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Just tell him you have tinnitus and that night was really bad and couldn't concentrate on the music... Honestly?? If you thing he is a good musician , tell him that and tell him that he can do better . If he asked for your opinion perhaps he knows you are more experienced and perhaps your advice would help me to find a better set of musician who could also help him grow .

Depends how good a mate he is - I know some mates of mine would take the critique, some would lose the plot and sulk. If you’re at a loose end and want to form a band, you could use the gig as the excuse… as someone else suggested ”you’re a great singer, watching you struggle with those guys made me realise you deserve better…”

Is the Mona Lisa worth the estimated $500m that I believe it's insured for? Not to me but I suspect some multi billionaire would pay that for a load of wood, canvas and paint. Is a McClaren P1 worth £20m quid for some shaped, cast and machined metal. Not to me but we know people pay that for it. Something is worth what people will pay for it. The reason they pay that is because they believe the object to have some intrinsic value, rarity, beauty, show off characteristics, or fabulous tone. Dave Gilmour flogged his early strats for a fortune and said he's got some equally nice new ones. I think he flogged them for charity so good for him. Leo Fender built cheapish guitars that were designed to be made fairly cheaply and changed easily. I have no idea if pixie dust was involved but some people believe so. I'm not talented enough to know if they are mythical and fabulous nor rich enough to investigate these claims. My most expensive musical instrument is my Macbook which wasn't cheap but gets used eight hours a day and in about two years time will be replaced by another equally expensive Macbook. Depreciation is great. I really like my 97 Fender Jazz and my 87 Strat and my 89 Tele but are they magical? Not with my fingers but perhaps in 50 years time they will be. I'll leave them to my kids. I'm not knocking anybody who wants an old Fender, you can spend your money any way you chose to. I'd love to play an old Fender and perhaps if some kind person at the SW Bass Bash allows me, I may just sit quietly in the corner, my dunce cap on, and tootle around on an old Fender and see what the fuss is all about. I collect old maps, I have some over 200 years old which are quite valuable. Certainly late 60s, early 70s Fender priced. They are basically some old paper and ink. Who's the real fool here 😊 Rob

I'm torn between a Yamaha BB234 and Sire P5 as my first ever "P Style" bass. Does anyone have any recommendations for which I should be going for?

Last night was at Bridgeness Bowling Club in Boness with BLOCKBUSTARZ Glam covers band. Played it last year and the organiser booked us that night but last night wasn't so busy. Apparently there was an all day beer festival on in the town but still busy enough to have a decent audience. We had scattered dancers up from early on but the floor fillers didn't happen until the drink kicked in. We even had a group of "young ladies" celebrating a 21st birthday party so that helped the party move along. First gig in 5wks and i expected us to be a bit rusty but all went really well. My usual gear :- Sandberg VM4 MarloweDK (back up bass) Shure wireless Keeley Comp. Handbox WB-100 BF 212 cab Jamman for sound effects samples thru a GK MB200 as a pre-amp direct to PA Last night i was mainly wearing the blue outfit for first set and purple for 2nd set with my trusty old platform boots. Using our new PA guy last night again as we hope to use him every gig next year to save us a lot of work. Next gig end of Oct. These long breaks are a nuisance as my plucking fingers are a tad aching this morning. Dave

I’m glad in a way that don’t prefer the wider neck on the early 60s precisions or I would be in a bit of trouble 😁, although I do have a bit of a liking for a few 66s I’ve seen at the moment

I think the BBX is the non export BB1600. 🤔

I'm Going To Spain - Steve Bent

I also agree with Tony that the older ones sound different. I've had various modern Fenders, standard, AVRI, CS, MIJ. My favourite "modern" one was a MIJ PB62-RI from 1987, it was exceptional. But none of them played, felt or sounded like my vintage ones. My current favourite squeeze is my latest '73 Precision, it's just sublime, but I'm still in the honeymoon period, and the others are feeling a little neglected, but I do still love them all. When I get on stage with one of my vintage basses, it just feels right for me, I'm not working hard to find the tone in my head, it's right there, every time. Rob

Imo the 60s and early 70s basses do sound different, I’ve got 6 precisions and 8 jazzes and nothing plays and feels like a good vintage fender , to me they also have a history and certain nostalgia, I’ve also never had a so called dog, I guess there are some bad ones out there and some are better made than others just like they are now but I think a lot of that is just bad publicity from the fender haters who’ve probably never even played one , they are crazy prices now and I wouldn’t drop 18k on one unless it was love at first sight 😁which hasn’t happened yet, I don’t think the prices will go down either so still investable

