Doddy

I've not tried one, but Juan Alderete told me that it was one of the best fuzz pedals on the market. Amptweaker got bought out earlier this year, and it looks like they have changed their aesthetic and got rid of their bass effects.

A big part of practice is down to where you are in your playing and what you want to achieve. Personally, a lot of my practice involves grabbing a book like Chord Studies for Electric Bass, or Janek Gwizdala's ii-V-I and playing through them. By doing that, you're working on reading, arpeggios, technique, and time. Even if you don't like Jazz, Real Books are a goldmine for practicing. You can read the melody, walk and solo through the changes using chord tones and scales, work on techniques because a lot of the melodies don't always fall naturally on the bass. I've never liked to set a time limit to my practice sessions. For me, if I'm focusing on a specific exercise, it takes as long as it takes. If I try to seperate it in to 15-30 minute sections, I don't feel like I'm getting enough chance to really dive in and study any particular thing.

I don't think there are many around that price range. There are obviously basses like the NS Wav or the Ibanez Upswing, but generally there seems to be a big price gap in the EUB market. You're probably best looking at the secondhand market. You can sometimes find a quality used bass around £1000-£1,500 range.

I think with Rhythm Stick, that semiquaver rest is kind of important to the line, because of the accent on beat one. The reason I wouldn't practice with the ghost note is because it's likely to become part of your muscle memory which you then have to unlearn later. I'd suggest, with any line like that, to just play it slowly while counting so that you get used to 'playing' the rests and feeling them as part of the bassline.

It really depends on your budget. I've found that most decent EUB's are in the £2k+ range, and then you'll be looking at makes like Yamaha, Eminence, BSX, Clevinger etc, and they are all really good. I've been playing a Clifton EUB for about 16 years now, and it's a beautiful instrument. It feels very close to my double bass, and sounds pretty close too. I've done recordings where you could easily mistake it for an actual acoustic. It even sounds great with the bow. I don't know how many instruments Mo Clifton is making right now because I haven't spoken to him for a while, but if you get the chance to try one of his basses, do it. He's based in London too.

Personally, I think that you should be feeling the rests as much as you would feel the notes. You could maybe get away with playing ghost notes if you are playing an improvised part , but if you are playing a written bassline I think it is better to 'play' the rests rather than play ghost notes through them, especially if it is a unison line. It'll be interesting to know what the line is that you're asking about. It would add a bit more context.

It looks like a D Lakin Shark to me.

I've got a copy of it knocking around, that I haven't listened to in years. From what I remember, I liked the tracks by Jimmy Earl and Nathan East the most at the time. I bought a bunch of albums based on some of the players on that album, but I can't say that the Mick Karn tune stood out to me. I'll have to dig it out again and have another listen.

I do a lot of reading gigs, so I've been using the iRig Blue Turn for a couple of years, and it's been great. It's only got 2 buttons so it's dead simple to use, and it lasts a while before needing new batteries. It's also small enough to throw in my accessories bag without taking up much room. Yes, it's £50 for a page turner, but I'd rather pay that than miss a page turn on a show. For me it's worth every penny.

For your budget, I'd probably look at a Sire V7. They are a quality bass at a good price. Otherwise, I'd look at buying used. I picked up my '98 Warwick Streamer LX 5 for well under your budget a few years ago.

Talking about the old Octabass, I've still got one of the old grey ones without the switch, and with the jacks the wrong way round, that I had back in around '98 and used for years. I keep looking at the newer ones, but I use the Octabvre more now, and don't know if I really need another Octabass when the old one sounds great. I lent my EBS to a friend a couple of years ago, and he managed to blow out a rental amp with it.

Like has already been mentioned you can use a boost to drive a valve amp for a bit of break up but I generally use one to either bring up my level when using pedals that have a volume drop, or to stand out a little more when soloing (usually in a rock situation). My HBE Hematoma has an independent boost channel on which sounds really good clean on it's own, but really makes the overdrive channel stand out. Sometimes I use the EMMA OnoMATOpoeia, which you can get a good clean boost out of, but you can also drive it a little to add a touch of grit. They are both great pedals.

