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Stick me down for a Jazz, I’m wondering if the extra fret would be on a fingerboard extension? If so, count me in for a 21 fret if possible. (If not 20’s ok) Please let me know where to send the deposit. I have a Status MM neck on a sterling body (poor man’s Cutlass) and it’s a great instrument.

Most definitely Electro Music on Doncaster, great shop, great staff. I recall the veritable joy of discovering a whole floor of basses & bass gear, loads of variety, not just the obligatory FSO's. Bought my first 4003 from there (as well as many guitars, amps and other music related stuff).

And also, which I'd REALLY love:

For the last few years these 'Stairville' LED lamps from Thomann have been hanging from the ceiling of our practice space. But with a house move coming up, they're on a T-bar now, and ready for our next gig. We abandoned using a DMX controller and went with built-in automatic programmes. Two lamps are running sound-to-light, with slightly different settings. DMX cables let the 3rd and 4th lamps duplicating the 1st & 2nd. https://www.thomann.co.uk/stairville_mini_stage_par_7x4w_rgb_ww.htm

Oops. Sorry! 🫣 🤣

I'm thinking about the white version and you post one whist I'm writing!

I'm not much into lights either but do realise they are important for a performance. Life got much easier when things moved to low wattage LEDs as before that I had to spend more time thinking about power than anything else! I've got a handful of these that we keep on a fairly static/slowly changing colour to light the band https://www.thomannmusic.com/stairville_led_flood_panel_150_40.htm ...and then a couple of these set to sense/change with the beat, albeit they've had more use in my daughters bedroom for disco lighting! https://www.thomannmusic.com/stairville_stage_tri_led_bundle_complete.htm Cheap, cheerful, but fine for small gigs especially as powered off a couple standard extension leads and pack down pretty small.

I sea what you did there.

Mine also had a 3 bolt neck, but I don't think it had the 70's bridge pickup spacing. I saw one around the same age (2008) with a white body and matching headstock, which looked fabulous contrasting with rosewood, blocks and binding. If I'd won the lottery last night, I'd fly to Tokyo and try a few out to see which one spoke to me. I considered importing one but, buying one blind, I'd be concerned it might end up being another perfectly good instrument that I just didn't 'bond' with. But if you decide to move this one on, I'd certainly like to give it an audition. 😉 I think I'm probably quite local to you these days. Great looking bass.

A last minute booking that came in yesterday morning from the Parasite, er I mean the Agent. Just a trio job ten minutes up the road at the Village Club, Spondon. A lovely crowd, but got a very interesting comment from an 'audient' - he said that he was really pleased to be able to hear all the individual bass notes, as usually with bands the bass is an undefined mess and too boomy - Must be the wooden stage and how people EQ. I blame the flat wound or long dead strings, personally. 🫣

The best strap I own in terms of looks and weight distribution is made by Marusczcyk. I have none of their basses but my Warwick that I bought it for hasn't said anything yet 🤭 You might want to look away at this point but I transported my Fender Jazz to rehearsal yesterday in a Warwick gig bag 🤫 Joking aside the M strap is a game-changer for heavy basses in my experience followed closely by my 4inch wide Levy's strap.

There's an ocean of difference.

All I can say is don't do what I did. I had no plan and wasted a lot of money on stuff I don't use. I discovered lights can be too bright as well as not good enough and still have a couple of PAR lamps that will blind any audience. You can dim most lights but not when they are on automatic sequences. Most of the automatic sequences are too fast (designed for dicos not bands) and using a DMX controller is as much work as setting up the PA and getting a mix so it doubles your set up and knock down time. Fortunately lighting has become a lot cheaper and more reliable and so far I haven't lost any led bulbs. Most local bands I see seem to have settled on a single set of 'party lights': a set of four PAR lights on a stand with a sequencer/sound to light built in and operated by a footswitch. I have one of these and it does a job but willleave either the band or the audince in the dark. They take up a lot of floor space though and aren't absolutely stable. I wouldn't put them anywhare an audience member could knock them over. I quite like the LED bars like the ones in the video. Most of them are 1m long and you can shove six of them in a canvas bag. They are great at up lighting a wall or your banner, You can sit them on the floor to illuminate your front line and increasingly I've used them on short stands (basically tiny speaker stands with a top hat to fit the light) which gets the light where you want it and takes up less space. My current set up for a small to medium venue is 4-6 strips all mounted vertically on stands. Two point back at us to illuminate the band. the other four go behind us pointing at the audience with one pair running a sequence and the other pair running sound to light. If there is space we'll put up the Party light set. We also have some dirt cheap lasers that do the dancing dot thing on the ceiling. These are low powered lasers that don't need a dedicated operator or a licence. I'm finding the strips a lot more convenient than the 'party lights' they take up less space in the van and are more versatile so you can adapt to each venue. Both band and audienbce get more light too. Without the clumsy overhead stand set up time is about the same for all six as a single party light. For me lighting is an irritating necessity, get it right and the band look really professional but it's a lot of work and nobody pays you extra as a pub band to have great lighting. As it get's more sophisticated i have wondered about offering an optional lighting package to venues.

Random use of Theory words "when I play out of tune I was modulating"

As @JJMotown mentioned, it’s probably too much backbow. To check if it’s the nut simply press the string on the 2nd position and tap with your other hand right above the 1st fret. There has to be a little relief. When you hear a light “tick” when the string hits the fret then it’s okay. When it’s already pressed against the fret and you don’t hear the string hits the fret your nut is too low.

I think they are at peace with themselves.

Different shop, alas. Some of the founders of Musical Exchanges from left; Dave ( the owner), Stu and Gary Chapman who recently worked in PMT in Birmingham and latterly Fairdeal.

Couple of gigs for me this week. Regular Wednesday evening at the rock and roll club - busier than the last few weeks and we played tighter too, we’re really starting to gel now. I’m thinking of trying my Danelectro Longhorn out down there at some point, may fit in nicely. Last night saw our acoustic duo playing at a birthday party for a farmer a couple of villages from where I live. He sells sunflowers from one of his fields, so the marquee was suitably decorated. I took my Fender Kingman bass, and we used his PA - RCF tops with Mackie bass bins, a throwback to his previous life as a DJ. The initial brief was 3 x 40 min sets - first one background stuff as the guests arrived, second one taking requests as they ate ( gourmet burger van, excellent!) and then the last set playing stuff for dancing. However, largely due to the free bar people got up to dance early on in set 2, so we had to keep it going. Really pleased we had the large PA, as it needed to kick a bit and it did! Last set was full on, lots of the audience on the makeshift dance floor. We finished around 11pm, absolutely knackered though. We packed away and left the party which remained in full swing. Still, we were paid handsomely, well fed and watered and also gave out a few business cards so overall a good gig. Just glad I have today to recover. 😆

I saw The Undead last night at Rebellion. Bobby Steele's band (ex Misfits guitarist) They were great but the sound was a bit dodgy. Miffed there were no xxl shirts but never mind... adding his autograph to my misfits signature tattoo today.

Congrats WoT. Looks lovely. I like those vintage Jazz necks too - just that extra little bit of depth to them, making them really comfortable. Having a look around, these come in some lovely colour combinations. Is it Will at BassBros bringing these in?

Too Hot To Handle - UFO

Your line of questioning was a bit odd and if you read any of my posts elsewhere you'll see I frequently use the word 'subjective' when making comparisons, simply because I know what may appeal to me would be abhorrent to others. Simply because I say the Bongo was fantastic (it ticked so many boxes), I shouldn't need to have to justify that to you by providing a list of instruments by way of validation.