Nicko

I've been in a few bands and have absolutely no idea how the guitarists learned their parts. We agreed songs we would play and arrived at rehearsals having largely learnt our individual parts. Occasionally a chord chart would appear but that seemed to be so they could remember the structure of the song. As a bassist I would use tab if it was available or tab my own parts if it wasn't to learn the track but by the time I was at rehearsal I'd expect to have it largely committed to memory. Yes, there were occasions where members of the band had used a different recording to learn their parts put it really wasn't a big issue. Talking of people failing to learn parts, my experience is that vocalists often rely on the lyrics, whereas the rest of the band rarely need anything in front of them.

A Precision Bass is any old bass with a single split coil arrangement in the right place, in the traditional shape, two knobs, no fancy active nonsense and crucially it must be 34" scale bolt on. Choice of body wood is irrelevant, A single piece maple neck/fingerboard is preferable but a glued on rosewood board is acceptable. You can add a Jazz pickup but it's no longer a Precision. Ideally the bass should be played standing with an incredibly long strap such that the strap button on the upper horn is below the player's navel.

That's my fall back position of the BC community agree it's not worth having it professionally repaired.

Yes, the Blackline is made in Indonesia to reduce the cost.

I was about to put my Markbass Blackline 250 up for sale but thought I'd better check it was all working OK. It wasn't. The amp came on (so the power circuit is OK), and the clip LED lit up (so the input circuit seems to be OK) but there was no output. When I switch the amp on there is a clicking sound (a mechanical one - like a relay engaging) and when I switch off I get a brief sound from the cab - a bass sound not a farting sound. The manual says that this could be a fault on output impedance, but I tried with two different cabs of different resistance and two different cables and it made no difference. I'm guessing that even if I can find a specialist locally they'll charge me for fault finding even if it's not economical to do the repair. The question is whether it's worth trying to get this repaired given that it's a relatively cheap amp that won't sell for much.

It's a few years since I flew with a bass - but I have two differing experiences - both long haul. With one carrier I was in economy and checked with them beforehand. They allowed the bass in the cabin (they actually put it in the business class wardrobe) in a soft case. With another I was booked in business and they wanted it in the hold - fortunately it was cased but only in a standard Fender Tolex case. The Tolex suffered some damage in transit but the bass was fine. I was unfortunate enough to see them loading it and it was clear they weren't treating it carefully despite the check in staff having plastered it with "fragile" labels. On this basis I would never check in a bass in a soft case.

Sadly my house is about to go on the market and the makeshift studio has been sacrificed to revert to a dining room - apparently that's what "normal" people expect in a house. Therefore I won't be able to submit an entry this month. I may yet record "Can You Hear Me Calling?" a rant on the vagaries of communications reliability when living or working away from loved ones just for fun. I will keep an eve out for the voting thread and wish everyone great dollops of inspiration in the meantime.

If I were buying a bass from most online sources I'd probably want to check the bass wasn't stolen, and for that you need a serial no unless the seller has a sales receipt.

George Harrison nicked "My Sweet Lord" and got sued in the 70s. Rod Stewart accepted that he'd subconsciously stolen "D'ya Think I'm Sexy" and the Hollies have a writing credit on Creep by Radiohead who didn't even bother trying to claim they hadn't nicked it.

I refer the Council for the defence to the current trial of Ali Harbi Ali as an example of a QC defending a not guilty plea in a case where the defendant admits a killing. It will be interesting to see what the defence claims to qualify this as justifiable, or will they simply claim insanity?

Of course some lawyers bring cases which are designed to challenge existing legislation but the vast majority apply the law blindly even when it's patently unfair, or use the minutae of a situation in order to apply a precedent of a law that was never designed to apply to the case in point. Lawyers are required to represent their clients and will try to apply any precedent they can to win the case even when they know their client is in the wrong. It doesn't make the legal system better.

@kwmlondonbought my speaker cab. I thought it would be a collect but it turned out we were different sides of London. Undeterred collection by courier was arranged and the cab ended up going direct to Wales. Prompt payment and the whole thing was quick and easy.

That may have been the case some time ago, but in the modern world we have become litigious with law firms constantly encouraging us to take action when, not only did we realise we had not been wronged, but in some cases the only winners are the lawyers. "Come and get something for nothing and we will only take a fee if we win" adverts are everywhere. And yes, some accountants exist solely to find loopholes in new tax legislation, just as some plumbers profit from new regulations. The difference is that those tax arrangements and regulations change in principal to fund public service and protect consumers. Law develops through aggressive litigation that benefits few other than the lawyers. Are you a lawyer by any chance?

It's been a complete waste of time for ES. The lawyers however will have pocketed quite a few pennies so it's not a waste of time for them and the precedent set will allow them to make much more money in the future arguing whether this precedent applies to the next case they bring. Whilst I agree with your summary the claim related to a specific section of the song and the similarities noted by the judge are specific to use of a fairly common progression consisting of 1 min3, 4, 5. The precedent set is that common standard progressions are no longer covered by IP - and that's probably how it should be.

Really? The case was brought by Sheeran in response to Switch having notified the PRS that he wanted part credit for the song. Clearly this was an attempt to claim royalties and it's only by bringing the case that Sheeran could have the claim as co-writer dismissed. Or am I missing something?

20 years ago I wrote and recorded a song and shortly after Pulp released something where the melody was identical. Lately I wrote a song and not long after heard something by Florence and the Machine which had a similar melody. Pulp didn't nick my song - it never got past me playing it on a cassette to a handful of people, but I still don't know if I subconsciously stole from Flo. It's some kind of modal melody and not really something that crops up that frequently in pop.

Wanted Dead or Alive - Bon Jovi

My tone is like Long Island Iced Tea, superficially sweet and tasty but packing a surprising edge that you may regret in the morning.

I tried a daisy chain on my small pedal board (4 pedals) and the noise was horrendous. A guy in the local shop pointed me in the direction of Xvive and it's been fine at a pretty low cost compared to some alternatives. I haven't noticed any noise. https://www.bax-shop.co.uk/guitar-effects-power-supply/xvive-v19-power-station-220v-micro-power-supply-adapter?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=surfaces&gclid=Cj0KCQjw_4-SBhCgARIsAAlegrU3lgPWVnCtgRF1lJOTg3hkcAV2sAzYFkyBn8kTH9z0jHjRrmFVx1IaApLcEALw_wcB

Nothing more Rock and Roll than getting the munchies at 3 am, surely?

The Drugs Don't Work - The Verve

I Wanna Be Sedated - Ramones

Every month I think I've created something that might just top the vote and everyone else ups their game. Fair play to everyone.