Misdee

Sweden is ,however, a society which tolerates one of the highest levels of taxation in the world. Myself, I would be happy to live in such a country. Convincing the wider British public to submit to such a system would be pretty much an impossibility. The whole of the developed world is moving away from that kind of a social model. Public spending is something to be restricted and cut back, not expanded to include people who think they have a right and a need to express themselves. The Swedish system has its roots in progressive liberal ideas that flourished in the 1960's and 1970's. The reality is that in countries like Britain and the USA we are heading back to the 1920's where ordinary working people were kept in a state of anxious uncertainty as a way of keeping them more useful, more profitable and less troublesome to their employers. More work, less pay, less rights.

I would just like to point out that technically speaking I am Scottish. I could actually play for the national team and claim residence after independence. Regardless of that, I am quite happy to subsidise methadone and deep fried Mars Bars for some time yet, just so long as I don't have to listen to Runrig ever again. 🙂 The reason I mention Scotland is that in recent history they have made a point of passing some "progressive" legislation that the rest of the UK would not dare even contemplate, ie student finances ect. In light of that, I could see this scheme appealing to Scottish politicians aiming to boost what I believe they nowadays call "soft power", ie the idea that Wet Wet Wet et al enhance Scotland's international profile and influence. Personally, I'm sceptical, but I suppose you never know.

The way the British society is increasingly leaning, right-wing populism based on feelings and prejudice rather than facts, I seriously doubt any government would spend even a second considering whether to pay a living wage to artists. Can you imagine the public outcry? "My mum's waiting for a hip operation and Kier Starmer's paying for some kid to sit on his ringpiece and learn how to play the bass!" The press would have a field day. We are a nation of philistines, and it's going to get much worse very soon. There is no chance of this ever being adopted in the U.K, except possibly by Scotland, and they would expect England to pay for it.

10CC are one of those bands that were so high profile during their time, but have been kind of air brushed from history subsequently. I remember well how important they were in their heyday, but they are seldom cited as an influence by musicians nowadays or feted in the mainstream media for their extraordinary talents. I think a lot of that has to do with 10CC being an unapologetically clever band. In their own way, they were a kind of Mancunian Steely Dan. Every track was an art project, and they tried to be playful and provocative with the pop music medium they were working within. Therein lay their downfall, because particularly after punk rock happened anti-intellectualism became the only acceptable stance for critics and the listeners they influenced. The fact remains however, that 10CC were a very popular mainstream band in the 1970's, just like ABBA and ELO. They had UK Number 1 singles when that was still a big deal. They were ever-present on radio, regularly on television, did big live shows, loads of people liked their music and bought their records. 10CC wrote great songs that really connected with people, not surprising if they've got people a songwriterwith pedigree like Graham Gouldman in the band, and they definitely deserve to be rediscovered and given the credit they deserve.

It used to exist in the U.K. It was called Income Support.

Regarding boutique P basses, I think the law of diminishing returns is particularly pertinent. Most bang for your buck is to be had at around the USA Fender price point, in my opinion. That is not to say that less expensive versions are not worthwhile. A £5000 Olinto ,on the other hand, might be somebody's forever bass, I'm not putting it down, but despite never having played one myself I would wager that it sounds and feels like...a P Bass. Probably a very good one but essentially still a P Bass. As I've previously mentioned in other threads, there's a certain point with vintage and boutique traditional Fender-style basses where what your paying for is magic realism, not anything tangible or actually necessary in a practical sense.

OCD - controlled exposure and response. It's the only way.

Whether you need a Precision might be the wrong question. Maybe you should ask yourself if you enjoy a Precision. If no one has asked you to provide one in a professional context then in an immediate sense, no you don't need one. Whether you would you get some extra joy from playing one would seem to be the more pertinent question. If you would then it could be a good purchase if you can easily afford it. My go-to bass for well over a decade has been a USA Lakland PJ with a Jazz neck and roundwounds that I use mainly as a P Bass. I've had it a long time and it serves me very well for just about everything. It's boringly reliable and I seldom find it can't sound appropriate for whatever style of music I'm massacring at any given time. Most of the time though just the Precision pickup sounds right for the music, whatever the genre.

It is a guitar, a bass guitar.

I saw the Smiths play live with Andy Rourke using a Trace Elliot rig. What a band, what a bass player. I also remember him using that black Squire P Bass and a Peavy rig in the very early days. I had a JV Squire back then, and it made me happy to see him using one too. I think the Yamaha BB2000 was primarily a recording bass and he used it extensively. A lot of The Smiths album and Meat Is Murder feature that bass heavily. A lot of what people assume is a P Bass is actually that Yamaha.

There's nothing wrong with people being kind, either. It's just if your selling something it's your responsibility to set a price you will be satisfied with, because after that you don't really have any right to a say. That what the buyer gets for their money, the right to say what happens next. Just to clarify, I have never bought a bass or anything else from Basschat, although I have sold one bass that I bought brand new and some assorted sundries over the years. I'm not trying to defend my own actions. It's just that it would never occur to me to take umbridge if anything I had sold was subsequently flipped. If the new owner doubles his money, great. By the same token, if he sells the item on for half what he paid me that's also not my concern, so it works both ways.

Flipping basses for profit on Basschat is perfectly acceptable as far as I'm concerned. There's so much to consider regarding the original sale price, like did the seller need a quick sale and reduce the price accordingly, did they know the true market value of the bass, did they bother to find out? Everyone on Basschat is an adult, making their own decisions. It's a big bad world out there, and Basschat is part of it. You can't infantilize people by protecting them from themselves. It's the sellers responsibility to set a price they can live with. Providing no one has cheated anyone or been intentionally dishonest, that's it. Once the bass is sold it's someone else's property. They can do as they please. If I sold an instrument on Basschat and the buyer then flogged it for more I would be delighted for them, or at worst I would blame myself not the person who made a profit, and learn from it.

Sponji Reggae by Black Uhuru maybe, great tune but perhaps a bit obscure for a mainstream audience. If you want a slower number for a lovers rock kind of vibe, how about Silly Games by Janet Kay.

There was a divide between bass tone on British and American-made music. With UK artists it was brands like Wal, Jaydee and Status you were hearing regularly on records, and ubiquitous Trace Elliot amps and cabs for live rigs. In the States it was more Steinberger, Spector, Alembic, and Fenders always had an enduring popularity with American players. Gallien Krueger amps and still plenty of SVT's about in the States. If you listen, there was huge variety within that modern '80's sound.