Cato

I think probably depends on factors like the guitar maker, the price point of said model and whether the artist actually wants one. Many Fender sigs for example are not actually played by the endorsee, they stick with their original favourite guitar that the sig is based on and probably have another 2nd favourite vintage guitar they use as backup rather than the sig. I'd gues that with Janek Gwizdala being quite niche and his model so expensive that he's unlikely to have been given it completely free.

I discovered that yesterday after @asingardenofmentioned it. I honestly thought Gibson had killed it off. I downloaded the most recent version from bandlab.com last night and it's as simple to get started as I remembered. Within a minute or two of opening it for the first time I was putting down tracks on the 4 track recorder. I'm going to have a proper go on the 32 track at the weekend. If @ped's friend is looking for a free DAW they can download then start recording more or less immediately I'd say Cakewalk is a great option.

I'm not a bagpipes aficionado but isn't it basically a very loud recorder with a badly intonated backing track?

I couldn't make head nor tail of Ableton before I went through the tutorials. It's definitely not a plug in and start recording scenario. The easiest recording software I ever found for PC was Cakewalk, but it got discontinued a few years back. It might be possible to find an old CD copy on ebay, assuming your friend's PC/laptop has a CD drive.

I've never actually tried it. I suspect there must be a way. I'll give it a go when I get the chance if no one can give you an answer in the meantime.

The focusrite scarlet range is very simple to use and comes bundled with with protools lite and Ableton Live, or did when I got my 2i2 a couple of years back.

I quite like the basic concept (although why not just have 2 pickups) but I find that kind of aimless, random sounding jazz noodling quite hard to listen too.

Pink Floyd is about as far down the prog road as I've travelled. I tried to listen to Rush after their excellent performace at the Taylor Hawkins tribute, but I couldn't get used to Geddy's vocals.

Another vote for the Zoom. They're a great and inexpensive entry point into the world of effects pedals, also good enough to gig with.

I've not had a look at mine but I'd be very suprised if there was anything more than the standard black shielding paint you get in most pickup/electronics cavities. I definitely wouldn't describe my 1st gen V7 as a noisy bass though. Generally speaking, active basses do tend to be quiter than passive and humbuckers are usually quieter than single coils, so, on paper anyway out of the two Sire models the OP mentions the M2 with it's active electronics and humbuckers should be quiter than both the active and passive versions of the V3 with it's single coils.

I can cope with a high action. I learnt on a bass like that and in those pre internet days I never learned how to adjust it. What trips me up me is basses with an action so low that anything other than a feather light touch causes massive fretbuzz. My technique just isn't that subtle.

There's quite a long wikipedia article on the term 'Geordie'. The short version is that the earliest recorded use of the term seems to be applied to miners from the Newcastle area. There's no universally agreed on explanation of where it comes from but one candidate is that it stems from 19th Century miners from that area prefering the 'Geordie' lamp designed by George Stephenson to the Davey Lamps more widely used in other parts of the country.

Barring the Bass V, Fender were quite late to the 5 string game, I think their first 'low B' 5 string was early 90s? I'm not sure they've ever really caught up, although I know their Jazz and P fivers have their fans. I can't see them doing a B to C six in the neat future.

That's a lovely looking instrument. Getting a Bass VI last year has turned me into a fan of 3 pickup basses.

Sounds like something you'd hear on a Tarrantino soundtrack. Love the Univox btw, I've been very tempted by a few models in Eastwood's Mosrite inspired Sidejack range in recent years.

That's an outstanding setlist. That band looks like it's going to be a whole lot of fun. Congratulations.

This is my Indian laurel Squier Bass Vi. This is my rosewood P bass. If I didn't know I'm genuinely not sure I could tell which was which or even that they were made from different woods. Maybe it's more obvious on more figured rosewood boards? Anyway, I'm more than happy with both.

Daft question but have you considered stringing a shortscale 4 stringer for BEAD. I've not tried it myself, no idea whether it would work on a cheaper bass, but given that there are shortscale five strings it seems like it might.

I've not tried this particular model but Squier have really raised their game in the last few years. Quality is top notch, they've started offering classic models in some seriously funky colours rather and they're putting out a couple of models each year which don't really have an equivalent in the Fender range, the double humbucking active Contemporary Jazz being a case in point.

Depends on the exact models, but generally Ibanez =lightweight, thin neck, modern sound Fender = varying weight, chunkier necks, classic sound. I'd expect both to be of pretty much equal decent quality at the eqivalant price points, so I suppose it comes down to whether you want that vintage or modern feel and sound.

When I was a student in Plymouth I used to go to a Chinese restaurant that always used play Chinese language versions of British and American pop songs with Chinese instrumentation. The one that sticks in my mind for some reason is 'Like a Virgin'

Squier Bass Vi I've barely put it down since it arrived, it's just so much fun.

With the US as polarised as it is I can't imagine any comercially minded band or artist wants their work associated with either Republicans or Democrats. It's just going to alienate half their potential audience.

Fair enough. I look forwards to another one of your excellent build diaries.