BillyBass

Those socket testers are a good idea. Just understand that they are useful for showing you that something is either right or wrong, don't trust them as a diagnostic tool. Generally, the first and second lights will be green (and the third not lit up) when all is ok. When something isn't right you will get a different display of lights and, depending on the make, a different noise. Ignore the display that says, for instance: green-blank-red=lack of earth connection as it may be a completely different fault. They are a useful tool to show you what sockets you shouldn't use. I'm a spark, BTW.

This is my Charvel 5. I bought it from Andertons, after comparing it to a cheaper Sire V. Its not perfect but its pretty good and I doubt I could have found better for the money. I love the look, the neck feels really great, it has luminlay dots on the side of the fretboard/neck and I like the sounds I can get from it. The pre amp it came with wasn't that good, I changed mine but I could have kept the supplied one, or just played it passive, which is an option. The B string could be better, but its a 34" scale. I changed the supplied 125 to a 135 and that improved things. It has a bit of neck dive but this is fine when you use a strap. It cost me £699. They are normally dearer but you can find deals online for Charvels.

I can't remember seeing any gear marketed as a sonic match for other manufacturer's stuff, but perhaps I just haven't seen it. I will concede that, in the mix, differences in the bass sound can be minimal but, as an example, my G&L Kiloton, with its single bridge humbucker will never sound like my P basses. At home, practising without other instruments, the differences are obvious.

I have the Spectradrive pre amp. The tone print beaming thing worked initially but gave up after about 5 or 6 goes. I think the last thing I left on it was the clean boost. As a pre amp its fine; it has a DI, the EQ section works well enough and it has an aux in and a headphone jack, if you need them. The only problem for me with losing the tone print function is the damage to the resale value as I wouldn't use it anyway.

No one could accuse you of that. If you did, well, you picked the wrong instrument! Should have been the lead guitarist! Nice work mate, that was very good!

You really need to check the meanings of English slang words before using them online

Welcome to the forum. Yes its mainly British and Irish here but we have many overseas members too. There are a few Americans, some of whom haven't been banned from talkbass.com

Nice syrup!

Nice colour, congrats!. Nevertheless, I have to disagree with: Yeah, you can. On the other hand, as an excuse to buy a new bass, getting an appropriate coloured bass is valid.

I've recently acquired a Spector and am really blown away by the sound of it through my GK Legacy 800 and Super Midget. Most basses will sound good through the GK and the Super midget but the Spector really does shine through it. I tried @Merton's Trace Elliot 1200 and Barefaced 210 at he SE Bassbash in the Spring and that also sounded like a perfect sonic match. I have a couple of barefaced 110s and my Elf also sounds sublime though them. All subjective of course, one man's meat etc but has anyone else got combinations of kit that really just work perfectly with each other? Gratuitous Spector & GK pic

Our lead guitarist does most of the BVs in my band but I have to do some. I can't do the 'football terraces' style vocals often needed in my (mainly punk) covers band, as my voice is more 'angelic' but I can do harmonies, as long as the bass part during the harmony isn't too complex.

I've bought quite a few things from Andertons over the last few years, the transactions have always gone smoothly. They are often slightly dearer than their competition but the loyalty points take a bit of the extra away. When buying a microphone from them I called up for advice as all I knew about microphones was SM58. I was put onto a knowledgeable lad who was very helpful and I consider this when making future gear purchases.

Welcome to the forum Frankie

Have a look at this and other basses by the same brand currently in stock at Bassdirect https://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/MARUSZCZYK_Jake_4P_Nat_32.html

Not many people put serious bids in. Times are tough and the advert wasn't very well written. I put my max bid in at £720 with about 20 seconds to go and got it for £585, so I was very pleased and surprised about that. I might consider the full Tonepump in time but at the moment I'm more than happy with the tones from this...and Spector and Gallien-Krueger seem to be a match made in heaven! Thanks for letting me have a go with all you Spectors at the Bass bash!

