paul_c2

Returning to the original topic (it seemed relevant enough not to start a new thread), I recently bought a cheap new bass as a present for someone else. I played it a little and it re-ignited some interest in buying a Fender Precision - up until now I'd mainly played Fender Jazzes. But looking round, its clear that instrument prices are on the up. If I buy new now, I can't get a rosewood neck, it will be pau ferro (unless I spend a lot!) and its about £630 for a Fender. And there's less option now, if I rule out continental European competitors (still plenty of choice amongst UK suppliers though). Secondhand.......there's not much around, and definitely no bargains any more. I think the prices have gone up even more steeply than new prices. The gap in price between new and secondhand is smaller than before now too (most ridiculous I've seen is £700 for a Mexican Precision, which is available £630 new). Japanese stuff (ie importing) has gone up a lot too, and so has shipping costs. It looks like now is the worst time to buy a decent instrument - of course it could get worse still....

Or Tina Weymouth. Or Nicole Row.

We've just had to ditch "Lady is a Tramp". Its an interesting debate - do you continue to do songs which are clearly nowadays (slightly) inappropriate; or do you respect the fact that its a well-known standard and just enjoy and recreate the music as it was then. Someone is bound to complain when we do "Fever" too.......

Never done it for me. I wonder if your computer has some malware on it, which intercepts youtube web browsing and tries to steal your identity (documents) or something like that?

I've played bass for about 35 years and only used effects in a live situation......once. It might be a downstream consequence of the genres of music I play, though. I've dabbled on and off with effects over the years. I currently have a Boss GT-1B and a few pedals - compressor, mega distortion, bass eq, bass chorus (all Boss pedals) (and a cheap tuner pedal which I no longer use; and a wireless receiver in pedal format). Honestly, I find the Boss GT-1B a bit meh, both in the sounds it can produce and the effort/inconvenience/opportunity to mess up in setting it up. I am sure there's a few good sounds in there, but its so clumsy to find them its virtually impossible to do so in a rehearsal situation. I could sit down for an hour and try stuff out in isolation but that's not quite the same. The pedals, however, tend to make life with effects much simpler and "just do it", producing usable sounds with a bunch of settings (or easy to quickly dial in the settings). I know there's a simpler Boss multi effects - ME-80 - however I don't know if they do a bass version and I don't know if those effects would be good for bass. TLDR - just buy a decent chorus pedal. AND use the tone controls on the bass and your RH technique!

And of course, trying it in a music shop almost obligates you to slap the **** out of it:

New Bass Day - kind of - its actually a present for the OH. She plays the cello to ~grade 7, so its only natural that she ought to learn the bass too! Copious mentions of Tina Weymouth and her music, and a couple of informal lessons, has revealed a bunch of enthusiasm but that she really doesn't like the weight and bulkiness of my (long scale, obvs) Fender Jazz. And.....I own 3x Fender Jazzes so even the one I can lend her is the same. So.....after a bit of searching round and some disappointments in various music shops, we came across this: Its a Squier Mini. Scale length is 28.5" compared to 34" for the long scale (and I think short scale is about 30" normally?). It plays really well! I tried it in the music shop and was impressed immediately - it really doesn't feel "cheap" at all, it just feels very natural and easier to play. I think the string tension is a little lower too, which probably helps. The sound is quite cutting and it can do a good "twang" sound but it still has a decent bass thump. I think it will calm down once the strings aren't brand new. Oh, and its my first Precision.

What about a sound-sensing device which senses when other noises/sound is being made above a certain volume, ie from other band members, and doesn't turn the bass on unless it 'hears' something else above a certain threshold? This would have a side advantage too - no bass solos.

You could start a Paypal dispute but its been 23 hours since you "rejected" it and want the full refund? They ought to be given a reasonable time to process that. I have no idea why they have admitted the advert was misleading - that's a huge own goal for them. Its still a bass, it still makes noise, its still kind of playable.....so its an opinion on its condition of a secondhand instrument, doesn't necessarily fall under the SOGA.

no

You don't need a TRS-to-mono converter. The 3 pins of TRS are chosen sensibly such that plugging a mono lead in, or plugging a TRS lead into a mono socket, works. You will probably need to turn the volume very low for it to work okay, but I've done it a number of times and have had no worries.

