EliasMooseblaster

Aha, that might do the trick! I popped the back off yesterday, but I couldn't see anything that was obviously loose or damaged - I guess the drawback to PCBs is that it's often difficult to tell if a component's simply conked out. Do you happen to know whether said diode is accessible and/or easily replaceable? (Though to be honest, I'm leaning more to the idea of moving it on with the caveat of the faulty DC-in...)

I've just (finally) invested in a fairly generic power supply for my pedals, as my BDI-21 seems to be a bit of a battery gobbler. I connected everything up to find that the 4-way power unit worked fine with all my pedals...except, ironically enough, the BDI-21. Are there any known idiosyncrasies to this pedal's DC socket, or do I need to pop it open and check for a loose wire? - the polarity is correct (centre-negative, same as my other pedals) - it's definitely not over the current limit - another Behringer pedal worked without complaint. The BDI works fine on battery power, but when I connect the DC, it goes completely dead - no status light, no sound, nothing. Anyone else seen this?

If it reassures you at all, when I add up the gigs I've done with different bands over the years then my most used bass is probably my kit-built Precision copy. (I bought it from Brandoni Guitars about...christ, 18 years ago now?) It is a Precision, it does all the things a Precision should do, but it has no logo on the head. I suspect most people will see the familiar Precision shape of your Camel and think, "oh, it's a P-bass, we know what we're dealing with." I usually found I could get most of the way through a session before anyone would look closer at my Precision and ask me who made it. If they did ask, I told them the truth, and they'd invariably admit that it sounded the part. I'm pretty sure I managed to avoid any sniffy replies suggesting that I should invest in a "proper" Fender.

Yeah, I'd be happy enough playing with that setup. I think my only reservation would be the choice of a Jazz bass - never really got on with them myself, but I would happily swap it for an Affinity Precision, as I've played some surprisingly nice examples of those in the past!

Cheers - I had been eyeying up the one you had for sale, but it looks like somebody beat me to it! Damn my caution and indecision. I'm certainly very tempted now, especially after last night's gig, with the Behringer again being a bit lacklustre...though that may have just been down to the tiny PA in the venue.

Should probably put up a little taster of Ms Serin's music! Last I heard, the gig is also free entry.

...until he tries to bring the sidecar back down to land, and realises it only has one wheel...

I, for one, look forward to seeing the listings for a formerly two-wheeled bicycle...

Oh, hell yes. Now that was fun.

I bought a Behringer BDI-21 a while ago to set up a little headphone rig, and for the (increasingly rare) gigs where I have to plug straight into the PA. It's fine; for the little money I paid I don't feel I can really complain...but every so often, the baked-in mid-scoop starts to get irksome. So I started looking at options which came with a midrange control and a reasonable price tag, whereupon I found the EHX Battalion. Does anyone have experience of using one of these as a DI in a live setting? I've just come from watching a demo video which sounded really good, but the guy demo'ing it was sending the signal out to a bass amp, rather than a PA. So, does it do the job adequately? Can I tweak the EQ safely without completely tanking my FOH sound? Do sound guys freak out when offered a DI box that isn't their own and is covered in knobs and switches?

I suspect you're absolutely right. Unfortunately, what we think of as "rock" music does seem to be treading down an ever more conservative and tedious path. There's definitely a formula that Planet Rock (and others) seem to cling to, and I can't see it changing any time soon. Even the two Pink Floyd numbers in that list are among the "safer" choices from their back catalogue. (Longer rant on the subject here: https://ralphbeeby.wordpress.com/2017/10/10/the-devils-music-exorcised/)

Sorry, you'll have to excuse my own bad experiences clouding my interpretation of your original comment! I'd agree with you there - as long as I can hear the notes I'm playing, I can live with a less-than-wonderful stage sound. I think I've just done too many straight-to-PA gigs where I've barely been able to hear a single note - which was particularly challenging on the ones where I was playing fretless!

For a Cherry White gig, I'd take two or three - Gibson Thunderbird and/or Epiphone EB-3 (4-string perhaps with backup 4-string) and the Hagstrom HB-8 (8-string...no backup as I only own one!) I like to give everything else a fair rotation when I pop along to local jam nights, though there's little point in taking more than one bass to those. Especially if I want to bring a skinny-string as well - getting on the bus with two guitar cases can give one the air of a serious musician, but trying to stagger on with three or more just makes one look a bit ungainly...

You cross your heart and pray thanks to all deities whose names you can remember that, as a bassist, you only have to transpose the changes, and not the head of the tune.

