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So........ I’ve read every post! We’ve covered design of pedal, graphics and box - benefits of amps or no amps, digital vs analogue, the future and the past, personal issues, and I got offered out for a fight - started training only to find out it was in jest, and TB was slated as those that may look upon there. Some are for, some are against, smattered amongst the comments are tongue in cheek ones and pointed ones, even positive ones can have perceivable or actual negative vibes to it. What are we left with............ A bloody good pedal capable of a number of different sounds that’s easy to dial in, but can still be learnt over time to tweak to what is required to match what someone would want. The fuzz can get synth like, the OD does an OD and can be warm and subtle to overt, and clean can be blended into it to retain girth and clarity. Some will like, some will love, I doubt it can be hated. Level of love will decide whether it replaces existing pedals, people new to dirt/fuzz pedals will get a good pedal to cover ground for them. There you go.

I’m probably a little more simplistic in my approach, I learn the songs I want to play then I play them. It’s probably why I’m not as good on the bass as I should be, but I can play what I need to do I’ll settle for that.

If the lid closure is the deciding factor in getting one or not a sliding lid could be the final nail in the coffin for some.

Just checking - got to the 6th bar - already there's a mistake in the transcription, so I can see I'll have to do my own version! 🙂 I'm not in any way an expert at transcribing or using notation software, so don't hold your breath. Edit: There are 6 errors just on the first page, to be nit-picky.

Lets face it, there are some folks on here that, were they to receive a cheque for a million pounds from Alex, would complain about the signature. 😁 Such is the nature of the internet.

I hardly ever comment on BC, but visit most days. It was funny enough people loosing their stinky poo over the pedal, but now the packaging is mental. I thought the box was a nice touch, I guess Alex could have charged more for the pedal and sent it out in a varnished box with hinges 🤣

I finally got the double battery box blocked up and filled in with a piece of swamp ash off cut and topped with polyester filler. I have given the back of the bass some black polyester finish. The back of the body is now sanded flat and ready to have it's final hi-gloss black coating. It's going to look great with the book-matched front that Joe picked from my stock of exotic tops.

Obviously - why did he not just electronically transfer the money? (Wire can hurt you right?) Those cheques give nasty paper cuts, don’t get me started if it’s one of those massive ones, plus you’d have to queue to get into the bank to cash it - disaster, I would refuse the money all day long

I have the 4HH Special and had the 4H version, with a brief overlap where I had them both. To my ears the HH sounded no different to the H when set to the bridge pickup, which was a relief as I didn’t want to sacrifice that sound, just add to it with the other options the HH gives you. Gratuitous pic alert:

My 2020 Stingray Special in Aqua Sparkle :

Tragic news, Sean has been a huge influence on my playing since I first heard him back in '93 and is the reason I play fretless and Chapman Stick. To lose both him and Sean Reinert this year is devastating. I had the privilege of being taught by Sean back in 2000 when he was in London recording with Bill Bruford. Not only was he a stellar musician but he was a great teacher who was very passionate about education. Years later I had the incredible honour of - albeit briefly - stepping in to his shoes to play Chapman Stick with Cynic on some shows in 2008.

@Deedee sold me his cracking Series 6 AH300 and here it is powering my DR Bass 2x12 cab. Love it!

So the pedal costs around £210 plus tacks. Well, someone needed to say it so it may as well be me If you want to talk about dangerous packaging, I have on a couple of occasions cut my finger on those staples that Thomann and other retailers use to keep their large cardboard boxes together before they are taped. Now THEY are dangerous

So we can only opine if we want to buy, gotcha.

It`s definitely up there, and it was also played by the best line up of Whitesnake by far. I think Mr Coverdale, who was once described by Jon Lord as "the Roger Moore of heavy metal" didn`t realise or appreciate the talent that was in that version of the band. I would be interested in a Neil book or how about one of the talented interviewer type chaps on this site setting up a chat - over the net even - with Neil and he could ask all the questions we are dying to ask?

I just think this point is completely moot, unless you're absolutely not buying this pedal as a result of it coming in a wooden box. It comes with a clear warning about small tacks, so isn't an issue. The upside is it saves cost, protects the pedal, reduces waste and as an owner, I like the touch. I've also had other pedals packaged similarly in a wooden box....so this isn't a first. I guess if you will absolutely buy it if they change the box and the symbols the feedback is warranted. If you're not, then it's not opinion the builder should worry about listening to imo as even if they change to your will there's not a sale there. I'd prefer it if this thread started to refocus on the pedal capability tbh......might start a setting thread shortly.✌️

The Band, The Meters and Little Feat were fantastic "ensemble" players. You could probably include every Funk band in that list. Funk is a team genre. Also the studio bands like the Funk Brothers, the Swampers and Booket T and the MG's with Isaac Hayes at Stax.

