three

Bobby Vega. Just ‘cause he’s Bobby Vega Really. Not particularly instructional, though instructive nonetheless

Absolutely love this and a fantastic restoration - great to see it resurrected and what a very cool bass!

Just back after 5 months (re-polish for poly and re-shoot) so first very poor image - more later. Work by Bow and the Gallery is stupendous (as ever). Just waiting for new neck pickup logo

Just seeing Bobby Vega makes me smile

This sounds like a good idea and probably achieves a lot of what the Noble would do (without the price tag). If you get a chance to try a Noble, they're definitely worth a look - I found it worked especially well with passive/traditional style basses. I used it mainly with a Lakland PJ and P - the sheen of the Noble was less obvious with active/boutique basses (for me anyway).

I used to have one - they’re a superb valve pre and DI - they offer a very polished/produced tone. I prefer solid state pres, however the Noble is probably my favourite valve type. Probably worth the price and hype but it’s all very personal and relative

My personal favourite configuration for a Spector is EMG humbuckers with an Aguilar OBP3 - it's a very versatile and powerful combination. Sorry I can't comment on the Barts and Darkglass configuration (though I'd imagine that too has some power)

I had a Fodera in the same type of case - the odour was really dreadful - I thought that the maker (I can't remember - TKL?) had used an animal-based adhesive, possibly fish-derived. It was so bad that I didn't use the case for the bass and instead stored it well out of the way. Extraordinary if this is true and maker uses some form of 'scent'. Maybe different people perceive the smell differently. I thought it was awful. Good luck - some great advice here - bicarb and charcoal seem to be pretty standard but I find that Febreze (whatever the marketing says) masks rather than eliminates, at least after a few days

Some very good advice above - I'd just add that Rotosound Swing Bass (stainless steel round wound) have a bright and crunchy/aggressive tone that could work well in punk. They're also pretty cheap (take a look here: https://www.yamahamusiclondon.com/product.php?product_id=ROT-RS66LD&source=froogle). There's a good selection of gauges and you can have the 45-105 (medium-heavy to me though others may have a different view) delivered for around £17. I'm assuming here that you haven't changed strings on a bass previously? It's not difficult but there's more to it than initially meets the eye. Also, you may need/want to do a bit of setting-up at the same time as you change strings. There are loads of (good) videos re: changing bass strings and undertaking basic set-up all over YouTube etc. It's really worth having a look and doing a bit of thinking before you do the work. Also, give yourself a bit of time to do the re-stringing and make sure that you get it right. Alternatively, if you have an experienced mate/acquaintance, get them to show you how they approach string changes. Good luck - there's loads of really good advice re: re-stringing on here (BC) too

Just sold a Trace Elliot head to mep in an extremely friendly, easy and straightforward deal. Great chat throughout and immediate payment. The only hitch was on my side - a carrier failure to collect on the scheduled date (becoming standard) though quickly sorted and Carl was extremely patient. A pillar of the BC community

As above, Spitfire are the best I’ve seen and the closest to old tort that is currently available (as far asI know). I had a Spitfire plate on a J - it was staggeringly good. Very expensive but worth it for a ‘61 P

I actually rather like the back on this one but wow, the rest of it needs some tender care. I suspect that a good luthier could transform this into a very lovely and very playable instrument. The coco top must have had potential but the book matching isn't really very book matched. You sometimes wonder what might possess somebody...

I sort of regret selling all the Wals I've had. Not because they were good - I didn't actually like them and don't get on with them very well (at least the more recent ones). I simply wish I'd kept them for longer to realise the prices that they sell for now (something I really don't fully understand).