Horse McDonald at Birnam Arts Centre. Just a three piece with Horse, keys and bass. Horse was magnificent, what a voice! Fabulous, amusing story telling between tunes and this to a just small audience of about 60 or so. However, the star of the show for me was Lorna Thomas on bass. I have the unfortunate habit of critiquing live acts and the bass player obviously comes in for extra scrutiny. No negative critique from me last night, just brava, brava, brava! Playing a 5 string Sandberg California of some description, straight into FOH, via her pedalboard, Lorna’s tone, note choice and groove (no percussion remember) were exceptional. I could hear Levin and Palladino in her lines (particularly the former) delivered as if those bass heavyweights were in the room. She was funny too. Thoroughly recommended.

Having played both, I'd say that they both feel of similar quality. My more recent experience is with the Squier 40th Anniversary Jazz and a nice example Firemist Gold Vintera Jazz that was for sale in a branch of PMT. The biggest difference you're going to find is in the pickups and the wood choices. The Squier pickups were the usual Duncan Designed ones which are, in isolation, pretty good. But the Vintera actually sounds like an alder 60's Jazz bass, much like my American Original with its Pure Vintage 64 pickups. You also get the tall and thin vintage reverse tuners on the Vintera. If you can find a nice one, a used Vintera 1 would be a great buy. The neck profile of the Squier is a pretty standard modern C-shape, but the Vintera is a little narrower and thicker (fingers to thumb), again, like a 60s Jazz.

That's an odd one Daryl, over here that would've been very well attended like all HD events even in the sun and heat of the afternoon. The only downside is that most people would be more interested in looking at the bikes than the band. Normally when we have HD events at dealerships its supported by the local HD Chapter so their members always turn up and make it busy. Would love to have been at that. Warm sunny day, Harley Davidsons and a great band. What's not to like about that. That's an ideal day for me. Dave

As a bystander, with no agenda. My band had similar situation with our singer, a large robust man. He said, the equivalent of "..I’ve got a lot going on and I’m not in a good place." I was shocked, this was unexpected, however I knew not to press the matter, rather I stood back, so to give him "space". I stayed in the background. I see this as a stress reaction: "I’m off on holiday tomorrow... because this isn’t going to hang over my holiday" - ya need a holiday dood! 🤗 A part of that process is forcing the brain to switch off regarding domestic matters. It's not easy if the brain has been overworked for a long time. *holiday mission statement* I must ignore events at home... pass the sun cream, this sun is hot..😎 I'd like an ice cream.🍦 And this is a pressure relief valve, when the stress gets too much, or a person has lost interest in the band, will issue this stock reply: "..several dates and times, but the singer couldn’t make any of them." Stress is a monster. I think the singer needs time and no pressure. Maybe just a "we're here" type of message. Keep the door open. Prepare for the fall out, if the singer has to leave or perhaps they just need a few months off. Venting frustration with sharp actions tends to be counter productive. As mentioned, turn the phone off and tune into... BTW: I like "Hanlon's razor" not heard that before.

Running everything through a single socket means you have a single earth for all your gear, which might help. Unless you are using incandescent lights you won’t overload a 13A socket. As has been said in other recent threads use a plug in mains tester to check the socket first. I used to check every time but now only check if there is a problem. If the socket is faulty you shouldn’t use it and you need to report it to the venue. You should be able to isolate the channel or channels which are causing the problem. Mute them all and open one at a time. It might be just one bit of gear that is picking up the hum or even just one of your cables that has a fault, Hum can’t be transmitted at wireless frequencies from a noisy, poorly screened nearby appliance. If so you could just move the amp or whatever away from the source. If one piece of your kit is causing the problem at several venues then get a tech to look at it. A lot of vintage amps can be poorly screened and single coil pickups are great radio receivers

All done!

Tough one. Using the rule , ‘if you can’t say anything nice don’t say anything at all’, I’d probably keep out of it. However, if asked outright I’d probably start with, ‘I think you could do better’, and see where the conversation goes. He might possibly agree given the opportunity to be frank. Although, if he/they don’t realise things are amiss from the audience reaction, well, they might be beyond help! Good luck.

Just sold Dunc a Barefaced One10 I traded from him earlier this year. As ever, the transaction was a delight from start to finish. Dunc’s a great BCer, a credit to the forum.