Dan Dare

I agree that £5k a year is about right for the total running cost of a vehicle. It's about what I spend. The original point that I disagreed with was that one can't buy a decent vehicle for less than £5k. My present car cost me £2300 four years ago. It's 20 years old now, not a wreck by any means and is large enough to carry me, my bass rig and PA easily. It's a bit thirsty, but I service it myself and carry out minor repairs that don't require specialist equipment or a hoist, which saves money. I've always done so. When I started driving, the only way to motor on a tight budget was to buy a banger and do your own maintenance. Many these days are unwilling to pick up a spanner. Agreed again. My current PA is 2x750W and I have a 700W bass amp. I certainly didn't start out with that. I had the obligatory HH 100W PA amp and a 100W bass amp. By the standards of today, it was crap, but it did the job and got me going. Since then, I've gradually upgraded to what I have now. Fair enough, really. There has to be some reward for working for 50 odd years. A lot won't, which is one of the reasons many music venues are half empty. Why would people stick around to hear terrible stuff at ear-bleeding volumes?

Anything worth having is hard graft. The world owes us nothing. Everyone has to find money for fuel, food and accommodation. They all have to tax and insure their vehicles. What makes musicians exempt from this? "Forced into a job"? What makes a musician so special that he/she shouldn't have to work for a living? If you want to do or become something, it's perfectly normal and reasonable that you work for a living and treat that something as a side-line, hopefully building it up to become a profession over time. Work on it in your free time in the evenings and at weekends and don't expect a free ride from the rest of us whilst you "make it". You can buy a vehicle that will get you about for a lot less than 5k. Of course, you may have to lift the bonnet and get your hands dirty occasionally (horror of horrors - don't you know I'm an artiste and have to protect my delicate hands?) to keep it going, but tough.

Blimey. 775W a side into 8 ohms would be well over a kilowatt bridged. You could vaporise your PB300 with that... QSC power amps are very good. I used them for my PA until I went down the active cab route.

Ah, you're running it with a Flightcase combo. That must be a nice rig. I got into PJB stuff via picking up a used Flightcase. I liked the sound, but wanted more of it, so got a couple of C4s and drove them with a power amp fed by the Flightcase. Eventually sold the Flightcase and got three 4Bs, which I like a bit better than the C4s, plus a couple of 2 ohm capable amps. I mix and match according to the requirements of the job. I'm not so keen on PJB heads. I find them a bit too hi-fi when used with PJB cabs. I realise super clean is the PJB design intention, but I prefer my Aguilar or Carvin with them. YMMV, horses for courses, etc. You could pick up a used power amp for not much money if it's only temporary. Wouldn't stack neatly with the Flightcase and PB300 (you'd probably have to put it on the floor behind the rig), but would do as a temporary fix whilst the PB300 amp is being repaired and used power amps are pretty cheap.

Absolutely. I also hate the way they over-enunciate every word.

Roadwork? As in dragged behind a car, I assume.

"I do this as a hobby to keep dimentia, arthritis and God knows what else at bay"... Quite. One suspects he will be keeping buyers at bay, too.

The built in amp on the PB300 is rated at 250W, so you won't need a powerhouse to drive it. Do make sure you connect the drivers correctly. They are probably wired series/parallel to give 6 ohms (or so) impedance. Individual PJB drivers are normally rated at 8 ohms. My four driver PJB cabs are all wired series/parallel to give 8 ohms total impedance. They claim 400W power handling each, but I Find they are happy with a little over half that. Removing the plate amp from the back of it it will leave a sizeable hole, which you will need to fashion a cover for. A piece of ply with a Speakon connector let into it should do the trick as a temporary fix.

To an extent, this is a useful suggestion. However, I don't think anyone deliberately does a poor job. They try their best. All the self-criticism/evaluation in the world won't help if someone is simply not capable of doing any better. Everybody's abilities are finite. It may well be that they are not suited to the style of music (which appears to be the case here), but that doesn't alter the fact that they cannot cut it. If someone's best is not up to snuff, you have two choices. Accept that things will never get any better or replace them. By all means do the deed tactfully and not unkindly, but there's no mileage in shying away from it if they are holding everyone else back.

I highly recommend sarcasm - "Thank you so much for pointing out my error. I would never have known I had made a mistake had you not drawn everyone's attention to it. I'll go home and practice for ten hours a day. Please, please forgive me. I am not worthy", etc, etc.

On a more serious note, this.

Imho, it depends on the instrument. The better Mexican instruments use (or used to use) the same components as US built. I have a Mexican active deluxe P (P/J) which is much better put together than my '72 Jazz. Mind you, A Harley Benton would probably be better built than a '70s US Fender...

Get the band to stand in a line and say "all band members take one step forward. Hey (name of member you want to fire), where do you think you're going?"

I carry two, but only because our singer has a penchant for Eb, so one is tuned down a semitone to give me the low fundamental and make the fingering easier. Obvs, I could tune it up if needed.

Fret sprout is not uncommon on instruments that are built in one climate and shipped to another. Or maybe the wood used for that instrument hadn't been sufficiently dried/seasoned. Usually the result of the wood shrinking as it dries, leaving the fret ends poking out. Not by a lot, but enough to make the neck feel horrible. If a shop hadn't picked up on it and addressed the issue (they usually just need a swift file and smoothing), it suggests that they don't check instruments before putting them out on the racks.

Perhaps not the best response to someone posting who is blind. Ah well, it was a couple of years ago...

Add neglecting to tune your instrument and cranking it in a tiny venue you could take over some of the guitard's duties, too.

I think the discussion might be getting a little ahead of itself. It's difficult for us to make practical suggestions for someone who has hearing loss, especially if they have a limited budget and are looking to buy used. We simply can't put ourselves in a person's position if they are hearing impaired and know what to recommend. You often can't try used gear in a playing environment. I would advise the OP to take the time to try a variety of options at some decent shops. If he finds something that works for him, even if it is out of budget, better to borrow or save to get it, buy once and cry once and at least have something that does the job.

I fear you're correct. Like you, I avoid couples in bands like the plague. Suggest that one might change or improve something and the other is in your face, etc.

She's been working down to it. Tried all the other instruments and couldn't hack it and finally thinks "everyone can play bass, even me". Edit to add: Just realised you were probably wondering about why Linda M never tried , rather than the woman in the OP's band (which is who my comment was aimed at).

Not to mention a rig. She appears to have a bass.

Used bass off the 'Bay? Should be plenty of bargains in January when those who have Christmas credit card bills to pay start looking for ways to raise a few bob.

Not a good strategy. The old man/drummer will support her even if she's terrible to avoid getting earache at home. If she turns out to be decent, they'll be thinking about easing you out to make the gig money go further.

Joe Ely wrote a song about that.

Forgot to add earlier. Look for used, rather than new. eBay and similar are stuffed with used Pacificas, Squiers and the like at bargain prices. People often buy a guitar, for themselves or a youngster, intending to learn. After finding out it ain't as easy as they imagined, the instrument goes in the cupboard, until one day they decide to sell it. Either that, or they (or the youngster) make good progress and decide to upgrade relatively quickly. In both cases, you get to pick up a used instrument in good shape, ungigged (how many beginners gig?) for not much money. If you look after it, you can move it on for not much less than you paid for it when the time comes for you to upgrade. A repairer friend often picks up such guitars for silly money from eBay, gives them a clean, set-up and new strings and sells them on at a profit.