Dan Dare

Try using it wired rather than wireless and see if the problem persists. You need to determine what is making the noise.

Same here. I find a fretless has a bit less bite/attack than a fretted, too. Sometimes, that's what you need. Horses for courses and all that. Mine's lined because I converted a fretted with thin strips of hardwood in the fret slots.

A wide strap with a grippy lining (mine's suede) is helpful if neck dive is an issue.

My recommendation for cheap speaker stands is don't. I use K&M (other makes are available). They aren't cheap, but they last and you don't have to worry about a PA cab falling on anyone and the resultant claim for damages from LawyersRUs et al. With that said, Gravity is a decent make.

I switched to Gotohs on my P Bass Special and kept the Fender bushes, which work fine. As far as weight saving is concerned, I put Resolites on My Spector Rebop because it was a little neck heavy. Although the total weight difference was only around an ounce per tuner, it definitely helped, presumably because a quarter of a pound or so makes a difference at the end of a long lever.

Note that I wrote they are claimed to have different tonal qualities. I've never heard any appreciable difference between speakers or pickups with different magnet materials. Others may see things differently

Alnico was originally used for pickups because magnets made from it it could hold a stronger magnetic charge than those of the same size made from iron. The earliest guitar pickups, such the Charlie Christian pickup, used iron magnets. Because iron on its own can’t hold a very strong magnetic charge, a large magnet was needed and the original Charlie Christian pickup weighed getting on for two pounds as a result. OK if you're playing seated in a jazz band with the instrument in your lap, but a bit of a lump to have hanging round your neck all night if you're standing, especially if your instrument has two or even three pickups. Alnico was used for reasons of cost and practicality during the golden period of electric instruments, which has contributed to the aura that surrounds it. Pretty well all the classic pickups - Fender single coils, Gibson P90s and humbuckers, Gretsch Filter-Trons, etc - were made with alnico magnets. There are several different grades of alnico, some stronger than others. They are claimed to have different tonal qualities. Alnico 5 is said to produce a hotter and more piercing pickup than alnico 2, for example. People try to replicate the classics exactly - same construction, materials, etc - in the hope of achieving the same sound. Ceramic magnets came out in the 1960s. They can hold a stronger charge than alnicos of the same size and weight, so are preferred for high output pickups, metal, etc. They're also cheaper than alnico, so tend to be used in budget instruments. No doubt that also contributes to the snobbery about alnicos.

YouTube content creators have to constantly come up with something new and attention grabbing or they risk fading into obscurity and being forgotten. In the same way as a writer has only a certain number of good songs or books in them, creators only have a certain number of things to say. Once they've done that, they usually start repeating themselves or chasing views and clicks by being controversial or provocative.

Darkglass is yet another brand that pairs its own preamp design with IcePower modules. If you like their flavour of preamp voicing, you'll probably like their heads. Their clean sound is likely to be the same as or very similar to Mesa, Aguilar and others who do the same thing. Try one and see if you like it.

I wouldn't worry about that, unless you intend to go full Steve Harris. You can run a lower action with finer frets and they are more comfortable to play on. Lee Sklar has his basses fretted with mandolin wire. If it's good enough for him...

Perhaps you didn't read my comment properly. I wrote "those who perhaps take themselves a mite too seriously and therefore want their taste in music to tell the world how they are fellows (it's almost always blokes) of taste and discernment". I was not referring to Beato personally, who I quite like. I find a lot of his stuff interesting, too and have enjoyed many of his excellent interviews. I also love Steely Dan, but it is undeniable that they (particularly the late Walter Becker) took themselves a bit too seriously and adopted a very superior attitude to a lot of music and musicians. I can like something without needing it to be put on a pedestal and I don't get upset if someone mocks or parodies it.

It's fun seeing Beato & Co getting their knickers in a twist about this. The comments on the video are good for a laugh. Yacht rock is a tongue in cheek term used to describe music for those who perhaps take themselves a mite too seriously and therefore want their taste in music to tell the world how they are fellows (it's almost always blokes) of taste and discernment. You can't imagine such people admitting to liking punk or country music. It's to be expected that Mr B, who likes to boast of being chums with all those LA super session cats, will not approve. I think it's quite amusing.

I don't think many of us underestimate what is needed to write a good song. The key word is "good", however. The fact that someone can play an instrument well may not automatically make them any good at song writing, but the more experienced and knowledgeable a musician is, the more he/she is likely to spot that something is formulaic, derivative, etc, because they are likely to have heard it or something similar before. .When we are young and discovering music for the first time, everything seems fresh, new and exciting. The more we learn, the more we realise that all that glisters is not gold.

Just bite the bullet and get a replacement driver from BF. You won't have to worry about whether or not it matches or whether it will work.

duplicate post

No, but they may well mean you will find many bands a disappointment. If you've been playing for several decades and know what you're doing, that puts you ahead of the majority of non-pro bands out there. That isn't meant to sound arrogant, but when I moved out of London a couple of years back, I looked for bands to join and realised how much I had taken for granted in the bands I had played in for 40 plus years in the Smoke. Over 40 years of playing, you will have learned a lot and it can be a shock to learn how little the people who don't have your experience know. In my case, I had to decide whether I was prepared to set my expectations aside initially, start small and put some time/effort into knocking any band that asked me to join into shape. Whether that's possible will depend on the potential of the band members to improve/up their game and, crucially, whether their egos will allow them to be guided (obviously, you need to approach this with tact and diplomacy). So far, it's worked with one band I joined and failed with the other, because the drummist wouldn't accept things I suggested.

I'd wager that a major reason for using aluminium cones is cost. Alu' is easy to form into shapes, can be made to have consistent thickness across something of any size and shape and is cheap and readily available. There is relatively limited use of pure aluminium. It's not strong or rigid in raw form and prone to fatiguing. Consequently it's often blended with other metals to create alloys to make it suitable for its intended use. You'll see aluminium described as being of 1000 - 8000 type. The number denotes what other metals it's blended with. 1000 is pure alu', 2000 has added copper, 3000 manganese, and so on (Google something like "types of aluminium" and you'll discover what they are). 1000 is very conductive, so is typically used for electrical transmission. Being cheap, it's also used to wrap foodstuffs. 2000 alloys can be heat treated to increase strength whilst retaining lightness and so are used in things like aerospace. 3000 is easy to weld, so is used for cookware, roofing and flooring, etc. I wonder which alloy is used/best for speaker cones. Now there's another rabbit hole for audiophiles to dive into 🙂

I found it a bit meh. The instrumental textures were well done, but the melodies were naff. Clever, but I wouldn't go out of my way to listen to it and certainly wouldn't pay to do so.

ParcelChuck was my nickname for ParcelForce. It's what they do...

If you can get one for a kid's bike, it shouldn't need cutting down.

I wouldn't worry about going through all the companies' sites. Their prices are going to be within pennies of each other. I sent a bass by ParcelChuck recently for around £15.

I found singing lessons helpful. The main benefit for me was that I learned to use my voice efficiently and without strain. The techniques also come in handy when I need to project my speaking voice.

Blimey. Another p1ssing contest. I've owned 5 basses over the course of 50 plus years. There's obvs something wrong with me.

Given that "thunderous low end performance" often seems to mean sounding like a poorly designed disco sub', that might not be a bad thing...

I think (correct me if I'm wrong) Talkbass is American. With no disrespect intended to our US members (who, having elected to join BC, must all be sensible people with excellent taste), that might explain the worthy, censorious attitudes you encountered.