Dan Dare

I do or have done some of it. I drive a 17 year old car (that I repair/maintain myself whenever possible - unless the job needs specialist tools or a lift) when I have to/have things to carry and cycle/use public transport when I don't. That's not particularly to save the planet. My bike is my way of keeping in shape, but it doesn't hurt that it's a green thing to do. I do recycle (and have for decades) and avoid plastic crap wherever possible. Have only bought two smartphones in my life - just got another after my ten year old one gave up the ghost. Don't have a telly. Do use the 'net (of course - how could I be typing this?). Don't buy endless electronic gubbins and toys (my stereo is all at least 10 years old and I still play vinyl and listen to FM radio). Typing this on an ancient laptop. So no, I'm not perfect, but I try. Incidentally, I appreciate that if everyone did as I do, the economy would collapse virtually overnight.

I ask people to write their request on a £10 note and promise to play it if we know it. If they write it on a £20, we'll play it if even if we don't...

I find clip-ons can have trouble sensing lower pitched strings, too. I always use a plug-in and run the cable direct to it. I keep a Pitchblack pedal on top of my rig with a spare short cable attached so I can connect the bass directly to it. Only takes a moment to mute the rig, unplug the instrument and connect to the tuner.

I don't have any particularly exotic or exciting to tell, I'm afraid. I worked in social care, not security. I did get to attend Parliament (both houses) regularly, which was interesting and it was fascinating to see what happens behind the scenes as far as apportioning public funding is concerned. The major thing I learned is to believe little of what you see, hear and read in the media (all of it)...

I take your point about the fact that the planet having bigger problems, although I think we should address those we are capable, as individuals, of dealing with as well as pressing society at large to do something about the bigger ones. If that means the only thing we can do personally is to try not to over-exploit scarce resources, that's what we ought to do. Add up all the small individual contributions and the total beneficial effect is large. Agree about tone woods for electric instruments. I've also played guitars and basses made from nothing special that really worked (and vice versa). Given that the sound of an electric instrument comes from a magnet with a coil around it sensing vibration in a string and converting it to a minute electrical signal (pickups are not microphones), perhaps that isn't surprising.

Retired Whitehall policy advisor. Now work part-time at the Olympic velodrome in Stratford, East London (always been a bikie - used to ride competitively when I were a lad).

Let's send him to the Lego factory (it's further away): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billund,_Denmark

Elf and Safety, of course. Surprised you needed to ask...

This. Why should others buy you a bass (especially a ridiculously expensive one)? Go out and work and earn the money and pay for it yourself. It took me over 20 years to get a Jazz Bass. Like Nancy, I played El Cheapos until I could afford the one I wanted. Makes you appreciate it more when you finally get it.

It may not need re-finishing. The first thing to do is to clean the board with alcohol. Unless you have worn through the lacquer, that will remove the grease/dead skin,, etc and with it, the dirt. Then you can see whether it actually needs re-finishing.

Cheapskates

This is a good suggestion. If you buy a dedicated practice amp, you will usually have to buy something else to gig with.

Plenty of good ones around, but they won't turn out for nowt.

This is exactly what I've found. Since becoming a PJB user, I've acquired a couple of 4B and a couple of C4 cabs. Same drivers - 4 (ceramic, not Neo) 5" units - in each, but the 4Bs, which are quite a bit larger, definitely have more warmth/low end and produce more sound at a given volume setting. I prefer them at low to medium levels, but you can't push them as hard as the C4s.

Whenever I hear someone playing through a Markbass, I'm always impressed by the sound. They just seem to fill the space and also do warm/vintage tones very well. Up close/in the showroom, they don't audition any better than many others (no worse, I hasten to add), but they do have a certain something when used in anger. I have a Carvin B1000 which I really like tonally (nice preamp with 6 band eq). My meat and potatoes head is an AG700. I must A/B it against a Markbass one day (which will probably cost me money...).

Every cloud has a silver lining...

Thanks Bill. Interestingly, low bass is often removed from modern recordings for exactly the same reason - to make it sound right on car systems. We've come a long way...

In that case, why not remove the castors and invest in a trolley to move the cabs?

Exactly. People were exhausted and malnourished following the Great War and hospitals were over-loaded dealing with casualties. Housing was poor and over-crowded for all but the wealthy. It was not surprising that the outbreak was so deadly.

The truth in a nutshell. You get what you pay for, as always. Given that so many use plastic box FoH speakers (which aren't exactly the last word), they really cheap out when it comes to monitors.

If people are daft enough to buy all that tripe (artist endorsed instruments that are mass produced in a factory, used strings, soiled bedlinen, etc), they deserve to be fleeced.

Wasn't the bass recorded direct in the Motown studios, Bill? I'm sure Ive read that the Ampeg was only used for in-room monitoring. The reason for the lack of low bass was that it was removed at the mastering stage to prevent the vinyl records of the day causing the stylus to jump because the modulations were too great.

My old Bassman cab' had castors which could be removed. The wheel itself was on a rotating shaft which pulled out of the sleeve that was bolted to the cab. Worth changing yours for that type?

"you don't sell the steak, you sell the sizzle". I like that a lot, Bill. I've always wondered whether spade connectors are actually better. They may not be as swish as spring-loaded ones, but a decent solder joint is a pretty reliable thing.