Dan Dare

The first rule of pick club is...

More a case of UVs (uninvited vocals).

Spot on. Vinyl can be fabulous, but you'll be hard pressed to see the benefits on a budget. For the average person, who doesn't have the time, money or inclination to chase the audio dragon, digital gives better results conveniently and relatively cheaply. Horses for courses. For some, hi-fi is a hobby. Nowt wrong with that. However, people who claim one playback method is inherently superior to another are all as bad as each other.

I have a pal who picks with all four left hand fingers (he's a lefty). Uses the first to play the E, second on the A and so on. He gets around the instrument swiftly when he needs to. I've tried it (right handed, ofc) and find it utterly impossible. He started out playing classical guitar and taught himself the bass, which might explain his, um, interesting technique.

You still need a trs to trs cable to connect the amp to the DI box. May as well just buy a trs to XLR cable and save the expense of a box...

Agreed, but I wouldn't bother with soap and water. Just use isopropyl, meths or similar spirit, which will remove the grease, etc from the strings. Depending on how sweaty your hands are (or how greasy/sticky said sweat is), you may have to do it frequently. I'd avoid fast fret and the other products that leave a coating on the strings. The coating can react with the sweat/grease from your hands and make the problem worse. Just keep the strings (and your hands) clean.

If the singer won't use in-ears, tell him to get something like this. You can adjust your monitor level independently of the PA or main monitors. Made my life a lot easier when I got one.

With you 100% on that. Hideous. Why Fender and Ernie Ball couldn't make a three on one side, two on the other headstock (as do Lakland) for their fives is beyond me.

The greatest day in music history? 🤣

I have Cobalts on my 5, which I like a lot (I like them so much, I've switched to them on my 4). Don't know whether the B is tapered, but it isn't like a barge rope, so it's nice to play and fits the nut slot properly. Not the cheapest, but last well and a little brighter (but not harsh/spiky) than many flats.

Hilarious, all this "owned by somebody famous" tripe. It's a mass produced instrument and it's worth the same as any other of the same make/model. Unless the thought of a celeb's skin flakes, bogies and dried on sweat floats your boat, of course...

It could be cheaper to buy a new one. Many companies offer vintage-style pickups that will duplicate the sound of originals.

I have both Roqsolid and Hotcovers. Hotcovers are better made and padded, but Roqsolid do the job. If you sling your kit around/treat it roughly, I'd suggest Hotcovers.

This. All you can really do is get the octave/12th fret and harmonic in tune, adjusting the bridge saddles as shown in the video above. If your action is particularly high, that will tend to cause the strings to fret sharp. Address that via the saddles and/or truss rod. Even then, it can be difficult to get the bottom E (or B on a 5) to be in tune at the 12th. I'm assuming your tuner is set at concert pitch. Many (such as my Korg) have adjustment of 10 cents or so either side of concert.

If you want to fit a cased bass across the width of the vehicle, you're going to need a saloon, hatchback or estate and it will have to be wide - at least Mondeo size (such as your XF). I run a Toyota Camry, into which it fits into quite easily. Many SUVs, such as the Rav4, may have the width, but they have a wheel at each corner, so the arches protrude into the boot and leave insufficient space.

Rumour has it that a certain person, who may or may not have offered instruments for sale with logos written in Sharpie on the peghead and wonky tuning keys, has been known to suggest that his creations may be suitable for those with "big hands" (more space between the tuning keys, etc).

Probably about the smallest practical option that will actually work.

You don't have 'big hands' then...

Rather than taking a punt on a used all valve head, why not look at a few valve pre's? Run one into the Orange (which you know does the job as far as power goes) and it will be lighter and less expensive to run (no replacing of main power valves needed).

If you're spending that kind of money, you must try them. What we like may not suit you.

Given that there are dozens of cars with boots which will take a bass and 1x12 cab like yours, would we be correct to assume that you're looking for the smallest option? If the bass is in a full flight case, that limits things somewhat. A soft case/gigbag is more compact. How much do you want to spend?

I find a lighter E string sounds clearer. It might be counter-intuitive, but most would agree that the upper/thinner strings have better definition. Try it. It works for me.

D'Addario Chromes work well on a Jazz, in my experience.

I like the Gotoh 203B-4. Not too heavy, nicely made and not expensive.

Many string manufacturers put a coating on their products to prevent them from corroding in the pack. The D'Addarios and Cobalts I use are the same. It makes them feel sticky to the touch when new. Just wipe them down with a drop of meths or similar on a cloth before fitting them and that will solve the problem.