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The first set I had was the first recording of all six by Anner Bylsma, which I still love some 45 years later. Not so much his second recording of all six. Not sure why. I have his book discussing the suites, and his approach to them which goes against what everyone else does 😆 I don’t know of Queyras. Interpretations tend to fall into two camps: Romantic/Heroic or Earthy Dance Music. Sometimes a combination of the two is attempted. If you can stand listening to the tenor banjo, here’s my take on the first suite: and the 2nd suite on a classical guitar tuned a fifth lower, with special strings from Aquila: Through illness these last two years I now find it very difficult to play fingerstyle, so am spending more time with a bow on my viola da gamba - as close as I’ll get to playing a cello. I find I can also play bass with thumb and index, which explains my investigation in how to transfer Bach to that instrument. It has been useful reading all the comments here.

Your ability to highlight in such straight lines is extraordinary.

Following on from my Stratocaster Bass hack. Picked up an Applause (by ovation, allegedly m’lud) P Bass for £50 at a junk shop honestly I nearly didn’t buy it because that was the food money for the week, but I thought it was Worth a shot and I could probably explain to the wife why we would just eat porridge and beans. The Fretboard was partly delaminated but truss rod sound. Now to ruin it with my epic luthier skills that i got for xmas. 1- re fit fretboard and see if it plays. It does neck is nice but the action is vile 2 - will it play nice? hmm not really, better but still a bit shit frets are all over the place. 3 - de fret, because re fret is just silly. Some of you might remember this bass from the “has anybody got a scratch plate” in wanted ads. well i got the scratch plate sorted (link) I just went old down the wormhole and went full project on it… idiot. had a busted 80’s Benedetti from a Viger had that rewound by Bloodstone (Dave is great). Got a veneer sample from ebay for £3 (good shout from a basschat thread (link) ) watched a bit of YT and procrastinated for over week. I then bit the bullet and took all of the frets out carefully after learning that patience was key and I’m not a very patient person so I was very patient or as patient as I could be took the frets out waited about a week for the maple to come the Maple didn’t come then I asked the guy where my maple was and he said oh I’ll send you another bit and then he didn’t send me Maple he sent me Royal Ebony instead and so I used that, because serendipity. Griller glue and super glue! Who knew! Finished with Gun oil because it was there. when I put it back together again, I think the old wiring loom was really shot. It would not stop buzzing no matter what I did and the pots were just dead really so I just wired in series the pick ups directly to the Jack while I save up for a @KiOgon Loom it works okay it’s a bit weird not being able to turn your base down or adjust any other tone, but it’s quite liberating in some ways not having to fiddle with your knob all the time 😁 routing for the B was a bit scary but i managed it with out too much damage. now I have a pretty well playable fretless PJ hybrid thing and yeah it is a lot of fun actually but I’ve gotta get some flats for it because all my other basses are two aside and I don’t have an old set that fits and so this is currently sporting a totally mismatched set of horribleness. Again I gotta save up because I don’t have any money to buy strings. I have to buy food and pay the gas bill.😩

I'm living even more in the sticks (well, 300 yards from the sea!) in West Bay (Bridport) and I feel lucky that there is a basic music shop here for those odds and ends like picks, stands, etc and beginner instruments but TBH they and any other small town shop couldn't survive cashflow-wise holding high-value stock hoping for that one customer wanting a '63 Precision to wander in. I've mainly bought and sold through Andy Baxter for more expensive stuff. and through BC for getting rid of some excess gear (eg my Bassman 135 cab sold here for just £1 to make some garage space!) while buying buying some very nice effects and less expensive basses on here too...

Thanks @itu, I'm definitely seeing this as a lifelong journey, and will take my inspiration from all sorts of vessels 😉

I had the fretted fingerboard replaced with a rosewood fretless board, locally and expertly, for £150.

Another rehearsal last night. The last one was cancelled with the sax player being sick and everyone else generally feeling ropey too. Nevertheless we soldiered on and learned a few new songs as well as tightened up the remainder. We are starting to really gel as a band now. Everyone does their homework and it's easy to have a go at new stuff together. This feels really good. We have a good half a set of material built up now with a clear plan on what we want to add. Still in need of a singer... The singer I really wanted seems to have lost interest. These things happen. No other good candidates have come forward. I know a lady singer who has fronted cover bands before who I could contact, and will have a nother push at advertising. Having a very-80's bass on hand has been something I've hopefully fixed. No Aria SBs or Washburn Status available in left handed I caught a defretted Sterling Ray 34 which should arrive today or tomorrow. Looking forward to receiving this! To be fair, all of my basses are 80s appropriate but something fretted and headless would be the dream... So the search isn't over (is it ever!!). Got to focus on getting a singer though...

I nearly bought one of those Hellborg basses. A local shop had one at the time ( around 1997/8)) and it was a a powerful beast of a bass. Apparently Jonas asked Status to make him a bass that was as close to his Wal 4 string as possible, but with one or two tweaks, the 36 volt circuit probably being one of them. My main bass in the mid-1990's was a headed Status Empathy, and I think the tone-shaping controls were essentially the same with switchable sweepable mids ect. My bass teacher at that time had a Wal Custom and when I plugged in my bass into the same amp his Wal was literally about twice as loud as my Status, despite the fact that the Wal was 9 volts and my Status was 18 volts. Maybe the 36 volt circuit in the Hellborg was to address that disparity. Difficult for me to say with any certainty because "headroom" has always seemed like a bit of a vague concept to me, and it's all a long time ago now! In terms of sheer output though, there was no competition. The Wal was way more hot than my Status.

Now, I know I popped off ad nauseum at the price of the Grabber. Because it was effing ridiculous. But I'm not so outraged about this one. Why? Because they seem to have done a better job of this one in the following ways: Functionality identical to the OG bass (in terms of pickups, controls etc.) Strung through the body like the OG bass Bridge is WAY better than the OG bass The pickguard is still wonky, but the silverburst kinda hides it - I think because the pickguard follows the shape of the burst, giving it some context instead of it just floating there I think I'd like to get one, because it ticks all the G-3 boxes which a former (and very regretful) Gibson G-3 owner would be looking for, and while it may well still be a tad overpriced for what it is, it'll be a damn sight cheaper than trying to procure a Gibson G-3 now, or commissioning the likes of Decibel or Baard to make me one.

Just got my tickets... Standing area. Going with a guitarist friend. What will be the split of the crowd in a ratio of bassists, guitarists, keys, drummers? Agree that it's a huge venue for what would be best in a sweaty little club but it's one night only so for me I just think it's too good an opportunity to miss.

I wonder if Wilton Felder ever gigged a Fenton Weill bass...

It looks as though there is a similar guitar handing up next to it...