Dan Dare

The tone of your posts was somewhat dismissive. That's what I was responding to. We're talking about pop music, after all. It's a fashion product, whether we care to admit it or not.

Hardly "nasty". I was responding in a similar tone. "99.9% of the audience don’t know what’s good for them"? Really? Wouldn't you say that's more than a touch arrogant? Who has the right to tell anyone what is "good for them", save perhaps a lawyer or medical practitioner?

So the answer to my first question is that you don't? "Creative" is an over-used word these days. In my experience, people who use it a lot tend not to be all that "creative". I have indeed read your posts. You sound quite impressed with yourself.

Perhaps you don't need to worry about making a living. Do you adopt the same stance with what earns your daily bread and tell your employer that they are getting what you choose to give them whether they like it or not?

Many replies on this thread are slightly tongue in cheek. Don't take it too heavy. If I find through experience that a company produces good stuff (or stuff I like, which is why I use PJB cabs), I will, within sensible limits, tend to favour its wares. That's why I drive a Toyota. Having invested the time and effort in finding something I like, I'm not going to start at square one every time I want to buy something. Life's too short.

A Polish builder, perhaps?

I'm a bit of a PJB cab fanboi. The small drivers mean you need a few of them to make any serious amount of noise, but since I switched to them, nothing else sounds quite right to me. The clarity, focus and lack of zing and clang (can't stand tweeters for bass) set them apart. Not so keen on PJB amps, however. Powerful and clean, but too hi-fi sounding for me when used with their cabs.

This. Then you can use a regular amp. No point in spending good money on a whole rig you'll rarely use.

You could use both the new head and EBS, using the EBS as a power amp to drive the additional cab.

Spot on. I don't suppose Joe Pass ever weed on his audience.

I always tell an audience "Remember, the more you drink, the better the music sounds and the better looking your partner becomes".

Given that lap steel is played with thumb and fingers (and players almost always wear thumb and finger picks), I'd say many bassists are not "perfect to play steel guitar, especially the finger picking style ones". Sure, they can learn, but they will probably have to make more effort than someone who plays fingerstyle slide guitar, dobro or pedal steel, because they will already have much of the technique needed. I appreciate you wanted to show off your lap steel (and very nice it is, too), but you make little sense.

If "something new" meant exploring new tunings, different techniques, etc, I'd be all for it. However, hacking/butchering things and then attempting to profit from it does not really equate to innovation.

G&L Kiloton Tribute. Bought on a whim and the only and therefore best and worst purchase of 2021.

You're a braver man than me. My backline's worth more than my bass.

I had an AH250 that I used with a Fender 2x15 cab, with the original drivers replaced with Peavey Black Widows. I also ported the cab properly. Sounded fab and very loud. Shame it was such a beast. I needed a Volvo estate to carry it around.

Do you have a fretless? It might sound a bit meh on a fretted. I wondered about the following, too. My father fought in WW2 and he died 15 years ago at the age of 86.

The issue then is, of course, that they may be reluctant to have you in their band. We all need to find our level.

Agreed. The volume/gain control on a power amp is only an input attenuator (it cuts the signal entering the power amp). It is useful in cases where you don't have a way to reduce the signal strength of what you're feeding the power amp, but if you have a master volume on your preamp, use that.

Tricky. If they're decent blokes and I had nothing else on the go, I'd probably agree to give it a try on a provisional bases ("Let's see how we get on", etc), However, I'd insist on rehearsals and subtly suggest improvements/get people to tune up, etc. Which might mean I wouldn't last long... On the other hand, the singer might be grateful for an ally, who wants to do his songs justice, so you and he could work on knocking the others into shape.

Shift working is not unique to the police. I've played in bands with doctors, retail and maintenance workers, all of who worked shifts. It can occasionally limit the band's ability to take last minute bookings, but it's not an insurmountable problem.

I carry a set of part used strings so I can replace one that breaks and not have the replacement twanging and stretching and causing issues if I have to change one on a gig. I would happily offer then to someone who broke a string, but wouldn't lend them my instrument. I once had a similar experience to Cat Burrito, where someone I offered to lend a bass to moaned about it being strung with flats. I put it back in the case and told them to make other arrangements.

If you want a nicer, slightly more solid replacement for a BBOT, the Gotoh 203 is the one. Not high mass, but slightly heftier, smoothly finished and no sharp edges, brass saddles, all for around £25. Has 7 screw holes - the rear 5 are the same as the BBOT and you don't need to drill for the other 2 at the front of the bridge if you don't want to. I have them on several basses.

If you do make up your own, use real Speakons. Most imitations are rubbish (some won't even fit actual Speakon terminals without persuasion). It really isn't worth saving £1 per connector for the aggravation.

Are you sure? I have an old A&H PA12 that has 2 and built in fx. The A&H ZED-12FX has 4.