tauzero

Undo the control plate screws. Lift out the control plate. Unsolder the pickup wires. Get another control plate and put a V/Blend/T or proper V/B/active tones in instead. And if you're wondering why I'm posting this at 4am on Christmas Day, so am I.

I use them to play all over the neck to look as flash as possible while still playing the same notes. It really works, people think I'm a genius! Slightly, but not a lot more, seriously, I tend to anchor my playing at the 5th fret. That's not to say I don't go below it on any string, but it's very handy when you're playing 4-string lines and it means you can damp with the left hand on everything including that troublesome bottom E, and play walking bass lines from bottom E upwards using the same pattern (bottom C# if you want to be pedantic).

I commented when this was first posted here that towards the end, they get to play the basses and compare the playability, and that's when the differences show up. I wouldn't say there's an absolute correlation between price and playability, because things like neck profile are really significant and not price related, but certainly fit and finish tend to be - though there's a comparison between assorted Les Paul guitar clones and a genuine Les Paul that's worth watching, and shows that really good fit and finish can be found on budget guitars (as the owner of a couple of Harley Bentons, I can attest to that).

Keep them to three songs or have time slots. Monitor the buggers because you can be guaranteed that if there's no adult supervision, 50% of them will play a fourth song. The one open mic I go to that I'm not house bassist for[1] squeezes as many acts in as possible, and does this by keeping it to two songs apiece in ten minute slots. Others go for 15 minute slots. Changeovers need to be pretty rapid, which is bound to include moving furniture like stools and chairs onto and off the stage[2]. How big is this place that you're talking of subs? I take my 10" Deltalite cab and Tecamp Puma along to the ones I'm house bassist for, and there's a vocal PA. Acoustic guitarists go through the house PA (straight to desk, no mucking around with DI boxes) and electric guitarists will invariably bring their own amps for "their own sound". [1] Anyone that wants a proper bassist asks me, otherwise Tom is liable to perpetrate something bass-related on them. Just imagine someone who has generally got lost by the second verse of "Stand by me" and who plays "Folsom Prison Blues" with a walking bass line (which also gets lost around the second verse). [2] The term "stage" applies simply to the zone within which an act will perform, with no implications as to height, isolation, etc

Also applies to the Cort Space and Ibanez EHB.

I have a related Squier, a MVM Jazz 5 which has been defretted, and I do rather like it. I had a play on a Harley Benton 5-string Jazz at a bass bash in Derby a few years ago (can't remember who brought it) and was also impressed by that, though it was a tad heavy. So I'm not being in the slightest bit helpful. Still, everyone will tell you you need a Precision, and a PJ means you can have one without the horrible Precision neck, and with the possibility of making a bit of difference to the P sound, so the HB might be the one to go for. Unless, of course, it's got the horrible Precision neck.

Now that Sub Zero has finally moved out, it's taken weeks of airing and spraying to remove the smell of teenage-then-20s youth from his former bedroom. And yes, he was a Lynx abuser.

Well, Steve Parrish did once relate the story of when he was team mates with Bazza, he came into the garage one day to find a young lady (not Mrs Bazza) kneeling in front of Bazza checking how far down his zip would go. Must have been fresh enough then.

And the different things that they like cost different amounts of money!

The Behringer one looks as if it will do the job. You'll need something like https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/186880321395 to go in the back of the piano, then a USB-C to USB-C cable to go from piano to HOST socket, and a USB-C power supply to go to the POWER socket. It's annoying that manufacturers keep penny-pinching by not putting DIN MIDI connectors on devices that have the room to fit them. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/388956055978 offers straight or right-angle adaptors and is UK based.

Mrs Zero and I ran one while the normal host was on holiday, so I have a bit of experience. People need to sign in when they get there. Some open mics have pre-booking, others are first come first served. The host does the first slot. At one that I'm house bassist for, which is pre-book, the host encourages collaborations so I have a vague idea of who might want my services and sometimes even find out what songs they'll be doing before the night (sometimes I find out shortly before going on stage, sometimes I find out when they start). Have an adequate supply of mics, mic stands, and guitar leads. If there's going to be a drumkit there, make sure there's also a drummer who can set it up there during setup time. Have a couple of music stands too. If there's a Facebook page for the event, take some photos and stick them up after the event, maybe do a little acknowledgement of who was there - for example, https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61578654727858 and https://www.facebook.com/groups/976913649517143 My personal opinion about running order: after a few times, you'll spot who arrives, plays, and then f*cks off without staying to watch anyone else. Put them on late. Generally rotate order for the regulars so none of them get permanently stuck with early or graveyard slots and put irregulars into the better but not prime slots.

Just $6k plus shipping, VAT, and duty for this one: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/177509523485

Assuming that a bass can be set up for the action that you favour, and the frets don't cut your fingers to ribbons, neck width and profile would be the most significant factors, with body shape and balance also coming into it. Playability is a very personal thing though. I like basses with quite slim shallow necks, so my (expensive by my measure) Seis are great, but my Squier MVM Jazz 5 (cheap), Ray5 (cheap), and Ibanez SRF705 (mid-range) aren't far behind, and my Warwick Thumb 5 (expensive) is a bit behind them and my Antoniotsai dragon bass (cheap) is their equal. Precision 5s and fatneck Warwicks are right out. I think my Ibanez EHB1265MS (expensive) and Cort Space 5 (mid-range) are pretty much equivalent for playability. But other people love baseball bat necks and dislike slim necks, so a Squier Precision 5 would suit them better than a Sei 5.

Very much a biker thing too. I still do it when we're playing "Highway to Hell" so as to give me something to do in the verse.

I would point out that far more young girls gravitated towards the Bay City Rollers. Perhaps their popularity then, with their incredibly short trousers, was reflected in the adoration with which Rishi Sunak was regarded.