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Jazz Bass. Guy Pratt and an awful lot of others play Jazz Bass, so I thought, it'd be the way to go. Having tried a couple of those, but never really got on with. Dreadful neck profile, weird body. The "default" sound is as annoying as Warwick Corvette, and everything else feels like a desperate try to get a P or Stingray-like sound out of it.

Venues that advertise “Live Music” and put on a person singing to a Karaoke backing track. People who think they are musicians who sing to karaoke backing tracks.

My Frankenstein! (Or is it Fronkenshtone?)

So if you're British, buy yourself a proper USA-made Bongo and cheer up, things could be worse!🙂

I've got another non-bass one.. Bleep bloop modular.. Pick some notes yourselves, cowards!

David bought my Markbass 801 amp and as usual, he was an absolute Gentleman to deal with. Insisted on paying upfront, great comms, flexible on meeting up and a thoroughly lovely bloke. Enjoy the amp!

Preamp pedals. The likes of Nobel, Cali, Caveman, Jad Freer. I mean, if you're at a venue that insists on a silent stage I can see the point of something like this, although you could use a plain DI. Every time I used one of these pedals though, it just seems to make my sound worse; fewer dynamics, less top end. Generally, using the DI out of the back of a modern amp will sound just as good if not better, give you far more control over the sound, you can always mute the master volume if it's a silent stage situation, and you'll save £100s.

Most British people don't realise things like that if you call an ambulance in the USA, it can cost thousands of dollars. Most Americans wouldn't call an ambulance unless someone was literally dying in front of them, no exaggeration. Plenty of people die for exactly that reason. And as for prescribed drugs, describe to the average American the system we have here with NHS prescription charges and exemptions ect and they literally won't believe you. For lots of my friends over there who are about the same age as me, helping their elderly parents pay for medicines is an ongoing expense and major worry. By way of contrast,here in the UK the NHS will send an ambulance with a lovely helpful crew to pick up your elderly and frail parent and take them to a hospital appointment if necessary. That's unthinkable in America unless you're rich. In the U.K doctors will prescribe whatever is appropriate and even have it delivered to the elderly patients home free of charge. In America pensioners go on bus trips to Canada and Mexico to buy cheaper drugs and bring them back across the border because of the inflated prices of most medications in the USA.

would love some of those strip lights, but I already bought all the PA and I got some PAR lights as the first gig we did was almost in dark, so I am not buying any more!

I can never understand why people wear hats in cars. Especially the driver, I always stay well away from them. Same goes for country singers and cowboy hats. And anyone who wears a baseball cap when not playing baseball. (I have a couple of those). Oh yes, and bass players with the bass just above the knee when standing.

Ha! My garage told me just now that my turbo has died. I will not be buying anything new for a bit. But I am still interested

This all relates to buying bass equipment, because in America the sticker price may be less on some gear, but you have to factor in the wider lifestyle you would be living in a completely different society. Would you be reckless enough to spend a substantial portion of your savings on bass-related purchases if you and your family didn't have the kind of safety net we enjoy in the U.K? Would you be able to enjoy what you bought? When I first moved to the States and got my own place to live I was having the time of my life. The only problem was I kept getting charged for everything by everybody at every opportunity. Phone company, utilities, building maintenance, college tuition, medical, dental ect. And if you don't pay them they don't deal with excuses, they just cut you off and /or sue you for payment. America hadn't got the memo that I was only there to enjoy myself. They treated me like a regular person, not the carefree celebrity I really was . It was one of the most salutary lessons of my adult life. I still find it hard to forgive them.

Same here. The thought of Trace Elliot gives me nightmares. In the mid 80s I was in a band who got a publishing and development deal (I don’t think the latter exists nowadays, but it was essentially a pre-record deal where a label would fund gear and studio time, and have first dibs on you if you developed into what they were after). Trace Elliot were quite the thing at the time, so the first thing I did was ditch my perfectly fine Marshall 50w amp and 4x12 speaker for a snazzy, all singing, all dancing Trace Elliot rig. 250w amp, with UV light, a fan you could switch on (and off!), various bells, whistles, and a graphic equaliser that gave you the biggest smile you could ask for. I got to the first rehearsal and carted in my new rig. The band and sound guy crowded around, then slowly shuffled away in silence, leaving just the drummer, who, after about half-hour of witnessing me frantically move sliders up and down, and twiddle various knobs, said bluntly, “that sounds sh*t, can you get your old stuff back?!”. It did, and I couldn’t…

Not sure if it counts as a 'great deal' but Softube just announced their Equalizers plugin. It is essentially Softube's own version of the Fabfilter Pro Q4/Sonnox Claro/name your graphic EQ. The main benefit to the plugin is that if you already have any of Softube's EQ plugins, then you can load these into the Equalizers plugin so you can use a Softube Neve/API/Trident EQ for 'broad tone shaping' and use the graphic for for detailed corrective work. The graphic EQ includes dynamic EQ and mid-side processing. You can then manage the EQ within a single plugin window, at least that is the idea. It is very smart, at least in concept. Launch price is £69 or £87 bundled with your Softube channel strip or EQ of choice. The bundle options include the ridiculously expensive Softube EQs which get sold for up £250 individually (I can't even imagine paying that for a plugin). So if you really really want a very expensive Softube EQ this is the most cost effective way, even though it is not particularly cost effective. I tried the demo, just because I own the Softube British Class A (Neve) channel (I got it in a bundle for £40 or so) and use that on most stuff for half-arsed, 'that'll do' post tracking tone shaping before I sent the tracks off to somebody who knows what they are doing (I am better/less bad at setting up mics and tracking than I am at mixing) Also, you can't add drive or compression within the Equalizer plugin. If you want to add in preamp/console saturation/compression then you have to load another instance of your Softube EQ of choice which to me kinda defeats the point of the 'single plugin' basis. I am better off using a regular channel strip and Claro or Pro Q3 because with Neve and API type plugins, the saturation and colour is a key part of the sound. Worth a try if you have a bunch of Softube EQs but I don't think I need it and not even worth considering if you have no Softube plugins and already have a decent graphic EQ.

I bought a very expensive compressor being of the belief it would somehow revolutionise my tone. Hahaha. Snake oil.

When Scott Devine goes on and on ad infinitum about being 'in the pocket'. Ugh! I assume you mean playing together, tightly and rhythmically? My keys and wallet are in my pocket. I play in time and right in the middle of the beat. When playing in a Big Band I play on the leading edge of the beat to pull the brass players along. We don't need silly buzz words and catch phrases.