) which are every bit as physically heavy as the hi-fi grade 180gm "heavyweight vinyl" that is sold now on reissues. Nor, once I left my more carefree/careless teens, do I have any records which pop, click or anything else, because I know how to look after them. I have often had visitors say that it sounds as clear of noise as a CD. I have matched the quality of my kit with a more than worthwhile CD deck, so I do find CD obviously more convenient for use - it also gives me a great opportunity to compare recordings of identical albums across two & on rare occasions three formats. (By comparison my recording of Carmen, for eg, on cassette is woeful, the sound is thin, lacking in depth & bass but it was all the shop had at the time, vinyl or CD of it is on my to-do list) As a listening experience vinyl has the edge on kit of comparable quality, but it is a PITA to get it going.

[quote name='LawrenceH' timestamp='1355006885' post='1892995']I think the idea that no manufacturers ever put any thought into their cab designs whatsoever beyond appearance, is a bit of a sweeping generalisation.[/quote] I will add however, that that certainly isn't what I said or wanted to infer. But I have seen it written, in a guitar mag many years ago, as a quote of Jim Marshall's, when asked about how he calculated the dynamics & acoustics of his amps when he first started out with such humble facilities, that the side panels were just what he had lying around after doing a job. (IIRC the measurement was 14", but I don't have an early Marshall cab around to check to) There was no science to it. Just one manufacturer amongst many, but he was one of the first......... and they're still a market leader with afficianos desperate to buy those early cabs that so many huge stars made their names playing thru'.

[quote name='LawrenceH' timestamp='1355006885' post='1892995'] Hi Stu, that'll be nauseating people like me then? I do go on a bit sorry! [/quote] Actually no, Though in a thread along similar lines I did see a line along the lines of "the OP should get on & play until it becomes an issue" which I would agree with most of the time.. Personally - after many long years & variety of SS & valve amps, combos, cabs of various layouts & impedences I still wouldn't put myself up as a technical authority. But for someone just starting out - or without the experience of such variations I would compare it to buying a car. All of the parts of a showroom model are designed, by experts to work in the most efficient way that the designer intended, some parts made in-house, many are bought in to match a spec, but there are still some who will put a bigger engine in the model to get better performance, or remove parts that they believe will make it work better. There are also some who will make a part which works better but which makes a lot of noise, many times that new noise isn't pleasing to the ear of many who hear it. It all depends on whether you want to run a car as it was intended to, be more efficient with possible after-effects be they good or bad ................ or drive along in second with your foot to the floor, thinking you look & sound the absolute bollox to all around you when in actual fact you just sound like a **** who doesn't know how gears work. NOT a perfect analogy I know, but it works in a few ways. Personally (again) for the OP I'd say yes it is a safe point to take until you feel the urge to experiment more with your sound & by finding out what sound you want, listen; listen a hell of a lot to what you like & take notes of who makes what & what they actually are............. and of course the old adage that much of any sound you admire is in the fingers of the guy/gal playing it.

I have in the past and been rewarded with a handful or so of work-mates who have "had an old guitar in the back of a cupboard that crackles when I play it can you have a look at it for me?" scenarios.

Haven't got a treble control to turn down, or a bass to turn up My amp is straight through, just as it was intended, or at least how the manufacturers tastes would have me believe it was intended. Though I can hear a huge difference between many versions of the same recording on vinyl/CD more than a few times has been because of remixing by other engineers years after the original was made. It's all down to personal preferences all along the line and years - right up until it reaches your ears.

Also bear in mind that the dimensions of one of - if the THE - best selling speaker cabinets, which is practically a household name, of all time was created entirely by accident, according to it's builder, as it was the width of the pieces of wood that just happened to be lying around at the time. ..........................And that there are some on here who like nothing better than to showcase their alleged knowledge........... ad nauseum.

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1354990904' post='1892761'] I've had that style of trussrod adjustment on a couple of Italian basses (Ghersons). Very simple to operate... in fact, [i][b]too [/b][/i]simple to operate. It wouldn't be at all difficult to overtighten and potentially snap the trussrod. [/quote] A luthier once told me that the trick with a truss rod was to only ever turn them a quarter turn at most & leave it a day to settle - under tension - before adjusting again if needed, in the same way. I still never tried it, I've never had to. I kinda assumed - maybe wrongly - that that was an explanation for the design of the wheel method.

[quote name='Billy Apple' timestamp='1354984750' post='1892667'] Cheers Stu. I'm thinking that this is the right way. Bit of a faff like, but as you say, that's why it was moved. Although, having it at the heel must give a stronger head-stock join. [/quote] Did Fender ever replace the flush screw head with one that stuck out with holes drilled through it; you stuck a rod/screwdriver in it & turned, which meant not having to loosen the neck. I've seen copies with them (Kay for eg.) but dunno about Fenders. Might be possible to have it converted if it becomes an issue - though some might say they're fugly? Comme ca?

