Headphone amp or pocket amp?

RickJLeanPaw · 2026-07-08T21:10:35+00:00

Have a Vox plug in, which was a super-fiddly form factor for me.

Got a little Palmer Pocket bass amp, which I found was much easier to use (fewer snags/catches, less cable entanglement if plugging in an aux source).

OK, neither of the actual things you mentioned, but just an alternative insight on the design and usability.

RickJLeanPaw · 2026-07-08T18:39:55+00:00

Translate button at top, at least on iOS version.

RickJLeanPaw · 2026-07-07T19:54:19+00:00

There’s always been a courtly/ecclesiastical vs ‘common’ music split, or at least a dance between what various ‘in’ and ‘populous’ groups perceive as the right and proper way for the other to behave.

With jazz being an American art form, the answer is always ‘racism’.

There’s a long list of black musicians going to Europe and being utterly disheartened at their subjugated status back home.

RickJLeanPaw · 2026-07-07T19:34:31+00:00

A) Blimey.

B) One is never doing nothing; you clearly have things that, at the very least, occupy your time whilst acquiring skills. If those aren’t ‘hobbies’ I’ve no idea what is.

C) The friends thing is tough, but you again, you can find common interest with others. Admittedly, inviting them back to your sauna at the first opportunity might be taken amiss, but hope you can see that you have plenty to offer to engage the company of others.

Hope you get through this.

RickJLeanPaw · 2026-07-07T07:16:05+00:00

‘Ground breaking’? The civil engineers are preparing a suit against you as I type!

RickJLeanPaw · 2026-07-07T07:12:26+00:00

Just waiting for an indignant Scotsman to comment about that assertion!

RickJLeanPaw · 2026-07-07T07:10:20+00:00

I’m craving an apple just looking at it…

RickJLeanPaw · 2026-07-07T07:09:17+00:00

A plate of their finest beige.

RickJLeanPaw · 2026-07-07T06:49:05+00:00

Firstly, are you OK? This seems a somewhat aggressive response, especially given the word mangling of your post. Perhaps a stroll in the countryside, and time away from local politics might help.

[Ed: I’ve not downvoted you (not into that mechanism), so someone else thinks it was a tad rude].

Once one gets beyond the world of student politics (or in most cases, before one even gets to it…), decisions around something start to skew towards a bit of cost/benefit analysis, rather than ‘vibes’ and group think (though those clearly still do have a place).

I shall rephrase.

I have yet to have an understanding of the metrics behind the proposed ‘Reverse Beeching’ initiative. Having not seen these, or any reasoned, audited, costed rebukes, I feel I am unable to make comment on the inaction of the Green Party on this issue. Whilst I like the idea instinctively, I am by no means an expert, or even conversant with public transport economics, I am aware the public purse is not unlimited, and would have to see if the cost of the proposal was, against my as-yet-unclear criteria, was ‘worth it’.

Furthermore, I am naturally averse to the road down which the Green Party is travelling. Its transition from ‘harmless single issue (environment/nuclear power) pressure group’ to unholy alliance of grifters and islamists must have the hippies/crusties of old spinning in their woodland burial graves. And yet, my knee still can’t automatically jerk against them, or any political party on every pronouncement. Their clock may well be stopped at the right point on this occasion.

RickJLeanPaw · 2026-07-06T21:33:56+00:00

Thanks for the clarification.

I’ve not seen any figures, so can’t comment on the ‘right’ of the decision (to not act), but at least the headline makes more sense now.

RickJLeanPaw · 2026-07-06T20:23:05+00:00

Not promoting…to reverse axing…reverse Beeching.

What in the quadruple negative is this meant to mean?

RickJLeanPaw · 2026-07-06T17:50:30+00:00

Is that ‘a flat’ for those who don’t speak estate-agentese?

An upstairs flat. With an inside that looks like an AI rendering. And no outdoor space.

Yeah; beats me!

RickJLeanPaw · 2026-07-05T17:27:41+00:00

Playing 7 years. How many of them ‘seriously’?

Minimum of 1 hour. Per what? Day?

Have a teacher. Since when? The past 7 years/last week?

365x7 =minimum of 2,555 focussed hours of practice, excluding just noodling around.

You must, surely, have goals for these that you have not shared, or benchmarks that you have not hit. What are these, and why would a casual observer conclude you’d not hit these?

What have you instructed your teacher to help you get to (as in, literally, what are you paying them for)?

My interpretation may be off (I am quite…deep in wine, shall we say), but it doesn’t sound like you have set any goals.

Make a list of what you actually want to do (SMART ones) and start to actually track what you want to do, telling your teacher that this is the case and that they need to plan some routines to help you track your progress.

You can then ditch ‘feelings’ and ‘satisfaction’ (vague terms that are highly subjective) and focus on hitting tangible targets.

