Stub Mandrel

That's Bryan May that is 🤣

They don't exist, do they? Even if you buy a 'Squier Guitar Pack' with Squier branded guitar and amp, the strap and gig bag are branded Fender! On the one hand it means I'm not going to feel guilty about having Fender straps on my Squiers as well as my Fender. But the inverted snob in me wants real, monogrammed Squier strap or two!!!

"Good Bassists Do F*** All" That's exactly the problem. If you have to work it out, you can't sight read. To sight read out have to be able to map dots on the page to frets and the mapping changes depending on the key your are in. The only way I could do it is (1) work out key. (2) identify position of root note and either (3) work out each not relative to the root or (4) keep track of where I am in the scale and work out the number of steps up and down. I have no idea how people can do that in real time!

A change is as good as a rest.

Don't expect the headphone settings to bear any 1:1 relation to the power of the amp. If the Elf is like old TE amps the input response is dependent on the gain setting and you should adjust it until the light flashes occasionally on the peaks and then back off one notch. Then set the volume for 'comfortable listening'. Bear in mind most companies are paranoid about being sued for ear damage so modern headphone outputs often have quite a low max volume. Also many quality amps now use speaker emulation for the headphones which affects how they sound.

If you are making people redundant you have to give them first dibs at any new jobs.

Err.. taht was a reply to @King Tut 🙂

You're absolutely 100% right. The Musicman Bongo bears absolutely NO resemblance to a toilet seat whatsoever. I can't see anything remotely loo-seat-like about it: EDIT: Sorry, it appears I'm wrong, the Music Man actually concede this on their own website: http://blog.music-man.com/artists/the-bongo-bass-buyers-guide/

Perhaps I need to be more evocative... Evening Enema. Vibrant Vindaloo. Double Dysentery.

Sadly a looong way from Norwich (isn't everywhere a looong way from Norwich!)

Approximately five times by the look of it - you'd be using it like graphite inserts or thin moulded sheets.

Skidmark. Khaki (pronounced 'cacky'). Senna Chocolate.

Why are most Basschatters so modest about sharing the names of their bands? I'd love to know especially if the chance to come and see some of your bands comes up!

Surely a 36" long scale bass is the yardstick against which all bassmen (and basswomen) shoudl be measured? 🤣

https://observer.com/2019/10/tesla-model-s-model-x-best-worst-color-resale/ Also, what colour is this?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermally_modified_wood#Characteristics_of_thermally_modified_wood My view is that it's being used for primarily for its aesthetic properties, nothing new or wrong in that. As for other properties, my guess is the supposed benefits and limitations pretty much balance out. But in some ways it's rather like the way that highly-figured exotic timbers beloved of boutique instrument makers just happen to be the very best tonewoods... Who knows this could be next for super strong hollow bodies or reinforcing laminations in necks: https://www.sciencealert.com/new-super-wood-stronger-than-steel

Apparently they work OK, most of the PCB is voltage multipliers to get up to about 48V, which is OK, if not as high as would be ideal. That's what I'm interested in, if anyone has already worked out what levels work. Clearly the signal will need to be boosted considerably to overdrive the valves, then reduced. It would possibly be best placed in the line level effect loop as well. I haven't got time for much experiementation at the moment...

No, if you are a serious customer they come up to you and say I can do that for you at £XXX; I got 10% off a Squier without asking and offered 30% off an Ashdown acoustic (I had observed that the strings on it sounded fairly bright but were heavily tarnished = it had been on display a long time but rarely tried out, if ever!)

I've got one of these to play with: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/6J1-Valve-Pre-amp-Tube-PreAmplifier-Board-Bass-on-Musical-Fidelity-X10-D-Circuit/152894986169?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649 Has anyone else had a play with one of these? What sort of level of signal do your need to get them to clip? Do they work well daisy chained? Just for clarity I want this "to provide post-amp Bile flavor of music to enjoy!"

Well from my limited experience, the main difference is that the 5 feels quite different and makes you play with a very different left hand technique. Surprisingly easy to come up with different inversions or positions that use the low string but I think the e-string sounds brighter and better for E to A than the B string, so i don't entirely buy the 'across the neck' argument although I nearly always play across rather than up and down. Don't notice a big difference with muting except you can't use your thumb on the e-string. Some problems with jumping up the neck and across and mistaking the A for the D string because my brain is saying 'third string down'!

And I thought only Gibson could produce a bass in such an absolutely obnoxious colour...

There will be a Midlands Bass Bash again next spring, last May was my first one and it was great to meet so many kindred spirits.

I learnt on long scale basses starting about '84. About a year in I visited a recording studio 'somewhere in Wales' and spent an afternoon jamming on a Fender Mustang bass. Last year, maybe 33 years on, I tried out a Jaguar short-scale and WHAM there was that easy, relaxed playability which had become a sort of half-remembered myth in my memory. I don't feel that sound-wise they are inferior in any way. Watch out as some ss basses are different, I know not why, someone gave me a go of their Gibson EB2 a few weeks ago and it wasn't to my liking (but they love it), felt like a baseball bat to me... I still love playing my long scale basses, in fact the thing I like best is how they ALL feel different which affects how and what I play on them.

Sex on Fire and Use Somebody. Apparently they are 'expected' by audiences. Doesn't stop them being boring dirges that sound as if they might go somewhere in a minute but never do.