Jean-Luc Pickguard

Sometimes saying something is rubbish it isn't just an opinion; it can be a quantifiably true statement. As an example my newly acquired 'made in China' Modern player starcaster bass is a lovely instrument to play now that I've slung on a set of LaBella flats and set it up, however it came from the factory fitted with one of the flimsy cheapo output sockets that has a good chance of the tip connector losing its springiness over time and causing the signal to cut out at the worst possible moment. As the bass is around twelve years old, the original socket is surely on borrowed time. Whenever I encounter one of these it gets replaced with a switchcraft, or preferably a pure-tone socket, and the original goes straight into the bin. Now that I have fitted the bass with a pure-tone socket, I can have complete faith that the output jack is top quality and won't fail on me. new pure-tone socket on the left, crappy flimsy cheapo rubbish original socket on the right.

I'm so glad that I'm in a band without any of this kind of BS. — Unless they're plotting to oust me behind my back of course.

Stuttering Blues — John Lee Hooker

On Reflection — Gentle Giant

House of 1000 Corpses — Rob Zombie

What's That Smells Like Fish? — Blind Boy Fuller

Third Ankle — Bauhaus

When The Chips Are Down — David Porter

Smelly Tongues — The Residents

Garlic Bread — Gary & Larry

T-Bone Blues — Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five

Sausage In A Bottle — The Police

The 'other' Ian Watkins

Sweet Sticky Thing — Ohio Players

I'd get all the band members together in a room and bang their heads together.

I've never seen or heard of a cello riser, but in theory I can see how the endpin could transmit vibrations to the surface of the riser which in turn *might* set up vibrations in the riser. Standing with all of your weight on the surface that you're looking to vibrate, however, is bound to damp/mute a lot of the resultant vibration, so maybe the design should be ammended to include an additional partial platform only connected at the edges to stand upon? Something that might maximise the volume gain would be design with a lightweight circular plate suspended so it is free to vibrate, with a cup-like depression in the centre for the endpin. I could imagine this might have a similar effect to the resonator in a dobro.

Just finished with a hour to the deadline. This is the ritual of visiting the seaside as observed by a visitor from another planet. Instruments and fx from logic plus Epiphone Casino, Fender Starcaster bass, Fender Mustang GTX100, Shure SM58.

Both Ends Burning — Roxy Music

Are You Hung Up — Frank Zappa & The Mothers

I'd love to have a Herman Miller, however my budget is a little more modest. I bought this chair three years ago, replace an Ikea Markus which disintegrated. I use my chair almost all day, every day: https://amzn.to/43MVVGl The flip-up arms make it ideal for practice & recording bass/guitar. An essential upgrade for any office chair, especially on a laminate floor, is a set of roller skate-style wheels. These are the ones I bought with the chair: https://amzn.to/3JTF2mB The total outlay for the chair & wheels is still under £140.

Don't Forget About Me — Dusty Springfield

Somethimes when buying secondhand, you get an accessory or two thrown in as a freebie. This week I bought a Fender starcaster bass which was listed as coming with a case. I expected a ratty gigbag, but it actually came with a (very slightly tatty but fully intact) epiphone Jack Casady hard case. Also included was a very nice worn-in Gibson 'modern vintage' black leather strap and a set of schaller strap locks (not copies). The strap goes for £58 new from gibson. I'm not a fan of schaller strap locks and have ordered a set of gotoh fender-style buttons to go on the bass to be used with grolsch-style rubbery strap blocks, but the schallers might be worth the price of a few pints if I sell them. A nice bargain came from Cash converters a while ago when my black epiphone vintage pro thunderbird eventually only set me back about £100 once I had sold the humongous custom-made heavy duty aluminium flight case that came with it.

He's Gone — Doris Duke

Bulls On Parade — Rage Against The Machine

I switched from using a spectracomp to a Boss BC-1X. There were two irrational prejudices at work here - first I decided to go to an all-boss pedalboard in a attempt to put a constrain on the pedals I buy so I don't purchase a lot of different pedals that do the same thing slightly differently, and the row of LEDs on the BC-1X show that the compressor is having an effect on the sound even though it may not be very obvious.