Dan Dare

Depends what kind of bassist you are, I think. Being a no-frills P or J bass type, a Telecaster is my weapon of choice. Has what you need and nothing you don't. If I played a 7 string active Fodera, my choice would probably be more adventurous.

As an oldie, I don't think it's a case of people not being able to make a living from music "anymore". It never was an option for most. When I started playing as more than just a hobby (slightly north of 50 years ago), the dream was to "turn professional". For the majority, including me, it remained just that. A dream. Occupations that everyone wants to pursue tend not to pay well for the majority. It's a case of supply and demand. If everyone wants to be a musician, actor and similar, the pay offered tends to be low because someone somewhere will bite. For much of my life, music has been a side-line, occasionally a moderately lucrative one. I've enjoyed brief periods during which music was my only source of income, but they were brief. It was always necessary to return to a day job to make ends meet, unless you wanted to live on baked beans, never own your own home, run a car that was on the verge of falling apart and not be able to have a family. Looking back now I'm in my dotage, I'm glad about that. When I hit 40, I realised that I had 25 years to pay off the mortgage and build some kind of provision for my old age, which I managed to do. I quit part-time casual working and got a "proper" job. The funny thing was that, once I had made the decision to keep music strictly as a side-line, I got offered a lot more work. Some I accepted if I could fit it around the job. The rest I politely declined, explaining that the job wouldn't permit (obviously sensible to keep people sweet in case they offered more in the future). It was a luxury being able to turn down offers to play in toilets to a room full of animals who hated me. All in all, I've done OK and can afford to enjoy my twilight years if I'm sensible. With the benefit of hindsight, I wouldn't have had it any other way.

There's so much I could say in response, but I fear it would fall on deaf ears.

Fair enough, but you have left replies to me up and deleted all of my posts (and those of others), including those which were strictly factual. If you're going to moderate, do so impartially.

This. Many peoples' idea of BVs appears to be bellowing along to the melody in the background. BVs are tricky. All the consonants have to happen simultaneously and, crucially, the intonation has to be spot on for it not to sound like a bunch of lads chanting at the footie.

Is this old chestnut still grinding on? Re. the exchange above, it's interesting (and relevant, I suggest) that Dad has an engineering background. I don't think those disputing with him above do.

Quilter Bass Block is well under 10" wide. Sounds decent, too.

I don't get the "can't take my vintage instrument out of the house because it's too valuable" mindset. Many of us own cars that are worth more than such instruments, but we don't say "better leave it in the garage in case someone dents/pinches it". That's what insurance is for. Yes, vintage instruments are nice to own. Some are even nice to play. But they're tools to do a job.

Not necessarily the case. Were I in BF's shoes (in answer to his question, I think he is being very reasonable), I would take an item of items of equipment equivalent in value to the agreed buy-out amount and leave the band to sort out replacements.

Depends on the retailer. Some are good, some less so. If things do go south, the law is the law - see asingardenof's comment above - and it doesn't matter what Ts & Cs a shop attempts to impose or demand you abide by. You may need to be insistent and refuse to allow them to persuade you to compromise. As far as repairs go, it is not the best idea to accept an offer to repair to a brand new product. The best option is to reject it and demand a fully functioning replacement.

They exist in all forms of business. It's a little naïve to expect that one will not encounter selfish, ambitious people in music. On the flip side (balance, etc), if someone gets a better offer, it's fair enough that they will move on, although ideally they should do so decently, honour existing commitments, etc. In fairness to W and his ilk, I've been in a position where I was the only person unhappy with what a band was doing and where it was going (or not). Once you've tried discussing your concerns and failed because nobody else agrees with you, your only options are to suck it up or up sticks and leave.

A pal of mine refers to it as the "concrete wellie".

I suspect the reason for mounting the strings that way was so that he could turn all the tuners in the same direction to raise/lower the pitch. Looks weird, though and is likely to increase wear rate of the nut on the D and G strings, especially if he's using rounds.

Agreed. Our singer picked one up on t'Bay for £35 in mint condition. It's far superior to a SM58.

I don't feel differently about BC. Most of us have never met and do not know one another. I've been happy to receive enquiries about whether I would take offers on here (and have accepted a couple). I've done the same when I've been buying. As long as people are courteous and polite, I don't see a problem.

Rick Beato's latest vid' discusses how it has become ever easier to manufacture (I can't bring myself to use the words "create", or even "make") music. The downside is, of course, homogenisation, which he points out. AI, which by its nature, has to be derivative, can only increase the trend for everything to sound the same. As has been pointed out on other threads about the way popular music is heading, nobody who is interested in seeking out real or original music should expect to find it in the mainstream/mass market.

Given that this is likely to be a purchase that you want to last you (you obviously, like me, don't change rigs often), you really should pop the Bassman head in the boot of the car and head for somewhere like Bass Direct (not a million miles from you if you're in Leics) and do some comparisons. Go on a weekday when it's quiet and you can take your time choosing. I had that same head, with either 2x15 or 1x15 matching cabs and moved it on for similar reasons - age and not wanting to lug it around. You'll find modern cabs far superior to the old Fender ones (the drivers were pretty poor - I replaced the drivers in mine with Peavey Black Widows back in the day, which were a big improvement). Fwiw, I'm running an Aquilar AG700 these days, which I like. It doesn't quite do what the Bassman did, but it's pretty close. In your shoes, I'd concentrate on finding a head you like first and then look for cabs to match it. I note you have an old Ampeg classic cab just out of shot, which would do the job whilst you look for something. Happy hunting.

You may be able to, but check output levels/compatibility first. The preamp send in particular may be too hot for some headphone amps.

"Market value" is what a willing purchaser is prepared to pay. Market value is not what we, as individuals, think it should be.

I agree. It works out at roughly 10%, which is a lot less than auctions, having an item sold by a shop, etc. Sure, you have to deal with prospective purchasers, etc, but if you're sensible and not afraid to tell chancers to get lost, that's no hardship. For me, the biggest advantage is not having to set a price and let the market decide. I start things off at obviously less than their value to encourage bids and let it carry on from there. Occasionally, I've been pleasantly surprised.

Not sure about that. Some things, such as cars, consumer electronics, appliances and similar, are worse. Sometimes much worse. Anything that becomes obsolete or for which desire is ruled by fashion loses value as if it was sitting in a bath of acid.

Very true. In practice, the price you can expect for a used item (barring rare, collectable and similar) in good condition is normally around half new retail.

It might appear on eBay at fantasy island prices, but that doesn't mean it will sell for them. I've seen stuff sit on there for months because the prices were obviously straight from la-la land. If stuff wasn't selling at your reasonable price, it's highly unlikely to shift on eBay at a stupid markup unless someone naïve buys it.

Hotpoint or Electrolux?