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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...

You shouldn't because the screws on the terminals don't clamp down as efficiently onto soldered wire as they do onto stranded. If you are talking about actually soldering the wires in the mains cable to the contacts in the plug, then the heat required to do this would most likely also melt the conductor insulation on the mains cable.

Welcome, Joe! A question re: your lessons - has your teacher asked you about your goals, and then given you a plan for how he might help you get there? Lessons should definitely be a two-way discussion, but if you feel like you're having to steer things in a particular direction then maybe the balance of effort is not as it should be (if we all knew what to work on and how to practise it then we wouldn't need lessons, right?).

Seems an obvious thing to do in some respects. Does anyone do it? Why shouldn't you, if there's a reason why not.