There's possibly an aspect of your own playing style to it as well. Never been sure quite why it is, but there are certain popular basses I've just never got on well with. I've heard plenty of of bassists who get great sounds out of a Jazz bass - from fellow BCers up to the likes of Geddy Lee - but when I've played around with one myself, I've never been entirely happy with the sounds I was making. It's like borrowing someone's shoes that are ever-so-slightly too small; by comparison, picking up a Precision or a Thunderbird is like slipping back into a pair that fit properly. And I'm sure the opposite will be true for a lot of people on here. It may just be that you're used to the way your 'ray and Sei respond to your playing, and the Precision will feel like a different beast.

I can't find it just now, but I did read an article on Fender's website which made a similar claim about the Telecaster's bridge pickup. The writer asserted that the way the metal of the bridge extended to surround the pickup (the "other" ashtray design) did something to enhance the sound and make the pickup "snarl" more. My own Tele does not have the extended ashtray bridge, and sounds pretty much as I expect a Tele to sound, so I remain sceptical.

One of Australia's finest singer-songwriters, Sonia Serin, is briefly visiting the UK, and has very kindly asked me to play bass for her at a gig in Camden this Sunday. Last I heard, our set is due to begin around 8.30-8.45.

I agree with both of you, but particularly the bit I've highlighted - believe me, it's no fun having to play fretless on muscle memory alone!

I do find this a fascinating subject, not least because I can sympathise with your position! I consider myself introverted, but I'm very aware that I am a different person onstage. I don't necessarily dislike meeting new people, but I find it tiring - dedicated "networking" events are my idea of hell - but somehow I find I'm able to present a different personality when I have an audience waiting for me to play. (And I'm quite sure I know a few other introverted musicians who function in a similar way.) I'm familiar with the idea that the introvert is hesitant to speak up in a group because (s)he wants to form and double-check any idea in his/her own head before voicing it, and so the conversation ends up being dominated by the surrounding extroverts. So the way I see it is that if I've gone to effort of arranging the gig, getting the band up to scratch, and getting my gear to the venue, then that set is my unequivocal opportunity to speak up (perform) and I'm bloody well going to do so! But then, I can only speak from my own experience. I know that not everybody is capable of putting that mask on when the time comes.

It's worrying how commonplace it is, this idea that work is something that must be suffered. Is it dreadfully naive of me to think that yes, we've all done jobs we haven't enjoyed, but surely they're either a means of making ends meet while you get a side project off the ground, or something you put up with until you find something more interesting to do for a living?

If anyone's in the vicinity of North Finchley tomorrow, I've had a rather short notice booking to join this interesting-looking lineup. I'll be doing a solo set of furiously fingerpicked folk-blues, going on about 5.45pm. If anyone fancies a pint before that, I'll be loitering in the venue from around 5ish. I hear they have some interesting beer on.

Tramp the Dirt Down by Elvis Costello. (What? That's not about gardening? Oh...)

I must admit I've not logged into that other forum for donkey's years. I used to make pretty regular use of it; I think I just found that I preferred the atmosphere over here (maybe it's the cheese) and decided to pitch my tent here instead. I think it was the black-and-whiteness of so many conversations which I found a bit tiring. Topics such as the order of your signal chain, perhaps at which point you took the DI signal from, or - god forbid - whether to mix driver sizes, might prompt a lot of "try it and see" responses over here; over there, you're never short of people declaring "I would never do this*, and here's why you're wrong..." Still, as far as the most bizarre exchanges I've seen, I can't decide whether my favourite is: - the two blokes who started taking chunks out of each other over whether Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd could be considered part of PF's "canon" because one of them didn't like it; or - the time the forum nearly erupted into civil war over the question of whether a Bass Guitar was a type of guitar, or some special and unique bass-related entity in a family all of its own. *this first part quoted verbatim from several cases...

Very true. Though there is also the mutual enemy of both the publican and the performer: the freeloader who comes in to listen to the music without buying a drink, or nursing a small lemonade all night. I realise some people might have good reasons for doing this (loneliness and being genuinely strapped for cash spring to mind), but I've heard of groups of people having the brass neck to occupy a table in my local for a couple of hours and neither making a purchase from the bar nor dropping a coin into the jug that goes round for the musicians. One of the regulars told me that he'd had a quiet word with a small group who tried to get away with this one night, who took great offence at the notion that this pub, known for its regular music, could only continue to support itself and let people watch the bands for free if they took enough behind the bar.

You are my northern analogue AICMFP