Cato

This'll be interesting, following on from the new fender range thread and how people don't really want new models. My guess will be that the uptake on the new 'improved' Stingray won't be that great. I reckon that most people who want a Stingray want the tried and tested classic. If it was just that the hardware had been made lighter, people would still complain that it's not a 'proper' Stingray, but changing the pickup and preamp will get people saying that this new model isn't a Stingray at all. I suspect the classic models will outsell the new by an order of magnitude.

They probably meant well.

It was only quite recently, on here, that I learnt Chas and Dave were top session guys who played on a whole host of surprising stuff in the 70s. The really weird thing that, because producer Dr Dre sampled 'I Got The...' they also play on Eminem's 'My Name Is'.

Chas 'n' Dave (featuring Labre Sifre)

This is quite funky Then Mark Ronson did this with it. Even funkier. (contains rap language).

I don't know what the finish would have been on a US Jazz of that era but a Squier VM 70s has a thick polyester finish on the body, a lot more glossy and less subtle than anything you'll find on modern US models.

The Fender isn't a million miles away from a Schecter Model T.

I remember the Squier HM range from the early 90s. I always thought that 'HM' stood for 'Heavy Metal', but according to this thread https://www.talkbass.com/threads/fender-hm-bass-anyone-anyone.669678/ that may not be the case. The Squier guitars were certainly aimed at young kids who wanted to play metal, all humbuckers, shiny finishes and pointy headstocks.

I'd feel faintly ridiculous if I had to sing it, but there's far more cringeworthy songs from from that era. Take Brown Sugar, an up beat song featuring a slaver having sex (I don't think it's either confirmed or even necessarily implied that the sex is consensual) with one of his slaves. And that's before you get to 'just like a young girl should' lyric. That definitely has the potential to upset. Mick Jagger might me able to get away with singing it, I doubt I could.

It depends what he wants to do. If he wants to do a lot soloing then the lighter the gauge the easier it is to bend the strings. The downside is, the lighter the string the easier it is accidently bend some or all of them out of tune when playing chords, especially certain barre chords. I also feel that the lighter string gauges lack a certain punch, although that might be in my head. All things considered I'd probably say 10s would probably have more advantages than negatives for someone just starting out.

I got some DR pure blues strings the other day. I got the 10 gauge which are very nice, but they also do a 09 gauge. https://www.amazon.co.uk/DR-Strings-Blues-Nickel-46/dp/B0009G00KA Price with postage is £7.44 By the way this is not the seller I bought my set from, mine were at least a tenner. These might well be perfectly legit, I've cheap DR strings off Amazon before that were completely legit, but I'm slightly nervous recommending suppliers I haven't personally tried.

It's not unusual. The split P pickup is essentially a humbucker and as a rule they have higher output than the Jazz single coils. Also the jazz pickup's placement nearer the bridge means the string doesn't vibrate as much above that pickup. The natural imbalance between the two pickups is one reason (amongst many) why people use active circuits as you can then boost the volume of the J. It should be possible to boost the passive ouput of the J by replacing it with a higher output pickup or even a single coil sized humbucker.

I was never a huge fan of Lost Prophets but I did tag a long with a mate to see them about ten or fifteen years ago now. To be fair I thought they put on a superb show I even bought a couple of CDs. I really don't think I'd want to listen to them again. Some of the details that came put during their singer's trial were truly sickening. I don't think I could hear their music without being reminded of that.

Another one for the spare room club. I have to move stuff into my bedroom to make enough space to get the sofa bed down when guests come.

The only thing I have against Rotos is that when I was a kid, 'Swing Bass' were the only bass strings the local music shop sold, as this was also a time when I was breaking a lot of strings( with hindsight due to hamfisted technique rather than any fault in the strings), I've always had an unfair association in my mind with them being a bit fragile. Obviously the OP has disproved this, but at some deep psychological level I just feel like Rotos would be a step backwards for me. Plus I like really bright strings so all of these comments about them quickly losing their zing aren't really making me want to try them again.

I got the Meters collection after someone, probably Bubinga 5, posted some stuff of their on here. I'd never heard of them before. They became one of my all time favourite bands after my first listen to the set. Criminally underrated band.

Nothing on the basses of course but some of these guitars are mouth watering, if the basses are available in a similar range of colours and finishes they could be very nice indeed.

Interesting.

As I understand it the Fender branded guitars and amps side of the business is doing OK. Their problems stem from the mad spate of acquisitions they went through in the 90s and early 2000s when they bought up a shedload of other guitar and amp companies accruing a massive amount of debt as they did so. To make matters worse they let a lot of those companies go to the wall, so effectively they took on a load of debt with no return for their investment, in fact it probably cost them more to wind those companies up than they ever made from them. If the rumours are true the debt is 100s of millions dollars and they can't even keep up with the interest.

1. Both have advantages/disadvantages. The last 4 guitars/basses I've bought were purchased 'blind' from online retailers purely for the convinience. 3 of them were perfect, one of them, Squier VM70s Jazz had a faulty bridge pickup. Andertons exchanged it for anotjer bass within two days, delivering the new one when they picked up the old one. 2. Ideally I'd like to try before I buy, but I'm essentially a very lazy man, so despite living close to Birmingham and even closer to Bass Direct, so having access to to pretty much any make/model of guitar or bass I could wish for, I rarely bother. I just figure if it has a Jazz neck (bass) or is a Telecaster, then I'll be fine with it. It's worked out fine so far. 3. Most music shops these days seem to stock a fairly limited number of brands and models. 4. I can't even be arsed to travel to Birmingham which is about 40 minutes away or Leamington Spa which is 20. 5. If there was a massive Aladin's cave type store like the old Musical Exchanges in Birmingham, where you genuinely never knew what gems they'd have in on any given day, then I'm sure I'd be much more likely to drop in on a casual basis. But that shop was absolutely unique in my experience, I've never found it's equal.

Nothing inspires practice and improvement like a really nice new (to you)instrument.

I honestly don't believe that logic comes in to it. Look at what happened with Gibson's robo tuners. On the guitars I tried with the device, despite what the internet says, the robotuner system seemed work as intended. Gibson fans absolutely hated it. They didn't want innovation on their Gibsons, they wanted the classic models with absolutely no whistles and bells. Currently Gibson are looking at phasing out ebony (and possibly rosewood if they can get the colour right) fretboards in favour of a paper based composite called richlite. It wouldn't matter if richlite turns out to be the best fretboard material in the history of guitars. Gibson fans are furious at the change.

Sad as it may be, people don't want innovation from Fender. They've launched a number of original non-classic designs over the years, all have them have been commercial failures.

Just read the synopsis. Sounds like it's up there with 'The Bicycle Theives' in the films to avoid in the search for an evenings light entertainment category. (For the those fortunate enough to have never seen it, The Bicycle Thieves is an Italian movie, widely regarded as one of the best examples of neo-realism movement. It is also the single most depressing film I've ever seen, the message being that there is no hope. Ever.)