rushbo

Smooth Hound here, too. Rock solid reliable and brilliant customer service.

I agreed with pretty much everything he said. Find a guitar you like and play it however you like. Just play it.

At the risk of parroting what lots of others have said, I’ve used Grolsch grommets for the last 15 years with no problems ever. Although I don’t throw the bass around, I’m pretty mobile for an old fart, and never once have I had the strap come away. I bought 100 in a bag from eBay maybe 10 years ago - all my basses and guitars have a pair on as do the instruments of most of my band mates. You may raise an eyebrow about trusting the safety of your beloved (and expensive) bass to a bit of rubber that isn’t designed for that job, but in my experience, they’re perfect. I fitted strap locks to a bass of mine many years ago and they were nothing but trouble. That was my experience then- hopefully they’re better made now. Oh, a quick heads up- I had a couple of the Fender bottle top strap locks and after a couple of years, they started to get stiff and brittle. The Grolsch versions just go on forever!

Worth a peep here:

The Travelling Wilburys were only the band The Beatles could have been...

You've made my day. I've never seen that before. There are a few bits of footage of HL playing live in London, but I never thought for a minute they would have actually made a video. Thank you...

A brilliant band from New York called Hugo Largo. A bit arty...not everyone’s cup of tea, but they made two stunning albums in the eighties.

Fortunately, I've never had an amp go bang at a gig, but my elderly and up to then. bombproof Peavey TNT combo, inexplicably packed up at a rehearsal a few years ago. I've always got some kind of DI with me, in the form of Behringer BDI 21 pedal, my Zoom B3 or the DI on the combo, so I'm confident I'd be able to finish a gig if disaster struck. I'd be a little nervous without a backup.

I saw the Stones earlier this year. It was a great combination of the kind of enormous venue that I hate with a band who I thought should have retired thirty years ago. They were incredible. A superb setlist with just enough hits for the casual fans and just enough deep cuts for the purists. Jagger can still sing (and move like he still owns the stage) and the band played brilliantly. I was blown away. Having seen a few "heritage acts" in the last few years (including Mott The Hoople and Neil Young) 'phone in lacklustre shows, I was expecting the worst. But the Stones delivered. I guess it depends on the artist - I've not seen Sir Cliff recently, but as long as he can still do it and people enjoy what he does, then more power to his (tennis) elbow. 10cc are still on the road and are still worth seeing, in spite of a rather "triggers broom" approach to band members. Bill Nelson's rare live shows are still stunning. Not quite in that bracket, but I saw The Posies and Colin Moulding of XTC play two of the best shows I have seen for ages recently and they have been playing since the 70's and 80's.

Yes. This.

TC +I featuring the incredible Colin Moulding in Swindon on Sunday night for me. Absolutely superb - Moulding still plays like an Alt-Rock McCartney and Terry Chambers still whacks the kit with gusto and aplomb. The rest of the band ain't too shabby, neither.

Those cardboard covers are ace. I saw some on T*lkb*ss a year or two and they looked like they do the job. The only drawback is that you cant fold them down and at a pub gig with limited space, it could be a bit of an issue.

We all know what he REALLY means...

Ace.