Telebass

Nah. Small stands I use at home. Gigs get the big iron, and my experience is that anything less won't protect your instrument.

Not on MY bass...way too flimsy. Hercules stands! Big! Heavy! Space-hogging! But Bomb-Proof...

What Buzz said.

Welcome!

For the record, as someone asked: Binding - appeared early '66 Blocks - appeared later in 66.

Howdy!

Hi Haruki, welcome! A former Essex boy here, doing the same stuff, but in my 50s! And all on 4-bangers. So far...

Welcome! GAS: one word - Markbass.

There are not enough female rock musicians! Too many open mic type things are testosterone fueled!

I've played and set up one for a customer. I WILL be getting one at some point in the future!

Hartnolls (I work there) are G&L dealers, but even then, we don't have an easy time getting hold of them. I'm off work for several weeks due to surgery, but give the guys a call with what you're after. Biggest problem, as always, is rarely having anything available to try out...

Our band plays everything from AC/DC to ZZ Top, via Nellie the Elephant. We have a hugely good time doing it, people love it and keep booking us, and as we're a 3-piece, the money works out reasonably too. We don't rehearse a lot, there are no conflicts - what's not to like? Musical integrity is a much overworked phrase that means very little. As far as I'm concerned, I'm doing what I enjoy most in the world, playing bass, and getting paid for it, and I consider myself very, very lucky, at 55, to have been able to get back in and have, so far, 5 years of fun. I'd love to turn pro. As I work in a guitar shop, my entire income does originate from music, but I'd love to able to say I'd done a tour, even if only for a couple of weeks! So, to me, musical integrity means that music is integrated into my life!

Welcome! (pleading surgery as excuse for being late...)

And a 'hello' from someone not in Wales at all, but who's fond of staying at a certain house in the Black Mountains!

Welcome, Alice! Damn, now I want an upright...

Howdy! Another GOD (growing old disgracefully) here!

Wotcher, Fred, and welcome!

Welcome!

Welcome, from a fourstringer fingerplayer!

Welcome from another oldie!

Frankly, I've never had the slightest problem with the stock bridge...I put an AmDlx bridge on my Sting when I had it, but didn't bother this time. There's enough sideways play to get pretty close. Otherwise, I'd go for the BAIII. Also, if you use contact core strings, there's much less error, but they are sometimes hard to get in the right lengths. For stringing through, I've found Fender 8250 strings to be good, they have a contact core E string. Bassbod, all Rotosound strings fit fine. Ernie Balls don't, GHS Boomers, some do, etc etc. Not remotely hard to find 'normal' strings that fit. And bridge and pickup covers are mandatory!

Hmmm. I never go to a gig without a backup, and I did need it once, too... Black Fender MIM P (The Black Widow):- best split-coil P I've ever touched. Does most of the work, just. Blonde Fender MIJ 51RI P (The Blonde):- does the majority of the rest and is easily the better looking of all my basses. 3TS Squier VM P TB (The Tart):- do some gigs with this also. So, any two of these 3 are always with me at a gig. Blonde Kramer Focus 88:- This is such a great rock bass, but I find I make mistakes on it for no reason I can pinpoint exactly... Yamaha RBX 250, stripped, defretted (neither by me!):- Not done much with this yet. May refret it (properly), or have the fingerboard repaired and leave it as a fretless, which is probably what will happen. Steal for 4 quid. That wasn't a typo. So, 5 basses...3 get used constantly or constantly-ish, so no worries there...the Kramer is only slighly less rare than rocking horse poo, although of little vintage value...the Yamaha was a lucky find. There's nothing I feel I should move on, really, which now I think about it, is odd for me. I've never had this many before!

Now it has not only had a bit of a setup, and the odd tuner replaced, but it has frets! Truss rod was slack; it had probably never been adjusted, ever. That's what made me bang the frets in. It'll need a dress, of course, which is beyond me, but it will be worth having that done.

Streamer Standard 5 on sale at our shop, s/h, £399 inc bag. Cool, real Warwick, not a Rockbass, But it is a passive single p/u version. Growls as it should do! Big neck...

Fun, most of the time. If you've no choice but to work at minimum wage, at least do it in a decent toy shop! And I've learnt to be a half decent tech, too, which is always useful. Got to have a good hefty grope around a rather nice Oly white '69 P-bass recently. It was really a nice bass. But little if any nicer than my '03 MIM P to play. Just had that cool, I've-done-39-years-gigging look about it. Nice to paly with the vintage stuff, but I'd never spend the money on it. Current Fenders are easily as good, even allowing for the fact that the specs are not identical. One thing, though...Anyone comes near me with a Floyd Rose, I'll hit them with it... Tech's worst nightmare. Bloody horrible things to put on a guitar...