SamIAm

I agree in part Macs are expensive, but my experience is that they last longer (A friend of mine is retiring their Macbook Air ... after 15 years!). I use a Windows machine at work, dual monitor, not quite state of the art hardware, it is not bad ... but my three year old Macbook runs rings around it! And I do love the MacOS UI and the underlying *ix OS ... after nearly 30 years working on various systems from CPM to Windows I have found "Once you go Mac you;ll never go back" ... but I accept not all feel the same. S'manth x

Nods, from my initial forrays into Mixing Station it seems more complex to setup ... but it seems that it can lead to an easier to use system ... and as you say, to allow iPhone usage it is the best (only?) route. S''manth x

Did you use the Dwarf?

I bought an XR-18 here on BC a while back, used it in anger for the first time at an open mic about 3 weeks ago. Performed to perfection! The mixer was at the side of the stage so no super long XLR cables were needed. All controlled over WiFi (via an external WiFi hub connected, the built in WiFi is near useless) from an iPad and my iPhone. Control was really not bad, tho I've sprung the huge £5 or so to get the mixing station app https://mixingstation.app/ I've yet to fully set it up, but it is much more customisable than the x-air app. S'manth x

It is like herding cats! lol S'manth x

One of my favorite bands ... sad news! S'manth x

More buttons than you ask for but this unit is quite good, rechargeable and wireless to boot and low cost.

Any single fx pedals ... go wild! I know not of this guitar or keyboard of which you speak! lol S'manth x

If that is the case (on a nurse's income) we're likely looking at just a tuner ... used! lol S'manth x

OK, so a desert island is not likely to have any power, but ... If you had to select just four effects pedals (And I'm talking single effects ... not the multi f/x units) on your pedalboard, what would they be? How would you order them in your signal chain? Why? And if you have such a setup ... share a photo S'manth x

Following the herd ... or acting on what you have heard!? S'manth x

A sensible suggestion, thank you ... I had an e-bike conversion this time last year and I loved it. However ... history ... Aug last year a fire broke out in my flat, I narrowly escaped with my life (sadly my kitties did not) and it will have taken them 13 months to reinstate it for me to move back in. The fire burned so hot that they had to cut out the concrete slab ceiling in my living room (where the firs started) as it had been warped by the heat! The cause of the fire was a Li-ion battery that went bang whilst being charged (It was one for a bass amp system, made by a reputable supplier) and sadly this is not rare; the huge amount of energy stored can be devistating if released suddenly, youtube has too many examples. As you can imagine I am ... reluctant ... to have another high capacity Li-ion device. (And am even supercautious about the smaller ones that are so pervasive in our lives).

It is all getting very excitingly real! The paperwork has gone through and I start in my new role on Monday 7-Aug; this is unthinkably fast being just two weeks after I received my official job offer, but it wonderfully exciting! They are ordering my uniforms (yuch ,,, I've been in scrubs for 4 yearwhich are easy and comfortable!) and a name badge. I'm a little sad about travel to work tho, taking the train would cost about £9 a day, even when using a season pass. The hospital has a park and ride which (If I can get a permit) will cost £15 a month, even taking into account car costs (Tho I would continue to have a car so some of this is already taken into account) and fuel for the 16 mile daily round trip I'll be much better off not going green Even if I end up paying for council parking, I'll still be better off driving ... it's mad! S'manth x

Well jel ... that is gorgeous! S'manth x

I bought one of these back in Feb to control my MOD Dwarf. It is solidly constructed, nice and small, has a built-in rechargable battery and is only about £30! https://www.amazon.co.uk/SHUAIGUO-Chocolate-Wireless-Controller-Rechargeable/dp/B0B6PG9JK9 It can take a TRS expression pedal and send to midi, it can send midi over usb or bluetooth, to do the latter they sell this (£18) https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0B37M62BB/ref=sspa_dk_detail_3 As this review points out, using the bluetooth means you can keep funky gear up off the floor. It is configured using software on a smart phone, not the easiest app to figure out ... but this fellow has produced a set of videos on how to configure it, this is the advanced custom mode one. It is not the world's most sophisticated midi controller (Which is why I'm in the process of building one myself) but it has worked well for me (Tho I only got the bluetooth adapter recently so do not have much experience of it's performance/reliability) S'manth x

