grandad

Squier VM Mustang here. Excellent, can't fault it. [url="http://www.notreble.com/buzz/2011/08/26/squier-releases-vintage-modified-mustang-bass/"]http://www.notreble....d-mustang-bass/[/url]

The spectracomp is a must really to fatten up the bottom end.

Thanks for the link. I've just emailed my music colleagues with it. I always suspected this to be the case. Thanks again.

I always check I have a strip of indigestion tablets, spare hearing aid batteries and my teeth in. Oh, and a clean handkerchief.

Always a positive experience at PMT Birmingham as well.

2 of my favourite covers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVKZcLAHReg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIrIaTPyOSI

Nowadays we are so lucky to have the choice of such a variety of strings compared to what was available in the 60's. And it's different strokes for different folks. But it's impossible, and to expensive, to try out every make and experience the subtle differences between them. And that's where this forum is a god-send. The information on all string makes is here to research. Takes a bit of time but it's here with useful links to comparison charts and plenty of personal opinions. As much as I enjoy and exclusively use flats I don't HATE round-wounds. Probably like most of us the latter is where I started from. Then I tried nylon and then discovered flats purely by accident as they were on a 2nd hand Tokai SG I bought around the turn of the century. They will remain on it and are mellowing nicely. The real challenge for us bassists wrt strings is settling on a particular type for the music we play and sound we want. Also, not one type will suit/feel/sound the same for every instrument. I have different flats on each instrument I own. To address the point of the post, why not temper today's personal preference and choose to enjoy the variety and difference if only by proxy.

Bit of recent manufacturing history: http://www.entwistlepickups.com/about.php?fllstry=y

I never change mine, had 1 set for 10+ years.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NvQUJtW0GA

Try to make it crackle by physically wiggling everything, all the wires etc and press and wiggle and twist the pots. If you can't locate it then re-solder all connections, earths first. It sounds like the tone pot is a prime suspect though. It sounds like an easy cheap fix.

Glad to hear you're pleased. Yes I feel the same, I'm enjoying the convenience of everything I need in a small lightweight package.

Glad you're liking it. I used a Peavey SS head into an Ampeg B115E for many gigging years. I still have them but they're left for club use at the community centre. I was so used to the sound of that cab. I could stand almost anywhere, front, back, side, sit on it, and hear the sound I wanted. With the smaller speakers I find them very directional and subject to room and placement. It took me some time to 'like' the sound of more modern amps/cabs. I was just so used to that lovely 15" warmth. I still like it but I think I've sort of trained my hearing/sense of tonal variation. Whereas I was previously rather stuck in a false preference for[u] the[/u] sound of [u]my[/u] bass I now play around with the eq a lot more. I think the secret for me is in taming the mid's till I get that sweet spot, along with the dynamics of how I play of course. I played my 1st gig with my modified 208 last week at a fairly large church hall and it performed really well. Try and listen to yourself at some distance. It does project well.

Eagerly awaiting your reports. I reckon you'll both be very pleased. I am with the 125's, they punch, and the 225's, they punch harder.

Blue Monk.

I personally like these, tension, feel and tone. They were perfect for the Viola bass I had. However, there are some who equally dislike them. I guess it's personal taste.

Looks like one of these with a knurled retaining nut. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DP-Standard-Mains-Toggle-Switch-1ea-N-O-N-C-2A-250Vac-or-as-SPDT-STS-DPIC-EN02-/142011465574

For some inexplicable reason I have never used or had the opportunity to try a Trace Elliot bass amp and always wondered exactly what is it about them that generates so much affection amongst some BCers. I must say the aesthetics are appealing to the eye. However for me, possibly only Peavey and TCE have got it right for a small lightweight amp. In the 200 - 500 class D watt range I want a built in tuner and compression. [i]edit - (got it now, if used with the Transit pedal then you have it all).[/i] With all the class D amps I've tried, at 12 o'clock, I hear an eq that favours the mid's. But looking at the curves, (frequency v gain), the class D module here seems to have a super flat response. [url="http://icepower.dk/files/solutions/icepower_asx_series_class_d_amplifier_oem.pdf"]http://icepower.dk/f...plifier_oem.pdf[/url]

Any idea of the price for the Wattplower? Pity about the colours!

It's all here: http://www.hse.gov.uk/electricity/faq-portable-appliance-testing.htm

[quote name='sprocketflup' timestamp='1485120596' post='3221386'] I've had the opposite experience, must have completed a few thousand PA tests in my time and only ever failed one item, a kettle. The lead was fine. [/quote] When PAT testing began to be seriously implemented in the workplace the number of failures was high. Kitchen equipment was found to be particularly suspect. Every year the number of failures fell as did the number of electrical accidents in the workplace. Nowadays the number of equipment failures should be low and I believe that the requirement to PAT test has contributed to those improving figures. 2 horror stories. The first was a food mixer that had the electrical connections exposed underneath, that is to say no bottom cover. Anyone lifting it up could touch live mains and this was sat in a college training kitchen used on a stainless steel work surface. The second I remember is a dentist's inspection light with no earth connection, the boom was stainless steel. Extension leads are very susceptible to damage and should be visually inspected every time before use. I have even had brand new IEC mains leads fail due to no earth or reversed live-neutral. When dedicated PAT testing equipment was first produced, rather than using just an AVO meter and Megger, they cost a couple of hundred pounds. Good quality testers now cost several hundred pounds and upwards. This outlay needs to be recovered. Labels, fuses, screwdrivers, pliers, cutters, plugs, labour, training, all cost. A proper visual inspection and electrical test and recording takes time which costs. £3 an item doesn't sound a lot to me for a properly conducted test, labelled items, recording done, insurance conditions satisfied, customers/fans, yourself and band members safe. Your family safe if you use any equipment at home. I retired from lecturing some years previous. I'll stop now.

[quote name='Maude' timestamp='1485120347' post='3221382'] I seem to remember that anyone can carry out PAT testing, the only 'qualificaton' being that they are deemed competent. I don't mind paying if I'm getting something for it but the guy testing it could be less competent than me to do it. [/quote] And the best way to become competent is to do a training course and get a certificate to prove it.