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Make sure you're playing songs everyone wants to play, then get gigs. As I say, if everyone is in multiple bands then they'll be unable to do some of the gigs. That's when you call on the deps. The secret is to get your gigs in the diary first. The bands I play in usually don't rehearse. We turn up knowing the parts and songs. I did spend some time in a band which regularly rehearsed. Annoyingly the problems from one week could still be around the next week. . . . and the week after! They were good guys but too many rehearsals and not enough gigs killed it for me.

Aye aye, min! Also, what @Acebassmusic said.

https://amzn.eu/d/evVT5CL with a pb3 in the pocket

I think changing from the SD to the GZR would be a bit of a sideways move, and not the best use of money in terms of upgrading the overall bass playing experience. The GZR is a superb pickup, but the SD is just as good as the EMG, albeit with a slightly different flavour. My own personal experience has been that changing pickups can be a big upgrade if you have been using a pickup the is genuinely defective or obviously deficient in some way, but swapping one perfectly good high-end pickup for another because of notional sonic differences that you have read about is usually a disappointing waste of money. If someone is getting a custom Fodera I can understand exploring the nuances of choosing the exact right pickup, butI really don't think a Squire Classic Vibe bass warrants spending that amount of money to explore the nuances between two high quality replacement pickups. If you've got a Seymour Duncan in there that's already a big upgrade. My advice would be experiment with strings and EQ and try and appreciate the character of the sound as it is.

I ran Warwick/Trace for a long time. Streamers and an FNA jazzman, with an AH400SMX, two 4x10s and a bright box, usually with a back up head sat on top too. Was a big old stack to lug around, but thankfully back then I had a crew and truck doing the work for me much of the time. These days I play a glued together Ibanez, don’t even use an amp and the roadies are a distant memory. How life has changed!

Another thought, do these ‘less than fully committed’ members have any say in the set list? Maybe letting them choose a song they particularly like, within the genre, would make them keener? In my bands we call it ‘throwing them a bone to chew on’. 😀🐕🦴

And I think this is a bit of a cheat as a cover, but it's a marvellous version

Cheers Paul, i want to learn slap and my understanding is that lower action is better for slap bass. I'm certainly not expecting the action of a Fender Strat but my lack of playing experience means I don’t have a good feel for what is the correct action. when I measure the relief it seems ok (about 0.25mm) so I’m loathe to adjust the truss road - I guess some gradual adjustment of the saddle might help.

Have we had this one yet?

I think your sticking point might be around “due diligence”. What diligence are you expecting from the buyer? Just to be sure that they like the instrument when the sale takes place? Or do they need to be doing due diligence of your QC? Once we get into “buyer beware” and two week windows etc anxiety levels are going to be rising. Let’s be clear: you seem to be implying that these are early builds and there might be things that aren’t 100% perfect. Fair enough. Especially given your price point. I have no doubt the bass left you with a nice fret job. It’s also plausible to me that a fret may have lifted over a couple of weeks: I was playing a P bass last night that has definitely changed with the warmer weather and become buzzier. And that’s just sitting at home out of sunlight. Your offer to sort the fret is entirely reasonable but if I was your buyer I’d be asking myself - is there anything else I’ve missed? I think that’s where the refund request is coming from and where a bit of reassurance is needed in future.

Also let’s not forget one of his best - Hot Chocolate’s ‘So you win again’. Russ still does some live dates - he played a music venue near me last year. I was working so couldn’t go, but guess it would have been a great evening.

I'm pretty sure that SKB model is 3U (I have two and they are). Not made any longer AFAIW.

I think you’ve hit on something there, Mick. A lot of players, especially guitarists, seem to have a preconceived idea that the structure of a blues song is always the straight 12 bars, using chords I, IV & V. The memorable songs tend to have variations and subtleties that make them stand-out. Born Under A Bad Sign being a good example. Far too many people, in my experience, have the ‘it’s just the blues, innit?’ mentality.

Yes, Russ is a bit of an undiscovered gem. Glad you checked him out. 👍

Ballard! Just looked him up. Wow, he wrote some great tunes didn't he! Couple of Ranbow's biggies!

Any decent cab will do the job. TH is light and compact, so take it to a few shops and try stuff with it.

It`s a fake from a factory in China selling on E bay. It`s says so down in the description. It doesn`t actually say it`s a fake but I do know a real one costs a few bob.

If you Google "angled amp stand", you'll get plenty of options. Check the weight rating if your rig is sizeable. Not an issue with a combo, but if using a separate head, you'll need something to stop it sliding off the cab.

"we are a guitar factory in China" Authentic? No. Scam? Also no. Just don't expect high quality with it.

Paging @neepheid

I used to have a MarkBass LMIII in a second hand zippy carry bag thing that had velcro that'd stick it to the rat fur surface of the cab. That was very handy.