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Sudden death - Mr Bungle

John made me a passive Vol-Blend-Tone loom for my 5 string Precision build. Dead easy to install (even if John was super-fast in delivering it and you've lost the wiring diagram in the weeks it took for the pickups to arrive) and sounds great. Thanks again John!

The bow and 6 year olds!

Thank you chaps. I went with a Stingray instead.

Thanks chaps. I've ordered some grain filler so I'll do that first then sealer then paint. It's a paulownia body so it is quite open grain. Most of the body is poly coated already, but I've put in belly and arm carves that are currently without any finish and they'll need a stable finish for the wrap.

Practice with the bow is never wasted. Intonation can be lax with pizz and you can get away with the odd interesting pitch. The bow does not lie.

This looks great! I don’t have the time to dedicate to orchestral stuff really. I’m doing 70 DB gigs a year at the moment and it really takes up the time. But it’s what I enjoy doing at home and that’s keeping me playing the bass daily, which is what it’s all about.

The position of the pickups on a Stingray determine a large part of the sound..

Depending on how thick the wrap is, I would expect it to show some surface imperfections underneath - probably not swirl marks or orange peel, but any scratch deep enough to feel with your fingers. Ideally you'll want the paint to be as close to perfect as you can get, as if it were the actual finish - but OTOH I've never done a wrap myself except really basic hobbycraft-type stuff, proper professional-grade materials might cover better. The key to a good finish, as always, is good prep.

Great to hear of your good experience at Bowspeed. You should definitely try orchestral playing, I've done a couple of play days which are great fun, low pressure and great experience. There's always other players there so you can "hide" in the section 😅I'm doing one next month in Crewkerne - a movie themed day - should be a lot of fun! Pop Up Orchestra - Movie Magic https://www.tom-griffin.co.uk/pop-up-orchestra-movie-magic/

Wonderful Life - Black

Yes, you can pretty much achieve those sounds with the right pickups, placements and pre-amps. You'd need some routing work done for the pickup and also possibly the battery for the pre-amp. It would require a new pickguard too I imagine. To do the job well and professionally would cost in my estimation: £50-100 - pickup £50-100 - routing £50-200 - pre-amp £50-100 - labour and then you'd have a Fender P that was no longer a Fender P and its market value and resellability would plummet. A used G&L Tribute L2000 at £350-ish would be cheaper, easier and more sellable if things didn't work out. There are low-cost Stingray alternatives out there but I don't know much about that particular style of bass.

Venue: Played at the George III in Hoddesdon for their annual music festival on Saturday night. Heard some really good bands over on their second stage, then took to the main stage ourselves before the headline act. Gear: Played my Stingray through my Boss ME-80B and there was a Fender Rumble 500 provided. I put the Rumble on the "bright" setting with the EQ all centred hoping that would give me the most transparent sound, then used the amp Sims on my Boss unit. I occasionally used some fuzz or distortion but the rig absolutely sang. I was really pleased with the sound considering it was plug n play and I haven't used a Rumble before, also amp SIMs on pedals can often clash with Amps... Set: We jumped straight in with "I bet you look good on the dancefloor" and kept the feel of each song being a 'finisher' throughout. It's a great place to play because you've got a clientele who love their live music and will sing and dance along to everything. No gig photos available yet but I did manage this snap...

An excerpt from an interview with Richard Bona, which very succinctly describes the dilemma facing those of us trying to make a living in the business.

What A Wonderful World - Louis Armstrong