Burns-bass

Agreed. The problem is you assume that there will be some correction, instead I posit it’s more likely they’ll find a further illusion to perpetuate the status quo. Business as usual is good business! You’re in Bristol too aren’t you, we should do this over a pint. Probably better than here 🙂

I’m not sure this is entirely true. Look at how many of our essential assets are owned by international businesses. Secondly, foreign investment that damages domestic production and innovation is worse for the country. The markets dominate everything you post as if they’re immutable and error free. Exogenous shocks (2008, Ukraine etc) show them up for what they are - an utter fabrication that exists to further enrich the rich.

I’m a member of one industry body (admittedly a tiny one) and there’s no chance you’d stand by and allow a 75% tax rate to be imposed without a fight. That doesn’t mean it’s a bad policy. Plus, should we really be encouraging more offshore drilling? I said this on another thread. If they agreed to supply the UK at a reasonable rate, then fine - we’ll support you. If you then take it and enter the wholesale market, you deserve to get taxed to the eyes.

R&D comes out of turnover, not profit so it’s BS. Actually, that’s not entirely true. But the argument that taxing profits should affect R&D is effectively blackmail. It’s also nonsensical. These are business who invest in R&D to future proof their business. That shouldn’t bother any of us. Their argument is that this tax will stop them from investing in sustainable technology, which is utter nonsense. They can watch as their business burns away or they can do something about it.

Amazon isn’t actually that efficient. It’s PR machine bangs out a load of BS about drones, robots and the like, but the majority of work is manual and performed by appallingly treated zero hours workers. We all have a choice (including apathy). Had we all shrugged our shoulders and carried on working for our feudal masters, we’d have no pension, welfare state, weekends or even paid holidays. Personally, when we have years of this (high prices, stagnant wages and energy poverty) people will act. And I hope it’s as polite and pleasant as the striking workers I met in Bristol. I don’t think it will be…

Totally agree! Alongside working as a writer, I also have a retail business and we solely use RM at the moment. Customers (did) prefer it. The alternatives are, by and large, awful. Sending thousands of parcels a year gives you a fair evidence base to work from.

There are screws I every job, although I'd never trust a second hand anecdote. Perhaps it happened, perhaps it didn't. One example of poor practice doesn't mean that the whole system is bad. (The conduct of Harold Shipman hasn't put me off visiting the GP, and my friend who is a builder hasn't killed 25 people that I know of.) RM wants to pursue an outsourced Amazon/Hermes model. The reliable service we grew up with is being stripped back and replaced by zero-hours contracts, with poorly paid van drivers who have to urinate in a bottle so that shareholders can get their well earned dividend each year. We can stand by and let a 500 year-old institution be asset stripped and destroyed or support strikers. I know which side I'm on.

This is veering into 1970s “er indoors” territory. If your wife is going to leave you, I’m not sure that it’s the guitars that’ll be the cause!

Solidarity with the working classes mate. Nobody likes a tattle tale, do they?

So, you spot him at work and watch him for half an hour? I'm not sure who the time waster is... Quick straw poll, how many posties or RM workers are posting on here during work hours? (Answers on a postcard, please...)

I thought it was hard but I’ve done 12 out the door and none back in and it’s all working out wonderfully. No more cases everywhere, wife happy, bit of cash (err, a lot of cash - all of which has been saved for 2023 and the craziness). I also have the money here if I ever see something I really want.

The same topic comes up in almost every hobby I have. “How much should I spend on a bike?” ”How much should I spend on oil paint?” ”Should I buy a top of the range Mac?” ”Will these £160 trainers help me run faster?” And the answer is almost always the same: Your equipment is less important than the commitment you have, the time you invest, and innate ability. Answers: - Between £1000-£2000 for a recreational cyclist - Student grade is fine until your skills justify it - No, unless you’re doing high end graphics, video editing, animations or running a super studio - Probaby not, but they will shame you into running more!

I traded up to a £10k jazz bass (1964, all original) which I sold on here. I’d always wanted one, and had the money to buy one. The reality is I get more use and pleasure from a Squier P/J I picked up for £80.

Double bass or electric?

To be fair, the Shorty I had was lightweight, but the neck was far too narrow to be suitable for a 5 string conversion. Attempting it would involve destroying a good entry-level bass in my eyes.

Having owned one I’d say there is no chance it would function adequately as a 5, and a conversion would be pointless and expensive. I’m sure there must be some cheap 5 stringers out there.

Fair enough. I’m not sure why anyone would take the lack of a response so personally…

Perhaps he (or she) is upset and embarrassed at being conned. They owe us nothing at all.

Having sold or given away 10 instruments in the last few months I’m financially and mentally better for it!

To add to this list, I hate it when private sellers attempt to charge shop prices fr gear when they have none of the overheads and offer none of the securities (the option to pay with a credit card, 3 month guarantee etc.)