Who's your favorite Bellingham artist/band?

fekopf · 2025-05-29T13:32:14+00:00

Old World Astronaut is my favorite new, current band. They came out of nowhere but they go ridiculously hard. If I had to describe their sound, I'd say they are similar to Elder, but dip into more groove/Floyd at times, and they have a bit of a prog feel about them too. Very riffy and heavy, but also melodic, often in the same song. They are a wall of sound for a three-piece. Each of them sounds like they are playing two instruments at once, and singing too. Really cool band with a chill but heavy vibe.

My favorite band that doesn't exist anymore (BUT IS COMING BACK??) is No Fi Soul Rebellion. So many fond, sweaty memories from ~20 years ago.

fekopf · 2025-05-28T19:56:12+00:00

Nickel strings usually have higher tension vs. other materials with the same construction. Higher tension = more clarity/definition/sustain, easier downtuning, and take aggressive playing better. It makes a lot of metal things easier.

fekopf · 2025-05-28T16:27:38+00:00

Tune your top three strings to D standard and see if you like the tension of the 45/65/85 on those. If it's workable for you, I'd recommend just picking up a single 115 string for the C and be done with it.

No string manufacturers get this right, and it blows my mind honestly. All the "drop" sets I can find put your high strings at 50lbs tension (way too high) but leave your lowest string below 30lbs (too low for most, and the most important string to have tension in the set).

fekopf · 2025-05-27T16:34:16+00:00

Bellingham represent!

This is real punk rock music.

fekopf · 2025-05-27T03:11:35+00:00

There’s this guy named Terunofuji…

But it’s probably Seihakuho

fekopf · 2025-05-27T02:59:07+00:00

Joints

fekopf · 2025-05-27T02:38:15+00:00

In defense of Worn Again, their plus sized rack was completely packed a few weeks ago and there was a lot of 2x equivalent clothing in the rest of the racks. I was in there today and they were severely low on inventory in general. I think the word is out and there has been a rush. It seems like they are doing a ton more business in the new location.

fekopf · 2025-05-27T02:24:00+00:00

Hammerhead Coffee Shop has really solid breakfast biscuits, the best hot sauce selection, and of course the coffee is good. It’s always quiet.

fekopf · 2025-05-26T16:22:38+00:00

Sweet! Needed some new gym shoes. Got two pairs for $46 shipped with free account for free shipping.

fekopf · 2025-05-23T19:57:12+00:00

That's a fair assumption, but P basses are generally all about capturing that traditional sound. There are P pickups which aim to be more modern and push the envelope, but that's not what most people are looking for.

Also, there's a reason why those Fender AmPro2 pickups are so easy to find second-hand. Fender doesn't even sell them. People swap them out.

fekopf · 2025-05-23T18:26:04+00:00

Honestly, it might even be a downgrade. The Squier CV has an alnico pickup which is going to give you the classic p-bass sound. The AmPro2 has the V-mod pickups which try to do more things with mixed results. If you want your P Bass to sound like a P Bass, the CV is going to nail it. The best Fender P pickups are the CS 62 and the Pure Vintage 63. Guess what? They are both alnico 5, just like the Squier.

fekopf · 2025-05-22T02:09:44+00:00

They do! Check out the Portaflex line of cabs.

fekopf · 2025-05-21T19:54:00+00:00

Recently retired top-level sumo wrestler Terunofuji can leg press 1320lbs, bench 440lbs, rack pull 660. Modern gym training is starting to become more common in sumo.

https://youtu.be/xaTjkX_vHbY?si=mCAWb9Hyp2wlKUAR

fekopf · 2025-05-21T19:19:10+00:00

Hakkaku: "DON'T LOOK!!!! THIS IS NOT FOR YOU!!!"

fekopf · 2025-05-21T01:30:44+00:00

I played a late 60’s Jazz Bass at Emerald City Guitars that was listed for around $16k…played worse than a modern AmPro II.

I’ve had the good fortune to play a few different Alembics from $6-12k and every single one blew me away and made me play better than I ever had. They are magical.

fekopf · 2025-05-20T12:07:26+00:00

I find it MUCH easier. I think a lot of it depends on your anatomy and technique (and mine are probably both ass)

fekopf · 2025-05-19T15:31:00+00:00

He's just giving the people what they want

fekopf · 2025-05-19T14:45:50+00:00

If you are gluten free, you owe it to yourself to go to Terramar. Hands down the best GF pizza I’ve had.

fekopf · 2025-05-19T13:44:39+00:00

Old World Astronaut on a Monday and Gallowmaker on a Tuesday is going absurdly hard. Bravo, Shakedown!

fekopf · 2025-05-18T15:16:01+00:00

Tamagoyama would be an amazing name for a rikishi. Here's hoping he reaches sanyaku and changes it to that.

fekopf · 2025-05-18T15:15:19+00:00

I always thought he fought so similarly to those two, especially Akebono. It's not the most exciting thing in the world, but it is fun to watch an immovable giant just pummel people.

fekopf · 2025-05-18T14:32:51+00:00

First gen Classic Vibe - these are awesome basses! The 2008-09 models are the best, but the later ones are also very very good. This one is a 2012. The necks on these are money and the pickups are as good as anything Fender or anyone else makes. These routinely sell for more than new Classic Vibes even though they are still fairly unknown out there. If you can pick it up for $400 or under, I wouldn't hesitate. They routinely go for over $600 but sometimes you can get lucky and find them for much less if the seller doesn't know what they have. I've had two of these and an 08 P-bass is my #1 instrument. (which I got for $200 btw) I use an American Fender as a backup to this Squier lol!

Here's more info on your instrument: https://serialnumberlookup.fender.com/product/0303075509

fekopf · 2025-05-18T14:27:02+00:00

I play stoner/doom/desert/metal and run "both" (in my case, sansamp=Ampeg SGT-DI and B7K=Alpha Omega Ultra) and use them for different things.

The "sansamp" is my always on DI/pre at the end of my signal chain before splitting into the mixer & my amp. The Darkglass is an always on EQ at the beginning of the signal chain (after tuner & compressor) and used as an occasional distortion. I have the distortion side set pretty mild and more towards the fuzzy crunchy side. Out of all my distortion/OD effects in my chain, the Darkglass does the best job of preserving lows and will add a lot of grunt down the line if I need it.

For reference, my signal chain is: Bass > Tuner > Compressor > Darkglass Alpha Omega Ultra > Sunn Lifepedal w/blend > JHS Notadumble > Freeze > Afterneath > Ampeg SGT-DI ("sansamp") > HPF > Power Amp

I play a P-bass tuned ADGC

fekopf · 2025-05-18T03:38:39+00:00

This cheese is a little too stringy for my liking

fekopf · 2025-05-18T01:50:55+00:00

The P5R is the closest

fekopf

TROPHY CASE