Stub Mandrel

The Wall?

Vinyl begs a degree of commitment, none of this hopping off to another tune halfway through. I like my music as curated by the artist, not an algorithm or a millenial...

You, sir, are what is know to the industry as a 'Format Tart'. No doubt you will be first in the queue for the 2023 Virtual Reality Interpretive Dance version with surround smells.

One of my greatest bass hero's favourite pub.

Blindboy podcast. New to me. https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-blindboy-podcast/id1300577518?i=1000511372027

My brother has ordered one of these: https://www.tcelectronic.com/product.html?modelCode=P0DDQ Does poly and mono as well as toneprints. I'll report back.

On original 1968 vinyl (stereo version!) Leo Lyons is an utterly underrated monster bass player. You could take his solos off this and drop them into a Danny Thompson jazz blues and no-one would notice.

I must remember to check each LP as I work though them all for Porkies!

After about 10 years, I've just resurrected my fairly basic hifi, although with my brother's NAD2030 as my old Panasonic has volume control issues. Rotel turntable and Goldring Elektra cartridge, Kef Coda 7s. Pretty much the best budget setup of the early 1990s 🙂 I've got about 200 lps to enjoy. Every last crackle and pop 🙂 Sounds good enough to me, certainly better than what i've been hearing music through for a long time. Records are like old friends, and the ritual of placing the vinyl and dropping the needle is a pleasure in itself. I have also sourced a Phillips CD player for the modest CD collection I've accumulated.

A rapier, then I think, although the shop had a different name for it I haven't found anywhere else. Yes I know when=Watkins 😁 someone tried to flog me an ancient copykat last year

I came within an inch of buying a similar pale blue one a few weeks ago. It was gorgeous. Sounded really vintage. Branded Watkins on the headstock, not WEM.

Murder Ballads. Lovely sleazy bass, I could play this riff all night: And Kylie wins it:

It is a fundamental law of the universe that entropy will eventually cause any given forum to lapse into a fish pun thread. While such lapses may be reversible, the process will repeat until the entire internet collapses under the sheer weight. See also: Hake Death of the Universe.

Need to work on the neck pocket fit 🤣

Bypassed the compressor at my last gig. The venue has a lot of electrical noise and the comp just boosted it when I wasn't playing. Did have to fiddle with levels a bit as first set was a jazz with rich but gentle '63 alnico pups, second was Epiphone Embassy with wall-shaking humbuckers. Really enjoyed being able to change my sound much more by digging in. My compressor does have the feel of being a 'better knob' but on the other hand that increased palette of sounds from playing without one...

Great shot... here's a contrast/colour enhanced version:

Good one in the Two Brewers, Chepstow last night. We chopped the set around a bit because people started dancing, our 'Frijid Pink - style House of the Rising Sun would probably have cleared the floor...) Instead we did a majorly extended version of Let's Stick Together with a random drum solo 🙂 We also started the second set with Happy Birthday for the landlords 18 YO son, so a good time was had by all🙂

Embassy now gigged. I's a great fun bass to play live, ditched the compressor and enjoyed what comes from being able to really dig in to a humbucker.

Guitarist has just texted me suggesting I use teh Embassy at tonights gig. He loves it! Going to do one set with the Emb, one with the Jazz.

OK, it's a necro thread, but I'm just completing my new office/music room. Still some wall hanging & pics to go on 🙂

I have a lathe, I can turn a plug to size if necessary. It's a metal lathe not a wood lathe but, it will do the job.

Thanks , that's reassuring to know my plan to vut the plugs across the grain is the right one.

The trouble with a dremel is that the screw core is only 4mm. A 1.4mm slot would only have 1.3mm of steel either side and I would have to use a small screwdriver. No way it could generate the torque needed - these are stuck fast enough to shear the full screws. I have a very good pillar drill and can hold the neck in a macine vice (leather pad for protection). I can probably drill out the screw, but will still have an oversize hole that needs to be plugged. It all comes down to what size of plug is best. I good news, I have found the packet of D'addarios I bought in preparation 😀

I've already tried an extractor, the remaining bits are only about 4mm in the core, too small for one. They are as stuck as any fixing I've vome across, one of the sheared leaving a 1cm stub I was able to get a huge combination pliers on to. It just sheared off again.

The removal tool I used essentially works that way - used in a pistol drill run in reverse. They drill a pilot hole in the head, then a pair of serrated flutes bite into the sides of the hole, but the screws just sheared off they are totally locked.