Dan Dare

Good choice on the Rumble. I was a little alarmed to see people recommending expensive, powerful stuff to you. Whilst the advice was sound, I felt it might be overkill for the requirements you set out in your original request. If you do need to make more noise and like the sound your Rumble makes, you can always add an extra power amp and cab at a later date, or even buy another Rumble and link them. Have fun.

I'd say practice the songs you already know to start. Playing a fretless takes a little getting used to at first. You have to finger the notes slightly sharp - on the fret-line rather than behind it - so it's handy to start with something you are familiar with. You need to concentrate on getting good, solid accurately intonated notes before moving to things like slides and vibrato. Have fun.

I've got one you can have. Not quite the same - North London rather than Cornwall - but it's yours for £8k. Used twenties in a carrier bag, please.

Me too. A pal of mine edited Fiesta for Raymond a while back. His claim to fame is that he is the man who introduced Readers' Wives to the world.

Oh all right.

MU cover (as mentioned above by Jakester) provides £10m of cover. It's included in the price of your sub's, so a bit of a bargain.

There's a chap in the market place selling two Vanderkley 1x12s for what looks a reasonable price. Worth a look, imho (no, it isn't anyone I know).

I found the same on my old J bass. The pickups had become microphonic, so I had them wax potted. Improved things no end. I didn't notice any loss of highs when I got them back. I wonder if the lost airy quality you refer to was in fact caused by the pickups being microphonic.

This is key. It isn't the parts, but the attitude of the manufacturer that counts. Any electrical part can fail, so you need a manufacturer that is prepared to help if things do go wrong, which Ashdown certainly is.

If the main problem is the cab (not surprising - no 4x12 could truly be described as "lightweight"), why not keep the head and investigate smaller/lighter alternatives? I switched from two large cabs to several smaller ones. The beauty is that they are scalable - I take as few/many as needed for a job. I guess as you use a 4x12 that you need to make some noise on occasion. A couple of lightweight modern 1x12s (see the usual suspects/brands recommended on here) should see you right and you can take just one if it's a smaller job. I wouldn't recommend a combo. Separate head + cabs is more flexible.

Almost correct. Substitute the "r" and "o" in pro with a couple of other letters (the second repeated) and it would be spot on. How can a "custom" instrument have a RRP, I wonder?

Gawd, I've seen pick wear before, but nothing like that. It may be worth the start price...

If you're in the MU, you can get cover through them without paying a fortune. £10m in public liability insurance is included in the cost of your sub's, too.

Good points. My point was in response to those asking about driving others, not just oneself. Obviously, one would not double up on fuel cost for every passenger carried. If it is feasible for several to share a car, it makes sense for them to do so. Fair enough. I was not referring to quid pro quo, but to situations where one person always ends up driving others (which does happen in some circumstances). In that case, being picked up, driven to and from the job and delivered home equates to a taxi service and those being ferried should recognise that and give the driver a drink on top of fuel cost. They can always buy a car of their own or take a taxi if they're not happy to do so.

Any suggestions as to how to re-instate it?

ABB's prices are often, erm, on the amusing side. Tbf, he has a business to run and a living to make. I suspect that it you walked in with readies, the prices would turn out to be negotiable.

Not just fuel. Inconvenience, wear and tear, etc need to be factored in - see bassjim's post above.

Why no pic' on my posts any more?

Don't invest in anything you have any feeling for. You need to sell when the time is right to realise the best value from any investment. If you have fine instruments you are fond of, you may not be able to bring yourself to cash them in when you should. Grangur has it right.

Nah. Old Cliff may have the required religiosity, but he's too, well, nice. You need to be a bit more crazed about your beliefs to be popular with god botherers in the deep South (and preferably be partial to shooting anything that moves).

It's well worth adding a washer to the shaft of the boom extension pivot. Enables you to tighten the T bar properly and makes it easier to loosen. I do this to all my K&Ms.

Good advice. You can take one or both depending on how much nosier you need to make. As for makes, try the usual suspects.

Have a look at these - https://www.floormats.co.uk/safety-mats-playprotect. Just got three - one for the bass rig and one each for the PA subs. Heavy, inert rubber. Work well and a fraction of the cost of Gramma pads and similar.

I see it went for £63. About £60 more than its true value