Dan Dare

I certainly agree with that. You need those mids for the classic P or J bass sounds.

But that's just my point. You are judging books by their covers. Many of us oldies don't wear "smart casual slacks" or aspire to "deep squareness" or "golf club membership". Many of us would rather poke out our own eyes with sharp sticks. Your mohawk, combats and 110% Psychobilly t shirt is just as much a uniform/sign of conformity as those smart casual slacks. It's the costume you have to wear in order to feel comfortable in the world. You are still conforming to the norms of your chosen tribe. Sounds as if you are putting a lot of effort into showing the world that you are not "square". I'm also a fan of the great outdoors, mostly water-based - surfing, kayaking, fishing, etc. I'm not particularly sociable and like to do things on my own or with a good friend or two at most. Cruise ships wouldn't be for me, either as a workplace or leisure activity. However, I'm secure enough not to jeer at those who do like them.

I agree with Bill. "Flat" does sound sterile, at least in a live context, when you almost always need to emphasize or tame certain frequencies to compensate for room acoustics, etc. However, truly "flat" is a bit of a myth. There's no such thing as "a piece of straight wire with gain", to quote Peter Walker of Quad. Any component in the chain introduces some form of colouration/sonic signature. Switching eq out of circuit or setting eq to 12 o' clock does not remove the componentry that produces gain, which will also have been chosen by the designer to give their preferred nominally "flat" result. The instruments we play are not even "flat". They convert physical vibrations into electricity via sensing those vibrations within a magnetic field and turning them into a minute electrical signal courtesy of a coil round the magnets. The power of the magnets, number of turns in the coil, pots, onboard eq circuitry, etc all affect/colour the signal before it even reaches the amp. There's little point in even attempting to get a "flat" response. It's interesting to close your eyes and set your eq solely by how it sounds. You can be surprised when you see where the knobs end up.

Old folk weren't always old and many can still teach young 'uns a thing or two. They'd probably regard your mohawk, combats and 110% Psychobilly t shirt with amusement. My pal who played for Joe Loss told me of a chap he became friends with on the QE2. The fellow had been a commando and was still in good shape. They docked in New York and the old chap and his wife went ashore to see the sights. Somebody attempted to mug/hold them up and the old guy put the mugger in hospital with his bare hands. The police declined to pursue the matter as it had been self defence. Very satisfying to hear.

That makes a lot of sense. it's accepted that Squier and Epi' are decent instruments and perfectly capable of being used professionally. So if Fender, Gibson, PRS (via their SE models, which are excellent for the money) and others put their value for money offerings in the hands of pro' players, it may well encourage those buying their first instrument (or those whose pockets are not deep) to consider them. If it gets more people playing, I'm all for it. If someone has a good experience with a Squier, they may well think "I'll get a full-fat Fender" when they have more to spend or wish to upgrade. So it's in the companies' interests to ensure that their budget offerings are as good as they can make them. Again, the consumer wins, so that's good too.

I agree with those who say that "budget" should mean up to around £300 these days. All but the most budget of modern instruments are very good indeed. CNC machinery, etc ensures that tolerances and build quality are all on the money. The phrase "hand made", unless describing an expensive instrument, may well mean fit and finish is less good than it would be on a factory built instrument that has been made primarily by robots and machines (which don't have off days, fall sick or take holidays). Economies of scale and modern manufacturing methods mean we get a lot of functionality and quality for our money nowadays. You tend to get better components when you spend more, but even that isn't a given. I have a £500 Cort that has Hipshot bridge and tuners and Bartolini p/us. Not top of the range Hipshot or Bart stuff, but perfectly decent. The fit and finish of it is way better than that of my 1972 J bass.

Any of those mentioned above. If your budget is around £300, you can't be too ambitious.

If it's new in a shop, it won't be a "killer deal", whatever they claim. They have to make a living and don't give stuff away. I'd go for used, but It's your money, so up to you.

There's a 4 ohm BF 2x10 in the Marketplace at the moment (not mine or belonging to anyone I know).

In that case, may well need some work. I'd try re-wiring/new pots and socket first and see how that goes before dropping money on new pickups. J bass wiring is very straightforward if you fancy doing it yourself. Plenty of diagrams online.

Is it any good for metal?

Isn't the classic J bass set up two volumes and one tone? i wouldn't (assuming you have a Fender) imagine Wilkinson p/us would be an upgrade. They're decent, but no better than the Fender originals.

Efficient, too, which you'll need with "only" 350w. 2 drivers in one box usually makes a bit more noise than 2 single driver cabs.

As msb points out, your reading and busking skills need to be on point. Bands on cruise ships must be versatile and be able to play virtually whatever is asked of them at the drop of a hat. Two pals of mine (one now sadly passed) used to play for Joe Loss when his was the resident band on the QE2 (so this was a while back, but I shouldn't imagine much has changed). The band book was enormous and encompassed all styles (despite the tea dance image one might associate with the name Joe Loss). They told me it was quite lucrative, but also quite boring for much of the time. You are rarely if ever pushing the musical boundaries - most people who go on cruises are not fans of anything "out there" - and you will often be playing the same stuff night after night. The hours can be long. Obviously, one needs to be presentable and have social skills (interacting with passengers and crew is part of the deal, on and off stage), be disciplined and punctual and so on (it helps not to have a weakness for the electric soup - temptation is all around). Essentially, it's a musical day job but, unlike most day jobs, you don't get to go home and kick back/go out on the tiles when you finish work. Most cruise ships have excellent PA, etc, so any portable, high quality rig will be fine. You don't need a stadium rig. Carry spares of everything - you can't replace stuff, get it repaired, go to the shop or order online in the middle of the Atlantic and stopovers in ports are usually brief. Are you looking to get work as an individual or as part of a band? I'd approach some cruise operators and enquire how they book their entertainment. Most will use an agent.

It's always struck me as odd that, whilst most people view it as normal for instrumentalists to work at their craft, practice scales, acquire theoretical knowledge and so on, many seem to think that singing well is all down to "talent". Proper singers know different, of course and will learn vocal techniques and exercises and practice just as any musician does. They know that having a decent sounding voice (which is something one is born with) is only a starting point. Shame there aren't more who think that way.

Yep, the colour says to me it's well done, not rare. As you were.

50 years ago, it was all fields round here.

QED silver is decent stuff. The only thing I've noticed when making up cables for my hi-fi out of it is that the silver conductors are more brittle than copper. Not an issue of your cables lead an easy life, but may not stand being repeatedly trodden on, etc.

The OP was on something of a sticky wicket, after all.

Possibly not, but I was too weak willed to resist doing so.

Perhaps, perhaps not. I see he's lurking and adding likes to any sympathetic post (Hi Nilorius). Regardless of how well or otherwise one speaks a language, bragging and throwing insults around is not really cricket.

Introspection doesn't appear to be a fashionable or desirable quality in some of the old Eastern bloc/EU accession countries. There's a bloke who goes to a jam session I attend occasionally. He's very extraverted and hail-fellow-well-met and tells everyone he's "one of the best drummers in Lithuania". He's beyond terrible. His playing is reminiscent of a man in a wheelchair falling down a set of metal stairs. Everyone dreads being called up to play with him. He sits there, happily bashing away and playing the clown (he has been known to wear one of those silly hats with a propeller on top of it, which he spins on occasion) and pulling daft faces. If you ask him gently to tone it down a bit, he looks mystified. He seems genuinely to believe he's the dog's danglies.

They're like busses. Come along in threes. Next one is due shortly.

I went to the Reading Festival some years ago. Was very disappointed to find there were no books. Mis-representation, I call it.

So he has form?