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Me and my monkey - Robbie Williams

What gauge strings? HW will typically have used real Ric bridges, unless told otherwise; now that they are discontinued, it'll probably be Allparts. Some like the Hipshot bridges, but I've found an apt location for one of mine (and that's an Allparts on the Hondo, which now has strings and screws in the Treble pickup). ...

Mid-cut on the amp. If you want to sound like Geddy Lee, push the Treble Tone knob in (Modern). If you want to sound like Chris Squire, pull the Treble Tone knob out (Vintage). A touch of distortion is good. If you want to lose the pickup Vol controls interaction, go for Rick-O-Sound and run them competely separate. A low enough action to get a touch of fret buzz helps too.

Epiphone and Squier until I die! I've never felt a need to put a bass's big brother's clothes on and steal his ID to try and go to the pub or something. I was going somewhere with that metaphor, then I got lost. My basses are what they are, what they were, and what they'll always be. The only time I've replaced a decal it's either been like for like (when I restored an old Hagstrom), or gone down the comedy route (put "Fecker Imprecision Bass" on a bitsa). Apart from that, it is what it is.

My fretless (Licensed Mighty Mite neck).

there was some talk 24 months ago of Gibson relaunching graphite Steinberger with Ned involved the reason always given for why no more graphite Steinberger's was cost cost cost the second hand , or used, market reflects this - everything I see for L2 or XL-2 is serious coin. It might not be possible for Steve to "price" into this market

The problem is when someone who doesn't know gets it, maybe someone isn't as honest or they shuffle off this mortal coil and the estate gets sold.

Just as a retort: I understand a bass with more than four strings, I just don't care about them, or personally see a need for them in my line of bass work. I also think they look a bit wrong and for all the finger position choices they provide, on the other hand they also limit my choices in basses I can buy/play - sticking with four strings my cup runneth over. Many ways to look at it. My viewpoint is only one in a sea of opinions.

Not a copy, but all for something ish... Harley B PB50 Modder... Bitsa P... Squier p

Only 6 strings - pah!

@Kiwi, I didn't really have a brand in mind. You've covered the main ones. My view was totally bespoke neck to my own specs. I'd imagine that the Fender and MM necks will be the main thing for most people ordering. I remember playing your graphite necked series 1 Alembic when you gave me a lift to one of the bass Bashes and really liked it. Maybe we're past replacement necks here, but how about full basses a la Stienberger? Status Stealth or Buzzard? Full on one piece instruments? I've probably pushed the boat out too far there.

The website has had over 800 hits today, 200 individuals. That's not bad, is it? Does that make me an 'influencer'? 🤪

These are a thing too. They just stick on with suction cups. No idea how good they are mind. https://thumbfin.com/

Another request, this is the complete Bruno Aguilar performance on the tune 'Dos Navegantes' from the 1994 Edu Lobo album 'Corrupião'. Nice thing and not too difficult. https://bilbosbassbites.co.uk/dos-navegantes-edu-lobo/

Blank looks:

Great photo 🤟

I got fairly clanky with........ Roto swing stainless steels Sansamp BDDI (though I imagine any tubey pre will do) Both pups max Tone fully open And then playing with fingers and quite a low action, but just over the fretboard and quite aggressively (ala John Entwistle) so I can whack the strings off the board. I don't know what the HW bridges are like, but I have a few mm of the dreaded Ric tail lift nowadays. I can't be sure, but I put that down to the Roto's. I had them on it for 15+ years though and it's nothing that impacts playing.

I started playing bass when I was 15. I got my first fretless when I was about 20, I think – pulled an 80s Yamaha from a literal heap of battered old instruments in a pawnbroker in Plymouth. I've always had a fretless and a fretted bass since then. I played fretless almost exclusively for a few years in my early/mid 20s, then set it aside for quite a long time because I couldn't get on with the instrument I had (a Warwick Corvette), but wasn't able to admit to myself that the new fretless I'd paid so much money for wasn't my thing. I made my own fretless bass about four years ago and have been playing that probably 60-70 percent of the time since. As an answer to a potential follow-up question – I prefer a lined fingerboard.

Many of you kindly contributed to my recent thread about motivating dep musicians. This is related, but a wee bit different. We have just done our first ever gig with a female singer - our fifth front person in three years, the others all blokes. We gave her maybe 65 per cent of the songs to sing: I did the rest. It went down well on the night. (Caveat: she has her own band and has not committed to us for any specific period.) Just had a call from the promoter of our next gig to advise me that he and a number of people there were not taken by the new female-fronted line-up. When pressed, he admitted he’d liked our ‘blokey’ image better. (Including a singer who could barely hold a tune compared to our new one!) My wife tactfully suggests we are now sounding ‘more commercial’, but will that win us enough new fans to make up for the stick in-the muds? Have any of you had to overcome resistance to change?

👍

Thanks matey

Monkey Man - Rolling Stones