Stub Mandrel

Precision Bass - Penis on fire! Cred!

As an environmentalist, the logical end-point of such discussions is that the planet would be better off if we were all dead. One philosophical way to approach the issue is 'what number of basses maximises the well being of current and future generations' ? This brings in things like the joy brought to you and others by owning basses and possibility that owning them stops you doing something more (or less) sustainable instead. I suspect that if everybody had a creative hobby, like making music, the world would be a better place now and in the future.

Be fair, it may be down to covid.

Hmmm. If he's top loud, and you can still be heard clearly, doesn't that mean you are too loud as well?

It's true. Even my laundry basket is a luxury. I suppose this is an argument in favour of flatwound strings. More seriously, I guess basses themselves are relatively modest in their environmental impact compared to most hobbies, particularly if they are made out of genuinely sustainably sourced timber. Certainly, you would need a lot of basses to be the equivalent of a second car.

12 because 13 is unlucky. TBH I do find myself wondering if I need a Stingray. Or an EB0.

We do that in the covers band. It's amazing how easy it is to be wrong about something you were certain of even with a simple song, and also how it kills arguments stone dead. Mind you, last Sunday "There's no piano, you should be playing the Hammond organ part" morphed into "Can you split the keyboard three ways and play right and left piano and the organ part?"

This. Both my bands (one is gigging for the first time in a fortnight, the other has gigged a couple of times) have flexible approaches. The guitarist in the blues band could have huge semaphore flags on his back, he's that good at telegraphing the changes. The covers band want the vocalist to adapt to the audience reaction, so we've agreed a combination of hand signals and vocal cues. What is out of order is just randomly changing without signals or consideration. If it goes fubar now, you won't be gigging before 2025, unless the band decide to get serious.

Who rattled your cage Bridgey? They both do, no gentleman would ever affix a plain scratchplate to a Jazz Bass.

Aye, but he wasn't the first 🙂

Ah... the brick is the bit that does the power conversion. That is... worrying. Somehow, the AC adaptor or plug adaptor blew a 13A fuse. That is ungood.

Shame, the Thomann ones even have a shutter to make sure you can't open up the adaptor when plugged in. And a 3A fuse!

Sorry so the 'brick' is the power unit which wasn't attached to the 'adaptor' which is the EU to UK bit and which set off the main trip when plugged in? That's odd as it should be impossible for it to short out like that. Do you have a multimeter to check if the fuse has blown in it and that the pins are isolated from each other??

I have flats on one of my jazzes, as a way of justifying having two 🙂

Or go headless double-ball end, and leave old-fashioned dead spotted designs behind.

And the Ford Cortina. Named, err… after a pair of curtains.

It transpires that Peter Jackson introduced Yoko Ono as a 'fifth Beatle' to help gender balance and drive the plot forward.

In string terms, flats are like selecting inferior tonewoods in order to get the sound you like. 🙂

Yes. It should ideally be a 3A fuse for such a low-power unit, or a 5A if none available. I very much doubt a 13A fuse has blown without damage to the unit. When you say it 'sparked' where did this happen? To set off the main board you must have had a short. In my experience, a short inside a cheap extension cable than either a power brick or the decent quality adaptors Thomann supply.

They all say that!

I'll be honest, I felt you overdid the effect once or twice...

OK, thanks. I thought it had a blend. It may be the one thing I change, but we'll see how I get on with it.

Nice. You should carve 'Et in Arcadia ego' on the side 🙂

Inspired by the comments here, I had a go yesterday, nothing ventured, nothing gained. Honestly, I don't think I would have had a go without hearing that so many of you have had to grit your teeth and go for it. I stayed reasonably well back from the mike, so I could hear myself rather than the PA, I forgot my earplugs (we don't practice at great volume) 🙂 To cut along story short, Dakota was fine (not surprising!), chorus of Rebel Rebel was impossible, I managed the 'Please.... Please' on Stuck in the Middle with you, and was pleasantly surprised to cope with the tail end of Baggy Trousers, although the chorus was too much going on! No-one complained, which means either they couldn't hear me or I was more or less in time/tune. Yes, I did check my mike was live 🙂 I've got a reasonable range, but when I can't hear myself well I tend to jump up an octave into my head voice at inappropriate moments; this is something for practice, but less important for backing vocals as they tend not to go up and down a lot. So I shall practice at home, stick to the ones I can sing without fumble-fingers and gradually approach the mic closer until I reach the point where I get asked to keep it down 🤣 Thanks folks, I hope your suggestions encourage other people as well.