Under £100 is going to very much compromise your choices. I have a Native Instruments Komplete Kontrol A49 but they're about £168.50 new (I don't know how much secondhand). Its "semi-weighted" and I think this makes a difference for serious playing. Its no where near the quality of a proper piano keyboard but you don't really want the weight for "synth style" lines (but you would, if you're playing "piano style" music). Also I'd say for anything serious, avoid mini keys and go for full size. There is the Komplete Kontrol A25 for £122.50 but 2 octaves is restrictive if you're playing with both hands. I've been able to get by pretty well with 4 octaves with a good portion of piano music, but obviously some just won't fit. You didn't really give any detail on what you'll be using/playing the keyboard for, so its difficult to know if 2 octaves will be fine or restrictive.

Its impossible to say what the "best" is, its all subjective! Burp!

Really, its a spare drummer you need. Adam Ant wasn't mad after all........

It does sound like it was doomed from the start, especially since you mention you were already somewhat fed up with it? Its hard to say what exactly happened, and if its fatal there isn't much point expanding upon the drummer's relayed message that its over - trying to answer questions only leads to more questions. My advice is to leave the loose ends untied and move on.

Can you "own" a loosely-formed group of people?

I think it comes down to the difference between amateur and professional. (And I could include semi-pro in the professional group but obviously, funds are tighter). An amateur DIYer might well potter around doing a few hours a day on jobs which stretch over a period of time, with basic hand tools - but taking care and pride in their work. A professional builder would have a number of other jobs waiting, so time is of the essence. They'd bring a van full of tools which don't make sense for a DIYer to buy but are time-saving or useful if you're doing it day-in day-out. And they might tackle the DIYers week-long job in half a day, but rely on their experience to do it quick and right first time, but its "just another job" to them so no particular emotional attachment to the work. The two approaches may very well produce the same result.

We have a mixing desk, 2 mics, 2 mains, 1 monitor (and lots of XLR and power cables etc). If any one of those components completely fails, we can reconfigure around the problem. Obviously if the mixing desk goes, we have reduced function but can put a mic into the back of a main and then daisychain the other main and monitor off it if needs be. The PA is only really needed for the singer(s) but sometimes the guitar bass and keys go thru it too for the singer's monitor or faded down but ready to go up if a backline amp fails.

I think my dream house would have a music room and a ballroom (which would be ideal for big band rehearsals and also house a concert grand piano). I'd also have a drumkit and a few other bits and bobs in the music room. I'd still just have 1 bass though, but maybe 2 amps - one in each room.

I don't need to.

Its worth mentioning to those who might not have gigged: strange things happen at gigs. It might be as straightforward as a poor electrical supply revealing an otherwise normally okay grounding issue, or the heat from nearby lights, or a lack of space meaning something gets knocked over; or as complicated as you find yourself immersed in a jacuzzi full of donkey's milk with two Swedish 19 year old twins, while the guitarist is tied naked to a streetlamp 3 miles away and the drummer has given away 1/3 of the tour van in a rigged poker match.

In answer to the OP - not really. The time to buy was about 2 years ago, before Brexit and Covid when everything was pretty much flowing smoothly for imports and exports and there was no massive spikes in demand or weird unpredictable changes in the economy. Prices were steadily rising then but there were bargains to be found.

I vaguely remember some 2 pickup versions of P-bass having the neck pickup more forwards than the "standard" position (and obviously, the bridge pickup backwards from). But the gridlines on the pic above show they've preserved its standard location, at least on that bass.

My band has enough variety in its set list to justify taking a fretted and fretless for gigs. So, I'll have both with me; and one can cover for the other if something happens to either. For rehearsals, just the one though (sometimes I'll take either/or).

Personally for me, I like the way Fender Jazz bass and Gibson Les Paul work together in a 3 piece. If the Fender Jazz is made to make good use of its twangy mids/highs, possibly with a little bit of mild overdrive, then the thump of a Les Paul with its humbuckers can sit really well - so long as it is subdued when vocals are also sung. Rush is obviously a good example of this.