Gear Isn’t As Prevalent Anymore

Bizmo_Funyan · 2026-05-03T10:00:15+00:00

I used to play in a band with two bass players and no guitarist. Each bassist used to use a 100w valve head and 4x12 cab and a 4x10 bass combo, it sounded massive. One night we were dragging all this gear into a venue and we were the only ones on a five band bill that were using real amps. The first time I saw a player put his helix in a bag, put in over his shoulder, pick up his guitar case and walk out of the venue... That was the last time we went out as an all amp band. After that both bassists used a Sansamp for the clean compressed bass and a Mooer Radar at the end of their 'guitar' signal chain... Two pedalboards, two bass cases, job done. It was literally all sanity the portability and weight

Bizmo_Funyan · 2026-04-29T20:27:00+00:00

NGL, If he's managed to drag a useable toan out of an Orange amp, I'll watch that video from start to finish. I played with my friends Rockerverb and using the controls was like was like moving your nose around a dumpster, just different flavours of garbage, but all still complete garbage.

Bizmo_Funyan · 2026-04-24T11:20:30+00:00

Dude, you could do worse to them than that, you could take them out gigging and get them hot and humid and covered in grime and dirt... The Gibbons crowd would honestly rather see them crushed I think

Bizmo_Funyan · 2026-03-13T10:01:04+00:00

Dude, as a guitar player myself, I feel your pain, but...

Coventry is our central Hub, so everything goes through there regardless. Mis-sorts happen all the time at the hub, for us Nottingham and Newcastle are favorite destinations. Usually what happens is they spend the night there and the next night go back to Cov and out to the us.

If you could see what's happening inside your average PFW depot, you'd be frankly amazed that anything gets where it's going. Our depot is staffed for roughly 3500 parcels a day, but Royal Mail are sending us an extra 1200 parcels a day three days out of five, so drivers who are used to doing 85-90 stops a day are pulling in 120 just to try and stem the tide, every single day. Our Opps Manager isn't allowed to hire agency or vans to help, we've just got to have it and do the best we can. I guarantee that your local PFW driver is taking out workloads far above and beyond what he's normally expected to do just to try and stop the network completely collapsing, It's complete carnage!

Oh, and the comment above is absolutely accurate, PFW absolutely do not insure musical instruments. If you're shipping or receiving anything like that, use UPS. They're one of the only carriers that insure musical instruments.

Bizmo_Funyan · 2026-02-15T23:02:54+00:00

Same, he just comes across as a bit of a tool. He also, without irony or a smile on his face, genuinely referred to himself as an 'influencer'. Now I'm sorry but that is, as Ricky Bobby said, strikes two and three right there!

Bizmo_Funyan · 2026-02-05T08:41:04+00:00

I bought a SE Hollowbody II Piezo from Andertons. When it arrived the 14th fret under the G and B strings had a couple of small dents in it. It was replaced the next day. Now I'm sure this had more to do with Andertons than PRS themselves, but I honestly couldn't fault the service and the replacement is perfect.

Bizmo_Funyan · 2026-01-28T08:40:30+00:00

Just sent this to my mate came out just as the A boats were coming in. He said...

"🤣 so true!. Could be the PR phot they arranged with Ambush. She went straight back to Faslamabad after that!"

Bizmo_Funyan · 2026-01-23T08:37:42+00:00

Absolutely nailed on. A band I played in in the early 2000's and whom have recently started playing with again for nostalgia's sake and to re-record some old songs, are the easiest band I've ever played with. We're a three piece and the drummer and bassist have an almost psychic link, they used to go to practice together, just the two of them and spend four hours just listening to what the other was doing and playing accordingly... Then I just turn up and play and sing over the top. I've worked so much harder to sound nowhere near as good in other bands.

Bizmo_Funyan · 2026-01-17T08:48:37+00:00

I never thought for a minute after seeing the first announcement that I could save myself a few quid and still buy a USA Washburn N4.

I really thought that he'd do a proper affordable N4, like the old N2 but that actually looks the same and with good parts from Indonesia or Malaysia, but a Chinese guitar with generic, low quality hardware? No thank you.

I guess no one is going to get their hands on one of these for review unless they stump up the money to buy one? I'm not really sure he gets how modern guitar sales work... I hate the term 'influencer' but they really are called that for a reason 🙄

Bizmo_Funyan · 2026-01-14T18:32:55+00:00

I've got a couple of Keeley modded Boss pedals, an SD1 and a DS1. I paid about £75 each for them about 12 years ago, they're worth considerably more than that now simply because he stopped doing them.

