tauzero

What an excellent neologism. A meter to measure just how good something is. Poor, mediocre, good, excellent, ultimate.

If he hasn't got a problem with weight (the bass, not him) and you would just like a less plain strap, there's a load out there - Planet Waves, Stagg, and (more expensive) Levys are worth looking at. For padded straps to help with weight, Lekato also make some good padded straps.

They're a P4 replacement. If the pickups are the same angle as the EHB1005MS (and EHB1265MS), and strings the same spacing, they'll do the job (there is a version with visible pole pieces that comes in 5-string and 6-string versions though).

That's looking very attractive.

A rather last-minute gig for Dirty Roses - the original booking for last night got cancelled as the agency and the pub had both booked a band in, and the pub's booking took precedence. Then on Tuesday we got asked to play at the Old Horse in Lie Sester, and so as not to let our three Christmas songs go to waste, we said yes. A bit of a trek for the guitarists, a bit less so for me and the drummer. Turned out to be a very friendly place, including the outlaw bikers at the back of the room, and larger than we'd expected. Our area was bijou but fitted us nicely (good job there's just the four of us). Not only did we have the bar staff dancing, there was a group of line dancers having their Christmas party and they gave it large for various songs (including, bizarrely, "Should I stay or should I go"). We're hoping to get back in there next year.

I've just gwgled and the Barrel Organ is now the Dubliner and still there (for how much longer I don't know).

There's the Aguilar DCB D4. Have a look at Low End Lobster's videos on swapping Ibarts for the DCB on the EHB. I think there's some up in the marketplace at the moment. Not quite as shouty as Nordies.

I've got the ATH-M20x and don't have any problems with them. I use them with active basses all the time. Are you sure it's the headphones and not somewhere earlier in your signal chain?

I've got a can of it. The squirty nozzle bit on the top fell off and so it squirts all over the place.

Has the Barrel Organ gone too?

A stand. One with a neck support and safety restraint, eg https://richtonemusic.co.uk/stagg-sg-a100bk-tripod-guitar-stand/ Alternatively, if he's likely to come onto Basschat, get him either a 3-guitar or 5-guitar stand.

Ah yes, another symptom. Inability to see beyond basses designed at least 60 years ago.

<counts> Er, which month?

Were any of the others who you'd recruited worth hanging on to, or did they all lack commitment?

Are the small pieces of wood strewn over floor and ceiling cleats to hold crack repairs together?

I finally got round to learning Slade properly this year. Then the singist said he needed to take it down a semitone, which was mostly no problem. Then at an open mic last week, I played it for a uke player in the original key. Last night, played at our one and only Christmas gig, a semitone down. Life doesn't get much more exciting. What I did enjoy last night was playing "Last Christmas" rather more rockily and with a lot more going on on the bass than the original.

I was just ruminating on exactly how hypocritical I am. So far, I've come up with Far too few basses have a headless option (see complaints above about headstocks Far too few basses have a natural finish option. I don't want ugly, easily chipped paint. Far too few active basses have a means of selecting passive. I don't like bolt-on necks with big heel blocks (eg FSO). If there has to be a headstock (occasionally a necessary evil), it should be equipped with compact tuners/machine heads/BOITNTBTTTTI, not those sodding great things that Fender use that necessitate huge headstocks. For five-strings, 4+1 is not good, 5+0 is definitely right out. Scratchplates. Horrible things. So, most of my basses do have heads. One is sunburst, the others are all straight natural. About 50% of the actives have a passive switch. almost all are through-neck, of the remainder almost all have heel blocks well up the neck. I have one with a 4+1 headstock. I have one with a scratchplate. The sunburst, 4+1 headstock, bulky heel block, and scratchplate are all on the same bass (Variax 705), which also definitely doesn't have an active/passive switch.

Based on that, if Fodera tried to make a headless bass, they'd cut the wrong end off.

I know it's been a while. I've got part of a box assembled, going to drill the front panel for t-nuts, cut some drainpipe to length (when I've established the final internal volume), and then finish assembly. Lessons to take on board (I don't think I'll be doing another one of these though): Don't get B&Q to do the cutting. I'm sure I could have done the cutting more accurately myself. Make the speaker cutout only as wide as is needed - don't rely on the specs for that, measure it. Get smaller battens. Make right angles 90 degrees. 88 degrees is not a right angle.

"I've been buying my meat and vegetables from Asda all year, what a shame that they won't be selling anything special for Christmas. Oh gosh, there's that nice Michael Bubbly to tell me that I can get my turkey and Brussels sprouts [1] from Asda after all. Hooray, Christmas is saved." [1] Spawn of Satan

Surely it's time for you to start playing fretless as well.

That's a big ignore list you've got.

It's not a bassist's list without Victor Wooten, yet here we are.

Actually, I think it's Boz Burrell I have to thank. Never heard of Jaco until 15 or 20 years after I first played fretless.