Doddy

This, to me, is the problem with online lessons. You're following a course yet you are getting no feedback on your progress, or any real help on your technique. I'm going to recommend finding a decent teacher, either online or (preferably) in person, who can help you with your technique issues and guide you at the required pace. If you're finding scales and arpeggios incredibly dull and boring then you're not practicing them right.

Pigtronix make excellent pedals. I've got one of their original EP-1 Envelope Phasers ( the big half moon shaped one), and it's a killer sounding pedal.

I've done a lot of travelling and flying with my Roscoe in an iGig gigbag, and I've never had any issues. I think they stopped making them but if you can find one, they're excellent. I've also done a lot of travelling with a leather Reunion Blues gigbag, and that's excellent quality. I've got no problem putting my nice basses in either of those cases. I can't say I've ever had an issue with zips scratching my bass with any half decent gigbag.

If playing one finger per fret hurts, don't do it. Try a 3 fret stretch instead, using your index, middle, and little finger, and use your thumb as a pivot to shift position. It's easy to grip the neck too hard and lock your thumb on the back of the neck, but it needs to be loose enough that you can make slight position changes without stretching uncomfortably. Let's be honest, there are very few players who stick to playing one finger per fret religiously. Play what is comfortable for you, and as you progress you'll find that you'll probably be able to stretch a little more.

My New Year gig is still happening, as is my gig tonight, thankfully.

I didn't say that Marcus was a household name in '78 (or even now). What I'm saying is that his session career was well underway at that point, so wasn't unknown around the NY studio scene. I don't think it's fair to say he'd be unknown if it wasn't for a couple of guys in the London scene.

To be fair, by '78 Marcus was already making a name for himself by touring and recording with people like Bobbi Humphrey and Lenny White, so I'm not sure that's all strictly true.

The big three who I always recommend listening to are Paul Chambers, Ray Brown, and Ron Carter. But check out all of the great Jazz bassists- guys like Slam Stewart, Jimmy Blanton, Scott LaFaro, Milt Hinton, Oscar Pettiford, Charles Mingus, Jimmy Garrison. For more modern players, have a listen at guys like John Patitucci, Christian McBride, Larry Grenadier, Chris Minh Doky.

Whats wrong with holding social events in non licensed premises? Not every event or night out has to involve alcohol. Saying that going somewhere dry is preventing you from having a drink is like saying going to an Italian is preventing you from eating tacos.

So what? The same way that age would rule me out of a gig with a teenage band, turning up with a leather gig bag would rule me out of a vegan band. So, I'm just not going to bother even trying. No harm, no foul. There's currently an ad on Facebook for a rhythm guitarist for a metal band, and the number one priority is having long hair. Seems daft to me, but let them crack on.

The Earthquaker Devices Plumes is a really good overdrive for around £100 new.

Fender also made a fully passive version of the Precision Deluxe.

If you can get one of the passive Deluxe Precisions you can turn off the Jazz pickup and you've got a straight up P Bass with a Jazz neck.

In: Moog Subsequent 25 Warm Audio Active DI DOD FX25 Envelope Filter Schroeder 1210r cab Out: Nothing

I don't think I'd do all that to an Affinity. I get that it's fun to mod stuff but if there is any chance of you selling it on, it's still ultimately a Squier Affinity and will go for that price.

Yeah. Great little pedal.

Cool. I'll stick to my gig bags.

Ed Friedlands books 'Building/Expanding Walking Basslines' and Ed Fuqua's 'Walking Bassics' are good starting points to learn to walk. The most important thing is to listen to the great jazz players, and check out their approach to walking. Albums with players like Paul Chambers, Ray Brown and Ron Carter are masterclasses in walking bass.

I used to not want to take my nice basses to certain gigs, but it got to a point where I just wasn't enjoying playing the less expensive gear as much. So now, I've been using my good stuff for everything and been slowly selling off the more midrange stuff.

Because a quality gig bag will actually offer more protection than a lot of cheap hard cases, especially those wooden rectangular ones.

New, I think the Sire v7 basses are the best instruments in their price range. They're well made, and the preamp is actually really good and usable, unlike a lot of sub £500 basses. Used, you can get loads. I picked up a Yamaha Attitude Standard for about £400, and an MTD Kingston Heir for well under £300. I even found my old Fender Bullet B30 for under £300.

The EHX Bassballs is cool but it's a pretty unique sounding filter and does what it does. It's not the most versatile filter. I'd be more inclined to look at one of the Q Trons instead. I haven't tried the big Ashdown filter, but I've got their Dr Green Doctors Note. As a standalone filter it's ok, but it really comes alive if you stack it behind an OC2. Personally, my favourites are the Emma Discumbobulator for an up sweep, and the Seamoon Funk Machine for a downsweep. I really like the old DOD FX25 too. You can sometimes find them pretty cheaply, especially the FX25B, although I think the older FX25 (without the B) is a better sounding pedal.

I generally think that the most underrated pieces of gear are things like gig bags, straps, cables, and DI boxes. They are often the things that a lot of players seem to have a "that'll do" attitude about, and don't want to spend much money on. But cables and DI boxes (not preamp/DI's) can have a huge effect on your tone, a good strap can make playing long sets much more comfortable, and if you're spending good money on a bass,why would you not invest in a high quality gig bag to go with it?

Excellent pedal. I still use mine a lot and prefer it to a lot of the other synth pedals out there.

Who mentioned being versatile? It's still a really good synth for bass sounds, and you don't need to faff around with a computer.