I read in a Fender book years ago that that was the reason for the move to the head. It said that it was adjusted by slackening the strings, slackening off rather than removing the pocket screws until the slot was clear of the body, making the truss adjustment & then reversing the process; repeat as necessary. My guess is in the pioneering days of the early Fender, choices of string gauge, action height etc wasn't as widely thought of as it is now, so it was a hassle you only had to go through once or twice in your playing life. It may be users since have heard of another method since, but I haven't heard of one.

[quote name='MiltyG565' timestamp='1354626893' post='1888291']Chinese medicine just seems to work.[/quote] http://www.savingrhinos.org/rhino-extinction-crisis.html http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1252500/Exposed-Dark-secret-farm-tigers-bodies-plundered-make-185-wine.html http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v484/n7395/full/484455c.html http://www.theanimalfiles.com/mammals/cetaceans/yangtze_river_dolphin.html

Holy thread revival! I'm surprised there isn't a carbon-graphite bowl-back, get one knocked up & patented quick!

[quote name='leschirons' timestamp='1354818992' post='1890883']As an aside, I saw the video and couldn't believe he'd more than ruined a classic Eric & Ernie number so he wouldn't have got my vote anyway. [/quote] Hot dog! It's the Soggy Bottom Boys! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qerg0LyLi6c

[quote name='silddx' timestamp='1354808262' post='1890676'] I'm too busy to post 22 rants a day like I used to mate [/quote] silddx mellows in his outlook, skies have fallen, empires have collapsed, ............... Burnley will win at home!!!!!!

Not like you to be so slow at responding Nige where a diatribe is due? As for the OP I found it a perfect example of why so much modern media is bollox, not least that to even enter a vote - notwithstanding all of Nige's post above - you have to "like" Louisiana Travel -[i] if I may borrow your "WT actual F" for a second please Nige? [/i] A classic example of why I was so glad that this forum had the good taste to reject the trialled "like" system on here. ........... and for that reason ...... I'm out![i] ...... damn, damn, wrong over exposed, good idea at the start but spoilt by the mainstream TV show.[/i]

From what I've seen over a couple of years or so, this is the place to come to for a full & frank opinion on any item you may wish to buy or at least audition. No-one with their eye on commission, or what brands they have in stock, & happy to give good, bad or indifferent experience. You'd struggle to find a shop that doesn't have a hint of any of those points, or others negatives, and any comparable site with such experience comes with a free American slant to all views. There is nowhere that can offer such a service, & so - regardless of whether I place ads or not - I'd be happy to pay a regular annual subscription of £10-£20 no problem. I don't see the direct connection between paying and placing adverts, we all buy something bass related somewhere or other every year, if advice on here stops you buying cheap crap strings not worth a Donald (for eg.) then you've got your subs back already.

[quote name='bobpalt' timestamp='1354794220' post='1890395'] we sometimes agree to knock two or three hundred off the standard price, but invariably when we get there we find that the wedding is of the millionaires type with money thrown about[/quote] Being able to get you to do that is why they are able to do the second bit.

[quote name='SlapbassSteve' timestamp='1354753095' post='1890147']MDP-style handiwork![/quote] That guy is going to pass as much into the national vocabulary as MDF, PDF, or GDP have done. QED.

Depending on whether they have a sale on you can sometimes get it for a lot less if they have the 4-way extension reels in that use it. Not that it breaks the bank at normal prices that is.

In some cultures it's considered rude not to try to haggle; which I found out to my cost (not literally) when I did a job for a mate of mine. Some of the stuff that's said can sound a bit soap-opera-ish, which on here might be seen as a gross insult, eg. "you take the food from the mouths of my children".

[quote name='Telebass' timestamp='1354551253' post='1887244'] I've bottled out.[/quote] You were in the Air Force and you've bottled out? Hardly cricket old boy! poor show! definitely second eleven don't you know, what? daga-daga-daga-daga-daga-daga-daga-daga-daga-daga-daga

[quote name='ped' timestamp='1354634799' post='1888447'] Hi mate Thanks for this - remember the key is simplicity, though. This would be very difficult to enforce with basic software.[/quote] I made the assumption that it would be the same procedure as banning people from OT, (for eg.) ........ ........though that does have the knock-on effect of also banning the user from several other areas which they may have been able to make useful contributions to.

There's already a fair bit of "why not this", "why not that", & "that wouldn't work because", which generally means that someone will think whatever system used is unfair. IME it's usually having a tiered system of charging (in any scenario) that creates a feeling of "was it worth it to me personally?" In that respect (edit: using the KISS theory) I would say that a simple % of the selling price is paid on a sale being made, anyone not forwarding said amount is blocked from future sales until it is. Yes, you may get some who will come on for just one sale & disappear again, but as has been said many times on here, the forum is pretty good at self-policing, so any newbie's aren't going to be trusted upfront if they start pushing a high value sale straight off. The theory of Ebay having a wider audience, is IMHO, offset by the users of this forum being overwhelmingly more trustworthy than many of the faceless rogues who pop up in the Ebay thread.

[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1354614920' post='1887965'] ....any Prog Rock tribute band is playing 'Regressive Rock'? [/quote] ............ only if they're unlearning what they know at the same time, or as they play they start remembering that they were Julius Caesar in a previous life.