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One thing we should do next year is a group photo!

Dont get me wrong, im not knocking the Cali, just making a point that no one NEEDS to spend that much to get a good comp, but we are willing to pay what it takes for something we want. If it doesn't workout, then we can sell it on, but we have to give it a go first otherwise we will never know....Mr Krow lol. The Cali has a good rep, and because of its heritage i think people take notice of it so do try it Some move on, others dont. I dont think the SD will ever achieve cult status, or possibly be used by 1000's of people (although web forums are not a true indication IMO) like, say the Sansamp stuff, but there must be 1000's of pedals out there that people spend a fortune on, that wouldn't suit the majority of us. £185 is a small price for me to pay for the conveniences ive listed. Your right, i have spent a lot this year. i work it out at around about £800, just on pedals alone. I have a drawer full of 'mistakes' that i really should sell (no, not the draw itself I would assume there will be a Spectradrive owners club over on TB, they like that sort of thing, and if not ill start one lol. Cheers. All those points were just relative to me. I must admit before getting it i was hoping for, if not better, different to how its turned out. My first post on here about it said i wanted it for home practice. This still stands and for this i cant knock it. My comments about the B3n were just observations. Im 100% happy that the SD does what it does. I cant really mark it down for not having something its not be advertised as having. Battery would be nice, digital effects other than tone prints would be nice, a bit of reverb on the headphone out would be nice, lots of missing things would be nice, but then we are talking about a different box. The things that impressed me the most were how much better my basic clean tone sounded, and how much better my other boxes sounded after it. This, to me is its killer feature for live use. It can colour the tone by using Spectracomp and OD, but even with the SC turned right down, and the EQ set almost flat (if that exists, maybe it doesn't) the low notes had more clarity, and the higher note more punch, than with the box bypassed. I even found i was backing the Low off a bit, and rather than just having less low end, it seemed to be more adding clarity to those notes, without losing the heft. Again, this is all how it sounded to my ears and its only the one rehearsal. The fact that all this takes up one space on my board means it works for me. I can guarantee i will still have this box at the end of the year, along with my Aftershock.

Piano players who say they're keyboard players, but they're piano players. Playing two hands 8+ note pad chords and all over the bass. Not learning the part so busking it, getting it wrong and me getting a bollocking from the other guys for playing the wrong bass notes!! Music stand and book the size of a house - learn the effing parts!! Its not rocket science. Turning up and setting up more gear than a 70's Rick Wakeman rig right across the stage before the PA is in. But learn the parts!!! I quit a band because of this, the rest couldn't see what the issue was, so I walked.

Guitarist - a nice guy and a pretty decent player, but... He suffers from the usual guitard volume control issues. He has 2 amps, one for lead and one for rhythm (as you do), with an extra extension cab thrown in for good measure... it is quite the 'wall of sound' at times. He also has a pedal board the size of a small principality. Invariably, as part of his low grade river dance performance, he will hit the wrong pedal, usually during some critical point in a quieter song, creating the sound of a flock seagulls being macerated by a combine harvester. The sheer number of pedals (20 +, I tried counting them all but got bored) also results in frequent patch lead/power failures, again leading to new and exciting 'sound textures' in unexpected places. At rehearsals, he frequently launches into an unnecessary solo performance of some dubious cover version (Phil bloody Collins anyone?) between our tunes, and seems to find this highly amusing. We are an all originals band. No one else is laughing much. Like I said, generally a nice guy, but hard work at times...

They were friendly with me when I went in there a decade ago, to an extent that I still remember it now. I had the requisite bored girlfriend and time-waster countenance, but I ended up spending quite a lot of money in the end.

Likewise, I was very pleased that the "two years' free service" they always talk about at the till is always properly honoured. They were really helpful when the preamp was on the blink in my Corvette a couple of years ago - sadly, compared to some other retailers (not just of guitars), it seemed like a nice touch that they phoned me up to apologise for a bit of a delay because they'd had to order in a replacement part! Unfortunately I think I might have been in there too often - I phoned ahead last time to see about part-exchanging a bass, and I think the guy recognised my voice...

If you love it, then play it. End of.

You are forming part of a Faraday cage, so as long as it is metal it should be OK

Just watched this demo and I must say I’m very impressed. If it’s as good as it seems, this is a strong contender for the ultimate bedroom/practice amp!

Same here, wireless at almost all gigs so there's no lead tangling round my leg and all the leads I plug into my bass for rehearsals and for the occasional ultra-simple gig (bass straight to amp) have Van Damme cables and silent jacks at the bass end. Although I could do with knocking up a silent jack lead to run to the Smoothhound.

