The box's drum and bass levels are controlled by volume knobs, so I can turn down the box's bass or turn it off completely so it's just giving me drums.
I guess it's made more for guitar, but I'm having fun with it with the bass. I'll try it with guitar soon, too.
My other recent purchase:
A friend was selling it for cheap. I figure it could sound extra surfy with my Blues Jr.
Nice!!!
So, I have this pretty new guitar. But all I have to carry it around in is a cheap gig bag with no discernible padding. I only take it out of the house to go to lessons - at the moment - and it's never out of my sight. If I do start gigging with it at some point, I'll treat it like, well, like an expensive musical instrument.
Should I get a better gig bag (suggestions welcome)? A hard case (suggestions welcome)? Just sling it over my shoulder and look like a cool dude?
In reply to Keith Tanner:
I'm not sure if they make them for guitar, but I have a Mono soft case/bag for my nicer bass that I love. It actually protects better than a standard hard case, while being lighter and more versatile.
In reply to Keith Tanner:
For some reason this one really appeals to me
That checker is very ska 
I dig that.
Mono does make cases for guitars as well. Interesting concept.
Padded gig bags seem easier to carry about since most have backpack-like straps, but I have my good guitars in hard cases since that's how they came.
During this week's guitar lesson we just played with the Trio. My instructor, who's also the owner of our local shop, keeps his in the lesson room. He loves it. In fact, the drum machine is no longer in that room.
I asked about getting bored with it. Not yet, he said. Randy (that's his name) went to music school, was in a "real" touring/signed band for years, has gigged locally for many years, and can play anything. It's really amazing. He can do Duran Duran one second, Dead Kennedys the next, and then something totally different the next. Name a genre and he'll nail it.
A real drummer can't do this, he said, while rotating the knob from Rock to Reggae to Jazz.
Just for kicks, we queued up the Trio several times while playing the same chord progression. Each time the machine gave us something cool to play with, but it wasn't the same thing each time.
TL;DR: I feel like I have barely, barely touched the surface with this thing.
Keith Tanner wrote: That checker is very ska
I'd really describe my Mono as more like a slightly flexible case vs a true gig bag. Once you remove the instrument it's still a rigid case, it's just flexible which helps absorb the shock of any impacts. Plus the padding on the heel is extra thick.
The neck is positively secured in place with a wide Velcro strap, that also has a zippered storage pouch on the front(I use mine for earplugs), to a thick contoured dense foam block - the neck doesn't go anywhere while in transport.
There's a 2nd zippered pouch on the outside at the headstock that's larger. With a bag/case like this you normally stand it upright to remove your instrument, so this pouch is a handy place for tuners, to store your phone, etc. since it's easy to reach with your instrument on.
On the outside, where the case rests against your back, is a slot for sliding sheet music or other documents into. You can't really cram anything large into it, preventing back discomfort, which seems like a good thing.
The main pouch on the front is huge. It has a Velcro strap for looping cables, and you can really cram it full of whatever - it will hold 5 or 6 average size Boss or DOD pedals and their cables easily, and still have room left over. There's also another smaller zippered pouch inside this one that flips out for easier access.
If that's still not enough room and/or you're ok with giving yourself back problems, Mono sells an accessory bag called the Tick that hooks onto the outside of the instrument bag, and is about the size of a kid's backpack. Oh and for bass at least, they sell a version of their bag that will carry two basses...so you could pretty easily load up everything you'd need for a gig into the case except your amp/cabinet.
They're not cheap - I bought the M80 which was around $150 - but they're well worth it if you have a instrument you're concerned about keeping nice and/or are gigging regularly, particularly in a large city where parking can be an issue.
Keith,
This is what I use for my strat. I originally bought it for my cheap peavey electric that the gigbag was mostly just dust protection. It is not the strongest case ever, but it it pretty good and is cheap. Musician's Friend has free shipping on all orders. :) I will say though, that the my guitar does slide around a little bit in there, but I don't think there's any chance of the headstock getting bumped with the amount of movement that it has. Musician's Friend Hard Case
I have also tried the bass version of the Musician's Friend ABS hard case. This is what I keep my 5-string bass in. It is pretty decent as well. The plastic has some flex, I would not say that it is as tough as my plastic ovation case. (Really tough case.) But it is good and again, pretty cheap. This version does also have velcro to secure the neck as well.
Musician's Friend ABS Hard Case
Since you have a strat, I would also consider a strat specfic hard case like this one, but personally I kinda like the flexibility of being able to put multiple type of guitars in one case since I have a few. ;)
Impulse buy!
I have had my eye out for one of these lil guys since they were on closeout for $99 years ago. I kicked myself for not buying one then. 6 years and $40 later I found one on craigslist.
