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Mrs S made the basic error of leaving me on my own with time to kill in Nottingham for the afternoon. I made the even more basic error of nipping in to Hotrox in Sneinton. They had this.... I wasn't going to buy it until i realised; a) that it is medically necessary as the binding on a 4003 is a bit sharp on the forearm, and b) that it will annoy Young Teebs. Oh, and; c) it is bloody lovely. Mrs S did the rolly eyes thing until I mentioned (b) then she understood why i had to get it. Of course, I've broken my one-in-one-out rule so expect some major activity in the marketplace shortly. Or I have a kidney if Raymondo's interested.....

I went out today, ostensibly to check out a MusicMan Cutlass bass, in Diamond Blue, with maple fretboard. But with a whole day at my disposal and visting a shop run by a friend, I had to check out a few alternatives. My 2 main basses at the moment are EBMM Stingrays. A classic and a special. So the Cutlass seemed a very nice alternative to the Rays. I also played a mapleglo Rickenbacker 4003s, which despite it's rediculous hardware (bridge & string cover-rest), felt very nice to play and was a nicely built bass. But I didn't like the sound of the pickups at all, thick, harsh and a little crude. I had a quick go on a couple of 5-strings, an MTD Kingston and an EBMM 'Ray. Neither convinced me to have another go with a fiver. Alao had another try on a Marleaux Consat 4-string, I'd played before, but still didn't gel with. The Cutlass was pretty much exactly what I expected. Like a passive Precision but IMO, better. I was close to saying I'd have it, when Gary, the shop guy suggested a Jazz Bass. Now I've owned/played a load of Jazz basses but had gone right off them, about 3 years ago. But he pulled out a real nice one, although my intial comment was "not a pink bass!". It was indeed shell pink, with an off white (mint?) scratchplate, being a Fender Limited Edition American Pro Jazz Bass. But what grabbed my attention and got my juices flowing, was the all rosewood neck. A thing of beauty that played as well as it looked. But it had the narrow nut of a Jazz and it was pink! I plugged it in and was surpised at how much I liked the tones available. I mainly settled on middle pickup up 100%, bridge pickup and 75% and varying the tone from 100 to 75%. Then I said to Gary, this would look much better with a tort scratchplate. He agreed and produced one. We slid it into place and it transformed the looks of this bass. Wow, now I was really interested. So Gary said he'd replace the plate and put some Elixirs on for me. Yes please! Trouble was the plate fitted everywhere, except there was a small gap between it and the chrome, control panel. stinky poo! So the original went back on, with the Elixirs and Fender are sending a tort plate for this series, for me to put on ASAP. Got it home and have been blasting along to my tunes and loving it. I've been playing actives for years but my ears are enjoying this passive bass. And my hands are feeling very comfortable on this lovely neck. Just need that tort scratchplate, to perfect the aesthetics.

The more appropriate question is whether you should be banned or not. For asking if 42 is too old. 😂

I've never really got into the self-titled Jaco CD, but I do like his playing on Joni Mitchell's albums

Hi Folks, This is a bit of a feeler really as I have my eye on something else.. So, this is - as far as I can tell from the serial number - a Made in Japan Fender Precision bass, circa 1991/2. I'm looking for £SOLD or very near offer for this beauty. It sounds and looks great, has a beautiful Ash body and a slim, almost Jazz like maple neck and is in brilliant condition for a 27 year old bass. It's everything a 70s P Bass should be IMHO ! 😊 Full disclosure ; there's one tiny ding on the neck which I'll try to photograph tomorrow when there's hopefully some decent light.. It has been set up professionally and is currently strung with a set of Rotosound steels. Comes with a functional hard case. As ever, I'd prefer to sell this to someone who could come and try it out in person here in Littlehampton West Sussex first however, I am prepared to ship it at buyer's expense by insured courier service. If you've any questions, please PM me or ask away here and I'll try to get back to you ASAP. I am away in Birmingham from tomorrow afternoon for 3 days , so please bear in mind that I may not be able to answer certain questions.. Thanks for looking as ever! 😊 Nik

I am engrossed in Mark Smith's Walking Bass course. It is is very deep and complicated for a simple person. All 62 videos of it. But then I started to notice something reassuring. You can actually play almost anything and get away with it. Let me explain... You set out to join the dots between chords tones. There are four of those. Your bass line gets smoother as you introduce scale notes, and there are lots more of those. It gets smoother still as you introduce chromatics, and that's almost everything else. That's when I realised... It doesn't matter what note you play. So now I happily play faux-walking bass, concentrating only on hitting the beat and leaping up and down the fretboard in a confident looking manner, playing largely random notes. Looks good, sounds good (helps to play fretless with dull flats). No effort to learn. And I recently played just like that in a jazz group for an evening just to prove my theory. I was complimented.... So am I bad?

