Recent content by senp5f

Right now I’m in the buy new camp, but have had perfectly fine experiences buying used, especially here on the classifieds. In the past you could pick up used stuff for more like 50-70% the price of new gear, but these days it feels like used prices are structurally higher - like 70-85% of new...

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/MB112-II The GK MB112 is hard to beat. It will handle band duty as long as you're not working with a really loud drummer. And it's expandable with their powered extension cabs. I highly recommend it.

I saw BB in the late 90s. He sat, but he was still great. I've avoided seeing Willie Nelson for this reason. His music is far too dear to me to see him in a diminished state. To me he'll always be the Red Headed Stranger, even if that no longer exists. That's what we mean when we say "Recording...

This is tough. It's true that this status is sometimes applied to people unfairly. For example, during high school, some friends dared me to streak though video store in our small town. I did it, and didn't get caught. If I had gotten caught, I very well could have been arrested and labeled as a...

USA made Music Man instruments are not cheap -- you are looking at $1,200-$1,400 new. Used they can easily be had for $800-$900. Music Man makes an import line called "Sterling by Music Man" (which is VERY CONFUSING) which is more affordable but still quite nice. Search the classifieds and eBay...

Short answer: Sterling has a smaller body, jazz bass width nut and a ceramic pickup that is hotter and more "in your face." It also has a three way switch that allows you to run the pup in parallel (like a StingRay), in hum-cancelled single coil (sounds like a soloed J kind of) or in series...

I'd think long and hard before doing anything permanent. I'd also want to see if there were other ways I could feel musically fulfilled -- a different instrument, a new kind of project, etc. That said, my father was semi-pro trumpet player his whole life. Last year he had this strange bacterial...

Ah, well, in that case it's more likely just a personality thing. Some people are quiet and introverted, even among the top tiers of bands. They wanna talk through their bass, you know? Also, some players might feel like they should leave the networking and such to bandleaders. It also could be...

Congrats! I can't believe you picked up that bass for that price. What a steal!

I think it's specific to punk and to a lesser extent most modern rock. A lot of times, the bass player is just some dude who can sorta play guitar who has been drafted into the position. When you see some of the really memorable players -- Mark Hoppus, Mike Dirnt, etc -- you have to remember...

I love bass. I love BBQ. And yet somehow it is only now that I have realized that Sterling Ball, owner of Music Man, is a competitive BBQ pitmaster and has a side business selling grills and rubs and such. https://www.bigpoppasmokers.com/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqadgqT6HSQ...

I think the MASTER of bass playing BBQ pit masters would have to be Sterling Ball, the owner of EBMM. He competes in BBQ contests all over the place and opened up a web store where he sells grills and rubs and such: https://www.bigpoppasmokers.com/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqadgqT6HSQ

In this day and age, "singer songwriter" implies a whiny/schmaltzy person with an acoustic guitar and/or piano and too much time on his hands to brood and/or candy-coated triteness incarnate. Many of them are boring, and some are extremely diva-ish (gender makes no difference). It is not...

We usually just tell 'em that our memories are foggy on requests until we see a little money go into the tip jar...then the fog magically clears. But if you want to know how to handle a rowdy crowd, listen to Johnny Cash play San Quentin Prison in 1969. There are times when it sounds like a...

I think they take the VAT pretty seriously in Europe. I don't know how they'd check, but they probably have some sort of declaration you have to make. You could probably get away with it once, though. I'd be game to try. On the OP's question, Americans often have more disposable income to...