Dan Dare

There is rosewood and rosewood - Indian, Brazilian, Madagascan, etc - and colour/grain pattern and density varies between them. Within any type, colour, etc can vary according to which part of the tree it comes from. Or perhaps Rick may be being a little creative with the biology. Pau Ferro is not a member of the Dalbergia family like Rosewoods but it is part of Machaerium, a closely related genus. Given that they lacquer their boards, any wood with the right hardness should do the job.

Is the hiss masked when playing an instrument through it? Few, if any instrument amps are completely silent, especially at higher levels of gain (just listen to any valve guitar rig when it is fired up but not being played through). PJB gear has quite an extended high frequency output - more so than many bass amps - so it may be more noticeable. If it does not intrude when playing, is it a problem in a real world situation? How is the mains supply at yours? Are there appliances, etc, which might be causing noise? I had an issue where I used to live with a street light that was right outside the house. When it was lit, it created noise on the mains, which I noticed when listening to my hi-fi. A power conditioner helped.

65-120 tuned up a semitone? Must have been like playing iron bars.

I wouldn't dream of besmirching the local womenfolk, for fear of being dragged from my house by a rabble waving pitchforks and burned alive on the village green ☺️ Hampshire has long been known for pig (hog in the US) rearing. Also, it includes the New Forest, one of the largest still existing areas of forest in England and one of the last places where wild boars could be found before they went extinct in the UK.

This appears to be the tactic, bit it isn't as crude as wholesale privatisation. What is happening is that pieces of the NHS are being nibbled away and hived off into private hands. The services the private providers are taking over are those which can turn a profit, of course. The same thing happened with the railways. Eventually, we will be left with a two tier system, where those who can afford it get comprehensive care and those who can't will have a basic, safety net service.

Hampshire. UK

If you stick to lighter gauges in Chromes, they are brighter in my experience. I use the 40-95 set, which was closest to the 43-100 TI set I tried and felt the same under the fingers. The 70 A string on the TIs was too slack and I found I had to practically wind the saddle off the adjustment screw to get it to intonate correctly. The A in the Chromes set is 75. Only slightly heavier, but much better.

Older Fender bass cabs weren't that badly made, so if it's really cheap, you could put better drivers in it and end up with something reasonable for not too much. I put decent drivers in an old Bassman 2x15 many years ago and improved the porting and it did a good job for me.

Whichever is most expensive. I already own a couple of Fenders that I'm very happy with, so would be looking to sell it on for as much as I could get for it 😉

They may have improved since, but when I tried a set of groundwounds some years ago, I found they lost their zing/newness quickly. I'd be inclined to look at some of the bright flats that are on the market.

Not bass related, but i got a wooden leg. Only a stocking filler 😑

Agreed. Better to have the holes too tight than loose. Ease the screws in using a good quality screwdriver bit (don't use a powered driver) that doesn't slip in the heads and chew them up or jump out completely and scratch the body. Snug them up tight but no need to lean on them.

I like that bass a lot. A guitar player in a band I was in had a Kawai. Beautifully made LP/PRS style instrument with 2 humbuckers. Sounded great. He loved it.

This. Stay well away from the power supply, especially. The reservoir caps hold lethal voltages for a long time. If in doubt, take it to a tech'.

This. I appreciate that bands such as Journey have made their millions and probably don't need to worry about alienating people, but it makes no commercial sense to do so. Given that much of the world, not just the US, is polarised these days, it makes little sense to do it anywhere.

Doesn't appeal to me. Very unorthodox and not a keeper.

Will it work if you have "big hands"?

Ah, Black Widows. I replaced the nasty stock drivers in my Bassman 2x15 cab (one blew and the other didn't look too clever) with BWs in the 1980s. Needed a Volvo estate to get it around, but sounded epic with a Trace AH350.

The race to the bottom, eh?

Chromes work for me. Definitely more bite (not as much as a round, of course) than Thomastiks. Only a little more tension than TIs. Last well, too, if you keep them clean.

The sound of the bridge pickup on a J bass has much to do with its positioning. I once played a bass with 2 P pickups and the one nearest the bridge sounded very different from the one nearest the neck. I think you may struggle to find what you are after, especially as you are looking for a single coil with only two connectors.

Speak for yourself. NHS and other public service staff don't seem to be afflicted in that manner. But then, they aren't doing nicely, thanks.

Really? Words almost fail me.

Sad, isn't it? Whilst I may not live in France, I am also retired and comfortably off. I try not to forget that not everyone is as fortunate as me.

Yep. Royal Mail has been asset stripped. Many main post offices have been closed and replaced with mini post offices in supermarkets, etc. Those post office buildings, which are often in prime high street locations, can now be sold off. Staffing levels are being slashed and pay and working conditions for staff are under the hammer. Hardly surprising those staff are not happy.