flyfisher

Possibly a bit soon to go legal. I'd insist it is returned whatever condition it is in - damp is not going to totally destroy a PA system. Not going to be easy thought if you haven't been in touch with the borrowers for years. [i]"Anyone got any advise to what I can do? Since I'm now getting Facebook messages about it (when it has nothing to do with me!)[/i]" That's not strictly true, is it, if you were the one who facilitated the loan?

Great stuff and well done for taking your lad along as well. Brilliant experience for him.

I used to play along to JJ Cale's 'Pack My Jack' when learning walking blues lines. Bizarrely, the only link I could find had it being used as the soundtrack for this youtube appreciation of some newsreader. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elVre2Uf1ME

I always take a box of spares, tools and widgets to gigs but its a slippery slope as others can stop thinking for themselves and become entirely reliant on you to fix any and every little problem. It's taking the pi$$ when a guitarist asks me why I don't have spare strings he could 'borrow'.

[quote name='KingBollock' timestamp='1337873464' post='1666830'] My Father-in-law was in the Masons, for a very short time. He left because it was boring. True story. [/quote] I thought they were like the Hotel California . . . . you can check out but you can never leave.

[quote name='risingson' timestamp='1337792917' post='1665578'] I'm supporting them this coming July in Sweden I think! Not exactly a huge fan but I know they're nice guys, should be interesting. [/quote] How cool is that?! I'm never gonna be a proper muso.

. . . and your PC really ought to have a gold mains plug and 10mm2 unobtainium speaker cables otherwise what's the point?

I've got an Alesis SR-16 and fills can be triggered from a foot pedal, as well as changing between two patterns. I've never used it live but have used it for jams with pretty good results. There was one being offered for sale on here somewhere for £50.

I'm mid-50s and couldn't hear 16kHz. Hmm. Now, about that 192kHz soundcard I've got in my PC . . . . .

Too right! I bought some new PA gear a couple of years back. I put together a list of all the cables I needed, plus spares, and a 30m snake with a 16/4 stage box to hook up to my mixer and bang went £400+ Fortunately, I already had a couple of large Peli-cases with wheels in which to safely store and transport them - but they would have originally cost more than the cables! Might be why I get so annoyed when I see people stuffing kinked and knotted cables into old carrier bags! Never underestimate good cables!

I play in two bands but everyone knows each other and we're all mates. I got involved with the second one after dep'ing for a gig after their bassist left. Things gelled pretty well and I'm still there. Rehearsal clashes don't seem to be a problem. I just say when I'm available and the first band to agree a date has me in the diary and I tell the other band I'm no longer available on that day. So far we've not had a clash of gigs, but the same would apply. First booking takes priority. It's not as if we're gigging every week so it seems to work OK. When I say we've not had a clash of gig, there have been quite a few occasions when both bands have played the same gig - which makes the issue of gear sharing a lot easier. I can imagine that hard-gigging bands might have a problem with someone playing in another band, particularly if it means you can't reliably commit to their needs. I guess all situations are unique, but being open and honest about things must surely be the right approach. An as ET says, first in the diary gets the booking - and don't ever renege on that.

[quote name='seashell' timestamp='1337585814' post='1662190'] . I'm too old for most and too inexperienced for many. I don't think I'm ready to start my own band yet either. I was wondering about maybe putting up an ad along the lines of 'bass player seeks musicians to practice with'.? [/quote] It has always seemed to me that one of the biggest challenges with bands is getting together with like-minded people with similar playing abilities. Anything too disparate creates too much tension and pulls things apart. You maybe 'too old and too inexperienced' for many but certainly not all. Age is more a matter of attitude but as someone on the wrong side of 50 I can vouch for the fact that there are plenty of similarly 'old' people to play with. As for inexperience, everyone has to start somewhere and you may find yourself surrounded by fledgling drummers and guitarists also wishing to join a band but not thinking they're experienced enough. So yes, I would go for it with some ads. Be honest about what you're looking for and see what happens. What's the worst that can happen? You could also try some open mic nights, maybe just turning up to watch and gauge the level of talent first. Playing with others was the best thing that ever happened to me in terms of developing my playing.

