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Pleased to say Iris came home after 6 weeks in hospital and 5 operations (the first of which at 2 days old was a gruelling 9 1/2 hours). She’s doing great and it’s lovely to have her home.

Dropped the Mrs at the gym and thought I'd pop into the LGS which is only a couple of minutes round the corner. Just browsing - mostly at guitars when I came across the Mockingbird MK3 below. It looked stunning so I tried it and loved it. It's a bit neck divey as you would imagine , but sustains forever and has an awesome array of tones. I wouldn't have ever imagined buying a BC Rich but it wasn't what I expected at all. The shop had set it up perfectly too. I now feel compelled to put gold strings on it (it's an obsession) It was marked up at £500 so a quick google found it for £386 in Thomann and the LGS (Sound Affects) matched the price. A good days work !

Hang on - is that an Amazon Echo on his coffee table...

Have you tried offering to help carry the stuff to the car, you know, don't leave it all for her to do? I mean, don't strain yourself, obviously ...

Ok I do know it’s been a while ive finished grain filling finally and I’m sanding off the residue one trick I’ve learned is to wipe white spirit over to show the grain and highlight spots that need more filler or sanding. Monday is final sanding and sanding sealer

Cheeky interim purchase before my ACG arrives. Cheers Jonze! This is a 2006 CIJ Mustang, always fancied one, and the wife has a couple of bass gigs (she plays a Mustang guitar), so made sense! Liking the Fiesta Red more than I thought I would, but was the right price, so don’t care either way! Cleaned up the fingerboard (needed a little TLC), fitted some La Bella Mustang Flatwounds, overall a very cool bass Si

Today I took the glued bodies out of clamps and trimmed the excess with the bandsaw. Then I flushed the tops on the router table, when I looked at them I had an "Oh heck!" moment as there was what appeared to be an open glue line all around the join but when I sanded a bit of the top op the disc sander it turned out to be just a little glue that had discoloured the back at the very corner and comes out with the slightest sanding, PHEW LOL; that had me going for a few seconds. You can see the line in the photographs, it looks just like an open glue line, in hindsight there was no way that I could have ended up with an open glue line but I still fell for it. Next I scribed a line at 49mm all around which will be the line to carve the top to but also the line at which the bottom of the fretboard will sit at the neck body interface. I marked the position of the neck joint and pickup pocket routs and drilled out the waste to cut back on the amount of noise from the router. I fixed the routing jig to the body with a couple of screws, one through the point of the bridge and one near the edge where the wood will be carved away so no holes will be left after the body's done. I routed the neck joint on one body but then realised I had made the jig too shallow for the pickup pockets so I made a perspex spacer, I'll fit that and finish the routing tomorrow. The weather picked up so we went for a walk on the beach, it seemed a lot more fun than woodwork

The internet is a big place. If people want to aggressively argue about politics, religion or the more toxic stuff there's a lot of places they can go to do that whilst being as sweary as their imagination allows.

Given the presence of the 'Report' button plus the introduction of the 'Like' system, it would hardly be beyond the wit of Basschat for such a section to be largely self-moderating. As a doting Dad I am well aware of the need to keep children away from bad language. After all, who ever heard a teenager swear? But recent polls seem to have shown fairly conclusively that being over-run with little children is not a problem that need concern us. Seeing as we are overwhelmingly a bunch of mature grown-ups, why not treat us that way?

Pickguard arrived in the post today - Cheers @Jono Bolton so while I wait for the other chrome work to arrive...I stuck it on.

Stumbled across this and found it an interesting little read so thought I would share in case anyone else was interested. http://rumblinman-blog.tumblr.com/post/62650774540/the-bassist-within-elvis-presley

And, it arrived this morning 😁

Whatever the hiding place was you got the PA out of, just put your missus back in it. Job done!

Most people will have their favourite era, usually according to what age they are. So no, I don't agree with Roger Daltry.