Great base for modifications. Not sure what I have in mind, but I wouldn't be surprised if a Bitmo kit to turn it into an outboard reverb unit is in its future.
For those in Top Gear withdrawal, here's a half hour of James May lovingly assembling a Strat whilst being James May.
"Here's an interesting screwdriver fact for people that are interested in screwdrivers."
Jumper K. Balls wrote: In reply to Keith Tanner: For some reason this one really appeals to me Checked strat/tele/offset case
I fell for the checkered case. Too cool, and now that it's arrived - definitely strong enough for my needs.
However, I immediately learned something about myself. I must have had a saxophone in the past that had a handle on the end of the case - probably a bari. I keep swinging the case up and reaching for the handle to stand it on end...and the handle isn't there. I swear I did this the first time I picked the case up, and every time after that.
So I bought a $10 Fender case handle and screwed it on there. Aaaaah, much better.
This is my life. I can't even buy a guitar case without having to modify it.
I do like the look of that case, and the price is comparable to others so it may be on my list next time I need one. It kinda matches the color scheme of my strat too.
Bought a used acoustic over the weekend at the big GC sale. Looks almost brand new, played nice. Yamaha FG700S. Simple, works, no pics. Glad to be playing again.
Some bits for the Bian-caster showed up
So I put 'em together. I went with GFS Liverpool retrotrons. She wanted jangly and shoegaze appropriate.
Hopefully I can talk the painter in to finishing up the body this week.
So you're having it painted by the same guys who do, you know, restored vintage Ferraris? Should be pretty nice 
I swear I'm going to attach the pick guard to this thing with wing nuts. I decided to play with shielding, adding a GFS aluminum pickguard shield and aluminum tape in the body. The pieces that overlap on the face of the body are intended to be an electrical path between the pickguard shield and the body. I also added a different trem block (probably a waste of time and not a perfect fit) and swapped over to some different strings to try them out. It's fun circling in to the sound I'm looking for and finding out what does what.
Yep. Same guy who painted the epi bass. I am sure the top of the line Sikkens stuff we use is probably overkill. I need to spur him to get him moving on it.
I just tore apart and shielded the bass yesterday! I used plain old 3M aluminum ducting tape from lowes depot. I did a test and stuck three pieces together and tested it for continuity with my meter and it checked out so I lined the cavity and pickguard with it. I am stunned by how much of a difference it made.
Yup, I just grabbed my roll of aluminum foil tape off the wall. Made for a pretty easy job. I never realized how much hum was in the thing to start with. It was definitely worth the effort, although the aluminum shield plate (basically a pick guard made of thin aluminum sheet) does stand the pick guard off the surface of the guitar slightly. I might replace it with some extra tape on the back of the guard instead. For $8.95, it was worth a shot.
The GFS trem block was a failure. On my Squier Affinity, it was a game changer. On a fairly new American Standard Strat, it didn't quite fit right, the strings got stuck in it and had no benefit. So it came back out this afternoon.
New toy! I was thinking of building a tube amp, and wandered into a local music store to find this - an older Peavey Classic 30. It was priced very well and came with the foot switch that lets me switch between channels and toggle the reverb, so it followed me home.
Sounded pretty good, but the tubes were a grab bag, had some bent pins and were making some noises that made me think they were past their prime. So I picked up some proper NOS Soviet Reflektor 6P14P-EV tubes and a set of Sovtek 12AX7LPS. Shopping for old Soviet tubes on eBay is fun. Now it sounds great, and I've learned some things about my guitar that I never got out of my solid state amp. It's got a scratchy volume pot for the clean channel but I'm hoping I can clean that up. I'm really happy with it.
Knowing my predilections, I'll end up building a 5e3 anyhow.
I have a plan to build a 5E3 out of an old DIY mono hi-fi amp I picked up at a flea market. Even has the right tubes and tube count.
I have an old 1920s radio in the house that I would LOVE to put the amp in. I am told That Is Not Ok.
Jumper K. Balls wrote: A drill press isn't even the best way to enlarge tuner holes. A hand reamer isThey can be had as cheap as $15 on reverb
So, as Fall approaches, I want to revisit fixing that Ibanez bass I have that needs new tuners. I noticed that Harbor Freight sells these hand reamers for really cheap. So, what's the deal with enlarging the holes? Just go until it's snug? Or am I better off with a drill press? I could always slap it back together and trade it in too for credit on another cheap bass project...
SilverFleet wrote: Just go until it's snug?
Pretty much. A drill press and bit will tear out on the exit hole. Even if you back it up with a block of wood it is a risk. I just ream by hand from both sides until the tuner and bushing presses into place. Sometimes the center will need to be drilled out, but I only do that as a last resort and after I have reamed both sides. That way the bit has nothing to tear out on the exit
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