Stub Mandrel

Jim Lea and Don Powell. Listen to their playing on Journey to the Centre of Your Mind.

Our guitarist bought a flying v gig bag for his dughter's SS bass... I made a hard case in the end, 4" shorter than a standard case. I'll post a pic.

One of my favourite songs: Suggested for our gig and the reaction was a big positive. Playing this live is going to be such a buzz 🙂

Yeah, I'm playing the same tracks every day, and every day they get better, but playing with the guys is different - not least because some songs have four or five variations and we are all practising different versions - I emailed round some YT links today to address this! I've nailed one song with two riffs that I muddle up by having two little chants that give me the right rhythm. Plus, I'm making sure I know the key so I can fumble something that fits until i can lock in again.

I got thise email from laney Service today:

Terribly, terribly sad, but dying saving one of her kids? She's a real hero.

The blend/balance audio taper pots are single spindle and a log pot stacked with a reverse log one, so if you just connect the one you will get what you need: https://www.allparts.uk.com/products/dual-500k-bourns-blend-balance-audio-taper-pot-with-center-detent You just need to be sure you use the right one of the pair.

Every variation except the one you need, they have 250K audio taper: https://www.allparts.uk.com/search?q=detent*+potentiometer* Worth asking if they can source on for you? OR... get a detent pot of any type and a 500K log from the same manufacturer and swap the bodies over.

As you are already sourcing on 15" driver, personally I'd get two 16 ohm units and wire them in parallel or two 4 ohm in series. Then sell the spare driver to offset the cost. Or you might want to read this; http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/Audio/imped.html and then decide if 2.66 vs 4 Ohms is really worth losing sleep over?

It passed through my mind to buy the plates and fit full Jaguar electronics to my Squier SS. I think I've seen cars with simpler wiring looms... Fortunately the active preamp hasn't arrived and I've decided I'm happy with VVT alone!

Lennon was a big surprise; it just seemed so inexplicable and I wasn't used to losing musical icons - by the time you are in your 50s, you get a bit inured to it. Ian Curtis, not because I was a huge fan, but I was listening to John Peel in the evening news came though and he just played 'Love Will Tear Us Apart' over and again. Lemmy probably the biggest impact; he was just a constant presence in my musical awareness since I was about 18/19 and I love everything he did with Hawkwind. For me, he just personified rock and roll in a down to earth way - a more real, flawed hero, willing to go out there even when he could barely walk. The little grin at the end of this ad says it all 🙂

I'd like to give a shout out to Laney for sending me full schematics for my Laney Pro-bass (as used on Bleach by Krist Novoselic) by return of email. Hopefully, I can solve why the EQ bypass doesn't pass any signal now, and also keep it up and running for the forseeable future. If anyone else needs the diagrams, please feel free to PM me, I don't think they are on the web.

I'll bring a copy of Joe Hubbard's 'Basslines', it's a bit used and Teen Town has my scribbles all over it (I still can't play it).

My current choice would be Myles Kennedy.

In the past my Hohner B2 has been compared to a Rickenbacker sound - last night I found a 'sound' that just screamed 'Geddy Lee' at me, and the Drummer agreed - this morning I found it again in the middle of 'Countdown'. It can do a reasonable Chris Squire too. When noodling on bass or guitar, with or without effects, I often find a sound that does this; sometim,e sit isn't 100% right but it just captures the essence or a classic sound. Other soudbs are more elusive - I've never been able to get a convincing David Gilmore sound and last night I was, again, trying and failing to use a combination of chorus, delay and staccato playing to get the 'pulsed' sound at the start of Boulevard of Broken Dreams. Apparently its done with a rotary speaker a tremelo (volume modulator) but I only have those as effects on a guitar amp. I guess most of us have a similar range of familiar sounds we can capture and those we can't get no matter how hard we try?

Well have to blank you out of all the photos 🙂

Try cotton buds...

Given that most folks can keep time with pulpy-ended fingers, I suspect it's a case of getting a plectrum that suits your technique. How you hold the darn thing is as important as the thickness once you are past about 0.6 mm.

As Devil's advocate should we worry about an extension lead in a room brimming with non-pat tested amplifiers and their kettle leads?

That's because I hardly ever get rid of anything - my old wah went walkies and I gave away my Arion Chorus when I got the Ibanez. Saddest loss was 'Doc's Monster Fuzz' which I built into a Maplin pedal box and which was something like a fuzz face with two op amp stages following it and could knock down walls. Chiefly for bass, occasionally used for guitar. If you are REALLY brave listen to a clip of 'Sonic Attack'. I recorded this in 1985, my oldest extant recording (sadly the 'Mindless Violence' tape got lost) just straight into my ghetto blaster using my old wah on my KT-2 guitar with the Doc's Monster Fuzz. The keyboard is a yellow toy one with a basic sequencer playing through a box using a TTL chip as a frequency divider. Probably the worst guitar playing ever...

500W Bloody hell. I have a 150W head and two 2x12 cabs. Never found a pub or small club where that wasn't loud enough. For anything bigger, I was put through the PA as well. That said, the difference between 50W and 500W is only twice as loud; the difference between 300 and 500W is barely audible. Having efficient speakers (which usually means separate cab) can make a bigger difference.

Alternative solution - the bass was already drilled for this when I got it:

Try hothands hand warmers. Little pouches of salt and iron filings(!) that give out a good amount of heat. I use them to keep condensation of my telescope at night. My problem is the arthritis in the base of my left thumb shouting at me.

Snake oil. The only pedal I know that has 18V of headroom is a Centaur and that's on the output not the input. Go straight into an amp and all you will have to do is lower the gain...

What's the bass equivalent of 'No Stairway'? The Chain? Pumped Up Kicks? Seven Nation Army?