NancyJohnson

This is going to run and run. It's all so speculative. In a many cornered boxing ring, in one corner you're going to have the Leo got it right team, who will always say it's all about Precisions and Jazz basses. In another corner, you'll have the Gibson mob, waxing lyrical about various EBs and Thunderbirds. Then you'll have the Modern Crew, which will be all about Spectors. In another the Japanese traditionalists. In another corner, Rickenbackers. And so on. Despite the amount of money I've haemorrhaged on gear over the decades, I'd readily admit that if you have a nicely set up bass with a PJ pickup configuration, tonally you're pretty much good to go for any situation. All these other things, shape, colour/finish, woods, nut width etc. make no difference (*as proven). Just an observation on the whole punk thing, while the ethic was supposedly all about making music from nothing/cheap instruments, but it's not unsurprising that most of the early bands were actually using quite high end gear (Gibson/Fender/Rickenbacker). I do wonder if things might have been different if Glen Matlock/Paul Simonon/Dee Dee/JJB/Foxton etc had not favoured Fender basses long term (yes, I know several used 4001s).

I saw a load of signed Brian May stuff when I went to pick up my EUB from the Bass Centre about a year ago. Barry Moorehouse had been over to see him that morning.

Gold star. Yup, I bought a Gibson Theodore. While I appreciate it's somewhat of a visual oddity (and while it certainly won't win any prizes in a beauty contest, monstrosity is a bit harsh), I had a quick noodle on it and it plays/balances/sounds (and smells) wonderful - it's back in the case/box and probably won't come out until I decide to sell it. It's limited to 318 (106 each, natural, cherry, ebony). There's only a couple left on sale globally (I got mine for well under what these are on sale for).

Nooo. And it's not what you think it is...

I suppose as my signature tone is gnarly/gritty, I can just dial that in and leave the Sansamp(s) on top of the amp. This isn't to say I've never used or bothered with any other outboard kit, but live it's either been plug-in or BassPOD/Sansamp.

Woop.

I must return that to you.

Here's what I do. Nowadays I rarely have anything pre-prepared, so I'll just see what inspiration hits me. Open PC. Open Cakewalk, open new session, drop in two drum loops (beat/fill), set tempo, plug in guitar into audio interface, set levels and see what happens. Mainly I'll just noodle for about 15 minutes and if nothing useful happens, I'll just close everything down and go and read a book.

New album by New Zealand alternative band The Beths. It's just glorious jangly pop. Lovely.

I was just going through some old pages here. I can't believe it was ten years ago. I remember this like it was yesterday. I was young then. Well, younger.

I've got an Alto TX210 (for sale in the for sale section yonks ago folks). It's pretty small, 300w. Cracking but of kit. This should do the job.

If you daisy-chain them from one output, it'll be 4ohms. The Tonehammer 500 has two outputs, I'm not sure how the head handles things if you took an output to each cabinet - so for instance, if you fed an 8ohm enclosure from each one does this load go down to 4ohms ('maximum load'). Don't know.

They're lovely cab(s). Great build quality, lovely tonally, capable.

Which ones?

I had a pair of Aguilar SL112s a couple of years ago and I was a Hartke endorsee too, so I have a little bit of background in each camp. I just felt that a pair of 1x12s was the way I wanted to go and once you get an idea in your head... Irrespective of the Hartke Hydrives I used (1x15/4x10/2x10 - sorry not the 1x12), I found them all quite bright and they suited my desired tone ('gritty/driven') so based off that, I wouldn't really expect a pair of 1x12s to differ from that significantly - it's simply what they do and they do it very well. I owned a pair of Aguilars, too - a bit of a vanity purchase - I just figured these would be a decent upgrade from a Barefaced Big One. To be honest, they didn't suit what I was doing. They were very hi-fi, quite a bit bassy and lacked a lot of the top end that the horns in the Hydrives (or the 6" Barefaced tweeter) provided. At the time, I just thought there was something wrong with them, but the horns were working in both cabinets, but the effect was very subtle. I sold them on. Right now, I'm running a single Darkglass 1x12. If I ever have the desire to go back to full time gigging/band, I'd probably get another one of these. It's quite lovely.

