Osiris

Thanks Billy, that sounds like a better idea.
I'll track down some suitable dowel and give it a go.

I was lucky enough to recently meet Holger Sandberg and to have a brief chat with him. During the conversation I told him of my wish to swap the chrome hardware on my Sandberg VM for a set of black hardware. At the time he said that it can be tricky to remove the machine head bushings but the conversation moved on and I didn't get the chance to ask him how best to remove them without damaging the headstock.

Anyway, I've just got a new set of black machine heads to replace the chrome ones on my VM and want to change them ASAP but obviously don't want to risk doing any damage. Does anyone know how best to remove the bushings?

I found a guy on youtube who suggested using a thick shafted screwdriver and wiggling it about in the bushing while it's still fitted ( ) but I can't see this being a wise thing to do. Surely there's a better way than that?

In my experience, just because a bass has an expensive price tag, it doesn't necessarily guarantee it to be a great instrument.
How many of us have picked up a bass with a 4 figure price tag only to put it a minute or so later feeling totally underwhelmed by it?
And the oppose applies too - just because it's cheap it doesn't necessarily follow that it's nasty.

There are of course exceptions to both of the above!

I regularly gig a £200 Peavey Zodiac, I've even done big paying wedding gigs with it. OK, so I've upgraded the pickups and ditched the mirrored scratch plate for a plain acrylic one but other than that it's as it was when I bought it. The neck profile is by far the most comfortable I have ever played on any bass regardless of price.

And for the record I also own and gig 3 Sandberg's - a California JM, a California VM and a Basic too. There's no denying the quality of each of the Sandberg's, they simply exude it.
But, and it's a big but, the Peavey is a HUGE amount of bass for the money, it's well made, plays like butter and even looks pretty good too.

As a couple of others have already said, if it's right for you then it is right. Sod what anyone else thinks, especially the gear snobs

Dave just bought a Fender neoprene strap from me and the whole thing couldn't have been any easier - he paid within minutes and was prompt and courteous with his communication throughout. What more can you ask for?

Dave is a thoroughly decent chap to deal with.

Brilliant, got it now.

Thanks for the help!

Now sold.

BUM-p

Thanks for the advice, folks.

Robick isn't available for Mac, it looks like its iphone/ipad only.
Reaper looks a bit scary to me I'm a less-is-more person, although it could be something worth investigating in future.

Transcribe and [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Amazing Slow Downer look more like the sort of thing I have in mind.[/font][/color]

[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]TKenrick, h[/font][/color][font="helvetica, arial, sans-serif"][color="#282828"]ow do you loop using QuickTime 7? I figured out the tempo and pitch controls but couldn't find anything to loop sections with. Any words of wisdom much appreciated![/color][/font]

Bloody hell, Paul, how did you manage to break the neck???

Is it a terminal break or one that could be repaired by a respectable luthier?
I know a guy who snapped the head off a Les Paul and managed to get it repaired, you can't tell there was ever an issue with it now.

Great, thanks for the clarification, Grangur. I'll order one.

It seems silly to me that Zoom make a selling point of the unit being an audio interface and they bundle in some DAW software - but no means to access it straight out of the box?!?!

Cheers for the lightning reply, Howie!

Am I right in thinking that it needs to be USB A to USB B cable - [url="http://www.thatcable.com/product/USB-2-0-A-Male-to-B-Male-High-Speed-Cable-Lead"]like this one[/url] ?

I've just received a new shiny Zoom B3.
Silly question, there's no USB cable with it to hook it up to my Mac - should it have come with one or do I need to buy one separately???
The manual makes references to 'the USB cable' suggesting that you get one bundled.

For sale, an as-new Fender Neoprene strap.

[url="http://www.fender.com/en-GB/accessories/straps/fender-neoprene-strap-black/"]Here's the blurb on the fender website about it. [/url]

This was new and sealed when I picked it up a few days ago from another Basschatter, but I prefer my trusty old leather strap. It has been fitted to one of my basses for about 10 minutes, but other than that it is unused. It still has the Fender tag on it as well as a little Fender 'F' logo hanger too - should you have a hanger for your straps that is! I even have the original packaging that it came in. It is adjustable between approximately 92-120 cm (36-47") tip to tip.

I'm asking for £20 delivered, please, which is the what I paid for it (the cheapest UK price I could find for one is £37.99).

I've just got my first Mac, a diddy little Mabook air, after moving over from Windows and would like to know if there is any software that people can recommend to use to help with learning songs.
The main features that I'm after are the ability to loop a specific section of music and to change the pitch and tempo of the section being played.

I used to use Best Practice on the PC, which although a bit dated, did the job brilliantly. So I'm after a Mac equivalent, if such a thing should exist - and is not stupidly expensive.
I've trawled the app store and can't find anything that appears to meet all of my needs.

Can anyone suggest something suitable?

Just received a new Fender neoprene strap from Dave.
The strap was new and sealed as he'd described it and arrived quickly.
He was prompt and courteous in his communications too.
I'd happily deal with him again.

Jez recently bought a gig bag from me. He was an absolutely top bloke to deal with, he paid quickly and his communication was fast and friendly too.
What more can you ask for?

Hope the bag serves you well

Sorry folks, this has now sold.

Yet another comment in praise of Paul. I've dealt with the guy a number of times and cannot praise him enough.
He recently purchased a Warwick gig bag from me, and as usual he was prompt and courteous in his dealings, didn't haggle over the price and simply did what he said he'd do, when he said he'd do it!
No tyre kicking, no dithering, just a quick and easy - and above all friendly - transaction.

