knirirr

That is one way to get away with it which I will admit to having used on various occasions. Usually the general public don't seem to notice a thing and so it works quite well, but there's always a fear that there's someone in the audience who is better than me (quite a large pool from which to draw) who will spot it.

If this had an unlined fretless neck (pulling the frets out won't do) I would buy it immediately, despite having no need for it and needing the money for an MOT: https://shop.fender.com/en-GB/squier-electric-basses/jazz-bass/paranormal-jazz-bass-54/0377100501.html?rl=en_US As it stands, my local garage is safe.

$1520, plus dismissal, I think (includes fretless BG plus various upright offences).

How about this? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3n7ohJsUYKk&list=OLAK5uy_mqPo-qOGmHBkMb3DiPE6k3coJzyagH9oo It's much more at the jazz end of the scale but there's some funky stuff there (the title track is pretty good).

Not a bass, but as a Flying V got mentioned I thought I’d add that I used to play one in a swing big band (we did a few Glen Miller covers). It was a reddish orange with a mirrored plate on the front, had a red leather studded strap and was played through a Marshall Mercury amp. Sounded quite good, I thought, but got some odd looks. https://www.guitarchat.co.uk/topic/620-old-flying-v-in-poor-state/

Jazz pianists, piano or guitar trios etc. might be fair enough. Singing or horn playing could well be further than some venues would want to go: https://slippedisc.com/2020/06/a-full-assessment-of-the-covid-risk-of-playing-wind-instruments/ (TL;DR no-one seems to have any definitive information).

Correct. It's not just cheese - there's endless fun to be had with the highland bagpipe! Classical: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8H2HHs6Iqg Jazz: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mFeMMXhTua-ZXjiy9qcwuzLDCPlIam80E

I've had an old Flying V since the 90s, but this instrument just beats it: For anyone who's interested it's a Grainger & Campbell army regulation pattern set which I got new in 1988, IIRC. Not much chance to play these days, unfortunately.

I do indeed. Excellent player.

I already mentioned the teacher who has been helping me with a similar BG -> DB transition and is doing online lessons at the moment. Here's his site in case it's of interest to anyone else: https://pauljefferies.com/ From what I've seen so far it's possible to continue with both; I certainly don't want to miss out on BG playing - fretless BG is my favourite instrument. The only problem I have noticed is sometimes if I spend longer on the BG I have to remember to do longer stretches on DB to avoid being slightly flat, but it soon comes back. The opposite problem doesn't seem to apply. The house bassist here matches that description: http://www.oxfordjazzkitchen.com/ She's very good, and probably not much more than 5' tall.

As there was some discussion about how to make one of these taller, I thought I'd post an update with the means by which I solved this. A plumber friend happened to have a spare length of copper pipe of just the right diameter to slip over the end pin, to which I have added a rubber ferrule and a washer on top to protect the base of the instrument (plus a quick polish with Brasso). A bit of foam wrapped around the end pin before insertion prevents rattling.

Under normal circumstances, when the weather's not good enough to dry outside, I have to share my practice room with drying clothes. A sufficiently large dehumidifier (as mentioned above) and a heated drying rack usually sort things out fairly quickly, and I've not noticed any problem with the bass gear.

To my ear, slapping is not a pleasant sound; that's it. I've got nothing against funk.

It would be interesting to know how it turns out. I did consider one for similar reasons but ended up scoring a s/h Warwick Triumph instead.

Another one turned up just before the lockdown. It's too many, but I have a good excuse for each.

The answer to most of these would be "no", except: 1: Often (with BG or EUB). The drummer and pianist get to sit down, why shouldn't I? 2: Yes, guitar or highland bagpipe. 4: Though this is another "no", the guitarist in a band I once played with spotted someone he didn't recognise wearing one of our badges (see also 15). 15: According to a old student newspaper clipping "$OTHER_BAND provided adequate support, and in fact turned out to be much better rehearsed than the headliners." 20: Often.

Thanks. The bit about reading in particular resonated with me: Anyway, so as not to go too far off topic:

Are you thinking of resting the end pin on the base a drum throne with the seat removed? That should defintely be a bit more stable.

Having been practicing with this a bit I found that in order to get it at the correct height simply using the end pin on its maximum stop was not enough - I had to rest it upon a bucket-style giant plant pot as well, this being the only thing I could find of the correct height (I am 6'3"). Unfortunately, this bodge is a bit unstable. The tripod conversion above would fix this, but I'm not a fan of these and would rather the instrument could move around a bit whilst playing (I used to have an EUB on a stand and didn't much like it). Sitting down might have to be the solution - I can't think of an easy way to extend the end pin.

This article was quite interesting on the subject. Apologies, can't recall if I posted it before. Similarly, classical musicians I know who've heard this were very scathing.

Could these be the strings? http://www.labella.com/products/7710n-double-bass-black-nylon-tape-wound/ I am tempted, though I dislike the look of black and the white ones might sound a bit too bright, from what I have read.

That is a bit of a nuisance. May I ask how you modified the Stagg?

It's pleasing that it still looks rather like the original Framus ones - I saw one played at a gig a little over 25 years ago and thought it excellent.