KingBollock

This was the original version I came up with, but it was a while ago now and I have plans to further modify the pedal before finishing it. If I remember correctly, the photo I took was at the same beach where Dobby (the House Elf) was buried.

I know what you mean (and I am a massive Motörhead fan) but the vocal does get better as the song progresses. I actually believe that Motörhead’s cover of Enter Sandman is worse.

I have no specific sci-if pedal projects, but I do plan on building a pedalboard that I want to look like a section of floor grating from the Nostromo, in which I will find a place for a Wayland-Yutani logo. I do have some pedals that I have made myself that are so far unpainted. They tend to have pretentious names, such as: “The Scent Of Red Ruin Borne Upon A Mourning Breeze” (a Body Rot II. Mostly) and “Dank And Fetid Earth Beneath A Doom Coloured Sun” (this has two Big Muffs in it, a Musket and a ‘73 Ram’s Head. Both modified). The latter of which I intend to use a photo on that I took looking out to sea from a Welsh beach. I have inverted the colours and it really does look like an alien landscape. I think some of the other pedals have potential for a splash of sci-if influence. If I do go down that route, they’d almost definitely be Xenomorph based, with maybe a smattering of Predator.

When I was a kid and started using a pick (I had taken up electronics, too, and my fingers always seemed to be covered in plasters (I am very clumsy and shouldn’t really be allowed near hot or sharp things…), making playing with fingers difficult), the local guitar shop didn’t sell picks thicker than 1mm. I had some rubber feet that I had taken from the bottom of a TV that was being thrown out. They were a couple of mm thick and fitted perfectly on a pick. So I basically had a pick that played and sounded like a 1mm pick, but was 3mm thick, so nicer to hold, and being rubber made them nice and grippy. I got a job in that guitar shop and they all laughed until they had a go for themselves. Then the shop started stocking 3mm Big Stubbys, which I then used for the next 25 years, until I discovered the Primetones. I don’t do this any more, as I say, I use the Dunlop Primetones, but I thought I would mention it just in case it might help someone else.

I love Elixirs on my basses, but they don’t do 40 - 100, which is all my Warlock gets along with. I love the D’Addario NYXLs on my skinny stringers (really dislike Elixirs on them) and was thinking of trying the D’Addario coated on the Warlock but, again, I couldn’t find the gauge I was after. So I thought about trying them on the basses that usually get Elixirs, but after seeing this thread I don’t think I’ll bother.

Dunlop Primetone 3mm Unfortunately they have gone up in price from £8.99 to £11.99 per pack, and you can only buy them in packs of three. They do last a long time, though, and they’re nice and grippy, so not so easily dropped.

The thing is that I already have copper tubing (which would get painted with black Hammerite and possibly weathered to look a bit rusty). I know that in the past when I have bought solid metal rods, it’s tended to be quite expensive, though I have only bought in small amounts for modelling materials. Despite it never leaving the house, due to the poor condition of my back weight will be an issue. I already have most of my gear on casters for the small amount of moving it around that happens occasionally. Also, this cab, being relatively small, will have to go on top of a stack.

I need to replace some stuff that got water damaged in my old workshop, there’s a couple of tools I could do with, and then I’ve got to build an Owl box for my mother-in-law (she’s asked for one, I’m not building it for her to live in…). Then I’ve got to build a new model building and painting desk, and a new computer desk. But after that, I should be good to go! I really do want to do it, I think it would be fun.

I have got an old 1x15 cab that I was thinking of messing about with. All I would do is basically build a skin around the cab as it is, mostly. If I do it how I am imagining it, I would use light weight wood, but do it in such a way that you wouldn't be able to tell that it isn't made of 2x3s, or whatever. The only real change to the cab would be removing the grille, which is tatty plastic. I got this thing over thirty years ago, and it had just been on a rather extended tour of Europe when I got it and it hadn't been treated nicely. I sold it at one point (for the same price I paid for it), and about ten years later the chap I sold it to gave it back to me, for free, because it was taking up space. The poor thing is ugly and unloved. The idea is to make it look cool (in my mind), but I do still use it, so I don't want to make it sound crap. My only worry is the bars. I am worried that hollow tubes might resonate. Even if it all worked out, the only time it would leave the house would be after I am dead and they're clearing my lair out.

