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I think you can - I was. i went to art school and was literally trained to be creative, and then given tools to keep being creative and coming up with new ideas - even when I had no inspiration. Admittedly to be admitted to art school I had to show an aptitude towards creativity and a level of skill - but even that I would argue was nurture rather than nature. My mum encouraging me to be observant from a young age made a big difference. my education also gave me the knowledge of the rules and history of art and why to do things. Of intentionally breaking the rules and knowing why those rules are interesting to break. I started playing bass as a creative outlet that had no demands on my to reach a certain level - There are big gaps in my skills. But as I’ve learned to play I can tell that most the better players have a theoretical knowledge that means they can Play better.

Your fourth chord was lost and out of use for a while...then found...and then used again ? So, it was just suspended for a while, yes?

For balance... Years ago, we had a band rehearsal space within the grounds of a local storage company. It was great, after 5pm we could go there and make as much noise as we liked. There was CCTV, two locks... it felt safe. Until the day we show up and EVERYTHING was gone. The CCTV cameras? "oh, they are not working". I felt the thieves knew it because they much have come with a large vehicle, and were probably connected to someone in that place... but could never prove anything. We reported it. An officer was assigned to the case who was a guitar player himself. It was very useful as he knew exactly what our gear was worth. He also had a good list of people and shops to check. We gave him all the photographs we could, serial numbers when known etc. He said our stuff would probably show up within a couple of weeks, and if it didn't... then the chances were slim. Six month slater we got a call. They got EVERYTHING back. Well, except for the footswitch for my Laney VC50 amplifier. They took two guitar amplifiers I had in that place. I was very pleased to get them back, although by then the band was no longer, as some of us could not afford new equipment and had moved on. Pity.

Just thought I'd share this.

Was Beethoven classically trained..? Yes. Did he invent stuff..? Yes. So, it follows that being classically trained is not a barrier to being inventive. End of.

I do like a black/tort combination. Have taken the liberty of a little mockup, although it's obvious what they look like as there are plenty of California series basses using this combination.

I do hope you are right.

This is the pick-up arrangement I'm considering...

There’s a simple, cost effective, customer focused solution: Ashdown.

I've been using D'Addarios of all flavours for years now. I generally get 7-9 4 hour wedding gigs out of the EXLs, 6-7 from the Prosteels and I've yet to see the end of usefulness with Chromes

I can't believe I haven't posted my Limelight in here yet...

Look at it this way. if you know 3 chords, you can only use 3 chords. If you know 4 chords, you can use 4 chords, but nothing is stopping you using only 3 of them...

I think these are better examples of Rocco working with Yussef Dayes, who is one of the most exciting drummers out there

I played Saturday afternoon at an outdoor private party - we had our own open fronted marquee and were able to generally get 3 m apart from each other so singing and brass could all happen. The audience were at tables outside with very large table umbrellas. Of course, Saturday was host to probably the largest amount of rain seen in months in the south east of England but it all went fine and we went down well. Every band member complained of aches and pains the following day and severe tiredness - 15 wks without a gig, then, 2 X 1 hr sets took its toll!!! My bass gear, ready to play - the stuff in the background is all the singer's...... don't ask - Antiques Road Trip influence I think!! Nice saxes! We did a nice version of Bueno, by Morphine and that Baritone was put to great use!

It’s not ‘him’ is it?

£200 on FB if you're interested...

Yeah, he couldn't hold a candle to their light operas.

A more interesting debate is the one currently bubbling away on the classical music scene. Up to about 120 years ago, improvisation was the norm, so your 'classical' musicians at the level of soloists would be expected to be able to extemporise and innovate on the hoof. It was only during the 20th century that playing by the score became de rigeur; rather like the standardisation of all the variations of Shakespeare's plays (many of which had been cut and pasted with each other or had large chunks by other writers inserted by 1900). Just as theatres like the Globe try and recapture an 'authentic' Tudor performance, the debate is now should improvisational skills be taught as part of a classical music education and brought back into performance. The mere existence of this debate suggest that, at present, formal musical training does, at least discourage experimentation - at least among performers, if not composers.

'78 on the left, '86 on the right. You can just see the beautiful birds eye neck on the '86. There's a difference in the tones between the two, the' 86 being a lot brighter whilst the '78 is more "classic" tone. I tried to compare the pre-amps but the '78 one is potted so no idea if the circuit schematic and values are the same as the '86.

On this side of the pond there's a saying 'it's the economy, stupid'. Americans don't vote for ideology, they vote for their bank accounts.

But if I've found it, it can't be the lost chord?

On a side note and drummers ,check out this clip which has eventually found its way to Youtube .It was on my Sky box for months until it disappeared Hang around for the solo from about 4mins

You're not a Bad Person, you're just In The Wrong Thread

I am too dull for this thread My ultimate dream bass would, in all likelihood, look and play exactly like my Bass Collection Profile.

Just in the process of ordering. Just waiting for confirmation they can get the rack ears and footswitch. Looks like at least one M-Pulse is on its way out.

Arguably, you made a improvisation decision based on theory although some have called improvisation 'instant composing' so it's a pointless distinction. I have often put in licks using theory (e.g,.hearing a repeating saxophone link and then harmonising it is thirds). It's all good though. I guess it is sometimes difficult to work out what is knowledge and what is experience. I always think of learning theory as preparation for application as opposed to academic knowledge for the sake of knowledge..

