rushbo

I've got a set (40-100, I think) on one of my bitsas. They're ace. They're not as high tension as some flats (I find the Fender ones to be really stiff) and they've got a nice, rounded old school tone.

I've used these guys a couple of times with great results: https://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/jockomo81?_trksid=p2053788.m1543.l2754

This thread is way more interesting than I thought it would be! I started off as a pick player, because when I bought (or should I say, mom and dad bought) my first bass, I nervously said "yes" when the salesman asked me if I wanted a plectrum to go with the amp, lead and strap he'd informed my horrified parents that I simply must have. That phase lasted for years until I joined my first band and I started to experiment with fingerstyle. I use both techniques today, but I prefer fingerstyle as it suits my slightly busy/funky style. I'll reach for a pick if I need to play a fast, simple line with lots of repetition - a Ramones tune for example. I'd struggle to play that consistently with my fingers. I'd never be able to play "Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick" well with a pick as crossing strings so rapidly would result in a bit of a plectrum based car crash. I love digging in with a pick and playing fast, melodic lines with my fingers. I can play equally fast both ways, but it's a different kind of fast, if you get my meaning...

Amateurish is making simple errors, which could be easily avoided by a quick glance at a prompt. Neatly put and spot on.

I have no technical advice to add to this thread, but I need to compliment you on an incredibly handsome bass.

I've refinished quite a few necks and bodies with Tru Oil and wire wool or high grit sandpaper. The good thing about this method is that you can build up to a mirror shine if you keep on applying it, or just use enough to protect the wood. I'm not a fan of thick varnish on basses and although it's a fairly laborious job to get the original finish off, it's pretty straightforward. Cheap, too.

I played for a while in a groovy little Paul Rodgers tribute band, playing stuff by Free, Bad Co, some of his solo stuff and even a cheeky Queen number or two. We made no attempt to look like any of those bands as no amount of wigs and loon pants would cover up the fact that we were all "men of a certain age". The "dressing up" thing wouldn't have worked for us, but if you and the rest of your band can pull off a decent visual resemblance to Nirvana, Peter Paul and Mary or Napalm Death, then have at it, I say. Having seen a bunch of "heritage acts" phone in some rather lacklustre shows in the last few years, a decent tribute act is most definitely a viable option, if you want to hear your favourite songs played by musicians who aren't yet victims of the ravages of time. Just make sure that if you're making a decent wedge in clubs and theatres by playing another bands tunes, that you make sure PRS know and they can chuck some royalties at the original artists.

Aesthetically, I'm not a fan of music stands, especially if a band is playing on a small stage in a pub - it's just one more thing to clutter the "stage". I drummed with a band a few years ago and the lead vocalist/guitarist insisted on having a music stand, with a load of loose A4 sheets precariously balanced on it. This meant that a gust of wind, an overexcited stage movement or a random, bemused drunk could scatter the cheat sheets around the stage like oversized confetti. That said, I have absolutely no problem with cheat sheets or prompts on stage as long as they're unobtrusive. I played for a couple of years in a great covers band where the singer used a "monitor" which actually housed a teleprompt system. It worked a treat. At one stage I was playing in two bands and depping for a couple of others, which meant I had to whip out a repertoire of over 100 songs. I downloaded an app for my iPad ("forScore" - highly recommended) and bought a handy mic stand clip for it and it worked brilliantly - very discreet. I still managed to leap about in the graceless manner that has become my trademark. As long as you don't spend the entire duration of the gig, squinting myopically at your sheet music like Mr Magoo reading his bank statement, all is good. Get the right tools for you to get the job done. If people are so mortally offended by the sight of a music stand at your gig that they storm out, I think the problem lies with them rather than anyone in the band.

For about 20 years, my rig consisted of a Peavey TKO combo and an Ibanez 850 Roadstar bass. That got me up and down the UK numerous times and quite a way into Europe, too. Heavy as hell, but a thirty second set up and it sounded ace. Now I know better (cough), my go-to rig is one of my P bass bitsas, plugged into a Genz Benz Contour combo, but via a minimal pedal board consisting of a Zoom B3 and mt faithful SmoothHound receiver. I've got the extension cab for the Contour, but I hardly ever use it. It looks and sounds brilliant, tho. My set up time is close to three minutes nowadays.

Another vote for Smoothound. Mine works absolutely flawlessly and Chris is a top guy to deal with. There may be cheaper systems, but I don't think they're better than this.

