Stub Mandrel

All four of them, by the look of it - Rickenbacker eat your heart out....

Is it mono or polyphonic? I've got a Voodoo Octave fuzz (which doesn't give you the octave without fuzz) as well as the XVI which is a way of doing it for just over £100 (£70 for XVI, £32 +P&P for Voodoo Octave) that gives you polyphony with +/- 1octave and the fuzz octave but takes more room.

Well this is certainly weird. Not convinced its wonderful (or suitable for beginners...) https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Factory-Custom-17-Strings-Electric-Bass-Guitar-Rosewood-Fingerboard-no-Frets-Inl/202814579937 (I suspect this was made to demonstrate the factory's custom capabilities rather than as a serious instrument?)

Does anyone know the spec of the nickel plated strings that are shipped with the fender Flea bass? The 'played in' tone is still nice and rich so they seem a good choice to stick with. <Edit> I'll answer my own question: Fender 7250M Super 7250s NPS string set medium

You know your problem... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnsoRheU_v8

Whoop de doo! Rehearsal this morning... set up the XVI with max modulation and through a delay then started playing slow notes to do the intro for Club Foot. I scraped my nails don the strings near the bridge to get some weird mechanical clanging and huge grin spread across our guitarists face. It isn't spot on, but it's enough in the spirit of it. And what an ace song for a bass player - I get the intro, the driving riff AND the solo 🙂

Even so... can you show me a link to a heaterless preamp valve? (I am willing to believe it if I see it!) 🙂

The applications of cold cathode devices are limited to low currents or those where heating is provided in other ways. I haven't come across cold cathode power amp valves. In some valves the heater is separate from and shielded by the cathode, that's probably the case in amps where they don't glow much.

This has inspired me to order a strip of UV LEDs opf eBay from t Trace Elliot combo, which appears to have the fluorescent silk screening but no UV bulb. Will be fun if it works!

(Sittin' on the) Dock of the Bay and One Love. Really enjoying both of them.

I suspect 20 frets was originally chosen because it allows you to play a full major or minor scale in all keys in two different octaves. Neil

Drill music of its day, and one of the best chromatic basslines ever 🙂:

Turns out it was a nicely done wind up (I did smile when the singer wiped away a tear, then gently tapped his elbow and tried to shush him - and the look from the keyboard player. This is what he really sounds like...

I bought a twin valve preamp module, it has LEDs under the valve bases so they glow ... blue 🙂

Don't most basses have 20? I find I run out occasionally looking for that high E. My second bass had 24 frets, I have two more 24 fretters, I like having the extras. Now you've made me count the frets on my guitars. Two with 21, three with 22, and an acoustic with 20. Me (in my yoof) showing off at the dusty end :-)

Are you offering to make covers, or to relic people basses by leaving them out...

If not a nitro finish, meths and if no joy, lighter fluid might do the job "test on an inconspicuous part of the garment"...

Reading the Dave Pegg biography, one year they had a new, young, 'modern' band at Cropredy. They played their set, did their encore and took 40 minutes. When politely asked if they could do a bit longer they sheepishly admitted they didn't know any more songs...

Delectably, it looks better than the slightly corny Music Man logo.

The Prince Andrew signature model. Sadly it's value has plummeted in the last couple of months... largely because he insists he can't recall ever having played one and the finish is wrong because he sweats like Rory Gallagher...

Perhaps they shouldn't be selling guitars with "Sterling By MusicMan' on them? Sorry, Music Man is a company that's a subsidiary of Ernie Ball.

Now if they were STUB Rays then they would be great 🙂

My late mum's best friend ran the (or a) Lonnie Donegan Fan Club.