@neilmurraybass I too would love to read some of your thoughts, stories and descriptions from your life in music. But I also get that writing a book is a hugely daunting task. One possible alternative would be to do the video version. Leland Sklar does exactly this. It started as a bit of a lockdown thing, but he has produced hundreds of videos now, detailing not just his basslines, but gear stories and much more. It helps that he is a natural storyteller, but if your posts on here are anything to go by - so are you!

Blockheads!

Pablo day today

There are occasions, notably with amplified acoustic instruments, where the sound from the instrument and the sound from the amplification combine, usually at specific frequencies, to start feeding back, or sounding 'boomy' or 'ringing'. Phase reversal can help there, as a phase-reversed amp sound tends to cancel out the acoustic sound, so bringing clarity. Much depends on the stage, venue, proximity of the amp, so it can't be a permanent, 'built-in' thing; it's used by listening to see what sounds best in any one situation. If there's such an issue, phase reversal can be very useful indeed. If there are never such issues, it won't fix what doesn't need fixing. Hope this helps.

Well, a lot has certainly been said about the symbols! Have to say the hieroglyphic knob labels make a lot of sense to me. Whether you’re familiar with the symbols for sawtooth and square waves is irrelevant. The pedal enclosure couldn’t be more clearly divided into 3 sections so *at most* you’ll only be thinking about 4 knobs at any one time for each. The top row of each drive section is just gain and volume, bottom rows being EQ shaping. Once you know these basic rules of thumb it’s a walk in the park. And I don’t even own the thing.

LTD edition @Alfie Noakes signature Stingray 🙂

I Gemini, first album from Let's Eat Grandma. The band are two best friends from Norfolk, and were about 16 when they made this. Here's "Deep Six Textbook".

Here’s the list. Keep your eyes open for any guitars turning up for sale on here, Gumtree or anywhere else. Please share and get the word out. If you see them advertised or are offered then for sale please contact the police on 101, quoting incident number 4444 of Saturday, 12 December, 2020, or make a call anonymously to the charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 1. Fender No Caster Telecaster – USA Custom Shop Relic (2017) Butterscotch Finish (£2499) (Shop Ref : A3318) Serial # R17644 2. Suhr Modern Pro (USA, 2017) Trans Denim Blue, Maple Neck & Fingerboard (£2499) (Shop Ref : A3315) Serial # JS7H8W 3. Echopark Kentucky Clarence Rose USA 2013 White Victorian Rose Finish Maple Neck (£2899) (Shop Ref : A3258/11) Serial # CK12-001 4. PRS Custom 22 Semi Hollow Ltd Edition 1 of 300 Made (USA 2010) Black Cherry Finish (£2599) (Shop Ref : A3258/5) Serial # 162801 5. Gibson Custom Shop 356 (USA 2008) Black aged finish Gold Hardware & Bigsby Vibrola (£2999) Shop Ref : A3213) Serial # CS (8) 3381 : 2008 6. Suhr Classic T Antique Korina (USA 2012) Tele Style Aged Finish Pau Ferro Fingerboard (£2299) (Shop Ref : A3161) Serial # 17378 7. Hofner Violin Bass 500/1 – 20/40 Anniversary 1 of 400 (1995/96) Sunburst Finish (£1999) (Shop Ref : A3299) Serial # 2040307 8. Fender Nashville Telecaster (Mexico 2018) Fiesta Red Finish, Noiseless Pickups (Shop Ref A3225/A(1) Serial # ? Acoustics 9. NK Forster Model C (England 2006) Spruce Top Indian Rosewood Back & Sides Serial N/A ? £3499 (Shop Ref : A) Serial # 20/3 10. NK Forster GHO One off / Super Rare How Orme Neck Joint (England 2013) Brazilian Rosewood Back & Sides, Spruce Top (£3999) (Shop Ref : A ) Serial # 20/3 11. Santa Cruz Tony Rice Model (USA 1994) European Spruce Top Indian Rosewood Back & Sides Signed By Tony Rice on label (£3999) (Shop Ref : A3270/2 ) Serial # 1213R 12. L’Arivee OM-09 Spruce Top, Indian Rosewood Back & Sides (Canada 1993) Spruce Top, Indian Rosewood Back & Sides (Shop Ref : A3187) Serial # 0913359

Put a offer in on this but it went for the asking price of £310. Tried one of these in 1985 also a lefty. Sounded like a very good P Bass to me.

