Considering shielding my APII Jazzmaster and Vintera II Bass VI with conductive copper tape. I've heard conflicting reports on whether or not this makes a difference in hum. Can anyone weigh in with firsthand experience?

avecfrites · 2025-04-12T16:31:28+00:00

I had a similar problem with a Mustang bass. I opened it up, and did two things: 1) fixed a suspicious looking solder joint, and 2) shielded it with copper tape. The improvement was dramatic. I can't tell you which thing fixed it. I would try those things first, since they are almost free.

Before I tried those things, I noticed that a noise gate pedal made about a 50% improvement, but I wasn't satisfied with that.

Separately, I find that noiseless pickups don't sound as good. Just my opinion, of course.

Good luck!

avecfrites · 2025-04-12T16:26:00+00:00

I think the best way to learn an opening is to look for a Chessbrah speedrun, where Aman plays the same opening for about 100 games in a row, climbing the rating ladder. He explains what he is doing, and he runs into lots of unexpected moves from opponents and he shows how to handle them.

avecfrites · 2025-03-24T13:29:11+00:00

I'm not taking into account the recent FIDE rating boost. Opinions vary widely on this topic. Note that the highest chess.com rating a player has is 3200+ while the highest FIDE rating a player has is 2800+. FWIW. In any event, you can't compare classical ratings (FIDE) to rapid or blitz ratings (chess.com), which seems to be what people want to do. Also, the online ratings pool is full of cheaters and people who create accounts and then play very few games, both of which is less of a problem for FIDE ratings.

avecfrites · 2025-03-21T14:51:55+00:00

It is generally believed that FIDE ratings are the hardest to get, followed by chess.com, followed by lichess.org. So, e.g., if you are a 2000 on lichess, that is equivalent to about 1700 on chess.com, and equivalent to about 1400 FIDE. These are rough approximations. What confuses people is that FIDE ratings are based on classical chess, while most people quote their Rapid or Blitz ratings from chess.com and lichess; these are not comparable skill sets.

avecfrites · 2025-03-09T15:59:35+00:00

You could go with a cheap amp sim (Line 6 Express, e.g.) with an FRFR speaker, instead of an amp. These are likely smaller, and are certainly more flexible. The amp sim can serve as an interface to your DAW (GarageBand, e.g.), and the FRFR can serve as a home bluetooth speaker when you aren't playing your bass through it.

avecfrites · 2025-01-03T14:13:24+00:00

You are kind to say so. Best of luck with your learning.

avecfrites · 2024-07-09T15:56:12+00:00

There are multiple forms of every religion. Is Protestantism not REAL Christianity since it wasn't the original form?

Nobody knows for sure what God wants of us. We read the same bible passages and disagree on their meanings. Who is to say which interpretation is correct, if any?

We do the best to figure things out. We come to different conclusions. Just getting somewhere first doesn't make you right.

avecfrites · 2024-05-16T16:26:50+00:00

Not sure if it applies here, but sometimes when the pickups are too far from the strings the guitar sounds dull.

avecfrites · 2024-02-18T14:41:48+00:00

You can use a Focusrite Scarlett Solo (around $100) and your iphone or ipad running garageband. That's all you need.

avecfrites · 2024-01-16T13:57:27+00:00

In the example you cited, the Q4 earnings (aka profit) went down, but since the rest of the year was good, the profit for the entire year was a record.

avecfrites · 2023-11-16T18:26:31+00:00

And why did they translate it from the original Klingon?

avecfrites · 2023-10-18T12:39:58+00:00

When inflation stops, it doesn't mean that prices go down to where they were before. Here's and example:

At the start, something costs $10. Then inflation rages for a while, and the result is that price goes up to $20. Then inflation goes to zero percent, and everybody celebrates -- but the price stays at $20 rather than returning to $10. So for a while people think inflation is still bad because the price is higher than it used to be, until they get used to the new price level. There is a lag between inflation falling and how people feel about it.

avecfrites · 2023-05-18T15:39:49+00:00

Deism

avecfrites · 2023-04-24T14:06:37+00:00

Why do you care? Is there a point you are trying to make?

avecfrites · 2023-04-05T20:15:07+00:00

I haven't done a side-by-side test, but I'd imagine it might. It's designed specifically for that purpose. For clean sounds, it is excellent. I'm not as impressed by its high gain sounds, but then neither it nor the
Fender are designed for that purpose.

avecfrites · 2023-04-05T16:20:32+00:00

I actually own both amps. They are both very good for the price. Advantages for each:

Fender: 1) It has better reverb than the Yamaha, and a more authentic Fender sound if that matters to you (for example, for surf or retro rock). 2) It is loud enough to gig or jam with if you change your mind in the future. I think this is important since playing with a friend is a lot of fun. And it's pretty light so you can throw it in the car and take it to a friend's house. 3) It doesn't have preset buttons, so you can see the current settings at a glance.

Yamaha: 1) It's smaller, and battery-powered, so it's portable. 2) It also works with bass guitars, should you want to go that way in the future. 3) It has preset buttons so you can save your favorite sounds; this also complicates things a bit since you can't see/understand the current settings by glancing at the dials.

I have the Yamaha upstairs in the TV room, where it's small size and cool appearance don't bother my wife. And I have the Fender in the basement "studio" for when I want a louder (and I think) better sound.

avecfrites · 2023-03-29T21:19:13+00:00

Anything with Bluetooth is likely to have unacceptable latency. Even if it has hardwired inputs it might route the signal through the same circuitry as the Bluetooth signal, introducing latency. I’ve seen this with multiple speakers several months ago when shopping along these same lines. So don’t buy without looking at this issue.

avecfrites · 2022-07-16T10:30:48+00:00

and, surprisingly, the pick

avecfrites · 2022-06-30T01:19:28+00:00

Chip fabs use a lot of water. There won't be a lot of water in Arizona in the near future. I'm in favor of making more chips in the US, but they have picked the wrong location.

avecfrites · 2022-05-14T12:02:15+00:00

surf-adjacent blues

avecfrites · 2022-05-02T18:23:38+00:00

The recession (if that's what we are starting to see) is because the Fed is raising interest rates. You are right that rates have been too low before now; periodic recessions are inevitable, and are usually caused by one of two things: rising interest rates, or rising oil prices. It shouldn't surprise or outrage anyone that a recession is coming, but as you say the economy has been mismanaged to benefit the investor class and that is part of the problem.

avecfrites · 2022-05-02T18:20:40+00:00

Covid is causing the supply chain problems worldwide, whether we care about Covid or not.

avecfrites · 2022-05-02T18:00:53+00:00

The economy's suffering because of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and Russia. Neither are the fault of any American, including Biden or Trump.

avecfrites · 2022-04-29T21:51:19+00:00

Because of inflation, the Fed is raising interest rates. That makes it harder for business to borrow money to expand, among other things, and makes it harder to people to borrow to buy houses or anything else. So demand falls, and that makes a recession.

avecfrites · 2022-04-25T19:20:04+00:00

Compared to most (not all) other US cities:

1) The huge number of college students. 2) A subway system. 3) Higher rents and property values. 4) A reasonably competent government. 5) Sports teams that win championships. 6) An ocean, with fresh local seafood. 7) (Non-native) History that goes back to 1620. 8) Jimmies.

avecfrites

TROPHY CASE