I didn’t say buy! trade counts!

That looks amazing. Great stuff 👍🏻

Your funk knows no bounds dude

Just got tracking info from G4M. My new TC power supply will be delivered tomorrow. Thats very good service. I think the PSU alone costs abuout £29. I feel a bit guilty as I doubt I’ll ever use either of them, I’ve been using my 1 spot at home, but it’s nice to have the correct PSU I guess.

Any Phil Jones combo

Here it is paired with a 102HF Limited Edition. Seriously good tones, and very loud for a single 2x10!

Terry is one of my local Luthiers...has done work for me, Lozz and a number of my friends. Nice to see a classic bass resurrected...

Welcome to the family!

I LOVE MINE. The fuzz can get really sputtery, and nasty and sounds amazing in front of a filter. The octave side is clean and fat and very OC2 like. the only reason i havent got mine on the board is that 2 sided pedals dont fit in with my modular ES8 pedalboard approach. using each side in isolation would involve more tap dancing than i like and opens up the mid set errors that i try so hard to avoid

Oh, just heard back from G4M, they are sending out a UK PSU for it.

I note the word 'spree' is only ever used in 'killing spree' OR 'shopping spree'... although this morning I went on an impromptu 'farting spree'. Does this count?

No reason to really, but i always try and get an idea of what a box can, and cant do before i get it. The PR blurb always makes things sound perfect, but my experience tells me there is always going to be a small feature that doesn't work quite as expected and can make the whole thing unusable.

What could possibly go wrong with that.

It’s a steer that I got from @Norris

If you're ever in the Dorchester area (you're not a million miles away) I can measure the T-S parameters of the Epifani driver for you. By the way, this thread is still ongoing. We're working away in the background to finalise the lightweight version of our 12" cab. Watch this space.

Mick's been relying on a stunt drummer more and more recently. I guess age gets to all of us...

According to various films and interviews he's been a royal PIA for many years. I'm surprised to hear he was still part of the band.

No but my interest is in trying to sound better. IMO if you can sound this good playing at home why settle for anything less.

I agree time they called it a day , they haven't done a good album in years , I love crowded house and would also of preferred a new crowded house album

If that is what the song/video is about and its bought our attention to the subject then surely the song is already working as intended? We will be rebuilding all these factories soon anyway so I'm told, once we "take back control" we won't be buying anything from outside Britain, back to the good old days, I've already got the Morris minor and a flat cap!

This, as I've also said previously. We should sticky the last line.

Heh, I sent an email to @Chownybass yesterday asking for an update on delivery of the latest batch of SWB Pros and I was sent a link to the Marine Traffic website so I could see where the container ship carrying the consignment was. Fantastic, I can now see just how slowly these ships move, ha ha. I have, like the sad trainspotter I am, downloaded the Marine Traffic app and I can report that the bass is in the Indian Ocean south of Oman heading this way at 13.5 knots. I'm beginning to love this company and I haven’t played one of their basses yet!

My new one, a De Gier Origin Deluxe Fretless 6 originally made for Matze Bangert in 2009, another great player from Sander :

Spending lots of cash doesn't guarantee you'll get a bass you'll like. I've found this out to my cost with 2x Wals, a Ritter and a Roscoe. On the other hand, every Bass Collection Nanyo I've picked up has felt so right. My Korean Spectors are just as playable as my USA ones - so they went. Find what YOU want - don't feel that what works for others will work for you.

Got round to taking a couple of photo's outside now.

I was at first - my brother had scoliosis as a child leading to a big op when he was 12/13. Then I realised that the bumps in the road have led him to be a successful and happily married man. challenges build character - so Iris will have lots of it 😏 thanks for the kind words, she’s a clever little thing and I hope she continues to surprise us.

I'm not sure that I'd agree, there. Non-musical cymbals will tire the ear very quickly, in whatever circumstances, in my experience. Musicality does not come cheap, as with all other domains, but there's not much to be done to 'improve' a duff cymbal except not play it. The best-sounding ones for one's pocket, I'd say, and preferably compatible with the rest of the cymbal set. They are an integral part of the kit, after all. Listen to 'em, and reject any that don't sound musical (unless playing absolute 'trash'-style, of course, in which case all bets are off..! )

That headstock shape is nice. A lot of the non-fender shapes are awful, but I like that a lot.

Once the dinosaurs and their "I need my sound out front blasted from an 8x10 in the corner of the room regardless of the size of the venue" have died out I think setups like this will be common place, looks great.