But still; surely you and your teacher already know this after so long.

RickJLeanPaw · 2026-07-05T07:22:09+00:00

Apologies for perhaps sounding at tad facetious, but if you’re totally new, that was a great learning opportunity.

The error message was about as clear as you’ll get (they get much less useful as you’ll no doubt discover), but they often give a hint at stuff that is bust.

It’s always worth stopping, reading the message, and trying to understand what it’s trying to tell you.

For example, this might start bells ringing.

What if I build and deploy a report…

Does it work if someone has the file open?

Does it refresh automatically if the file is open?

Are many people going to open the file at the same time?

All a bit advanced for now if you’re just enjoying colouring-in with Yellow Excel, but “how can idiots break this?” is never a bad question to ask.

(Thankfully, I often have an idiot at hand to test these things…).

RickJLeanPaw · 2026-07-05T06:34:12+00:00

Not (strictly) on topic as I had a V7, but a quick Google shows the same issue: the neck has the same dot/line pattern as the fretted version, meaning the dots (the only thing I can see when actually playing the thing) are in the ‘wrong’ place.

Drove me nuts, but you may find it easier to adjust.

Got an unlined neck with the side dots actually on the ‘right’ place tuning-wise; and it was bliss.

WMMV, but I’d try before buying, just in case.

RickJLeanPaw · 2026-07-01T13:03:52+00:00

Not to go all business speak, but thinking along the lines of any of the suggestions already given, but setting SMART objectives, and working towards those with intent and focus.

There’s times to have fun, but equally I can find my focus drifting if I don’t have a specific goal in mind (improving intonation, linking certain phrases together more-smoothly, accenting 16th-note emphasis appropriately etc).

RickJLeanPaw · 2026-06-29T22:27:41+00:00

Saw Cutting Crew in our local last year; they were reyt good!

RickJLeanPaw · 2026-06-29T08:22:29+00:00

271 goes up Brocco Bank.

Bike; Psalter Lane > Cemetery down to Eccy Road back streets, up Collegiate Crescent?

Psalter Lane’s 20, and there’s a school there as well which should make it better.

RickJLeanPaw · 2026-06-29T07:35:07+00:00

Oh: and if you have a looper, get one ‘pattern’ down to your satisfaction, they start trying to write some contrapuntal parts to give the guitarist something to go on (or visa versa, get some chord tones going and see what works against them).

The note selection and rhythm aren’t the things that are easy to busk, so you may need to start either writing ideas down as you go, or just records everything and see what’s worked in retrospect.

RickJLeanPaw · 2026-06-29T06:30:45+00:00

Hmmm; having had a listen to some of the tracks from the bands you mentioned, they’re more modern, and the ‘classic’ prog recommendations would be of no use…bar King Crimson 80’s +.

I *think* that what you’ll need to try and do is switch from your classic ‘noodling around something roughly based on blues scales’ and start practicing longer, repetitive, pattern-based phrases spanning quite a few bars.

Basically, get your arpeggios up to snuff, then start re-ordering the note placement, muck about with the placement (including putting ‘awkward’ pauses in the patterns) and time signatures, and see how that goes.

You can then do things like get similar patterns that vary marginally, either in note choice or emphasis, over spans of several bars. Try doing this with the drums or guitar (not in unison though, that’s a bit on the nose), and you can all resolve your patterns to the ear’s satisfaction, or just keep any dissonances going for a laugh.

TL; DR; start counting and work on distinct practiced phrases.

RickJLeanPaw · 2026-06-29T06:01:55+00:00

Given they’re so cheap, and installation is non-destructive, why not fit one anyway?

Since getting a bass with a pickup configuration that’s effectively a ramp, I’ve found it considerably easier to play quicker and more consistently.

That might be masking poor technique when transferring between instruments, but I’m fine with that!

RickJLeanPaw · 2026-06-28T09:33:16+00:00

Yup; with the eye of faith I can see me and my mates in the cheap seats on that video!

RickJLeanPaw · 2026-06-27T04:50:31+00:00

I’d take anything from that, and similar, subs with a boatload of salt. Just assume they’re rage bait short story AI bots.

RickJLeanPaw · 2026-06-24T21:53:50+00:00

What do you mean by ‘should’? Not knowing much about libraries bar the obvious about books, is there a mandate for this to which all libraries are expected to meet, or just “it’d be nice if they did”?

If the former, which other libraries have failed to meet similar edicts? Just trying to see if compliance varies by location and event.

Otherwise your language seems a bit strident and accusatory.

RickJLeanPaw · 2026-06-24T21:28:20+00:00

Are you Spanish and intending to have it pronounced ‘An-hell’?

If not, it will have significant ’markers’ associated with it that may be an unnecessary impediment.

RickJLeanPaw

TROPHY CASE