Stub Mandrel

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?

I could make one of those rescue sets in my workshop...

https://www.stewmac.com/luthier-tools-and-supplies/tools-by-job/tools-for-truss-rods/stewmac-truss-rod-rescue-tool-sets/ Yours for just over $300...

Unscrew the nut completely and look at the thread? Generally speaking the rod strips as it is weaker (slightly smaller diameter) 😞 so it might be time for a ridiculously expensive Stewmac tool....

My default preference is passive. I mostly use hand position and playing style to achieve tonal changes, so quite happy with a single pickup, vol and tone maxed and set the basic sound I want using my amp's controls. With a two pickup bass I will use variations of blend for some songs if I feel more 'bite' or 'mellowness' suits. Of course this means large variations in how different basses sound, but that's the reason for having different basses! Unlike most people I don't want consistency, I enjoy making different basses fit the music. I only have two active basses; my feling is that the controls tend to be far too aggressive so the useful region is around their middle settings. But it can be fun to use some more extreme settings, especially if doing some bedroom blasting.

If the singer was any taller you'd have to raise the ceiling!

⅞, for example... 😁

Nearest I get to sparkly is my CAR Jaguar SS and this beasty:

Forget me not. I'm trying to learn it as an example of 'tasteful' slap. My goodness it is a task to get the phrasing right. And for dome infernal reason it requires an insane amount of concentration not to slip into playing what I think it should be instead of what it is. Haven't even looked at the variations!

It wasn't meant as a direct quote, it was meant to indicate I was paraphrasing.

The classic fail is foil Rifa capacitors that crack and degrade. The BBC computers were made to very high standards, but many 'barn finds' haven't been plugged in for over thirty years and these often have electrolytic failures.

BBC computers are notorious for the caps failing in the psu. They date from early 80s. The main issue is that electrolytic capacitors 'reform' the insulating layer when used, it is years (or decades) without a chance to reform that causes failure. More likely with a home computer that gets left in the loft than an amp which gets an outing every year or two. I have a three-phase motor variable frequency drive. The instructions say to make sure it is switched on for at least half an hour once a year to reform the capacitors. The status of the big capacitors is monitored and it is expected that they should be changed after a certain amount of use. So... USE YOUR AMP!

Ah wonderful Grauniad. Who else would use Yes and Gong as examples of 'revolving door bands'?