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Sorry @Richard R, a clumsy omission about to be rectified!

I'd get all the band members together in a room and bang their heads together.

I hate all this, the only bands that really work and have longevity are those that avoid all this. So as written is C the replacement for B and friend of A? If I'm reading this right then there must be a D and maybe an E??? My experience is that if C is a friend of A (and that may be the qualification that makes him 'better') then the two of them might potentially gang up on you andl become the united powerhouse of the band. You will then be the semi-detached bass player when decisions are made. We all have videos of ourselves playing at our best and in practice he/she/they might not be so proficient as the video shows. Ask yourself what you genuinely think of B's playing. Were you concerned before this all came up? If not then this is a stitch up, probably. Then there is the human and moral side of this. This is really awful treatment of B and you are clearly uncomfortable with it all. If B is genuinely holding you all back you need to be honest with them and give them the chance to fix any issues. Even if they are awful and you are confident that they will never be good enough then there are ways of dealing with this that are open and honest. It's never easy to say these things but it can be done kindly and decently even if it is tough at the time. I sense that you think this is a really S****y way of dealing with things. If there are a D and E then talk to them, see how they feel. If there are only you three then I'm afraid you have to choose between them. I know from past experience I'll go against the one making me choose. You need to tell A that you aren't happy. If you ant to stick with your current line up then say so. If you aren't happy with B then agree how you are going to deal with that without stabbing him in the back. I'd be saying that if you collectively want a replacement then you should audition several musicians and choose the best, not just hand it to a friend. Balance that against ending the band. I've been kicked out of bands for insisting we should all behave professionally. based on your post alone however A is a bully.

Hope you played plenty of Blues (the devil's music) on it.

Sounds as if a full and frank discussion between all parties, rather than one to one chats between A & C, A & B, B & C, etc, is needed. Get everything out in the open with everyone present (not online, but physically present, where nobody can hide). If it crashes and burns, so be it. Doesn't sound a particularly healthy situation at the moment, so no great loss.

Good video here about roasted woods. My summary - There's different processes being used to torrefy woods out there and it seems it come down to the initial roast in a vacuum oven and then the cooling/rehydrating process for the type of wood being treated that makes the difference.

It does sound a lot like A and C have intentions to control the entire thing together. If C is already in a band that is working why would he want 2 jobs that will clash. The more I read it, the more I think that A&C won't be waiting long before binning the OP as well and replacing with another pre-arranged mate. This sort of shite is why I'm not in a band at the moment.

Wise advice. I’ve been in a similar situation, played nice, and it has not always been reciprocated. As I gained more experience (and got older) my “being nice” hat is based on “if it suits my interests”. Sounds nasty but sometimes it’s a jungle out there.

OP - where are you based? Maybe you are close enough to a friendly Basschatter to pop round and get it sorted. I believe the standard payment is a cuppa and a biscuit!

Well I wasn't criticising maple to try and hurt its feelings I like maple necks and all my current instruments have them. Was more just to point out that the urethane lacquers are actually quite effective at limiting moisture-related movement. The floor is parquet blocks, each one about the width of a neck and considerably shorter. The gaps between the blocks can open up by several mm. Different blocks move different amounts too, and swelling/cupping are noticeable despite being constrained by a very strong adhesive (these are old reclaimed blocks, never designed to float). FWIW maple seems to be very similar to beech in terms of hardness and relatively large moisture-related movement. Great furniture wood and lovely to work but a disaster as a kitchen worktop. In comparison a mahogany parquet floor laid the same way with the same oil treatment shows no sign of movement whatsoever across all ~35sqm. The tropical hardwoods are usually very stable.

Do you catch a price? Most decent Ric copies are selling for completely daft money now, but perhaps an old school shop may be more realistic...

Never mind the politics. Is the band any good? Are you working? Are the gigs good? Is C a better player than B? Are the rest of the band good players? Keep B or C (whoever is the better player), replace A (he's a troublemaker), end up with a better band and go from strength to strength.

Thanks Steve, it is indeed old fashioned. Unless I'm missing a trick they don't seem to have a website....

Thank you Frank - much appreciated!

Someone who plays what is right for the band as a team-player (i.e. perhaps some 'easy' subtle rhythm chords are better than a 'difficult' ear-splitting guitar solo), plays within their limits, spends the time learning the songs and being at rehearsals and is reliable for gigs (and helpful for setup etc) and is a decent person to be around are what are probably more important than technical ability. ....at least that is the case for the weekend warrior type stuff I do. I've been in bands that have been tempted by a technically better guitarist, but it turns out that their big guitar solos aren't really enjoyed by many and often don't serve the song as well as something more low-key, and things like them not haivng a car and always needing lifts is a bit of a faff, and that they only turn up to occasional rehearsals is not great for the band as a whole. In the end we'd be better of with the less technically gifted player.

https://www.talkbass.com/threads/roasted-maple-stability.1432896/ There's a decent thread from the other side on the topic here. To summarise, roasting can improve the stability of less stable woods, like figured maples, but it won't make them stronger - apparently it's typically overdone and actually makes necks weaker/more brittle overall. I'd imaging the MusicMan neck movement issue could be down to the wax/oil rather than sealed finishes, as it seems to happen with both their roasted and unroasted necks. Warwick necks are also known to move a lot. Roasting probably does make a lot of sense for companies shifting a lot of units such as Sire/Harley Benton - it's a way to provide a stable neck without having to dry wood out over years, or to be picky about wood selection, but in the long run, properly dried high quality wood is probably a better bet - The likes of Alembic, Ken Smith, Fodera etc. generally use kiln dried timber that's been left for years in their shops for any signs of movement, and then slice them into laminates. Obviously that kind of approach isn't feasible for mass production, so roasting is a good alternative.

I don't really see myself playing my air phallus behind my back, and especially not with my teeth, sorry.

These guys are great! Best tribute in the UK these days.....