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I've never been a great one for effects however I recently joined a new band and have decided that a few of the numbers could benefit from some effects. I should add that I will not be using a backline and will go directly into the Bose PA. Currently my board is Tuner -> Spectracomp -> Mooer Chorus -> MXR Envelope -> Thumpinator -> Sansamp BDDI -> PA. I need to have a couple of effects set up plus the ability to switch quickly from fingerstyle to a slap tone. In the interests of flexibility and compactness would I benefit from replacing the board with an HX Stomp.

That's almost the same colour scheme as the Lakland DJ4 that you sold me many years ago. West Ham wasn't it?

This reminds me of a pub at Newlands Corner near Guildford. First time we played there we fell foul of the sound meter. Second time we went prepared and plugged into the kitchen. 😀

There is a simple/cheap way to put two 4-ohm cabs in series to give an 8-ohm load. You need 3x Speakon plugs and a suitable length of single core stranded 2.5-sq.mm. or 4-sq.mm. wire I.e one wire from 3-core mains cable. You wire it like this: Speakon 1, terminal 1+ to Speakon 2, terminal 1- Speakon 2, terminal 1+ to Speakon 3, terminal 1- Speakon 3, terminal 1+ to Speakon 1, terminal 1-. It doesn't matter which plug goes where. Speakons have screw terminals so no soldering involved. Simple.

What length/connectors are you wanting?

Silly question!! 🤣

Neutrik had a real problem with the initial batches of the right-angled Silent jack. I had quite a few fail on customers leads and had to replace them. I'd send a Jiffybag full of faulty/broken ones back to Neutrik and they'd send me replacements. They eventually fixed it by gluing the parts together rather than relying on an interference fit. I've used Vandamme, Klotz and Sommer cable. The Vandamme is nice and light however I found that it tended to tangle or get tied in knots. I always found Klotz AC110 a bit stiff especially when new. My personal preference is Sommer LLX Low Loss, not to be confused with the XXL. It doesn't tangle, doesn't remember it's been coiled and lays flat on the floor when you unwind it.

Correct. Initially I traded under the brand name "bassic-bits" and then changed the company name to "Rock-Wire". I am now fully retired from cable making but still active in playing bass so still very much around this Forum.

Welcome back. Glad to hear that it all went well. I can't cover each point in detail however here's what happened to me. My initial musical influences come from the late 1950s/1960s era and I started playing just pre-Beatles. After a few years of Pop, British R&B and Soul I took a 23 year break for career/family/other interests, etc. During that period I pretty much only listened to the pop music of the day. I eventually returned to music to find styles, techniques, etc. had all radically changed. Since then I've played in a number of bands each of a different genre and influence. This gave me the opportunity to discover some of what I'd missed during those 23 years and broaden my outlook. Following radical surgery 14 years ago I found that the side effects were too problematic and I was unable to even think about gigging for a couple of years. Eventually joined a covers band playing the area pubs however that was big mistake as I really wasn't right and after a year or so I walked. Eventually I had further surgery which fixed the problem meanwhile I had hooked up with a local Elvis, then in his late 70s, and played with him for 6 years. I was never a great fan of Elvis back in the day however learning his repertoire gave me a better appreciation of him and especially the TCB Band. I was in my early 70s and it allowed me to keep playing but at a much reduced level. It was a good band, no egos, only occasional rehearsals and all gigs were to raise money for local charities. Last year I moved away from the area and had to leave Elvis's band. I knew no-one in the new area and was definitely classed as old so I resigned myself to never being in another band. The local musicians wanted ads pretty much bore this out however a casual conversation whilst walking my dogs lead to an introduction to another similar aged musician who had a fairly new band playing funky blues and who just happened to be looking for a bass guitarist. He's plays keys and sax and is well known in Cornwall. The guitarist and the female singer are slightly younger. No drummer at present, just drum loops however one may be added later. The aim is to rehearse most weeks, in a morning, and gig once a month. They are a great bunch and very easy to get on with. No-one has any ambitions, we're all far too old for that but we enjoy making music and will continue to do so as long as we can and there is an audience who are prepared to listen. The current setlist is all covers however I have been categorically told that they are not as per the record and to play what I like so there is a mental and creative challenge for me. So at 75 I'm 3 rehearsals in and the first gig is in 2 weeks time. Trouble is the GAS has started again.

Well you've spurred me into action. The Sony Wireless has come back out of its box and is now back in use. That will solve the problem for the time being. I have some ideas about how to retain the jacks however it requires some experimentation. The down side is that I now have to build a pedal board to take the receiver, BDDI and a PSU and I suppose while I'm about it a few other little gizmos.😀

Has anyone solved how to stop the jacks from pulling out. I've tried cable ties and Velcro but I still seem to pull them out with and accompanying lack of sound. 😒

What brand of cable? Have you got a photo of the inside of the jack?

Interesting. We went too see some relations this afternoon and they gave me an acoustic that belonged to their daughter. It not at al bad but needs a set up and some new strings so it's a start on a budget. What strings do you use? If I get on OK then I'll get an electric.

but then I'd have to get some heavy rimmed glasses 😉

Having played bass on and off for around 60 years I thought it was about time I actually learned to play a guitar. The problem is that, being small in stature, I have fairly small hands and short fingers. The obvious answer to this is go to a music shop and try some however living in the wild west of Cornwall music shops are pretty sparse and choice very limited so visiting and trying is a bit pointless. I've read up a bit and it seems that it is best to have a guitar with a thin neck and because I want to play fairly quietly on headphones I need an electric, not acoustic or electro-acoustic. Initially I thought the Fender mini-Strat might be the answer but I am now thinking that it might be a bit too small. Are the bottom of the range Squier Strats a reasonable starter and do they have thin necks. Any suggestions based on personal experience would be appreciated.

Ready for if I start again, Ashdown Retroglide head into Berg CN cabs.

Thanks. Cleared the Cache but it's still the same. I've gone over to using MS edge.

Not that I'm aware of. Just as-it-comes Firefox. It doesn't happen with Microsoft Edge.

This is only happening on BC but down in the bottom left corner I get this continuous flickering "Read.m.stripe.network" while at the same time the refresh icon in the browser menu bar is fickering between "refresh" and "stop". Why? Any ideas?

Here we go again. When we moved west last year I was pretty convinced that my band days were over however I kept an eye on Bandmix, etc. just to see what was going on. Nothing much of interest apart from the usual metal, punk and function bands. That was until a couple of week ago when something interesting came up. A guitarist looking for vocalist, bass and drums to form an Americana style band. I met up with him yesterday and we hit it off straight away. Like me he's retired and has very similar musical tastes and ideas - Tom Petty, John Fogerty, Linda Ronstadt, Steve Earle, Jackson Browne, etc. . It was interesting that he didn't want to dip into the pool of exisiting local musicians as he knew that they would drag the venture back into rock covers so as a newcomer to the area I was very welcome. He has a second guitarist lined up so now we need to find a like minded vocalist and drummer. I'm not holdng my breath but it's a start. Next step is an initial jam.