Hey there. Mustang and precision user here who plays both flats and rounds here. I’ve actually tried to do the same thing (albeit with a 34 not 35), maybe I can offer some thoughts. First, though, let me try to “manage your expectations” a bit. What you are looking for is going to be tough. I think that you are going to have a hard time getting the 35 scale bass with flats to feel a lot like a short scale with those strings on it. You probably know this, but as a rule (darn physics), short scale basses like the Mustang will have lower tension for the same pitch and gauge as a longer scale bass. That’s why players often find SS to be “loose”, “floppy”, or lacking a “tight low end.” Moving to 35 will be the exact opposite—higher tension for the same pitch. Your particulars are more complicated because the gauges you note of the strings are unusual. Most sets with 45 top end have 100 or 105 on the bottom end. (At least the ones I’ve played and the ones I saw on a quick check of GHS's site.) So, you have even lower tension in the low end than normal because the string is smaller gauge. Add to that you'll be switching from rounds to flats. Most players find flats much stiffer than rounds because of the square vs round winding. They simply bend less with equal force applied to them. So, no only will tension be different, but flexibility will differ, too. All in all, a tricky thing you are asking. Going from what is a very, very soft feeling spec to what is usually a pretty stiff spec. My best recommendation would be LaBella low tension flexible flats. They are on the light side of what you can find in the world of flats (42x100), but are built with a layer of silk in between the middle and outer windings, which improves flexibility. In my experience, they are the softest feeling flats. They also sound nice and thumpy, with the classic flats sound. Plus, they as soooo smooth. They feel like you’re playing a silk shirt. TI Jazz flats are also popular because of their softer feel, because they have a similar winding approach. A bit heavier, and more expensive. But wonderful. So, to get a soft feel, those are probably your best options. Both sets also have “oddly guaged” middle string compared to other sets, to balance out the feel, which is nice. For comparison, I recently strung a through-body bass with extra light LaBellas because the bridge couldn’t take top load, and very few companies make flats that work though-body. Even though they were lighter gauge, they felt stiffer. (Ended up swapping the bridge so I could use LTFFs on it!) Like @fretlessguyI also use GHS precision flatwounds. And I really like them. They are, though, a bit stiffer than the LaBella LTFFs. But I use them on my fretless, where I don’t feel the stiffness as much (and I think it actually helps increase the mwah). And they have more in the upper midrange than the LaBella/TIs—“zingier”—which is great on fretless. They would be a good option, too. So, going from a very soft, round wound, short scale to an extra long scale with flats, I think the LaBella LTFFs will be your best bet. In my experience, they won’t get you all the way to the same feel, but as close as you can get. Sorry. Probably more info than you needed there. But it’s a tricky jump you are trying. Knowledge is power and all that... Good luck with the quest! P.S.: this focused pretty much on feel alone, because that’s the tricky part. Forgot tone. In the end, flats will never sound like rounds. Just different animals. So, if you like the sound of rounds, stick with Boomers on the long scale bass.

In a recent post on another topic recounting how generally pleased I was with the RM 500 EVO I'd bought from a fellow BCer, I included the following negative comment: "Only thing I can fault is the relatively noisy fan - not really a problem in the gigs I do but is that normal?" This was picked up by Ashdown, who promptly posted an offer to replace my fan foc, acknowledging that a few amps did go out with noisy fans before the problem was sorted. To cut a short story even shorter, I gratefully accepted the offer, sent the amp back to Ashdown, they received it yesterday - and it was delivered back to me THIS MORNING complete with a new fan!!! The fact that Ashdown took the trouble to monitor this forum and volunteered a free fix to an owner who didn't even buy the amp new is just astonishingly, astoundingly, unbelievably awesome: respect! (Btw the fan is now as quiet as on any amp I've ever owned.)

Well, the ill-fated gig I referred to above did take place, once we'd found the venue! Sat nav said I was there as I drove along a main road surrounded by fields, eventually found it by trial and error (rather a nice Oxford pub by the river) and a little later the guitarists (travelling separately) arrived. Surprised to find we were outside, squeezed into a small three-side structure, so I couldn't hear anything except drums and one guitar. Apparently sounded fine to the audience, as a couple of local musos we know were there to hear us. Not the best gig I've played, but not the worst either. At least we were spared a gigless weekend.

Great news, great pic and hopefully you'll find time to get back into playing again but family first and foremost and focus on them before you start looking. Keep us all posted on how things go and wishing you and the family all our best wishes. Dave and Mrs Dave 😃

That looks the business- I want one now! I am a big fan of gold anodized plates, too.

Good evening, Knirirr, and ... Plenty to read and amuse you here, and lots to learn and share.

Well, it seems the cok ups hadn't finished, we had arranged to go and jam at pub and no, just a couple of hours before I set off, I get a call from the BL to say the first pub's just called to him to confirm we're still playing there! Had to make a few calls, get the troops back and ready to play a full gig. At least we'll be getting paid now! And we have our excellent Australian guitarist with us again. 40mins later...now turns out we haven't got a drummer as he had been stood down last night and has taken something else. Going to be an interesting evening! And now we have tracked down a former drummer (probably hiding down the back of the sofa) so I won't be the only member of tonight's rhythm section! It's all go over here in Oxfordshire!!

