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Zombie thread alert! Considering he was last online August 2020, I doubt you’ll get an answer. I believe Bilbo posted a transcription somewhere on his thread. It’s worth mentioning that there are a couple of versions. I am working my way through One More Once, so will get to it eventually, but it also appears on Why Not?

Have you tried Pickguard Planet? I got a pair of guards for my MM Big Al 5. It took a few weeks but the results were excellent and considering they came from the US, not too expensive.

Yes, a poorly-set up instrument often puts beginners off. it depends on the style(s) of music you intend to play, but the general guidance is that a well set-up bass shouldn't have any fret buzz when playing normally (assuming it's not the player, or a player whose style has fret buzz or "clank" and therefore a lower action). Everyone is different, but a good middling starting point should be 2mm between the top of the 12th fret and the bottom of the (highest) G string to about 3mm for the same gap between the top of the 12 fret to the bottom of the (lowest) E string. From here, heavy players may want to raise the action a bit, lighter players may want a lower action (if the bass can take it!) If your bass action cannot be tweaked to at least this level without buzz then it needs a setup. As @itu says, as a beginner it's probably best to take it to a decent instrument repairer/shop to have it done for you - particularly if there are high frets that need attention, or the nut is too high or low, as if so, no amount of adjusting the bridge/truss rod will dial in a good setup.

I would imagine you might be locking your wrist and/or fingers and may not be as relaxed as you think, or in stretching your fingers apart you’re getting tension across the back of your hand. As you’re new you won’t have likely developed much of a stretch with the fingers, so generally the only way to hold the strings down is with tension rather than technique. Don’t play through any sharp pain as that’s not a good sign, but a slight ache from playing isn’t necessarily bad, especially when starting out. I would practice fretting a single note, press the string down onto the fret less and less until the string buzzes, then just add a tiny bit more pressure to remove the buzz. That’s exactly how much pressure you need to fret, and it’s probably a lot less than you are using. Get control of each finger and the pressure you use to fret a note with each, and look at span separately. I don’t recommend playing one finger per fret constantly below the 5th fret unless the player has very large hands and/or plays a short scale bass (32” or less). I assume you’re playing a 4 string bass (correct me if I’m wrong), so for most players one finger per fret should be fine down to the 5th fret, maybe a little further, and fine for the odd line lower, but not for constant playing as it’s asking for tendon issues over time.

I find Mark very responsive, even out of hours. They’re not Amazon, but a one man band (plus the odd helper). Despite the higher commission than the Gallery they’ve sold all the basses I’ve sent on commission in a few weeks for far more than I’d get on here or eBay/Reverb with all the tyre kickers and lowball offers. It’s easy to forget there are very few dedicated bass shops in the UK, and I doubt any of us would do a better job for the profit margins on offer. They have a lot of very nice kit for sale, and post Br**it and the reduction of realistic buying options, have become more important.

I believe you have a fretless and play upright - if a fretless is in scope an Ibanez GWB35 is an excellent choice (one in Reverb at £500 at the mo).

Er, well… he owns a fretless Wal. I think I’ll leave it at that.

For me, despite a massive collection of all styles of music, for a purely bass perspective it has to be Oil On Canvas by Japan. The music is listenable but Mick Karn’s bass sound, style and phrasing remains as fresh as the day it was recorded. It’s very hard to copy or write down (and I’ve transcribed plenty of very hard music!) and I’ve never really heard anyone imitate his style or sound. It’s a shame he didn’t get more credit, have more of a career - and it’s an even bigger shame he’s no longer with us.

I always considered them a band that made music for people who don’t like music, but like some kind of noise (any kind, be it someone talking or someone warbling) to be on in the background. Formulaic pop (for want of a better phrase) has been around since music has had an industry, but time and especially technology has enabled people to really hone that sound, like a slightly bitter lukewarm soup that leaves no aftertaste. Hard to dislike. In fact, hard to form any opinion about, really…

There’s a nice natural Stingray Classic 5 on eBay at the moment but it’s rather expensive (same model in black was up at £1399 in PMT a few months ago) and something about the listing rings alarm bells. Not that I have room for another bass

Usually the type of piano player that’s never heard of rootless voicings and spends the whole gig hammering away in the same range as the bass…

