NancyJohnson

Media Human works fantastically. So easy to use. Thanks to @BassBunny and @Jean-Luc Pickguard for the heads up. I am in NIN - The Fragile; Deviations 1 heaven. Maaaaaarvelous!

On the subject of three pickup basses, the Deimel Firestar has three and a piezo. It's a slab of Germanic loveliness. Just for good measure and the lols, Frank also builds them with a whammy bar.

I have an age-old version of Winamp (go me!) that I use; I'm just comfortable with everything about it. Amazingly, it seems to play just about everything and I doubt it's had any kind of plug-in update for a decade! Ripping used to be Audiograbber, but I needed to update tags all the time (MP3Tag), now I use Windows Media Player. Can't actually remember the last time I actually ripped a CD to be honest.

I was wondering whether any of my learned friends would be able to help me out with an audio conversion problem. Recently, I was given a drive containing audio files encoded in FLAC format at 24 bit/96khz, while I can listen to these on my PC without issue, I'd love to shoot them around my house and listen on my assorted Sonos units, but Sonos only supports 24 bit/48khz maximum. Any idea how to downconvert; MP3/320kbps is fine. I have dropped the files into my DAW but while I can batch convert/output/save to MP3, the maximum bitrate I can save to is 128kbps, despite forcing the DAW to encode at a CBR of 320kbps. Curiously, I can save the FLAC to a WAV, but the files are unplayable on the Sonos system (despite other WAVs playing fine). Anyone got any ideas?

When I bought my Gibson NR Thunderbird, the scratchplate was whiter than white and just looked wrong. I resisted the temptation to rub it down first - I think I did a test area on the back of the plate - but I did try the coffee/tea soaking route. It didn't work; any residue just rubbed off. Eventually I just had a new plate made up in an off-white colour and added a Thunderbird graphic from a guy that was selling them on eBay.

While my dalliances with the MusicMan company is limited to a Bongo 5HH, the Stingray is probably the only bass which would fall into the mainstream category that I've never owned; I see these family reserve and specials come up periodically and my heart does this little flutter when I see these black 4H/4HH models with their toasted/roasted necks, but I never feel the desire to own one. I really can't quantify why this is the case. Perhaps I'm just content with what I have for the first time ever.

The DP3X sounds peachy through the return. Definitely preferable than going in through the front. Bring on the YYZ stomp.

I don't know I'm fully done with pedals just yet; while I'm sure this amp will do me fine for the time being, I'm still a whore for Tech21 and still have my dUg. I may swing for a Sansamp YYZ at some point for a bit more variety and to prove that I'm not done with the company just yet. While I haven't tried it yet, I'm assuming I can utilise the Darkglass poweramp side by just plugging the dUg into the return on the effects loop?

From the manual - there's no inference that this setting is exclusive to DI or cans: CAB SELECT: Switches between 3 different cabinet impulses and bypass this section for a rawer sound.

To this day I can't work out why I didn't connect with this album. I've listened to it several times but for me it's just missing the crucial something that would call me back for repeat listens. On the death front, I do wonder how things would have panned out had he not gone swimming that night.

When we looked at this place, honestly, it was semi-derelict. The place hadn't been touched in 40+ years or more. The room I have my gear in is a brick extension that the previous owners were using for storage, we took the roof off and put in a glass roof in, doors into the garden etc. We use this more than our regular lounge.

This is something I try to explain to my wife when she asks why I need 900w. I've A/B'd with Graeme's BB2s and my Big One; in terms of how they sound, they're both pretty thunderous, but to my ears the BB2 cabinets (these are 3rd Generations) edge things on the tightness side, while the BO is a tad looser and warmer. A little tweak on the EQ makes them pretty indistinguishable from each other, so I won't be rushing to buy any additional enclosures. What a great way to spend a Saturday.

@Graemeross kindly dropped over his pair of BB2s and I've been ramping things up. The AO certainly suits the BB2s over the Aguilars, so I'll concentrate on these for the review element. It's a truly lovely head...despite the 900w rating, this is into 2ohms, so expect 375w into an 8ohm configuration. I'm leaning more towards the Alpha side tonally; it just has more scooped mids and is more dUg sounding. It's very suprising to me how different my basses actually sound through this; the 5 string Lull is way phatter than the JAXT4 despite sharing the same pickups and loom. The old Aria P-bass is just gnarly. Of the head itself, little tweaks make so much difference. A touch of anything affects everything elsewhere. I prefer to run things flattish tonally, but the graphic is very sensitive. The cabinet emulation/shaping option on the rear doesn't seem to have any real effect, maybe in a bigger room it may. Anyhow, that's it for now.

