neepheid

Yup, I don't have the appropriate shaped spanner for my Yamaha BB450 and I did the truss rod like that by loosening (but not removing) the neck screws then angling the neck to provide access for a regular socket and wrench. Couldn't be bothered removing the strings and the neck entirely, already did that for the washer trick for the maxed out rod.

Details are sketchy but an intercepted communication has been decoded and revealed that a rag tag bunch of musicians who refer to themselves as "The Inevitable Teaspoons" will be making music at a place called Cafe Drummond in Aberdeen on 1st May. I have no idea what that means, so I recommend sending all available reconnaissance units to the aforementioned location from 8pm on 01/05/2015 to find out what is going on. Over and out.

I used to avoid like the plague unstructured, free form jamming, I just didn't feel I was good enough and I didn't have nearly enough chops to contribute effectively so it left me cold. More recently though, a jam just kind of happened in the rehearsal room - the sax player was having a noodle to himself and gradually everyone just joined in and it became quite a funky thing IMHO, might even be the start of an idea for a new song. Not only did I manage to carve out a riff or two in the 8 or 9 minutes, I managed to change the direction of the jam as alluded to above, I went for a change about 6 minutes in and to my surprise (and delight) everyone followed me (there or thereabouts)! There is a recording, I swithered about putting up stuff that isn't "ready" but seeing as I think it's relevant - here it is: [media]http://www.ifb.co.uk/~matthew/mp3/Teaspoons/practice20141118/Funky%20Spoons.mp3[/media]

I continue to rule nothing out.

[quote name='Thunderpaws' timestamp='1428523996' post='2742190'] Are the Coronado and Starcaster not Chinese? [/quote] They are. So instantly not worthy of the name, it would seem.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1428501242' post='2741856'] That's good, because in my experience nothing improves your playing quicker than being in a band, especially if everyone else is better than you - you tend to play up to their level pretty damn quick, in a way you just don't do by noodling at home. [/quote] I'd agree with that.

[quote name='FinnDave' timestamp='1428397072' post='2740785'] a bit disturbed that this singer has been tried and found guilty by a kangaroo court here. [/quote] Well, the singer had better not log on here then, for that is the extent of our jurisdiction To be fair, the OP conducted the trial and reported the verdict first.

I gig a 1979 Gibson RD Artist with some of the wackiest onboard electronics and it works fine. Just about everything is less mental than it, so you'll be fine

That is a new low, I've never heard of that in my life before. My sympathies are extended to you, and I hope you get your stuff back. I can only speak for Aberdeen but here the music community is a web of weel kent faces (well known faces, sorry lapsed into the local lingo there) so word would be bound to get around about this and the perpetrator known to someone.

When I acquired my Gibson Victory, one of the tuners kept snapping loose once string tension was applied - the screw that goes through from the back of the tuner had snapped inside the capstan. These things, while rare can happen.

[quote name='juliusmonk' timestamp='1428317518' post='2740102'] [b]But that's the fun of it...[/b] Working class sense of humour is about the last option we have... I can be ironic about a 1000£ business class flight ticket or a 500£ surplus on Fender purely for a matching headstock and 'period correct' features all the same, can't I? Yet there will be people buying them, nothing wrong with that. We're talking here about an extreme, just discussing the subjective perception of value in a market where the vast majority of high end items go new for half the price. There is nothing apparent in these basses that justifies the price tag, that's all. If they have some obscure magic, then the one I tried was devoid of it. [/quote] I'm not seeing much fun in it, and there's definitely no joy.

If you don't get/understand the price tag, fine. I don't get it either, but I don't question it - it's not relevant to me and there's no need to get all judgemental and preachy about it. If they were doing it wrong, they'd go bust.

Ahh, one of the few benefits of taking up the instrument late and only beginning to perform in public in my 30s

My technique is probably awful, but I haven't been fired yet

[quote name='MoonBassAlpha' timestamp='1428151760' post='2738532'] Is that really important when you have a string retainer? [/quote] It is important if you've got a mild case of OCD...

Shell Pink.

Painted necks feel "cheap"? How come, surely it takes more effort and time (and therefore cost more) to do a neck in a solid colour rather than just a clear coat? Not trying to pick a fight, it just doesn't make logical sense to me.

In the first picture it looks like the last wrap of the G string is at the top of the pile when it should be at the bottom like the other two? But maybe I'm seeing things wrong.

[quote name='Number6' timestamp='1428061620' post='2737623'] Yep understood.....i should have included that i'm considering for future modifications. [/quote] Ahh, now I get you. Obviously your choice of drop in replacements is pretty limited with the Cabronita - TV Jones stuff looks like it should fit but apart from that it'll be get the router out and/or hide the mess with a pickguard.

[quote name='Number6' timestamp='1428059842' post='2737583'] Would you say the sound from the Cabronita pup was fairly limited then? I really like the look but clearly a standard P seems more versatile. [/quote] The sound from the Fidelitron didn't wow me (sounded pretty good in isolation (in the guitar shop) but a bit meh when the rest of the band waded in), but that's just personal preference. I don't really understand why you would say that. Why would a standard P be any more or less versatile than a Cabronita? They've both got one pickup, one volume control and one passive treble cut tone control. The basic sound coming out of it will be different because of the change in pickup but apart from that, it's the same. It just comes down to which pickup you prefer the sound of, I guess.

Agreed, I'd want a bit more off for something that someone else has had their greasy mitts on. On the other hand, the small reduction probably reflects that there's nothing wrong with it other than having been in a courier's van for a while.

I don't own one, but surely it's the fretless stealth Bongo as shown here? All it needs is the black nylon coated strings, lose the headstock branding and it's a ninja.

I would also refute the allegation that the Jack Casady is "limited". OK, so it only has one pickup, but it has a three position varitone which switches in a choke coil at various points. The numbers on the switch are 50, 250, 500 - I have no idea what that means electronically but soundwise it comes out as "polite", "irritated" and "angry" Three different "voices" in addition to a tone control - I wouldn't call that "limited". It's also super light, so great for people with bad backs, bad shoulders, or stupid fools who bruise their ribs days before back to back gigs the same night... I recently sold mine to free up some funds, but when I'm flush again I will definitely get another (I had a gold top but it looks well tasty in white...) I had a Cabronita, played it for a while, then sold it on. I liked the look of it, it was nice, but not nice enough or interesting enough to keep. Can't comment on the Ibanez, but they seem to attract little in the way of derision or mockery on here, so I'm guessing they make good, solid gear in a quiet, Yamaha-y kind of way.

[quote name='Dave Vader' timestamp='1427983789' post='2736687'] I bought ER-20s, but they didn't stay in my ears, so I don't use them, I just point my deaf ear at the noisy stuff, which may not be a scientific method for preventing hearing damage. [/quote] There are two sizes of ER-20, did you get the small one (sometimes sold as ER-20s - an actual thing, not ER-20 plural)? If so, try the other one? I know it's bigger because I got them first and they felt physically uncomfortable after about an hour in my dainty little ear canals.