fretmeister

It's not just "is it professional" or "is it a hobby" etc. it is a combination of all factors. That is what the underwriting process is for. Financial journalists often don't get a policy loading because they sit in an office all day. Music journalists get shafted because they are expected to be out at gigs when thousands of drunk people are around. Like I said - it's up to the insurer to decide if it's important. Not you. Either they will say they don't care, or they will tell you it is pertinent. You won't know if it is unless you ask them.

Not true. My accountant took me through the details of this common misconception. However if you do submit a few years of loss showing accounts then the HMRC do sometimes tell you to stop bothering them with it. You have to show that the books aren't being cooked to look like a loss.

Probably right in that regard - but if you were booked to give a presumably professional talk - then insurers will view that as having a second place of work. That's the issue. That could be viewed as non-disclosure, particularly if it is a regular occurance. Why is the talk being given? Is it for fun? Or is it because you hope it will lead to business opportunities? Like a sales fair - or offering "Free" training in the hope of getting new customers? As the insurer sets the terms of their own products they get to define what "non-disclosure" means. That also means that not all insurers have the same definition - it will be close but not exact. What is the point of risking it over a trivial extra amount? (Cue those saying it is not "trivial" while having the equivalent of 3 months mortgage payments on their pedal board)

Payment = job. Even if you make a loss, as no doubt most of us do. That is the only definition the insurers will care about. Not the "I do it for the love of it" or the "I'm just happy to cover the cost of a set of strings every now and again" type explanations. The amount of hours you put in has no bearing on it at all. I only perform magic for a few hours per month. Nevertheless that involves travel to different venues and I get paid for it. Some years I make a little profit. Others I don't. It's still a job. The fact that I have a regular Mon-Fri job as well also has no bearing on whether the magic is a job. Musicians (and magicians) tend to perform in the evenings. Travel Time of day changes policy risks. Rush hour - higher risk. After 9am and before 4pm - lower risk. 5pm onwards - higher risk again etc. Also - if you are travelling with others they want to know if the policy might be called upon to cover loss if earnings - not just for you, but anyone else you might damage. That all goes in the underwriting decision process. While a forum poll would be interesting, all it would do is show the number of people putting themselves at risk of their insurers not paying out. It won't have any influence on policy terms or underwriters decision process. A far more useful poll would be to ask whether people actually check the policy terms before paying for the policy to see if it actually meets their needs. I'm betting most will buy on price alone and then complain later when it meet expectations.

You weren't booked as an act for an open night.

If I get paid then I declare it. Doesn't matter if that is a music or magic gig, same applies.

Nope. you're not getting paid for it. If you get any money at all then it's a job. Paid Hobbies are still jobs. "Doesn't even cover the overheads" is still a job. If you want to get really picky - free beer and crisps for the band = payment = job.

That seams entirely reasonable to me, after all the policy cost was based on the information provided. It also seems to be a lack of common sense to not tell an insurer things that you suspect would change the price or the cover available. I don't have a lot of sympathy for those who fail to inform an insurer of all pertinent facts and then complain when the insurer won't pay out. If you were buying a policy for your favourite bass you wouldn't be leaving out information that might mean no cover - so why take a different approach for the car?

The financial penalty is far smaller than you breaching the terms of your policy and the insurers seeking reimbursement from you for any outlay. Non-disclosure is always a bad idea.

There's a used Countryman in the classifieds. Get that. Nice instruments. Really needs a string upgrade, but still very good.

https://youtu.be/5pidokakU4I solved.

Get a Helix.

Find another £100 and get this

Looks lovely. What an absolute waste of 4 minutes though. Play the effing thing!

I quite like JST, she's very good in such a staid old genre.

I like them! the D string is a bit short, only got 1.5 wraps round the post on my Ray5 but it seems stable. Tone is similar to TI Flats but they are far less floppy. Looking forward to see how they mellow out like the TI Flats.

They have arrived. I'll stick them on this evening.

Food. I'm a BBQ master. Proper low and slow smoking. None of that grilling burgers for 5 mins and calling it a BBQ shite.

On a bass I don’t care. I adapt to very curved or flat easily. on a guitar it depends on the rest of the profile. Old Fender neck needs that curve. But I’m also happy with the 16 inch radius on my Ibanez as it suits the slim profile. and I do think the conical approach is far superior. Easy chord fretting at one end and easy bends without choking at the other. What’s not to like?

Joanne Shaw Taylor, Pink Floyd, and Radiohead will never write a song as awesome as Detroit Rock City.

It’s the whole package that’s important. sometimes it is possible to watch a show and think “I love everything about them except the music” and still have a great time.

I was having a dig around. Your usual strings are 45-105. Fender do the same string in a lighter gauge at 40-100 but if that isn't light enough then you'll have to change brand. The D'addario's I posted are very low tension. But the problem is that many other makers don't publish their tension figures. So you might find that someone else's 35-95 set are lighter than the D'Addarios. That being said - the D'addario 35-95 are not far off the Status-Graphite 30-90. They are much closer than the different gauges suggest. Not many makers do a 30-90 set BUT you could get the highest 4 strings from a 6 string set That would probably be the lightest of all, but that means tuning down a huge amount from the intended tuning - Truss Rod adjustments and probably nut changes are likely. Personally - I'd suggest giving the Status or the D'addarios a try. They are both good strings and really light.

Fabulous body design. Very clever. But even if I was in the market, that headstock makes my teeth itch! (Sorry! I know it's very difficult to find something usable and unique these days)

D'Addario 35-95