Burns-bass

It’s a good point. In the early 00s, one pound would buy two dollars…

Import duties, raw material costs, wage increases, transport costs, lower production volumes… Anyone involved in selling stuff can tell you how costs have increased across the board. Moaning about how much a Fender costs is the same as my dad complaining that a Mars bar cost 9p in 1965. So what? Given Fender has laid off 300 people they’re hardly making a mint from building basses and guitars.

I wouldn’t waste your time. He’s becoming ever more cantankerous and difficult. It’s less a shop, more a museum so That chances of him being there and selling you something are very slim.

This is just plain horrid.

Went to see Lalo Schifrin gig and it was incredible. Half were his iconic soundtracks and the other half his jazz stuff, mixed with some Latin stuff (as you’d expect!). I think Bullit and the Dirty Harry soundtracks are the best. My brother is a record dealer and he’s done a huge amount of stuff, much of which was ephemeral and hard to find. So much of the soundtrack stuff was incredible, very musically sophisticated and experimental.

Good for you Andy. Sounds like a toxic setup. I’m thankfully in a band with people who all share the drive and commitment to do things properly. Rehearsals are booked, paid for and attended. Equipment is well maintained and songs learned. The difference is we’re a “dry” band - no boozing before, during or after gigs and rehearsals, but we all get together for a blow out when we can. Works so much better.

What’s incredible isn’t his playing, bjt his creativity. He created some of the most infectious basslines ever, and unlike Jameson who was a lot showier he sacrificed any ego for the greater good of the song.

I used to teach the bass course at a music college here. There are quite a few!

The 10,000 hours thing is cow poop from Malcolm Gladwell. There is no evidential basis to it, in the same way as his tipping point phenomenon it crap too. The guy is a pop-science king but has no support in the scientific community. There is no shortcut to success. But spending 10,000 hours will make you great depends very much on you.

Bristol is absolutely full of bands and some incredible venues. I think it’s the concentration of both two universities coupled with the sheer number of creative spaces that makes it. Some of it is junk but some of it is sublime.

That is utterly preposterous. AB had a 1965 Jazz up at £6750 a few months ago…

To be fair to Bass Direct, building an ecommmerce site with stock management and all the other stuff they need will cost tens of thousand of pounds, and it’s a lot of money to drop when inflation is biting. So they’re not as slick as Thomson or Amazon, but the cash is going to bass players not bald weird billionaires.

It’s missing the bullet truss rod end. It may be that this has been removed (or the neck is fake, hard to tell). But a later 70s neck would 100% have one - so find out why before you buy!

It’s like the air we breath, or gravity, or why some people find Rod Stewart attractive: it’s better not to question why.

Nobody seems to like brokers anymore but I run businesses and we always use them. If you chat with someone who actually takes the time to listen to you and understand your position you can get insurance at a reasonable price. You will almost always be ripped off by reductive algorithms. As an example, I was quoted £1600 for liability insurance online. After calling a brokers (in this case, Gallaghers) I was quoted (and agreed) £475. You won’t pay unless you take out the policy, and you won’t damage your credit rating either. Speak to a commercial insurer and you’ll hopefully get a better deal.

Meant to be seeing the Mondays later this year. Must say, always assumed it would be Shaun. Great band, shame:

Gretsch Electromatics are great. They’re light and cheap!

Tone wood?

There may be a few collectors who have vintage instruments as an investment but for the main part it’s normal people which are seduced by it. Fender for their part indulge it by producing Roadworn instruments. Strikes me as indicative of a society in decline. It’s a belief that somehow things were better in the old days, and we won’t get it back. Despite all evidence to the contrary that manufacturing techniques improve over time.

We had a gig booked there once supporting Rik Waller. We arrived to be told he’d only sold 8 tickets and the gig was off! Would love to have seen Macca. Co grate to anyone luck enough to get tickets.

Bricks and mortar Music shops have a tough job. So many people use them to try something out then buy it cheaper online - I’ve done this in the past, but not now as I’m nice. Like any business, service can vary, and while some people love an attentive (obsequious) salesperson, whereas others (like me) prefer to be left alone. I’ll normally give shops a couple of goes. John Lewis, on the other hand can do one. I went in to buy a new oven (£3,000 SMEG range) and the sales assistant looked me up and down and heard my kids rattling around and walked away without chatting with me and asking me any questions. Thankfully, my local store had one in stock and did it cheaper than JL.