Happy Jack

Is it as harsh as stainless steel makes me think, Tony, or does it sound more mellow than I'd expect?

At least that will stop Paul the Drums calling it The Seagull Bass.

You realise you'll end up with one Fender, three Ricks, and 28 Gibsons?

Absolutely outstanding!

When you're done with that, I've got a stainless steel pot that I've burned apple onto ... could you have a crack at that too?

Having used both recently, I'd say 'No Contest'. Even a small petrol generator is significantly heavier than a Jackery unit, a much more challenging shape to carry and store, stinks of petrol all the time, and can't be put back into the van until it has cooled off. I bought a Jackery recently based on conversation with @NickA, tested it thoroughly at rehearsals, then stowed it permanently in the gigwagon. Anywhere we might need auxiliary power it will be part of the basic setup. Two days after putting it in the vehicle we played a country pub with a large covered beer garden, a place we've played many times before without incident. We set up the band, tested everything, started playing our MP3s through the PA, and then there was a very loud POP and everything ... erm ... went away. One of the bar staff (a new girl, just a teenager) had tried to turn off the pretty lights in the beer garden by unplugging them - guess what she unplugged. It hadn't even occurred to me to plug everything through the Jackery. Ah well, lesson learned.

I have to say, this is all jolly educational. Early heads-up. I was originally hoping to launch the Alumibird on an unsuspecting world on 25th August, but that now seems unrealistic. Plan B (and airtight alibi) will now be 8th September at Amersham Heritage Day.

Spiraltastic!

I trust you used Mrs Andy's cloth shears? ☠️

Wall Art, innit? In all fairness, if he was asking a sensible price ($46 rather than $460) I'd prolly be interested.

Is a gnat's whatsit bigger or smaller than a smidgen?

I had two of these back when they first came out (the first one got nicked) - God that seems like a long time ago. 😂 I seem to recall that I wrote one of the first reviews on Basschat and described it as a one-trick pony, but really very good at that one trick. And then I did an instructional on how to re-valve it (for electrickery numpties like myself) to try to make the gain a bit more manageable ... the early Mk.I versions were almost unusable at anything less than high volume.

Dave Allen was very big on TV in the late-60s through to the mid-80s, Irish comedian with a droll raconteur style of story telling. Many of his stories managed to incorporate his missing half-finger ...

This Tom & Wills padded gigbag on wheels has done an excellent job for me for years but sadly it is now approaching the end of its useful (gigging) life. The most-used handle is tearing away from the body of the bag and other wear suggests that its beyond saving. I've bought a replacement now and this is too bulky to have hanging about the place. But before it goes in a skip, this is still a good bag for some purposes, including non-gigging uses such as storage or protection from passing damage. I'll keep it for a week to see if anyone fancies swinging past Harrow HA1 to pick it up. If not, then it'll have to go.

Exactly this ^. You probably need to define 'rig' for these purposes, @Clarky. More sensibly - and entirely to my astonishment - of all the truly lovely amplification kit I own my go-to for almost every gig is the Trace Elf. Virtually all of my gigs have full PA support so I have no need (or use) for silly-loud on-stage volumes, which makes the Elf the obvious choice regardless of the venue, the genre of music, or the overall volume level. It handles a 5-string Rickenbacker and an aluminium double bass equally well, so there's no point in anyone trying to dismiss it as some sort of one-trick pony.

Time to start working on your Dave Allen routine? 😉

And how's that going for you? 😂

You'd think we'd be talking to each other, eh? 😂

Yes, just out of shot to the left, plus the KK Baby Bass I bought from @PTB which is in the studio outside. Obviously something has got to give so I'll be selling the 4/4 Zeller. 😟