Lfalex v1.1

If ever proof were needed, then here it is. Mondeléz own both Cadbury and the Kraft/Jacobs/Suchard brands; Hence the Toblerone debacle in which they put greater spaces between the triangles. May sound trivial, but such was the uproar that they relented and went back to the old Toblerone form factor.

I'm afraid so. Mondeléz have been running them into the ground in the name of increased profitability.

Bought a "B-Stock" Hydrasynth Explorer from Bax, saving ~15% off the list price. Straightforward transaction, timely E-mail comms. All good. ParcelForce sat on it for a day 😡, but when it arrived it was complete, comprehensively packed and in very good condition; little evidence of use. (All I had to do was swap out the power adaptor pins. I don't think they'd realised that they are removable, as they'd supplied a euro 2-pin to 3-pin adaptor.) Would I buy from them again? Absolutely. Edit- On further examination the Hydrasynth is plainly faulty, and in spite of "being checked and in full working order", it isn't. There's quite a channel mis-match at lower volumes; the stereo image pulls to the left. Worse still, half the backlights on the LFOs don't work, and they're essential to being able to see what you're working on. It'll be going back. Too good to be true. Now I'm stuck with the rigmarole of trying to return it, and no doubt some grief from Bax 😡

Hydrasynth Explorer arrived today. Complete with all accessories and just over 15% off the cheapest retail price I could find on the Net. First impressions? Pretty good Solid and well-built, but not too heavy. Sounds better than the Roland. More depth and articulation to even the preset voices. It's currently slaved in stereo through the Roland's speakers, which aren't great. However, I can play both simultaneously, use the Roland's headphone socket (which IS good) AND play along to music streamed to the Roland via Bluetooth... Edit- I guess it'll be going back, then. As you can see in the photo, half the back-lights on the keys don't work. And you need them to, otherwise you can't see which LFO you're adjusting (they should illuminate solidly) I tried the various menus, including the light menu and the system test. I've tried a factory reset. No luck. Back to Bax.co.uk it goes, then, as it was described as fully functional, with light signs of use. It isn't. So I guess it's not sold as described then...

Always liked the Dolphin body shape. That's a nice bass.

^^ Yep. Ænima or Lateralus to start with

Whilst I understood what @prowla meant by pace/dynamics in a hi-fi context, I've never found a bass combo, head, pre or power that's been lacking in immediacy so much that it's been particularly noticeable, let alone an issue.

Failure are great. Their cover of "Enjoy the Silence" is amazing.

Energy Supplier. And they ARE difficult to contact/ deal with. They just don't want to know.

Located an ASM Hydrasynth Explorer with a good discount, so I've pulled the trigger... It's "B-stock", but then most basses are, as someone might have "touched" them. Or worse still, played them...

Think I'm just GASsing for something that'll; A) Let me play a different patch with my left hand while my right hand occupies another keyboard. B) Have an arpeggiator/sequencer to play rhythm for me while I do other stuff. C) Will let me dabble in synthesis.

Status- My Streamline was a bitter disappointment. Sounded OK, but I've heard and owned better. Wasn't happy with the volume jump in the series/parallel switching. Fretboard delamination in several places at once. Cracks appeared in the lacquer around the bridge monorail. Then the batteries leaked 9 months in... never happened before or since. It was cursed. Sold at a horrendous loss. Wouldn't buy another. Ashdown- Been cut up whilst driving on the highways and byways by Mr Gooday more than once. That's reason enough for me... Hastings Insurance- My car was hit by another whilst parked. Only partial details were left, not including the other party's insurance provider. I contacted Hastings (my insurer) to find out who the insurer might be so I could make a claim. Basically was told it was my problem and to go and do one. So I have. You'll not see a single penny of my money again. KFC- I'd rather starve. TGI Friday's- Ditto.

1. Fired 2. Fired 3. Technically still in it. I haven't left and haven't been replaced after 20 years 4. Walked for political reasons 5. Walked for political reasons 6 Walked for political reasons Emerging pattern; Life is too short for pretentious and unrealistic people.

