flyfisher

Does anything happen in Suffolk?

I posted this using firefox and no problem with apostrophe's (except their usage ).

[quote name='borisbrain' timestamp='1384173785' post='2273469'] I'd imagine the smoking ban and cheap off-licence booze haven't been very helpful either. [/quote] I'm sure cheap booze hasn't helped pubs but I'm not so sure about the smoking ban. Many years ago, actually about 30-ish, we lived in North London and there was a story in the local paper about a pub having problems getting its licence renewed because of loads of complaints from its neighbours about car parking and generally increased traffic problems because of the pub's popularity. It was a non-smoking pub! Quite a rarity back then, so it attracted people from further afield, hence the congestion problems.

[quote name='steve-bbb' timestamp='1384162417' post='2273273'] well wether you like them or loathe them chains such as weatherspoons have a lot to answer for homogenising town and city pubs [/quote] Well, only as much as the people who use them. It takes two to tango.

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1384035644' post='2272237'] To distract from the 'quality' of the singing, maybe..? [/quote] . . . . or to differentiate themselves from a million other cover bands? Got them some publicity here.

Honest battle scar. I wouldn't worry about it, but then I'm not you.

[quote name='xilddx' timestamp='1383814615' post='2269350'] Exactly. And what is talent anyway? [/quote] Good question. I tend to think of it as the whole package, with some things counterbalancing others. The Orwells clearly have the 'talent' to get themselves on a high profile national TV show like Later, which no doubt requires all sorts of wheeling, dealing, promotion and other things quite separate from being able to strum a few chords. So they've got something that no one else on here has got.

[quote name='xilddx' timestamp='1383774520' post='2269080'] Are we really participating in nostalgia at the moment because it makes us feel good in a harsh world? [/quote] Nah, it's because all modern music is crap and nothing will ever be as good as the 60s and 70s

[quote name='lojo' timestamp='1383769504' post='2268959'] Jokes aside , I do always scan through all the acts, every now and then something grabs me. [/quote] Me too (well not 'always'). I think xilddx got it right saying these new bands are one OF a million. Technology has made it easier than ever for anyone to be in a band (heck, I'm in two but you won't see us on Later anytime [s]soon[/s] ever ) and it must be a nightmare for the Beeb, or anyone else, to trawl through all the acts out there. We've all seen some great bands on our local circuits and down the local pub so talent is clearly not the main route to commercial success. Fact is, all the new bands on Later must be doing something right - if you consider 'right' as meaning getting their music out to the widest possible audience that is. Has anyone here been invited to appear? Let's give them their break - if you don't like them just press the FF button, but someone out there will be a fan - if only their mums.

I spent a few weeks in North Carolina earlier this year - plenty live bands playing country and bluegrass, complete with confederate flags! Pretty good as well, on the whole. It certainly reinforced the 'rural south' vibe.

[quote name='dincz' timestamp='1383761134' post='2268760'] Unfortunately it is a law of physics - Ohm's law - and that's why an amp's maximum power at clipping with a 4 ohm load is never double what it is at 8 ohms. Until someone develops a power supply with zero impedance, we're stuck with it [/quote] We may be at crossed purposes. I'm suggesting that if an amp's power output is limited by the PSU capacity then the PSU is not adequately specified. Even a PSU with zero impedance wouldn't prevent signal clipping would it?

I'm sure that's true in some amps but it's a design issue, not a law of physics.

[quote name='dmccombe7' timestamp='1383750611' post='2268549'] I've seen first hand the damage that can be done from the national grid . . . . [/quote] Can you elaborate? Was it faulty wiring or really a result of what the national grid was pumping through the wires? If the latter, why isn't the whole country up in arms about their household electronic appliances constantly being damaged? After all, there are about 60m people in the UK but I'd bet only a tiny, tiny percentage of them are bassists, so if those bassists are experiencing damaged gear because of the mains supply then I'd expect the general population would be experiencing far bigger problems. Unless our bass gear is all crap?

[quote name='bassman7755' timestamp='1383758098' post='2268688'] Thats likely to be because (as I alluded to in my earlier post) its operating at a lower output voltage so is less likely to reach its rail voltage limits especially at lower frequencies were a higher voltage swing is required to produce the same volume. [/quote] OTOH, a PSU not capable of supplying the required current/voltage at the amp's highest rated power output is really an issue of poor product design.

