Skybone

Completely agree, and I've been trying to nudge the others into making a decision. Where they agree in principle, no one wants to stick their neck out and tell him it's the end of the road. The consensus was to offer him a hiatus, and be "open and honest" with anyone coming in about the situation, which I think is not a viable solution, and merely trying to hedge your bets, and would not really make a new drummer want to commit to any band, especially when we need someone on board who can and will commit. Feel like I'm banging my head against a wall just now, however, I do have a lead on another drummer. After writing the initial post, I messaged the old drummer offering the hiatus option (to placate the other band members), but there's just been radio silence from everyone since then. In the meantime, I am making a nice dent in the wall.

Sack the Drummer... please! Sorry folks, another Drummer related moan, but also a "band in general" moan too. Our drummer has consistently let us down regularly since last year, saying he's OK for rehearsals and then bailing at the last minute incurring cancellation costs. OK, I appreciate he's pretty busy and has a fair distance to travel, but fair warning that you're not going to make it to rehearsal is not too much to ask is it (the rehearsal room has a 48 hour cancellation policy)? We did a couple of gigs in January, and he was bouncing around like Tigger after them, full of enthusiasm for the band and where we can take it etc. However, since then, he's only shown up to 1 rehearsal (when we have bookings weekly). We can only work on new material to a point, but then progress grinds to a halt. The situation has got to the point where there's no new ideas being put forward, and it's more of an expensive social gathering than a rehearsal. We have also had to turn down a number of gigs because he can't commit to any. The rest of us have spoken about where we go from here, but no one's made a definitive decision on the way forward. And therein lies another problem... indecision is really twisting the knife. We need a new drummer, and soon, we have a gig coming up on the 11th May. However, all this in mind, no one wants to let him go. Yes, he's a seriously good drummer and a nice guy, but that only carries so much weight when he's over-commited elsewhere, and continually lets us down and costs us money (it's also incredibly rare he contributes to rehearsal room costs). We had a long discussion about it on Friday, another discussion about it on Messenger yesterday, and yet they still want to "keep him on board". They're a great bunch, but the indecision is seriously pi55ing me off, so much so, the ultimatum of "it's either him or me" was uttered on Friday. Apologies again, but needed to get this off my chest, to folk who can possibly sympathise even on the most superfluous level.

Tool Station do a 40w soldering iron for £8.23. It's a Silverline one, but it's certainly man enough for the job. https://www.toolstation.com/soldering-iron/p74671

Really wish my tinnitus would all but disappear, but unfortunately not. It's that thread that made me want to do a bit more research, and ask what everyone else prefers.

Been using the ACS ER20's for years, but recently bought some new ones, and they've changed the design to a silicon plug with no stem. Not convinced they'll do the job as well as the old one's, but I'll give them a go. Been considering some moulded plugs for years, but never been convinced about the attenuation levels, though I see that ACS are now doing some with a 27dB filter. What do you prefer? Custom moulded or off the shelf? Etc.

My Rockinbetter with one of Tim's luvverly mirror scratchpads & matching TRC.

Tempting

The RM cab is the same dimensions as the combo, where the 'matching' cab, although cheaper, is the wrong size. Now that's getting anoraky for you! 😁

I'm really liking my Ashdown 300w 2x10 combo, plenty loud enough for a 4 piece rock band, with room to spare. My OCD wants another 2x10 cab, but my budget says no (the Ashdown RM210T is the most likely candidate).

I would have thought that NIckel / Nickel Plated would be the most popular selling strings. Personal preference would be Stainless, but again, that's personal preference.

Certainly makes you think... and then realise you have more than one for each instrument. Oops. :D

I'd agree with that, 500w at 4ohms, in other words, with a cab. The Fender Rumble 500 is also 500w at 4ohms (with cab), 350w at 8ohms (internal speakers). The Ampeg BA210 and Blackstar Unity are the same. To get 500w out of the on board speakers, maybe look at a 750-800w amp or a matching cab.

