Al Krow

And it's really good to have your wisdom on board for sure, chappie. Don't think we have too much in the way of that level of bass playing expertise EBS although there are a few medics (including Cuzzie) and others who are very involved with the NHS (e.g. my missus is having to deal with massive fall-out from Covid as a child psychiatrist).

You raise an interesting and very good point. Be good to remind us exactly what NZ did to deliver their success? It's definitely a nice soundbite, but is it practically do-able? In particular I wonder whether it would have been possible to do the same here and in mainland Europe, bearing in mind (i) that NZ is literally the last stop on journeys as opposed to being a through-fare and (ii) that NZ has just 1% of the population of the UK and EU combined which together were covered by the freedom of movement rules until 31 Dec. Obviously the UK is no longer constrained by the FoM rules post 1 Jan 2021 so potentially has more ability to implement a NZ style solution, but the UK is still part of the common travel area with Eire (which interestingly has the approx. same population as NZ but has also not adopted the NZ solution) and we are therefore indirectly part of the wider EU travel area still. Just wondering if theirs was such an easy and obvious solution why has no one here (or in the EU) still thought about adopting the NZ model?

I'll pm you. Allegedly.

Currently have a Metro 24 and wishing that it had just a bit more clearance to fit anything but the flattest of power units underneath. Saw @Kev's Warwick RockboardTres3.1 recently and thought it looked really good - although not sure I would want to fork out for the Mod 3 unit and it might look a little odd without it in place. What else is out there that folk are using and can highly recommend that have moved things on from the PT Classic Jr rail format?

It's about as much fun as you can legally have with a Boss sized pedal. Allegedly.

From detailed analysis of ONS figures: Looking at 2nd wave deaths in the UK (taking week 45 = Nov 2nd as approximate base line): 85.1% of deaths have occurred in the 70+ age group. Lockdown 1 without a vaccine took 3.5 months from March 23rd to July 4th to get the rolling average weekly death rate from Covid-19 to around 50 or less. Most of the 70+ age group should be vaccinated over the next 3 to 4 months, if not sooner, and combined with current lockdown measures and moving out of winter should, together, make a very big difference. Whilst it's anecdotal / "best guess" territory, folk who have to put substantial sums of their savings on the line and will have done a fair bit of homework, are not shying away from investing in pubs right now. Check the Mitchells & Butlers' share price since the beginning of Nov if you're interested. The above is the basis for my optimism / "educated best guess" (which I will happily admit it obviously can't be anything more than, at this stage) for the end of May pub / live music reopening. Let's hope for the sake of the music and hospitality industry, both of which I am very much deeply involved in, that optimism proves to be nearer the mark than some of the doom on this thread. Time will, of course, tell.

Calling @Woodinblack...

Yeah thanks - it's that sort of comment by manufacturers (who should know their onions, provided it's not just marketing spin!) that I have had at the back of mind.

But that's still tiny compared to 240v mains. This is where my lack of engineering nous on valves and voltage starts to show though!

Agreed with first two points. But not sure about the your final one about it being a winner. For a start exactly what sound would it be delivering with a D class power amp and how would it differ from other already established products with loyal followers? Peavey will have done their market research and almost certainly have a better clue about this than most of us.

Having mastered AFAIK, IBTL, IMO, IMHO and even TLDR, I was definitely stumped by AIUI and had to look that one up! Ah well that's my new thing for today... Now is someone going to explain valves and voltage to me please? 😁

Demographic change can happen quite quickly as has been shown by Indonesia already. Have you checked the forward growth projections? It was the link you made between being a "Muslim" country and high birth rates that we should tread very carefully on. Poverty and lack of women's education seem to be much bigger factors in this and Bangladesh would be another good example of a Muslim majority country where fertility rates have dropped considerably over recent decades. The highest population growth is actually predicted to be in Africa not Asia.

