Skybone

Absolutely superb.

I had a late-80's model ('89 IIRC) that was the 2 screw plate, then I later had a mod-90's model that had the quick access battery cover. I'd assume that they changed the battery access sometime in the early 90's?

I was thinking it was more Mark King.

In that case, 2 and 1 custom build on order.

Down to 2 again.

Or 2 or 3 basses at around the £400 to £600 mark.

Keep looking at these, but kind of "stuck" in the "hard case, more protection" frame of mind. Quite tempted by this though: https://www.thomann.de/gb/thomann_safecase_80_e_bass_bag.htm Looks pretty good.

Add a tortoiseshell pickguard, and rub some buttah into it.

Yes Probably not No It does play a part in the overall sound, but only part. Yes I do like decorative timbers, and yes, I also like a more simple aesthetic. I like the grain to be visible, I like flaws, it is a natural product after all. A decorative grain is wonderful, but in some cases, it's overdone and over the top IMO. Some instruments look more like coffee tables than instruments. A nice flame or a burl is a wonderful thing, but can be a bit "visual overload" if too decorative a piece is used. If a piece is subtly figured, IMO, it's a bit more interesting to look at. The big question here though, is how can these figured timbers be produced in a sustainable manner? Can they be "farmed", or does their figuring depend on them growing outside of a managed plantation?

IIRC, the Neo and Nano range are true bypass, so you should be good with either. Pretty sure that your old pedal can be converted to True Bypass, but you might need a proper music spark to do it.

Taylor Hawkins played drums for her at the time.

Must be an old EHX Mistress (Big Box?). It's because of the "old" style buffer circuit they used. They updated the range to True Bypass sometime around the mid-Noughties, mainly because of the influx of "boutique" pedals featuring it. So my answer would be, by another EHX Mistress, maybe one of the "Nano" or small enclosure versions, as they should be True Bypass. I loved my old Small Stone & Small Clone pedals, but again, due to the buffer, when you switch them off, you had "artefacts". I replaced them with newer True Bypass versions, and never had a problem again.

I always found that the Dunlop Straplocks were a real faff to fit. Just my experience. I prefer Schallers. Just make sure the open end on the strap is facing up.

This. I remember doing some recording when I was mainly playing guitar. When it came to recording the bass, I was never happy with any of the takes I did. It was after reviewing the umpteenth take that I realised I was playing bass like a guitarist.

Started on bass, moved to guitar for a wee while, back to bass. Definitely my happy place. Still have guitars & actually pick them up now and again. Still prefer bass.

Put a new pre-amp in it?

Which word? Coronavirus?

Which Faker have you got? I have a couple of Rockinbetter's, and they fit very nicely into the budget Thomann case. https://www.thomann.de/gb/thomann_ebass_case.htm The only thing that I find that's "wrong" with it, is that the neck sits too low in the notch, and tends to move about when you pick the case up by the handle. Fold up an old t-shirt, or get a cheap bar towel to support the neck, and it sorted.

I understand that they appear to be a pre-requisite of period 70's Prog rock, but my point is that he is a bass player, cracking rig and some very nice basses. If he isn't playing another instrument as well as the bass, what's the point of the bass pedals? If he's doing some keyboards, or guitars or something, it makes sense, but if not???

It's your bass, do what you want. If it's done well, should look great.

Erm... why does the bass player need a Moog Taurus setup? Just a thought...

But when you take the strap off, remember to remove the rubber washer as well.

Just make sure your instrument is not finished in nitrocellulose.

Bet you could squeeze plenty out of that one.

Put the string in the capstan, bend it, wind it on to tune (or thereabouts), trim the string between 5 & 10mm from capstan. Never had any problems with it, always make sure I have enough string for a "lock-wind" (string above & below the exposed, trimmed string end). Importantly, if you make a mess of the initial wind, you have enough string available to make a correction to enable you to have a lock-wind. As above. I always make sure I leave about 25-50mm (1-2") string (depending on which string) at the end, bend, then wind. Always try to make sure I get at least 1 wind above & 1 wind below the end of the string. There was a school of thought in the guitarist world that you should have minimal "excess" string on the capstan. Whether this is guitarists "cork sniffing" or what, I don't know. A lot also depends on what type of headstock you have (4 in line or 2x2, 3x1, etc.), and whether the headstock is back angled or straight. If it's back angled, then you already have a decent string break angle over the nut, whereas if your headstock is "straight", then you need to try and induce a better string break angle. Horses for courses. Do what thou wilt, etc.