KK Jale

To the OP - take a look at Joseph Kaye Guitars. https://www.josephkayeguitars.com

Nooooo! Not true. A Precision or a Strat has a scratchplate. An archtop guitar has a pickguard. * * Not a plecguard.

Very good questions! I'll try. This will be a bit long :-) Yes, the cost of pedal steels is high, and sadly cheap "beginner" models can be as much of a hindrance as a help. Back in the day, newbies used to start on basic models with "pull-release" changers (as opposed to all-pull, eg. pro-level Sho-Bud and a hundred other brands, or push-pull, eg. Emmons) steels to keep costs down. Vintage examples (such as the pull-release Sho-Bud Mavericks) used to be gettable for about £500 but they're a bit of a pain, to be honest. Stay away from the Carter Starter, the mechanism is made of cheese and the knee lever stop design is a joke… they're bad enough to put you off playing for good. TL;DR; buy a pro-level pedal steel or be prepared to want to throw the thing out of the window. Yes, 8-string laps exist (as do 10-strings, though they're uncommon). A six-string is probably the best way to start. You can easily and cheaply experiment with tunings… open E or A for rock, blues and some Americana, then maybe a C6 tuning for traditional '50s country/roots, then, oh, about a hundred others. Eight strings really expand your options and make other tunings such as 11ths worthwhile. With any tuning, though, pros are balanced by cons… you just need to pick one (or two, hence double-neck lap or "console" steels). The E9 sound on lap steel conundrum… players have been battling this for decades. On lap steels with no levers at all, it IS possible to partly replicate the E9 PSG sound, and this is done by a combination of selecting certain voicings to trick the ear and by slanting the bar (bloody difficult). But really, lap steel is potentially so much greater (and better) than just a pale E9 imitator. It's a brilliant instrument - and it also encourages the player to understand and use the whole fretboard, as opposed to pedal steel, which tempts you with so many (often corny) licks via pedals and levers without moving the bar. But I digress… B-bender type rigs can be found. The off the shelf solution is the Duesenberg Pomona lap steel, which costs nearly as much as a very used pedal steel. Luckily, the bridge, the Duesenberg Multibender, is available separately for about £200, and can be fitted to a regular six-string lap steel (as long as it has enough body behind the bridge… the Gretsch lap is a popular victim for this mod). Main problem: having levers sticking out over the bridge slightly hampers your picking, and also your blocking (the art of silencing unwanted strings). The Multibender comes with two levers that can be applied to any two strings. It's raise-only, no drops. Three levers can be rigged up, but that makes it much trickier to operate; two is enough to replicate the basic "classic pedal steel move", which is to raise the 5th to a 6th (this also gives a relative minor chord) and to raise the 3rd to a 4th. Used together, these change the open (no-bar) I chord to a IV and, like a pedal steel, give you a I chord at the 7th fret. Bingo. There are a few Multibender demos on YouTube, but bear in mind that you may very likely be better starting on a plain six-string lap steel and thinking about a bender later. There's so much to learn and have fun with in terms of bar control alone. Am I making sense?! Happy to try again if not.

I know a little bit. I have two 50s lap steels and a Sho-Bud S10. Can I help?

Right here Bridgehouse. Get your Jamerson on.

I think that's a possibly a "Ron" assembly signature. "Ron" and "John" were commonly found in Marshalls in the 70s. Jim Marshall signed some at times, but he scrawled his full name. I'm no cab expert though. T1281 is a guitar cone code found on G12H speakers. The date code could be stamped on the cork gasket, you'd need to remove a speaker to see it. These are quite sought-after so-called "Hendrix" speakers, even with the missing labels. See here: http://www.bygonetones.com/celestion-speaker-models.html#T1281 Bottle of wine, pfff! Don't blow them.

You know, I must admit, I myself found those sandals on Friday There's an identical four-string on a TB thread where someone ID's it as an SB404, despite the five-knob layout... and also a sale ad from Poland, again a five-knobber, which also insists it's an SB404. So unless there's a numbering convention that eludes us, it's pointing towards an uncommon-ish 404, as you say from the early '00s... Incidentally I'm quite liking the tan and black strappy ones with the cute little heel, how about you?

One of the SB404 variants isn't it? Most had four knobs, this has five, but I think it was still called a 404...

I've found that 0000-grade wire wool gives a lovely soft satin feel and because it's so fine, the finish polishes up to gloss through hand touch alone after a year or so anyway. I have a not-uncollectable 80s bass and I always keep the neck very lightly wire-wooled. But please use the properly good stuff, eg Liberon brand, not pound shop rubbish, which won't be true 0000-grade.

