gjones

I have a friend who owns Sterling. Whenever heard him playing at the soundcheck I never liked his tone (too middy) but once he started playing with the band it sounded absolutely great.

It took me a while to believe all the excellent reviews (mostly from Basschat) but eventually I bought one in 2018 and I've never looked back since. They're light and loud and sound excellent. I've played mine with quiet blues trios and loud rock bands and it's never let me down.

I've owned two USA SUBS, a standard USA Stingray and a Sterling Stingray4 ( £230 B stock from Gear4music). Playability wise, I like the Jazz neck of the Sterling better than the chunkier necks of the other Stingrays. The Sterling sounds exactly like a 2 EQ Stingray. These days a new Stingray costs about £3,000 which is pretty ridiculous, so buy used if you can, and try before you buy.

Something similar happened to me about a year ago. The guitarist, singer and drummer, from the old band were asked to form another band by a bassist they all new. The band is identical to the old band, other than the bassist and an added sax player. The original idea, I was told, is that they were going to be a rockabilly band but as far as I can see they play exactly the same set list as the old band. The weird thing is, the old band is still gigging with me playing bass and both bands play the same venues, sometimes on the same weekend. So you've got two bands, with virtually the same members, playing exactly the same set, at the same venues. I do wonder why the managers, at the venues that both bands play, haven't figured out that it's the same band, just without me.

The Waterboys have had approx 85 members since the mid eighties when they were formed. A few years ago Mike Scott reformed the Fisherman's Blues lineup for a one off tour. The musicians in the band these days doesn't include Steve Whickham (The fellow who fiddles) who was a huge part of The Waterboys original sound, which is why I'm unlikely to bother going to see them again.

I've bought a few bodies and necks from The Stratosphere over the last few years. You do have to pay postage and duty but the stuff I've bought has been top notch. https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_dkr=1&iconV2Request=true&_blrs=recall_filtering&_ssn=thestratosphere&store_cat=0&store_name=thestratosphere&_oac=1&_nkw=jazz bass body

Ooooh... I like the Azurite Metallic one.

I saw a video of him explaining that he spends a long time perfecting the pieces he records for his videos, then instantly forgets them once they're recorded. He actually said he used to play in a country and western band......... I'd have paid to see one of those gigs.

I usually get about 4 years out of a set of rounds. I actually like the sound of dead strings but after 4 years I get a bit paranoid about one breaking.

A Fender preamp with a sweepable mid, like a John East, or a Sire would be useful. Fender preamps are not that good.

I have a friend who plays in a band in Edinburgh. They play a 3 hr set, every Thursday, for 20 quid a man/woman. Strangely, before he retired, my friend was a union official for Unite. Edit: there are 7 people in the band, but still, that's starvation wages.

Lovely looking bass. Weird that the colour should change so much after exposure to sunlight.

I've gigged with the drummer, who played with The Exploited in the early 90s. His name is Ian Purdie (Pud) and I'm sure you'll be glad to know that he now has tinnitus 🤣🤣🤣

Why would an artist of record company spend the time and money remastering an album, or a live recording when minute quantities will be sold - unless it's done of the cheap. Music in the form of records or CDs is not worth producing in quantity these days, due to the fact that nobody buys any of it - people don't even bother paying to download music anymore Many long established artists don't even bother recording new albums, as they can't make any money from them and their audiences only want to hear the old hits when they play live. Sad days for music lovers.

When Herbie Flowers died recently the BBC, initially, described him as guitarist. By the next day the article had been updated to bassist.

I have noticed that when Gail played Bowie songs live, her basslines didn't slavishly follow the original line on the records (after all she wasn't in a Bowie tribute band). I wondered if Bowie ever noticed, or commented on her particular version of the bassline on his songs, or did he give her carte blanche to play however she wanted? I suspect Lenny Kravitz was a bit of a control freak when she played with him.

None

What....is....it....with....the ....anorak?

If I'm gigging a fair distance away I take a spare amp head but not a spare bass. I've played well over 1,000 gigs and never needed a spare bass (I've forgotten to bring my bass but that's another story). For most of those gigs I only owned one bass anyway, so bringing a spare wasn't an option. Now I have many more than one, I still only bring the one, it just takes me longer to figure out the one to actually bring.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder Although it would match my avocado bathroom.

My trousers are flapping just looking at that

Although my comments above were lighthearted, I have played places where the drunken antics of the knuckle dragging, audience were so extreme, that I refused to play there again. It resulted in me getting sacked from the band but my physical wellbeing was more important to me than a gig in a very dodgy pub. So my advice is, if the pub is dodgy, don't play there.

When I first started out I had a 90 watt amp but it couldn't keep up with a drummer. I then bought a 150 watt amp and that wasn't much better. My point is, if your son wants to play with others musicians (drummers) he'll need a combo with a decent output. My recommendation is a secondhand Fender Rumble 500 combo. They're cheap, light and loud. It would be a really, good, first proper amp and last him a long time.

My band used to play the 12 til 3pm shift at a local music bar. The guitarist spent more time kicking drunken people off the stage with his Dr Martens than actually playing guitar. None of the drunks seemed to mind a quick boot up the arse. Good times 🤣

I've never heard a Precision, going through a FOH PA, that didn't sound woolly (except for a Fender Telecaster bass, at the Edinburgh Jazz Festival which had a big lump of foam at the bridge to give it definition and attack). On the other hand I've heard some great Precision sounds, where the bass is not going through the FOA PA and I'm hearing the bassists own amp with his/her own EQ settings. So I would fall in line with what others have already said and get a good preamp so that you can have your sound for when you have to go through the FOA, or play through an amp that isn't yours.