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Normal inspection as per any stringed instrument. The state of the fingerboard (surface condition, radius etc), neck (truss rod) and nut would be my number 1 comment. This is especially important if the neck has been de-fretted. Look for any ridges on the fret-lines and/or excessive gouging along under where the strings lie. The nut height is important if you want the lower action typical of a fretless bass. When trying the bass, first play it without amplification. This will help you discern if the notes sustain well, which helps a fretless bass sparkle. Personally, rolled edges to the fingerboard are a “nice to have”. Remember that a lot of the fretless sound comes from player skill and articulation. Good luck in your search.

A good, level fingerboard is important, you can't compensate for a small high spot by scraping down a fret. If it has side dots, be sure they are where you want them. On some (mostly defretted) basses they are between fret positions. I learned on a bass with dots at the fret positions and trying to play with the other style is tough as they 'draw' my fingers away from proper intonation.

Benedict bought a short scale StingRay bass from me. It was a pleasure to deal with him, quick payment and excellent communication throughout. Basschat happiness all round!

I'm in a band with a young lad who looks likely to make it with an indie band, but who has been told by several pros that he could make it as a blues rock musician. He does lots of side stuff as well. He's just completing an electronics degree and works part time for the post office. I would say flexibility and keeping options open is the best plan. Bear in mind student loan payments only kick in once you earn a reasonably decent salary.

Spot on Phil. Just to add - of all the musicians I’ve worked with over the years, I think guitarists have been the least likely to be able to read or follow charts, so those who can are a rarity. ( I speak as someone who isn’t an overly proficient reader myself, but can get by and also use chord charts.)

It's a very unstructured situation at the 'cover band' level. I've done several deps for one band where I had two rehearsals first. Another band said 'we don't rehearse' so I went in cold. One interesting gig was with a dep guiarist too. We did Come Together... I knew the band played the the Gary Clarke jr. arrangement but the guitarist was all Beatles which came out a bit odd! As for bringing in deps, drummers generally do well, guitarists you need someone who can improvise instinctively by ear if they aren't able to rehearse. When I've been depped for apparently it went well but she knew the guitarist well. Usually you get a list of about 30-40 songs many of which won't be played! I might veto one or two which can reduce the learning time by 50%. Links to 'the version you play' are useful. People always tell you the starting chord not the key... Never come across anything other than getting the same share as the band, although one gig we threw in a bit extra for the dep as it wasn't a big payer. Deps aren't expected to chip in on rehearsal costs. Most deps do it because they enjoy learning new material and the buzz of playing by the seat of their pants. A good amateur dep who throws themselves into the spirit of things (maybe with some improv) can be great to play with.

Let me know when you're bored of it 😁

The more I try different strings the more I'm convinced they all have in more in common than they don't regardless of brand. I used to be really swayed by the marketing machine but not so much these days. I say that to say whenever a "favourite" of mine becomes too expensive I jump ship to something cheaper and I can't say I've been overly disappointed if at all. I think it was Paul McCartney that was asked what his favourite string choice was and he replied "Long shiny ones" I like that response 😊

Bend Me, Shape Me - American Breed

i want anyone who has a gander at the board to have a laugh! the last unlabelled preset is called ring clean

Up Around the Bend - CCR

Banana Boat Song - Harry Belafonte

@Bilbo and @casapete Thanks for this. It encourages me to think that there are people out there who can do a job for us, I just need to find them. We've been through three guitarists who all turned down me sending the charts, I sent videos of our band playing the songs, spotify playlists of the originals so they could see the arrrangements we use. We stick to the originals because we want to avoid ny surprises. We've only changed key in three or four songs and that was clearly marked on the set list.It's just staggered me that anyone would promise to learn a set by a given date and not put the effort in up front to be able to deliver. Nice people completely deluded about the effort needed to deliver a 30 song set. I've not got the skills to dep at the last minute but I've learned sets to help out mates. It is a lot of work, I'll live with the songs in the car for as long as it takes, play through the songs with the chord sheets on day one picking out chord changes rhythms and the bits I need to worry about. Gigging musicians are a different breed. The trouble is most of them are already gigging

If anyone in Bristol is still looking for tonight's Friday 6th June entertainment, I'm on at The Folk House with Steve Tilston, with the added ingredients of Keith Warmington on harmonica and Tony Orrell on percussion. This is a relatively new project, although Steve and the other two go back a long way.. Keith was on his first album in 1971! Reet looking forward to this one.

I mostly post clips of rehearsal jams and short gear demos. Engagement’s decent when I keep things casual and consistent, but I’ve noticed longer videos get less attention than quick clips.

Sorry

Lots of great points. I think there are two aspects to this... the making music path and the education/admin path. Regarding making music which is all I can really talk about, the killer for me was the hours and just the plain uncertainty of it all. In the round, the entertainment game is predominantly a night time/awkward time business. You have got to be prepared to want to work all hours and that includes studio time too. The phone can ring at any time and you must never say no. It's a tough business and after 15 years for me personally I'd had enough. Also, a lot of it is personality driven, ie.. you have got to be the person other people love to be around and likewise, do you love being around other people, collaborating, sharing etc etc? Its a funny game.

Man this is a miserable reply to a lighthearted topic. Ive played in originals bands and covers bands (and jazz, which is sort of half way between the two) and experienced a lot of this. Worst experience I had was an Alsatian dog nudging - and breaking - a moving desk which resulted in the gig being cancelled.