tauzero

[quote name='King Tut' timestamp='1440803643' post='2854089'] Just found this . . . . Pretty useful . . . . A, B, C and D are widths not shapes! [/quote] C is both a shape and a width. I'm pretty sure all the Fenders and Squiers I've played have been C shapes, Yamaha acoustic guitars are V shapes (can't remember what the basses are like), and Warwicks are either C or U shapes (I have examples of both).

A couple of years ago, we played in a marquee at Arrow Valley in Redditch, at the end of March. There was a light dusting of snow on the ground. Worse than that was one rehearsal about 25 years ago, which for some reason we had in a Dutch barn (a roof on legs, for those that don't know), with several inches of snow on the ground. I really can't for the life of me remember why we did that, when it was a Birmingham based band and we were spoilt rotten for choice with rehearsal studios.

The Three Degrees, even though they have had fifteen members, didn't have any academic qualifications.

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1440773510' post='2853767'] Ska bands around here are the best pulls... consistantly. Not many bands get into the £500 bracket but most of the ones that could are Ska bands. [/quote] The disadvantage, of course, is that you have to play ska.

[quote name='TimR' timestamp='1440765240' post='2853643'] I certainly don't think it's even possible to explain it. And I still have no idea why it's a curse. [/quote] The OP's curse is that he can't get the young folks to listen to him when he tells them that the Beatles were responsible for all music since 1963. Our curse is that some old bloke goes banging on constantly about how the Beatles were responsible for all music since 1963. So there's actually two curses.

[quote name='skankdelvar' timestamp='1440712075' post='2853307'] From such tenacity are legends born. That is the case here. We are witnessing something very special. [/quote] He hasn't yet learnt that the true art of trolling requires putting in a minimum of effort. This is more like blunderbussing.

[quote name='yorks5stringer' timestamp='1440684068' post='2852943'] Would that not affect the Piezo underneath? [/quote] It shouldn't if it's a flat shim (not necessarily uniform thickness) making good mechanical contact all along its length with both the bridge saddle and the piezo strip.

[quote name='jeweytheroux' timestamp='1440611871' post='2852434'] My deko acoustic bass is here and seems totally fine apart from fret buzz up around the 12th to 14th frets on the D and G strings. I've tried adjusting the truss rod in both directions but it isn't helping - any advice here? Not sure how to adjust the bridge? [/quote] You'd need to pull the bridge saddle out and shim it.

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1440604472' post='2852345'] Ahh.... ok. Thanks. So we're not looking for a faulty component or dry joint then. I'm sure it can be fixed with a capacitor across the switch, or the battery. It's just a matter of finding out what size that needs to be. [/quote] I don't think a capacitor across the switch would do it. The active/passive switch changes the signal path rather than switching power to something. It does make me wonder if there's a DC offset somewhere that shouldn't be there. You could always replace it with a cheap and cheerful Artec preamp.

[quote name='peglegs42' timestamp='1440629913' post='2852607'] The worst problem is probably the shoulder - it is a sharp, tingling pain right on the ball. I'm aware it might be due to bad form as it happens most when I play with a pick, but no matter what I do, it comes back every time. [/quote] Which shoulder?

[quote name='solo4652' timestamp='1440602990' post='2852330'] 2. Use the old consultancy trick; I if you can't decide whether your client would prefer X or Y, ask them. So, instead of wondering what music would impress them, why not give them a choice? "I've prepared a classical piece by X and a pop piece by Y - which would you prefer to hear?" [/quote] As you'll be doing a fair bit of private work, don't forget to quote them the prices on each.

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1440625921' post='2852575'] And Bolan, Bowie, Slade and The Sweet were all influenced by the Beatles. [/quote] Why do you think that? Does your hero worship blind you totally?

You won't smack it into the low ceiling as often, and your singer will thank you when you don't ram the headstock into his/her ear. Note - if you're married to the singer, that's even more of an issue.