Myself and @cd_david spent a couple of hours this afternoon in the company of a '72, a couple of '73's and a '78. The verdict? They're all fantastic.

Chances of ever finding another like this? It's a timewarp once-only thing. Mine from new in August 1990. Used as home and occasional studio combo, then stored by a mate in his house for years. Recently returned to me, then off to Dave at Valve Amp Repair in Gravesend for a service/check-over. Pots cleaned, a dry joint on pre-board fixed, valves checked for matching (good within 3mA). Never worked hard or loud so the original Celestion 15 is good as new. This Twin Valve is in truly remarkable condition - very close to new old stock. FRONT: passive in, active in, TE pre-shape in/out, graphic in/out; effects send/return; line in/out; standby. REAR: Mains on; external speaker out (XLR), impedance switch (4/8 ohm). The internal 15 is 8 ohm so extension should be 8. The Twin refers to the twin (paired) 6550 power-stage valves which TE quote as 130W output. That may sound puny but [1] it's into 8 ohms; [2] Trace were famously conservative in their output ratings (or a lot of current Class D makers are a bit optimistic) and [3] valves drive nice when pushed, as we know. Anyway, as a combo it'll deal with small to mid gigs, add a 210 (say) and it's plenty loud. Weight around 30Kg - it is a Trace, get over it Original Bass Centre invoice includes a Bass Collection fretless, total £1400. IIRC a slight deal was done and the Trace ended up £950 (in 1990, remember !) View, play collect Sevenoaks Kent. UK courier provided buyer organises collection, insurance etc. I can't ship outside UK, sorry. May do a 50 mile run if asked nicely. and btw - see that cast TE logo plate on the front? Art, that's what this is👍

Just bought an ACG Recurve Custom from @Bigwan of this parish. And it's the absolute business! I can see why there's so much raving about them... It does just about everything my Wal does, but is lighter and possibly even easier to play. So do I sell the Sandberg Bassic or Parker PB51?

Old bass day? New old bass day? But either way I’ve now got an old friend back in my hands... back at the SE Bass Bash last month I was chatting to @cetera about my old Frankenjazz and he asked why I never brought it to the Bass Bashes? I explained that about 7 or 8 years ago I’d loaned it to a producer chum for a project and he loved it so much he kept asking to hold onto it for a bit longer. He really loved it and used it on a lot of projects. Months turned into years and I never had the heart to ask for it back. “But it’s YOUR bass, man!” Was Gary’s comment. Well from then on I kept hankering to get it back... more and more... so the other week I dropped him a line and on Monday we met up and swapped it back. I got the bass off eBay about 12 or more years ago from a web shop called Build-a-bass with the idea that it would be the basis for customising. It was back when you could get 2 dollars to the pound so it really was a steal! The story goes that Goerdt from Build-a-bass bought up a load of bankrupt/lawsuit stock from a small builder in Rhode Island (I think) who was building slightly too good Jazz bass copies back in the early 90s and has since been selling the fully loaded bodies and necks as parts. It all sounds a bit suss but, to be fair, the build quality is really good - including the quality of the ash body, the finish and the maple in the neck. Plus when I popped off the scratch plate the whole cavity was fully copper foil shielded and there was a “Sept 91” QA sticker... The neck isn’t as narrow as some Jazzes at the first fret with a bit more meat - which I really love. I like a “proper” Jazz neck, but I like this more! The plan was to change the tuners which were not the best quality, throw on a Badass II, swap the pickups and add a preamp. Of those I only put on some Hipshot tuners, added some Graphtech saddles and put in an Audere Jazz plate. The pickups sounded great and I never had the feeling I needed to change them. Keeping the BBOT bridge also retained the through body stringing. It’s great to have it back. It still feels and plays great and sounds fabulous to my ears. Can’t wait for an opportunity to properly put it through its paces...

