Stub Mandrel

This.

NECRO-THREAD ALERT! I got a stylophone in a charity shop. The batteries had died unpleasantly but I cleaned it up and replaced the positive wire. But it's doing odd things. The notes don't all come out as the correct note. Not tuning errors. Black notes in brackets: A (A#) B C (C) D (C) C# F (F#) G (G#) A A# B (C#) D (D#) E Except sometimes notes swap, especially if you go back and forth. Sometimes they are way out. It's not like shorts between two keys making them the same - more like it detects the actual key but assigns the wrong pitch. Any ideas?

Bob Moog was on record as saying his name rhymed with vogue.

I have three fivers and long fingers, which suggests I prefer five? With big hands I have no trouble playing one finger per fret up to the nut, and I actually find the extra string feels clumsier and makes muting harder (I tend to mute with fingertips not palm which limits the number of digits available). Also, I find I can play four without looking at the fingerboard as often, it's essier to get lost on a five (that said I can (debatably) play guitar with six...) They are also heavier and feel clumsier. So why five at all? Obviously if you want the low notes, but for most songs they are just a novelty like using an effect pedal (exceptions in our repertoire are Gasoline by Audioslave and even Devil Woman which benefits from a drop D). Then there's the 'easier to play' argument. I found playing Pressure and Time with multiple fills in Fm easier on a five... then the band decided to play it in Em. Finally the 'different options' argument. Well virtually all I play was originally played on four. Using a five for blues rock is fun as you do find yourself going down or across instead of up, five string is oddly suited to blues progressions. You can do a much more solid job in D. But it does feel gimmicky at othe times - I probably only use low B or C a handful of times in a night. Really though it's all down to personal preference, I like the way five makes you think differently but it IS harder, for me at least. It's just occurred to me that in the 90s I mostly gigged with two 24 fret basses. Now I mostly gig with fewer...

P.s.: It's a whoop of gorillas, professor.

Well a flanger is meant to simulate playing two tape recordings side by side and slowing one down by dragging on the flange of the tape reel. So do you pronounce 'flange*' as 'flanj' or 'flang'? *innately humourous word.

Latest Pedal "Fat Mouse" = "Fat Rat'

The irony is that my active basses have multiple pickups, giving plenty of tonal flexibility just with pickup selection and blending. I've never felt the need to make changes to active eq on the fly. Setting up an active bass is just a more complex/flexible way of setting up my basic sound.

This is my plan.

Lol I wear a pair of Quecha 'approach shoes' 90% of the time - approved by my podiatrist for excellent support and fitted with a custom insole for my totally trashed ankle.

The problem I have is it's impossible to know how quickly the Sire preamps run batteries down. There's just no consensus, and at about for two quality pp3s I'm not going to swap em out every gig, as I know they've lasted several gigs snd rehearsals. So... I've ordered four rechargeable PP3s and I'm going to convert the battery cover to a magnetic cover.

With Mario Kart, one of only two home video games I've ever been any good at!

On the subject of excellent photography... Just back from seeing James Oliver with Norman Watt-Roy and Mark Kemlo on skins. 20241124_190148.mp4

It's brilliant to be photographed by an expert at a good venue.

Waiting for James Oliver with Norman Watt-Roy. 10 minutes walk from home... except I had to drive to pick up my partner abd will take her back afterwards. Filthy weather so no beer Great attendance for a wet sunday afternoon!

I hate ringo. The whole system seems to designed to make you take the chance of not paying 😡

It's quite hard to hear the kick on my phone! The video should be helpful for people wanting to sound a bit more funky. The principle of locking to the bass drum is really useful. It can also work to follow the snare when you want to complement the kick. I have a couple of basic drum machines, improvising to different rhythms is a good way to build this skill.

Last night was at a venue I've played with Bluesfire but first time with Bendricks Rock. Always gets quiet later so told band not to take that personally. Felt really weak (sugar crash) when I got out the car, had to eat a double mars bar then a cheese and onion roll... I've had a bad bug all week then heavy night on the pop yesterday and nothing to eat for five hours before the gig. Felt better after snacking. Was expecting an 8:30 start tonight, turns out Landlady forgot to tell me 7:30 to 10... so we went on about 8 and played to 10:30. Numbers declined after 9... Seems the place empties early and they want bands to keep the early evening drinkers in longer. We are wanted back though. Got some nice comments and one punter asked fir a photo with the whole band. Next bit is from the passive active thread: Set up tonight with two basses. Thunder 1 (passive,but scary loud) and Sire P10. Soundchecked fine with the Sire but it seemed a bit prone to interference. Just about to start the first set... nothing! Worked in passive mode, but not very inspiring on a quick plink. Swapped to the Westone which sounded huge but under whirling disco lights I could barely see the neck dots. For the second set I played with the amp eq and gain enough to get the Sire sounding good. No lack of grunt when we did a stirring Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting. Wild lighting...

Well set up tonight with two basses. Thunder 1 (passive,but scary loud) and Sire P9. Soundchecked fine with the Sire but it seemed a bit prone to interference. Just about yo start first set... nothing! Worked in passive mode, but not very inspiring on a quick plink. Swapped to the Westone which sounded huge but under whirling disco lights I could barely see the neck dots. For second set I played with the amp eq and gain enough to get the Sire sounding good. No lack of grunt when we did a stirring Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting. So a passive evening for me and £10 will go on two new PP3S.

He was a live / session bassist first and a youtuber second...

They could legally have split it into a refund and a voucher to replace the one used. Sounds like it was split on thheir system hence two refunds.

A fair observation, but as a cover band we are more likely to sell as many in a year as you do at one gig

We are looking for a possible 'print on demand' solution for band t-shirts etc. I'm always surprised that my other band manages to shift a steady trickle of t-shirts and CDS. In the first instance it is likely to be just friends and family, so more interested in avoiding up-front and ongoing costs than making a profit. But ideally it will be something we can point our fans at if they want to buy anything. We have a few potential designs that would all work as t-shirts, but could also potentially go on mugs, keychains etc. so one of those sites that will put a logo on anything you want would be ideal. After not costing us anything, the main concern is they shouldn't be too pricey for purchasers, decent quality (e.g. Gildan) and reliable. So has anyone done this successfully, and who did you use?