Cato

Anything by Ennio Morricone.

I love Mexican Fenders. I've got a 2016 an MiM Precision Deluxe and 2 Mexi guitars, one from c2001, the other brand new last year. They are all superb instruments. My next purchase, if they are still around in 12 months time, may well be an MiM 70s Jazz. I think there was a period from the mid 2000s up to about 2010ish when they had a slightly dodgy reputation, but having never knowingly played one from that era I can't say whether that reputation was justified.

Squier Affinity basses have a bit of a mixed reputation, I think they've had good production runs and less good production runs over the years. The next line up, the VM series, seem to be universally well regarded and can be had for a couple of hundred quid, give or take, on the used market. If you want something cheap and reliable then, apart from some complaints about weight, I don't think I've ever heard a bad word said about Thomann's Harley Benton range. Certainly my brother in law's HB jazz is a very decent instrument for about £100 new.

That Ampeg is my 'if I won the lottery' bass. I'd probably just keep it on the wall as a piece of art.

Could be useful for gardeners. They could keep one up in the allotment shed. Handy for getting in some quiet practice and also for digging potatoes.

I'd say fingerstyle requires a bit more work before it becomes second nature, so it's worth prioritising as a technique early on. It uses muscles in the forearm that probably aren't that developed in most people, for most beginners a certain amount of practice time is necessary just to get 'match fit', that was certainly my experience when I first switched to fingers.

It took 8 days to get a bass I ordered a couple of weeks before Christmas, but a packet of flatwounds I ordered at the same time got to me in under 48hrs.

If you can play a fretted bass why wouldn't you want to try fretless? Theoretically at least, just about every member of this forum has the fundamental skills needed to play a fretless, it would be stranger if most of us didn't fancy giving it a go at some point.

I've found volumes 2 & 3 on Amazon, but not 1.

I recently bought myself a Boss G1on for silent home practice. To be honest it's not as impressive as the B1on for bass, most of the presets seem to be metal/thrash/djent/whatever-it's -called-this-week oriented, but there are a couple of nice clean settings suitable for funk or jangly indie and some less stupid distortion settings as well. You can program your own settings of course, but it's a bit of a faff and I can't be arsed. £45 new, if you can find one second hand for £35 or less, then even with it's deficiencies, it would still be a bargain.

I've been eating quite a lot of tofu recently. High protein, virtually cholesterol free , full of amino acid thingies and various nutrients I've never previously heard of and actually quite tasty once you learn how to press it and marinate it properly. I'm not even vegetarian, I'm just trying to lose a few pounds and because tofu is so low in calories you get bigger portions than you would using meat in the same dish. It's the future.

This guy is one of the best tutors on youtube. He starts with the basics but he also does some more advanced lessons. Also Scott Whitely. Don't let the 'Bassics' title fool you, the lessons quickly progress in to more advanced territory. He also does a series on 'advanced' techniques.

That might have been the original plan, but the concert was so chaotic that some sets went on for much longer than planned and others were cut short. Richie Havens, for example, ended up doing a 3 hour set because the next band weren't ready to come on. He actually ran out of original material and started doing covers and improvisations just so the audience weren't faced with an empty stage.

I seem to recall someone on here has been modding Gear for Music basses, taking advantage of the lightweight paulownia bodies to make super light Precisions. If any anyone can remember who that was, they could probably give an idea of the quality of the unmodded instruments. Edit. I think it was @tom1946

I bought myself a fretless about 3 months ago. Although the unlined ones are doubtless more aethetically pleasing I went with lined because I thought it would be easier to get to grips with. And judging by my fumblings with the lined fretless, I'd have no chance with an unlined. At least when my fingers slip up the neck and knacker my intonation I have a clear reference to get back to.

To an extent. But that doesn't explain how Gorrilaz won best group. That album had such a low profile I didn't even know they'd released anything last year

I don't think Kendrick ever claimed to be socially right on. He talks a lot about racism and the idiocy of gang violence in the 'hood' in his music, I'm not sure I've ever heard him say anything about supporting charity.

I didn't watch it, bit I have to admit that Kendrick Lamarr's 'To Pimp a Butterfly' is one of my favourite albums of the last ten years. The backing tracks on that one were provided by the absolute top musicians from LAs jazz scene, it's so much more than 'just' a hip hop album. His latest offering is more old school with DJs and samples rather original backing from real musicians but it's still pretty good. I have mixed feelings about the UK 'Grime' scene, Stormzy seems like a really nice bloke but, like a lot of grime artists, his lyrics are a bit repetitive and a lot of his rhymes don't really rhyme. I do like Lady Leshurr though, partly because she's from down the road from me in Shirley, but mainly because se' a top lyicist and some of her lines are laugh out loud funny. Lorde's 'Green Light' was pretty much the best pop song of 2017 for me so I'm glad she won the International award. Bit surprised at Gorrilaz win though, I didn't even know they'd released anything recently.

I'd have to for Bernie Edwards 'Good Times'. Fantastic bassline and the royalties must be worth the proverbial bomb.

John Paul Jones played on and did arrangements on recordings for an absolute shedload of bands and solo performers during the 60s, from the Shadows to Donovan to Dusty Springfield via the Rolling Stones. He also wrote the strings arrangement for REM's 'Everybody Hurts'.

Not to speak ill of the dead, but I'm not sure this was anybody's finest hour. Although, listening to it again for the first time in a long time, it does have an almost Jim-Morrison-going-off-on-one Doors like quality. Not sure if that's a positive or not.

Alrhough it will have a cleansing effect because you're wiping the board down I think the main reason to oil a fretboard is to stop it drying out, if you just want to clean it a damp cloth will do the trick just as well.

Things not to do in a music shop?

I'm sure you already know this but if, he accepts your offer, try it first, just to check that it's playable, and plug it into an amp if you can, although there's not much that really go wrong with a tele's electrics that can't be fixed pretty cheaply Good luck.