Burns-bass

No, I was teaching the course in Bristol. It was a well written syllabus and pretty solid in terms of theory. I have to say I’ve forgotten a lot of it as I stopped playing between about 27 - 35 after being in a hugely unsuccessful band that got signed (in Germany) and went nowhere.

I worked as a music teacher at Access to Music and privately while following the dream. I never really wanted to do the session thing (not dedicated enough, lazy etc.) I used the time to develop my writing skills which is what I do for a living now. Can’t say that’s the dream either (not mine anyway) but it’s interesting and no two days are the same I suppose. I sometimes quite fancy a 3 year jazz degree but I haven’t got the cash to invest in it, or myself at the moment.

Jazz

I know, I run a business (it’s less than that, it’s 16% give or take), but that’s much less than VAT at 20% of the total.

You don’t charge VAT on second hand items as the tax has already been paid. Same deal with cars as instruments...

If that were James Jamersons Bass there would be a lot of people banging on about how “the gunk makes the funk”.

Paint inside the screw holes too.

If it appears too good to be true, it often is. I thought refin too when I first saw it.

Years and years of wear and tear! The woods changed colour, that’s all.

How do you manage it? If I’m working on a tricky head for example I’ll break it down into 2 bar phrases. They’re not really that complex (just quick). I imagine internalising an entire score must be a huge challenge! Guess that’s why theatre guys are so respected.

True! The best person for the job is Vince DiCola.

As any Rocky fan knows it’s simpler and quicker to do it in a montage.

Funnily enough I’ve just had someone tell me they now don’t want to buy an item after sending me a message this morning telling me they did. Guess that’s the way of the world nowadays. (if anyone wants a brand new PJB Bighead I’m selling one - apologies for the blatant plug...)

The Adams’s family Musical has a complex bass score.

I’ve had a lot of success offloading my gear mountain (well, scraps compared to you guys!). I’ve started prices that I thought were fair and in many cases lowered them. I’ve had a success selling on eBay but refusing to send. I’m like you Stu, once a deal has been done I’ll go through with it. I think people are used to distance buying regulations and the simplicity of returning items if they don’t like them. Personally, almost all the basses I’ve sold in the last 5 years have been in person which makes for a longer, but more satisfying transaction. Last bass I sold was a beat up old DB. Met a wonderful Basschatter and was fully prepared to load the old girl in the car if he wasn’t happy ( he was!). I even have him some duvets and ratchet straps to secure the bass which he insisted on paying for, but didn’t need to. I would say that at times I’ve not responded to PMs immediately. The reason is that I don’t always get notifications on my phone and hate typing on the tiny keyboard. Plus with a family and a business other things have a tendency to pop up! Hopefully things get better. If you’ve got a couple of Barefaced Cans for sale and are near Bristol I’d happily meet you 🙂