Happy Jack

Does it count if the wall is alongside you? Eagle-eyed West London musicians will probably recognise this spot ...

A full graphite Status neck on a P-bass is a wonderful thing. Tight, punchy, lots of other adjectives too. Can't comment on carbon-reinforced necks, I'm afraid.

I saw that Jacqueline du Pre woman play one and she made it look dead easy ...

The clip-on tuners are great and I use them extensively ... but not at gigs! They disappear way too easily ("disappear" as in go walkies and never come back) and they look ugly as sin. My Korg DTR2000 on the other hand looks really cool, and with a fly lead left dangling from it, can also be used by the guitarists in the band. Where space is short, or there's no need for me to bring that particular rack case, I always use a pedal tuner. First choice is the Pitchblack, but increasingly the only pedal I take to gigs is my Valetone Dapper.

That's always a tricky one. You know it's supposed to be a drop-out for bass & drums but drummist keeps playing ... do you show solidarity and keep playing (thereby enraging the guitards) or do you drop out as intended and (possibly) leave the drummer to be humiliated? My approach is always to drop out as planned; plenty of drop-out moments sound fine with just the drums.

Howard?

I actually started to get trolley GAS ... no, seriously, stop laughing ... and came up with https://www.sitebox.ltd.uk/clarke-cst12-industrial-sack-truck-oclarke_6500185?paid=googlepaidproducts&gclid=Cj0KCQjw0PTXBRCGARIsAKNYfG15YVWAjE6e5U9jhnKD4qWopfRbEjIUDHizjKwf5HHJoH089U7QP2UaAjCeEALw_wcB Luckily, I had the sense to ask what the (unladen) trolley weighed before I bought it. 21Kg. Ah, right, so now I need a trolley to move around my trolley ... perhaps not.

I can see the value of castors for a touring band playing big/biggish venues, but for pub gigs I'd expect them to be a complete PITA. Pavements, steps, narrow doorways, etc. and never a ramp in sight. For the rare occasions where wheels are helpful, a folding sack trolley is a much neater solution. https://www.screwfix.com/p/folding-sack-truck-80kg/1209P?tc=DX2&ds_kid=92700021630478358&ds_rl=1249481&ds_rl=1245250&gclid=Cj0KCQjw0PTXBRCGARIsAKNYfG2PvQb2hNpiOsZnHjbqOGN05zeoWKIKXhgnNAWgCG1M6v57VSM12MQaAhsjEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds&dclid=CLm3q8-qjNsCFYZh0wodHXIMAQ https://www.safetyshop.com/super-compact-sack-trucks.html?LGWCODE=37490;144151;6391&gclid=Cj0KCQjw0PTXBRCGARIsAKNYfG1Ao6UqMfAsUe26OccbHR0gsuoVSAOneRw3sdTVvXpVtqURu1MKDVcaAiv7EALw_wcB https://handle-it.com/products/folding_van_truck?utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=googlepla&variant=308171637&gclid=Cj0KCQjw0PTXBRCGARIsAKNYfG1b4E3YnROczNn79YM2sUMPii4tE3Ms_83e54Qjhrm6CI9-T7VcE3EaAupOEALw_wcB

But in London I still think that the relative handful of genuinely good music pubs are the best call. Saturday night was an almost perfect illustration of my theory regarding the audience self-selecting. We started off playing to an empty dancefloor in a huge but only quarter-filled pub. We finished like this:

I still have my t-shirt ...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bass-guitar/282958553522?hash=item41e1a4e1b2:g:mNcAAOSw9V5a8sG6

I'm waiting for this to turn up on Blue Peter, with Peter Purves creating one from washing up bottles and sticky-backed plastic.

Oh good grief! Sorry to hear that mate - hope it's not too serious. I still have a 4" titanium plate holding mine together.

So he plays a 4-string Oxymoron?

New one to me ... https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fender-Precision-Bass-Cowpoke-Rare-Active-Bass/132613199893?hash=item1ee05cd815:g:kkIAAOSw77pa73wI

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Squier-Fake-Fender-Jazz-Bass-c-2004-Spares-or-Repair/123113533077?hash=item1caa236e95:g:j9EAAOSwuWha61-m

But are you still in that band? I seem to recall a thread about this ...

Whenever I'm asked to dep for a band, I try to play like chris_b ...

Band #1 = 27 yards (my garage) Band #2 = 27 miles Thank God I don't play in The Proclaimers ...

Bin there, dun that. Don't know whether either of those were once mine, but it's entirely possible!

Rickenfaker ...

Convert the log cabin into a recording studio and it'll sell within the week ...

If you want to play it more often, Mick, I'd suggest you stop leaving it lying outside on the lawn ...