Dan Dare

I agree the D'Addarios mentioned above are a good choice. I like Ernie Ball Cobalts on my 5, which have similar gauges and are quite bright/clean. What rig do you use? To reproduce a low B cleanly at volume does take some doing.

I have a similar sized PA to yours and occasionally hire my self out (or did, until all the lockdown/covid nonsense started). Like you, I always end up doing sound in the bands I play with and having the rig gets me more gigs. More people want me to play for them because it comes with me (for a small consideration, of course). As for viability/demand, it depends on your local scene. I generally find that the size of rig we own is not quite large enough for bigger, better paid shows. I get a few jobs, but it isn't likely to pay off the mortgage. That's fine with me - I already have the rig, I enjoy doing sound and it's a paid night out. You may find you need some extra monitoring. I have 4 monitors, which I'd consider a minimum - people expect individual monitors these days (and often individual mixes). I can give them 3 mixes, so I run stage right and left and rear of stage, which covers most modestly sized situations. How many channels on your mixer? 16 really is the minimum you'll need for all but very simple bands/jobs. As far as advertising goes, how would you go about hiring a PA if you needed one? Advertising wherever you would look would be a good place to start. Have some cards and maybe small, inexpensive flyers printed and put the word out among the people you play with, at rehearsal rooms, local music shops, etc. I get most jobs via word of mouth, but I've been doing it for a while and know a lot of local musicians. Some may ask you if they can hire your rig minus you and provide their own engineer. That's a definite no no, unless you go with it and keep an eye proceedings imho. If you're providing PA and monitors plus full backline, you'll likely struggle to transport, rig and operate that (especially breaking it down and transporting it home after a long day/night), so I'd factor in the cost of taking/paying an assistant. Mics get hammered. I don't use my best ones when hiring myself out. I take out mainly old 57s and 58s and let people chew, dribble over and tread on them and leave my decent ones at home. Take a very long extension cable, plenty of plugboards and a good quality trolley. Edit: Forgot to mention. You'll often need a PAT test certificate and I'd get insurance. If one of your cabs falls on someone's head, you could be sued for a lot of money.

Selling it for a chum.

He's still calling it a Fender in the title, but has added a couple of semi-literate comments. Caveat emptor. Hopefully, people won't be fooled.

Just roll up pieces of foam and stuff them in the ports. Cheap and enables you to experiment whether partially or totally blocking them works best.

A shame it's collection only in Sheffield. For a tenner, I'd buy it for a laugh. When the jam I play in the house band at gets up and running again, it would be great to have it to offer to those "Lend us yer bass, mate" types who turn up without an instrument.

If you don't mind collecting it - in Bilston, so Midlands, which is where you are - this - Trace Elliot Bass Amp, GP12SMX, AH400SMX | eBay - is on the Bay at the moment. Looks in good shape - even the sliders have all their knobs. I was tempted for old times sake (I had the AH350), but mustn't buy any more gear.

Don't forget tone polish - Rag-Time: How to Clean Your Guitar for Better Tone (gibson.com).

I'm thinking of trying some different strap buttons to improve my tone. Any suggestions?

It's inevitable that people will be appreciated best when they are at their most active, which Paul M no longer is. He was always very musical and inventive. He's done all right. I don't suppose he worries about whether he's appreciated or not.

That's because it is (not that exact one, but the same model). Have a look at Gibson Style U - Wikipedia for history.

I like it. Certainly has character. Wouldn't be surprised to see it make a decent price. Vintage Jap stuff is quite collectable.

Headstock shape looks really off.

Beyer DT770s work for me.

If you don't want to spend too much, have a look at Musicman Bridge (wdmusic.co.uk). Looks a solid item. I've bought several Gotohs from WD and the service has always been good.

This is it in a nutshell. I've had a few instances of people on eBay offering to pay me via PP and then "sending a courier". I simply tell them to give the "courier" the cash and he can give it to me directly in exchange for the item. Oddly enough, they never agree to the idea. Wonder why?

Has to be commando for the spontaneity it lends my playing.

Given the amount of kit people are trying to sell at the moment, I wouldn't buy new. Plenty of good used stuff about.

I find the Lindy plug board effective for removing noise at home. I got it for the hi-fi, but take it out to gigs, too.

I like it when someone who is good at it does it. That doesn't include me. I'm crap at slap.

It's a good time to buy and a bad time to sell at present. If you can hang onto the ones you're thinking of off-loading, you'll get more for them once the world has returned to something resembling normality. It's a particularly bad time to trade in right now. Shops aren't shifting much and won't want to take things into stock unless they can buy them for next to nothing. You can't blame them. They have a living to make, wages and bills to pay, etc, etc. If you must sell now, do it privately.

I had a 2x15 Bassman cab of similar vintage. The drivers were pretty useless and looked cheap. There was a glued seam on the cones - it looked as if they had been made by bending a piece of straight card to shape. I blew one up, so replaced both with Peavey Black Widows (which were then considered pretty nice and certainly not cheap). Turned it into a very fine cab (by the standards of the day). Shame it was so big and heavy. I needed a Volvo estate to cart it around.

You can see the man himself explaining what he did here - Guy Pratt Lockdown Licks Ep 3 'Earth Song' - YouTube

I spent around £100. As I said, I may have been lucky.

It seems we have many different experiences of couriers, online retailers et al. I have bought from Bax and been satisfied with the service. Ditto Hermes. It's very much dependent on the individual(s) you deal with at any large organisation. If the people who process your order are conscientious and competent, you will have a good experience. If not, you won't. It's not possible to generalise.