Lots of bass players do this. It can work but more often than not it’s one of the reasons a groove doesn’t feel as tight/good. Space is king. Sympathetic ringing is definitely a problem if you don’t damp open strings. The lower the string the worse it sounds. Way back when I wasn’t doing it properly (and on a paid session not long after I got my first 5 string) the engineer stopped the session because he couldn’t work out where the annoying off-key low rumble was coming from. I think I ended up shoving some foam under the B string. I had to learn to damp the strings properly pretty quickly after that…

What a lovely story - to have owned from new for pretty much his entire career. RIP Brian and I hope it goes to a good home 🙂

I’ve experienced both sides: A bass that (Fender) didn’t play very well no matter what I tried, until I took the neck off and found a couple of shims - neck back on without them and all good. 3 (Fenders) I’ve bought (1 new, 2 used) had the saddles down to the bridge plate but still a ridiculous action, particularly 9th fret onwards. A small shim (edge of a plastic card) and on went the neck - problem solved. The basses played great with a low, consistent action. I had already checked relief, looked for high frets or poorly-seated frets but the neck was fine. There no way I would have even considered shaving the bridge saddles. Strangely, no other brand of bass I’ve owned needed a shim. It’s almost as if their quality control is… oh well, never mind

It’s strange. I briefly owned an SR5 Special HH and although it was beautifully made, it had pretty major neck dive and I just couldn’t get on with the tone. I’m not sure whether it was the neodymium pickups or the new EQ, but it just sounded like there were no mids, even with the mid EQ on full boost. It sounded fine acoustically and had a great B string, so it must have been the electronics. I bought a US Sterling 5 HH not long afterward and love it. Maybe I prefer the more aggressive sound of the ceramic pickups wired in series - but then again my Big Al 5 has neodymium single coils and it sounds great…

I’ve got some bad news; there is no such thing as an accelerator when it comes to jazz. I recall an amusing quote from Mark Levine’s Jazz Theory Book when talking about standards - something like “if you want to play in New York you had better know most if not all of these tunes” - referring to several hundred standards. I’d categorise jazz as “slow” learning - sure, you can learn scales, modes and chords, and learning some piano will definitely move you forward - but you need years of listening, transcribing (if you want to) and playing stuff you don’t know and can’t play. Improvisation is great fun but it can be a mountain to climb initially because there are so many possibilities. If I were looking for value I’d spend the money on buying a load of jazz albums - and wear them out. One more quote from the same book: “all the answers are in your record collection”.

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I had similar thoughts. I went with a Super P/J for my order as I didn’t want a bass with only the one tone available (yes, I know you can produce more than one sound, but a P is a P). The only difference to be aware of is the the tonestyler is only available with the super P - the PJ has the pickup selector switch.

I went into the Bass Centre in Wapping at some point in the late 80s/Early 90s and they had a selection! I think it was a pretty short-lived thing, probably driven by Tony Levin (not sure whether Nick Beggs was known for playing one back then). But as you say, since then it is direct from Stick Enterprises or private sale. I once bought a Rosewood model from a store in Texas, but the US is a bit different - more of every type of instrument available.

No. I’ve done it a couple of times long ago when I didn’t know better. Slapped tons of the liquid all over the fingerboard and it stayed greasy for days no matter how much I wiped it down. I think it took months to dry out in the end. The other time was with a very dark fretless ebony board - even with just a few drops it just wouldn’t soak in because the grain was so tight. Again it just sat on the surface, but at least I could wipe it off.

Nothing wrong with fingerboard oil, as in a product designed for a specific purpose, rather than a generic oil, which may contain undesirable additives). And we’re talking about tiny quantities - 3-4 drops onto a paper towel at most for the whole board. It’s also not required regularly - properly aged and dried instrument wood with a stable and very low moisture content needs oiling no more than 1 or 2 times a year. On some basses I’ve never bothered as the board didn’t need it. I wouldn’t bother on an ebony as it has a very dense grain so doesn’t really absorb the oil (so as in the first post the oil could end up floating on top of the board and running into the glue under the frets), and it’s not recommended on maple boards as it could cause discolouration.

There’s the flaw in your argument: it’s got nothing to do with value for money. It’s about scarcity, desirability, and individuality, and some of this comes directly from price and branding. It’s the same with any other consumer item. A basic Ford Focus will get you to your destination in exactly the same way as a Porsche 911. Is the Porsche value for money at 5 times the price? No, it really isn’t. But they still sell plenty, right