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I use GHS Gorgomyte to keep mine as good as new. It's amazing stuff. https://astrings.co.uk/products/ghs-gorgomyte-fret-and-fingerboard-treated-cleaning-cloth-1

I assumed the bass player was just desperately trying to stay awake

To counter the maturity mentioned in the thread referred to. I played bass in a version of the Brian Setzer Orchestra. It was run by the drummer, a supposedly fearsome bloke. His wife seemed pleasant enough. Things were fine, and he accepted an invitation to be the drummer at the after show jam that happened at a Blues Weekend. I had put the band together. The Tuesday night beforehand there is a band meeting called. We turn up at the pub and the drummer turns to me and informs me that I'm a great bloke and brilliant bass player, but he can't play with me anymore. It seems my (then, and now late) wife had said something to upset his. I said that I presumed he was honouring the weekend commitment, to which he said 'no'. More bizarre than bad tempered but the best I can offer this thread.

Reminds me, we need another rank after GrandMaster, with a title like 'needs therepy' or something!

I’m pretty sure that the Affinity series come with Ceramic pick-ups, my white PJ certainly does… They’re a bit of an acquired taste, being quite bright, but get the height right & they can sing. I found the maple neck quite bulky but I swapped the neck out for a 70’sCV which is somewhere between a Jazz & a P-bass width, but lovely & slim in depth. As others have suggested, get a good set-up done & see how you get on before shelling out on too many upgrades? Otherwise you might be better off saving for a better quality instrument in the long run…

Oh dear here we go again !

I fear he won't. It wouldn't be a good thing for him in any case. He has a degenerative condition and has already lasted almost 10 years beyond his initial prognosis. He has a new lady friend and they are enjoying getting out and about. His future is ultimately going to be horrible, so better he enjoys time with her.

Thanks, I've sent them an email.

I too have mostly stayed on very good terms with all my ex-band mates. However, I was in a duo in the early 2000s when I first got back into playing again, after a break. The duo quickly became a trio and ran for a few years with the three of us being thick as thieves. The singer used to get a lot of female attention but was always really humble. Then in the last few months, something changed. It was silly comedy things like him taking his shirt off onstage and posing with fans for photos. I probably overthought the whole thing but one possible turning point was us showing up to do an open mic and he was raving about some 19yr old who was playing. He really rated her and I remember saying privately when asked that I didn’t think she was anything special as a performer. He seemed really put out. I then noticed that having had a rock solid friendship that he was barely speaking to me or even looking at me. He was turning 40yrs old that summer and had a wife and two young teenage boys. His wife was always really intense and a little hard work. One day she phoned me whilst I was on holiday to say that the singer had left her and run off with a 19yr old. The band kind of broke up as a result. I saw him about a year or two later and was really pleased to see him. He was cool but a little distant. He then added me on his social media and was messaging me but as the messages started to dry up, I suddenly just started getting invites to like his new band. I wound up deleting him as I obviously wanted more from him than he did from me. I’m still on good terms with the other guy but it was not so much bitter, just bizarre. It had an impact on me for a couple of years but I just put it down to experience. I saw he was selling our albums as digital downloads on Bandcamp but I can’t imagine 20yr old recordings of a band that never made it do too well so wasn’t bothered. He tried to get the other guy to do a reunion without me about 10-15yrs ago but the other guy was classy enough to say all of us or not at all. Oh, and he’s now married to the aforementioned 19yr old, who is nearly 40 and they have kids together. Good luck to them. No malice on my part. A weird ending to what was a great run of music.

What's this "fifth" thing you mention?

Challenge lurks in the phrase 'the louder we get'. Not insurmountable, but high stage volume + DB + mic = higher chance of feedback. There are ways around it of course but all veer in the direction of complexity and expense. I would perhaps try to get a different sound by blending and separately EQing two on-board PUPs? I got close to the sound I wanted at volume with a Realist and a Nadine mic through a Grace Felix, but the louder the stage volume the more I had to bias the settings in favour of the Realist to the point that often the Nadine was almost gone. Another approach was a Heil PR40 on a low mic stand in front of the bass which allowed me to manage volume and feedback by pivoting the bass (which was not possible with an H-Clamp as I found at one awful gig), but while it sounded OK, there are easier ways

Smiths always have a great B string, pickup placement really allows the punch of the note to shine through too

Yes, like that - this was the type I got https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006198188772.html I still keep an eye out for programmable ones, but they are the other side of £100 to do logos and band name etc.

http://www.catswhiskerpickups.co.uk/

Like most of us here, I have been through way too much kit. I only realised after the fact that much of what is out there does the same thing. Especially once the guitarmageddon kicks in and any subtlety is steamrollered. One preamp which did something different was the "Z" (impedance) switch on an Audere preamp I had and, foolishly, sold because the next thing caught my attention. I have never followed it up because Audere became unavailable in the UK. I have just read that they are closing down and this got me wondering. Is a standalone Z switch possible? Would it go before a preamp? Who would make one? Does anyone make one? When I activated it things got gruntier, and it was good grunt. Obviously I had turned the internal pot full on becuause that is what they are for. I have now reached the end of my technical expertise. Any ideas?

Main gig is with a modern jazz quartet - I generally join the mic'd piano in going through the PA along with my own backline, but the louder we get at larger venues, the less I like the bass sound. Would introducing an additional mic be worth looking at? Either blended with Realist / or replacing? Trawled previous threads and not much recent activity. All ideas welcomed. Current set up is Realist copperhead > fishman platinum > TH500 > 12 inch cab. DI from the fishman.

I`ve stayed on friendly terms with everyone I`ve been in bands with, might not see them for years but when bump into them still get on fine. A couple of times individuals have really annoyed me to the point of wanting to leave but I`ve stayed, more out of loyalty to the rest who weren`t being donkeybacksides, and it`s always been the right decision, act with haste, repent at leisure not really being my thing. Similarly I`ve never been in a band where someone has left and had the raging hump with any of the rest of the band.

Typically, this sort of thing... cheap enough not to worry about being ripped off, but I haven't been (yet). https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005008052686848.html?algo_exp_id=f349a06c-7271-443d-8abd-ed25e12716bd-2&pdp_ext_f={"order"%3A"14"%2C"eval"%3A"1"}&utparam-url=scene%3Asearch|query_from%3A|x_object_id%3A1005008052686848|_p_origin_prod%3A

What do you call those big, black, triangular Gibson plectrums ? I haven't used a plectrum for decades, but when I did I liked these. Haven't seen any recently either.....

I'm nicking that for the next time a colleague thinks it's funny to ask if they can play tambourine in my band!

G;ad a mutually OK route was found. I hope you are able to find a positive way to keep gigging.