flyfisher

I've read references to a "British sound" in the hi-fi world (which is generally even more full of snake-oil salesmen than the music world) so I'd say it's certainly a well established concept. Whether it has any real basis in fact I'm not so sure. In fact, in the hi-fi world the concept has always amused me as the purist view would surely require an amp to have no innate tonal qualities of its own anyway. Surely the sound from a combo will also depend a great deal on the type of bass being used. Heck, we've even discussed how tone can be affected by the style of the player. The there is the room it is played in and probably a who host of other things. I'm not saying all amps sound the same but I'm not convinced that an amp, alone, can be the main defining factor.

There must, surely, be an absolute cut-off point at which the bank guarantee the money from a cheque in your account? Perhaps they use a different term than "cleared"?

That's very kind of you. [b]gary mac[/b]'s tape deck turned out to be non-functional, but it was good of him to go to the trouble of digging it out of his attic. Actually, I have a friend in Grantham, which is not too far from Spalding. The only problem is that I'd probably need to borrow it for at least a week in that case. Would that be stretching goodwill a bit far?

I've heard about that cheque-clearing one before. Bank: "The cheque has cleared and we've credited your account accordingly." Later: "Sorry, we didn't receive the funds so we're taking back the money" It's absolutely outrageous that the banking system allows such a thing to happen. It's obvious that some crooks will exploit such an obvious loophole. I can't understand why they don't stop such practices.

That would be very helpful. I hope it has fared better in the attic than mine seems to have done.

I've been having a good old clear out and came across a couple of open-reel tapes. I think they contain old recordings I made in a previous band, possibly from when I was school in the, er, 19 (cough) 70s. So I went into the attic to dig out my old Akai 4000DS open-reel tape deck, only to discover that the heads seem to have gone a bit rusty and also the little capstan collar thingy that made it run at 7.5 ips is missing. So a bit of a long-shot I know, but does anyone within a reasonable distance of Hertford have a suitable open-reel tape deck that I could borrow for a day or so in order to copy these tapes onto my PC? I'm also frequently in the Thetford area of Norfolk, so that would be a possibility for me as well. The tapes are standard 1/4-inch 4-tracks (bi-directional stereo) probably recorded at 7.5 ips but possibly 3.75 ips - but I suspect most suitable machines would be dual speed anyway. Thanks for any help.

It's quite possible to add an 8 ohm resistor to an 8 ohm speaker in order to present a 4 ohm load to an amp. But what would be the point? Half the amp power would be dissipated by the 8 ohm resistor as heat. So, in practice, such a thing would likely [u]reduce[/u] the sound output of the cab. As we've discussed before, an amp driving, say, 100W into 8 ohms won't drive 200W into 4 ohms, it'll be something less - let's say 180W for example. So adding an 8 ohm resistor to create a 4 ohm cab would result in the amp driving 180W into the cab, which would be split equally between the speaker and the resistor, i.e. 90W each. Thus, the proposed modification would convert an 8 ohm cab providing 100W of music power into a 4 ohm cab providing 90W of music power. Unless I'm missing something, I really can't see the point in what you're proposing.

My rounds have been on for about 3 years now, although I've been thinking about changing them for the past 6 months or so, mainly as a result of all the comments here about changing or cleaning strings regularly. I do rub them down carefully with a dry cloth after every rehearsal and gig though - does that get me off the hook?

Come on Macca . . . show yourself

Fair point, though I only mentioned the BNP as an example.

[quote name='cheddatom' post='1110994' date='Feb 1 2011, 01:55 PM']Would you play for Gary Glitter? Not even for a million pounds?! [/quote] Well, justice (in strictly legal terms) has been done and he's served his time so why not? But only if I don't have to dress up! More seriously, given that recent news story where a christian couple running a B&B business were found guilty of discrimination because they wouldn't let a gay couple sleep together as it was against their beliefs, could a pro musician be similarly charged with discrimination if they refused to play with someone or some band on the grounds of personal belief?

The likelihood of me ever becoming a jobbing musician is vanishingly small but in my dreams I could imagine playing music I didn't particularly like and also playing with other musicians I didn't particularly like. But I couldn't imagine playing for a 'cause' I didn't agree with, e.g. a fund-raising gig for the BNP. I guess that's some sort of integrity.

While it's true to say surface mounted assemblies are not 'unrepairable', I'd say they require a significantly higher level of skill than 'conventional' boards, even if they have plated-through holes. The smaller size of the components is a big factor and multi-lead components (ICs) are more difficult to remove unless you have the right tools. In contrast, ICs are easy to remove from a PTH board by cutting the legs first and then removing them one at a time. That's not really possible with SMDs. The other thing that's making electronics effectively unrepairable these days is the prevalence of programmable devices. This may not be such an issue with bass amps (I've not been inside a modern digital bass amp) but most digital equipment these days is based around programmable logic devices. So, while it might be easy to buy a replacement chip, you're actually dependent on the manufacturer to supply a programmed part and, since the firmware is part of their IP, they are likely to charge a lot for it. Fortunately, digital devices are very reliable these days!

