Martin E

Sounds like you have done a good common sense job balancing your set list. Inevitably you may be playing stuff that doesn't appeal to you personally, has a dull bass line or one that must be followed correctly to make the song work. Unfortunately the songs and the punters come first but on 12 bars that belong to no particular artist then yes, why not do what you want and add your own touch. No one including your own band mates will be paying that much attention. Just enjoy and if it all goes horribly wrong just revert to the basic pattern. I'm sure it will go well – you sound a lot more organised than many.

Upon asking our vocalist what key he would like try out a new song he always looks puzzled and says 'Eh?' Consequently we play everything in A

In the context that there are few interesting music programmes on the box it was entertaining to see a really diverse selection of people tackling some old classic songs and a reminder of how albums were made in those days. Like it or not the album was a breath of fresh air at the time and like Dark Side of the Moon, Never Mind the Bollocks etc is a classic. Some interesting takes on old familiar songs even if not to all tastes. A shame Beverly Knight murdered the last song. Great voice, just stick to the notes in question luv.

First time I've seen him without his daft hat Sorry, I know it's his trademark but it always looks like a party hat to me and should have a piece of elastic under the chin...

Two Epifani 1x12" s (UL Series 2)

I've seen Steely Dan twice, undoubtedly my favorite band of all time and a huge fan of everything Fagan has done since. Unfortunately much as it I hate to admit it this latest album has not grown on me as much as the others.

I took my old Trace 15” cabinet apart. Thick MDF, simple square edge to edge butt joins, no internal bracing or acoustic wadding at all. Plus one Celestion C15H-200 marked 'Custom made for Trace Elliot' I thought it sounded great and the speaker seemingly indestructible but it was just another simple box - made to right volume with the correct ports of course but absolutely nothing special about the construction.

[quote name='brensabre79' timestamp='1358420389' post='1938708'] That sounds horrid, but I have not tried it, so maybe its not so bad. Don't you find the extra wood just gets in the way? [/quote] Yes it does sound horrid but it's only a matter of an extra 2 or 3 millimetres between the edge of the E and G strings and the edge of the neck and if not pointed out I doubt if you would immediately notice it it. The extra wood is not noticeable. I always disliked the way some manufacturers cut the E and G slots right at the edge of the nut practically causing the outside strings to fall of the neck (why do they do this?). So experimented with a narrower string spacing. It works for me anyway. Even if you don't go as narrow as jazz spacing a new recut nut is an option which never seems to be considered to fine tune an instrument to your taste without resorting to buying a complete new neck

There is another way to all this if you prefer the narrow string spacing of a jazz neck. The nut width does not in itself determine string spacing but the string slots themselves. I used a Precision sized neck on my custom fretless but have cut the string slots closer together like a Jazz. If you want Jazz bass string spacing on your Precision why not try a freshly cut nut first and you can have the best of both worlds!

Dood - thanks for the info. Some really nice stuff on there.

Sorry, I'm not as well versed in the way Fender works worldwide as you chaps .so please excuse my question. These are currently manufactured in Japan and will be available worldwide eventually ? Or unique to the Japanese market ? Can someone please explain.

I do wonder why these problems occur in the first place although there is no excusing a lack of quality control. Fender basses are mass produced as opposed to hand made but surely the whole point of mass production is that you can consistently produce parts to the finest degree of accuracy using computer controlled equipment. You wouldn't buy a new car and find one of the doors was too small for the opening. So is there a human element still involved in cutting a neck pocket and neck heel in a big organisation like Fender which accounts for these inconsistencies?

It's even worse when you get to my age, I look like an elderly gent who's mistaken the music shop for the local library. Things get even worse when handed an instrument, my mind goes a complete blank. A bit of fumbling around a blues riff at best which coupled with fact that many basses are virtually unplayable off the shelf makes the whole thing a complete nightmare. I could play a three hour set with my covers band but fail to impress miserably in the music shop which I find a far more daunting experience .

Our Mackie PA mixer/amp was damaged by a surge/spike.We had it fixed by a respected repairer who said such things are now common in the UK and he recommended using a surge protector at all times for any amp and indeed with any sensitive home appliance such as TV, computer etc. IIRC the explanation was something like our electricity comes from many sources and is often switched from one to another with potential for spikes, this is apart from your deep freeze, oven etc switching on and off causing more local variations These things do nothing but act as an insurance against potential damage so if you have one you'd be daft not to use it (and get the whole band to plug in at the same time!)

I had an early Trace Elliot combo and went through the same thought process. The weight is due mainly to the thick MDF used for the cabinet. The Celestion C15H -200 speaker used in these things is surprisingly lightweight already -a simple pressed steel affair with a not particularly heavy magnet. I concluded that a neo speaker (if you find one of the right spec) would only reduce the overall weight by a few ounces. I ended up removing the amp section and making a sleeve case for it. I then built a speaker cab identical in size to the original. using the speaker and port tubes but in thinner plywood. Much lighter and the sound/performance was identical.

You arrive at the venue and set up all your gear, sound-check done, everything is in it's place and you retire to the bar or whatever whilst the audience/guests arrive. The guitars on stands and drum kit are glinting in the lights, various LED's shine from the amps... I only play in a function band but love this little bit of theatre. Even before a note has been played a stage full of instruments, amps,monitors etc in dimmed stage lighting has a wonderful magic about it don't you think?

Almost as skinny, Stadium Elites 35 - 95 on my fretted and fretless basses. I've never managed to get on with anything heavier. I've found the 35 gauge G string works especially well on the fretless. Anything heavier and the subtle fretless sound starts to disappear. I would love to try a set of flats but they just don't come in light gauges unfortunately.

I've just weighed my SB14 at 8.6 lbs. I've been gigging it for over a year now and am very pleased with it's compact size and light weight as well of course as the range of tones available. Interested to see they've now put a thin neck on the Ray34 as well (Checkout my review of the SB14 in the reviews section)

Thanks for the helpful advice chaps - the screw fasteners look interesting. My knowledge of music technology does not extend to the finer points of Velcro I'm afraid.

After many years of playing without any FX I've been taking a couple of pedals along to recent gigs I bought a small Stagg pedal case came with the usual Velcro strip. A couple of outings later the Velcro is firmly attached to the board but the pedals are rattling around in the case with the double sided tape attached to them but not the Velcro. I know Velcro is the norm but it seems hopeless for this application. The double sided tape does not adhere sufficiently to the back of the Velcro. Any better suggestions for fixing these things down?

Good question. One can understand the logic of a bridge pick up being definitely angled towards the bridge on the treble side but I suspect the main reason is just to be cosmetically different. As an ex draughtsman I find some of these designs frankly look absolutely awful from an aesthetic point of view. On some Warwicks for example they seem to be placed at a totally random angle. I'd be keen to know as well if there's any logic to this otherwise it just spoils the appearance of a perfectly good instrument.

I have to admit I never even realised my LM2 had a limiter...

Just an observation but I also own a Fender Blues deluxe guitar amp. Only 40 watts maybe but it's very, very loud. I would be looking at the most powerful set up you can afford to be honest to compete with that.

The lyrics may be great but I've never been able to decipher what Bradfield is singing.