Rich

If standing impassively was good enough for Ox, it's good enough for me.

Likewise. I love the old Trace gear, the GP12SMX is still my favourite preamp of all time, and I desperately want this new TE amp to be completely brilliant. It'll have to be, to a} replace my current Shuttle 9.2 and b} be worth the likely pricetag.

Why are they so inconsistent with the H & L phobia? If they're going to have erbs and soddering, they should have Nasvie, A$s Vegas and Phiadepia too.

Wasn't that Follow The Ostrich's second album?

Don't worry. If it strays off topic I will lock the thread quicker than you can say "the Terminator franchise, self-repairing American trucks, enigmatic band names, the early works of Kraftwerk, American avant-garde collective The Residents, cheesecake, Wantage, your first pint, the Istanbul / Constantinople dichotomy, pronunciation, bacon cookery, WW1, alooominum and Swedish flatpack furniture".

I used to have a German colleague, the first time I told him I was going shopping at Lidl (which I pronounced 'Liddle') he said "what's that?". I explained and he said "ah, you mean Leedle". IIRC 'wipers' was what the Tommies called Ypres in WW1.

Aww man, I love places like that. We have one here in town too, it's the only place I know where you can buy one M6 spring washer if you need it.

Fixed.

Kraftwerk's first album had the working title "Folge Dem Strauß" until Florian decided it would be far funnier to call it Kraftwerk instead. Brixton used to be in Wantage, but the residents complained.

Rather than bin liners, I'd suggest rubble sacks. Really tough and quite tear resistant.

Nice basses! I agree re: the VBT controls. Personally I'd keep the Strat knobs but I'd get a black control plate to match the pickguard. As far as the pickups are concerned, I would echo what others have said. Give the stock ones a good trial and only change if you really feel they're lacking.

1970 called, it wanted its derogatory names back. So I've sent them there.

Happiness is a warm soldering iron, and at least one bit-shaped minor burn.

I think the worst solo I've seen live wasn't a solo as such, but you'll see what I mean... I saw a jazz combo down at the Old Duck** in Bristol one night, the bassist had a nice old Jazz and my first impression was that he could really play. He took a solo, which was very impressive, but it became apparent that he just didn't know when to stop. He just kept doing it... he widdled away all over the sax solo, he even kept on in the drum solo, seemingly oblivious to the fact that everyone else except him had stopped. After a couple of songs of this inability to STFU, my opinion of him had totally changed, and I just wanted him to shove his nice old Jazz right up there and sod off. ** as all you Brizzlers will know, its actual name is the Old Duke... but I had a Brazilian colleague some years ago who called it 'Old Duck' and it's kind of stuck.

I wonder why?

While the Gene Simmons 'solo' posted earlier would instantly take uncontested #1 slot in a 'worst actual thing of any sort anywhere' thread. I felt embarrassed just watching it.

The Air That I Breathe - Hollies

Third Stone from the Sun - Hendrix

Likewise. The songs I use a pick on are all about either attack or speed/rhythm. Rancid's 'Time Bomb' doesn't sound aggressive enough fingerstyle, and the rhythm of The Beat's 'Mirror In The Bathroom' only really works with the regular up/down pick strokes. In terms of tone, I've never noticed a lack of bass when switching between fingers and pick. For some of the more aggressive songs, I use an SVT model on the MS-60B with a bit of grit, but even then the 'tone' controls on the model are set fairly flat. Likewise the fliptop model I use for some of the more old skool sounds.

Should I Stay Or Should I Go - Clash

No no no, you can't leave it hanging like that. C'mon, share.

I keep my basses on a stand just like this, which is in an old wardrobe. Keeps them out of the dust, out of the sunlight, out of sight. It's the perfect solution for me.