Doctor J

They've had Steve Lukather and Steve Morse models since the mid-90's at least, definitely before 95, and the Albert Lee model even pre-dates those, I think. As I recall, I read Flea wanted the Stingray renamed after him and got the PFO. At least, I read that somewhere shortly after he started his relationship with Modulus. Only recently have they adopted the more scattergun signature model approach though, to be fair, their signature models usually are something quite different from standard stock. Certainly, they tend to go further than stock-with-a-particular-colour-of-paint you see elsewhere offered as "signature" models.

Geezer says "yes"

The Bob Geldof interview was fantastic. I listened to it a couple of times. It's a great podcast.

Use a DeLorean somewhere in your imagery and you can make out you travelled through time to get a sprinkling of hits from the future - once they're performed in the 80's style, of course.

After many years of trying all kinds of different strap lengths, the bottom of the bass on my belt line is what suits my left hand best.

Ibanez SR are narrow, some are as little as 16.5mm spacing at the bridge, other models like the BTB keep a traditional wider spacing.

Steve, something worth considering might be a longer scale 4 string. The likes of the older Japanese Yamaha TRB are 35" scale and can be picked up for very reasonable money. The build quality is superb and, tonally, they're very flexible. There is enough fun in the preamp to get a modern metal tone your bandmates seem to be pushing you towards. You'll get a very solid low A and consistent tone across the neck no problem (speakng from first-hand experience with this one 😉). Unless you prefer the feel of a five string bass and will be using that high G enough to make it worthwhile, I'd be sticking to a four string.

Sometimes the truth hurts 🙂

Yes

There's an old Levinson Blade for sale in the ad section here. A wonderful, very high quality Jazz bass for well under a grand.

It has ripped any fun out of the classifieds here. Annoyingly, both Reverb and ebay still include UK sales in 'European Union' based searches. The prospect of buying used gear from UK sellers is a big fat zero now.

Oh yeah, definitely, they were a gateway band for me in the mid 80's. They were always a bit heavier than a lot of their peers which worked for me. I was one of the few who loved, and still loves, the Corabi album 😁 Poison just weren't acceptable to me on any level back then but, now, I can see there was a little bit more behind the make-up than I gave them credit for. Not much more, but still more 😂 If I'm feeling brave, I might pick up some Ratt soon.

The big one for me was probably Steely Dan a few years ago. I went from complete novice to near obsessive in a very short space of time. At the moment, I'm going through an 80's hard/glam rock appreciation phase - I believe the young people call it "hair metal" these days - and most recently took delivery of 'Look What the Cat Dragged In' and 'Open Up and Say... Ahh!' on CD. The band is called Poison, to the uninitiated. The kind of thing my teenage self would have scoffed at back then as I was a devotee of thrash at the time. They're actually ok, it turns out 😂

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/online-music-marketplace-suffers/

That looks fantastic, very nice indeed.

Pete's a great seller with excellent communication and packs gear superbly. Plus, he's a gent to deal with. Highly recommended.

I wasn't joking, I have done it in the past. It works, it really works 🙂

Did you buy it in pre-sale, like, before it was on sale?

Nice! I have a first gen TRB6 which is a little similar and it's outstanding. This is a level or two above, it must be a beast!

Use superglue to stick a biro shell to the existing scratchplate in your preferred position. Over the next few years, save 10p per week and keep an eye out for a cheap second hand scratchplate in the FS section here, should you ever wish to move it on. If the thought of someone saying "Why have you got a biro stuck to your bass?" causes you unwelcome stress, simply cut the tapered end off so it's just a clear tube. You can also put different coloured paper inside the tube to jazz up the look as you see fit. Bic use toneplastic to make their biros, so you won't lose out tonally, either.

Not primarily a drummer but I've played drums since the mid-90's. I started playing because my mates and I wanted to start a doom band and couldn't find anyone who wanted to play slowly 🙂 I found playing drums changed my perception of playing bass, I'm a lot more conscious of what the drummer does with the bass drum in particular. It definitely changed my bass playing for the better. I live in the sticks so am fortunate to be able to play an acoustic kit as I please. Being able to play during the lockdown has been a good thing, few things are as therapeutic as beating the bejesus out of drums 😁

That must be one of the earlier versions. The new firmware update allows you select how old the wood is, how it was dried and whether it's flatsawn or quartersawn.

I mean, yeah, but you just know there's an agitated bassist you will never meet at the bar who, without even turning around to look, is thinking "Maple fretboard?!?!?!? NOOOOOOOOOO! The tone is too bright now!!!"

Will it be possible to sell and, in the seemingly unlikely event it turns out to be the wrong choice, buy the same cab again in the future? If yes, sell, sell, sell!