Earlier this year, at the S.E. Bass Bash I tried several of @cetera's Spectors. I was particularly impressed by his NS Pulse 2. One came up on Ebay last week and I bid higher than the others and 'won'. I played around with it a bit last night and had a look at the wiring and pre amp. The seller told me the top pot was a 'mids' pot and I couldn't really get my head around it. The Spector website says this would be a volume volume bass treble set up. It isn't, but it isn't 'mids' either. Anyway, on further inspection I have a 'Tonepump Jr' pre amp and the 4 knobs are: Volume, blend, bass, treble. The blend knob is the only knob where you can feel a middle indent. And I'm very impressed by the tones I can get out of these pups and the Tonepump Jr pre amp. I'm a fan. It isn't as versatile as the John East pre amps in my Charvels but it isn't too hot and not having an indent on the bass or treble is, to a degree, liberating. I will admit my default for bass and treble is usually the middle indent and I add a bit of mid. With the Tonepump Jr I've been leaving the treble at: bright enough to make the G string sing but not hiss badly. The bass knob I've been fiddling with along with the blend to get a good mix of growl and low end. It's a light bass and there is a bit of neck dive without a strap but none with my strap on. I prefer the feel and the necks of my Charvels but I will admit, this Spector sounds better. It's a keeper, I believe.

Enjoy your new bass! I'll have to treat myself to an American made bass one day.

You had something stolen in Liverpool? Surely not.

Our previous gig was a bit like that. The landlord of the pub had done pretty much zero advertising and there was a function in the outside area (it was raining quite heavily, so we were inside). The only people watching us were a few regulars that happened to be in the pub on the Saturday afternoon. We came away with a bit of a bad taste in our mouths, however, the landlord has asked us back for a birthday do in December, and we will be paid. so why not. More photos of you wearing the cowboy hat are needed😉

We played the Load of Hay in Watford again last night. We were outside in the beer garden this time, as the weather was glorious. Unfortunately, I had come down with a chest infection the night before and have just started a course of antibiotics. Consequently, I gave up on the backing vocals but I was able to stand and play. The beer garden is quite small but we had an appreciative crowd of about 25; got asked for a few encores and several people complimented us afterwards, which is always nice. Our set up last night

So, let us know what mischief you got up to. Photoshopping the headmaster's face onto a pornstar at work and emailing to around?

And rich Tone Music has one for £849. They do look good, lovely neck, rounded off body/neck joint, decent bridge and luminlay dots. Enough there to justify a higher RRP than a MIM Fender Jazz.

I've just changed my password too.

All subjective but for me, looks are more important than the sound. A beautiful bass can sound different depending on where you pluck, your amp/pre amp settings etc. OK, a bass with a single pup at the bridge will never sound like a P bass and vice versa but you can alter the sound from a bass...and it will still be beautiful. An ugly bass will always be ugly. The other things you mention all improve the playing and user experience, which, again, is very important. If a bass looks good and feels great in my hands, I'll do my best to get the sounds out of it that I want. The looks and playing experience will inspire me to play it. I've only ever played one Shecter. A friend owns an old Schecter that, to me looks daft. Its got a big flame sticker covering most of the body (I assume it's a sticker) and it has dayglo orange strings. Fine for a teenager, which he probably was when he bought it. When I eventually got around to trying it out, I was very impressed by the build quality and feel. Though I would never buy that one, I certainly would consider other Schecters based on that experience.

That is why we fuse the plugs and not the sockets. Something I commonly see in kitchens in London is a double socket used for an electric kettle (roughly 11 amps) and a toaster (up to about 7 amps). Putting the kettle on while you are making toast is really putting that socket under strain, though the fuses in the plugs and the device in the fuseboard would not see that. And don't get me started on extension leads! Far Eastern imported electrical appliances should be used with caution, or not at all! I have seen fake CE marks on Chinese/Far Eastern appliances. I would trust Japanese stuff though.