For sales - my lovely Shuker 5-sting single-cut. I bought this from John in December last year, and he had just taken it back as a part exchange. It’s a beautiful bass to play, the neck join is exquisite. Pretty wide-range of sounds available from the Aaron Armstrong pickups. I’ve currently got it set as E-C but can put back to B-G if wanted. It’s great either way. Some more details below. Happy to ship local and international (buyer pays) and it’s got a lovely Shuker hard-case (made by HISCOX). I’ve just bought another bass (Ha!) so don’t really want trade. Anything that looks like a scratch or a ding in the pictures is just a trick of the light - there’s none! I live near Reading in the UK if you want to pop round and have a slap. 🙂 34” scale 24 frets Maple / black veneer laminated set neck Palmwood Fingerboard Stainless steel medium frets Black walnut headstock scarf Laurel Burr headstock facings front and rear Brass nut Gotoh GB707 tuners Two way truss rod, carbon fibre reinforcement Laurel Burr curvetop and rear facing Black Walnut body Polyester basecoat Polyurethane wet look gloss top coat Schaller 2000 bridge Black Hardware Aaron Armstrong pickups. Blackout pre-amp with passive / active select (volume knob pull / push)

Some years ago I was in a guitar shop where a young lad was explaining to his Obviously Very Well-Heeled Father that the Marshall DSL full-stack on display was the ideal home practice amp. To his eternal credit, the salesman tried to dissuade OVWHF from this course of action, suggesting a smaller and less expensive option. 'No, if that's what he wants then that's what he'll have,' harrumphed OVWHF, oblivious to the hideous fate that awaited him.

The rig looks really happy about the whole thing!

I was on the M25 a few weeks ago when I noticed Van Morrison coming up behind me. Then I realised that I was seeing a reversed image in the rear view mirror and it was actually a Morrisons Van.

... a marriage made in heaven. Warning: it may lead to Colin Moulding envy!

is that like a drive thru plane wash thing or are you really a pilot.

I recorded the bass part for this in my home studio (Bag End). I roadied and did the lights for this band in the 1980s and always wanted the gig but it never happened (the bass player they had was perfectly competent and I moved on long before he did ;)). In these days of email and home recording, it became a possibility. An old dream come true. It is off Multi Story's forthcoming album CBF10 (I am only on this one track). The whole track is recorded on my Wal Custon Fretless 4 string.

This: And this: But also this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDrYgT_RzI8 And this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boNCY0Ai44M Some of his playing is over indulgent and repetitive, some just not to my taste but there's no doubt he was capable of some of the most jaw dropping grooves and exquisite phrasing, especially considering he was essentially treading new ground. Bass playing would be massively different today without his influence.

A couple of recent builds from me!

Ahhhh, that's probably why he once said this in an interview for Smash Hits: 🤣

To be fair, a well tanked crowd are almost always better than a stone cold sober one.........

I lift weights and look like an axe murderer, so they tend to bugger off if I start walking towards them. I have largely the same effect on single ladies, unfortunately.... 😕

Played a birthday party in a large function room of a pub. It was a timeless experience for a musician. How many have played to that exact crowd in that exact environment down through the years? Made me smile to reflect on this passion of ours, and made me realise how much I love it. Every part of it, from the hours of fiddling with effects at home, right through to the late night motorway drive back. Quite simply I'm where I should be.

If the missus can have multiple pairs of shoes and bags, then that makes it ok!

Two shows supporting the Wildhearts this week, Wolverhampton and Dover. Wolverhampton was massive (1000 punters) & KK Dowling apparently liked the band. Dover was a 300 capacity but both were great shows. Photo courtesy of Black Velvet Magazine.

I've long suspected the problem is that these groups just don't have a great writer among them. Your Billy Sheehans, Paul Gilberts, Steve Vais, etc., are incredibly accomplished instrumentalists, but are they necessarily the people you'd want writing the songs that your supergroup is going to play? The Brian Wilsons, Pete Townshends, Ray Davieseses of the world weren't necessarily the best musicians in their groups, but they knew how to write a good tune and had groups who were prepared to let them lead on the writing. I say this not to suggest that good writing is mutually exclusive from impressive musicianship; more to suggest that a lot of these supergroups overlook what made their original bands worth listening to in the first place.

Mmmm, yeah, agree. I was saying to @Stingray5 when we were struggling with the World's Largest Car Park (aka the M25) while homeward bound - it seems that with guitarists (and I admit it, 'cos I am the guitarist in one band), there's always that gunslinger, competitive thing going on; bass players tend to be much more mutually supportive of one another - hanging together like the oppressed minority that we are.... Or as I told @Silvia Bluejay - drummers are psychos, guitarists are egomaniacs, singers are on another planet....bass players are the only sensible/sane ones!!

You know what it is . 2010 weighs 8lb 4oz. £700 in very basic Ritter gig bag (not the hard case in background of photos). ONLY trades I'm looking at, straight swap for; Maple boarded US Precision or Road Worn Series Sunburst Precision If you wish to organise & pay for your own courier, happy to box it up, just let me know the day it will be collected, thanks for looking, Karl.