FWIW, I've been dipping in and out of BC all day and have not had any problems at all. Might have missed the 'glitch' I guess.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1337213060' post='1657347'] Anyone said 'don't bother', yet? No? OK, I'll leave quietly... [/quote] That was my first thought, but I didn't want to seem like a killjoy. More constructively, LED display applications commonly use multiplexing techniques to minimise power consumption. Get the duty cycle right and you'll be able to save power and adjust the perceived brightness at the same time. All of which is just a fancy way of saying flash them on/off so fast that the eye doesn't notice.

Some interesting comments here about how someone can be a perfectly good bassist ( perhaps any instrumentalist?) without having an understanding of music theory, note positions, scales, chords etc. Macca is famously quoted as not being able to read or write music and, whatever your opinions of him, it doesn't seem to have held him back. So . . . . why does music teaching always concentrate on the theory, on notes, scales, chords etc? I'm not suggesting there is no place for such teaching - of course there is - but why is there no alternative teaching methods that promote the 'self-taught' methods such as jamming along to favourite songs, showing how to play certain licks, that sort of thing? Or maybe there is and I've never noticed.

[quote name='Doctor J' timestamp='1337467794' post='1660618'] The more experienced you are, the better your ability to recognise how far away you are from being an expert. [/quote] Yep, I'd say that applies to almost anything in life and certainly in music. I wonder how many musicians would ever claim to be 'expert' on their chosen instrument, never mind someone who has only been playing for 4/5 years. Perhaps they're using a different definition of 'expert'. Expert in playing root notes in 4/4 time perhaps?

As ever, Skank solves the problem. As for the dog, as long as it's well-behaved I imagine it would be less trouble than the kids! Anyway, there are precedents for taking a dog to work . . . . . http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-17814965

Offering a lower than offered price seems reasonable to me, the seller can always say no, but if a price is agreed then it's definitely bad form to back out of the deal. I agree with the above posts about leaving feedback. Three of the four people who backed out of an agreed price were on here, so feedback can certainly be left in the appropriate section - even if you have to start a new thread for them.

I stack my two 210s 'vertically'. Stability is not an issue as the cabs are quite heavy. To be honest, I've not noticed any difference in the sound but I started doing it because it reduces the stage footprint and also puts the amp at a more convenient height. It's about time I repositioned the badge on the front grille though!

[quote name='Lfalex v1.1' timestamp='1337193651' post='1657028'] Which leads me to the question; What are we taxing with each tax, and what does each tax then actually pay for? [b]If[/b] Fuel duty is levied as (partly) a means to to tax/discourage emissions, then it ought to be payable by all vehicles and devices that generate emissions through the consumption of petrol/diesel, whether they be generators, outboard motors, snowmobiles etc. ad infinitum. [b]If[/b] Vehicle excise duty is levied to compensate for damage to roads, then (hopefully obviously) vehicles which do not use roads need not be so taxed. What the government has done, however, is to blur the lines between the two taxes by introducing a variable rate based on emissions. [/quote] Those are interesting [u]Ifs[/u] but I suspect it's really a waste of time trying to justify them in this, or any, way really. For example, petrol has always been taxed but it's only recently been justified on the basis of trying to save the planet from nasty emissions. Similarly, things like cigarette and alcohol taxes - the justifications change with the times. No, the reason for all these myriad different taxes is to make the system so complex that a) it provides (unproductive) employment for loads of people, it makes it more difficult for people to understand exactly how much of their hard-earned money is confiscated by the government, and c) gives the government plenty of social-engineering choices. It also allows the Chancellor to drag out his annual budget speech.

