Stub Mandrel

Very different responses to a thread I saw on TalkBass. The definition there seemed to be "where one of you gets shot."

My advice, puny as it is, is that what matters is having a feel for what fits. You don't need to be immersed in theory (although it can open up new avenues) you just need to be able to vary what you do. One obvious thing is having a sense for major versus minor without having to see it written down, using the seventh to lead into a chord change and learn some other runs that naturally lead to different chords. You can also practice things like diminished chords - nothing oozes 'sophisticated jazz dude' like playing a slow descending diminished chord ;-), playing the thirds or fifths instead of the root. That's pretty much where my theory runs out, but you can always reply to criticism with obscure comments like "The eleventh note is often omitted from a thirteenth chord with a flatted ninth".

Extra frets at the end of the neck don't affect the spacing or feel of those nearer the nut. Anything from 19 to 24 is pretty much normal.

I play mandolin, long and short scale guitars, short and long scale bass. Never had any problems coping with scale length differences. I like the fact different instruments feel and sound different because they inspire me to play in different styles.

I don't know about guitars, but sometimes machine tool QC failures (from entire lathes down to individual cutters) end up being sold of cheap and ending up pn AliExpress or eBay for 'cut prices'.

I cured mine by fitting steel strings then painting a rattlesnake on it because it rattled so much. I upgraded to my Kay 'SG' played through a modified Dansette and never looked back 🙂 With an origin story like taht I should be a megastar!

"When I got this it was like a jazz bass... but then I got them to put these things back on" 🙂

Glurk! I think I had better take a pill and lie down for a while...

My main advice would be to pay good attention to setup. I'm sure most of us here would be able to fit new strings and drop the action of a typical guitar set up like a cheese grater, and perhaps file the nut down a bit. Easy fretting is by far the biggest benefit to a new player. Ironically setup doesn't seem to improve with price - I think many manufacturers of high end guitars assume the player will get it set up to their preference. Bless all shops that get guitars into reasonable fettle before putting them on show. Parent: "What's the most important thing about a guitar for you?" Child: "Is it good for metal?"

Strange, I'm a big fan of Hawkwind and Motorhead, but I can't really claim Lemmy as a big influence; I can claim Harvey Bainbridge as one. Chris Squire was a big influence on my mentor.

Red herring. Europlugs can only be fitted to class II (double insulated) products. Amps with an earthed metal chassis are unlikely to be class II.

I find it really hard to understand why he didn't whack the idiot interviewer around the head with his bass at the earliest possible opportunity.

I 3D printed a housing for a computer fan, which holds a couple of squares of cooker-hood carbon filter and runs off a wall wart.

My daughter was and is only ever interested in acoustic guitar. I think kids pretty much know what sort of instrument they want to play.

Or just mark it up 'pub check'. Really no harm in trying. As someone, somewhere else pointed out during a similar discussion: "At some point you will loan or sell your stuff - or die; will the next user know what 'custom' modifications you have made that affect safety?"

Wish I'd seen that first! It's a bit less than 100% intuitive. Took me ages to find the transfer function pulldown!

Richie Blackmore sacked a Mark Clark for playing fingerstyle. Mind you, Richie Blackmore enjoyed ejecting people so much, he once sacked himself by mistake. Me ... mostly two fingers, three when I want to play silly fast, thumb and two or three fingers for guitar style fingerstyle. Never use my little finger. Occasionally use back of my forefinger nail like a plectrum. Thumb and three fingers together for slap'n'pop. Struggle with a plectrum! So basically do whatever works for you. Tell your guitarist that only beginners restrict themselves to a single technique 😉

Those are constructive comments; I think anyone who comes across this thread in the future will find them useful.

Lead-tin solder can give off lead fumes at 450C, just as warm water can mist a mirror at well below 100C. A big non-temperature controlled iron might reach 450C. Also if you solder using a naked flame (I do, it's not just useful for electrics) you will almost certainly go over 450C. I use leaded solder, but have a fume extractor I use if doing a lot (chiefly for the rosin fumes - I have some non-rosin chlorine free solder and it's not as good as rosin cored).

Johnny-come-lately. When I was a kid my dad used to let me add a few bits to his Radiospares orders 🙂

I must admit, it's really frustrating when advice is given (or sought) by private message; it defeats one purpose of a forum - allowing those who lack the confidence to join to learn by reading other's thoughts. And I must admit, I'm scratching my head about what the advice - although the choice between electric and acoustic is the most contentious; nylon strung really only suits if our embryo guitarists wants to follow a classical or flamenco path.

Euroboxes are great 🙂 But you can't use them after Halloween

The year I did my A levels I also did an art o-level going the portfolio plus practical exam route. One of my portfolio pieces was q copy of this:

I wish I had been able to get on Blockbuster as a teenager. Just for the opportunity to say: "I need to go for a crap, Bob."