Dad3353

And the winner is... @Doctor J Here, then, is your Winner's Certificate (download and save as pdf file, then proudly print and frame...) ... BC_Chal_Cert_2023_08.pdf ... which looks like this (but bigger, of course..!)...

I've not seen any sign of it on GC; if I do, I shall abstain from there too until it's gone.

Yes, but there's also a 'Vendor List' button, which brings up the long, long list of their clients, very many of which have a 'Legitimate Interest' box ticked by default. This 'Legitimate Interest' is a sort of 'Get Out of Jail Free' card for taking info for whatever purpose they deem legitimate; I unchecked them all, which took quite a long time. Several hundred, not '8 or 9'; they're just the visible ones to make one think it's all been covered. It has not; there' a lot of sneaky, hidden stuff that one has to be really motivated to not consent to. It's at the grey borderline of scammy as a method of operating, and I'll have none of it, just because it's so cleverly designed to make it very, very difficult to opt out. It's these methods I object more to than the use of any commercial info I might be giving away. As it happens, my statistics are so 'far out' that they are more 'noise' for any analysis, but it's for the principle of openness and transparency that wrankles. This company has as much contempt from me as I can spare, and severely taints any others using it.

I'm out until it stops.

OK for a trial period. I shall not log into BC for four weeks; if there is still any sign of this stuff after that period, I'll renounce BC until it goes away. I'm not a paranoid 'they're following me' freak, but this is totally over the limit. If the site needs more money, I'll gladly consider any other means of contributing (modestly...); this kind of 'partnership' is not acceptable to me. I'll be deleting all unwanted cookies when I exit here (I do this regularly anyway...). Thanks for all the hard work and tough decisions involved in keeping BC afloat; back in four week's time. Meanwhile... Have a splendid day. Douglas PS : I'll log in just for the BC Compo Challenge Certificate this evening; next month's Challenge is, however, compromised. 'Sigh...'

These folk ... Pro Audio Service Ltd ... ... list SWR bass and combo amps as among their repair models, so may be worth contacting (email, telephone..?) if you need info, help, advice..? They're based in the Midlands, apparently. Worth noting..?

Ah, I see the problem. Do you have any colleagues that travel to better-served nations on a regular basis..? A repair would take longer, of course. Have you found the schematics (a simple search brought them up immediately for me...)..? If the power output transistors are now duff, it would be possible to install another output amp module altogether, at worst case...

The schematic diagrammes are readily available for download on t'web, along with the User manual. These, given to a decent repair technician may enable at least an estimate of what's gone wrong..?

So true, and more so. The drummer here (Gary 'Spacey' Foote is better known principally (and still not enough...) as a saxophonist, and yet the drums here are impeccable. This is Ms Armatrading singing and playing whilst ill (as she explains at the start...), and yet... What a star..! Far too far under the radar (but maybe that's for the best..?). This band cooks..!

... visible only to those that pay their subs.

To me, it's the difference between going to see a show, and going to listen to live music. I'm not at all sure I'd attend a concert when the conductor waved his baton before a wide video screen, whatever the piece. I watched and listened to the Pink Floyd and Jefferson Airplane in their early years, with their psychedelic light show, but all the music was played by those on stage, in plain sight. I wouldn't have gone if the players were on screen, or pre-recorded. Ultimately, and in the extreme, it can become a DJ perched above the floor setting off digital files; I don't attend such entertainment either. It might be good entertainment for some, but that's not what I appreciate as a Good Musical Event. Disclaimer : I'm old.

Disclaimer : I have terrible taste.

Whatever is being used on that track is fine 'as is'. If that's with the 'megaphone' effect, keep it. Sorry for the confusion; it would have been more clear if we had one track with, another without.

It's fine as it is; there's enough character in the voice to carry it, right through to the end. It needs no gadget megaphone.

The voting is up, and can be found here ... (Yes, click on the link/image above ^^^^; it won't bite..! ...)

Welcome to the end of August, everyone..! We have yet another splendid crop of entries this month based on a photo provided by last month's winner... @lurksalot He offered some cryptic words of encouragement with the photo ... "Whilst a bit chill, it's almost like someone has stolen the fire from the sun... so maybe chilling..!" Here are the entries for this month, please vote for your favourite 3 ... 1 @Leonard Smalls ...a punky and slightly garbled musing on collective emotion and tribalism inspired by West Ham's theme tune..! 2 @Dad3353 ...Yet another doomed effort to get away. It's not to be; the next awakening N° 6 will be back, once more, on The Island ... 3 @AndyTravis ...A little bubble floats off on a summers day... Happy and growing into a big strong bubble; a bird spots it and swoops to pop it... Does it survive the chase..? 4 @xgsjx ... Alone & broken-hearted, he sees the demon in the sky that took his love away... 5 @Doctor J ... the greatest of all the bubbles was a chimpanzee. Join the King of Pop's ghost on his journey through the nine circles of hell, trying to find his old pal... 6 @lurksalot ... a race to the moon, to strip whatever minerals would make the most profit, and leave a transparent shell..! 7 @upside downer ...A strange tale of being pestered by an annoying git who, for some reason, wants to ruin your day... 8 @Nicko ... Age-Related Macular Degeneration - a progressive eye disease that my father suffered from which leads to loss of central vision... 9 @MoonBassAlpha ... I suddenly felt the urge this afternoon ... 10 @Wolfram ... An introspective, ambient piano theme to relax you as you lay on your back watching the bubbles drift by through the deep blue sky... Whittle your favourites down to 3 , then tick the boxes. A superb selection again, this month. Voting will close at midnight on 31st August.

For MoonBassAlpha, above ...

14 seconds. Couldn't get out fast enough.

As per usual, I have the month's picture on my PC's desktop, as a constant reminder, and potentially source d'inspiration. I've been 'had' twice, now, in reaching for my aerosol of fly-spray, or a tea-towel to flick away the pesky fly bird at top right of the photo.