Rich

Here y'go

The tuners on my first gen V7 fiver weren't brilliant either. They held tune ok but felt flimsy. I replaced them with a Hipshot licenced HB6 1/2" set -- they had the twin improvements of feeling much smoother and saving half a pound in weight over the old set. Which is a hell of a lot when you think about it! I had to pad out the headstock holes a bit, I forget what I used -- gimme a break, it's been a few years and I'm old -- and I had to fill the old screw holes on the back of the headstock. Glue and toothpicks did the trick as per the pic, I've trimmed them completely flush since the photo was taken and they've not quite disappeared but almost. The stock bridge is ok, if unremarkable. I've bought a new bridge as per the second pic -- I've used this type on a previous bass and was very pleased with it, everything locks down solid and unmoving and it offers string-through and top-loading options. I haven't fitted it yet but will do so when I get the time. My other hardware mod was to replace the utterly rubbish bar-type string retainer with the two Hipshot items in the third pic. Much, much better. As in, loads. I would heartily recommend this mod.

I'm loving these photos, really superb closeups. Some of them almost look like futuristic cityscapes straight out of Metropolis.

Nice These are the sets we'll be playing on Saturday night, after a shorter one at the Cider, Rum & Reggae festival at Trowbridge in the afternoon.

I've downloaded KiCAD and have been having a play. Drawing a schematic was very straightforward, but it's going to take me a while to work out how to untangle the resulting rats-nest on the PCB

Ideally freeware/shareware, certainly to start with. I'm only dipping a toe in the water ATM.

Questions for any UK DIYers who design/use their own PCBs... 1. What design package do you use, and 2. where do you get them made? I understand there are quite a few prototype mfrs. out there, could do with some recommendations.

Part Of The Union - Strawbs

Alas, a lucrative dep gig on the Saturday night means that I might not now be able to make it to the SWBB after all.

Bonkers - Dizzee Rascal

Drink Up Thee Zider - Adge Cutler & the Wurzels

Dirtbox - Static X

The Portamento is the best off-the-peg fretless bass I've ever played, by some margin. I tried a 5-string one at Guitar Village once and my credit card was screaming at me the whole way home. If I had a regular fretless gig, I would get one without hesitation.

Everybody is missing the obvious choice for an English national anthem -- as proposed by the Big Yin:

Happy Ending - Mika

There's nothing worse than a politically correct dingle.

Mummy, He's Making Eyes at Me - Furman and Nash

No, you're thinking of the "Trashiest, worst-written books I have ever read" thread.

Torch Song - Marillion

Yes, very. I do hope that someone had a little chat with him about that. The sort of chat that begins with "I want a word with you" and ends in "ouch".

Yes, I think this is probably the one to have. I was hoping the Varta would do a similar job for less ££, but it seems not.

They could make their pedals a lot smaller if they didn't insist on using that silly VU meter on them.

Indeed. We've played a few Young Farmers' parties (always a scream) and college balls and so on in the past, and everything trip-overable and knock-downable has always been very securely fenced off or nailed down or both. Where there's a likelihood of high alcohol consumption by exuberant punters, I think it's the only way.

Yes, I live about a mile down the road from the rugby club

Was that the Beer & Cider festival in Nailsea?