Dan Dare

I'm assuming you want analogue as the MG10XU is. Mackie, Soundcraft and Allen & Heath all offer compact mixers that should to the job.

Save your money and make them up yourself. Buy good quality cable - Van Damme or similar with 2.5 mm conductors - and the Speakons. If you can cut and strip cable and turn a screwdriver (no soldering required with Speakons), it's a piece of p1ss.

At the age of 67, I can confidently say I'll never be able to play like that, no matter what I do. It warms the cockles of my crusty old heart to see them do it, but I am a realist. Related to that, I see there have been a couple of comments along the lines of "those youngsters are technically brilliant, but robotic/have no soul", which seems a defensive reaction. It's as if some feel threatened by their ability. The obvious response is that, yes, they may be mainly about technique at the age of 15, but by the time they're 21 or so and have learned and listened more, they're going to be outstanding in every respect. Sometimes, we have to accept that life isn't fair and that ability is inherent as well as worked for. Some people are just better equipped for certain things than others. They have to put the effort in, of course, but their mix of physical and intellectual attributes gives them a head start and means they can take it further.

There's a big difference between market value (what a willing buyer would pay) and the price a retailer charges or attempts to charge. I only ever buy things privately or at auction. It's less convenient than just walking into a shop and saying "I'll take that one", but if you want to see a return, it's the best way to go. A retailer is in business and has to make a profit. Fair enough. He has a living to make, but if you are looking to purchase as an investment, you really need to eliminate his profit from the calculation. It's better, in my experience, to buy several nice, but not outrageous instruments than something like a '52 P bass. Everyone knows a '52 is highly desirable and your chances of picking it up at a price that enables you to see a profit are reduced as a result. True, you may not get the pride of ownership/bragging rights that come with the '52, but your bank balance will see the benefit. Often, the biggest gains - in poercentage terms - are to be had with more modest instruments.

It'll work (virtually any instrument will), but you will likely lose resale value.

A used small format mixer is good/cheap. You can run tracks through it to play along with, too.

That's the trouble with t'internet. I spend loads of time watching all these astonishing players and thinking "Why do I bother? I'll never be able to get remotely near to that". I suppose it's satisfying to be able to steal the odd (easy) lick from them, but it's not much in the grand scheme of things. Ah well.

True. The only things I have made respectable financial gains on have been musical instruments and my homes (property is a no-brainer, of course, but most of us ordinary mortals can only afford to own one at a time). Anytime I have spare cash, I look for an instrument. Obviously, you have to know what you're buying and new (unless it's something particularly desirable, limited edition/only 50 made, etc) is not the way to go. You have to be prepared to hold onto them for a while, too, so it's not the thing to do if you may need to access your cash quickly, but that applies to many assets. Much more fun than looking at figures on a bank statement, too.

It could also be argued that it's the more civilised way to behave. In a similar situation, I would be sympathetic to the drummer, even if I disagreed with him. They are respecting his decision and not attempting to persuade or force him to do something he doesn't want to do. It would not be reasonable for someone who is not happy to go out and play to expect everyone else to do likewise, whatever his reasons (understandable or not) are. No point in starting arguments in circumstances like that. Just move on. Life's too short.

Or something wrong with the cab

Looks as if he drew the cover artwork for his mighty tome. I wonder what Virginia got up to in Greece?

Hilarious. I note from his feedback that he's mainly a buyer, who flogs the occasional pair of trainers or item of consumer electronics. He's probably not the sharpest tool in the box.

It could be that one has linear and the other log/audio pots, rather than a fault (assuming the volume when they are both up full is comparable). Plenty of advice online about the difference and which might be preferable. It could also be that they are wired differently (do you know whether either has been modded in any way?). The traditional J bass wiring routes the neck pickup via its own and the bridge pickup volume control, which means they affect each other. You can also wire them so both run direct to the output. I'd take off the control plates, find a wiring diagram (plenty online) and compare them.

"we shortened our lives to create a truly unique instrument"? Arrange the following to form a well know phrase or saying: Of. Pretentious. Load Tripe. What a.

Quilter Bass Block?

Spend £350 or nothing on something you're not sure whether you'll want to continue with? No brainer for me. Never look a gift horse in the mouth and all that. If you don't get on with it, you could donate it to a local school or similar - I appreciate that selling something you have been given is not really cricket.

Very well played, sir

I'd avoid Amazon, unless you have a specific make/model in mind that they sell. Seek advice from a specialist - as zbd1960 suggests - which won't be much more expensive, if at all. A decent, usable bow for £70 sounds a very good deal indeed to me. My best violin bow cost many times that. Also, let's try to support specialists and not give all our money to Bezos & Co. They've got plenty already.

Perhaps this?

If, by your own admission, you are crap, the sound guy may be keeping you low in the mix, so as not to have it sound too bad out front. He will likely not want to tell you this for fear of hurting your feelings. I've been in a similar position when mixing. It's a difficult situation. Yes, the idea of a jam is that everyone (within reason) gets a chance to pitch in, but you still want to keep things sounding as decent as possible.

HB are great value, but it's hard to beat a used Squier for a budget PJ. If you decide to sell it, it will likely be easier to shift than a HB.

It's not that. It's due to the fact that we live in such litigious times. Companies are printing warnings on everything in an attempt to cover themselves in case someone turns up with a rent-a-lawyer complaining that a product caused cancer, made them grow an extra head, etc, etc. Can't really blame them.

Just checked his eBay offerings. It seems "perfect balance" is his latest schtick. Plenty of gems on offer at the moment. Just search the 'Bay for "perfect balance bass"

I'd be happier if he actually was a luthier. I think it's likely he trained as a butcher.

Definitely not suitable. You need a double bass bow. They are shorter and have a much thicker/stronger stick, to resist bending and the frog is much deeper, so the hair is held further away from the stick. You need this because you have to exert much greater pressure on double bass strings than you do on a violin, viola or cello to set the strings vibrating. A violin, viola or cello bow will simply collapse against the strings. You will probably break the bow. Even if you don't, it will be useless.