peteb

I have an issue with Stingrays, in that I like them but rarely gig them. I've moved several of them on, as I'm not really using them, only to go out and buy another! I've had (in total) three 4 strings, two 5 strings, as well as a US Sterling 4 string and sold them all, apart from the current red 91 with a rosewood board! It's got to the point that when I mentioned that I've been offered quite a decent amount for the red 91, my wife told me not to sell it because I would only end up buying another one!

Very much this. I've got a 91 Stingray (no case) that I don't use much and I've been advised by a couple of guys in the trade that I could easily get £1,500-1,600 for it (although I am in no rush to cash in on it). Ten years or so ago, I was buying and selling US Stingrays for £700-800, which then creeped up to about £1k. The price has definitely gone up since then.

That's more than I'm doing and when I've got anywhere near that level, I've aggravated old (mainly football) injuries and had to stop training for a while. However, I wouldn't want to put people off. You can do a lot less than Dave and still get tangible benefits. The main point is to build a bit of core strength and to halt muscle decay and maintain bone density. All of this is very important once you hit your fifties. To achieve this, all you need to do is lift medium weights on a regular basis. As far as improving your core goes, I have a displaced vertebrae in my back as a result of doing too many sit-ups once in my thirties and then playing football the day after. This could have quite a serious affect on me, especially at this time of year when the weather gets cold. However, when I started going to a gym in my late thirties, I started doing moderate weight exercises to strengthen the muscles around my spine and I have never had a problem with my back since. How many people here complain about back issues stopping them from lifting cabs, playing certain basses, etc. A few months of doing simple exercises and I went from being in agony whenever the weather got cold, to having no problem with my back at all. You can do similar things to alleviate shoulder problems as well.

The obvious thing to note (for me) is that when you search '1964 fender jazz bass' on Reverb, you get a page with this one @ £3.8k, one for just under £9k in America and all the others in the £15k to £18k range. The only ones that come up at a broadly similar price are Custom Shop models.

That is a very good point. There are a lot of people on here who are struggling with basic fitness that impacts on them gigging and being able to lift amps / cabs or wear a 9lb bass on a strap, etc. This as well as, I'm sure, many other things in their life. As you get a bit older, it is a very good idea to have some sort of programme of weightlifting to minimise muscle decay and maintain bone density. I say this as someone isn't the most enthusiastic gym goer. I haven't been for nearly three months for a variety of issues (all good reasons, but still) and I really need to get back to it. However, once you start doing even modest lifting, you will find that it makes a big difference after just a couple of months or so. It will also make a massive improvement to what your life will be like when you get a bit older. You do have do be sensible about it and not go for the weights you could have done when you were a bit younger (I speak from experience) and it is certainly a good idea to speak to someone who can give you sensible advice. But hitting the gym in middle age will have a very beneficial impact on your life and allow you to do things like carry on gigging for significantly longer.

If we're going to do memes - wise words from Bleeding Gums Murphy!

I've never really thought of it as 'hifi' and it seems to have a nice warm articulate sound, which you might think of as being 'tubey'. I am always using it in front of a hybrid amp on gigs, so it is difficult to say really. I have been told that it does sound great out front, when the DI is taken from the Caveman. The DI does work very well when used on gigs, but beyond that I'm afraid that this is all a bit above my paygrade!

Nope, never had any issue at all. Every sound engineer who has used the DI has always loved it. I know that it is transformer balanced, which the spec claims will 'avoid any hum/noise issues and eliminates the need for an external D.I./Line Driver' and that there is an amp ground lift (that to be fair, I thought was the same thing).

I've got a Caveman BP1 Compact, which sounds great to me. It has it's own baked in sound (basically enhanced low-mids) that I like, so you would have to be happy with that. I think that it sounds great, it's got a top quality DI and sound engineers seem to like it. https://www.caveman-audio.com/products/bp1c/

It may do, but it is more likely that you need to practice with a metronome and work on how to improve the way that you listen to your own playing! You are not alone - timing and consistency are what sorts the men from the boys and the thing that really makes you a top player. I've been playing for fifty years and they are the two things that I'm still working on!

That's the whole point of jam sessions like that! Some of the most memorable nights of my musical 'career' have been blues jam sessions (admittedly with semi-known experienced players, rather than with novice players getting up)!