[quote name='pietruszka' timestamp='1337173409' post='1656597'] I don't think it is incorrect, and you've backed up my point. If someone has a car which is road tax free, they are still using the roads, in fact, they could use the roads more than me and I'll be paying road tax and they won't. Which is why I feel that all cars should have some level of road tax on them. They use the roads no matter how many miles they do. They shouldn't be void because they have lower emissions. As someone said previously, perhaps a revision of the system whereby we band the miles we cover like the vehicle tax bands. For example, drive 2,000 miles a year pay £30 road tax, drive 20,000 miles a year pay £250. It makes sense in the world of car insurance. Just a thought. [/quote] Firstly 'road tax' is not hypothecated and roads are maintained from the general taxation pot. Secondly, I agree such a tax should not be emissions based, as such. Thirdly, I agree with the principle of charging more tax the more miles you drive. Where we seem to disagree is how to apply this tax. My point is that tax on fuel meets all your requirements - it can't be evaded and the more you drive the more tax you pay. What could be simpler and fairer? The added benefit is that cars would become expensive to run rather than own. At present, the fixed costs of owning a car are so high that there's every incentive to use cars instead of public transport in order to got your 'money's worth'. If it wasn't so expensive to leave the car in the driveway but fuel was more expensive then people would be more likely to use trains and buses.

[quote name='skankdelvar' timestamp='1337182917' post='1656822'] It's not that I'm unsympathetic to anyone's plight. But we've conflated an action - driving a car - with the idea of freedom. True, perhaps in the 1950's but not now. Motoring is a drag. [/quote] People may or may not think motoring is a drag. I rarely travel during the rush hour and live in a rural area so traffic is not a big deal for me these days. The real point is that it shouldn't be up to the government to make such judgements on our behalf. I'm not aware of motorists yelling out for black boxes and road pricing and I don't recall it being a big issue at the last general election so HOW DARE they try to foist their mad schemes onto us.

[quote name='skankdelvar' timestamp='1337184006' post='1656843'] £55 a day per child at our local creche. [/quote] . . . or about £14k per year, which is about the same as a decent non-boarding independent school. Funny, isn't it, how sending kids to independent schools seems to somehow make them privileged and lah-di-dah rich kids, but being dumped off at the local nursery each morning is generally quite acceptable. I'm not judging either way, just amused by the inconsistency.

[quote name='Protium' timestamp='1337169477' post='1656464'] I was thinking about this today as my renewal reminder fell through the door. £250 for 12 months, and that cost is set on the cars CO2 emissions regardless of how many miles I cover [u]For private vehicles[/u] an odometer readout should be taken at the cars MOT and the road tax calculated from miles driven and emissions. Fair system for everyone [/quote] No, no, no!!! More useless and expensive bureacracy. Road tax should be SCRAPPED!!! I'm not stupid enough to think that car-based tax will be abolished but why have a tax that is so complex and costly to administer when the simple answer is just to put all vehicle tax onto fuel? The collection mechanism is simple and already exists, the more fuel you use the more miles you would travel the more road you would wear out and the more tax you would pay. Plus, it's completely impossible to evade.

[quote name='pietruszka' timestamp='1337159717' post='1656276'] There are a couple of gripes I have with this. For starters ALL cars should pay a road tax, regardless of emissions, they still use the roads and cause as much damage as any other similarly sized car. [/quote] But that's completely incorrect isn't it? Damage to roads is dependent on how many miles you drive (and possibly the size of car). Emissions are also more highly linked to how many miles you drive rather than engine size. For example, a mum using a big 4x4 to take the kids to school (might as well use a stereotype ) and doing 3000 miles a year in the process will be doing far less harm damage to the roads and environment than her saleman hubby doing 80,000 miles a year bombing up and down motorways in his rep-mobile. Talk of black boxes in cars is pure nonsense, pedalled by the IT companies who will profit from such a ridiculously complex and bureaucratic scheme. Talk of variable road-pricing depending on congestion is also nonsense. The roads are packed at rush-hour for a reason and the reason won't change just because someone makes the journey more expensive. Don't you think people would already travel outside of the rush-hour if they possibly could? Same with trains, where people could save a small fortune by paying off-peak ticket prices, but they can't do that because they have to be at their desks before 9am so are an easy target for train company rip-offs. It will be exactly the same with road pricing. It's about time people just said NO to this sort of thing and claimed back their civil liberty to be able to travel around the country unhindered by privacy-invading bureacracy. This should be our RIGHT and it should be government's job to make it EASIER for people, not harder. We need fewer laws and fewer restrictions over our lives, not more. Who was it who said something along the lines of measuring a free society by the thickness of its statute book?