Dan Dare

I keep a nothing special instrument in the house to practice on and use it to break in new strings. As I do much of my practice unamplified, the clang and zing doesn't matter much. When they get nicely worn in, they are ready to go on one of my gigging instruments.

Any of the quality outdoor kit manufacturers will have suitable offerings. I'd avoid anything bearing the logo of a musical instrument or accessory supplier. There's bound to be a price mark-up over a regular backpack.

Tempting. But no.

Time to draw this to a close. Have a nice life.

Depends how tiny the chip is. As Burns-bass says, the odd mark is of no consequence. You're bound to add a few of your own pretty quickly. It's actually something of a relief to put that first scratch or chip in a shiny new toy. Saves fretting about keeping it mint.

You have edited the attached post quite heavily since it originally appeared. Wonder why? We'll have to agree to disagree about the assertions you make. As I stated previously, we do not share a common language via which we can both express ourselves fully. I appreciate that you have made the effort, though. I speak no Danish, so cannot respond in kind.

All of which demonstrates that the OP's TC head is not up to the job. TC watts are even smaller...

Difficult to know where to start, since you have missed the point so comprehensively. I appreciate that the fact that we are not conversing in your native language doesn't help. I did not state that "practicing how to improvise and write original music" is a "horrible of a thing to do". My point was that it is better to do so from a position of knowledge, rather than through trial and error. You do not either learn what others have played or learn to improvise and write original music. The smart option is to do both. Please do not put words in my mouth. It is stupid and/or arrogant to say "I am not going to learn from the great players. They have nothing to teach me. My unique and special voice gives me all I need to create the greatest music the world has ever known". Ever heard of the work of Dunning and Kruger? Remember the saying - "There is nothing new under the sun". If you are not aware of what has gone before, you are in no position to judge whether or not what you are doing is "original". Would you care to post examples of your original music so that we can all marvel at it?

Nobody suggested "just copying other people". The point is to learn what and how they did/do it incorporate that into your own knowledge and use that acquired knowledge and skill to create your own. Given that there are and have been so many great musicians to inspire and guide us, it's stupid (or arrogant) to ignore what they have done. If you don't learn from others, you have to discover everything by trial and error. Life's too short for that. As for "your own unique voice and style", there are few people who are truly unique. Plenty may believe they are, but most are deluding themselves.

Double post

I don't know whether this will be of help, but some years ago, I was having a lot of shoulder and neck pain when playing the fiddle (which used to be my main instrument). I went to an Alexander teacher, who made suggestions around improving my posture and the way I held and played the instrument. It really helped. We often get into habits that are less than kind to the body in order to get the job done. This can be especially true in the case of those who are self-taught. When we are younger, we can get away with it, but as we get older, things start coming home to roost. Worth exploring some technique lessons and experimenting with set-up of the instrument to ensure you're giving yourself the best chance?

Au contraire. If you learn how great players did/do it, you can use the knowledge and skill you acquire from studying what they did/do to develop your own lines. Standing on the shoulders of giants and all that.

There are always people with exceptional natural ability, but they are not typical. We ordinary mortals have to work at it. We're seeing a lot of the cliched arguments for not acquiring an understanding of music theory on this thread. I'm just waiting for someone to opine that knowing about it it will "harm their creativity"... "No amount of practice or theory can make up for a good ear"? Does that mean that those who don't have that "phenomenal ear" may as well give up and take up photography or golf? You can develop your ear's ability, in the same way as you can develop any attribute. Of course, it's important to play with others. Of course it's important to hear how music works and not just read it from the page. The point is not that one should learn solely from a book, but that one ought to do so in conjunction with playing with others, trying things out for yourself, etc, etc. It can speed up the learning process, sometimes dramatically. Would anyone recommend not learning to read or write language? There's a lot of defensiveness around this topic. Some are prone to knock it to make themselves feel better about not understanding it. If you'd rather not do it, knock yourself out. In the end, nobody else will be any the worse off.

Bill, what do you think of the Basslite drivers? They appear to offer decent value for money. I'm wondering whether to take a punt on a couple to put in an old cab I have. It's not really worth splashing out on Deltalites or similar.

If you can, visit a well-stocked shop and try stuff out, rather than buying on the basis of recommendation alone. The good news is that most gear from reputable brands is very good these days. It appears you may not be that familiar with what's about, so a fact-finding mission should be helpful. If you really aren't in reach of any shop with a decent range in stock, the suggestion above to get another Rumble cab like the one you have, plus a better head is a safe option. TC are prone to be optimistic with their claimed power outputs. Most stuff will sound good at living room volumes. It's only when you push things that any shortcomings are revealed. If you like Markbass, a used LM2 or 3 shouldn't break the bank and will certainly do the job with two Rumble cabs.

That isn't the way it is these days. You can study rock guitar at university if you want. But yeah. Sod knowing anything about what you're doing. Much better to let it all hang out and trust that good stuff will happen by accident.

