Mottlefeeder

In many UK pubs, being a stones throw from a wall socket does not equate to being allowed to use it. Single sockets with one-armed bandits plugged in, no cables trailing across a gangway, etc. David

I bought some IEMs on Alliexpress, and one earpiece was dead. Seller refused pay for postsge back unless I sent him a video of the fault, which I could not do since the window of opportunity for uploading videos closes as soon the fault is registered. Sent the earbuds back at my expense and the buyer chose not to collect them from the depot where they were taken because he was not in to accept delivery. He then refused to refund me because he hadn't had them back. I eventually got my full refund, partly through Alliexpress and partly through Paypal, as a goodwill gesture. Buyer beware... David

This is possibly a niche review, but for those of us with hearing loss, it could be a game-changer. The Mackie OnyxGO is a rechargeable, battery-powered microphone, mixer, EQ and 3.5mm monitor output socket, in a box slightly smaller that a 9v battery. It is designed for podcasting, and the audio signal is fed to your phone by Bluetooth, so you can then record it using the companion App. The signal is also fed to the headphone socket on the device. Within the app there is separate EQ for the signal fed to the phone, and for the signal fed to the headphone output. Unfortunately, it has taken me a while to work out that the microphone EQ works up to 2K Hz while recording, but the Headphone EQ - including 2KHz, 4KHz and 8kHz - only works on playback. Playing a metronome through the HiFi and listening to both the HiFi speaker and the OnyxGO through open-backed headphones, I was not aware of any latency, so it appears that the monitor equalisation happens within the OnyxGO, and not within the phone. The microphone is designed to withstand close mic'ing of loud people, and I have not heard it distort when we are playing, or at HiFi volumes where my existing Tascam Bass-Trainer mics are audibly overloading. For my purposes, it clips onto my bass strap, and picks up the ambient stage sound, and feeds into a belt mounted mini mixer, providing some mid frequency boost to aid clarity. I am not sure if I would use it, but it will also play your Wav and MP3 tracks and mix them with the microphone signal - possibly a useful practice tool for singing or for acoustic playing. Pricing is all over the place - Gear4Music have it at £35, Andertons at £55 and several others at well over £100! So far, so good, but there is some less good news. The app is available on the Apple store, but has been withdrawn from Googles' Android PlayStore, apparently due to software bugs. It is however still available from non-authorised sites, eg https://apkpure.net/mackie-onyxgo/com.mackie.onyxgo/download . For what I need, whatever bugs are lurking there are not causing me problems. The battery life is given as 5-6 hours. This may be true if it is just used as a Bluetooth mic, but with headphones plugged in, I only got 3 1/2 hours of use before it shut down. However, it does function while charging from a USB C power source. So, it will cover your average pub gig etc, but if you are busking for 5 hours you will need a power pack. Charging it whilst recording does increase the noise on the monitor output, but as with an amplifier's fan, it is not audible while you are playing. David

I'm not sure that my experience will help, other that telling you to go a different route. I used a water-based tint to change the wood colour, followed by several applications of transparent glue that turned out to be water soluble, and then peeled off, followed by several applications of superglue, which didn't stay put on the corner as it dried. I got it moisture- and dirt-proofed and stopped there. Looking at it now, it appears that the superglue is not sticking to the original finish. If you are planning to use an impermeable filler, a water-based stain may not work for you, and a dedicated product like Gluboost might give you better adhesion than superglue. David

Vauxhall - our Astra broke a cambelt and cost us a lot of money. It was 2000 miles over the 50,000 limit to change the belt (we were running two cars with differing service intervals and I got confused) so their initial response was that it was not their problem. However, the cause of the belt snapping was a sensor bolt that had unscrewed itself and fallen into the path of the belt - a known problem with a modification kit to prevent it (if caught in time). After considerable argument Vauxhall agreed to pay half the cost, and I have not considered buying another Vauxhall since. David

The picture is of one of Bill's designs - you could do a lot worse than buy his plans and build one of them. https://billfitzmaurice.info/SLA.html I have no connection to Bill other than having built several of his designs. David

A multimeter does not load the battery, so you will get a slightly higher reading than when the battery is in use. Also, the voltage droops as the battery discharges, but it will recover a bit if left alone for a while. Put back into service, it will not last long, but it may allow the circuit to operate again for a while. David

They are still here (somewhere) - PM me your address and I'll post them on when I find them.

My first bass was made with guidance from the non-instrument-playing woodwork and metalwork teachers at my school... It had no truss rod, no adjustment in the bridge, (apart from lowering it with an angle grinder), a black formica fretboard and it cost me £17 for the parts. I sold it for £17 to another wannabe bass player who brought a friend with him to check it out. It was playable, so I did not feel I was conning anyone, but I wonder whether it was passed on again, or skipped. David

Apologies for not spotting this sooner. They are still available and I'll post them on if you PM me your address. David

With regret, I could make the old date, but not the new one. David

It's happened to me twice. Turned up, played and been warned off by the house band bassist. In one case he had anger management issues and was agressive (and eventually banned), in the other, it was a polite 'The house band also play out, and this is our relaxation. So we are not looking for a regular 2nd bassist'. David

+1 for Leathergraft. 4 inch wide leather / neoprene / suede sandwich for the padded area, and leather / suede sandwich for the 1 inch wide strap. Both keyholes have a tear-proof flexible-plastic reinforcement piece between the leather and suede. I don't need or use anything else. David

Unless your chosen cab has neo speakers, a multi-speaker approach will always be a heavy lump, since each speaker will have a fairly large magnet - something else to factor in to the equation. David

I'm just south of Altrincham, and I have a twin 5 inch home brew cab, and a single 10 inch home brew cab. The smaller speaker cab take 4 times the power to reach the same volume, so a low-powered combo with a smaller speaker may struggle to provide rhe volume you need. Happy to meet up if you would like to hear my small vs large boxes. David

Your cheapest 'suck it and see' option is to put about 100 ohms in series with each earpiece (or an in-line volume control) and turn up the source volume to compensate for the losses. You may find that you can hear the effects of less damping, but you may not. David

I think I'd stop at 13 feet using an HPF (Half Pipe filter)

'No, it would have to be 16 feet long to make the low notes.'

I enjoyed BEAD on a kit-build headless bass until the band decided to add 'Crazy little thing called love' to the set list. I tried and failed to find a fretboard position that worked for me, and eventually retired the 4-string and returned to the versatility of 5 strings. David

OK, thanks.

OK, thanks for posting. I may contact Thomann directly and ask if they have any more detail. David

I'd be interested to hear more about the receiver EQ. Does it provide any boost around 3k-4k, which would counteract my hearing loss? Thanks David

Medium pair still available. David

Yours. PM me your address and I'll post them next week. David

Hi folks, I've recently bought an 'assorted' pack of Comply tips, and now I know my size, the other two pairs are spare. If anyone wants them to try, or a particular pair to add to their stock, I'm happy to post them on. They are Comply 100 "Fits; Klipsch, Shure, Etymotic research, Westone, and more", and the small and medium pairs are available. David