jrixn1

The current ones are pine but previously I think they were basswood or alder. I don't know if pine is less dense than alder?

I'm not sure if you bought it new from a retailer or used from a private seller. If new, you can send it back for a refund for any reason you like. You'll have to pay the return postage but the retailer's refund will include the original outbound postage cost.

Rehearsing increasing the risk of transmission, regardless of whether you're a professional or not - but it also allows the working musician to do what they need to do to earn a living, with all the benefits which come with that, both to the individual (does not starve/get evicted) and to society (tax revenue etc). So it's a balancing act between the increased risk vs increased benefit. In the case of the non-professional group, you have the same increased risk, but with no corresponding increase in benefit. (BTW I'm not judging anyone who does or doesn't choose to rehearse; like the OP I'm just trying to make sense of the guidelines as written.)

I agree that it's not completely clear. Compared to going to the cinema, I suppose the government feel there's additional risk of transmission particularly from singing or the playing of wind/brass instruments. Looking at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/working-safely-during-coronavirus-covid-19/performing-arts#arts-5-2 it seems that singing and playing wind/brass instruments should be limited to professionals, with extended social distancing (3 metres if "face-to-face and without mitigations"), and then (contradicting itself), "avoiding singing face-to-face even when following the required distance".

N.B. The above guidelines are for non-professional musicians, as a rehearsal would count as "socializing". If however you're a professional musician rehearsing for work purposes, then the guidelines from https://www.gov.uk/guidance/working-safely-during-coronavirus-covid-19/performing-arts apply, which are more like workplace guidelines. In which case, in summary yes you can rehearse - but read that doc.

Or to put it another way: If your group is from one or two households: you can gather indoors or outdoors If your group is from more than two households: you cannot gather indoors you can gather outdoors up to a maximum of six people.

According to the govt guidelines, no you cannot. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-outbreak-faqs-what-you-can-and-cant-do/coronavirus-outbreak-faqs-what-you-can-and-cant-do Search that page for any mention of "indoors" and you'll see that they repeat the two-household rule everywhere.

There are various "the box" brand speakers, passive and active; I guess you've got one of the active ones. If you're already happy, then no you don't need to buy anything else. I do all my recording and live gigs without a bass head. I have a pre-amp pedal with basic EQ (which you have the equivalent in your Mackie). I don't really use much adjustment though since I enjoy the sound of my bass already "as is". Then from there straight into a powered speaker (not a "the box", but a different brand - but the concept is the same). I used to have a bass head but I prefer my current system without one.

Which section is in 5/5?

Unscrew the control panel and examine the back of the jack socket. It should have one longer "leg" with no wires connected to it. Bend that leg in gently with your finger, just a little bit, so that when a cable is inserted, it will make a firmer connection.

It's a "prize competition". https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/for-the-public/Fundraising-and-promotions/Commercial-schemes/Prize-competitions.aspx If you have any doubts whatsoever about trustworthiness, why not instead use a big-name online casino and stick £5 on the roulette wheel; keep going until you lose, or you have won enough to buy a bass.

https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?geo=GB&q=pickguard,scratchplate

See https://www.talkbass.com/threads/scrap-lumber-bass-vs-alder-bass-can-you-tell-the-difference.743932/

Does it depend on your location? So at home it might be fine, but then might not be ok when you go to a venue with the wrong type of stage lights (or whatever it is which causes hum)?

Yes fair question - I would have gone for a passive one off the bat if I could have found one. I knew I wanted the SL model, but looking around for a while none came up - they haven't been out that long. Turning to buying new, it didn't seem that a passive SL was a stock option - and since I'd never played let alone owned a Sandberg before, I preferred to buy something off-the-shelf, so I could easily return it if for some reason we weren't getting along - I'm not sure I'd have that option if I'd order one to spec.

Yes, I much prefer it this way. The active preamp is good, but I'm not interested in using it, as the bass already sounds great without it. Also, it's better for me if I have fewer options, otherwise I get distracted and end up tweaking for no real benefit. The passive loom works well - the tone knob now has a better range across its full range of travel, so it's easier to use.

I used forScore (paid) but then switched to Piascore (free) - they are quite similar. You can drag and drop to create/edit a setlist, so it's very quick to move things around if the song order gets changed at the last minute.

My TT5 was a stock active one. My pickups are not the large pole piece ones. In passive mode, the active treble control becomes a passive tone control, but only has an effect across half of its rotation. Furthermore, to me it didn't have the full dark-bright tonal range I would hope for from a traditional passive tone control. I took out the preamp and put in a KiOgon loom.

The only thing to say for sure is that some heavy-gauge flats shouldn't be strung through the body, as the break angle will be too great. Otherwise - some people say it makes a difference, others will then disagree. It's a perennial debate, in the same vein as whether tonewoods or high-mass bridges make a difference.

I don't know much about different makes/models - others can probably provide better recommendations. The one I have which seems fine is a Behringer UMC204HD. It's not that big, but there are smaller models within the range. From a connection/logistical perspective, mine sits on the desk next to the computer. It has one USB cable to connect to the computer, which provides the power as well as audio from mp3s/YouTube etc; or you can use the second input channel to connect a phone or other physical device. My bass connects via my pedals to the first input channel using a normal guitar lead. You could place the interface on the bass amp if you have a long-enough USB cable to reach the computer. However NB the computer needs to be on, since it is providing the power; the interface has no other power option. Back to the topic of practising - I bought the interface because I needed to record some isolation tracks, but for practice purposes it's really quite good (or bad, perhaps!) as I can record myself and then listen back, and I hear a lot of things (i.e. mistakes) which I didn't hear at the time.

I used Zoom pedals happily for many years for home practice. I switched only because I needed to do some recording so got myself an interface, which also has a headphone amp and aux in - maybe that's another option to consider, if you might ever do some recording at some point?