KahunaNui

Definitely. He was older than me, and I turned 59 the week before last.

Yeah, 720 City Road. I was the annoying chocolate starfish with long curly hair. Ok, I love the profanity filter 😁 Sorry, I've got to see what it changes this to... nasty pasty

Sounds like you were going in there about the same time I worked at Carlsbro.

@casapete I think Steve bought his first actual Gibson Les Paul from Sudbury music on Heeley Bottom. I went in with Rick when he went to pay for a pair of Hi Hats that they'd been hassling him to pay for - he paid with a bag of 5p pieces. We practically got chased out of the shop.

I bought Steve's Ibanez Les Paul off him, the one he recorded the Rocks Off EP with. IIRC it cost me £125 - it was just after they got their record deal. Like a pillock, I traded it in for a brand new Gibson The Paul. Wish I still had both.

Yeah, lost touch with him just after that, although I bumped into him a few times later on. I think I sold him one of the first Steinberger fretless basses.

Aye.

It isn't necessarily strength or accuracy (even that's what I said above). There are a few guitar exercises which aid finger independence, and others which build muscle memory for certain techniques. I can't imagine these won't help with any stringed instrument, and even if they don't they certainly can't hurt in moderation. Shaun said he used to slap his keyring to keep his wrist supple, and help build speed.

Many years ago, I had a friend called Shaun Ward, who was a mean bassist. When he didn't have a bass in his hands, I never saw him without a set of car keys with a leather key fob. He'd hold the keys in his right hand, and rotate his arm & slap his thumb against the key fob as fast as he could. I've collected a lot of finger exercises for guitar that I can do while I'm at work, but can anyone suggest any for bass? Either right/left hand/finger strength, slapping accuracy/speed, or anything else.

Sorry for the delay folks, but she's here! I couldn't be happier. The most playable bass I've owned, and easily the best sounding. The closest I've had was an Aria Pro with a through neck back in about '84 (might have been an SB1000). Anyway...

Motorhead - Sheffield City Hall - 1979 Spent most of the night with my head in a bass bin. Couldn't hear for days.

I'm actually having it delivered to work. Thanks to Covid, I've practically got a 5 storey building to myself. Doctor: "My computer doesn't work" Me: "Switch it off and back on again...bye"

Absolutely!

Sire M2 in Death Metal Black ordered from Andertons for delivery Monday morning. Thanks for all the advice, and for tolerating my stupid questions and indecision 🙂

On reflection, that was a stupid idea. Les Claypool doesn't play a 5 string.

I just had this insane thought like "hang on, I'm looking at 4 string basses, but I play guitar, so why shouldn't I buy a 5 string...hang on, I'll try and get this lot to get me back on track"

Now please tell me why I shouldn't buy a 5 string...

Ok, so I've rationalised it like this: Both have 24 frets, slim necks, humbuckers, and active pickups. The Ibanez wins on bridge-chunkiness, however... The Sire has a parametric mid control and a passive option The Sire looks a bit more metal than I'd like, but it's got to be the sensible choice I think. What's everyone's thoughts on string gauges? 100 to 40 too light? I play with .008's on ALL my guitars.

Dude, I'm 59, I don't need any help with that...

Oh I've definitely got a LOT to learn.

OK, I've been Googling hardware replacement on Sire basses, and there seems to be an awful lot of unhappy people. The consensus seems to be that the hardware isn't very sturdy, and poor quality. I'm talking myself into the Ibanez, aren't I!

Dude! You had to go there!

Also, the version 2 of the Sire is out now, with a rolled fingerboard, so that's another point in its favour. I suppose I could always drop a heavy bridge on it, despite there being no direct replacements. So long as the existing holes didn't show, all I'd be missing is the through-body string option, which isn't a deal killer for me. Somebody please tell me I'm an idiot for worrying about the bridge.

Hi folks. I'm about to order a bass (I'm a guitarist) just to noodle on, and maybe do a bit of home recording, so I need something versatile, but I'm not planning on spending more than £300. Style and tone wise, I'd like to cover everything if possible, and I've narrowed it down to 3 possibles - I'll be shopping at Andertons. The two most likely are the Sire M2 and the Ibanez SR300 - I've looked at the Sire V3, but I'd like humbuckers and 24 frets. I don't use an amp, and only play through a Focusrite interface into TH-U and Amplitube 5. I've been leaning more towards the Sire M2, but the only thing that's giving me pause is the flimsy looking bridge compared to the Ibanez. Can anyone offer any advice regarding these particular basses, and whether or not the bridge will even be an issue. Thanks