Cato

Probably not much help but I think National Express run a coach service between Heathrow & Gatwick for about £25. Not sure how late this service runs though.

Cheers for the recomendations, I shall be checking those out & making my purchase shortly.

[quote name='Number6' timestamp='1452898569' post='2954669'] These are basically ideal for P shape bodies at home or as a stage stand. Mine has done okay but they are no good at all if the shape of the bass is in anyway not symetrical. [/quote] Any recommendations for a decent, cheapish, stand for a jazz bass? I've had a couple of near misses recently, left the bass propped up against the side of the sofa, only to hear the thud of the headstock hitting the wall a couple of minutes later.

I've got nothing. I think I tripped over a small combo once.

Time is finite and there's a lot of great music music out there. You're never going to be able to listen to everything.

Sometimes a signature model outgrows its original intended market demographic, the ultimate example being the Gibson Les Paul. The Nate Mendel's were gathering a pretty good reputation for themselves even before the Scott Devine association. I've heard a couple of conversations along the lines of 'I'm not really sure who Nate Mendel is, the relicing is so subtle it seems almost completely pointless but these are damn good precisions..'

[quote name='EBS_freak' timestamp='1452608373' post='2951564'] As for the Dee Dee and Clayton basses - would you prefer them without the signature on them though? - from what I understand, the artist association with these instruments is of no interest to you? [/quote] It's definitely just the colour combinations with those respective body shapes. I don't even know if those particular models have any other whistles & bells which differentiate them from the non signature precisions & jazzes in Fenders catalogue. If Fender did non signature precissions & jazzes in those colours I'd probably go for those rather than the signature model.

Judging by Fenders current range there must be some sort of significant commercial mileage in signature models. Although who actually buys them is a bit of a mystery as most people I've come across seem to be in the 'I don't want people to think I'm a wannabe suchandsuch' camp. Having said that I would love a Dee Dee precision or the latest Adam Clayton jazz, but that's because I find both models particularly aesthetically pleasing.

Anyone who's main source of income derives from their playing ,regardless of their actual ability, is a professional bass player. Someone on here came up with a good definition quite recently along the lines of anyone who earns more money from music than they have spent on their equipment can be described as professional. I reckon there are three main routes to becoming a professional. 1. Work really hard,become extremely proficient, gain a reputation for flexibility & reliability so that there is a high demand for your skills. 2. Start your own band, work hard, gain an audience get a few lucky breaks. 3. Be in the right place at the right time, join someone else's successful or soon to be successful band. I reckon all the above apply to the professional function band specialist as much as the all conquering stadium filling rock star.

I got a Zoom B1on a few months ago which I use for practising through headphones. The drum presets & effects are great but it's the 30 sec looper (which I originally thought was a bit of a gimmick) which has changed the way I practice. The ability to instantly play back what I've been playing and properly hear the bits where I might be a bit weaker or have sloppy technique has been absolutely invaluable, I feel like it's given me a proper insight into which areas need improvement, especially on my slap technique which it turns out is nowhere near as clean & precise as I'd like it to be.

I've always found 'life on mars' very poignant which is odd as the lyrics are so completely abstract.

That's knocked me sideways. As others have already said, there are some people who you think of as just being too iconic to die. They've been present all your life & at least on some level, it seems you think they always will be.

I think Duran Duran used to play up to that 'can barely play their instruments' image a bit. I remember an interview with Simon le Bon years ago where he said none of them could play when they started. I think it might of been them (or possibly another 80s band?) who claimed that they learnt their first three chords from a magazine article on how to be a rock star. Either they were overstating their complete beginner status or they got a lot better at their instruments very quickly.

Bass. B1on. Headphones. I doubt my neighbour even knows I play bass.

It must get pretty wearing for the punters if that same bloke with his harmonica/tambourine insists on playing with every band that perform there.

Are those P90s? If so I don't think I've seen them on a bass before.

I've just fitted Aguilar pick ups in my Squier. Nice to see I'm in good company.

Pop music is pretty circular everything, including bands with traditional instruments, comes back into vogue eventually. It happened around a decade ago in the UK with bands like Artric Monkeys,Kaiser Chiefs & (to a lesser extent) Maximo Park doing big things. At the moment it seems to be 'back to the 80s' with The Weekend and the 1975 getting a lot of hype for what ( in my opinion) is a very derivative sound. Give it a few more years & we'll be back to Britpop & 'proper' bass players again.

If you've never played a Thunderbird before then it's worth trying one before you buy, especially playing standing up, not everyone gets on with them.(although I suppose that's true of any bass). I've got a VM 70s Jazz and they're great basses, but you should definitely read up about the Sire V7, they've got a pretty much unrivalled reputation in that price bracket at the moment.

Another recommendation for the Zoom B1on or something similar. For less than half the price of a single dedicated mid-range pedal you get a multi fx unit/headphone practice amp with drum presets, which, if nothing else should give you a pretty good idea of what various effects sound like and how useful they might be for what you do.

[quote name='PaulGibsonBass' timestamp='1452027415' post='2945737'] Who's Drake? [/quote] Larry Graham's nephew.

There's got to be a backlash against all the beardy sensitive singer/sonwriter guys with acoustic guitars at some point, there always is when the market becomes over saturated with one type of genre. Who knows, 2016 could be a great year for bands, a whole new crop of inspirational young bass players could be right around the corner...

Slow for me too, I'd put it down to my increasingly knackered Kindle.

As long as there's water in the pan the plastic shouldn't melt, although I suppose it's possible the process might weaken the plastic in some way so that it becomes too brittle to anchor the string.

[quote name='cheddatom' timestamp='1451900942' post='2944320'] I get frustrated with the rest of the band who refuse to wear earplugs as I worry that I'll do them damage [/quote] If they're aware of the risks & are still refusing to wear hearing protection then they are responsible for any damage to their hearing.