bassbiscuits

I still get on with most people I've shared a stage with over the years. But im also glad im not still in a band with quite a lot of them! Where friendships existed before the band, they've survived the best. Some others were people I'd have nothing in common with beyond that particular band, so we've not really kept in touch.

Definitely agree with going secondhand. I picked up a used Yamaha BB604 for £200 which has become a main bass. Jazz pickups, active electronics and 24-fret neck make it very versatile and usual great Yamaha build quality.

Yes Si, very much so. I wasn't that bothered when I bought it as i wasn't sure it was gonna be a keeper. Now i'm sure it is, I'd be more inclined to splash cash on a proper bag.

My 2013 MIJ Mustang came with a standard Strat/Tele gigbag which the previous owner carried it around in. It's a tight squeeze at the headstock end tho and not wanting to scrap the headstock against the zip, i dont use it. I find that using a regular long-scale bag is fine anyway tho - mine is a Fusion F3 i think, which is quite rigid anyway so doesn't flop at the empty space at the headstock end, and has a velcro strap to hold the neck in place anyway. I guess some foam padding or bubble wrap would secure it in place if it was essential. I realise that doesn't answer the question at all! Just saying, that full size bags (which most of us will have at least one of) work fine in my experience. I'd rather put up with the extra space than try to force it into a smaller bag.

Well done on the move to Germany chap - hope it works out well. Hoping we can manage to keep the bass bash going - the couple ive managed to get along too were great, and been a great chance to meet other BCers.

Gibson and Fender are each sitting on a pile of awesome, classic designs for guitar and bass. Fender manage both to make both faithful representations of their classic models, and updated versions with sensible, useful amendments. Plus a product range spanning various custom shop, MIA, MIJ, MIM, along with the large Squier range to cover a lot of different price points. Gibson on the other hand haven't even regularly produced an accurate version of some of their existing models, for example the original EB basses, SG or LP Juniors or Firebird 1 guitar (or single pickup Thunderbird bass for that matter). The tweaks made have often answered questions no one has asked - the Firebird X, SG Zoot Suit, the robot tuners, the wider neck and lower frets of the 2015 range etc. Gibson need to concentrate both on making the best possible versions of their own classic designs (which merit the hefty price tag), and make sure the improvements/developments they make on more contemporary models are based on what players might actually want. For what it's worth the Epiphones I've played seem to have a closer take on that that Gibson ironically - models like the Jack Casady Bass, Thunderbird classic pro and the Casino Gary Clark Junior model I have are brilliant designs - sensible rejigs of classic models to make them versatile, affordable instruments.

Bummer. Sounds like they've lost their way a bit. Amazed how a company with such an awesome guitar making history can be ploughing such a strange furrow nowadays.

Same here - I traded in mine for a P bass eventually. After the arrival of grunge the pointy head seemed a bit much. Id happily use it now tho. Was a good bass.

I had a black one of these from about 1991-1994 and loved it. I gigged it loads and recorded a demo on it with my band at the time and it was great for the sort of funk/rock we were doing (think Saigon Kick, Extreme etc). Its a bass I've often thought I'd like to have kept. Well done!

I dunno. I taught some guitar a few years back to kids of various ages, and below about six years old the kids didn't have the same attention span or plain manual dexterity to be able to fret things properly, compared with say kids of around 10 and upwards. I started playing bass at 12 and even on a short scale bass that was quite big for me. My eldest lad is 6 now and even my small travel guitar is beyond him on a manual level.

If we are doing pics then here's my sole remaining P bass (currently). Its the first one I ever bought after I'd been playing for seven years. I've now been playing for 32 years so we've been together a while. This is onstage just before a gig at the Tunnels in Bristol a few years back.

I hear ya fella. That's why I sold mine. Lovely, but when push comes to shove I can live without it. The only thing I didn't like was the collossal neck dive: totally hollow body + 34" scale big chunky neck = terrible balance. I originally bought it shortly after a bad shoulder injury cos on paper it was quite lightweight. But the balance meant the whole of the weight was actually on the bad shoulder (the left one) anyway. Unless you own my actual shoulder you'll be ok.

I had a Jack Casady until a few weeks ago (sold it cos I'm skint) and it was a brilliant bass. The combination of hollow body, humbucker and flat wounds gave it a lovely sound that was part vintage thud but also bristling with harmonics and natural overtones.

Really? Yeah i can think of hardly anyone who uses a precision.... I'd list them here but there's probably so few.

I love P basses. I've had a few over the years, and currently just own one - my first, and oldest one. They are just right - I love the superior definition of jazz basses and the versatile range of sounds from active basses, but for me a P bass is always the one I come back to as it just sounds so right to me for the kind of music I grew up listening to. To me thats what a bass sounds like. With a pick and roundwounds, mine has a real boing and snarl; with flatwounds and fingers, its smooth and deep. I'm not a heroic bassist, just hopefully a tasteful, thoughtful player who does the job well, and an old P is just the right tool for me.

I play bass first and foremost, but started playing acoustic guitar within a year of starting on bass, and the two have been parallel all my life since. I find that the two influence each other in my playing - the grooving, percussive elements to my acoustic playing come straight out of my bass playing. But when writing a song on bass, I've often swapped back to my acoustic just to strip the song back down and map it out more clearly.

Strengths: I'm reliable, I learn stuff quickly, I've got good gear, good transport and am reasonably easy company. I sing well, and play other instruments, and like a really wide range of music. And I play for the song/band, not to show off. I'm a supporting role on bass, not the star turn. Weaknesses: Apparently I get stressed out a fair bit ( so I'm told ) cos I hate being late! I do like to turn up in plenty of time, and I like to crack on with the gig rather than waiting about. I don't really do slapping or tapping, but then I have no call to do so in my bands.

I love my NYXLs - I'd been using EXL165s prior to that which sounded and felt good, but then tried these and loved them. I couldn't give you a direct comparison as they're on the same bass, so never played the two sets side by side. But they sound and feel great, and are still going strong after more than a year of admittedly only light playing with two gigs and a lot of rehearsing. Would definitely buy them again tho.

I'm the same sort of age as you, and also got back into drawing recently at evening classes etc. Really opened my mind to the hugely different approaches people take to the same thing, and as you say, the general ego-free creativity going on. Also fed into my approach to music too - experimenting with ideas, keeping things simple rather than adding more and more, and trying stuff for the joy of exploring rather than focusing just on the end result.

I listen out for new music all the time - but as with music at any time in history, there's good stuff and less good stuff. If you take the last five years say as 'new', then off the top of my head I've bought stuff by Rival Sons, the Virginmarys, Jain, Laura Marling and Ginger Wildheart for starters. Also been going backwards too tho, and getting into 70s and 80s stuff like John Martyn, Hothouse Flowers and The The.

None of this cosmetic stuff is the end of the world of course - it could well be an awesome bass, for which you'd happily put up with these small flaws. But as a vintage-era bit of kit, the price should reflect that.

I think that's fair as a shop price (Andy Baxter's being an actual bricks and mortar shop, in London no less) for a bass like that, IF it was in very good condition. But those dice stickers would need to come off without leaving a mark, and the thumbrest has been moved too. Would need to see the condition in more detail to see if it justifies that top-end price. I'd guess £1,750-£2,000 as a private sale.

Sure thing. I meant more that there's room in the world for people to do some original stuff of covers depending on what they fancy. No better or worse. Live and let live and all that. I did a nicely paid covers gig last night - I fastidiously choose covers you ain't already heard everyone else playing. But then I've spent all day today working on three new original tunes. Financially lucrative? No chance. Creatively fulfilling? Immensely.