Dan Dare

You could use additional cabs with a combo that won't drive them if you add a power amp, but that adds cost and is more to carry. This would probably clash with your wish for something "small, light and powerful". Separate head and cabs is more flexible. You can take as much/little as you need for a particular job. If you're spending proper money, which you appear to be, please try to visit somewhere with a decent range of options and try/compare things before making a decision. We will tend to recommend what we have/like and what suits us might not work for you. eBay, the Marketplace on here, etc are full of nearly new equipment that has probably been bought on the basis of favourable reviews. It's worth taking some time to make an informed decision. "Small light and powerful" doesn't usually go with "moderately priced". I've no doubt you know that. If the thing you really want is a bit more than your budget, try to scrape together the extra somehow. You'll be much happier in the long term (I speak from experience) and probably better off. It's almost inevitable that, if you settle for something you don't really want, you'll probably end up buying again.

Joe's back is fine. Not sure about his neck, though.

BB is the reason I started playing bass. The part on Tears of a Clown was the thing that first inspired me to want to do so. Great player.

I've found that groundwounds (which were originally introduced to give a bright string with a smoother feel than rounds) dull quite quickly and end up sounding more like flats. A brighter sounding set of flats (Chromes, EB Brites, Cobalts or similar) might be a better option and will certainly be easier to find.

If you're coming from rounds and want a halfway house between them and full on flat wound thump, try D'Addario Chromes in 40-95 gauge. They are slightly lower tension than most flats, so won't feel like ropes under your fingers and you shouldn't need to adjust the truss rod. They are quite bright to start with and mellow nicely, but without going to the full aged La Bella thud. They work particularly well on a Jazz bass.

The issue with low frequencies is that they are structure-borne as well as airborne. Even if you manage to prevent or limit airborne noise from spreading, they still will cause floorboards, etc to resonate and migrate through the building. So soundproofing will be of limited help, especially as you want to reduce the disturbance to your partner, who lives in the same house. Is it possible to record using headphones? Failing that, placing the cab on something like thick, dense foam and recording at low volume (not necessarily a problem if you are using a mic' close to the driver cone) may help. But it is unlikely to completely solve the problem.

If you want simple and powerful, a Hartke LH1000 has to be on your shopping list. 3 band eq, shape control and lotsa watts.

The nicest lightweight, compact PA I heard was a pair of Nexo 10 + horn tops and sub. You could fit it all in the boot of a small hatchback. Not cheap, mind, by the time you add the necessary amplification and Nexo controller.

K&M for me, too. Not too pricey, which is nice.

The other issue with steel wool is that the fragments will coat your pickup magnets in a fine metallic fur that you'll never completely shift. I agree with suggestions to clean strings with meths or similar. I do that with new strings, which gets rid of the sticky feeling they can have (which I think is either some sort of machining oil or a coating to prevent corrosion in the packet). Do it before you put them on the instrument, by wetting something like a coarse paper towel, pinching it round the strings and drawing them through it. Works for me.

I agree with everyone above. KA pickups are good value and nice sounding. I have one of his P/J sets lying around not being used if you're interested. PM me if so.

This. Songs, films, paintings, sculpture - in fact, all art - reflect the time and the culture they were created in. If they don't please or suit you, don't sing, play, look at or listen to them. But please don't whinge about or attempt to "cancel" them. I don't like the great majority of films. The gratuitous violence, covert (and overt) political agenda they promote and the manipulative appeal to base emotions in most irritate me. So I don't watch them (don't even have a telly). However, I recognise that others are free to make their own choices.

He's a tremendous player. Personally, I find his presentation style a bit in yer face, but I suppose that's what you have to do to stand out and get views. There are quite a few people with fantastic ability making similar videos. It's almost as if, having spent countless hours developing awesome technique, they struggle to find opportunities to use it (relatively few bass playing jobs call for that level of playing and certainly few require you to be that busy). So I guess the obvious thing is to make YT vid's to showcase it. They are useful in that you can use them to learn a few new things to incorporate into your own playing.

Some interesting info here - swastika | Description & Images | Britannica.

Their problem is, of course, that they will sell many entry level Cort, Squier or Ibanez instruments for every higher end instrument. Ditto La Bellas (or flats in general - most shops carry one or two sets of flats, compared to dozens of rounds). So it just isn't worth their while having money tied up in them hanging on the wall for months on the off chance of the occasional sale.

Nope - THE BONZO DOG DOO DAH BAND The Intro & The Outro .wmv - YouTube Interestingly, I share a birthday with CDG and my sister shares hers with VGd'E.

Forgot to include Charles De Gaulle. Accordionist 😉

One of several clever, eclectic and musical English bands I really liked back in the day. Stackridge was another. Thanks for the reminder.

Who cares? Do one (encore, that is) if you want. If you don't, don't.

Tina Weymouth and Steve Van Zandt.

Agree with lownote. MBs can take a bit of tweaking, but when you get it right, they sound great. The other thing I like about them is that they project and sound very good in the room. I don't know why, but they do. I found this out when I went to see a friend's band play. The bass sounded excellent, with a real punch in the chest quality. I spoke with the bass player and he was using a 2x10 MB combo. Standing next to the amp, it didn't sound anything special, but at distance, it just worked.

Yep. Send it back. As you point out, you can't expect miracles from a budget instrument, but actual faults such as loose frets are unacceptable at any price.

It's the claiming authorship I'm not keen on. Credited to Robert Johnson - recorded 1936, but probably based on an existing song.

"Collectible" (often mis-spelled "collectable")

Good idea. It should work. It would be handy if the handle you choose goes a little past vertical so it won't close if you brush against the amp.