I rotate three basses with my current band. They're all bitsas and they're all predominantly made up of Squier parts. My favourite bass has a Squier neck which came from an instrument I paid the princely sum of £25 for. It's beautiful. I would have absolutely no problem playing an "off the peg" Squier as long as I could tweak the string heights a bit. I'd put an Indonesian Squier bass up against a Mexi Fender any day.

When I get home, I have a cup of tea, a couple of rounds of toast and I watch half an hour of poor quality TV - normally "Family Guy"or some terrible expose of a hoarder. Then it's off to the land of nod fairly swiftly.

When it's done right, sunburst finishes can look lovely. More often than not, it seems that the person who had the egregious job of painting the instruments, decided that blending the two or three colours together was too much trouble and instead we get a wobbly version of the RAF roundel painted in three shades of fecal matter. I had a lovely, Japanese Fender P in Tobacco Sunburst and if it hadn't have weighed as much as the Isle of Man, I'd still have it now. I have a Hofner Beatlebass which has been really nicely done, in spite of it being a budget bass. Then again, my favourite bass is fiesta red with a brown tort plate, so think of that what you will...

I always mark my plugs with Tipp-Ex, so I know who they belong to and what they're for...a few years ago I managed to plunge a pub into darkness by unplugging the lights for the bar instead of my bass amp. Hilarity ensued. We never played there again.

Most of my leads are really lurid colours, so a. no one wants to nick 'em and b. they're easy to see when you're packing down.

The Grolsch ones are actually more durable! I bought the Fender versions to make up an Amazon order a year or two back and the stuff they make them with goes hard and brittle after a while. My Grolsch ones are still lovely and bendy, even though I'm not any more.

For so many reasons, this is the best thing I've seen in ages.

I bought a cheap camera case from Amazon for mine which worked a treat. I also used Duracell rechargeable batteries and I got about 4 1/2 hours life from one charge.

I had a G30 for a while - I had a few months of trouble free gigging, then it started to drop out - only momentarily, but I couldn't stop it. I tried all the fixes I could find, but I couldn't stop it glitching. I sent it back to Thomann and they tested it, pronounced it perfect and sent it back. It started glitching shortly after. Apparently, this is not a unique occurrence. I bought a Smooth Hound wireless system shortly after and I'm absolutely delighted with it - brilliant customer service and perfect performance. http://www.smoothhound-innovations.com/

I used a flight case for years, which looked incredibly cool, but weighed a ton. Recently, I've switched to a "Producer Bag" by Thomann which is brilliant. Loads of storage pockets and easy to carry. The centre dividing panel was removed from the main storage section to make room for bigger or odd shaped stuff - I use two Hercules folding stands and they fit in there a treat.

This popped up on my FaceBook feed. It's been patented by a guy from Ireland and it's definitely one of those "why didn't I think of that?" products. It's not the best video as you don't get much of a look at the real details, but I'll be keeping my eye on this.

Five strings: I've tried, oh lordy have I tried to get on with them. But I don't Fretless bass guitars: (See above) Boutique or coffee table basses: Sometimes, the wood looks beautiful, but it just looks weird as a bass body. Complicated knob/toggle switch arrangements: I'm easily confused and all those micro-decisions would make me cry. Amps and Combos: I love my Genz Benz Contour rig so much, I can't imagine using anything else now. (I realise that this statement will probably bite me in the bum before the year is up...) Multiple effects pedals: Even my Zoom B3 seems like overkill in my current band. I loved having 9 or 10 pedals on a board, but it just became impractical, especially when you're playing in pubs with barely enough room to stand on both feet... So, to recap, by this time next year, I'll be playing a five string, fretless Fodera through a vintage Trace Elliot stack via a pedal board so large it has to have its own generator.

Saxophones in Jazz: Yes please. Saxophones in Rock/Pop: No thank you. Also: anything with a synthesized brass section makes my teeth hurt.

fIREHOSE: "Ragin' Full On" (Mike Watt) Violent Femmes: "Violent Femmes" (Brian Richie) Lou Reed: "The Blue Mask" (Fernando Saunders) XTC: "Oranges and Lemons" (Colin Moulding) Smiths: "Hatful of Hollow" (Andy Rourke)

As its Christmas (and I spent two snow days working the goshdarn bass part out...) I thought I'd pop this here. It's not 100% and there are notes where they shouldn't be and vice versa, but it was a lot of fun to play. Kudos to Tracy Wormworth for the original, epic bass line.