Cato

I'm fairly sure I read somewhere that Leo Fender originally put them on P basses as a purely aesthetic thing because he thought the pickup looked ugly. I've seen claims that the covers on Rickenbacker basses are supposed to somehow enhance the pickups performance, but most people seem fairly sceptical about the science behind that and there's an alternative theory that it's a hang over from the very early Rick designs back when the 'covers' were actually an integral part of the magnetic pickup system they used on their 'frying pan' guitars.

My fretless Sire V7 came with an ashtray. It's in a drawer somewhere. I might have at least given it a go if the bass had come with the corresponding pre drilled holes required to fit it but it didn't and I'm not going to drill the holes myself or faff around with double sided tape for an aesthetic feature that I'm almost certainly going to decide is just a hindrance to my normal playing style.

I saw the 1975 live when they were touring their first album. Me and a mate decided on a whim to go in to Birmingham to see a band one evening and they happened to be playing at the Institute. I thought they were pretty good, but that first album was pretty upbeat, the 80s influence was there, but they had a lot of other stuff going on as well. From what I've heard of of their later material at some point they went full on 80s and not the good 80s stuff either, a lot of it seems to be soft and slow angsty teenage ballads with generic 80s synths and drum machines. I doubt their current live set is anywhere near as energetic as the one I saw a few years ago. They do seem to be doing quite well for themselves though, so maybe I'm just too old to get it, or maybe because I lived through the 80s I've just heard it all before and I didn't like it that much the first time round.

I think these are up to date. https://dshowmusic.com/line-6-helix-amp-models/ https://dshowmusic.com/line-6-helix-effect-models/

Controversial. On the one hand the new headstock might help widen Jackson's appeal to bring in more non metal oriented customers. On the other we're talking about a Megadeth signature bass so it's target market is probably pro pointy.

Right handed, right leg. I'm at home this week so I just grabbed a bass and tried it on the left leg. Maybe it's closer to where it would be if it was hanging on the strap, but I found twisting round that extra bit really uncomfortable. Not to mention that the first fret suddenly feels miles away.

Sitting in a waiting room, Radio playing over the speakers. Paul Simon's Graceland comes on. That's a hell of a fretless bassline.

That's pretty much exactly what I would do.

I live literally about 20 minutes from Bass Direct but I've never been. The stock I'm interested in is the really high end stuff that I can't really afford and I'd feel a bit weird about going in there just to kick tyres. Feel free to PM me though if anyone needs a getaway driver with local knowledge or somewhere nearby to stash the loot until the heat dies down.

I've not done it since I was a skint student, but yes, boiling old roundwounds restores a lot of the zing. I seem to remember it being a fairly short term fix though.

It is a particularly good looking bass.

I can see it being useful for Ed Sheerhan style loop builders. Not sure who else it would appeal to. I'd have thought that most guitarists who need a bass guitar sound for home recording or as part of a band would already have a bass guitar. Most guitar multi FX seem to have a bass sim as standard anyway.

Don't forget the endless stream of novelty/comedy songs that dominated the charts throughout the sixties.

I suspect the real problem is that we're getting older.

I started my bass effects journey with a Zoom B1on which I initially bought purely for silent home practice. The latest equivalent model would be the Zoom B1 four. For around £50 you can try just about every category of effect (chorus/filter/compression etc), try out various preamps and discover which ones, if any, you think will benefit your sound.

I don't know about the used stuff but they seem to be expanding in terms of the brands they stock.

You could both join up and see who gets kicked off first. Tell us how you get on in a 'Ricky and Teebs - adventures on TalkBass' diary thread on here.

Annecdotal evidence I've heard over the years from BC members who've been banned from TB suggests it doesn't take much. I suspect derailing a thread with cheese puns (standard BC practice) would probably do it.

Theres this. Although I have to confess to feeling unexpected violent urges whilst listening to it. Must just be that sort of song.

Isn't every pre WW2 blues song about squeezing plums and trampling on vines?

There's a few on ebay but they all seem to be in the US and none of them are cheap. https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=fender+mustang+bass+neck It might be worth talking to Andertons or Thomann or any of the really big Fender dealers to see if they might be able to order one in.

In the greater scheme of things that people spend vast amounts of money on, bass gear is definitely towards the more harmless end of the spectrum.

Didn't Gibson used to have a policy of destroying slightly damaged guitars rather than allowing them to be sold as B stock? I vaguely recall watching a youtube clip of a guy going through US music store's dumpster and finding a Les Paul that had been smashed beyond repair by the shop because of some slight flaw.

My brother in law has a Harley Benton Jazz. My only criticism of it is that it's pretty heavy. Sounds just like a Jazz bass though.