Stub Mandrel

Sam, obviously. Welcome Mr. Tool 🙂

Let's not get over excited.

I wasn't in a band for 25 years, you can work out why for yourselves.

Well that confirms the date, although it goes back further than we all expected, I think. More data on the string anchor arrangement incoming.

Apparently one modern treatment is to put a lump of silicone rubber in its place.

Plant and Bonham. Slade. Glenn Hughes. It goes on, but when do you stop?

Thanks @thebrig that's the sort of direct experience I was looking for. I've passed it on to my brother. If it stopped him playing guitar and mountain biking, even for a few years, he would be heartbroken. I'm glad you are finally getting somewhere.

+ Non-fragile knobs. Big feet. Comfy fold-flat handle on top. UV lights. - Stupid pictograms (sorry Orange I love your amps but hate the silly style decisions). Redundant FX loops.

Err... age old answer: Yes.

Not as bad as Port Talbot.

As I recall it was a case of goat AND patchouli, not goat OR patchouli.

We used to put patchouli on our afghans. I have no idea why.

I spent 17 years working in Birmingham and 26 married to a brummie.

Well... the lady from Darlo I had in mind used to be a keeper at Dudley Zoo Her dad restores banjos. 🙂 And I used know the director (before things all went a bit wobbly for him!)

My third bass was a Maya, still got it. I like it and have gigged it loads.

Would you seriously tell anyone from Darlo they aren't Black Country? 🙂

Black Country is where the 30-foot seam comes to the surface! And I know both the late chair of the Black Country Geological Society AND the Keeper of Geology at Dudley Museum so i knows where the coal goes If anywhere in eh modern 'Black Country' is dodgy it's Wolverhampton west of Bilston and West Brom to the South East.

Bugg is from Clifton. My daughter knows some of his mates, not sure if she knows him. He is a pretty capable musician (and he's been known to do Neil Young songs), I'd listen to him over Ned Sheeran any day 🙂

There is a small, but finite, possibility that they thought replying to an email telling them Marmite smells of yeast might not be worth the effort? 🙂

I use turmeric in my cooking a lot. I like to put a heaped teaspoon in with brown rice while it cooks.

Possibly because these things are subjective.? I know my eyes see things at different colour temperatures due to some obscure difference. I am also sure my ears differ in their responses from each other. If my left and right sides don't agree on colour or sound, there has to be even more subjectivity between individuals.

Err... you can stand with one foot in Walsall and one in Sutton Coldfield.

My bother and I both have arthritis in the base of our thumbs. He plays guitar. I use boswellia, a course of it gives me a few months clear of pain (just occasional discomfort) and the more I play the better it gets. I discovered teh Boswellia two years ago, and it hasn't been as bad as the day before I started with it since (like 24 hour toothache in my hands). My brother has just had his thumbs x-rayed and been given cortisol injections in both. They have said that in a few years he will need to have the trapezoid bones removed. I suspect I may follow him along this route in time (I'm eight years older and m my symptoms are essentially the same). Has anyone here had this done, and how did it affect your playing?

Yes, but define best when 'best' is a subjective, aesthetic opinion? If I roll off my tone control, am I getting a 'deteriorated' sound or a different one? If I like a rounded 70s blues-rock sound, I might find changing to a low capacitance cable suddenly make everything too brash! What matters is understanding that cable choice makes a difference. There's a good example here: http://www.shootoutguitarcables.com/guitar-cables-explained/myths.html

Welcome to Basschat. How old are the strings? Have you got the tone control turned up? Plus the pickups get closer and closer to the mid-point of the string as you go up the frets, so the sound gets less 'rich' or 'bright'. This is especially noticeable with the neck pickup on two pickup basses. You could try boosting the treble a bit more on the amp.