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I'll update you when I put them on the other basses. They feel fantastic, smoother than any other flats I've played and low tension so really nice to play.

No, my amp doesn't have UV, I believe it's the later model with the electro-fluorescent plate, which we think the previous owner disconnected. When my electronically-minded friend visits at Christmas we'll have a look inside. Hopefully no damage has been done to the drive circuit running for years without the panel connected!

Hi, Yes I was thinking I could supply the pickguard to be printed to guarantee the fit. I was playing in AI last night : Ricky x LV or Ricky X Joy Division - it was just an experiment as presumably this would be a trademark infringement but was a cool start to get the creative juices flowing. The JD didn't come out properly but this would be cool with the big waves under the strings if smaller waves covered the whole pickguard ( IMHO 😆)

Little Red Rooster - Rolling Stones

Mars Cowling was so good. I saw him play with Travers on the 'Crash and Burn' tour, and he was outstanding.

Be Bop Deluxe: 'Live in the Air Age' Charlie Tumahai did an amazing job in supporting Bill Nelson's extravagant and complex material. He's surprisingly funky, too. He also contributed some outstanding harmony vocals and had a very cool stage presence. fIREHOSE: 'Ragin' Full-On' There's nothing like a three-piece band to get a bassist to put the effort in. Mike Watt blazes all over this album, filling up the dead air in melodic and interesting ways. Max Webster: 'Live Magnetic Air' Max Webster were more than 'that band who hung about with Rush' - they made some great albums and Dave Myles was at the heart of them. This live album really showcases his superb playing - always forceful and driving. 'Paradise Skies' is a high point, but it's all good. (An honourable mention must go to the guy he replaced after their first two albums - Mike Tilka). 10cc: 'Deceptive Bends' I've picked 'Deceptive Bends' but it could have been any 10cc album, really. Graham Gouldman is criminally underrated as a bassist. His composition skill carries over beautifully into how he writes his bass lines, and they are always superbly constructed. 'The Things We Do For Love' from this record is a great example of what he does.

The Chicken - Jaco Pastorius

I would be happy to try. But if I cut the pickguard, the holes won't match with the holes on the body...

Still not in the website, did it get snapped up?

Cock around the clock - Bill Haley and his Grommets

The arrived yesterday and I got them installed on a Sandberg TT4 I usually have TI Flats or D'addario 40-100 rounds on this bass. The La Bella's have much higher tension that either of those. Possibly a bit much for me - I'll have to play more and see. I've done a set up and adjusted the action and so on but it's still a lot more effort for the left hand than my usual choices. I think they feel smoother than the D'addario nickels. Left hand finger noise is a little lower, but interestingly the finger noise is at a very different pitch - much lower - so it doesn't stand out as much anyway. Doesn't feel like a flat to me. When played finger style they sound deep and clear. My Sandberg TT4 is quite a bright / articulate bass with rounds and these tame the top just a little but without losing clarity. When swapping to slap they sound much brighter. So far I like the tone, I like the general feel, but I do wonder if the stiffness will annoy me. They are not La Bella DTF stiff or anything, just more than I usually like. The 103 E string is perfect, but the ADG could do with being a lighter gauge for me. 40-58-78-103 would be about perfect for me as a guess. I have some recording to do in Eflat and D tunings so that will no doubt be easier, and if they survive getting wrapped on a large tuning head post then they might be just right on a shortie until La Bella get round to offering them for 30 scale. There was a little stickiness out of the packet but after a rub down with Fast Fret to clean them that went away in about 10 mins.

My Genitalia - The Who

I use flats for a good number of years so when it came time to go back to rounds, after much research D'Addario were considered the smoothest rounds. I'd have to agree and i used them for a long time. They went up in price at one point so I decided to try Slinkies and I haven't looked back. They gave some extra grunt that the D'addarios were lacking. More upfront and growly. Briefly used pro steel but they were far too bright for me and NYXLs seemed to be lacking everything.

Played a (PJ) Fender Mustang at a jam last Saturday (strictly the early hours of Sunday...) Flats, lots of foam at the bridge, but it played fine. The strap was very short so I felt like Mark King...

The white one is definitely not going anywhere!