I always find that without the upper bout fitted, most EUB's tend to come in too close to my body and mess up my technique. By fitting it, it simulates the feel of an acoustic so I can hold it in position better and it feels more comfortable and familiar. I also like it for going up in to thumb position, because I can lean into it a bit more without getting too hunched up and worrying about the bass moving. Like @Passinwind, I'm not a big fan of the tripod stands either. I get why people like them, and they are kind of necessary for some EUB's, but I like my electric upright to feel as close to an acoustic bass as it can.

I don't think it is going up against the Helix. There are still a lot of people who would prefer to use quality stompboxes in favour of digital effects, whether it's because they prefer the tone or they just don't want the hassle of having to use a computer to get the most out of it. In fact, I've seen and played with more than a few people who use digital gear, but will still have a standalone Tubescreamer or similar. I'd like to hear the new Barefaced before commenting on it, but it's a crowded area with a lot of good pedals already available. Good luck to them, though.

Patronising - It means to talk down to someone.

100% a good player will sound good on any bass, and that a good bass doesn't make a good player. The rest I completely diagree with. Calling US Fenders and those 'entry level pro' is successful marketing and in reality, total bull. They aren't inherently any better or more professional than their Mexican or Korean counterparts, especially because CNC machinery is so accurate and consistent. It's like I said earlier- in the professional world, no one cares what make your bass is as long as you sound good and play well. Don't get me wrong, I love and play expensive basses but ultimately no one cares if I turn up with my F Bass or my Sire. In fact, I know of 2 of the busiest bass players in London, one regularly uses Sire basses, and the other often uses an old Hohner B2A.

This sounds awful, although it's not meant to be, but the whole 'pro gear' designation seems to be aimed at the Blues Lawyers. I started to notice it in drum shop adverts a few years ago, where everything that was classed as professional cost over 2 grand. I always found it odd, because I knew of far more professional drummers who were using what was classed as 'intermediate' gear. I've also lost count of how many pub bands you see looking for musicians , who specify 'must have pro gear'. It's funny, I've never heard a professional talk that way. As long as you sound good and can play, no one cares if you're using a Sadowsky or a Sire.

Is a Fender Jazz not a pro instrument anymore? It depends what you call a pro bass, I guess. Is it about the cost of the instrument? The quality? Is a Sire (for example) classed as a non pro bass, because it's in a relatively low price bracket?

Mine is the first one without the tuning option. It's still really subby but not quite as much as my OC2, although there's not much in it.

I've got one of the original models which I got pretty early on . I love it, and I've used it on nearly every gig in the last 5 years or so. It might not be quite as subby as my old OC2, but it's the closest octave pedal that I've heard. I like that I can have use it for that classic Pino style sound and then solo the sub without having to turn anything. I normally have it on the OC2 side but I was talking to Tim, and he said that lately he'd been using it a more towards the Mutron side, which gives a grittier sound. It's my favourite pedal by a long way.

I thought it was pretty good. I like seeing and hearing people like Stanley talk about some of their ideas. It was good to see Carlitos Del Puerto on there too. I think he's one of the best bass players around right now.

@Baloney Balderdash Those Thomann gigbags are decent. The only thing I'd say watch out for is that on mine, one of the shoulder straps started to rip after less than a year. Otherwise, it's a good case, especially for the price.

I've had this conversation with quite a few people relatively recently. I think it's interesting how things have changed in the last few years. Even up until 2 or 3 years ago, I'd never been asked for a showreel before being offered a gig. A couple of years ago I'd got a Macbook with Logic and Final Cut and all the stuff, and I pretty much never used it. When that died, I never replaced it because I never needed it. But, since the lockdown has started, I've had to turn down a few things because so many people now expect you to be able to record and film a decent quality video. It seems to be a thing that is now expected from universities, as most of the requests for showreels seem to come from people who have graduated relatively recently. Most of the musicians that I know who are mid 30s and up, still seem to go off reputation, recommendation, and experience.

I'm sure some people do buy them as an investment, just like people buy old Fenders for the same reason. Are any of them actually better than new US models? All I can say is my '83 Squier Precision is my favourite P Bass that I've played, and I picked it up cheaply about 15 years ago. New Fenders don't excite me as much.

The Squier JV and SQ series are considered to be better instruments than the US made Fenders of the time, so it stands to reason that they will command a higher price. Saying no Squier should be over £100 is kind of like saying that old Tobias basses aren't worth a couple of thousand pounds because the new Toby series is cheap and naff.