Bit screechy but that girl on the early Rush albums. Hang on, what do you mean? 😄

what bass is it? and where was it made? if it is USA then the threads will most likely be imperial, for most of the rest of the world they are likely to be Metric. either way there are plenty of sellers that will supply you with a suitable set for a very low price. a thread gauge is the easiest way to check the exact spec but a good ruler can work just as well of your eyesight is good enough. there are some reliable UK ebay sellers that i have used in the past, CH guitars, black dog music and northwest guitars all come to mind as ones i have used myself with no issues. Matt

That only really works if you're in the audience, might be a bit too obvious if you're on stage!

There are four chords..?

For me there is no "background music". If there is music it will be the most important thing - even if it is something that I don't really like. This plays havoc with my enjoyment and ability to follow the plot with a lot of films and TV programmes that like to use songs as part of the sound track, as I'll be far to wrapped up in the music the concentrate on the dialogue. If it's a piece of music I really like, I'll be on my computer or iPad trying to find what it is, rather than following the action on screen.

100% true. Why should they fix something for free when they didn't get a cut of the original sale?

And to one of the mildly terrifying bits. Is that really the body, clamped in the modified jaws of a workmate, suspended over a towel over a concrete floor and a router pushing down on it????? Yes it is And I'm smiling mainly because it didn't fall out. Or crush. Or bruise. But there are few other ways you can accurately cut the mortice... And I've got to do it again soon, the other way up. Because there are few other ways you can accurately cut the tailstock plate slot... The workmate is a home-made version of a jig that is featured on the excellent ObrienGuitars 'Luthier Tips du Jour Mailbag' series for cutting mortices, and neck angles and tenons. The template is a G&W one. The result: But, Andy. I thought you hated routers? I do. But there are times when it's pretty much the only way to do a task. And did it go faultlessly? Of course not. The mortice is longer than I intended because the template slipped as I was routing. It doesn't matter, but it confirms I hate f*****g routers!! The same rig is used to cut the neck angle and the tenon. For this, the neck is clamped to a board, located by a couple of pegs that fit in the trussrod slot, and hinged so I can rout different angles onto the heel: And what angle? Well - a straight edge on top of the fretboard should ideally just sit on top of the bridge - and then the action height is set by the saddle that will sit proud of the bridge. And that's why I had to make the bridge first. My straight edge is the offcut from the fretboard: And the gap at the top of the heel in the photo below shows the angle the neck has to sit at for the straight edge to lie in the right place: So I tilt the hinged plate to that angle and route that into the heel end. And this time when I check, there's no gap at the top of the heel: It will be actually finished by hand once the bridge is fitted, but this will get me at least into the right ball-park So - ignoring the fretboard taper that hasn't been done yet, and the neck thickness that hasn't been done yet - it continues to progress:

It's not so much smugness as an air of 'Look at me. I'm in control not only of my instrument but also of my life and everything going on in it. That's because - at my core - I'm a stable, well-adjusted person to whom integrity and authenticity are more important than financial gain or transient popularity'. So, basically, the mating signal of the (current) younger generation and one which musos integrate into their recordings and performances the better to engage with their audience. It's the old 'dress and act like your punters only 10% more'. Permit me to expand. Crudely speaking, I am of the second 'rock muso' generation where both musos and male consumers (sometimes) attracted sexual partners through displays of an unbridled, nay, rampant masculinity reminiscent of Vikings on a North Sea cruise. Fast cars, random destruction of property, indiscriminate porking, heavy consumption of recreational narcotics including but not limited to Heineken lager, cheap bourbon, red leb and pills. Girlies liked that sort of (falsified) image or so we thought. Bands sold their records off the back of it. The third generation was all about 'Oh, I'm so sad, I'm crying, everything's all too much, it's all black sheets of rain. I might sometimes play loud, discordant guitar but underneath I'm just a little boy who's grazed his knee and wants mummy to kiss it better then, if possible, work upwards'. That's everyone from Cobain through to the afore-mentioned Sheeran*. The current Gen 4 is all about character and identity and moderation and dressing down and having the latest app, and looking all buttoned-up and extremely unlikely to make a sudden lunge for the jubblies, this on the basis that to do so would be a shameful loss of control and antithetical to the ethical framework of their lives. Basically, it's a way of looking un-threatening and a bit superior to the norm, and those who practice this modus operandi undoubtedly do so in the hope of enhancing their chance of playing 'sink the brisket' with whomsoever may be the object of their interest. Punters do it to get shagged; musos do it to build an audience. It's not a bad tactic though no more likely to succeed than those which preceded it.. One awaits Gen 5 with interest. Will those musos go further down the route of restraint? Will they dress like 1950's Dads, embrace temperance and write letters to The Church Times expressing their disquiet at mounting evidence of moral degradation? Or will they throw caution to the wind, don buttock-less leather trousers, neck meths and sing songs about dining at the Y? I do not know but I think we should be told. * I instance Cobain and Sheeran because they both sit (sat) on the cusp between eras. Cobain started as the wigged-out junkie and ended as the poor little dead boy. Sheeran started as a whiner but has transitioned to self-obsessed, socially-conscious 'entrepreneur'.

Sorry, but when the dancers came into shot I genuinely thought it was going to be French & Saunders, I laughed out loud. Probably says a little too much about me, sorry. I like the bass tone, and the drumming is great, but am not getting the current wave of instrumental bands of obviously highly talented musicians playing what sounds to my ear like 1970's lift music. There also seems to be a generic vibe about them all, a certain aesthetic in visual style from the physical surroundings to the body language and facial expressions of the musicians. Perhaps I'm just in bad mood, I'll have to go back to the bit when the dancers come in again