Trueno

If you have any elderly relatives don't go hugging them or anything.

I think the young horn players should practise more. I played sax semi-pro for years and played in whatever key was required. The singer should sing in whatever key they feel comfortable with. I've never actually met any horn players who complained about the key... and I've met a lot of embarrassingly young sax players who played better than me.

Q magazine was my preferred bog-side reading, late 80s/early 90s. The pages weren't very absorbent, though.

Big Rumble fan here. I have a Rumble v3 500 for gigging but recently got a Rumble v3 100 as it's (even) easier to carry to rehearsals. Except I like so so much that I'm using for home practice instead of my much-loved Orange Crush 50. Not too loud for my small practice room and loud enough for rehearsals.

Some very sincere posts from the OP. I hung up my bass playing boots ten years ago. Then some former bandmates got in touch... out of the blue. I must say that has really invogarated me... even though our gigging ambitions are somewhat curtailed at the moment. Never say die... go with the flow...

Learning Spanish... or rather learning more Spanish. I decided I'll have forgotten it all by the time I get to Spain.

Commiserations to Leicester-dwellers. I live in Kirklees... which gets "mentioned in despatches" occasionally... so we may be building up to something here, too...

KiOgon does dual concentric knobs. I got a loom to convert my MIM Mustang from switchable pickups to VV(dual concentric)T.

This... I agree with all the above points. Can't see any circumstances where I would need an extension cab. Great amps... loud and powerful and lightweight.

The fundamental problem with modding pickups is that it's difficult to audition them. Best plan for tinkerers (imo) is to change the loom and pots first. Then see how you like the original pickups.

I used to like the Cramps' "Bikini Girls with Machine Guns"... it's possible, but not likely. However, I really can't believe that the Was Not Was ever "walked the dinosaur"... it just didn't happen.

Blue... you just look rock'n'roll...

The last Jazz bass I had... the ferrules were a bit loose and tended to fall out. I found that through body stringing stopped that happening.

I played a Zootbass Chaser in a 60s style band. Almost all of my gigs playing classic rock were with fretless Warwicks. Now I'm passive, short-scale and fretted.

I think I was spoilt for fingerboard finishes with the Tigerstripe ebony on my fretless Warwicks. Good luck with finding your bass... it's a neverending quest.