flyfisher

Dead right - that's the most difficult part of the recruitment process. But there's no fixed answer because one's own characteristics and the company (band) they are joining are part of the equation. It's the interaction that counts and is difficult to define but I think most people could tell if they liked someone after a couple of hour-long interviews, with the second one being rather more informal than the first because the decision has almost been made. The fallback is a 3-month (or whatever) review. Fortunately, I've only had to use this condition to 'let someone go' once. I wasn't looking forward to breaking the news but the person in question opened the discussion by saying that he didn't really think things were working out. He agreed he'd look for another job, I agreed to keep him on until he'd found one. It didn't take him long because he was a good guy, he just didn't fit in and he knew it. We parted amicably. Life went on.

[quote name='Toddy' post='867937' date='Jun 15 2010, 12:28 PM']Lot of mileage in a quote from Guy Pratt on getting the Pink Flloyd gig,,,, When a thousand geezers can do your job,,you might as well take someone thats a bit of a laugh !! [/quote] A very good summary, which applies in all walks of life. I've recruited loads of people in my (non-musical) professional career and, after eliminating the people who don't have the required skills, you're left with a bunch of people who are all technically capable of doing the job. At that point, I've always chosen the person I reckon would be the easiest to get on with in a working environment.

[quote name='molan' post='860693' date='Jun 8 2010, 09:20 AM']Alesis SR 16 any good? I've got one I don't need now as I'm running a PC based app instead. It's in near perfect condition and cost me £50 a couple of months ago [/quote] Are you offering it for sale? PM sent.

Radio 4 - The World Tonight

Perhaps you're not using the right sort of gold-plated mains plugs or oxygen-free, uni-directional, unobtanium-alloy interconnects?

Now it has been mentioned, I've been considering a drum machine for a while now, mainly for practice but also for some recording. Would the SR16 fit the bill? I know it's a pretty old design, but it must also be pretty good to still be in production.

[quote name='barneyg42' post='860170' date='Jun 7 2010, 06:34 PM']OP, to not upset anyone perhaps you could tell the promoter that your gear is in the repair shop . . .[/quote] Yeah, being fixed from the last time it was lent out.

[quote name='Sarah5string' post='860105' date='Jun 7 2010, 05:24 PM']One option would be to get insurance which would cover you for accidental damage...[/quote] Possibly, but I'd check any policy very, very carefully for exclusions concerning wear-and-tear and lending/hiring, even for no reward.

Seems easy to me. You either lend out your gear with good grace until the inevitable night when someone breaks it then denies it, you have a big row about it, end up with simmering bad feelings and have to pay to repair/replace it out of your own pocket and become forever paranoid about anyone even standing close to your gear . . . . . . . or you just say no and avoid all the worry and eventually inevitable hassle. I suppose there's a third way in which you have loads of spare cash and just don't care about replacing broken/abused gear. Personally, I'd hate to borrow a rig in case it genuinely broke while I was using it.

Poor cat!

Yes, thanks for those links. I watch very little TV, possibly because we only receive the 4 analogue channels, but every now and again I hear about programmes such as that "Ox" one that make me realise there is some really good stuff out there that I'm missing. On balance, I'd probably prefer not to know what I'm missing and therefore not spend loads of time watching TV, but it's a fine line. That's an issue with the internet really - it gives us all access to more information than we can possibly consume in an entire lifetime so we have to find a suitable balance between spending our lives reading/listening/watching other people's lives and experiences or doing our own thing.

Me too. Not even Channel 5 here, just the four analogue channels.

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='858734' date='Jun 6 2010, 11:26 AM']You lot are always getting angry at the telly. Just don't watch the telly![/quote] +1 or read the newspapers!

+1 to that. Why would your 'friend' even relate the story to you in the first place? These things are subjective. I can't stand opera but that doesn't mean the musicians and singers are bad at what they do (heck, I wish I was as proficient in what I try to do!), it's just that, in my opinion, I don't like what they do.

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='851530' date='May 29 2010, 11:57 PM']Yes, I was hoping to avoid actually having to [i][b]understand [/b][/i]anything. I'm perfectly happy with a black box solution. Some sort of magic happens inside, and I get what I want. [/quote] All things (well, most things) are possible but since such a DC-DC converter will be a separate unit anyway (although that Diego unit looked neat), I think I'd just use a separate 18V PSU. DC-DC converters generally use some sort of switching technique to increase the voltage and electrical noise can be a problem. It should be relatively easy to filter this out, especially as we're only talking about audio frequencies here, but it all adds to the cost. Also, such devices are not exactly commonplace so prices will reflect the relatively small production volumes compared to a 'standard' 18V PSU. As for using a higher voltage than specified, a lot will depend on how the device handles the input voltage in the first place. Many devices have their own internal voltage regulators to provide a lower but much 'smoother' voltage supply than is often provided by cheap PSUs. Such devices should be able to tolerate a slightly higher input voltage, but power dissipation can become the limiting factor, i.e. they'll get hotter than intended, which might cause them to fail (if they are poorly designed) or to shut down to protect themselves. neither is exactly ideal in a gigging situation! All in all, I'd also be happy with a 'black box' solution . . . an 18V PSU.

