pete.young

Very unusual to see a neck-through model. Good luck Roger2611, I hope you get it back.

If you can blag one, a PZM microphone is awesome for grand pianos, either under the lid or stuck on the floor underneath. The modern equivalent is a Boundary microphone. Dunno what your location is but if you're anywhere near Ipswich I have a Tandy PZM that you're welcome to borrow for a one-off, provided you can collect it and bring it back.

I asked Presto what they would recommend for cleaning the Nylonwound Lights that I use, and I got a reply which said it was OK to use alcohol on the strings, but don't get it on the spirit varnish of my instrument. I didn't have the heart to tell them it was plywood sprayed with cellulose. Think I might try drinking the alcohol and rubbing the strings with the bottle to see how that works 🙂

What fun paul_c2! Thanks for all the good ideas - I think there's no substitute for being in practice. I think it'll be alright on the night, and the band leader has come up with a bassoon part for the one that was most challenging. Sounds more like a baboon part the way I play it, but still ... Oddly enough I'm really looking forward to the concert tomorrow. It's been years and years since I've done this kind of thing, and it's a lot of fun. The band sounds good and everyone seems pleased to see me.

Max from SFX reckons it should be the first pedal in the chain. That's where I've got mine.

Didn't realise they were still a going concern. Thought they'd stopped making gear when FAL went bust. Some early history here - they were originally made by a guy called Brian Roost in Southend. Bought up by FAL in c.1980 http://www.andy-duke.co.uk/roost/roosthistory.html

Cachaito Lopez, Buena Vista Social Club, and his solo work.

Tecamp Puma 110. Although the 112 is better still.

No problem. It will be nice to see a lovely instrument returned to its former glory. Someone else for you to try: Michael Cameron at John Alvey Turner - 07581 425731.

Oh, and forgot to add, the guy who does the repairs for Hobgoblin in Rathbone Place is really really good, and he's definitely an acoustic specialist.

I think it might be worth you having a chat with Graham Parker - he has done some work for friends of mine, and the results have always surpassed expectations. https://grahamparkerluthier.com I know a man who might know some more options, so feelers have been put out and I'll report back when I hear from him.

I have a Morley Little Alligator, a few years old now but still a great pedal. It's active, very quiet and reasonably linear. It has a feature which I find very useful - you can set a minimum volume threshold, so you're never plunged into silence if you get a bit over-enthusiastic!

Collin Hodgkinson is still playing the same '61 Precision that he had back in the late sixties.

I've reluctantly agreed to help out a friend (at least, someone who used to be a friend!) for a charity concert with his Wind Band, who are missing their regular bass player and can't afford fees for a proper dep. Parts have arrived - half of them are Tuba parts in bass clef, on ledger lines way below the stave! I'm a bit rusty at this sort of thing. Anyone got any tips for transposing them into double bass range, besides the always-useful "work off intervals not notes" ?

(By the way it took me a while to spot this - it would help if you type the new text under the 'Quote' box - Not a very intuitive part of the forum.) I play in a band that specialises in the music of the Pogues. Somewhat confusingly , this mostly isn't tenor banjo: Jem Finer played a 5 string banjo , in a single note style to start with, although he was getting quite capable at the bluegrass style towards the end. But the way things are, we'll take bluegrass, old-time, tenor, plectrum or even guitar banjo. I can even fill in the parts on my digital accordion if necessary but it doesn't look right.

There was a thread in 'Other Instruments' but it was a while ago. If anyone is obsessive-compulsive about it maybe the mods could move it. Like the man says, it depends on what style of music you want to play. If there are any banjo players looking for a gig, I have a vacancy in the Ipswich area! Five string isn't just used for bluegrass, there is also the Appalachian Old-TIme style (what Dolly Parton calls 'mountain music') which doesn't use either picks or a three-finger roll style. Like this:

Twice in the last 12 years or so since I started playing regular gigs. My valve head started to suffer from distorted sounds due to the upside-down power valves starting to fall our of their sockets. Experience of valve tech meant I had a backup Markbass head, so I used that instead. Amp tech fixed the problem by putting some Marshall-pattern retaining springs on it, but I went over to using the Markbass instead. Second time, speaker in my Tecamp combo developed a fault. No big deal either since the main sound was front-of-house anyway and the combo was just a monitor.

https://www.joinmyband.co.uk/classifieds/metalcore-band-looking-for-guitarists-t1124498.html "Need to be between 18-24 as our practise rooms don't allow anyone over that age in" Is that even legal?

So the most important head is the only one you can't change? Though filling it with oil seems strangely attractive 🙂

Have you thought about trying a decent compressor on the vocals? Might be cheaper than a speaker upgrade.

I use a Shadow wing pickup with a PJB Briefcase, and I find that a good pre-amp makes a huge difference to both the signal and the sound quality. I have an EDB-1 which is a great bit of kit. The notch filter is especially useful for tuning out the odd growl. I originally bought the EDB-1 because I wanted a 2-channel pre-amp to add a microphone, but I find that I get a good enough sound for my needs with just the Shadow.

I was thinking more along the lines of Vintage or OLP, which come up second-hand every now and again.

That was a lucky break. No way is that heap of firewood worth 750 Euros. 75 maybe.

Well, the replacement we found in April has just resigned, so once again we're on the lookout for a banjo player, or a guitarist willing to learn banjo or play 6-string banjo.