Cato

I don't think my nerves could take living in a house where a massive gong could be deployed at any moment.

Thats 3 out of the 7 knobs you've accounted for. I know what the controls are supposed to do in theory, I just lose track of exactly which one is doing what. Then i just switch the bass to passive and it ceases to be a distraction.

We've tried to call them out, our ten best against theirs, but our challenge got moderated and I got a lifetime ban under TB's strict 'no frivolous postings' policy.

For me, personally, the Sire has too many variable parameters, it's too fidly and i have to keep looking up what knob does what online. I mostly use mine in passive mode these days, it's just easier to find a good tone.

Lovely bass you've got there. I've come so close to pulling the trigger on a mockingbird on several occasions. It was the bass I wanted when I first started playing. My musical tastes have changed beyond recognition since then but my inner teenager is still gassing for something pointy.

Batman?

The internet is a big place. If people want to aggressively argue about politics, religion or the more toxic stuff there's a lot of places they can go to do that whilst being as sweary as their imagination allows.

Et tu, Dad?

If it ain't broke why fix it? The creative work-arounds people come up with to bypass the filter are far more entertaining to read than the banned expletives they replace..

I'm not one to judge people for their preferences or hobbies. As long as everyone involved is a consenting adult and nobody gets permanently maimed then I wish them all the best in their choice of lifestyle.

There's no drummer in the world talented enough to pull off any drum solo lasting more than 30 seconds without irritating the vast majority of their audience. The last extended drum solo I saw was at a Robert Glasper gig in Brum by an obviously gifted drummer in front of an audience of jazz lovers. By about a minute in he'd emptied around the half the hall, people were queuing in the lobby for the bar and the toilets.

In my experience semi acoustic basses aren't noticeably any louder than solid bodies when both are unplugged. If you want something that has a much louder unplugged sound your best bet might be an acoustic bass.

I only caught a couple of moments. Rita Ora miming badly whilst being completely carried by her backing singers then a bit of Taylor Swift's set which was actually rather good.

Will people please stop bumping this thread? I've had this bloody song in my head for a week now.

I seem to remember reading or hearing that he was was using the Gus skinny string they sent him. I think there may be photographs of him with the guitar

You'd have to keep it in an atmospherically controlled vault. You could never play it unless you were truly unconcerned about money,, every chip and ding would knock thousands off the value.

If you google 'custom pickguards' there are a few UK based companies that will make a scratchplate to your specs. Theoretically if you send them the current 'plate as a template they should be able to make you something that fits perfectly. Prices seem to start at around £20+ and escalate rapidly so I suppose it depends whether you want to spend that much on a cheapish guitar.

For some reason I had it in my head that Chicago were a 70s/80s prog band. Nothing wrong with that but it's not really my thing. Thanks to this thread I've now realised my funky error and will be checking out a lot more of their stuff.

And the award for my favourite auto correct/ predictive text sentence sabotage so far this year goes to...

It won't be long until there's a backlash against the current trend for sensitive types with acoustic guitars singing slushy ballads. It's been absolutely done to death over the last few years.

One of the best gigs I've been to in the last couple of years was these guys at the Godiva festival in Coventry. A couple of weeks later a mate asked me about the festival and I found myself saying ' Slaves were amazing' The pub didn't go quiet, nobody else heard. But that's the kind of band name that, when referenced in conversation and overheard in passing, could lead to some serious misunderstandings.

Not a feud so much as a series of toxic relationships, but I watched a documentary on The Who, on BBC4, where Pete Townshend systematically slagged off the musical skills and contribution of every member of the band's classic line up, barring himself. I was left wondering what the band would have sounded like if everyone had played or sung to his personal satisfaction, because I'm guessing they wouldn't have been the same band at all.

I'm not sure I'm psychologically capable of allowing myself to believe that.

The next time a manufacturer asks basschat for a favour I think I'll probably give it a miss.

I leave everything on the amp flat and control the tone through the active EQ on the bass. Not that there's a right or a wrong way to do these things.