[quote name='bassman7755' timestamp='1383755612' post='2268651'] Because you simply dont like it, thats OK. Some people do like it, thats OK too. Neither require rationalisation. [/quote] + a few billion! Not only does it apply to jazz but also to every other genre of music ever invented, and yet to be invented, as well as types of bass, types of amps, types of cabs, types of strings, types of cables, types of recording media, everything on the TV, all cinema, all art . . . . (cont'd on p94)

If the amp is perfectly linear, i.e. maintains the same frequency response and other characteristics across its entire power range, then I wouldn't expect it to sounds any different through a 4ohm cab or an 8 ohm cab. The same applies to the cab of course. So, in an ideal world I wouldn't expect any difference. Meanwhile, back on planet Earth, I'd be less sure of the technical answer but I do know that I don't really care. This is because the only real test of anything so subjective is to try it and decide what you prefer. The problem with all these sorts of questions is that, in practice, the audible differences are likely to be negligible - if detectable at all - but people seem to like reassurance about what 'should' sound better. Then, primed with what to expect, they try it out and, guess what, configuration X turns out to sound much better than configuration Y, just as everyone said it would. I've done it myself with various cab configurations: single 210, single 115, dual 210s arranged 2x2, dual 210s arranged 4x1, 210+115 and I couldn't hear any dramatic difference - I just preferred the dual 210s arranged 1x4 because it means I don't have to bend down to adjust my amp and the top speaker was closer to my ears so easier to hear. But what sounds 'best' in a rehearsal room will likely sound completely different in a small, crowded pub with low ceilings. I reckon we tend to agonise too much about all this stuff . . . but maybe I've just got cloth ears.

Yep, plus that fact that you'll never end up with using an instrument lead by mistake. But if the space behind the cab is a big issue (which I can understand in some instances, especially with thick speaker cable) then how about using a right-angle speakon? Best of both worlds. http://www.amazon.co.uk/NL-4FRX-Right-Angle-Speakon-Plug-346550/dp/B002BETSYW

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1383668841' post='2267355'] . . . . there is a huge psychological difference between being subjected to something you are in control of ( noise from your bass in this instance) and being forced to endure something you have no power to stop. [/quote] On the other hand, having no control over things can sometimes be less stressful: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulcers_in_Executive_Monkeys But I digress . . .

[quote name='Kiwi' timestamp='1383639094' post='2266767'] I don't understand how a US court can have jurisdiction over someone living overseas. [/quote] That's what a lot of people in Pakistan are wondering as well . . . .

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1383644212' post='2266839'] So the calculation you need to make is if you save 45W per lamp over 10,000 hours, will you get your money back? [/quote] I make 45W over 10,000 hours equal to 450 kWh (units), which will cost £54 at 12p per unit.

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1383600356' post='2266524'] To be fair , the law is ambiguous in that people are allowed to make a "reasonable" amount of noise at a reasonable time of day . It isn't against the anti-social behaviour laws to play your bass at sensible volume levels for short periods during the day , even if you live in a flat . A great deal is open to interpretation , essentially , and the law sets no specific noise level which is the point at which noise becomes excessive . But all that is largely irrelevant . Does anybody really want to make someone else's life a misery because they want to play through an amp ? Is it really worth causing another person that kind of distress? [/quote] I'm sure you're right about the ambiguity of law but my feeling is that resorting to law in these sort of things is tantamount to failure because the damage is already done and no amount of law will ever resolve the situation whatever the eventual judgement. That the OP is even bothering to look into the legal aspects is a bit worrying TBH. Fact is, it can't be acceptable to make someone else's life a misery and I'm pleased to see such a clear consensus of opinion on here - and the fact that we're all bass fans makes that consensus even more decisive.

American eh? Think they own the world. Next thing we know they'll be sending out remote-controlled drone aircraft to take out people they don't like . . . er, hang on . . . .

I'm surprised the music industry hasn't decided that baby boomers selling off their record/CDs collections is another reason for their falling sales and try to get such things made illegal

[quote name='Paulgm1' timestamp='1383485339' post='2264887'] The Clarkson story is not an issue in my view as although a fraudster managed to set up a direct debit using his details, the bank has got to prove that they received a proper authorisation from the account holder otherwise must put the money back straight away. [/quote] Agreed. The Clarkson incident was I thought, very badly reported in this respect. I actually found loads of links to the story but although I looked at half a dozen of them, none mentioned the fact that the bank would protect the account holder in such a case of fraud. Indeed, none mentioned the 'direct debit guarantee' that is clearly stated on every direct debit mandate (well, all the ones I've ever used). I suspect this was probably because the fraudulent Direct Debit was set up in favouir of a charity and Clarkson would probably have got bad press if he claimed the £500 back from the bank, which is fair enough in his case but there can't be too many people who wouldn'5 miss £500 so the reporting should have made this clearer. Ho hum.