KingBollock

Now if only they had Skaven in 40K!

I had a parcel delivered by Evri recently, and I think it was only due Evri that I got what I had ordered. The box was made of very thin cardboard and was far too big for what was in it (which was some quite delicate, wooden boxes) with absolutely nothing for padding, they were just left to rattle about. Due to the box being closed using only one piece of sellotape, the box was actually open when I got it. It can only be due to careful handling by at least some staff at Evri, that everything was still in the box and was undamaged. I have had some bad experiences with Evri in the past, but we’ve not had any problems with them since moving here. My wife has nothing but praise for our driver.

I wonder how many people would be fine with getting the same make and model, rather than the exact bass that they owned? I’d be ok with any Westone Raider I in silver/grey that was in good nick. It would be nice of it had the hard case, too, especially if it had the same smell. In fact, I probably wouldn’t be able to tell. There was slight buckle rash on the back and I had added a small sticker of a vulture perched on a skull, to the headstock, which I would imagine would have been removed. The biggest giveaway would be the case, since it had my name embossed in huge letters on the front of it… I was 12 years old, I thought it looked cool! I never considered that I’d ever no longer own it. I used to think that if I could, I’d get two of them. One to keep as is and another to add a second P pickup and active circuitry. If I could only get one I would keep as is. Though, I always seem to miss out if/when they do come up for sale. Someone even made a thread on this forum pointing out one for sale on EBay, in 2021 (I think), but I had wondered off from BassChat around then, so I missed it. That’ll teach me!

This isn’t a band story, but WalMan reminded me of it… It was new year and I was working with a mobile disco. It was a very large and impressive setup, and included pyros. For some reason the boss put the button for the pyros under a table behind some light boxes. I spent the last half an hour of the year asking one particular bloke to move back because he was too close to one of the pots. Come midnight, I’m on the floor, under the table with the button and I can’t see a thing… I only went and set the bloke’s jumper on fire!

Some friends of ours, my wife, and I were heading Skegness for a couple of days. My mate said that, as he’d lived there and visited regularly, that he knew the way and would supply directions… We started off in Nuneaton and got as far as Leicester, about 17 miles. Then, somehow, we ended up in Wolvey, which was about 2 miles from where we started. We followed the sat nav a couple years ago while heading home to south-west Wales from north Norfolk. For some reason it sent us via London. The trip took over 8 hours.

My first love was a Westone Raider 1 in silver/grey that I got in 1987. It was so very 80s. (Not my photo) I have regretted selling it every day since I parted with it.

I don’t quite know why I am mentioning this because it is probably stupid and impractical… I am quite a large fella, I’m mostly all belly (parts of me look like they belong to a much fitter/thinner person. I wish that the rest of my body was as lean and muscled as my legs!). This puts a lot of pressure on my already damaged back. Anyway, one day I was out at a quarry collecting rocks for a vivarium setup. I ended up with a rucksack on my back with about 50lbs of rocks in it. My back hadn’t felt so good in a long time! So, I am wondering if attaching some kind of counter balance to the back of your strap might help? I don’t know what you’d use, and it would probably be best if it was not obvious. Maybe a small dumb-bell weight covered by something? Or a bag of sand/rocks. It wouldn’t have to be huge as it only has to counter balance some of the weight of your bass. Something small but dense. I don’t know, like I said it’s probably stupid. It might only have to be used for a short time while you work on strengthening your core. It might even help with that because as well as a counter balance, it would be extra weight. It could work like those weights that people carry or attach to their ankles while out jogging.

I inherited a couple of Recorders but I really can’t get on with them. I really enjoyed playing when I was a kid, but an incident put an abrupt end to that. I play the Penny Whistle a bit. Badly, but I enjoy it. Finally got around to buying a Clarke Sweetone a few days ago. I think I’m going to give up on trying different ones now. I just really like the Clarke Original. Along similar lines, I own a tiny Ocarina in D, but it is far too shrill to enjoy practising. At some point I hope to get one an octave lower.

I once took some speed and picked up a guitar (skinny stringer). Over the next twelve hours, without a break, I learned to play the first two Pearl Jam albums. I eventually got to sleep but when I woke up my fingers were in agony. I’m not a guitarist, so didn’t have the appropriate calluses… I couldn’t touch anything with my left hand, never mind a guitar, for over two weeks! By the time I could pick up an instrument, I had completely forgotten everything I had learned that night. I miss weed. It is one of the few things that can help when my mental health takes one of its regular dives into despair. But, when the only person you know, that could conceivably get you some, is your wife, and she works for the police…

Megadeth - Peace Sells… But Who’s Buying. I was 13. Until that point I had only ever played blues riffs from a book I had. I actually had the tab book for Guns & Roses - Appetite For Destruction, but I just couldn’t get anything to sound right… I had no idea that you could tune your bass differently… Then I joined my first band. It was decided that, because Peace Sells was the most difficult song to play, it should be the first for me to learn. It took me two weeks to get right. I can’t remember how many songs they had in their set (they had been playing the same set for two years at that point), but Peace Sells was the only one I had ever actually heard. There was Metallica - Seek And Destroy (I’d only heard the Master Of Puppets album), King Diamond - Dressed In White, and a song by Zodiac Mindwarp (no idea what the song was). I’d never even heard of King Diamond or Zodiac Mindwarp. I think most of, if not all, the rest were originals.

I have an Aria Pro II MAB-20/5. It was my first five string. It plays nicely and it sounds early good. But my goodness is it ugly! I hate it so much that I feel sorry for it because it really doesn’t deserve such rancor.

I imagine that if you were to remove the side, an extra screw hole would be revealed. When installing the ears, you would reuse the screws you have just removed, and also the two (one for each side) that come extra. You wouldn’t see the shaped side panel if racked anyway, so there’d be no need for them.

It looks like it takes three screws and the ears sit flush against a flat side, then scoop forward. So, I wonder if the V vented side panel needs to be removed to reveal the extra screw hole?

I have a Bass Baby 150w, 1x15” combo, that my wife picked up at a local auction. It looks rough and some of the pots and sliders need a clean, but it does indeed sound very nice. It weighs a bloomin’ ton, though!

I think Subhumans are my favourite punk band, though I have never seen them live. Mind you, the only punk band I have seen live is Conflict.