bassbloke

https://ebay.us/m/ouwIW0 A lot of bass rig for not a lot of money

Yes. Charlie Chandlers pleked a jazz bass many years ago. I bought the instrument 2nd hand and couldn't get the action right despite my best efforts. I was underwhelmed. It was a great fret job, but didn't improve the playability. Can't remember why, but I removed the neck and found someone had stuck a bit of a payment card underneath as a shim. Removed that and was able to sort action in a matter of minutes. If only tech had bothered it would have been a very different experience. If it were me, I'd spend my money on a local luthier/tech to do the job by hand.

We're a heavy metal band. Our original singer was very much in the mould of Bruce Dickinson. When he left we tried out numerous male singers, none of whom worked out. We now have a female singer with really strong blues influences and we've never sounded better. Writing and arranging material to suit her voice means we're avoiding some of the musical clichés we'd encounter with a standard rock/metal singer. So, embrace the change. The unfortunate reality with music is that people don't evaluate things rationally. Hence you get nonsensical statements like 'I preferred your blokey image'

FTFY. Granted it was an excellent bass sound, but I am finding that rock and metal bass tones now fall into one of two categories 1) Sansamp 2) Darkglass GnR were woeful. Only polished thing about them were Axl Rose's teeth. He absolutely butchered Never Say Die. I haven't heard a singer that out of time since the vocalist in my first band and that was 28 years ago.

If there's one thing i've learnt in my 50 years on this earth it's to keep politics and religion out of online discourse. I can't fault Kneecap's performance. The video clips before the start of their set were perfect. Musically, Ezra Collective were the standout for me.

Watching En Vogue. As expected, the rhythm section are a bit special.

Depending on genre, any physical format is viable, just make sure you have a quality digital option available too. Popularity of different formats varies a lot by country too. Vinyl is big in Europe.

DEI toten hosen

Interesting. You can only sell so many new guitars, so makes sense to get piece of the used market.

Avantasia at the Roundhouse. Not the most inspiring from a bass playing perspective, but that's not the point of seeing Avantasia. They played for nearly 3 hours with a vocal lineup that included Tobias Sammet (obviously), Eric Martin (Mr Big), Ronnie Atkins (Pretty Maids), Bob Catley (Magnum), Tommy Karevik (Kamelot) and the incredible Kenny Leckremo from H.E.A.T. Even the three backing singers were incredible, especially Adrienne Cowan. VID-20250325-WA0000.mp4 VID-20250325-WA0012.mp4

I bough my main bass on a holiday to the USA/Canada in 2003. Fender US Deluxe jazz 5 for £650. Them were the days. My advice would be to spend your holiday money on a trip to Japan. Exchange rate is very favourable for visiting westerners and you can pick up a good deal on a flight. Tax free shopping is a breeze - your tourist visa includes a QR code that you use at point of purchase to exclude 10% sales tax. Tokyo is full of great guitar shops- Ishibashi in Shibuya and Shinjuku for example. The best deals are on Japanese instruments. I picked up a near mint non export Aerodyne Jazz for £450. The shop staff are incredibly helpful and will even disassemble a bolt on instrument, slacken truss rod and bubble wrap body and neck to keep it safe. I brought mine back in a carrier bag and stashed in the overhead compartment . Clothes shopping dirt cheap too. Granted, I was there for work, but a friend went on a leisure trip and claimed his shopping savings covered cost of his flight.

I recently discovered Drumble on YouTube. It's in a similar vein to Drumeo, but the majority of drummers are gospel musicians (i.e. ridiculously good) However, they've recently introduced rhythm section playthroughs and a couple of the musicians are an absolute joy to watch https://youtu.be/bEk8QItRJeo?si=pioJaPdQBL1uvOb8

If you're a fan of Pete Trewevas, then check out the last Transatlantic album. It has a great line-up - Mike Portnoy, Neal Morse and Pete on bass. Some lovely melodic playing.