bertbass

The one on the right looks like a Kelly 50w valve head. Similar to a Selmer T & B 50.

Some of the glue joints haven't broken down have they? Might be worth checking that all the edges and corners are still solid.

If the Generator is bad enough, even SS amps won't work or just sound horribly distorted. Been there and done that more than once, that's how I know. If the generator is man enough though you'll have no problems.

Use to own one of these in 1969 along with a pair of Selmer Goliath 18" cabinets. Actually, it was the metal clad one and not the wooden case, same thing though. Sounded fantastic at the time. Our guitarist has got one of these in his attic as well and that sounds good too.

The power conditioner won't do a lot except tell you what the voltage is or more likely what it isn't. If you have to use a generator, the best bet is is to make sure that your equipment is the only thing running off of it even then it may not give enough power.

A bit of wet & dry wrapped round a screw driver and sand it off.

GAK and Gear4music both sell the Fishman Fission Powerchord pedal for £249 new which may be cheaper than amps & cabs. You could check on ebay for a used one, cheaper still.

How about one of these, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2XKZNMR2Pc or one of these, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2YHS6wEGnQ

It's also not that easy to find short scale strings let alone different gauges. Had a hell of a time trying to find decent strings for my Danelectro Long Horn. Ended up with a set of Rotosound. Haven't looked for ages though.

I've always played in a 3 piece and love it. There's very little that you can't play as 3. Be creative on the bass and don't be afraid to take some of the second guitar / keyboard parts if needed. You can also use vocals and harmonies to great effect to fill in for missing instruments. It won't be long before you wonder why you ever needed a second guitar. Good luck and enjoy.

The reason I don't like short scale basses is because of the flub on the bottom string even at standard tuning. I would imagine that down tuned that low, the E string would behave like a floppy elastic band, but why not try it and see, you can always retune if it's no good.

4 string!

Use loads of extension leads, so no one can see what happening and run the main one to the kitchen or where there is an unaffected mains supply. A lot of the older sound controllers used a cheap mic that had a switch on it. If you switch this mic off, the traffic lights would still work but wouldn't shut the power off. I don't know why. Most of these units are not effected by bass but ping a cymbal and it'll cut the power. Good luck!

Crumbs!

You could go to http://www.warmoth.com and go to the bottom of the page and click on learn more about our bodies / necks for some ideas.

I'd show you a picture of mine but I ate it.

Only saw this today and didn't realise it's been out since June 2012. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcM3xOvb82o[/media] Brilliant!! Wouldn't make me eat chicken though, it's fowl!

A pickup is a pickup. A magnet with a coil of wire around it. More coil, more resistance, and higher output. If you've got a blade type pickup, the you can use it for guitar or bass as long as it's long enough to pick up all the strings. If it's got pole pieces then you need the pole pieces to be under the strings, other than that there's no difference.

I remember seeing the Def Leotards play one of their first gigs on the now rapidly disappearing Hastings Pier. They seemed very small people, perhaps that's why they made the stage half the size it normally is by pulling the PA stacks in from the sides of the stage. Both bands are mega big so they must be doing something right.

Had a quick google and came across this, [url="http://www.mylespaul.com/forums/tonefreaks/558-wiring-library.html"]http://www.mylespaul...ng-library.html[/url], It's for Les Pauls' which display the same problem. It's called independent wiring apparently.

Impressive!

I had my Rick when the WWW didn't exist and information was not available, but even if set up to perfection it would still have been a terrible example of a design classic. It had the sound though.

I used to own a 4001 many years ago and although it was a really bad example I persevered. I put up with the thick neck and the fact that I could never get the intonation right on the E string because of the 'sound'. I tried fitting heavier strings and while setting the relief one of the truss rods broke. Got a new truss rod and installed it only for the finger board to start lifting off as I adjusted the new truss rod. If I put super light strings on, it was OK, if not, it was unplayable. It was stolen in that condition and I hope the thief was happy with his new unplayable, left handed, fireglow, 4001. From my experience, I'd be wary of putting on heavier gauge strings. I believe also, that the 4003 is a 4001 with a more manly neck for this very reason.

A fair number of the venues that we play decided to close at 12 instead of 11. Out of habit or lack of public transport, a lot of the audience still leave at 11 which leaves the band playing to a rapidly diminishing audience. Big thumbs up as they leave but a bit soul destroying.

The stair lift is not such a stupid idea. When my poor Mum passed away we had to clear the house and as she had a stair lift fitted we put it on ebay. As my Mum refused to use it, it was virtually brand new. Only one person was interested and they got it for £50. Not an item that people want it would seem so might be a cheap answer to your dilema.