[quote name='mep' post='1108506' date='Jan 30 2011, 07:17 PM']If the worst happened and it snapped you'll only be left with the plastic leg stuck in the amp which should be easy enough to get out.[/quote] In that scenario, I'd agree it wouldn;t be too bad, I was concerned about the mount not breaking and therefore, perhaps, breaking the amp socket. But, based on your experience, I may be worrying too much. [quote name='mep' post='1108506' date='Jan 30 2011, 07:17 PM']To be honest I would get the Markbass Basskeeper, a more modern ans secure version of a small stand.[/quote] That's a better looking gizmo. How does it attach? I'm now thinking that I might fix a couple of velcro loops to the side of my cabs. That's where I tend to leave my bass so it's not easily knocked, but a simple velcro loop would make it even more secure.

[quote name='4-string-thing' post='1108003' date='Jan 30 2011, 12:07 PM']Lots of gigs done in those 30 years Fella..... Testament to the quality of My Acoustic 220 head and 404 cab, and my soldering skills of course! [/quote] I honestly wasn't meaning to doubt your soldering skills, just doubting the ability of a solid-core cable to cope with being flexed over a 30 year period. You clearly look after your gear with great care. I wish some of the guys I know would do the same. Still, they've learned [u]never[/u] to help me pack up my own cables after a gig or rehearsal!

Interesting (the plug-in gizmo). I've never seen anything like that before, though I don't think I'll be rushing out to buy one. Someone knocking over your bass while walking around a stage is bad enough but the possibility of also damaging your amp at the same time is too much to risk, for me.

I've used Audacity to pitch-change songs for practice purposes. Works well enough and is open-source freeware.

[quote name='icastle' post='1106721' date='Jan 28 2011, 08:58 PM']The bit I find most surprising is that you managed to fit that chunky old coax into the jackplug in the first place![/quote] . . . and that the solid copper core lasted for 30 years without breaking - or perhaps the rig wasn't moved in all that time?

I used to like practicing to Ramblin' On My Mind from Clapton's EC Was Here album - a nice slow blues to play around to but with a number of key changes thrown in for a bit of variety.

Based on the previous suggestions, I've just bought some Sennheiser HD201s for £13.28 and AKG K77s for £22.77 from Dolphin Music and they seem pretty good for my purposes of basic monitoring whilst recording. It remains to be seen how durable they are but for £13.48 I'm not about to complain. I also bought a neat little Behringer Ha400 headphone amp/splitter (£20), which is a useful accessory for home recording.

[quote name='alanbass1' post='1102010' date='Jan 25 2011, 12:53 PM']I've taken a leaf out of my father's book - if you can afford to replace it don't get insurance (just look after it).[/quote] My father-in-law never had any insurance for anything, except the legal stuff for his car. He must have saved thousands over the years, and never did suffer any losses anyway! I haven't the nerve to not insure the house though and, as long as it's for recreation, a good policy will probably cover a bass and amp anyway. I think we have £2500 of "all-risks" cover for unspecified items under £1000 outside the home - or something like that. Different policies will have different numbers but the principle is the same. And, often, for a few pounds, the standard limits can be increased anyway. If your're a professional muso then it's all different of course.

I'm not surprised those things you've tried haven't been successful. I'd say you need some sort of solvent to dissolve the remnants of the glue. The trick is to find one that will dissolve the sticker adhesive but not the guitar finish. I've always turned to cellulose thinners when trying to clean off paper/vinyl stickers BUT this has usually been on glass or car paintwork. I've never tried it on a guitar body so I'm not sure what it might do to the finish. If you decide to give it a try then do a small test on an inconspicious part of the guiar first!

[quote name='gazza70' post='1103013' date='Jan 26 2011, 12:04 AM']I ordered a cover back in June 2010 and paid £45 . . . .[/quote] Out of interest, how did you pay? This is where credit cards are invaluable. First, even if there are delivery delays, the card should not be charged until the goods are shipped. If they are, then simply notify the card company that you haven't received the goods and they will put the payment on hold. If you never receive the goods you won't have to pay the card company. Second, the Distance Selling Regulations exist specifically because anyone buying something by mail order (or online as it's called these days) is not able to fully examine the goods to determine their fitness for your intended purpose. The regulations therefore give the buyer the legal right to return the goods [u]for whatever reason[/u] and to get a full refund. Again, the credit card is your friend in such cases. All you have to do is return the goods and they should then credit your card. If they do not do this then, again. simply notify the card company and they will put the transaction on hold and refund you any payment you may already have made. I can't imagine ever buying anything online (or pretty much anywhere else) without using a credit card. I pay the monthly statement in full, so I never incur any interest and my current card pays me 1% cashback on everything I spend every month. Protection, convenience and a discount - what's not to like?

Instrument cables carry only the tiniest of voltages and currents. Speaker cables should really be regarded as power cables. They are totally different applications and require totally different cables, for all the reasons mentioned above. The real problem, I think, is the stupid industry practice of using 1/4-inch jacks for everything. Half our band have trouble figuring out how to connect the PA together and I've watched them plug speakers into line inputs before now, presumably simply because the cables fit. I use speakon connectors on my speaker cables, so there can be no confusion. It's a shame they are not more widely used. It's a pity the music industry hasn't followed the IT world - it's almost impossible to incorrectly connect all the bits of a PC together because of the different connector types and colour-coded plugs and sockets. But the humble jack is now a universal standard with a long and honourable history, so I don't expect it will change anytime soon.