TheLowDown

None at all. Main priorities include price, weight, balance(no extreme neck dive). Looks and player associations are irrelevant.

Would something like this be suitable for use with headphones? You don't say if other people need to hear what you play, but if it's just you then it's small enough to slip in your pocket. https://www.thomann.de/gb/palmer_pocket_amp_bass.htm

This. Anchoring the thumb is not just bad for muting it's not best for the wrist either, and may eventually send you to the carpal tunnel doctor. Keep those wrists straight guys.

I like virtually everything from classical to jazz to hiphop to pop to country. But there are exceptions. -metal is as pretentious as prog rock is, being complex for the sake of being complex with a host of talented players wasting their talents. -the Beatles would not have been anything without George Martin. -bass solos that fit in as many notes as possible are like slap. Neither are musical to my ears, but more about ego and showmanship. -Fender are an overpriced brand name that know that they can churn out overpriced half decent basses and people will still buy them. In most industries you get your brand names that become lazy, and Fender are just one example. -the bass is the most important instrument in a standard 4 piece band IMO.

From what I've seen/heard the more solid(structurally dense) the wood the less the wood has an effect on the tone. The effect of wood on tone is therefore more pronounced on acoustics and soft woods, but for most solid body electric basses the impact on tone is likely to be minimal. From my purchasing perspective, the only impact of the wood is how light weight it is and the resulting balance of the bass.

I'm somewhat looking forward to this. Bad timing that the drummer passed away a few weeks ago though.

Pickups

Most FFs seem to be 35+ inch scale so mine is not the most ergonomic on the wrists. I would much sooner have 34 inch parallel frets.

Sexy black.

Well a fretless shouldn't have to be the one bass that does everything. Perhaps that's how you're looking at it? I see the fretless as filling a niche, in the same way that a 6 string or short scale fills a niche application. I see them as tools for the job rather than one bass being perfect for everything. If you try to think of it in that way, it may reignite your affection for it because you're not expecting as much from it.

I've got a multiscale to see what they have to offer and if they will eventually grow on me, but I regret buying it other than to know for definite that they're not for me. So at least it's served some purpose. I think the numerous disadvantages hugely outweigh any advantages, at least for me, and that they will remain niche that serve a purpose for some but not most.

Perhaps you can add a confirmation dialogue "Really sign out?" for fat fingers?

I only use light gauge strings now. Heavy gauge makes the strings more woofy sounding, they're more fatiguing and harder on my fingers and joints, and less easy to control..

I use a leather strap like this: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Leathergraft-Acoustic-Electric-Reinforced-Leather/dp/B01I764RN4/ref=sr_1_16 3.7 inches wide, comfortable, good inner suede leather grip, £21.

Because the general public are gullible and believe that they're getting something more for their money if they pay more. Such an effect can be clearly demonstrated with wines and other commodities, and the experts will lovingly heap praise on the expensive wines in their glass while turning up their nose at "cheap" wines, unbeknown to the fact that in the experiment they're drinking cheap bottles from Morrisons that's been repackaged. I't's amazing what price does to people's imagination in how they perceive things. Put the price up bit by bit, add lots of marketing, maybe even make it a limited edition, and wait for a fool to come along.

They're really good IMO. I have the 5 string and 6 string SS and I will be getting the HQS flats soon. Fantastic value for money when you consider that the D'Addarrios are more than twice the price and less than half as good.

The JPs(both 4 and 5 string) are passive, and JJs(ditto) are active. I'm really fond of that JP. I much prefer passive over active and P and PJ over JJ.

I like them for fretted because they're less harsh on my fingers when string crossing and they're less noisy. On fretless I prefer rougher SS rounds because it gives me more grip to be creative.

Number 1 would have to be weight(must be lightweight) with balance a close second. I've come to much prefer closer string spacing now. Things like tone and appearance and woods used are largely secondary.

While I like the look of some basses, I don't think i'd buy it unless it served a purpose and added something extra. Needs more than wants because basses are tools for me. That attractive turquoise hammer and burgundy lawnmower with green trim never quite did it for me either. I always found I got bored of looks quickly. After it sits in the corner of the room it seems to become more and more like part of the furniture unless it provides some extra practical value, because that practical value is the only thing that's important in the medium to long term.

I've seen various ones on Thomann for around £30-80, and which include a bass stand. For those standing, a quick but deceptively taxing exercise called the plank is useful for strengthening core muscles, which in turn help to take the pressure off of your back.

I quite like the Harley Benton B550FL for about £148. https://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_b_550fl_bk_progressive_series.htm Is this an "Ibanez design"? I don't know what is meant by that.

I don't see any reason why humour shouldn't be in music. Music is a communication medium.

Perhaps the percentages shown are of the RAM that is being used rather than of total RAM available(8GB).

I would definitely close Edge if doing anything heavy. Edge browser uses an open source version of the Chrome engine, and which has always been a dog for RAM usage. I would probably advise a minimum of 16GB RAM on Windows for music processing which tends to be quite resource hungry, although you may get away with 8GB if you're frugal.