Nice cover here of Marley’s Zion train from 12 year old Nethumlee, and on a 6 string🙂

Agree. Everything just works so well in that song. Possibly the best rock song ever written IMHO of course.😀

While I wait for my MB-5... I ordered the Precision too. Well, it's only fair, my girlfriend bought the MB-5 for me and she seemed to like very much the look of the Precision, so I ordered it for her. Note: yes, she plays bass too.

I think it was this song that made me change my (admittedly shortsighted) opinion that rock bass is boring/uninspiring. Fool for your loving, to me, is a great example: the bassline goes places, and it's busier than most thing until they pay attention, but it fits perfectly and doesn't get in the way. I just love everything about it: the notes, the sound (the sound!)...

It should be Pablo day every day!

Bit of an obvious one given my user name, but The Meters. Not just their solo records which were superb, but the ones where they acted as a backing band, like Lee Dorsey, Allen Toussaint, Robert Palmer, Betty Harris etc. They just seemed to breathe as one unit musically. All the push and pulls, the hairpin bend changes of direction, they seemed to move as one. Booker T & The MG's are another good example. Their own records are tight and super soulful, but their playing on Otis Redding, Carla Thomas, Sam & Dave etc elevates them to the greats for me. Same for Willie Mitchell's house band at Royal Studios in Memphis for the Al Green records, and Ann Peebles and Mitchell's solo records etc. And as @Mykesbass said earlier, The Police. The records are great but live footage of them proves just how in sync they were with each other, despite their personal differences. They just worked. There'll be many others that spring to mind but they're the first I thought of.

Have you tried contacting Ashdown directly..? They may be able to help. Just a thought.

I am thinking of buying one off Ebay (https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MiNi-5string-ukulele-electric-bass-neck-thru-Ukelele-Uke/363051228775?hash=item54878a1e67%3Ag%3AX98AAOSwH0Vb5F06&LH_All=1) and messing with it to make a very small Bass Guitar. Do any of you have actual direct experience with these? I can live with rough edges because my supreme lutherie skills are up to it. I own sandpaper.

Sorry to go back to the BBPH again, but from about 6 minutes onwards here it's sounding great. Why do I keep torturing myself? 😄

The box is made from plywood off cuts from the cabinets. Makes sense to keep costs down and is Eco friendly. Box is well sized, great fit for the pedal, safe transport. Thats a winner in my book

So I chiselled the moved piece flat so that I could properly detect any movement. I didn't want to remove it because that bridge over the trussrod end thread is useful for keeping wood glue out of the thread So basically the nylon block is supposed to be fixed. Theoretically there are two timber haunches (marked in yellow) stopping it simply moving in the direction of the arrow when the trussrod is tightened. But, clearly, it has moved at some stage. It's moved forward to leave that small gap at the back and enough for the top of the nylon to snap the timber bridge over the rod. That may have happened the very first time the trussrod was tightened - it is only about 3mm thick and the force is pushing it's weakest grain line. Or it maybe that the haunches themselves are weakened and every time force is applied, the block moves forward and loses the force applied to the rod. So now I can see right up close, I can do a live stress test. First I clamp a block along the neck - I am not applying downward pressure - but I am stopping the neck rising up from flat: And now, watching the block and split wood very closely, I start tightening the trussrod. The neck can't go anywhere so the allen key starts becoming difficult to turn. I turn it to the 'luthier's touch-point' - the point where you would normally stop because you know from experience (quite) that much more will break the rod. And it passed with flying colours. No movement, no creaking, no cracking. This will be fine in service. So the neck and rod are confirmed sound and now I can get on and start making the new fretboard. In the meantime, there's a Wall 1e pro template winging its way across to me to start thinking about the body that this will eventually be fitted to. As always, thanks for looking

Have to say Neil has been such a great guy answering so many questions i've been storing over the years. He has shared some of his vast knowledge about everything from basses, amps, strings, playing and recording. He has confirmed my thoughts that he is a true gent and just a really nice guy. I was gobsmacked that he even took the time to reply. Just goes to show that some pros are still nice people after the fame. Dave

My Favorite bass today!

I usually plug holes like that with a few cocktail sticks , and you can put a bit of wood glue in the hole aswell if you want and the screw will re thread 🙂