Man.about.Tyne

Walking by myself - Gary Moore

Black or White - Michael Jackson

Curly (tail) - The Move

Upside down - Diana Ross

Lonely Boy - Andrew Gold

Enigma Variations - Elgar

Third stone from the sun - Jimi Hendrix

Never going back again - Fleetwood Mac

Twistin' the Night Away - San Cooke

Paper Plane - Status Quo

Hip to be square - Huey Lewis and the News

Several influences already mentioned but couldn't leave Norman out.

Lieve hemel, een echte Nederlander! In de jaren '80 heb ik een paar jaar in Haarlem gewoond. Ik wou dat ik terug kon gaan...

Put it to the side of you so that it’s not playing directly back at your soundboard. I’m assuming you’re using your double bass and this is just feedback.

Well that headstock doesn’t look a million miles away from my first ever bass in all its glorious 1980’s pointyness! I’m thinking rebodied onto an old neck… maybe

Use conventional music paper and play in the spaces…

No, it's a PITA! I have two Sandbergs and I agree with you about the bridge and the strings - rumour is that they are GHS Super Steels. Anyway, the bridge... I played around endlessly with the bl**dy thing until it's right and I'm never going to touch it again. Good luck!

Johann Sebastian Barbie - never, in a million years, will I understand what his fingers are doing.

IQ or shoe size?

Sadly at the opposite end of the price spectrum… https://www.stringsdirect.co.uk/products/thomastik-infeld-jf324h-jazz-flatwound-hofner-bass-strings-43-96 Get these Hofner-specific version JF324H rather than the regular medium scale, JF324 set because… 1. The winding taper is thinner and more suited to wrapping around tiny winding posts (and getting through the 2mm holes) found on those 60s bases. 2. The “H” set have a 96 gauge E string where the regular set has a 106. I’ve not tried the regular set myself but lots of folk complain that it’s horribly unbalanced with the other strings. I have tried the 96 set and they’re great.

https://www.andertons.co.uk/gretsch-g2220-electromatic-junior-jet-bass-ii-short-scale-black-walnut-fingerboard-shell-pink?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=surfaces Gretsch in shell pink?

So Sandberg TM4 is pretty close to 44 inches long. Angled in the rack, it’s 41.5 inches high. But that’s quite an angle so the whole thing is sticking out from the wall by about 28 inches. Also, looking at your photo, you’re not going to fit a 7 rack in that space unless you’re shifting the piano too. My 7 rack is 44 inches wide.

Heavy - of course not. Does anyone really want to lug a lump around the stage? Colour - really not a fan of pastel shades. Sky blue or sea foam green? Nope. Strings - four. Anything else is like playing an ironing board. I suspect that may just be my lack of talent. Pickguard - Nope. You can have natural wood, sparkle or three tone sunburst and then screw on a lump of plastic. Really? If you have to have one it has to be as inconspicuous as possible. Tort is almost acceptable. Pickups - single coils, thank you very much! Headstock - not really a prejudice but my first ever bass was a 4-in-line EVERYTHING I’ve ever bought since is 2+2. Don’t know why! Electronics - passive. Don’t want another point of failure. Having said all that, I do have basses which weigh too much, have pickguards, have active electronics and/or humbuckers. Bottom line is that everything is negotiable… except Shell Pink! Maybe…

Joe Osborn

Yep, tapewounds on my acoustic bass, too. I have Status Hotwires which are round wound under the tape. Actually, I think all tapewounds are rounds wrapped up rather than flats. They’re a very light gauge even for tapes and are quite quiet when playing acoustically but that’s fine by me. Definitely better than the clanking bronze strings it came with.