rushbo

Maybe as an experiment, in the midst of this gentleman weeping hot, fat tears of joy as he held the music that had enhanced his life and possibly soundtracked a number of his significant life events, I should have said, "Sorry mate, that music is sh!t." I'm sure he would have agreed with me and we'd have a good ol' laugh at the whole thing. Or I'd end up picking up my teeth with a broken arm.

I played drums in a band for a few years, when the band I played bass for was going through a quiet phase. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I learned a lot about how music works, but unfortunately the main lesson I learned was that unless I put in A LOT of effort to improve, I was never going to be anything better than a C+ drummer. And the world is already awash with C+ drummers. It was great fun and I really enjoyed the physicality of playing the drums. I didn't enjoy lugging endless bulky kit around, however... The band made a (self produced) album and a couple of EPs, some of which I can listen to without wincing too much. I was never going to be the drummer I wanted to be, so I hung up the sticks, flogged the kit and made more of an effort on the bass. I'm back in my happy place.

This x 1000 Here’s a true story: A guy comes into my record shop and pre-orders a CD. Not a new one – a cheap re-issue. He’s super-excited. On the day of it's release, he’s outside the store when I arrive, almost hyperventilating with excitement. I open up and dutifully trudge to the back of the store (slightly peeved that this guy has delayed my morning coffee by 10 minutes) to retrieve his disc. He rips off the cellophane. His hands are trembling. And then he bursts into tears. Unselfconsciously, a grown man is so happy to purchase this music that he is weeping in front of a sales assistant. Being an Englishman, I have NO CLUE what to do in this situation, so I go to the other end of the counter and avoid eye contact while he gets it out of his system. Eventually (10-15 minutes later) he is composed enough to pay me and leave. The music that reduced him to tears was... ‘The Very Best of a Flock of Seagulls’. I have sold thousands of releases by ‘Good’ artists - everyone from Nick Drake to Radiohead, from Bach to Coltrane, but the only person who ever wept for joy on purchasing a recording was the guy who bought ‘The Very Best of a Flock of Seagulls’. I dare you to tell him he's wrong.

"If you know, you know." This manages to be meaningless, elitist and patronising in one enormous slam dunk of stupidity.

Birchwood Casey Tru-Oil is a relatively painless way to finish a bass, as long as you're happy with the "natural" look. You can go from a nice satin to a really deep shine depending on your patience. I've done a few basses this way and I've always been pleased with the outcome.

That is just so...neat.

The sellers chances of selling this bass may be slightly impeded by the fact that directly under the ad, in the "more like this/sponsored links" section is an ad for a brand new version of the instrument for £50 less than their asking price.

Blimey. If I heard that on an audio recording, I'd have put money on that being an upright. Full disclosure - I am an unrepentant Rockin' P Bass guy and consequently unused to the dulcet tones of a proper bass, and a bit deaf. That said - that was great. Fantastic playing too.

I've used daisy chains in the past, but I often suffered with unwanted noise issues. This may have been to do with them, my patch leads or one of my more dubious pedals, but since I've been using a Harley Benton PowerPlant Junior and decent connecting cables (Warwick flat cables), all is good. I power my vintage Zoom B3 multi FX, my Sennheiser wireless receiver and a Behringer BDI flawlessly with the HB power supply. It's a slightly more expensive option (£37 with p and p) but for durability and peace of mind, I think it's worth it.

Whilst trawling the FaceBook Marketplace for God -knows-what, I happened upon this. In case you can't read the faux-mother-of-pearl logo, it's a Roberts "Savage" bass. About two hours after pressing the button, a very nice man delivered it and scarpered. It was a nice bass - it played well and sounded OK. The pickups needed rewiring (which was mentioned in the "For Sale" ad) but other than that, it was AOK. Sadly, the honeymoon effect kicked in pretty quickly and the more I looked at it, the more I knew I was never going to play the bloody thing. Not even in my Roxy Music tribute band. I managed to find a buyer for it who was thrilled with its distinctive look. I hope he's still thrilled now.

What an absolutely brilliant live shot.

If you show a six year old a picture of a P bass for ten seconds, then give them a crayon and ask them to draw what they have seen from memory, you'd get a design like this. I'm sure someone loves this, but that someone ain't me.