@Dazed, I've also had a good look around ... but to no avail! Might I suggest entering the fray with this https://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_ukebass_fl_opnt.htm HB make great instruments in my experience and it is not too expensive (I'm even tempted to get one myself!). Whilst a 23 inch is preferable (in my experience) a 21 inch will give you a good taste and if you don't stray into the dusty top frets it's only a small difference, especially if fretless where you can adjust your fretting positions to accommodate intonation challanges. If it works for you then you might consider a more expensive Kala California (Tho I'm not sure when their new models will ship). Another route worth considering would be a bespoke build, if you're handy with DIY then a self build is viable. Solid body, fretless and (like my Kala) you can get away without a truss rod if you only use 'rubber' strings. ubass tuners are not costly, and the various other components are available off the shelf. You would not be the first ... https://www.instructables.com/Designing-and-Making-a-Bass-Ukulele/ I do recall a lass who had one custom built for her in the UK a few years back for ... I think she paid about £600, sadly I can't find the messages we swapped (So I'm not sure who did it for her), but I'd be surprised if you could not find a luthier who would be prepared, they might consider it an intriguingly unusual build. A totally different approach would be to reach out to the various ukulele specialists (Like Southern Ukulele or Hobgoblin) and ask them if they know of any ... or to keep their eye out for a used unit for you. S'manth x

@Old Horse Murphy ... what a gorgeous collection! (Even if there is not a single 5 string lol) S'manth x

Today's development was receiving a written offer of the new role ... time was when Worthing and Brighton were in two different trusts and it would take ages, but they are now in the same trust and they are doing a fasttrack internal transfer! My DBS, Occupational Health and right to work in the UK checks have already been completed ... nothing in the NHS evers goes quickly, but I guess there have to be some exceptions! Officially I'm on 4 weeks notice with ICU, but my line manager has said that they do not intend to hold me to this (At the moment they are paying for an ICU nurse who is not able to actually work in ICU, so it's no surprise). It seems that I may be in a position to start in the new role in the next 2 or 3 weeks, which is wonderful! With my increase in my weekly hours from 23 (all I could physically manage in ICU) to 37.5 (The new role is office hours and without any moving/handling of patients or heavy equipment) and a surprise that my annual pre-tax salary will go up by about £80 a month (I'd thought it was more like £80 a year!) the financial challanges of the past year will soon be just a bad memory S'manth x

This is rather nice! S'manth x

NODS ... it is insane how lovely the sounds are (and with the proper bass notes) that a uke bass can produce! S'manth x

I prefer a solid body ... and if you can get a 23 inch scale length all the better (I've a Kala, @3below has a Goldtone). I find the solid body is thinner so more comfortable for me. Having said that, whilst an acoustic body cannot really be played without an amp, I imagine that the body resonance might alter the sound ... I've never done any experimentation tho. I've never had any feedback issues, the only issue I've had is that on a uke with a single piece saddle (which sits over the piezo pickup) one can get unwanted variation in signal strength from the different strings, especially the D & G strings ... a multipiece saddle does not suffer this (One can turn a single piece saddle to a multi piece, but it is quite a fiddle) as each segment can move more freely. My 5er is B->G ... the composition of uke bass strings mean, even with the short scale length, that floppy low B strings are not an issue and I like the low range this gives me. Fretless has the advantage of allowing one to adjust for any intonation issues and can also give a lovely mwah sound! Playing a few would be of great value I suggest, sadly the Southern Ukulele Store is quite far from you, but I believe there is a Hobgoblin Music in Manchester. S'manth x

I've been fortunate to play a few. Whilst the acoustic ones are just loud enough to hear if there is no background noise, there is no way to realistic way to perform with them without an amp. Uke basses require a really (really) light touch to reduce string stretching and intonation issues, but they persist nonetheless. I've found that fretless allows me to adjust for this. Also some uke basses have a very slightly longer scale length which helps too. I know it's not for everyone, but I'm a 5 string lover. So I'd say a solid body, fretless, 5 (or 4) string with a good set of strings (Aquila Thunder Browns are brilliant) Check out https://www.youtube.com/@UkuleleWales who shares a lot of bass ukulele content as well as https://playubass.com/ And it is worth having a read through this

Nor can I ... amazing really! And to top it all, I shared the tale of it's rebirth on the Prusa Facebook page and none other than Josef Prusa got in touch and gifted me 1,000 Prusameters (their reward points)! On tope of the few I already had this allowed me to get three sppols of Prusa PETG paying only about £11 for the delivery charge! S'manth x

I bought a Prusa MK3S+ in Feb of 2021, the self build kit version which was great as I got to really understand how it works! I've used it to print a load of stuff including fidget spinners, a watercolour paint box, some Drone parts, enclosures for midi and f/x pedals and parts for my first bass guitar build; I even 3D printed a pedalboard (and plan to do so again). Paired with a small CNC I had a wonderful maker setup! In Aug 2022, 'Patty' was melted during my fire ... but she is a tough bird! A couple of months ago I printed new parts for it at my makerspace (also assisted by the very kind @rwillett) and she is up and running again! The whole idea of needing something that is hard to find or is custom, being able to design it in software (I use Fusion 360) and then printing it is just mind blowing! There are faster 3D printers around, but the Prusa is tough and reliable in my experience. S'manth x