Skybone

That would be excellent kodiakblair, cheers! Do you know anything about it? I'll no doubt get it in the neck if another bass turns up unannounced...

I wouldn't say precious per se, but I do like to look after my gear as best I can. Yes, usually a bit gutted if they get damaged in anyway, but it happens.

Looks excellent

I'm already a member of the FB Faker's group, unfortunately, nothing interesting has come up for a while. I know about the Renegade, it's an option. I've looked into the Bach Riverboat's before, they have a Jazz-like 38mm nut, where my old 4003 & my Faker's have 42/43mm nuts. Love the look of the Riverboat, not sure I can get on with the skinny neck. The last Jazz I had, after the 4003, just didn't feel right at all. All the J style necks I've tried since haven't felt right either, which is a shame, as I'd love a Thunderbird. The Italia's have a Precision-esque 42/43mm nut, but typically, there's no one around here that stocks them.

The dreaded GAS is building up again... As some may have noticed, I like my Rickenfaker's, and love the sound of the Ric-style neck & mid position pickups. Been having a bit of a scout around the internet for anything that has a similar kind of pickup arrangement, and not really having much luck finding anything. The Burns Bison Bass looks pretty cool, 3 pickups, 40mm nut width: anyone got one, tried one etc? The Italia Rimini has a 4005 style vibe, looks quite cool, long scale, though the pickups are more neck/bridge than neck/mid. 2v & 1t controls. Anyone got one or tried one? The Italia Imola is a seriously cool looking guitar, taking inspiration from the Ampeg Scroll bass. Pickups are J bass style single coils in J bass positions (mid/bridge), with J bass controls (2v 1t). Obviously, it's not going to sound Ric-esque, but a slab of retro-kitsch-cool. Any other suggestions??? I think I'm just window shopping, but some opinions/experiences would be welcome. I would love another Ric, but can't afford one or justify one. Another Faker would be great too, but decent one's are like rocking horse poo just now (there's quite a few not-so great one's about though).

EHX Small Clone

I've always helped with load in & set up for everyone else, especially the drummer. The sooner we're all in and setup, the sooner we can start.

I tried playing by ear, but found it was far easier to use my fingers... Someone had to say it...

Christopher Guest is British, he's actually the 5th Baron Haden-Guest.

"Tuning stability" is the Guitarist's own specific variant of OCD.

Another Sennheiser HD fan here, have a set of HD200's, and they're superb and given many years solid performance. Though, according to some internet guru's, you shouldn't use closed back headphones for playing and recording music...

Don't know if it's me, but I find that pretty much every featured artist on Later to be tepid. And I don't think it's just been over the last half dozen years, it seems that most of the new music from the turn of the century has been mediocre and somewhat insipid.

How did you learn to play bass? Eventually.

LOL. Bedwetter core, like it. Even more bizarrely, I have always found Coldplay to be insufferably whingy, whiny and full of their own self importance, and their music to be as dull as week old dishwater.

Never used to like Steels on bass, was always a huge fan of Nickel's, but came back to Steels a good few years ago, and won't play anything else now. As for guitar strings, it's Nickel's everytime.

There seems to be plenty to rebel against, but people seem to want to be spoon fed pre-packaged meals rather than going out and finding the ingredients. Everything appears to require a defined category before people seem to listen to something new. "Social Media" has a lot to answer for IMO. Bizarrely, I always thought that Keane were actually quite good (for public school-boys).

Always found it a bit boring, though I now wish I'd spent a bit more time learning more about it.

Sweet

For C#, a set of 110's should be fine. 105's are good for D, but can start to get a bit too sloppy that extra half step.

I'd buy 3 Rickenfakers. Or just get a 4003.

How about a P/J, or a G&L. The L2000 is definitely worth a look and a play. A Thunderbird is definitely a good one to try. I would highly recommend a Ric 4003, though, I'll caveat that with "try before you buy". Some people "get" them, most don't. If you're playing a P bass anyway, the neck won't feel too weird (if you played a J bass, it will feel very weird!), though you might need to stretch your budget.

Always remember him using Thunderbird's.

I always thought he was seriously underrated in all his bands. The Sisters, Mission, Coloursound & The Alarm. Solid playing, great stuff.