Dan Dare

True. Thinking about it, Aguilar use ICEpower modules. Ah well...

Worth checking where things are actually made/built. A lot of companies specify and design, but outsource the manufacture, usually to low wage economies. My PJB cabs (you could be forgiven for thinking they're a British company - Phil Jones is Welsh) were made in China, for example. At least my amps (Aguilar and Carvin) were actually made in the US.

Oh dear. Does this mean more guitar players will be able to afford the means to deafen us?

Assuming you have one to use as a template, try Jack's Instrument Services. They're in Manchester, but will post anywhere. Very good work.

Got to add June Tabor to that list.

The photo of it sitting on the leatherette sofa in front of the torn 1970s wallpaper adds a touch of class, don't you think? I think Andy Travis is right about some not being as able to spot a wrong 'un as others, so despite my earlier comment, I've reported it as counterfeit to evilBay, too.

Agreed, especially your comment about giving people tools and confidence. "Creativity" isn't something finite - something we have a fixed amount or supply of (I may not be expressing that very well, but hopefully my meaning is clear). It's potentially infinite, but, as with any ability (or potential ability), we need to learn how to develop it and acquire the tools to enable us to get the best/most out of it. Otherwise, we will be out of options once our initial stock of good or original ideas is exhausted. Hope this makes some sort of sense.

Ummm. Leaves the over-wrapped and/or silked part of the string in the playing length. Doesn't seem a good idea I concur re the BBOT. Gotoh make a BBOT type bridge, which is a little nicer - better plating, made of brass, so slightly thicker but not massively constructed, reasonably priced - which solves (for me at any rate) the aesthetic issues.

Consider yourself fortunate... I've rarely seen a more obvious lash-up. I thought about messaging the seller and calling b/s, but as it's such a poor fake, there's zero chance of anyone being suckered.

Update. Order arrived on time on the day promised. Very good price, too and free delivery, so I'm happy.

You can. Have a look on eBay. It could be a bit pot luck as to whether the sizes you want are available, but you should be able to mix/match once you've done the maths.

For "big hands"?

I think the price may signify it's a wind-up.

I have to add Mavis Staples to the distinguished names above.

I'm exactly the same, having started on the violin. I have to think about it when reading the bass clef. I reckon it might be because the G string on the bass is in the same place on the stave as the E string on the fiddle, leading you to think, when looking at C in the bass clef (which would be A on the fiddle), that it's your open D string, which of course it ain't. Drives me up the wall sometimes.

Despite the image it attempts to portray of itself as bargain city, Amazon is frequently anything but. As always, it pays to shop around. I'm afraid it's also the case that we are royally ripped off in the UK - prices for strings (and much else) in the US are much lower than they are here. I found the article itself very helpful.

This isn't helping my confidence at all, you lot. I've just ordered my first thing from them. Supposed to arrive tomorrow. Not expensive, so not the end of the world if it doesn't show, fortunately. According to their website, they're based in Folkestone (Kent Coast), so not a million miles away from me if I need to go and shout at them. Fingers crossed.

It can be tricky as a melody instrument player to work out chords/structure in the early stages. If you are used to playing linearly, you have to teach yourself to think more structurally. It doesn't take long for it to become second nature if, as I'm sure you do, you have an ear. It's so long ago (50 years) that I started learning that I can't remember how long it took to become proficient at it. I started out playing the violin/fiddle and was drawn to the bass (possibly because my pals needed a bass player in their band - isn't that the reason many of us start?). One thing I found very helpful was to learn some piano and guitar. Not to any standard - I wouldn't dream of playing either in public - but it got me thinking in the right way and realising how everything fitted together. Some theory lessons helped a lot, too.

Given that both are combos, the 'mis-matched drivers' point doesn't apply, as each has its own amplification and eq. As you say, if you run a signal from one to the other via the tuner out, you can eq them separately.

I like something soft, but with fine air spaces.

I know I'm a member of Obsessives Anon, but is anyone else irritated by four tuners on one side of the headstock and one on the other? 2+3 looks so much better. Right, now I've got that out of the way, I'm off to repair my spec's with Sellotape 🤔

Is it the future? God, I hope not.

Surely there's no either/or. At times, roots and simplicity is needed, at other times, inventiveness/solo playing. The jazz or orchestral player's mindset - we should play as part of the ensemble when appropriate and stretch out when appropriate. It depends on the material, of course.

They were developed by someone who had previously designed for Marshall and Vox, so they should work. Never heard one in the flesh. The Chinese company that owns Wharfedale backed it financially. See https://www.albionamp.com/page3. They also released a similar range, designed by the same person, under the Wharfedale brand name (the speaker cabs were identical, bar the logo on the front). They didn't catch on. Andertons bought a warehouse full of them a few years back and sold them off cheaply: