Stub Mandrel

Fortunately, they aren't changing them on the fly, but they've played 'their' arrangements of some songs for so long. The setlist changes every gig and it seems they have a LOT of songs stashed away that reappear, so each one is learn the basics then get their arrangement.

I feel like a b**** for doing this but you did say...

For one band I'm in I've given up practicing to the originals... better to rely on my wits.

Short version. Long drive. Double booked. Agreed to be paid of for reduced fee. Then sorted that other band would do one long set then we do two sets for original fee. Landlord getting increasingly 'tired and emotional'. Luckily the band organiser was sober. Landlord decided that as the other band only played half set, wouldn't pay them. They got half fee in the end but we gave them a bit of ours in solidarity. So we went on at 6:45 instead of 5. Crowd were great, several musos present who gave us some reasonably convincing praise. Our setlist which continually evolves works great in the valleys. First half is all pretty heavy classic rock, second half also includes a few crowd pleasers and a 'Welsh Bit'. Anyway landlord disappeared but landlady gave us the full fee and apologised. They want us back (not surprising as normally it would go dead after the band finishes at 7 and we kept it busy until 9) . We were told this had never happened before. Two of our band are in other bands booked there so they checked their bookings. One was double booked and the other was booked in on the wrong date. Apparently we were down for 30 November... this morning I got messages saying 30th November no good can we do the friday. Then actually can we do another date instead. As you might imagine some of us are 'unkeen' about returning.

You could file down some round bar and use it as a peg to reattach the old knobs - if you have them.

They once sent me a euro power lead instead of a uk one. They sorted it.

Pretty much what I would expect. Piezo tweeters won't do a great deal unless you are 'slapping and popping'.

Notice has ranged from hours to weeks. Most bands send far more songs than necessary. Biggest issue is usually odd arrangements, learn to anticipate on the fly. Expect up to about 30 new songs usually only 2 or 3 will be tricky. Simplification is ok e.g. a song with lots of minor variations, just play the basic line and maybe improvise. Gotchas are strange key choices and weird arrangements. Same pay as the band, no deductions, no expectation to chip in for rehearsal costs. Only dress code has been 'wear plain black', but don't wear something that draws attention from the band.

All I can say is I've not bought o of his instruments but they are lovely to see and play and he's a nice chap to discuss basses with!

We have a Liverpool fan... that can be stressful, less so since we've persuaded him having a Liverpool FC banner at gigs is not always a great idea (it was ok at the Liverpool fan club gig though...)

It looked like a post from my famous thumbs. 😁

I spent 56 minutes trying to decipher that before I gave up 😁

My dad, who died less than a year ago at 92, used to tell a story. When his brother was a baby and he was about 12, a minister who was visiting the parish called round. My grandmother offered him the baby to hold, and while he was holding my uncle, he started crying. It was the first time he'd ever been offered to hold a white baby. Old people grew up in a time of casual racism, but not all old people are racists.

I want to be friends with my band mates, and that means mutual respect. One of my bandmates is quite young and of mixed east-Asian heritage. He's not afraid to call out racism and do a bloody good job of it. Did have one odd situation... someone who was very performatively 'politically correct' - wouldn't do 'Hey Joe' as it's 'misogynistic'. Irony being that they were the sort of person who gave off a sort off creepy vibe at odds with their professed stance... they didn't last. I am considering getting a 'Stop the Scrotes' t-shirt. I'll let you decide who I think the scrotes are...

The GP11 mk iv won't be very different from the mk 5.

James is a really nice chap, and as mentioned he's great fun to jam with but expect to fly by the seat of your pants. I find his gigs great fun. He does have some crazy banter, but he doesn'ttake himself seriously... he named an album 'frantic' as a response to a reviewer. In the time I've known him ( about 4 years) his playing has developed a lot more subtlety and feel. It's not just crazy fast riffing. He has some great bassists, not just Norman, but his go-to drummer Mark Kemlo is incredible.

The Blob Monkeys

Isn't it nice when you think 'an xxxxx would be handy', and you find it not only exists, but is even better. I felt the need for a Speakon adaptor, for custom lengths and not to be caught out by a wide stage or awkwardly placed monitor again. Yes, they exist! I found cheap copies sold in fours or pairs, but given the application, forked out for proper Neutrik. It's lovely, and turns out to have a locking sleeve so you can safely leave it attached to one end of a cable.

When I tried out my GRBASS cab, I used a GR One set dead flat and the sound of a jazz bass through it persuaded me to buy a cab for nearly twice my budget.

Another one for the pot..

Gene Simmons has just put up the rent by 600%.

A friend of mine posted a picture of his 54 Telecaster today, as he's had it for two years. In that time he's had four fret dresses and a pickup rewind, but he does play about 350 gigs a year. That's how vintage guitars should be treated.

There are two sources of noise, mechanical and airflow. Obviously, Noctua put a lot of effort into addressing both and are a relatively affordable upgrade (if you avoid the very top of the range). But I've rarely encountered fans with a lot of mechanical noise compared to airflow noise, at least in the last 10-15 years, in the 90/00s it wasn't uncommon to encounter all sorts of rattly or rumbly fans). The main shortfall with cheap fans is poor lubrication of the sleeve bearings. Pealing back the sticker and applying a tiny amount of light mineral oil will silence many noisy sleeve bearing fans for years. As for airflow, you can use better aerodynamic designs, but in small amps where size is a limiting factor, fans have to be small. My TE Elf is a good example, its tiny fan is intrusive if you run it in a 'bedroom' context as it runs flat out and isn't helped by the small vent holes. For slightly larger amps you can fit a bigger fan and use PWM or similar to reduce fan speed and achieve much less airflow noise. The airflow through the amp itself is another issue, and you need a certain volume of air to achieve cooling. Something like the Orange Terror has a 75mm fan and a 'showbox' design with a lot of ventilation slots, which is probably why it is relatively quiet. My computer has two 125mm fans, they run at modest speed 99% of the time and the airflow and heatsinking are well designed, so they are barely audible, even with the side panel off.

'Test in inconspicuous area of the garment'

The more I understand your situation, the more I think a good di for the teaching. Even a Behringer BDI21 with the drie turned down will give you a vlear, noiseless sound with the option for basic tone shaping. And dirt cheap so you don't affect your budget for a main amp which then won't need to be utterly silent. As you want a transparent sound maybe even going straight into a Focusrite Scarlett?