OK, first impressions. Loud, gnarly, distorted, gwaaaaar. And so on. My initial preference is for the Alpha side...it just sounds more controlled. I'll have a play over the weekend and report back. I would say that I tried it with the Barefaced Big One, lovely, but with the Aguilar SL112s it didn't procure such a happy result, so I suspect these will appear in the For Sale section over the weekend (don't worry mods, I'm paid up); it's simply not a happy pairing, they're simply not aggressive enough and I just feel that they're trying too hard to smooth things out, so there's little point in keeping them. I'm hoping at some point to try these out with a pair of Barefaced BB2 courtesy of @Graemeross More later...

'Candygram! Candygram for Mr Anthony!'

About 30 years ago, I discussed the collecting/storage/reselling of instruments with my dad; on retirement he had a tidy nest-egg from something he'd invested in and did ask me whether guitars would be a good route to throw money at. Even back then, you knew the stuff that was going to appreciate; old Fender Jazz basses, Les Paul Juniors, old Les Pauls and Stratocasters, things with known provenance etc. but conversely I don't think my dad really had the inclination to store a load of instruments on the off chance they'd turn a profit. As things stood, my dad died about a year after he retired, everything passed to my mother and my dreams of being able to dip into a lock up full of vintage guitars died with him. Moving forward, in 1999, on my first trip to New York, I remember seeing a load of 60s/70s Jazz basses (a job lot from a recently deceased NY session player) in a store opposite Manny's and these were selling from $700 - $1,200. Certainly the 60s stuff would by now easily have tripled/quadrupled in value (or saleable value), but I could neither afford to bring any of these back, nor would I have had any inclination to hang onto them for 20 years to see that return. It would have just been about quick wins. I suppose my position right now is such that I have three very nice, rareish basses (Lulls/Hamer) that would likely sell for £2-3K a pop should there be a buyer out there for them, but this is well under what I paid for the Lulls (50% under), although the Hamer would be a winner; but I bought these to play them, not leave them in a case in the off chance they'll appreciate in value. Cab-wise, I have Alex/Barefaced first/prototype cabinet, but nobody is interested in backline from a value/investment perspective; it's probably worth more to Alex than it is to anyone else. Let's just say I'm looking after it for him.

I have a pair of SL112s. I think the expression I'd use is that they're very hi-fi, smooth and honest (in that they're only going to be as good as what you squirt into them). Conversely, my Barefaced Big One is rude, loud and aggressive by comparison. The SL112s look lovely...my wife prefers those being out compared against the Barefaced, which is why the Barefaced is out all the time.

Updated attendance list below. Just as an aside, so as to take up a bit of the day, would anyone like to see another bass shoot-off? I suspect Gary and I will be a little smoother than last year; maybe utilising a wireless might make things quicker in the changeover. I know we had a huge variety of basses last year, maybe if we rein that number in to ten we could just do Precision Basses or something? Paul Attendance & Gear List: 01. Silverfoxnik - BC Rich Eagle, Ander van der End JB5, RBV5, Ampeg V4BH head and matching cabs. 02. Hamster - Tea, Coffee, Pastries, the Wife - might bring a bass! 03. @Frank Blank Rob Allen Mouse, Godin A4, FRFR setup (QSC K12.2 and Fishman preamp). 04. RodFunnell - '78 Stingray, Assorted Warwicks, Vanderkley Spartan, Mesa Prodigy 4:88, Barefaced Big Twin T and it's still a few months away so maybe more! 05. obbm - Sadowsky Metros, Handbox WB100, Bergantino cabs. 06. Cetera - Spector NS2, Spector Euro LT, Hamer Impact, Hagstrom Super Swede, Italia Imola GP, Fender FSR PJ, GK800RB, GenzBenz Neox 2x12 07. @NancyJohnson Lull JAXT4 & Lull JAX/NRT5, Darkglass A/O Head (will probably be old hat by then), 2xAguilar SL112s. 08. 09. 10.

From a visual perspective, these are beyond hideous, so much so that if Sandberg gave me one I'd never take it out of it's case.

A couple of days I guess. UPS. Might work from home on Thursday. Cough.

My head shipped today from Thomann. Weeeee!