tauzero

It was due to a Christmas card from the drummer.

If part financed by others, shouldn't whose decision it was then come into it? If entirely the decision of the BCer, it's a fail, if it's a democratic decision or an autocratic one where the autocrat is other than the BCer, it isn't a fail.

And star chasers, as in "we are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars".

Thinking of telly, I have an irrational prejudice against people who comment on TV adverts when I am the only other person in the room. When watching live TV on a channel with adverts (it does happen), I completely ignore the TV during advert breaks, but frequently Mrs Zero (with whom I have been living since Christmas Day 2005[1], so you'd think she knows that I ignore adverts by now) will start going on about the content of an advert that is either showing or has just ended. [1] That's another story

Or Sweet?

Sounds like the blend also had some sort of buffer circuit on it. What @itu says is exactly what I'd advise assuming that the volume comes before the preamp - if not then connect the pickup to the lead into the preamp that the blend was connected to.

Looking at the JO5, it hasn't got a separate battery compartment so it means removing the control plate to change the battery. @kiat, what batteries are you using, and where do you get them from? And how many hours of playing do you get out of them?

Might be worth washing down the outside of the cab, keeping the water away from the drivers. Also, if it's got the slip cover, check to see if that smells and give it a good wash if it does.

An elderly sax player that I know bought quite a bit of gear for his long-departed band, including a bass. More appropriately for this, many years ago, Mrs Zero and I were going to run an open mic night and I bought a cheap Tanglewood acoustic guitar[1] and unknown brand 4 string bass[2] for use by artistes - as it happened, it naver came to pass. As they were specifically for use by others, would they have counted? TBH, I think they would be fails. [1] Recently auctioned for charity [2] Recently swapped for an OLP Tony Levin

The decision to spend or not is not yours, in this case. Gear abstinence is about one's own decision to buy or not. Like I've just realised that I should have picked up a rechargeable pedal power supply for a little pedalboard before 2026, and now I'm not sure whether to go for the record in failing the test or use a powered power supply. Oh, and whether to buy a little pedalboard or fashion one from bits of wood I have lying around.

I'm in, mainly to see how long I last. Agreed about straps, stands, etc, give them a pass. Just want to check something - I have a bass being repaired which has been with Jon Shuker for a couple of months which I haven't paid for yet, so is that OK?

Ovacandidaphobia?

AliExpress's new year sale starts at 11pm, so that's an hour to get a Chinese mystery bass before the 2026 thread starts.

While searching for possible sources for Sqoes, I discovered an article about the factory: https://guitarbomb.com/philippines-china-inside-sqoe-guitar-factory/

You know you want a Dean 10-string...