Interesting point. If it's done by diodes, what's the valve actually doing? My skepticism about valves in pedals is whether sufficient voltage is available to really drive them?I think purists / experts would say that even with the 240v in an amp, preamp valves are not going to provide the same tonal impact as power amp valves. I don't have the engineering nous to expand on this, though.

Cheers Martin - and it was a very good Lockdown #1 demo video, if I might say so! Is the "thru" output in effect a "DI pre" output then and the "DI" a "DI post" output then. I think I read on your other thread not to use quality headphones with the unit though? 😁

Congrats mate, be interested in getting your thoughts on this one. Ignoring my slight disappointment that "Showtime" = mute button and not some mega fuzz option to overlay the drive of the valve, from what I've been able to gather it provides: - a 5 band EQ (including 3 mids) i.e. comparable to what you would find on a decent amp or EQ pedal; - a preset shape button, which I think delivers a slight mid-scoop; - its magic sauce of the valve drive which kicks in at 0.40 on this clip: Ashdown Engineering OriginAL preamp pedal demo - YouTube My question is to what extent that valve sound differs to a mild fuzz setting on a decent fuzz pedal or what you would be able to get from something like your Paradriver v2, which I know you're a big fan of? Look forward to your feedback once you've had a chance to put it through its paces.

Really?? What data have you got to back up such a statement? Declining fertility rates are generally considered to be correlated to economic improvement and women's educational opportunities. Specifically Indonesia's birth rate has fallen from 5.7 in 1960 to below 2.3 today so it has clearly fallen a lot in that time contrary to your statement. Bear in mind a replacement birth rate is around 2.1

Not sure whether anyone's posted about the SolidGold Funkzilla on this thread (11.40 onwards in Zac's review):

Is that right though Len? I agree we have access to far more music than ever before but we're actually spending as much on music (e.g. Spotify, concerts etc) as we've ever done, if not more; and we're spending way more on other streaming (Netflix etc) than we did even 20 years ago. Totally agree with your first point about music being fundamental to who we are.

Would folk subscribe to the view I've heard recently that: "there will be live music, but not I think as we once knew it." If you do agree with it** how would you see that view applying to festivals like Glasto and to live music more generally? **for the record I don't - I see it being more the sort of comment that emanates from someone's nether regions after they've had too much of something or other!

I'm amused that certain learned gents, who should know better, find it difficult to understand the difference between a "vaccine" and "test and trace". That point is not rocket science, surely? 128 days till May 31st - just an educated guess, nothing more / nothing less. When you're not employed by the State, particularly if you're running a business employing others, it's something you have to be doing all the time. (And tbf it's not something limited to folk working in the private sector just have to do - plenty in the Public sector in leadership / management positions are having to make educated guesses very regularly too). Let's hope the date pub and other gigs restart is sooner rather than later, whether or not we get there by the end of May, for the sake of the hospitality industry in the UK which has been the whipping boy in this pandemic. And I'm delighted that we are rolling out the vaccine at record pace across the UK - it's great news for all our elderly and frail. Something to be celebrated and credit where it's due.

My old Stomp in fact, Mark? 😁 In terms of the Stomp XL vs the LT, if they turn out to be similarly priced, the LT has an expression pedal, additional stomp switches, a bigger screen and double the processing power (the same as the full Helix in fact). It's obviously a fair bit bigger but my vote would go to the LT. Oh...and it has an XLR out too 😉

Yeah totally with you on having to pay for features that you don't need. I had the same issue originally with my DG M900 amp, but ended up using most of it in the end. Still hardly using any of the additional stuff on the back of my M900 Mk2 (AO), but given I was lucky to pick that up for what I got for my Mk1 I guess I should think of them as being free! Hooky you don't need an XLR as such as the Stomp has a balanced output. Just get 1/4" to XLR cable and you're good to go.

Yeah very much had you in mind with the EP comment, mate. But if they are going to be adding £250+ [TBC] for the privilege of not plugging in an external stomp switch pedal, that's asking a lot from punters!