Reluctantly putting up for sale my Barefaced Six10. Looking at buying a house this coming year and need the money (also will need the space) I'm sure everyone knows what these are all about and the wording on the Barefaced website is better than anything i could write: https://barefacedaudio.com/products/six_10?variant=13875021119546 I've had this since the start of the year (arrived 30.01.19) and to be honest haven't used it as much as i wanted to. (band hasn't been giggin enough!) It sounds amazing and come with barefaced protective cover. Could be tempted with a swap for a barefaced two10 with some money my way! Collection only as i don't fancy putting this through the post Will put more details pictures up if needed! Cost £1359 new with cover so i think £900 is a fair price for one in this condition.

Another satisfied Ashdown customer here... Ashdown do not get the recognition that they deserve IMO. British built, well priced, great Customer service and VERY under-rated gear - seems like a not very closely guarded secret that should be more acknowledged.

I joined the yamaha BB club last week... genuinely blown away by both the build and tone, at any price point let alone a smidge above the price of a mex fender!

So I guess your (or someone else’s) mass purchase distorts the market? I’m not phased by this, although the high numbers available could compress the price. Perhaps delaying selling or buying so many would have an effect. My theory is a bit loopy, and echoes previous comments however. Sorry

Thanks! I only made pickguards out of necessity, as nobody was cutting PJ Mustang pickguards when I got my white one. Prior to the tort I made a white pearloid one for my original blue Mustang bass. It isn't easy or quick work and you could do it much quicker with a router and template. I got it down to about four hours per pickguard, but I've not done one for a while! I'm pleased with how close in around the neck I was able to get: I also hand cut the pickguard for my Rick: I only put the subtlest of round-overs on the 4003 pickguard. The stock pickguard had no bevel at all, but I put a soft edge on it to smooth it into the bass slightly. Final pickguard was a red Stingray pickguard that is out there somewhere in Glasgow now! This was hardest as it had to be totally symmetrical!

Here for sale is my Stingray 3eq from 2010, it's in immaculate condition throughout. In Tobacco Sunburst it looks wonderful and plays superbly with a low action. Bass weighs 8.85 lbs or 4kg on my digital scales which is very good for a Stingray. Also the straplocks will be back on too. Comes with the EB hard case too. No trades thanks. ***forgot to mention you can have either the scratchplate that's on or the original black one* Price is posted to the UK.

I did this on a semi pro basis for 6-7 so... framing, framing, framing - move your focus point so that the entire subject is the frame, headstock, the lot. You can always crop afterwards Spotlights *will* cause over exposure and lens flare so watch out for that and roll the exposure back a touch You'll need at least 2 bodies - one with either a short prime or a short telephoto - I always took a pair of Canon 1D's the 35-70mm f2.8 L on the 1st body with the 70-200 or a 300 2.8 LIS f2.8 on the 2nd. Sometimes I took a 3rd lower spec (20D) body with fisheye/semi just in case. Shoot like crazy - 7fps min, pref 10+ Anticipate - know the material (if possible) so that you know if there's a solo/vocal section/whatever coming up

Mine would magically change every 8 months (according to my GAS) from a Precision to a Hofner to a Ric to a Thunderbird and round again. Said with no pride whatsoever!

I have a Mercalli 4 in metallic copper fire which I bought in January of this year. I bought it unseen and unheard (!) and after a tense six month wait, it finally arrived. I liked it so much I bought a Decision P two months later. These are fantastic basses and live up to the hype. There are exceptionally good value for money, are finished really well, light weight and sound amazing. The blend knob is so simple but effective. It really does give a good tonal sweep. I suppose I tend to favour the Merc over the Decision as those pups are very powerful and can need a bit of taming when using IEMs but it is an absolute beast of a guitar and great fun to crank up at rock gigs. Best money I've spent in over 25 years of playing bass, after my my Mesa Subway rig.

I bought this intending to get back into playing after a few years of not playing. Sadly I found I just don’t have the time. This is mint, absolutely as it came from the shop plus some dust. All the bits and bobs that come with it included plus a Levy’s leather strap. I don’t want to ship it but can meet half way. My postcode is PO9 £1000

The Winery Dogs Audioslave Queen + Paul Rogers Them Crooked Vultures I don’t dislike the above bands or collaborations, but I was never blown away by their output compared to how technically brilliant each band member was as an individual.