Paul also gave up a couple of hours of his time to help diagnose and fix an issue on a bass of mine several months ago. And if that wasn't enough, he refused any sort of payment!
He's an absolutely top bloke in every way!

Some interesting responses here folks.

I think it's fair to say that my issue tends to be when playing material that I am already familiar with. I think I tend to get a bit complacent probably because I know that I know the song inside out, so my brain goes on walkabout. It's not that I'm not listening, it's just that my mind goes elsewhere. So in that respect, I'm probably listening, but not listening 100% - if that makes sense?

Like a couple of you have commented, when playing dep gigs (which is something I only do infrequently) I tend to be a lot more focused. This, I suspect, is being down to the fact that I am not as familiar, and therefore comfortable, with the material being played and am more conscious of what's going on.

I'm in now way a flash player and I firmly believe in playing what the song needs instead of trying to be clever for the sake of it. So I'm not thinking 'what [i]can [/i]I play here' but rather 'what [i]should [/i]I play here'. Usually muscle memory or my in-built auto-pilot saves me, but rarely in time to avoid a bum note!

Is it just me, or do any of you people sometimes over think when you're playing, and then end up suffering as a result?
By that I mean thinking too much about what you need to play on the next verse/chorus/song/whatever to the point where you almost forget what you are actually supposed to be playing [i]now [/i]and then end up having a blank (aka a 'WTF do I play here' moment)?

I'm not one to get nervous before a gig and have been know to have a moment like this even with songs that I've played hundreds of times over the years. Is it an age thing (I'm in my early 40's so in my mind I'm not [i]that [/i]ancient)? Or maybe past indulgences catching up with me ?

Anyone else have 'suffer' from this or something similar?

Now sold.

[b]Now sold. [/b]

[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Up for sale, a used Warwick branded padded gig bag with removable back pack. [/font][/color]

[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]The bag has been used but is in good condition.[/font][/color][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][color=#282828] It has no rips or tears but there are a few scrapes or other cosmetic marks here and there. [/color][/font][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Padding is approximately 20-30 mm. [/font][/color][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]The bag has chunky zips, all of which are in good working order. [/font][/color]

[font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][color=#282828]It features a zipped pocket on the front at the head end of the bag plus a removable back pack for all your various bits and bobs. The back pack has a large main compartment that will fit an A4 folder or small light weight amp head, a smaller pocket with internal organisers for cables etc. plus a mesh pocket on the front. The back pack attaches to the bag with a chunky zip plus 4 quick release clips (all intact). [/color][/font]

[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Other features include 2 adjustable shoulder straps, a side mounted carrying handle, front and back grab handles, and a textured plastic bass with 4 metal feet on the bottom[/font][/color]

[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]I'm asking £20 delivered, or £15 cash on collection (Wellingborough area) please.[/font][/color]

Up for sale, an immaculate Sandberg branded padded gig bag. The only action the bag has seen was to bring a new bass back home. The bass itself now lives in a hard case.

The bag is in mint condition, it has no rips, tears, scrapes or other cosmetic marks. Padding is approximately 20-30 mm. All zips are in good working order. It features 2 zipped pockets on the front; one larger one that will fit an A4 folder or small light weight amp head, plus a smaller pocket for cables or other odds and sods. The smaller pocket has the Sandberg logo and tagline embroidered onto it. There's also 2 adjustable shoulder straps and 2 side mounted carrying handles with a handy velcro retainer.

I'm asking £30 delivered, or £25 cash on collection (Wellingborough area) please.

It looks like the problem has been diagnosed and all but cured - all that was required was 2 grown men, a selection of hand held tools, some Vaseline and a length of bicycle inner tube.

After some assistance from the very helpful Thunderbird, it appears that the hole through the headstock that the machine head shaft (not sure if there's a technical name for it?) passes through was fractionally too large - we're talking a faction of next to nothing here.
The upshot of it was that when the string was plucked, the machine head shaft was effectively rattling about in the hole and causing the annoying clicking sound.

After some experiments that involved wrapping the shaft in PTFE tape there was a noticeable improvement, not an outright cure but enough of a difference to warrant further investigation. A small section of inner tube was used to replace the PTFE tape to effectively pack out the greased-up hole and act as a shock absorber. The result is a massive improvement - the click is still there slightly when you really dig in but it's nowhere near as pronounced as it was. When plucking the string with my usual degree of attack there's no more annoying click!

Thanks again to everyone for your suggestions and special thanks to Paul for diagnosing the issue and suggesting the way to resolve it. .

Having taken another look at the bass, here's the latest update;

I've eliminated the possibility of it being the A string that makes the noise when my plucking finger touches it after striking the D. I even went as far as removing the A string but the annoying sound persisted! Thanks for the suggestion ikay, it wasn't something I'd have thought of.

Like you Johnny frog, I tend to [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]pluck down through the string slightly striking it towards the body. OK, so this is probably poor technique on my part, but until now it has never been a problem![/font][/color]

[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Howie, thanks for the suggestion chap, but I've already checked and changed the bridge saddles so I'm as sure as I can be that they are not the cause. [/font][/color]

[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Paul, you're more than welcome to take a look at the bass, I'll drop you a line and arrange something. [/font][/color]

[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Thanks for the offer OldG, I'm not a million miles from Rushden so if Paul (Thunderbird) has no luck with the bass I'll likely take you up on the offer, cheers![/font][/color]