Here's someone getting a nice tone with a cheap bass - an SX with a Dimarzio, foam and flats. Very Serge Gainsbourg-y. I think the third song at 7.40 is really quite special if surfy Thai psych guitar shredding isn't to your taste.

Nice pedal from Dave and speedy postage too.

Some years ago I found myself in a band playing very arty, slow, dramatic original rock - imagine an indie Scott Walker, if that's possible. 'Downbeat' doesn't even begin to describe it. One of the band had Irish connections and we were asked to play an outdoor stage at a small town festival in Co. Wexford. Why not? Turning up, it transpired we were playing a vast stage in the main square as support to a large and extremely professional Irish show band. Not only that, but we had unexpected support as well; just before we went on, there was a speech by the Taoiseach himself, Bertie Ahern. Frozen by fear and unreality we took to the stage and played to a fast-dwindling crowd who, as a man, took one look and swiftly repaired to the pub, shaking their heads. Aside from that our set was uneventful, apart from when somebody rushed up and implored us for God's sake to be quiet as there was a funeral going past.

He's having a laugh, for an '83 with later logo. £770 wasn't too bad at all, though, for one in such nice nick. I'm late to the party, but I've used the same Squier JV for every gig I've done in 25 years in I don't know how many bands so I s'pose I'd better vote yes!

Hard to find! This Guyatone-made Kent is supposed to have a 33.5" scale, but I don't know the model number.

Then of course there was the Gibson Thunderbolt... which was a brilliant TGM (The Guitar Magazine) April Fool's Day joke that became reality, in some people's minds at least, among them Billy Gibbons, Rick Nielsen, and the Hamer company. This link has (some of) the story... https://www.accordo.it/article/viewPub/72143

Another option might be the Quilter Bass Block 800. I'd say it's definitely lightweight and well-built, and it sounds open and warm and has bags and bags of headroom, plus you can dial in some vintage-ish squash. I have one and am impressed so far.

It was nice to put faces to a few BC names! Next time I'll do more workshops - sorry to have missed Bobby Vega.

There's also this, though it's mimed for the camera. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vh_Qg4CbM8Q And this The Save The Children concert footage is truly amazing though... gave me the chills when I first saw it.

A small patch of tissue paper - torn out, not cut - on the back of the speaker (if you can reach it) with PVA glue. If the hole is at the very edge then you need to use a non-hardening glue, eg. Copydex.

I had the strangest experience in GAK once. Went in for a wander, decided to buy some guitar strings on the way out, to be polite... Me: Hello, can I have a set of D'Addario nickel 11's please? GAK man: Have you tried these? (Ernie Balls) Me: Ah, yes, tried them many times but I prefer D'Addarios, so just those, cheers... (points to strings in question) GM: Have you considered these (gets a packet of Rotosounds and goes into a long and confused explanation about wrap material) Me: (eventually realising he's trying to push stainless) Er, no, I use nickels. Can I get the D'Addarios? GM: What guitar do you play? Me: (a bit exasperated now) Eh? They're for a Gibson ES330. GM: Ah, you don't want them. You want 10's. Always, always use 10's on a Gibson. Me: Seriously, mate... this guitar's had nickel 11's for 20 years. GM: (firmly) You should try the 10's. Me: Uhh... forget it. It was so, so bizarre. And a bit aggressive, and unfunny. I can only assume the assistants were having a bet or something amongst themselves. I hope he lost

Big thanks @Fishman for the ticket ... I've had to cancel something myself, so am super-happy to make use of it... cheers!

When I bought a Midget back in 2011, it inspired a friend soon after to buy a Midget T. He's recently bought a Super Compact, and reports more volume and better dispersion onstage. However he's keeping both, partly because the tweeter in the old Midget differentiates it, and it suits DB, and because they make a potent pair, and 'cos the Gen 2 1x12 is still a hell of an item, considering. Which is nice to know because I'm poor and the old Midget's doing fine.

Yep, they made the Squier PB-331 in black, white and sunburst. They also pop up slightly earlier than the E-series... below is mine, it's an A-series dated '85 (plus, I believe, Fender Japan made them in late '84 under the Squier JV series, though likely not exported... and they also came as regular Fender Japan models, but that's another can of worms). Great little basses.

Yay! Just when I scooped up the last one from Wembley Music! Still, hey ho, needed one for some gigs straight away... and really liking it so far... The Bass Block is showing as due to arrive at Thomann in early March at an estimated £513, which is £86 less than Wembley's last price... they recently dropped it from £620. The Bassliner 2x10 will come in at £813 over Wembley’s £925. https://www.thomann.de/gb/quilter.html?ref=search_prv_6

A friend of a friend once guitar-teched for Van Morrison and band for a whole tour... handed Van his instruments on stage every single night. Morrison never spoke one word to him, ever.