FinnDave

I carry my leads, DI box, Wireless, mains extension leads, set lists, plasters, pain killers, business cards, etc. in a tool bag I bought from B&Q for 18 quid. Has a rigid bottom, so doesn't fold up when you lift it, and a wide opening so it's not to hard to find stuff inside it, though it helps if I've remembered to put in what I'm looking for, of course!

No, best not mention them. I had a Guild once and it was very disappointing.

Well, I have room for eight, so it's more likely to go down than up. Can't see that happening anytime too soon though!

Nah, just get five, otherwise you'll have more than me, and then I'll have to spend money i haven't got yet, again!

Ridiculous suggestion, 3 is an unlucky number. Better make it 4.

If it ain't broke, fix it until it is.

Cheers, I'll PM you about it...

That's a fair point, but I don't play jazz fusion, and only a little funk.

I'd have thought that the days "when bass players were generally the rumbling and inaudible poor relation of the band, plodding along in the background" were largely down to the amplifiers and speakers used back then, not the basses themselves. I play my Precisions through modern amps and cabs and they are far from rumbling or inaudible!

The Wirebirds, blues/rock, about 85% covers first played together end of April 2013, first gig was mid May same year. I recently joined another local band, first rehearsal was a couple weeks after the first gig. Just joined an established band (kind of a tribute band in that they only cover material recorded by one band), rehearsed last Sunday, got two more scheduled and my first gig with them is on April 1st. That's about the longest wait between joining and gigging I could stand, though there is a lot to learn for this band, they do 3-4 hours at a time!

Just make sure you wash it before putting it back in the drawer (the spoon, that is)

I was playing in a club in Banbury last Saturday. We played Mustang Sally. and yes, I was playing a Fender Precision.

The difficulty would be finding enough people to buy something that far removed from a standard Precision to make it worth the development and tooling costs. Playing it safe has worked well for Fender many years, and when they have changed a design even slightly, or even dared to bring out something new, sales are poor and they are soon dropped.

That's me then, six Precisions, one Jazz and an Astra estate! And the car before that was an Astra hatchback, simply outgrew it.

Gotta agree, that colour combination doesn't exactly inspire me, and I'm a great admirer of tort 'guards. I have black, white, and two sunburst Precisions, all with tort guards, all look fine to my eyes (obviously, or I'd change them!)

Purely a personal observation, but it seems that the enthusiasm for 'boutique' basses expressed on this forum doesn't translate into mass sales. I would think that the number of players who equate 'bass guitar' with Fender must be in excess of 75% of all players of the instrument. In the real world, rather than the rarified atmosphere of a specialist forum, I have never heard any negative comments when I have turned up with a US Fender. They are an industry standard, and are likely to remain so for many years to come. Say what you like about more modern designs, technology, etc, the truth is most bass players regard a Fender bass as an essential tool if you expect to be taken seriously by anyone considering hiring you. A Fender bass will keep it's value far better than any beautifully crafted, hand made special, simply because they have such a wide appeal. Go ahead and tell me I'm talking out of my backside, but you won't change my opinion.

You could do yourself a nasty injury like that, chap of your age and experience should know better than to try!

I'm not taking that sitting down!

Yeah tricky Richard doesn't have the same ring, somehow, and 'Tricky Dicky' is how he's gone down in history (if we can still say 'gone down'!)

What about tricky dicky Nixon? (edit: Got away with that one then!)

I bought a new roadworn Precision recently and change the strings within ten minutes of it arriving. I've obviously destroyed my investment!

It probably is until you hit an elephant...

That's still a work in progress.

That's strictly classified.