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Yep I’ve always preferred most of the bass from backline in small / medium venues

I've been more than a bit smitten with my '95 Aguilar equipped Stingray, so you might say this is a natural addition... After selling off a few instruments over the last few weeks, I picked up this 2023 Stingray Special 5 in 'Smoked Chrome' yesterday. I first saw it when @lowregisterhead had it up for sale on here. I knew where it went, and traded a couple of instruments along with quite a few pictures of the Queen in order to acquire it yesterday. The setup was very good and curved accurately to the fingerboard as was, but I put 40-125 Elixirs on it last night, and today made some small adjustments, including raising the humbucker according to MM specifications. The ceramic pickup still has the typical 'MM chewy sizzle' (yes, that's a technical term!) and looking over it, you can sort of see where the money has gone. I think MM are going the premium route these days, making less instruments, but really concentrating on top quality (and raising the prices considerably too!). The Special's new titanium tuners are much thicker and feel great in the hand, and the border between the glossed headstock & the oiled neck is utterly perfect. I've always liked basses with ebony fingerboards, too. Consider me suitably impressed!

The only supplementary (apart from playing) exercises I've done have been: To stretch apart the fingers on my left (fretting) hand; over the years the span of my left hand tip of index finger to tip of pinky is about an inch more than my right. Touching each fingertip to my thumb. Generally wiggling fingers. Using a PC keyboard. I've never done anything strength-wise. Playing-wise I've generally learned songs - they help build the muscle memory and bring in different styles of playing. For the rght-hand I use a pick and/or fingers; I like to try and be able to play something by either method, but I tend to find pick is more precise and fingers more free-flowing. I think a deficiency of my playing is I don't know the scales, but when someone starts talking about mixolydian or whatever I often think "oh, that's like this one I play". I also think it's been remiss of me not to learn to read music, but maybe one-day I'll put serious effort in; OTOH, I subscribed to the idea that I want to play my stuff rather than be an automaton doing what someone else has written note-for-note.

IME unless you are also a prolific song writer with plenty of drive to enable you to organise the other musicians, you are better off joining an existing band.

I rarely talk about politics with my bandmates. I certainly don't bring up the topic of politics with them. I've had sneaking suspicions about some ex bandmates world views but never investigated further - because I didn't want their political views to have an effect on the musical relationship I had with them. If I did find out they had views that were VERY extreme, I might think twice about playing in a band with them.

I’d start with a duo and work up to that

A bit of personal nostalgia this morning, the complete Jon Camp bass part from the 1978 Renaissance single 'Northern Lights. It was on the band's album, 'A Song For All Seasons'. A lovely part. https://bilbosbassbites.co.uk/northern-lights-renaissance/

Probably not into the reactor core, but y'know...

Yesterday I took a trip to the physiotherapist with both DB and BG. This revealed that part of the problem is when playing BG (or guitar) seated; the position of my right shoulder is drawn backwards such that it causes pain to go down the arm after a few minutes. For the moment, practicing standing up will be required until I can work out a good seated position, perhaps with a proper stool (something that can fold to go to jams & gigs).

The idea of starting your own band sounds like a good one.

Ain't Nothin' Goin' On but the Rent - Gwen Guthrie

Presumably he's not been inside to look when it's been switched on, or is he now glow-in-the-dark blue as well?