Oops! It was meant to be Cab, not Can. These are a couple of cages I made (I scratch built everything on the pallet, including the pallet, as well as the cages. It’s all very rough because I had never tried anything like it before) to go on a trailer for an RC car I had painted up like the gas jeep from Jurassic Park. I was thinking something like those. I even imagined a whole PA system built like it, I thought it’d make a great stage set. I never actually thought I’d build it, but I now have a little workshop and a lot of wood left over from the house build. If you look closely, you can see a Dilophosaur. I didn’t made the Dilophosaur, I got that from a Geocache.

I didn’t know where to ask this, so I am sorry if it’s in the wrong place. I have had this idea for building cabs to look like old style, rickety animal crates/cages for ages. The sort of thing that old hunters might have brought exotic species from Africa to sell to zoos. The idea would be to build a solid cab and then cover it with a thin shell/skin, to make it look like it is made of warped planks and nails that is hardly holding together. I like the idea of having vertical bars instead of a grille. My question is: Could I get away with having hollow pipes instead of solid bars, or would this effect the sound? If it would be a problem, could I get away with filling the pipes with expanding foam or wooden dowels? I think solid bars would be expensive and heavy.

Indeed. And the fact that learning to play guitar and bass has never been so accessible. The cost and the quality of entry level instruments (less likely to be put off by a poorly made budget instrument) makes getting started a lot easier. Plus the massive amount of information and advice on the internet probably helps a lot.

This is the best video I have found for them:

Thank you so much! Those aren't the exact ones, but from that I was able to find out that they're called Magnum-Lock tuners. Now I know what to look for, I have found a few videos that show how they work. Thanks again. this will take a lot of the stress from changing the strings on this guitar, I never knew if I was doing it correctly.

Sorry to post this here but this is the only forum I am a regular member of, and I know many of you also play guitar... I have an Ibanez RG7321, which came with locking tuners. To be honest, I don't really know how to use them properly, I have been winging it since I got the guitar. I just can't find anything about them online. All searches that include the guitar name, just lead to people asking about installing locking tuners. Which is odd, because the guitar is supposed to come with them already, which mine did (though it was second-hand, and I know it was messed about with, because the previous owner had replaced the pickup selector switch). The tuners lock from the front, where there is a flathead style slot. If there is no string installed, the post can be freely turned on its own. As I screw it in, I can see a post coming up to fill the hole, obviously to lock the string in place. Does anyone know what I am talking about? I can't even find out what they are called, which makes searching for instructions difficult.

I always think of a “guilty pleasure” as something that you like that others feel you should feel embarrassed about. Not a bass, but I own a Warwick Coffin Case that I feel slightly embarrassed about owning, despite actually really liking it. Like it’s the sort of thing I should have grown out of by now… I always feel the need to explain that I didn’t actually buy it, exactly, it’s what my Warlock (the most perfect bass for such a case) was shipped to me in.

I have one of these: * A BC Rich Warlock NT Back in around 1989/90 I was asked what my ideal bass would be, and this is what I described. BC Rich didn’t even make them back then. I truly believe that it is one of the best looking guitars ever made. Only trumped by other Warlocks that have nice, exposed woods and binding. My very first bass was a Westone Raider I: * And I would give my left leg to own another. *(Neither of those photos are of the basses I own/ed (the only photo I have of the Westone is of me playing it while naked. It was about eight stones ago, but still, no one wants to see that!))