Makes you wonder why anybody ever bought one 😎😃

Played the Morecambe Punk Festival yesterday. We were on at 8:45 so a good time-slot, before the audience got too hammered, lol. Sound out front for all bands was great, really powerful and very importantly they made sure the vocals were loud. On stage sound was good too as we gave over our printed monitor specs to the engineer (professional huh) so he could make sure we had what was needed. I was using some form of Peavey stack (210 combo plus 410 cab) and it was really nice and solid sounding, with my trusty Para Driver doing the eq/FOH. The gig itself was great, audience really into it, the sound of them singing along to almost every word was amazing, lots of dancing/moshing going on, and a few crowd-surfers as well. For some reason the North West has really taken to us “cockneykunts” as they call us, we just love the gigs up there, just a shame it’s so far away!

I'm far from certain that I'm doing the right thing here. I had a couple of years off from even looking at a bass, due to band driven stress from all the mucking about with no gigs in sight. Thankfully my bass mojo returned and I'm starting to play with a bunch of like minded old fellas. I'm only playing 4 string basses. I think that's where I'm comfortable and it fills my needs. My best bass by some degree has 5 strings hence my post here. This bass is as it was purchased except for a filter pre amp one Mk up again (it was released as my bass came to fruition). It comes with a Hiscox case too. It has a flat radius board, 18mm spacing and plays like a dream. Complex tones are available with the filter pre and 20 coils of pickup on hand. The bass even has a passive switch and a passive tone (batteries are required to power the pickups). 34" scale with a 7 piece neck that is ultra stable. I modelled the woods from my Warwick Thumb and it has that growl which is great. This bass has presence in spades... It's no lightweight. It was never intended to be but I'm skinny and I find it sits well on a strap and balances perfectly. If it doesn't sell I'm going to be working on my B string use... Original photos from Alan's site until I get some done in the next few days. It's not changed.. Peter Top Wood: Bubinga/Maple/Wenge Body Wood: Wenge Accent Veneer: Maple Body Finish: Oil/Wax Neck Wood: 7 piece Bubinga/Wenge Fingerboard: Wenge Scale: 34″ Head Plate: Bubinga/Maple, Back Plate: Bubinga/Maple and Heel: Bubinga/Maple Neck Finish: Oil/Wax Pickups: ACG MC5 Multi-Coils Hardware details: ACG/Hipshot bridge, Gotoh GB350 Resolite tuners, Dunlop Dual Design Straplocks and DR Dragon Skin strings Pre-amp: ACG EQ04 5K dual filter

Hi - Thank you for your Facebook message this morning, we are currently reaching out to the gambling commission and we will work with them on a solution, if it’s simply just not possible then everyone who has entered will be refunded. Cheers M

Thanks for all the kind words guys. I'll wait until I see my surgeon again next month and see what he says. I've been here before when I sold all my gear around 10 years ago when I was in agony with the RA but got back into playing after the hospital got it under control. I'm hoping they can perform another miracle this time around.

And you got Tony Levin to model it!!

Without getting the scales out it feels around the 8.5lbs mark compared to other basses I own. I'm very impressed with it from in regards to playability. The neck is very slim which I really like. Plugged into a pre-amp for recording I'd describe it as 'hi-fi' sounding and I suppose it will come down to how you feel about EMG's which divide some people. I'm very pleased with it.

Fascinating Facts for a Friday: It would take 3,487440 6' tall bass players head-to-to to encircle the equator. It would only take 3,260982 (.8) @Bassfinger s head-to-toe to encircle the equator. It is impossible to complete the same exercise with the average lead guitarist - they possess heads so big it they have their own gravitational pull which would cause a tear in the space/time continuum. Makes you think, doesn't it?! (What it makes you think is another question! )

Hi All, Up for sale is my Fender Bass VI in its original sunburst finish, assembled in 1965. Overall, the VI is in terrific condition with just a few dings and dongs and some signs of buckle wear on the body rear. It plays and sounds fantastic. The neck dates to late '63, pots to late '64 and the serial number to '65 (L63999). The VI was assembled to order and was not popular at the time and so this range of dates is not unusual for this model. (For example, there is one on Andy Baxter's website at the moment with similar ranges) Original mute and trem bar included. Feel free to contact me with any questions or to arrange to view with no obligation. Cheers, Si

Watch out, there's a new boy in town. Electro Harmonix advert for a Big Muff reads "EHX has reissued the original 1973 V2 Violet Ram's Head Big Muff Pi and it's dripping with vintage Electro-Harmonix DNA and tone." So I shall rush off to amend my for-sale ads to include the fact that they are replete with the DNA appropriate to thrir manufacturers. Also I am very interested to learn that DNA and tone both 'drip', I had missed this fascinating fact in my admittedly limited study of the science.

So they could improve it, with a Kiogon wiring loom of course!