Happy Jack

[quote name='Meddle' timestamp='1444423793' post='2883256'] That guy is considered low-hanging fruit in these parts. A shame, because there is something insidious about his M.O. These instruments are marketed for beginners, so his target market know not if they are being sold complete junk or a brilliant instrument. From what I've seen it is the former. [/quote] Agreed. If there was even a hint of irony or self-mockery in his listings, some recognition of the funny side of these lash-ups, it would be more palatable. It's the apparently po-faced certainty that he's a craftsman improving poor design by others that really grates for me.

[quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1444478203' post='2883541'] I have on more than one occasion opened the gig-bag to find what I was not expecting. [/quote] I have told you before to keep your shotguns in a steel cabinet ...

You see my friends it all depends on the mood I'm in.

Any idea what the deal is with the reviews? Roughly two thirds say great, five stars; the remaining third say it does nothing at all. Operator failure? Or does it need a specific config to work?

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1444411080' post='2883130'] Learn how to sing. [/quote]

Yup. First time I picked up a banjo I was absolutely astonished. I simply had no idea ...

It depends. That's a reasonable question, but too many variables and (for some of us) an unrealistic budget. £350 for everything I'd need for a 'proper' gig with a pub rock band would simply mean I'd offer the gig to someone else. On t'other hand, my Thomann Deko U-bass plus a cheap DI box to go through someone else's PA ... sorted for £120.

+1 on start with G+L. Failing which, England is full of remarkable specialist outlets selling every imaginable nut, bolt, screw and fastening. So long as you can accurately measure the part(s) that you want to replace, you'll find someone operating out of an obscure industrial estate in the Fens. If all else fails, I have just such an outlet 50 yards from my studio in West London (on an industrial estate, natch).

[quote name='bluejay' timestamp='1444384176' post='2882711'] Have you been listening to the usual whiny voices of those who bemoan the excessive slapping and high volume ... [/quote] You rang, M'Lady?

It's a rich man's world.

[quote name='Merton' timestamp='1444397379' post='2882917'] Mock all you like but it's the way it's designed dude [/quote] I interpreted that as a piece of Benny Hill-ism ...

[quote name='Pinball' timestamp='1444388423' post='2882788'] I have it up for sale at the moment ... [/quote] Where? I can't see it anywhere.

I genuinely hope that remains the case. I wouldn't wish back trouble on anyone.

Now that I can agree with easily!

Equally? I don't think so. Important, yes, but you can't argue with gravity. A 5Kg bass is still 5Kgs regardless of how well it balances, and it will exert the same pressure on your lower back etc.

[quote name='JapanAxe' timestamp='1444333900' post='2882408'] The bass was a perfectly reasonable weight (4.2kg/8.25lb) ... [/quote] You use local conversion rates in Swindon?

[Pedant] Actually not an 11 (= eleven) but a II (= Roman 2). [/Pedant]

Cauliflower.

[quote name='PaulKing' timestamp='1444293678' post='2881876'] Klira? That's a new one on me. [/quote] [URL=http://s1128.photobucket.com/user/h4ppyjack/media/Basses%20SOLD/Klira%20Semi%20Defretted%201960s%20SOLD/6hoq46.jpg.html][IMG]http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m496/h4ppyjack/Basses%20SOLD/Klira%20Semi%20Defretted%201960s%20SOLD/6hoq46.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

I think the technology would need to take a step up for that to work in my case ...

You'll struggle to blend the pups until you source another pup to blend! Love it. I'm a Hofner man (with occasional excursions into Framus and Klira) but those Jolana basses do look the bizniz. I'll be interested to hear if it can be made to sound as good as it looks.

How do you know he plays Chic covers?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-WEIGHLITE-TWO-REVOLUTION-ILLUMINATED-FACE-SCALES-MEASURE-Cap-32lb-/350699572756?hash=item51a752ce14

I have some wonderful amplification stuff in my studio including full-on valve (Matamp) and valve preamp (Demeter) plus top-end solid state power (Digam). I love the sound it all makes, and I love playing through it. Back in the real world of The King's Head and The Red Lion, Survival Studios and my own garage, my newly-acquired Tonehammer 350 (thanks Lozz) plus first-generation Barefaced Midget is more than adequate for anything I've done this year. Sad, but true. The Tonehammer weighs about as much as the book I'll be reading tonight. The Midget weighs more than my bass (in a gigbag), but only because I use very lightweight basses. YMMV