A good friend, sadly now deceased, spent thousands on hi-fi equipment but very little on CDs to play on it. He was more interested in the technology than the music. Fair enough, his choice. Seasick Steve can make some great music with a 'crappy' guitar, sometimes with only three strings. I sometimes wonder if all this pursuit of 'better tone' is just a way of displacing disatisfaction with musical ability. I have a P-bass and Ashdown rig that is good enough for many pro players but I'd be the first to admit I can't do it full justice. Don't get me wrong, I'm as easily seduced by GAS as anyone, but I reckon I really just need to practice more.

Just bought an AKG wireless instrument kit from Al. Smooth transaction, good communications, item well-packed and in perfect condition - what more could anyone ask for?

A wireless link should be safe in the rain.

[quote name='arsenic' post='835057' date='May 12 2010, 09:29 AM']The pick up output is low - at a recent event, my son's band followed another band, where the bass player was using a Squier - and with no changes to the amp between bands - the Squier sounded really loud, but his 50's classic could barely be heard.[/quote] That's interesting. I use an Ashdown Mag300 head and my 50s RI P-bass won't push the meter needle full-scale, even with full gain, although it's still loud enough for the gigs we play. Would the changing the pups for Seymour Duncan SPB1s really make a lot of difference, or would it just mess up the originality of the bass?

[quote name='StevieD_FenderP2009' post='834823' date='May 11 2010, 10:48 PM']I'm going to go and try one out at my local Coda Music shop (if they have one in stock, they normally have about 300 Fender guitars and basses in there, so they should do) to see if it feels right to me, but yeah, if anyone's ever played one or knows anything about one then please, discuss below [/quote] I have one of these and, coincidentally, also bought it at Coda Music (Stevenage). It's a 1988 MIJ model and I seem to get on with it fine. However, since finding this forum last year I realise that I'm probably the only person in the country who has only had one bass in the last 22 years, so I'm hardly the right person to offer any advice. In fact I'm feeling embarrassed just admitting my bass history and hard-done-by in comparison with all you lot with at least have half-a-dozen each.

I must be doing something wrong because I don't have any problems with straps coming off and this forum is the first time I'd ever heard of straplocks! I admit I'm not one for jumping about on stage, but even so . . .

It's an interesting idea - I'd not heard of applying different effects to different frequencies and mixing the result back. I wonder if anyone has ever bothered to wire each string pick-up separately, which would allow different effects to be applied to each string. Not sure I could get my head around all the options and possibilities that would allow. Mind you, I don't use any effects anyway so a single pedal would probably confuse me.

Sadly, I suspect that "no" is the stock response to most complaints and requests for compensation these days and I can imagine it works for a high proportion of customers (victims?) who just give up right away. There was a prog on R4 recently about banks and they had someone admitting that the 'policy' was to give people the runaround regarding any complaints until they just give up in desperation. All officially denied of course. I've had a few run-ins over the years, including a successful parking ticket cancellation after a tribunal appeal and a threatened small claims court action to sort out some building work. The one company I can be totally confident about no-quibble service is John Lewis. Twice I've taken items back for repair after being out of warranty only for THEM to tell ME that "this fault is not really acceptable" and they pursued claims on my behalf with the manufacturers with the result that both items were repaired (microwave oven) or replaced (DVD player) for no charge. Now [u]that's[/u] customer service! Well done to Silddx to not letting the bar-stewards grind him down!

Agreed. Axle stands are not really needed for just changing a wheel - but even so, I always assume the jack could fail at any moment and keep feet, legs and everything else as clear as possible and certainly not underneath anything. Thing is, trolly jacks used to be pretty expensive but a new 2-ton model can be bought for £20 or less, so they're hardly worth bothering to repair. Crazy really, but that's globalisation and child labour for you.

[quote name='hubrad' post='826285' date='May 3 2010, 11:08 AM']edit: meant to say.. hence axle stands are a must! [/quote] They always are if you're doing anything under a vehicle . . . . however 'good' the jack.