What issues? I did not (and would not) advocate learning in a way that is frustrating. Yes, learning to play an instrument can be hard work, but so can acquiring any new skill. Gratification and enjoyment are certainly important to keep motivation up, but, as the saying goes, nothing worth having was ever easy. No point in glossing over that fact (the ad's promising to teach you how to play in just five minutes a day don't help, in that they give a false impression of how easy it is). It's a quite common misconception that theory is only for would be jazzers and classical musicians. You don't, as I said, need to learn how to compose for full orchestra. However, some basic/simple knowledge - keys, how they relate to each other and how the most commonly used chord voicings are constructed - can be of immense help in playing any music. Not sure I understand the comment about it being "easier to learn theory than to learn walking bass lines note by note". They are both things you need to learn. However, a little knowledge of why the notes that make up that walking bass line work is very valuable, because it will help you create your own lines, rather than having to learn each one note for note. Anything that will help save the learner from playing the same tired pentatonic clichés over everything has to be good.

Agreed provided everything else in the chain is of good quality. Feed an accurate, revealing speaker with a poor quality signal, however, and the result is not likely to be pleasing. GIGO, etc. A less good speaker will probably be better in that case, because it will mask some of the shortcomings. It's all about finding combinations that work well together and complement each other.

The trouble with the term "music theory" is that it has a lot of unfavourable connotations for many. It can conjure images of poring over dry textbooks, having no fun, being rapped over the knuckles by the teacher, etc, etc. All of that is to do with the way it is taught in some quarters, not the subject itself. The reality is a lot different. It's all about demystifying how music works and learning why some things sound good and others don't. Some knowledge of it cannot fail to improve your playing. Even if you never intend to read music off the page, it will make you a better improviser, because you will have a better idea what to play and what not to play. bass_dinger sums it up very well when he observes that his 7 year old daughter learned in 3 years what took him 30 years to learn. There's no downside. You don't have to go the whole hog and learn how to compose for a full orchestra, but it's mad not to learn anything at all about it if you're serious about playing.

Have a look on the 'Bay for "Telebass guitar by PCsGC with precision (42mm) neck width". For some reason, the link won't post here. Another gem. I think my favourite bit is the demo' video, which, in addition to being of his usual high standard, is qualified by the following - "I am sorry that this video is a bit rubbish and a different bass of course, [my underlining] but it has the same tones and fast action, and does have the same chrome bridge cover". The "calligraphy" is rather natty as well.

Agreed. It isn't just the amp, but the way it and the speaker interact that gives the "tube sound". A speaker is a reactive load. It's impedance varies according to frequency. Speaker level DIs incorporate a dummy load to protect the output transformer of the amp. Unlike a speaker, it will have a fixed impedance and the amp will not respond to it in the same way as it would to a speaker..

As Gordon mentioned that the singer was going to import the drummer and bassist from the other band, it appears they may come as a unit and be used to working together. I agree it's disappointing, but it happens (it's happened to me a few times). The only thing to do is chalk it up to experience and move on.

Difficult situation for everyone concerned when someone isn't cutting it, especially if there are friendships involved. As you acknowledge, the drummer isn't up to it. If the replacement drummer and bass player come as a unit, the BL probably figures it's simpler to use both as they are a known quantity and he won't have to worry about whether you and the new drummer will gel/bond. Not great for you, but you can appreciate where he's coming from. Rather than b/sing you, he may have been trying to spare your feelings. As the saying goes, one door closes, another slams shut in your face. Something like that anyway. At least you have other avenues to pursue. Good luck.

The 7040 is the obvious choice to go with your 8010s. It's been designed to work with them. You're not looking for high volumes, but to extend low frequency response and in a small room, so it should serve very well. Sound on Sound gave it a very positive review and I find their reviews reliable. I don't subscribe to the "mix it so it sounds good on terrible speakers" (which your 8010s aren't) philosophy referred to above. Yes, such a mix might sound reasonable on similarly terrible speakers, but on anything decent, it won't.

As a PJB owner/user, I can confirm that they put out pretty much what you put in. So in that sense, they could be called "hi-fi", in that they have quite a high degree of fidelity/faithfulness to what you feed them with. You need a lot of them if you want any volume, however. It isn't the size of the drivers that's responsible. The big Barefaced cabs - with 12s and horns - also do a very good job of producing an uncoloured sound if driven with suitable amplification. Ditto FRFR/PA cabs. A true hi-fi sound would probably be what you get when you play your bass through the desk in a studio with serious monitors (not little desktop/PC jobbies). It's super clean and, truth be told, a little sterile. Sounds quite nice in isolation, but mix it into a track and you have to start tweaking it to prevent it from being lost. If you want that in your live rig, a quality pre' driving a beefy PA power amp with plenty of headroom and enough cabs to enable you to run high volumes and have them work well within their capabilities is probably the best way to go. Not cheap. As Bill says above, best not to worry about how any amp or speaker might be classified and just use what sounds good to you.