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Burnin' For You - Blue Oyster Cult

I saw the gig where Clarke, Wooten and Miller were playing together. To me the whole set sounded lame, because it felt like a set of showoffs, but no songs/music. There Miller was probably the best while backing up his two colleagues. When he started to thumb, the feel was lost just like with the two others. I have seen Clarke soloing with his band and it was a really good show, likewise when Wooten was playing with Bela Fleck.

That video is private!

In short, in all the situations in which you're more likely to damage the bass

Same here, I bought one on eBay 10 years back and, IIRC, had to give it away a few weeks later. Although I checked the advertised dimensions I didn't realise just how much bigger than a DB a DB hard case is, and more specifically, how much more challenging it is to move around, for example getting around corners, up stairs, into cars etc

I feel your pain. I've been though a bit of it myself recently, much the same position in that there are two of us committed to the project and we've had a series of false starts with people turning up to rehearsals unprepared. It's horrible to turn up to rehearsals only to find you are wasting your time and everyone else's because one person hasn't done their homework. Doubly horrible becaue you know you are going to have to tell them they aren't needed and then go through the process of finding yet another new person and making another fresh start. Firstly I think it is quite possible that a band can thrive if you are all in other bands but it's really simple: once you've accepted a gig you do that gig lettig the other bands know you aren't available and you turn up to rehearsals prepared, exactly as other people have said. I actually don't think it is a bad thing to have a band where a couple of you are highly committed and others come in for the ride so long as everyone has a degree of professionalism in their attitude at least. I've played bass for a band where I took no part in decisions and just turned up and played. It was one of the most fun experiences I've had at gigs, all I had to do was learn the songs and turn up and play. The motivation was that audiences enjoyed themselves and I got to play a load of new songs without worrying about anything but playing bass. I've found I've needed to develop a thicker skin in all this. Most musicians I've met are pretty focussed on what they want to do, and partly that is a sensible and practical attitude. I play strictly covers, the thought of playing someone else's poorly written songs or trying to find an audience for an unknown band fills me with dread. If I'm looking to join an existing band then the first thing I want to see is their set list. How many songs do I already know? Do I like the songs and want to play them? Do I think they are out to please an audience of just themselves? How many gigs are they doing and will they be a decent venues? How far away are the gigs and the rehearsal rooms? Do they look organised or disorganised? Can I deliver what they want? I can't ask all these questions myself and then complain when they look at my band in the same way, balancing the pain and effort against the rewards works both ways For many of us the rewards are lots of good gigs. I'll rehearse because I need to and I'll turn up prepared because I hate letting people down. I've got a bit of pride and lets face it sometimes you need to rehearse. I don't want to be in a band that spends time in the rehearsal room every week for six gigs a year. I'm a grown up (some of the time) if a band are getting good gigs, fun to be with and moving forwards I don't need any other motivation.

Love In The Third (second) Degree - Bananarama

Meh, try this one. But really, Bork! Bork! Bork!

I’d get him to call up some string shop. I’m sure someone like the Martins, Thwaites etc would have one. I know the luthier Martin Penning has one to transport basses when he’s built one. (I’m not suggesting he’ll hire it or let you borrow it, I’m just saying he has one!) But I’d assume all serious bass luthiers that sell internationally will have one. That’s where I’d start.

I bought one a few years back and sent it back, I think in part because it was a naive buy (I hadn't really done my homework) but also because while it looked beautiful, it felt cheap. Tone wise I didn't really get too much playing time in but there was nothing there that would have made me think twice about keeping it 👍

I sold a few pedals last week and realised I had the ££ - so was very much asking myself if I wanted one of these and jump on the “new thing hype wagon” - eventually decided I didn’t need synth sounds but if I did the FI4 Quatschmacher is selling would be better bang for buck (more in-depth vs harder to programme) edit - it’s sold, there’s a FI4 vip too in the for sale

When's the review due out? I'm guessing another coupla weeks as they said August release.

I have! I had one like the one in the classifieds... For less than a week.i bought it on here, and almost immediately put it back up for sale. But it wasn't the fault of the case. While from a protection point of view I think it was great, it added a lot of size and inflexibility. My house is pretty small, with low ceilings. So storing it when the bass was out was a problem, and moving things around to put the bass in or take it out was a bit of a mission. Also, the bass just fits in the car in a gig bag, with the size added by the foam hard case, it was too tight for comfort. In a different living situation, with more space, maybe more than one bass to store, and a van, I'd definitely think about picking another up though. It was pretty good, and definitely provided a significant upgrade in terms of protection.

The same concert. 'Uh, Oh!', with Marcus' solo at around 4:30.

I’ve been half hanging my nose over these for a while. A Nottingham dealer has one in stock and I keep meaning to go and try it. Especially interested in the “Resinator” fingerboard. (Maybe it’s just a gimmick!) Also, they seem to come as standard with very heavy gauge strings. Any experience, people?

Here is Marcus on a live concert with Dave Grusin and the GRP All Stars out in Japan in 1980. It says from a 'Broadcast'. Possibly from a TV airing. It's interesting, because Marcus at times, seems to be favouring more of the back pick up sound on his Jazz Bass like he is still experimenting sound wise. At 10:50, on the tune 'Shamballa', Marcus plays some really nice Fretless: 'Shamballa' on it's own: