Dan Dare

Agreed, it's not "standard issue". However, it's essentially an EB3, but made of pretty woods and with a massive price tag. That's my point. But it's your money.

Here you go - https://www.primark.com/en/product/inflatable-guitar,r35397119297748

My point exactly. That may be made of exotic woods, with deluxe pickups, etc, but it's a hot rodded EB in essence.

With the quality of off the shelf stuff available from Warmoth et all, I guess having one built isn't really worth doing.

What will it be wetted by? Do tell.

Good to see variety shows making a comeback. Not quite the end of the pier, but close.

So called "signature" instruments are b/s. They're all standard issue models that just happen to be/have been played by notable players - because those players weren't famous when they started out, so had to use whatever was available or that they liked. As for those players "leading development of" or "designing" said instruments, etc, that really is eyewash. Rant over.

Ratings for drivers for hi-fi/audio use seem to be a little, erm, over-stated. They may say it will handle 150-200w, but I'm pretty sure you could fry it with a 100w guitar amp, especially if you start adding some dirt to the sound. So 5-20w should be fine. I'd suggest looking at the efficiency figure, though. Hi-fi/audio drivers are often in the low 90db range, whereas guitar speakers are typically around 100db. 3db less efficiency requires double the input power to generate the same loudness, so it's important as the difference can be large.

Pretty. Let's hope it doesn't peel...

Sound advice and several smaller boxes are more portable. You can also add extra cabs, slave amps, etc if you need more power.

So true. And don't worry what others think of your musical preferences or why. That's their problem, not yours.

The real reason for his annoyance, methinks

As long as they're looked after/not abused, they don't seem to deteriorate - dynamics at any rate. I have a SM58 that must be at least 30 years old it still works fine. Not sure about condensers, although you see some of the old Neumann valve mics going for crazy sums, so I guess they must last too. If they still sound right, they must be OK, I guess.

There's another gem in the listing - "new string (singular) recently fitted"...

All true and one further reason for B Friday, which is to clear the shelves of unsold stock to make way for Christmas tat. Bah humbug.

Restraint.

It's a tad over-priced. Love the use of the word "custom" (so often code for "homemade sh1t". 500 sovs? Bargain...

Is it a travel bass because you can row a boat with it?

Correct. The original seller should have done his homework.

Jamerson, no less, reportedly used open strings whenever he could, although with ancient flats and a high action, it probably didn't sound any different to a fretted note. I use a mixture, like most. If I want a mellow/less bright sound, I do prefer a fretted note, especially on the D and G strings, however.

Interesting topic. I've made a conscious decision not to buy anything made in China/the Far East in recent years if I can avoid it. Not because I feel workers there are "exploited" (I believe they are to an extent, but the point that they are able to live well on the wages they are paid because the cost of living in those countries is much lower than ours is a fair one), but because I don't want to contribute to the further decline of industries in the West. I'm fortunate, in that I could afford to buy a German PA (I tried to buy British, but the choice was between crap and really expensive stuff I couldn't justify), although I did have to buy a Chinese-built mixer - there was nothing else available (it is an Allen and Heath, but they manufacture in China). I appreciate not everyone is in this fortunate position. My main worry about buying from China et al is that we may get some bargain-priced kit in the short term, but if our economy goes down the tubes because nobody is buying home-grown any longer, we'll lose out in the long run.

A pal has a guitar harness that sits on both shoulders (like rucksack straps). He's had shoulder issues and says it helps a lot. He had his made, but this is the sort of thing - https://www.slingerstraps.com/harness-strap-guitar-strap.html. They're not cheap, but if you like your bass and want to keep it, may be a good option. 13 lb is pretty heavy, incidentally.

Stories of enormous fees for NYE are usually exaggerated. I remember a lot of musicians holding on for big bucks for NYE 1999/2000 and plenty ended up not working. Unless it's a one-off, out of the blue booking from a place you've never dealt with/heard of, I'd start double your usual fee at most. However, if it's a place you play regularly (and which looks after you and pays you happily even if the audience is thin on the ground), surely it makes sense to quote the usual, plus a tip if takings are good. The suggestion above of the usual, on the understanding that you get regular bookings during the year is a good one. No sense in getting one well-paid job and nothing more for the rest of the year.