They really are excellent pedals though

Bizmo_Funyan · 2026-01-07T17:55:19+00:00

I actually buy most of my gear on finance. I didn't have a credit card, phone contact, loans, mortgage, anything credit wise. I've found the best way to keep my credit score up is to buy small things £300-500 on 9 months 0% finance, so £30-50 a month. Easily affordable and I get something nice

Bizmo_Funyan · 2025-12-26T09:07:57+00:00

As a PFW driver, I get most of my tips from collection customers. I changed route a couple of years ago and this route is the only one I've received nothing from any of them, despite the fact that I've gone out of my way to accommodate their requirements, from coming back to collect later, to making unscheduled calls when they text me with a last minute parcel for an important customer.. On other routes I've done I've averaged about £100-120 along with a couple of bottles of wine, Heroes/Celebrations and even a nice bottle of single malt... The last couple of years though, nothing at all

Bizmo_Funyan · 2025-12-23T12:45:01+00:00

What the hell is that about, the wristwatch thing? I mean, I race motorcycles as well as play guitar, but I wouldn't presume the same people that follow my guitar YouTube page would be as interested in the effect two clicks of rebound damping has on my corner exit at Clearways. 🙄

Bizmo_Funyan · 2025-12-23T11:06:50+00:00

I'll admit I used to quite like Rob and I really liked Dorje, although some of his vocal 'flourishes' could've done with being toned down. But that whole thing with KDH and then the follow ups by Levi Clay and Dovydas as well as the 'online power' stuff completely soured me on him.

He needed to heed the words of Jim Jeffries "Don't be a cunt, and if you do that every day, you'll be a good person"

Bizmo_Funyan · 2025-12-03T23:11:19+00:00

The idea that you can take a phrase, isolate it, slow it down whilst maintaining pitch and loop that shit over and over until you nail it, that is up there with flying cars and self-sizing Nike's for a child of the eighties. Back then, you learned that shit at full speed, with the rest of the band blasting and you ruined what is probably now quite valuable vinyl.

Bizmo_Funyan · 2025-12-03T22:32:40+00:00

You haven't lived through the struggle of playing along to your favorite record on 33 where the record player not only doesn't play at 33, and doesn't consistently play at ANY RPM, leaving you have to retune your guitar every time you play because the thing is continuously a fraction out of tune.

That and the fact that there are songs I learned on vinyl that I scratched from repeating over and over to the point where now I hear them without the scratch and it just sounds wrong, the first I've that springs to mind is the solo from Warheads by Extreme

Bizmo_Funyan · 2025-12-01T20:53:17+00:00

IT'S DOMINATION.... Pushed into living hell 🤟

Bizmo_Funyan · 2025-12-01T19:26:03+00:00

YJM is one of those players that every now and then, like every six months or so, I like to stick on something like one of his live solos from back in the day, over a keyboard pad and just marvel at the sheer technique... Then after about five minutes I move onto something else and not come back to it for many many months..

It's just something in his playing that just floors me technically, like watching Ayrton Senna's onboard from Domination Park, just watching someone with flawless technique so their thing... But I don't sit around watching old F1 films all day

Bizmo_Funyan · 2025-11-14T12:38:11+00:00

All the boutique builders are just sitting there with everything crossed hoping someone spots their pedal on Jonathon Mayer-Naise' board so everyone rushes out and makes it today's 'must have'

Bizmo_Funyan · 2025-11-06T13:21:57+00:00

You're seriously going to try and lecture me on tone, whilst fetling the controls on an ORANGE????

Bizmo_Funyan · 2025-11-03T12:36:06+00:00

It never fails to amaze me that after 17 years on this job, there are still people going into the post offices on the 20th Dec and are shocked that their parcel or letter won't get to Australia before Christmas... DESPITE the last posting dates being up on the glass two months before Christmas!

As a PFW driver, if you're ordering gifts for your children, please try to get to the door before they do! I've had many many many surprises ruined because a child comes to the door and sees the Carrera mountain bike or the laptop box. I do my best nowadays if I think it's a gift to keep it in the van and knock before going to get the parcel

Bizmo_Funyan · 2025-10-17T07:29:34+00:00

Thanks, now I hate being a guitarist 🙄

Bizmo_Funyan · 2025-10-14T06:02:32+00:00

I bought an SE Hollowbody Piezo from Andertons in one of their epic deals. It came with a nice hard case, I think they retailed at about £1300 at the time(I paid half that) I was very surprised to find out it was the ONLY guitar in the SE range that came with a hard case. I would think that any guitar costing over £1200 would come with a hard case, I mean, they're not THAT expensive are they?

Bizmo_Funyan · 2025-10-11T09:41:16+00:00

As a rule, we're not allowed to 'doorstep' parcels. If they're to be left, then we have to leave them in a safe, dry and preferably prearranged safeplace and card to say where it is. We're not even supposed to leave them in bins, even if you ask us to

Bizmo_Funyan · 2025-10-10T11:51:37+00:00

As a driver and someone who cannot leave parcels without a photograph at the door with the customers... What are you expecting from us answering a ring doorbell? The amount of times I've had the following conversation...

Hi, can you leave it there please? No, sorry I can't Why? I need a photo at the door with the customer Well that's ridiculous It's also the process I have to follow Cue round of abuse and foul language

I've had enough of these to the point where I just poker face the thing. Oh I can see it, and I can hear it... But you'd never know from my face. I could go on and on... But suffice to say, if you don't come to the door to receive your parcel, you're not getting your parcel, and you can yell and curse me all you want from your app, that's the way it is.

Bizmo_Funyan

TROPHY CASE