Stub Mandrel

First band I was in, Drastic Action, in 1987. This was the only original song we did, I wrote the music, Jon wrote the words. Bass: Me. Guitar & Vocals: Jon Randall Drums: Steve Harris (not that one) For some reason we were without Rob.

I've recently ordered his biography. I'm surprised he didn't call it 'Dirty Linen' 🙂

Visually it balances the look of the headstock, which risks looking heavy and over-sized without a dark mass on the body. Thinking about it, my Jag which has a candy apple red body but a black headstock and scratchplate possibly looks right for the same reason.

Is that the one on the double CD - I was much impressed and ELO was the first band I got into in a big way.

🤣 Which means it's a component for component clone of an Ibanez CP9, which isn't a bad thing and fits with my experience of it:

My name's Neil, and ... I am ... a pink guitar owner. There, I've said it. The first time it wasn't my fault. My brother made me accept a metallic pink Hohner Strat. Fortunately it got swiped before I could play it on stage, and I had to get a black Squier Tele as a replacement. This time, it was just lack of willpower. Flea bass, but it is faded and a lot of the paint seems to have come off...

I used to use the uber-rare Arion Stereo Compressor back in the days before grunge... Then I got a Laney head with a ridiculously simple chip in it (meant for telecoms!) that rather than a true compressor simply reduced the dynamic range. This was actually quite good as it let playing dynamics come through, so I just used that. These days... I came across the TC Electronics Forcefield at random. They make various compressors, including multi-band and the well respected spectracomp. But the Forcefield is aimed at guitarists. Thing is I tried out out on a cheap bass through a nasty combo and it transformed the sound. Not only did it level out the dynamics, it added a whole truckload of presence to the sound without muting the deeper sounds. I now use it with pretty much all dials pointing straight up, and my test is simple... does it sound better with it switched on? And yes, it always does. But be prepared to dig deep into your puny pockets - it costs twice as much as the Behringer...

I have no idea what it is, but it led me to this, which showcases Mr Pegg's penchant for a good jig:

Came out of the blue - one day scratching around doing up the squier then pop! After a bit of thought - I won't get the chance again.

Spent an hour trying these side by side. Both made in Mexico. First using a small Markbass combo. They both sounded good, the deluxe maybe marginally brighter. The bridge pickup on the Flea sounded muted - even compared to the sound of my Squier Jazz in my head. Controls on the Flea more intuitive than the confusing four knobs on the Deluxe. Then on a Rumble 100 - weighs 18lbs!!! - which sorted the sound of the Flea completely. perhaps the vintage pickups just want a more vintage sounding amp? This was with both amps on a near 12-o'clock setting. 'Feel wise' and the Flea was in a completely different universe. The Fender Deluxe was a couple of steps below my 2001 Indonesian Squier - it was nice enough but not inspiring. I did find it surprisingly easy to slap on though, but it wasn't 'left hand friendly'. Came away with the flea 🙂

And last night at the Albert Hall Phil Cambell joined Hawkwind on stage!

Amazing - the redness is actually leaking out of the guitar and colouring the whole room!

Hmm.i like twin humbuckers. I don't like square control plates. Could do with f holes too... But worth a try.

Fascinating. Ibut like my modelling guitar amp I can see it getting plenty of use at home but not much gigging. Unless I do succeed in starting a space rock band.

I've had a bit of good fortune. But despite trying really hard I can't find myself lusting for a new bass. A 62 Jazz would be good, expect I have blinged my Squire one to the Max and tonight it got praised highly for tone even through my tiny orange crush 25. My Performer is so playable as well. The only things I can get excited about at all would be a £140 Talman or a Epiphone masterbilt semi acoustic. I just can't get remotely excited about anything custom shop, Sandberg's, wals or even boutique stuff. Even a Jabba would only get me wanting to make my own. Perhaps I should just buy some really nice timber as an investment in a future project.

That's why I said, trying to cut Al off at the pass 😁. SY1 doesn't really count as they are like unicorn poo.

But which one? Already got one which works like a 'better knob', but which one is the dog's of compressors?😁

If one pedal (not a combo) was going to transform my sonic landscape, what should I add to my setup? Other than an SY1

Jimi Hendrix, Isle of Wight. Vinyl.

Hope Dave's cold has dried up now 🙂

It's an option in the embed dialogue, not sure you can use that with BC.

I remember trying a Mustang in the early 80s, just when I was getting into bass, it was very nice.

Holy s**t, wish I'd seen that one. Eric and Dave busked together pre-famousness.

"How about getting vocalist in, then we could make more of your excellent guitar skills..."