gjones

New Warwick heads are incredibly tiny and incredibly cheap, https://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/Warwick_Amp_GNOME.html

I see a lot of artists, at a reasonably high level (Mike Scott of the Waterboys, KT Tunstall, Gayle Ann Dorsey), setting up accounts on Patreon in order to make ends meet. These days their income is mainly from live gigging and merchandise. This is an article about the lowest selling No 1 album in the US , which got to No1 after selling only 823 copies (CDs and downloads). https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/us-rapper-a-boogie-wit-da-hoodie-sets-record-for-lowest-ever-selling-us-number-1-album__25334/?fbclid=IwAR1jmubsoK7TXwn0OZQsIqIP0qM6ZsL5AlaoCJFu-Z-aT808SdL75_Mh6Pw

You only take the plastic off the scratchplate and the pickups, when you know it's a keeper

I was listening to reviews of Fender Stratocasters, Ultras, Professionals and Players. Interestingly, the Player Strat sounded the best of them all. Hopefully your Player P will be equally as good.

It must be ready for the skip by now. I bought the combo version, 40 years ago. Say to whoever has it, you'll take £20 to take it off their hands.

I own a Fender Rumble 100 V3 which is very light, small, polite and is a perfect house practice amp but it is loud enough to gig with, if you have a quiet drummer. I bought mine secondhand for £165. I also own a Markbass CMP 121P, which is all of the above, but is a bit louder and much more expensive. If you want to spend more money on a house practice amp, there's plenty of alternatives out there but in my opinion, the Rumble ticks all the boxes.

In the old days of huge heads and combos I couldn't be bothered taking a spare. But these days, with class D heads the size of a paperback, it is much easier to keep one handy just in case.

The sound of my basses depends mostly on the strings I use and what mood I'm in at the time. I bought a bass recently and when I plugged it in I really disliked the tone. A week later I plugged it in again and loved it (and still do). Weird?

Click bait....

Hothouse flowers are a great band and one of my favourites but I saw them a few years ago, at the Barrowland in Glasgow, and they were excellent but just didn't know when to call it a day. The gig had hit the 2 and a half hour mark and they were starting to make songs up, improvising over gospel like grooves, in a very self indulgent way. I had to leave. I wouldn't be surprised if they were still there, grooving away

I've never needed a back up amp but a few years ago bought a head, secondhand, which arrived with a fault. I took it apart and put it back together again, and it then worked fine, but I've never 100% trusted it. Since then I always take another head with me, just in case.

I'd like to play with Jim Keltner. He's drummed with many of my favourite bands and artists, over the years. Even with the CV he has, he's still very humble. Hates playing to a click track and understands the concept of playing ahead, or behind the beat.

My MIJ Fender Jazz is the bass I'll probably end up being buried with. Perfect feel, action, sound and looks. I fitted a set of pickups from a Roadworn Jazz, which I picked up on Basschat into it and they sound just perfect. J Retro was the finishing touch.

I have that very fridge magnet, which I bought for £5.50.

Before I discovered Basschat I only had one bass. This question would have been irrelevant. Not any more

I have a wee fiddle with my instrument, occasionally.

Ampeg made a 32x10 cab, just for a laugh. I suggest that this cab was built for the same reason.

Ahhhh......the under rehearsed middle aged band scenario. Gave up playing when they were 17 and returned to it aged 40. What they don't understand is that, what you could get away with at 17, you can't get away with when you're 40. I have nightmares about being in this band.

I've bought a couple of basses from them, including a purchase during the first lockdown in April, both were delivered within a couple of days with minimum fuss.

Yes, the red light is a cruel mistress.

A friend of mine ordered a Sire V3 from Andertons, in October, he still hasn't got it. So be prepared for a looooooong wait, if you order one of these.

I bought a Elite Precision, new in 2018, and when it was delivered I was distinctly underwhelmed. I own a couple of other USA Fenders, a deluxe Jazz and a 75 reissue Jazz and they felt much better to play than the new bass. The neck felt chunkier than previous precisions I'd owned and although the action could be set up pretty low, I didn't like the tension of the Fender strings, so changed them to Rotosounds. I still wasn't convinced and after a few gigs, although I liked the sound and versatility of the Elite, I didn't like the feel and playability. My MIJ Precision has a set of Elixir lights on it and I really like the feel of them, so bought a set for the Elite. What a difference! The bass has come to life and the feel and playability is now where I like it. I think it could now be my favourite bass in the herd and all it took was a change of strings. So don't write off your USA Jazz. Maybe all it also needs is a few tweaks and a change of strings?

I just plug my tv into my hi fi. I also bought a bluetooth sound converter, for not much money, which also allows me to send the signal from my laptop, or phone, to my hi fi too. I feel the average hi fi is cheaper and more versatile than your average tv sound box.

10 years ago I replaced a 200 watt 8 ohm driver, with a 400 watt 4 ohm driver, in an old Ashdown cab. I had no technical knowledge and it shouldn't have worked but sounded great and was a big improvement on the original, in both tone and volume. The only way you'll know if you've been sold a pup, is to play it at band levels. You may be pleasantly surprised.