prowla

3 hours ago, sifi2112 said:

Gonna ‘ break’ this soon .. so if anyone wants the ETS headless bridge & ABM brass locking blocks

I'm interested in those - will msg you.

On 16/04/2025 at 13:38, police squad said:

I played in a Jam tribute for a bit (mates, they needed a dep)

and as i learned all the songs, I realised how much of an influence he was.

He plays some really melodic stuff and his fills are great

and his energy too

 

Have a great retirement Bruce

I always thought he payed similar to Geddy Lee.

So, they’ve released a new Treble pickup. 

Relax - it's in Japan.

3 hours ago, neepheid said:

 

Are winking smileys placed at the end of text to denote that they are meant amusingly or not to be taken 100% seriously a thing any more?  Did I miss a memo?  Stop the world, I want to get off!

 

 

Just one more who's searching for a world that ought to be.

(Plus ca change...)

1 hour ago, neepheid said:

 

And?  Tell me you didn't wake me up just to condescend to me about how choices work, is there something else?

Did somebody wake up on the wrong side of the bed?

On 15/04/2025 at 11:45, neepheid said:

I'm in the "I don't care" camp.  It's not hatred, they just don't appeal to me, they might as well not exist as far as I'm concerned.  That's doesn't mean they're bad.  I have no opinion.  Contrary to common belief, that is a valid option.

If you choose not to decide you still have made a choice...

I saw them in '75 and thought they were past it.

9 hours ago, LukeFRC said:

Also sometimes I think we overthink it.

i have an HX stomp, it won’t last forever, but neither will I. 
and I can sell it and buy something new if I want to.

 

i have an analogue pedal I’ve built myself. It might last a bit longer, who knows what the kids will do with it when I’m gone. 
 

Likewise I have a Stomp, to consolidate a number of effects into one unit.

If/when it conks out, I'll get another (or similar).

Don't worry - in a few years time they'll be attracting a premium as cherished vintage products.

1 hour ago, Killerfridge said:

I think @TheGhostofJaco was making a play/joke on the clickbait titles of SBLs videos, and said as much in the first line of his post:

 

3 hours ago, prowla said:

"Hate" is such an extreme word for indifference.

"Hate" is such an extreme word for indifference.

I've used those little green screw blocks and also inline push-in gold connectors used in RC models and suchlike.

27 minutes ago, NancyJohnson said:

 

I'm latching onto the zinc alloy element of your post. 

 

You know that there's probably a few people here that will now be investigating zinc alloy for its tonal/sustain properties over steel/aluminium/lard.

 

What have you started?  I hope you're happy.

😂

I think the original Ric gap-tooth bass bridges were zinc alloy.

Allparts have a selection of bridges.
https://allparts.uk.com/collections/bass-bridges

42 minutes ago, NancyJohnson said:

Try a Schaller 3D-4 as a viable alternative.

That was my immediate thought.

Might be worth checking Allparts.

3 hours ago, Steve Browning said:

You missed my point spectacularly. 

 

I saw typical businesses for 10 years. Good and bad. I'm not remotely jaded. I'm passing on conclusions based on around 3000 businesses against your 1. I'm not criticising here.

 

By the way, talking of stereotyping (as I wasn't), a tax inspector gets difficult only when evidence (actual evidence) deems it necessary. It's a bit like people complaining about being done for speeding, somehow forgetting they were speeding. 

 

Anyway it's a nice day so what the hell. 

I've been for a walk - 14,053 steps according to my wrist-gadget.

18 minutes ago, rmorris said:

 

The context seemed clear to me but since that comment was going against my recognition of the risk aspect then you'd need to ask the poster about what exactly was meant.

As for "encompassing all of the factors..." - how would you propose to approach that ? (outside of the tax regime )

Different people draw different perspectives from the posts they read.

I took the inference that the risks associated with running a business were being discounted out of hand and distilled down to tax avoidance.

I suppose discussing business with someone whose focus is tax is similar to the adage that everything looks like a nail to someone who is holding a hammer.

(As @Burns-bass said, "Steve is going to view this through the lens of a taxman.".)

Running a Business has many risks over a being PAYE employee and simply focusing on the tax alone is meaningless.

(I'm a PAYE employee, FYI; I don't need the hassle of running a business and the risks associated with complying with legislation, running costs, insurance, sickness/unavailability, tax investigations, ROI, etc.)

1 hour ago, rmorris said:

 

No. Whilst there may be numerous risks in business, the relevant risk wrt taxation status (which is the area under discussion here wrt difference in tax / NI rates PAYE vs Dividend Income) IS the investment risk and whether it justified being taxed at a different rate.

In many cases it's not a problem tbh but it can be subject to abuse.

Not from my perspective; that’s cherry picking. 
The assertion of “Personally I don't buy the risk taking argument.” wasn’t specifically constrained as far as I can see. 
Tax is just one aspect.

The point is surely to encompass all of the factors pertaining to running a business. 

13 minutes ago, rmorris said:

 

The risk taking argument really only applies to what in realistic terms can be judged to be real investment risk.

Where it is being used as a vehicle to subsidise unrealistically low PAYE income then, yes, it's avoidance ( unless HMRC / Courts find it to be evasion).

That's a very blinkered point of view.

The risk is any exposure to which a PAYE employee wouldn't be party to and certainly isn't constrained to just investment and tax.

Of course, someone focused solely on tax would be dismissive of the other risks inherent in running a business.

And they're only interested in their deemed share of the profits; the risk of losses is none of their concern.

1 hour ago, Steve Browning said:

Personally I don't buy the risk taking argument.

Do employees have more protection than directors/shareholders (redundancy rights, sick pay, etc.)?

41 minutes ago, Burns-bass said:

Steve is going to view this through the lens of a taxman. Owners and employers jointly create wealth, which is true. 
 

The argument for lower taxes on business people is that it encourages them to invest and take risks. But taxes aren’t lower for most small businesses.

 

The reality is that dividend reliefs are pretty much gone and most Ltd company directors (like me) pay similar rates of tax to PAYE employees. 

Yep - I'm with you there.

18 minutes ago, Steve Browning said:

Depends on your views on tax avoidance. Personally I don't buy the risk taking argument. 

 

Like all avoidance, it's perfectly legal.

Well, the risk-taking, or just having the gumption to run a business and create wealth has to be worth something. 

But how does a company which is losing money pay dividends?

1 hour ago, Steve Browning said:

And taxed at a lower percentage. 

Is that good or bad?