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Already debating how to get back playing 🤦🏻‍♂️

Nice Job! I love trios. Blue

My personal view (and so not necessarily that of the Mods nor Admins...) is that there is enough diversity and richness in language (English and others...) to allow one's feelings, however strong, to be adequately expressed without resorting to vulgarity. Use, or worse still, over-use, of bad language diminishes my opinion of the author (that this matters little to them I'm quite aware, but still...). There are perhaps occasions when comic effect could, maybe, justify writing in that manner, but they are, I reckon, rather rare, and all the more effective by being so. It will be understood, then, that I am for keeping the profanity filter, hoping that it never need be invoked.

Very pleased for you Andy and what a little cracker

The Jesus Plank?

I'm on a forum which encourages outspoken debate - it is monopolised by the same dreary long winded posters all the time & is totally tedious.......... 😪

I see your conundrum, no shortage of 8-hole SSS guards, or 11-hole HSS ones. Vinyl wrap?

Some sooper-dooper DI boxes can add something to your original signal (let's go for a cliche here, how about "a warm valve sound") but that rather pre-supposes that you feel your original signal is lacking that something. I use passive non-valve Radial boxes which don't interfere with the signal (at least, not in way that I can detect) on the basis that, if I'm recording something, then what I want to record is me and what I really sound like.

I bought one of those, same colour too (but original whiteish pickguard) last year [*] Really nice. It was incredibly light too. Good buy! [*] actually it wasn't for me. My girlfriend plays bass a bit and she's been looking for another bass as the one she had just wasn't what she liked. One day she told me she had seen a beautiful bass on the window of a second hand shop, went in and tried it, and she fell in love: it was very light, it played very nicely, sounded good... So she was a bit short of cash at the time, but she hoped to go in a week or so and buy it. She had taken pictures. I just made some appreciative noises without looking too impressed... but I thought I knew where the shop was, so next day I went on the hunt. I found it, tried it and bought it... then kept it for nearly 2 months until her birthday

Interesting that a number of folk are saying that rock peaked a little later in the mid-late 70s. In which case, although old Roger wasn't precisely on the money, he also wasn't a million miles off either i.e. if he'd said the 1970s rather than a more precise 1971, and tying it a little arrogantly to one of the Who's albums, I suspect there would be a lot more agreement with him. Well here's the thing. I'm glad he made such a provocative statement 'cos I'd always felt that in terms of great music the 60s or the 80s were peak decades. But actually for rock music the better answer may actually be somewhere in between!

Our first gig for nearly 6 weeks at Leicester De Montfort Hall last night. Audience of around 1000 all up for a good time, plenty of interaction and dancing. We had our flakey moments, including a keyboard crashing on the opening song, but end result was okay thank goodness. A great venue, with top crew and staff as well, certainly one of our favourite gigs.

So you don't get your own effects carpet?

I think that’s a good point, a custom reshelled UE900s would be a different animal to the stock universal fitment. Even after all this time using universals of various types, I’ve only just found some tips that are comfortable and isolate effectively. I’ve tried comply tips before (as I found they isolated the best) but found them a bit itchy after a while and have shied away from memory foam types until recently when I’ve started using these ones that are more comfortable and fit very well (for me, it’s a very personal thing of course) Earphone Buds Replacement 6 Pairs, New Bee Earbuds Tips Premium Memory Foam Earbuds Soft Cushion Earpad Noise Cancelling Suitable for Headphones with 5mm-7mm Tips (S/M/L, Black) https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B071NZJ7QR/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_i_q1CeBb5PF92TC

It’s not how long your band name is, mate! It’s wot ya do wiv it!

That abano stuff looked interesting. I thought I might get a ebano headstock plate to play around with as it was on £6, but it was £6 + £6.50 for shipping, so slightly more than getting an ebony one Not that I would get ebony now, but maybe I will wait until I need a lot more from them

Roger's just looking for publicity for his new album... And he's probably right that his rock music peaked in 1971. Just means he's stuck in his own past and hasn't noticed the world moving on.

To be honest I already thought it was, kinda. It's the only reason I come here 😎🎸

Yes I think he has learned a lesson, don't swap a £350 chapman for a dodgy bitsa in the first place!

I've sanded a scratchplate before and buffed it to a gloss finish. I wouldn't have bothered with peroxide/bleach. I used to collect vintage star wars figures and that's a method people sometimes use to return yellowed figures to white. They just go yellow again... faster than before. If I were you I'd buy a new plate.

Got an Update..and thanks to all your advice which I passed on to him, he stuck to his guns and has got the dealer to agree (very reluctantly) to swap back the guitars on the proviso that he pays £60, 30 quid for setting up the chapman before he advertised it on his FB page and £30 to put back the strat to its origional set up when they re-swap guitars, seems a bit harsh but I told him probably best to bite the bullet on that one and just get your axe back. Thanks for all your advice folks, love this forum, helped me out so many times

And here she is. Time to be daddy again. Wonderful kid. first op tomorrow at 8pm - at the wise old age of 2 days...