[quote name='Slipperydick' timestamp='1440578695' post='2852020'] So if you found someone doing your day job for 10% of what your paid, because they enjoy it, how would you feel ? [/quote] I'm currently training someone to do my day job for 10% of what I get paid so I can be made redundant. That's called "outsourcing to India". Fortunately that's not likely to be an issue for bands for a while yet. PS. And I feel exactly how you'd expect me to feel, but it wouldn't get through the expletives filter.

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1440550484' post='2851905'] Well, if your playing in a rock band, you saw or heard something that made you want to play. Whatever, you heard or saw can be traced back to The Beatles, that's fact, not opinion. [/quote] That's your opinion. I, personally, don't share it.

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1440514581' post='2851427'] I only have video archives, anecdotes, books and the music to base it on, but I really can't think of a culture shock comparable to the Beatles getting off that plane in 1963. I don't think anything comes close. [/quote] That's the nub of it. It was a culture shock, not a musical one. There seems to be an awful lot of conflating going on.

[quote name='skankdelvar' timestamp='1440512490' post='2851391'] Many seem to be asking indignant and slightly whiny questions on the lines of: 'Are you saying me and people like me can't I have my opinion?' To these members I would say this: 'You all know full well you can have an opinion - but for some reason you won't let Blue hold an opinion which carries somewhat more weight than most. Some of you are mischievously misrepresenting his position in an attempt to foment ill-feeling for purposes of petty self-aggrandisement. 'You're being rather silly and spiteful. Best you go and sit on the naughty step to contemplate your foolishness'. [/quote] Actually, what he's said is that young people shouldn't express their opinions: "Just like when I say young folk should keep their negative uninformed opinion to themselves, because I still opinion if you weren't there you don't understand stand what happened or what the Beatles did. It's not a matter of right or wrong." Whether or not you were there, you can still have an opinion.

[quote name='Cameronj279' timestamp='1440518113' post='2851480'] How do you know they are non-musicians? [/quote] I was wondering that too. My dad was a dentist, who also played piano to a pretty reasonable standard - I think he got his interest in the piano from his father, who started out as an organ builder. So you can't really predict what your audience might contain.

Classical electro-acoustic turned up yesterday. Haven't gone over it with a microscope yet but it looks like the binding on the body edge is slightly marked. It's a passive preunamp which was a little confusing as I looked in vain for the battery box. The curse of nylon strings (which I've never encountered before, having never changed the strings on my brother's classical) as they're still stabilising. Still, I own Ashbories so I know all about that.

Just a minor inaccuracy - Electric Landlady was Kirsty McColl, Electric Ladyland was Hendrix. But definitely a top article.

I have several questions for Angie:[list] [*]When will those clouds all disappear? [*]Where will it lead us from here? [*]Ain't it time we said good-bye? [*]Remember all those nights we cried? [*]Ain't it good to be alive? [/list] If you are neither Angie nor Angie, please refrain from answering.

I'm a little surprised that the trussrod adjustment is at the body end.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1440270762' post='2849550'] Also why I don't like those modern tuner pegs that are concave in the middle, so you can't wind the string down to the bottom of the tuner. Lame! [/quote] Perhaps they were designed with proper headstocks in mind (the best headstock is an absent one, of course, but that's another subject). It does seem strange to me that Fender never changed from the two-string string tree to a bar type design that would give all the strings a similar break angle over the nut.

[quote name='Brother Jones' timestamp='1440332217' post='2849847'] GK MB150E. The little, supposedly 150w combo (do they still make them?). I only bought it because it was cute and supposedly portable. In reality, while it was small, it was also extremely heavy and a nightmare to carry on the tube.Plus the cab rattled something awful. Replaced with my Eden rig which was a revelation.The older Eden heads remain my favourites. [/quote] I used a GK 200MB (predecessor to the MB150) for years. Weighs about 11kg, so lighter than most 1x12 cabs. Took it on the back of my motorbike on a couple of occasions. Did you have it in a lead-lined flightcase?

My classical electro-acoustic is also out for delivery. It'll probably finish up with a neighbour unless it arrives sometime after Minus Zero gets up (generally about 4 in the afternoon, he is idleness embodied).