Leonard Smalls

I use Ableton 9 intro... For amp sims I got a freebie through Focusrite - BiasAmp. It's pretty good for free!

And there's more!

As Wintermute says, latency can be a problem, this not only depends on interface but also on amount of fx. The guitarist in one of my bands uses ampsims on a laptop with no noticeable latency, but I've found that with about 8 fx there is enough for it to be a problem. So live I use a ridiculously oversized pedal board...

If you want budget, as I said earlier: AKG WMS40 Not as long a range as the Smoothhound, but sturdy, and it works well... And you'd get 2 for 1 Smoothhound. Worth a punt in my book!

Pedal-wise, i take wireless output into tuner, tuner out goes via cable into preamp and pedals are on preamp fx loop.

I bought an Akg micro wireless t'other day from Knighton Music for £69. Cheap, 25m range - used it for a gig on Friday and it was excellent.

Oh my Bosch! If I get a spare moment...

Filmed on an iPhone...

Shame y'all couldn't come... Next 2 are 11th May at Paradiddles in Worcester and 19th May all-dayer Royal Bedding benefit at The Grapes in Hereford - both a bit of a hike from you! Trying to get a gig at Telford's Warehouse or the Live Rooms if they'll have us - unless you know any more likely Chester venues?

We did a last minute fill-in at Percy's in Whitchurch, Shropshire last night - 1st gig there and only our 3rd gig overall supported by proper tight metallers Elyrean. The venue is excellent, full of odd curios - like a pair of stuffed tigers and a lit stained glass window behind the stage. And the stage is effectively out side, so was a bit chilly - I wore my leather jacket and wasn't sweaty by the end of it... However, we played well - couple of minor frunk-ups but not so as the audience noticed, and the venue liked us enough to offer a better paid Saturday night spot in the future. As it was we still got paid (for doing originals!) which made a 120 mile round trip in pouring rain, arriving home at 2am, well worth while.

Here's a hint of my slightly less experimental side...

I'm just about to start playing with a free improvisational jazz drummer (who's played with Evan Parker) - our plan is to be a duo if it works out, involving lots of effects on my part, and lots of clever time shifting from him to cover my general ineptitude! I also used to play in a loose collective of improvisers (ex-Lol Coxhill); the drummer and I would jam a funk groove and the horn boys would parp and squeal on top of it. 4 hours was our record gig length!

It seems to me to be a blatant case of mis-selling... They sell the combo as being able to work with an extension cab. You found out that they have mis-described the combo, and it doesn't do what it was advertised to do. You tell them, and they offer to fix their mistake by charging you money. They're taking the P! A few years ago I took a car dealer to court for mis-selling; dealer had sold me a van saying that the gearbox had been replaced recently, showed me a piece of paper to prove it. Then the gearbox went (just out of warranty!), and the receipt for the alleged replacement gearbox turned out to be for another vehicle. He refused to do anything about it, we took him to court and the judge found he'd mis-sold the van. Ironically, we'd told dealer-boy we'd accept £1000 toward the cost of the fix, he told us to go spin - judge awarded me the full cost of the repair (£1600) plus £500 out of pocket expenses... So I'd be telling Mr Ashdown that the item was mis-sold, and that advertising standards and the courts take a very dim view of that!

We now have support - Elyrean from the dark heart of Staffordshire... https://www.facebook.com/ElyreanTMTM/ Us: https://soundcloud.com/user-320741385/sets/sixteen-choke-start

Showcasing our new ep, Masters of Frunk, we'll venture out from our Borderlands hideout into the relative civilisation of North Shropshire on 30th March to put the Good into Friday... Or not!

I'm afraid it only lets me vote for 1, and I'm unable to make such a decision!

Being a Bauhaus fan, I used to use exclusively Maxell UDXL2. Not that advertising ever worked on me!

Lawks - I was in despatch there, (Woodstock Gr), then I worked in Brian Hall's office for a year before xfer...

Funnily enough, I was in film despatch in the 80s, from about 87-89... Moved into sound transfer after that. And TOTP night was usually quite entertaining; I was at Borehamwood for the last few years of it when it moved there. I remember being mobbed by a group of young girls on the way out on my mosickle; they made me lift my tinted visor top check I wasn't anybody famous, then they went onto the next victim. Once, Bon Jovi came to play, and insisted on sole use of the BBC canteen and bar over lunch time. 500 staff had to make their way to the very few eateries on the high street - it was chaos. But then I always though Jon BJ was a prize donkey!

I use 3 compressors at the moment... One's in the pre-amp signal - just enough to make every note snappy, then one in the send to the effects loop (makes the 2 envelope filters, synth and bass whammy more even in response), plus one on the FX return; this one's a bit more compressed than the pre compressor so the clean signal pops over the top of the fx to get a very punchy but squelchy blend...

I notice I'm not on the list either? I've been using a Marshall Jubilee mosfet amp for about 28 years now - it's still going strong though I'm now only using it as a power amp, wot with my new BBE pre... It's extremely reliable, surprisingly loud for "only" 300W, and extremely heavy. And if anyone's interested in the history of Marshall amps, and why they were synonymous with rock and roll there's a excellent BBC documentary called "Play it Loud"; unfortunately it's not on the iplayer any more, but is available here: https://docur.co/documentary/play-it-loud-the-story-of-marshall

Bought a BBE pre from Matthew... Quick, easy, just as described. Big thumbs up from me!

I'll never forget a gig we did at the Jericho Tavern in Oxford in 1990ish... We'd nipped out for a bite to eat before the gig and were just walking back to the venue. There was a chap running as fast as he could with a Bromley Boy in hot pursuit... BB was, of course, wearing housecoat, wig and headscarf, but was also brandishing an iron bar and shouting "We're from fa%*in' Laahnden mate"

I used to wear a wedding dress... And the Bromley Boys would turn up dressed like Monty Python women.