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A psychedelic rock cover of a The Temptations hit, released on a Motown sub-label Rare Earth - (I Know) I'm Losing You | John Persh

Harmoniser pedals are a great example of Less Is More. I'm not a big fan of either the Critical Mass (owned one & used it live) or the TC Helicon VoiceLive (watched a lot of videos), but the H1 pedal is absolutely my sweet spot. I do 70 gigs a year using that pedal frequently during 3-hour gigs. It sounds great every time and draws a lot of positive comments.

Any recommendations for a gigbag to fit a hollowbody bass? This is for a Fender Starcaster bass which is a similar size to my Guild Starfire. Thomann have a couple of rockbags that look like they should work, but are there any others?

I love the creaminess of the scratchplate. I have a Matsumoku one in fireglo with a white plate, which is slightly translucent, as they are, but I much prefer the look of your one. 😎

Add their Encounter to that list too.

I'm always aware that a bass might be in excellent condition because it was considered below average when played. For me, a decent amount of play wear indicates a single, or a number of players have preferred to use it over the years. Also, another benefit of a roadworn instrument is that new dings are stress free.

Happy belated birthday. I tried their phaser but really didn’t like it. I had high hopes for it, especially with the envelope mode, but I very quickly established it wasn’t for me. It was a very noisy circuit. I much preferred the Barbanera Black Pearl and the Behringer BM-13.

Robert, it all depends on what you're after and this is something that must be discussed with your teacher. If he doesn't agree with your point of view about music and piano playing, as long as it's not based on idleness only, find another teacher/tutor. Grades are there to assess the level of playing what is written, exactly the way it is written, not a way to assess your ability to interpret a piece with emotion. A very good example is the piece I'm learning right now (still Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence by Ryūichi Sakamoto), which has been performed by the composer himself who wrote the final score himself, before dying. And this is a great opportunity, because, very often, you play pieces from dead people who never recorded them themselves. So if you listen to the different versions he played himself, you'll notice that his last interpretation was fully loaded with emotion, not always sticking to the written score when it comes to timing, but linked to his feelings, making it beautiful and human, with mistakes. Listen to Lang Lang version and you'll hear a typical classical version strictly sticking to the score, and ending up in a boring version, lacking the Japanese ethnical music heritage mixed with the Debussy homage and, something that classical player can hardly do, a swing feeling. So decide wether you want some diplomas on your wall or being able to read and play a score your way with the most important parts in music: interpretation linked to emotion. That said, hélas, technique is the only way to reach that goal. Mixed feelings, I know.

Moped eyes - Super Furry Animals

That is no fun I would already be going from 2 to 1.

Rod Deas bass has "lots of providence" or dirt as it`s otherwise known.

Six Things To A Cycle — The Residents

What a nice piece of wood!! Love it!! indeed best to only oil and wax it, that way the wood comes alive!!

I'd also add, that if you do want to focus on things like dynamics or smooth legato playing or whatever, it's probably better to spend a short time per session drilling exercises like scales/arpeggios where you focus just on that skill in a simplified context. That might appear to contradict what I said above but I think the short time is key. Do it only until you feel concentration waning or you've plateaued for the day. Try playing a C major scale up and down at p, then f, then after a while introduce mp, then mf. Do it legato, and do it staccato. Try doing it up and down one octave with a steady crescendo. Then up and down with steady diminuendo. Think about how your fingers are contacting the keys before and after the notes are played. Get your wrist angle right. I guarantee that kind of focus will help you when you go back to playing actual pieces where you're having to think about more aspects at once.