Playing 4s, 5s, 6s or whatever else is not mutually exclusive unless you can only afford one instrument or only have space for one. If I had the cash to burn, I'd definitely have a 3 string (E,A,D) custom build. Just because. It'd not stop me playing the others, though.

[Thinks back to hifi days...] Modulus of impedance?

Not to do Trace down, but you'll notice that they only actually made 3 cabinet sizes at any one time. Take the SMX era; There's the combo; 122SMX and 115SMX. Same horizontal and vertical dimensions as the mid-sized cabs, but a shallower footprint to keep the weight down. The mid-sized cab; 2103 and 1153. Deeper than their combo equivalents, and lacking the sleeve at the top. Tellingly, they share a baffle with their combo variants. The bigger boys; 1048 and 1158. Same footprint as the 2103 and 1153, but taller. Note that at any given size level, the 10s share exactly the same enclosure as their 15 brethren. The difference is the baffle (naturally) and, most critically, the port tuning. (I've overlooked the 1524 and 1084, but I bet they probably share an enclosure, too) The whole design concept was geared towards ease and cost-effectiveness of manufacture, with as many common components as possible. Right down to only needing to cut 3 shapes of carpet/vinyl to cover the entire complement of cabs/combos. I used Trace as an example as I used their gear quite merrily for many years. I see that many cabinet manufacturers use the same manufacturing model. Of course they do. It's all about profitability while making a product that is fit for purpose and that meets consumer needs and expectations. I think that the "expectation" part is key. Until fairly recently, we all expected a bass cab to be a large, hefty black cuboid. We even expected it to sound a certain way, particularly if driven with amplification from the same manufacturer. The game has moved forward with lighter weight alternatives and FRFR cabinet. I wonder, though, how many players with more modern, neutral cabinets end up EQing their sound back towards the sound that the older systems delivered?

(I have a Bongo 6) Every time I play it, it makes me laugh, but in a good way. They've just got endless headroom from the pickup/EQ combination- Neo, 4 band and 18v to boot. You can get quite old- school tones if you dial back the bass, treble and a bit off the upper-mid. Conversely, it'll djent or slap quite happily. Not sure it can "rip off" any other basses, not even a Ray. It does its own thing. And very well, too. They're well-made, even the six balances ok without it being too heavy. The neck is very quick- they're normally painted, which can be a deal-breaker for some. Frets are stainless and last well. All in all they're underrated, partly because of the aesthetics, which some don't like. £1400 is pretty good, and if you don't like it, you'll likely recoup that if you sell it on.

Yup. Overwound (perhaps) or at least able to be set relatively high close to the strings) compared to the very neck pickup. Personally, from my experience, I'd favour "A". Does distance from the bridge affect pole-piece alignment on this bass? If so, bladed pole-pieces are your friend. Again, another preference of mine (in two Warwicks and an Ibanez) YMMV

I think it was mentioned the he favours American Punk, not Thrash...

Definitely, that and the way in which they interact with the listening environment (usually a room for domestic hifi. Bass amps get used all over the place)

Urgh! These things are as bad as basses! The Roland is like a gateway drug; "I wish I could control the envelope of the sounds more (at all!)" Enter: Synth Gas. Candidates: Novation Bass Station 2, Arturia MiniFreak, and my current fave; The ASM Hydrasynth Explorer...

Whilst I voted 34", which many of my basses are, in point of fact, it doesn't really bother me that much. Don't think I'd care to drop much below 32", though. What does disappoint me a little is that multi-scale basses seldom seem to go for a "best of both worlds"; 32-35" on a fiver, tuned GDAEB. Modern bottom, old school top. I think there's a lone Ibanez that fills that niche. Most everything else seems aimed at the 34-37" Djent metallers

@asingardenof probably has it right. It's to cover vendors and merchants in the US shipping from Anchorage to Miami or other extremes of climate (especially humidity)

What if your equipment gets cold in transit to a gig? You can't not open the case when you need the instrument? Unless you have a spare...