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Interesting, I 've been working against arthritis in my thumb for several years and that's something I've just started looking at. Meanwhile boswellia and/or ibuprofen can get me through the worst times, plus daily glucosamine & chondroitin.

I've still got the Jazz Dan and sadly it's taken over the P bass as my goto. This is despite much effort to keep the P. Just had it set up.

I tried but the bass needed customs forms completing and despite several calls to HM Customs and Parcelforce asking for assistance as to what exactly was needed the only response was “look online”. So I didn’t get my bass. Quite why someone couldn’t have said “give me your e-mail address and I’ll send over the form you need to submit” is beyond me, but then having worked for a govt owned business for years maybe I shouldn’t be so surprised.

I searched loads of places for a jack to fit my Ibanez, it's not standard is it? In the end, my problem was a dodgy Fender lead with an out of tolerance jack. There is an Ibanez dedicated spares site, it's not easy to use - doesn't really work on mobile. It's under support on the Ibanez website. https://cs.hoshinogakki.co.jp/pcw.nsf

Personally I wouldn't change a thing on it unless it was necessary. Unless you fork out the money for a Spitfire or something the tort pickguard won't look right. Those S series sunburst finishes were quite bright, something like the target burst you used to see earlier, and along with that S series logo a tort guard would just seem out of place - they just look better/more authentic with the black guard. As for changing the pickups, I suppose it depends what you want. If you want something like an EMG or Bartolini because you like their particular sound, then go for, as long as you keep the original. Personally though, I think the late '70s S series basses are some of the best sounding P basses - they have a lot more treble/upper-mid than '60s or early '70s basses. Honestly, if you want a more vintage P, hold out for an early '70s one and sell this one on. You can find refinished ones for not much more than an original late '70s one (Andy Baxter sold a refinised 1970 with original tort guard for less than £2,300 recently).

Well I’ve spent the last year or so changing my technique on my fretting hand, always used to do the thumb-wrap over the neck and now arthritis has set in that hurts, so now trying to play with thumb straight on back of neck. Seems to have worked, something I’m rather pleased about.

Your Attention Please - Scars ( remember getting this a freebie gold flexi from some magazine in the early 80s!)

State Of Emergency - Prong

I held a one-to-one lesson a couple of weeks ago where I taught a student how to use a single one-bar riff to construct a whole 12-Bar Blues bass line. We also delved into how we could take this one step further and add in variations to create more interest. I decided during the lesson that this would make a useful YouTube video, so here we are. My latest YouTube lesson is perfect for any aspiring Blues bassists who wish to improvise their own Blues bass lines. It's a basic concept that can be used to produce interesting and impressive sounding Blues bass lines, sure to get you out of a hole at a Blues jam or gig! You can download the free lesson PDF by clicking the link in the video description. Enjoy

Thanks. I've got my eye on the Fender Rumble 15 v1

Anybody bringing any FRFR speakers please? looking at getting one

Wanting to be louder and then not be louder still when you slap is not possible without 'compression' of some kind. You could modify your technique to bring up your regular volume and slap more gently. Good luck with that. You could find a compressor that catches transients while not destroying tone. You could find a tube amp with just the right natural compression at the volume you want. Good luck with that.

Have a chat with @Sean who recently got two Spectors sent from Japan. You can see them here:

Thanks for that info. It's actually Spectors I'm looking at. I've been considering a Euro 5 or Dimension 5 if I an audition goes well next weekend.

I agree entirely, I sometimes wonder why I care so much about aesthetics. I have a lovely custom bass which sounds ridiculously good but I am conflicted because of the body shape. I tend to forget about the shape when I play it because it sounds incredible but afterwards I wish it was a tad more conventional 🙈

Fire Brigade - The Move

Also would avoid ebay sellers - I heard that many of these are people putting things up that they don't actually own, they're in shops, they tack on a "finder's fee" and then go buy it on your behalf. That's why you often see the same thing with the same photos up on ebay from different sellers for completely different prices and postage methods (some charge postage, some lump it into the cost and offer "free" postage etc.). Feels a bit grubby to me although I guess it's no different to a "personal shopper" thing in practice.

Burning Down The House - Talking Heads