bumnote

I think you need to be selective with rechargeables as a previous poster said, rechargeable loose their charge over time. I never use re chargeables in active basses, or anything else where a conventional battery lasts for months. In my stomp box, vol pedal and various switches I use the high capacity ultralife lithium, in my basses duracell or similar I use rechargeables in my transmitter receiver, cameras etc, radios etc. where the drain wil be sufficient to drain a significant amount after one use, and then charge them

If you buy rechargables, check the capacity before you buy There have been a lot of advances in batteries recently and they do vary a lot. Most AA batteries now are 2500 mAh or above and pp3 above 250 but its not that long ago they were much less. Check the ones that you use you might find its worth getting some new ones

[quote name='jmstone' post='541098' date='Jul 15 2009, 10:59 AM']Good points. Thanks The looking at the crowd part is going to be a toughie! Any advice on how to do that? Looking at individual people? Smiling at everyone?? Do you have suggestions on bands I could watch to try to emulate? We actually have a new guitarist now, who I think should be a lot more theatrical than our last one, so that just leaves me... James[/quote] For how to interact with an audience watch status quo, doesnt matter if you like them or not, wartch rossi parfitt and rhino edwards, they make you feel special cos they look at you, smile at you, thumbs up.

[quote name='OldGit' post='540804' date='Jul 14 2009, 10:25 PM']Well he probably re-wound them and sold then to the next punter for £20 so he's probably kicking himself too:)[/quote] What a ridiculous business this has become. My best friend moved to a place near Doncaster in the 80s. We used to go and look around the music ground shop and think how ridiculous the prices were then. Oh if only we had spend more on guitars and less on beer. A point I remind my wife when I bring another bass into the house.

In the late 80s early 90s I sent a pair of p bass pickups from my 64 to Kent armstrong for rewind because one of the cables had come off. He said I would be better off with a new pair of genuine fenders which he would let me have at cost and he would keep mine for spares. Oh how gullible I was

Another good source of practise are midi files which you can get free off the net. I dont know if there are any cheap or free sequence packages, [I use cakewalk] The advantages of using a midi file, [the parts are not always very accurate] you can slow them down, they will repeat and never get bored, and you can either play along with the midi bass part, or mute it and play with a backing track with no bass. On cakewalk i can display the notes so you can find out what the note is if you cant figure it out, and it could help your reading practise

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='540290' date='Jul 14 2009, 01:22 PM']The inland revenue wouldn't legally be able to demand tax from you based on "assumed" earnings unless there was some evidence of the money coming in - bank deposits, records of spending, testimony of people who've paid you for your services, etc. They can't just send you a demand for some impossible figure and insist that you prove you don't owe it.[/quote] Yes they can, they make a reasonable assumption and put the burden of proof on you A friend used to play the organ on every other saturday in a pub, and he got paid cash. The pub closed down because the landlord had been on the fiddle and when the investigators went in, they found Jack 'according to the books', had been playing and being paid for three nights a week. After a long battle he ended up paying tax on money he had never received, because the IR was able to prove he played there, and he wasnt able to prove he hadnt played three night a week.

I am a convert to TIs I like the sound and tension, but I have found I sort of prefer them on an active bass, and I do think it depends on the bass. I dont like rounds on my Jerry Scheff, but I have rounds on a stirling, I have several precisions with rounds, but one with a steve rabe preamp with flats. If you take them of your Sei you can probably keep them till another bass comes along.

I tried to get a rebate against my day job some years ago and I tried to claim for a mesa boogie stack. I sent them a set of accounts. I got a letter back saying they considered it a hobby, and I would not need to submit an annual declaration just monitor it. Needless to say, that is locked in a safe. I keep an ongoing record of all my expenses, travel, equipment [you can only write off capital purchases at a percentage each year] gig fees, strings, cleaning, repairs etc. Its surprising how much mileage allowance tots up if you practise regularly!!!!! I do that cos I arrange our gigs and often get the cheques. I have seen a number of people who have been done, and often penalised for making a false declaration along the way. On their tax return, or on any benefit claims they may have made. If you play in the pub, and get a few quid, the taxman [never make the mistake he is stupid] knows that you would be legitamately able to write off some or all of your earnings against tax. My guitarist declares each year, and makes sure he never shows a profit. You could even get some advice from the tax people, they dont all bite.

I friend of mine rubs talc in his hands before he plays

[quote name='Merton' post='532753' date='Jul 5 2009, 08:32 AM']Good work Stevie! Like the investigative journalism Very interesting reading, makes me glad I didn't get the Mini15s I was looking at earlier this year [/quote] didnt we nearly do a trade my mini 15 for your trace? Bugger It

[quote name='stevie' post='531105' date='Jul 2 2009, 09:28 PM']You need to extend the ports to six inches either by fitting new ports or by adding some cardboard tube to the existing ones. Also, you should staple some BAF wadding to the walls, which will improve the quality of the midrange. That's it. Good luck.[/quote] I understand that a company might fit the cheapest speaker it can get away with, but why not port it properly, surely that costs nothing

I have had subscriptions to various mags over the years, beat instrumental, pissed of and out of work musician, guitarist, bassist, and I used to subscribe to BGM and just got bored with the whole thing. In fairness the mag does have a quite difficult task, and needs to identify who its target audience is. There are the young beginners through to the old cynical bastards like me, all with different interests. Over the years I have lost count how many reviews I have read of Precisions,Strats Jazz basses etc, and I would probably skip any review of these. According to one review of a mex precision I read it now has new features such as a tinted neck and a parchment pick guard. How exciting. However a newcomer might not understand all the differences between a jazz and a precision, and he or she needs to be catered for. Similarly, if the reviews are not accurate, they devalue the whole review process. I think in many of the old reviews in bassist it was almost like having a template, with insert name of bass this month. Having said that, it cant be easy to write an objective view every time. Ive had 2 G&Ls, great basses, but I didnt really get on with them, why, dunno. Why do i like precisions, why do some of my precisions just feel that much better than others. Dunno. How should an amp or cab be reviewed? Just on how it sounds, what about the design, quality. Should an amp review be done by a technician or a musician? If you are going to buy a car, you dont really look at top gear, you buy what car or similar. Personally, i think they should take some pointers from top gear. Sting, Phill Colins and Lemmy in the holiday inn, how quick can you trash your hotel room with photos. Can Paul Mcartney still carry his bass rig up 5 flight of stairs. Can Chris Squire play roundabout after 10 pints of lager and a curry Bass player or Guitarist, who can service the most groupes in an hour. Ring and task master TBBC Much more fun

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NEW-HIGH-QUALITY-SUNBURST-P-BASS-GUITAR-BODY-F6_W0QQitemZ180356462289QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Guitar_Accessories?hash=item29fe1536d1&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=65%3A12%7C66%3A2%7C39%3A1%7C72%3A1683%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A1%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50"]p bass bodies[/url] There are quite a lot on e bay of painted no name bodies around the £30 mark, there were some with pickups etc. Dunno what they are like but apparently they are hardwood

The british legion in alton always used to tell us before we went on stage that we were under no circumstances ever to play livin next door to alice, they even had a notice on the dressing room door.

[quote name='small_lump_of_green_putty' post='528368' date='Jun 30 2009, 09:48 AM']Automotive paints don't normally allow for the expansion and contraction of wood so there's a risk that if a paint designed for metal car bodies is used on wood, it might crack with the next sudden change in temperature or humidity. There are spray paints that are available for wood though which do allow for this expansion and contraction.[/quote] Wouldnt a metal car body expand and contract more that wood?