A lot will depend on what you want to use your amp for. If it's just for home use, then a 300-500w amp might be that little bit too much, where a 50-150w amp might be more suited. However, if you want to take it to a band situation, then something like a 250-500w amp might be a better investment down the line. If you have a look at the Thomann website, they do an Ashdown "Toneman" 300w 1x15 combo for a very reasonable amount (about £300-ish), and if you look at Musik Produktiv's website, they do the same amp (but badged "AMP 300") as a 2x10 combo for about £350. I have the 2x10, and it's great. Not the lightest out there, but sounds really good.

After many years of trying to find a sound I liked from an Active bass, I went back to Passives, and found what I was searching for. I've owned maybe 2 truly great active basses over the years, one was a Westone Thunder 1A, the other was a late 80's 2EQ StingRay. I owned a mid-90's StingRay, and it was nowhere near the late 80's one. Been using only Passive for around 12 years now. I did dabble with a G&L L2000 Tribute a few years ago, and as much as it was a great bass to play, again, I couldn't find a decent sound out of it. Moved it on and bought something else... Passive. Horses for courses though, some people prefer Active's, some prefer Passive's, and many other variations...

Real shame, keen biker too, RIP Keith

The HD Bass Pack is well worth buying if you're considering using it for Bass. The SVT Normal model is superb (IMO), matched with the 8x10 cab model, it sounds superb (again, IMO). The SVT Bright is a bit too bright for me, but might be worth trying if you're a fan of flats. Must admit, I've not really played with the GK800 model much, and when I have, it's not sounded that good to my ears, though it might be better suited to an active bass or for getting a more "modern" sound. The effects sound good, but you do have to work on getting the sound "right", though no more so than any other unit. If you want a good overdrive/distortion sound, you will have to add a second amp to the patch, and run one side clean, the other with the OD/Dist, and mix to suit, so you keep some bottom end. Kind of like a "Mix" knob on a Bass OD/Dist pedal. I've not used the Octave or the Harmony in anger, but I have created one patch where I used them together for an Octave Up and a Harmony on the 5th. It tracks really well, and sounds rather cool IMO. Might try adding an Octave Up effect only on one of my "standard" patches, for when the guitarist goes in to a solo. Stick it out with the Editor, it is not quite as intuitive as the old PODxt Editor, but it's a very powerful tool, and great for working on patches. I run a HD500x as my main pedal, and run it into the Effects Return of my amp. I also have a HD Desktop (the Bean) as a backup.

That's exactly what I was thinking... saying that, no one else mentioned it being muffled. Will have to start saving up & get the matching 2x10 cab as well I suppose. (Not that £157 for an Ashdown 2x10 cab is going to break the bank)

Took it the AMP along to rehearsal last night, everyone was very complimentary about it, and it sounded great IMO. My only criticism was that the low end seemed a tad muffled, but I don't know whether that was down to my earplugs or to the fact that the amp was sat on the floor, where before I'd been using the rehearsal rooms rig of an old Peavy amp with 2 4x10 stacked cabs. Next time, might try raising it up a bit and see how it sounds then. Still did 2 trips from the car, but at 24kg, the amp is still pretty manageable, and no concerns about the strap handle (two side handles would be nice, but could well impact on the price).

Someone mentioned the Ashdown Toneman, turns out that Musik Produktiv are now also doing their own deal with Ashdown with the "AMP" range. Both the Toneman & the AMP appear to be based on the old ABM 300 Evo iii. Bought an AMP 300 2x10 combo recently, and had some very good feedback about it at the last band rehearsal.

Bizarrely, I had an '89 StingRay (blonde, maple board, 4 bolt neck), and it played and sounded great. Sold it in a fit of "culling" instruments. Sometime later, I had a hankering for another, so bought a mid-90's six bolt neck with the rosewood board, it looked great, played great, beautiful birdseye maple neck, but I just couldn't get a usable sound out of it no matter what I tried. That was my last active bass.