I would disagree with almost everything here, but when expressed with such passion and eloquence, I could almost be persuaded. Almost. Regarding fret dots, when they come up with some midi/bluetooth/magical device that connects your fretboard to some discreet earbuds which scream the chord changes into your ear whilst playing, I'll be first in the queue. Whenever I see one of those clever fretless players, nimbly navigating an unlined fingerboard I feel jealous and a little nauseous. I still need a few signposts, even after the best part of forty years of playing in pop groups. I'm pretty laissez faire about whatever a bassist chooses to twang upon. However: Pointy headstocks on anything other than a Flying V; and More than four control knobs on the body of an instrument should really be punishable by a fine, a slapped wrist and an ASBO. If you need a Haynes manual to work out why your bass sounds like a dinosaur with sinus issues, rather than, for example, James Jamerson, I'd consider downsizing.

Almost the opposite - he ate so many burritos he could barely move. He practically had to be put in a wheelbarrow at the end of the meal.

I eat as little as possible prior to a gig, following an incident at an all you can eat Mexican restaurant, some time in the early nineties. My bandmates availed themselves of the tasty treats on offer with great gusto, meaning that they were all bloated, tired and borderline nauseous for the show. The van ride home was no picnic, either... Post gig curries were responsible for there being a bit more Rushbo than I'd have liked, and having lost a chunk of weight, I'm now a bit more conscious about what I eat, especially late at night My post gig "feast" might be a bowl of cereal or, if I'm feeling saucy, cheese on toast. All accompanied by a mug of tea and some terrible TV.

I'm generally not a fan of headless basses, but that looks lush.

Truth x

That BG250 was a steal! I got one with a footswitch for £150 and I thought I'd made out like a bandit... If you're happy to look beyond the branding of almost any piece of musical equipment, there are bargains to be had. As someone who regularly gigs with what some would consider to be "low end" gear, I wholeheartedly approve. Good work fella!

The smell of pie and chips wafting gently from the backline would be a massive distraction. I love pie. And chips.

For a couple of the bands I play with, it's Converse all the way. For the Roxy Music tribute, its either Chelsea boots or Cuban heels. I'm pushing 60, so the day may soon be upon me where I have to wear something more... orthopaedic, shall we say. When that dreadful day arrives, I'll need to make some serious decisions about performing live. Things I have learned from gigging: At least one member of the band must bring a roll of gaffa (black), a set of screwdrivers, a hammer and a Stanley knife to every gig. Mostly for repairs. Sometimes for self defence. Bring a spare. The thing you never bring a spare of, will eventually fail at the highest profile gig you will ever play. Make sure everyone is using THE SAME SETLIST. Think you play better when you've had a few beers? No you don't. If a lead can be gaffa taped to something, then gaffa tape it to something. I speak from experience. The minute you put a drink on stage, someone will kick it over. At a gig, at least one of your carefully programmed effects will sound nothing like it's ever sounded before. In a bad way. There are others, but I've made myself feel sad writing that list out.

That is an astonishing likeness.

On my rare forays up the dusty end of my bolt-on neck, I can't say I've ever been hindered by the join. Hindered by unfamiliarity with the terrain perhaps, but never the build of the instrument. My preference would always be for a bolt on, and that's not just because I'm a Precision bass fanboy. I enjoy tinkering with basses and having the ability to swap bits around is a real boon. And unlike everyone else on here, I have bust a neck beyond repair. After a lot of swearing and a browse through the pages of eBay I was able to give the bass a new lease of life with a new neck fairly easily. I've had some lovely basses with set necks, including a gorgeous Spector 5 string, and I can't say that made any difference to how I played it. Would I buy an instrument with a set neck today? Yep. If I liked the instrument, I'd buy it regardless of how the long pointy thing is connected to the funny looking, jigsaw piece shaped thing. However, I have to admit that a nicely done neck to body join is a very sexy thing indeed. Find an instrument you love to play and play it. My main bass is a combination of an Indonesian Squier P/J body with a left handed, Mexi Fender neck. Every time I see it, I find it incredibly difficult to not pick it up and have a twang on it. Resale value: £0.00. Sh!ts I could give: 0.