Sagitta - My first band, put together by myself and my brother. I got the name from a huge star map I used to have on the ceiling above my bed. It’s a constellation consisting of four stars (there were four of us). Then there were only three of us so I changed the name. First, briefly, to Skull and then to Mandragora. Deviance - An already established Metal and Thrash covers band with originals. 66Crush - Rock and metal covers band. I hated the name, but then it was suggested by the singer who wrote a song about having sex in the back of a three wheeled van… John Doe - Rock and metal covers and originals. Despite the rubbish name, this band was great. Really talented and great people. One of my biggest regrets is having to leave this band, though I wasn’t given any real choice (due to stuff outside of the band). Bum F*ckers From Hell - Death metal band, originals. There was supposed to be an offer to be on a bill with Bolt Thrower, at which point everyone started taking things far too seriously, the name got changed to Cerberus and promptly fizzled out. That last band was in the early 90s, I then lost contact with everyone I knew and, due to my circumstances, I’ve done bugger all since.

Whenever I think of bad bass solos, I always come back to this… I think it’s the confidence in the singer’s call of “Bass Solo!” that truly elevates this piece. The call of Bass Solo! became a bit of a thing in the community I was a part of back then, around 1999/2000. The Bass Solo! starts around 38 seconds in: Sorry, I tried several ways to post the link without posting the actual video, but could’nt work out how to do it. Hopefully the mention of lady bits doesn’t offend (though it’s not vulgar or slang, so hopefully it’s ok).

Interesting. It had been a while since I last opened Reaper and I had to restart my PC a couple, or so, times to get it to run properly and recognise my midi keyboards. I managed to get it all working, but I still keep getting a pop up telling me that it can’t open the midi devices, despite me using them perfectly well while it tells me I can’t be. I wonder if there’s been a Windows update that’s fiddled with it, maybe? I don’t know. I was having a really bad day and this was making it worse, so I had to step away.

I adore Skunk Anansie, though I have never had the good fortune of seeing them live. I was particularly gutted to miss them supporting Motörhead in Norwich way back. If they’re “not quite” your thing, then I would highly recommend trying their “An Acoustic Skunk Anansie - Live In London”. A fresh take on some brilliant songs. You can find the gig on YouTube.

I have Dunlop’s on one guitar and I really like them. I have knock offs on a couple of guitars (they were less than £8 for two pairs) and I have had hardly any problems with them. The only problem I have actually had with them, though, is how far they stick out and them being a bit pointy. I play sitting down but not with the guitar on my lap, it hangs down between my legs, sort of in a classical style. The Warlock has a strap button on the back of the upper horn and, due to the position I play in, the strap lock really digs into my ribs/belly and hurts. So, I want to ask for some advice, but if it is a bit too cheeky to use someone else’s thread I’ll start a new thread (I don’t like starting a new thread if there is already one on the same subject. I don’t know why, but it feels like a waste of paper… And I often think my questions are just too dumb for their own thread.). I really like the look of the Dunlop flush fitting strap locks, I feel that they would fix my problem. The trouble is that you have to drill a 1.25” deep hole for the screw. The bass is only 1.7” thick. I know that technically it fits, but it feels a little tight. I don’t want to move the position of the strap button. Does anyone have any opinions on whether this is a bad idea or not? Or has anyone had any experience with the flush fitting one?

Except for the large dome, those knobs don’t look dissimilar to what was on the bass in the first place. Even when I concentrate, and knowing exactly where it is (because of the numbered knobs), I still struggle to feel the notch. If there’s no way to enhance it (and I am happy to open the pot if that’s what is required), then I will have to replace the offending pots. I’d ideally like to change the whole wiring loom including the preamp (for one with a Mid setting and a bypass option), but it is a very small cavity and has no separate battery compartment.

This is similar to what I was going to ask about. I want to try putting them in my ultrasonic cleaner with isopropyl alcohol. I don’t know why it would, but I wanted to check that it wouldn’t damage the strings. I actually want to do it with guitar strings (double ball ended on a guitar I don’t use that often), most of my basses have coated strings.

Is it possible to make the centre detent, in pots that have one, more obvious? And, if so, how? I don’t want to have to concentrate so hard in the middle of a song just to feel when I am in the middle of a pot’s sweep (it’s only a couple of the pots on my Warlock, they’re fine on my other basses). I have put speed knobs, with numbers, on it, but I still have to concentrate to see the numbers, and I don’t think they suit the bass aesthetically.