BigRedX

Actually there is a reduction in tension. The G string on a bass tends to have the second highest tension (after the D) and the B will have by far the lowest tension, so if you do need to make any truss rod adjustments you will need to slacken it off.

Was it a Music Man bass by any chance?

Sometimes it will depend upon the make of the bass. Many US manufacturers don't want US shops undercutting their official retail channels in the UK, so their agreement to supply outlets like Sweetwater will prohibit them from selling their instruments outside of the US.

Doesn't work with open strings according to the web site (one of the few bits of information it actually does give). So really not an option for me as a lot of my bass style is built around open string drones, and alternating open and fretted string riffs. Also: Quite what counts as an appropriate instrument isn't mentioned, in fact over all the web site is far too light on actual information to tempt me. I have asked for more details but I am yet to receive a reply...

So you play in a band with no guitarist?

Have you linked to the right auction? All I can see is a very battered instrument, possibly home-made by someone who saw a photo of a P-Bass once. 😉

Fender used to make a version of the Stratocaster with a fixed bridge. Is that still an option?

I don't really get on with bolt-on necks. I tolerate them on my Bass VIs because there are no alternatives. However if I was going to splash the sort of money required for an Industrial Radio MIDI bass I'd want something that was more tailored to my requirements rather than the one size (doesn't) fit all instruments they currently make.

Yes everything that isn't vocals, keyboards or drums was done on the Barracuda. There are some overdubs in the middle section where I'm doing both high and low register parts simultaneously. We compromise with some extra keyboard bass at those points when we do the song live.

Have you asked any of the relevant Government agencies? Unfortunately, last time I looked, the language on the .gov.uk web site was very noncommittal full of phrases like "you may need to..." and I doubt it has got any better since then. TBH I don't think anyone will know until the UK actually leaves the EU and what agreement if any is in place at that time.

And there is an equally valid argument that the sorts of people who are after a properly functioning MIDI guitars and basses are after something a bit more interesting looking. I certainly wouldn't want to be seen on stage with a "normal" looking instrument no matter how fantastic the sound creating facilities are. And while I am familiar with the sorts of sounds that other musicians are able to get out of a Jazz bass, most of them aren't ones I am after, and when I did own a Squier Jazz one of the biggest disappointments for me was that no matter what I did with it and what modifications I made it always sounded "weedy" to me when compared with the Overwater and Gus basses I was also using.

When I played in a band where some songs required fretless and other fretted basses I used to swap between the two, although we would try and arrange the set so that I wasn't switching between them every song. We also had a guitarist who played keys on some songs so organising the set to suit both of us was sometimes "interesting". These days I play 5-string bass and Bass VI, but in different bands. I just have back-up bass for each. I'd only swap basses during a gig if I was doing the fretted/fretless thing again or if I needed instruments with different tunings.

I found it quite easy. There are plenty of great songs, but albums where ideally every track is a winner are a lot harder to come by.

You would need to take a feed from both to get any benefit from using both, especially if they sounded different and the point of using two amps was to get the blend between the two. If there is no PA support for the bass then I suggest to the OP that they get a long lead or a wireless system and go around the the venue and check just how much tonal variation there is in different parts. What you probably find is that one amp/cab combination projects far more efficiently than the other, and while the tonal balance between the two is perfect where you are stood on stage, it will be completely different out in the audience.

Only three?

How will it be connected to the PA?

Why do you want to have two bass amps? Is this for live or studio use?

Most bands that use a click also use lots a pre-recorded backing so they are using the click as means of keeping the live musicians in sync. Also the songs have a definite structure so the click runs at the right tempo for the song. Even if there are tempo or changes in the time signature they will always happen in the same place, so the musicians know when they are going to happen. To me it sounds as though your band want to use the click in a more free-form way and as a means of ensuring that when the samples and effects are triggered the band is playing at the correct tempo. For this, the simplest way I can think of is to use a drum machine or DAW plug-in that allows you to program a specific tempo as part of a pattern and also allows you to select patterns using MIDI program change commands. Program up your click track - rim shot quarter notes with an accent on the first beat of the bar is generally a favourite - run each pattern on repeat, and then use a MIDI foot pedal to change patterns to give you the new tempo. The problem will come if you want to change tempos MIDI mid-song as the click will suddenly switch to the new tempo, and unless you are all expecting it, it might cause some timing problems until all the musicians have locked onto the new tempo. I suspect that this system will be one that you will have to experiment with as a band, and adapt as you figure out what works and what doesn't.

Thanks Ped! Is there any way to find out the cost of insurance above €200 without actually having a shipping address?

Here are mine at the moment:

No. I don't always play particularly well, but my bass sound is always exactly what is need for the song.

And technically it's not a MIDI port. Roland have been using multiway cables with considerably less robust connectors in their MIDI guitars fro decades. There should now be the technology available to create a decent stage-worthy flexible 15-way plus screen cable to go with that plug. Van-Damme make a flexible/coilable Cat5e that is significantly more durable than your average office networking cable. It's all do-able. On the other hand the connector used isn't particularly elegant looking. And the bass itself is hardly the most innovative of designs.

Here’s the debut single from Hurtsfall using the Burns Barracuda:

A locking D connector? A good deal more robust than your typical modern computer grade connector.

Will there be tempo changes within the songs?