The left thumb was the first one...I had no idea what the problem was at the time; the joint just below the thumbnail was locked 90° and would loosen up or become unlocked if I pulled it straight. Pailthorpe had a feel of the joint at the base of the thumb and said something on the lines of it being a beauty and the biggest pulley issue he'd felt on a thumb. I think he was probably chomping at the bit to cut it open. (The photo up the thread was after that surgery; he literally cut about an inch in the wrinkle line around the base of the thumb to free it up.) I'm not familiar with the banjo-term! If it helps, I've not suffered any long term issues after each procedure. The Nordic thing is (apparently) something to do with Dupuytren Conjecture, which is more about the fingers becoming bent due to the hardening of tissue in the fingers. It was allegedly genetically common in Vikings (or if you like Swedish/Norweigan/Danish seafarers) - I have no idea how they know this - and supposedly as they pillaged and inter-bred with other non-Viking indigenous northern Europeans the condition spread and still exists 1,000 to 1,200 years later.

I've had one thumb and middle fingers on both hands. The little finger on my right hand locks overnight and triggers for a bit first thing in the morning. The little one on my left hand is just displaying the same signs, but it's very slight. Interestingly, my index fingers are unaffected. My doctor said as he'd fixed enough of these he thought he'd have been able to work out a pattern as to who is susceptible to the condition. He did ask me whether I had any Nordic ancestry (no!).

As I've had a few operations because of this condition/affliction I suppose a bit if clarity is required. Every tendon on your hands that controls finger movement passes through an A1 pulley, essentially a circle of cartledge/gristle in the middle of your palm. (imagine this to be similar to your ears or those hard bits you get in chicken wings.) The pulley can enlarge ALL OVER, thus becoming pronounced on your palm and also squeezing the tendon, causing the finger to trigger/lock. Also it's genetic. It has nothing to do with how you play or how you sleep. No amounts of splints, steroids or snake oil will cause the pulley to somehow revert back to how it was pre-enlargement. It will not shrink back. It will not get better on its own. It will not get better without intervention (which is a small operation under local anesthetic to cut the pulley to allow it to open up and allow free tendon movement). Steroid shots will, as Warren inferred- only give temporary relief (my doctor - Charles Pailthorpe (look him up) - said it's just like greasing a door hinge, WD-40 will work for a bit, but the squeak will come back). If it's causing you an issue, go to a doctor now and get a referral. If you're happy with it as it is and really looking forward to it getting so bad that your finger simply won't straighten unless you pull it straight with your other hand, then leave it be and take joy from the cursing you'll be doing because you wished you'd got off your lazy derrières and followed my instructions several years beforehand. Honestly, I have the t-shirt and I'll probably be getting two more t-shirts in the next year or so. (I'm trying for the full set.) Trust me, please.

Once I was able to afford them (post-mortgage), I was cleaning up Gibson Thunderbirds. Lots of them. Then I visited WH Smith in Reading and saw a copy of Bass Player magazine with Jeff Ament on the cover; he was holding a Mike Lull. It was as if someone threw a switch. I bought a Lull JAX-T4, then a Lull NRT5 - both oversized bodied. Sure I have other basses, but the Lulls are the main ones. I don't have any Gibson guitars at the moment.

I have a bit of hard earned money sitting in Premium Bonds, wife gave me the thumbs up to draw some of it down and buy something that might appreciate over the next few years. Having missed out on the Slash Les Paul 4 and the two Korina 58 reissues of the Explorer and Flying V, she suggested I should start small (I'm not looking to make zillions out of this) and see what happens. So I did what any bassist would do under the circumstances and spent a ridiculous amount (albeit a fair price) on something that I pick it up next Saturday. Not saying what, but it's not a bass. Quite excited. I definitely have my eye on something else that should be coming this year, too. I will be discussing this when I collect.

I posted elsewhere about these. They seem to be the torch-bearer for the old DR Hellborg strings...they're based in Venice. I liked the old DR ones and did pop them an email mid-December 2021. Got this reply from Giorgia Giacetti: HI Paul yes, you can order the strings directly but not through the online store as after Brexit freight costs have increased and duties and taxes are unpredictable. So you can eventually provide us with your full address and official order and we can issue a Proforma invoice for the prepayment.… They didn't quote a price and honestly seemed to think it's better to do business by cutting an invoice for up-front payment rather than quoting prices/shipping etc.

I find Weezer incredibly hard work but I persisted like the sucker I am up to 2016's 'White Album' afterwhich I bailed out. Reckon Pinkerton ('difficult' album #2) is the best one of the output I'm familiar with. All subjective, of course.