Norris

Most songs don't need filling out that much. I play a precision mostly, and never scoop the sound - which does help. On some songs I play the rhythm guitar riff rather than the bass line (e.g. Witch Queen by Redbone), roll off the treble and play up near the neck to let the guitar really take centre stage (Black Magic Woman by Peter Green/Santana), wind up the overdrive to create a wall of sound behind the guitar (All Along The Watchtower by Hendrix), or occasionally play 5th chords where it definitely needs filling out (a couple of accents in Whiskey In The Jar by Thin Lizzy). Mostly, just be in balance with the guitar and don't be a shrinking violet

No. They really don't have to be. There are a lot of egotistical knobs out there, but there are also nice people too. You just have to find them

My Fender Rumble v3 500 can easily fill a room. Any louder and you'd be wanting the PA involved anyway Oh, and it's an easy one hand lift

You've broken the ice, now dive in

Walk No, run!

Ebay. I must have had half a dozen today

I'm not the most confident singer, and not a particularly good voice either. However in my experience it's better to "go for it" rather than doing it half-heartedly. Keep projecting, but back off the mic a bit to get the vocals in balance. Certainly hearing yourself is a lot better than NOT hearing yourself. If your band(s) are keen for you to do backing vocals, have a vocal session. Put down your instruments, get the guitarist to play along quietly and practice just the vocals together without mics. If you have difficulty pitching, sing your starting note off mic for a bit before you come in

Well that should keep the crowd at a safe distance

In a lot of music stores BASSES are niche. Full-stop

He could play it fine by himself or accompanying the record. He just struggled to get the rhythm in a band situation. I was a little surprised actually - it's the first time I've ever known him to struggle, he's an excellent guitarist

Our guitarist was struggling to get the syncopated bit in Black Betty in time. I came up with the phrase "(Oh) I want a nice cup of tea" to help him - the "(Oh)" is silent on the 1st beat. We then repeated it over and over with me and the drummer shouting the phrase at the guitarist as we played - quite an amusing exercise at the time

You could try scraping it off with a razor blade (used like a cabinet scraper)

Espadrillicious

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There, you said it in the OP Perfect "corporate" band name

I've played in a trio for a few decades. There really isn't much limitation on what you can cover, depending on your abilities. You may need to rearrange stuff a little bit, maybe cover the rhythm guitar part on bass if it's a "hook" or something, fill out a bit here and there where necessary. I mean, we do 25 or 6 to four by Chicago and no one has ever complained at the lack of a brass section

Or candle wax works well too

I could kiss you! Thanks! I've been searching for ages and never found that site. Ordered! Edit: you won't regret trying it. Fabulous stuff

Finger Ease is fabulous stuff. Unfortunately I've not seen any on sale in the UK for 3 or 4 years. I'd really love to know why it's NLA over here. Fancy sending me a box? My last spray has about run out

Afaik, mahogany and ebony are both listed under CITES. It probably depends where it originated, actual species of wood, and how long ago it was made into a guitar. But I doubt you'd ever be able to know all that now without certificates

I don't know if he still comes on here, but the chap that made replacement pre-amps for SB-1000s is Prostheta. He sells them on Ebay (or at least did a few years ago). They are not easy to reverse engineer as they are encased in potting compound However if you need a replacement pickup, the most accurate reproduction is made by Rautia Guitars - they have a website. There are other replacement pickups available (e.g. Kent) but they are standard soapbars in SB-1 sized covers Edit to say: both Prostheta and Rautia are based in Finland btw

Have you cleaned the sockets on your amp effects loop? They can tarnish if not used. I assume the amp is on top of the cabs, so will probably vibrate a bit on low frequencies

Cheap nut files are a complete waste of money. The set I tried were made of cheese and were absolutely nowhere near their "nominal" sizes. They went straight in the bin. Hosco ones are a bit more expensive, but are precision made

Just bought an Ampeg BA-108 practice amp from Dan. Excellent communication throughout. It arrived in pristine condition as described. Very smooth transaction. Thanks @danweb22