Doctor J

I'm guessing you don't like the Guardian? That's not what it says at all. "Held By Trees are one of a number of bands offering an alternative to the straightforward hat-doffing of tribute acts; or to venerable groups such as Gong and Yes that continue to use the name when few original members are involved." No revolving doors were harmed in the construction of that sentence 😉

I replaced the crappy aluminium rod in my old SS1 with an iron one they offer in the shop and I reckon my wrist will break before that rod does.

Those frets look quite low, perhaps installing something like 6105 wire would bring things up a smidge? I would heartily recommend not excavating some of that blue section until you've exhausted all other options.

Short answer: It's more about having the right strings than a longer scale bass. 34" is fine. Long answers in here https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/462156-death-core-bass-in-f/#comment-4698604 https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/473406-longer-neck-for-fender-p-bass/page/2/#comment-5369697 https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/461893-a-standard-adgcf/#comment-4694130

If Jive Bunny could do it, you can do it. Just come in on instantly recognisable parts of the next song, preferably in or around the same tempo. You can get away with key changes quite easily if the new key makes harmonic sense in the context of the old song. If not, you and add a short section where you modulate up or down to the new key.

Disappointment waits for you.

I had it and the other original in the same bass, an SB R-80, and regardless of which pickup was in which position, they sounded badly mismatched. The Armstrong was a lot darker, sounded nothing like the pickup it was bought to replace. The Armstrong had two full length coils, not a Precision design under the cover, for a start. In the end, I traded the working original MB for another Armstrong (I knew a guy who had a SB-1000 with a dead coil), just so I could have two pickups which sounded somewhat related to each other and make the bass usable again.

The epoxy sealed pickups are notorious for dead coils. They are like a Precision pickup under the case, a coil for E and A at the front and another coil for D and G at the back. When one coil dies, which is sadly quite common, the pickup is useless. I tried one of Aaron Armstrong's replicas but it sounded nothing like the original, not even close.

Precisely why I asked the question 😉 If he can't adjust his own level in his IEMs outside of how hard he hits the drums, in response to the varying dynamics of the electric instruments in his ears, it might be part of the reason he's playing so hard and one which could be quite easy to remedy. I'd wager he wouldn't play quite so hard if he could hear kick and snare loud and clear in his mix.

Can he get much of him as he likes too? The IEMs are blocking the acoustic sound of his kit, to some degree, so can he make up for that without having to hit the drums harder?

Who is using the floor monitor? If the drummer is using IEMs, is he getting drums in his mix? Can he hear himself in his in-ear mix or is he having to play loud to do that? But also bear in mind he's the only one playing an acoustic instrument, everyone else has the luxury of being able to dig in and control their output electrically. Perhaps he enjoys the visceral experience of drumming and being able to dig in, to be able to get physical and really get into it. He uses his touch to control how he projects to the far end of the venues you play, not a volume knob. A little empathy and understanding is needed on both sides, it feels like. He doesn't make you install a ramp and play the bass gently, I'm sure.

If you enjoy playing, don't give up playing. I haven't been in a band since 2016, don't really have any intention of doing so again, but have released five albums since that last gig and have another two almost ready to go. I enjoy playing, I just found other ways to turn my playing into something tangible, not just aimless noodling on the couch... not that there's anything wrong with that either, if you enjoy it. I'd never stop playing just because I wasn't gigging or in a band, it's really small part of the overall enjoyment of playing, IMO.

You'l pay about 25% on the combined value of the item and shipping costs.

The old Billy Sheehan video, when he had the pink BB, where he talked about strap length, the resulting difference in playing position between sitting and standing and the importance of practising in a playing position consistent to that at which you'd be performing or recording. It was a very simple but really intelligent observation.

That was Mike Starr, not Mike Inez.

Just got an email from Suno who have now removed the effort of even typing in a prompt to generate audio content At Suno, we’ve been working on making song creation easier and more fun, from free text prompts to audio recordings. And now, we’re thrilled to bring a new mode of creation: visual storytelling. With Suno Scenes, you can create unique songs straight from your camera. Whether it's a breathtaking landscape, a candid selfie, or a quick video of your daily life, Suno Scenes turns your favorite photos and videos into personalized soundtracks.

I preferred Quiches

Killing Yoke

S'eggs Pistols

The decisions in FMIC are being made by a board of directors looking at an Excel spreadsheet, not a hands-on visionary who will get inspired and take chances. Imagine the rigmarole someone in their design department must go through to get something through the various management layers and into development, never mind production. They can't innovate and get things to market quickly in the way a smaller builder can. The entire business model, decided at board level, is based on continual regurgitation and effective branding, unlike the Japanese manufacturers, for example, who seldom revisit the past, never mind try to stay there. Anything vaguely different (i.e. not another pointless jumble of existing parts) they've put out has been something which isn't strong enough to create a market of its own (like Mr. Fender himself was able to do several times with different brands) and usually something another brand has been doing better for decades. Still, they're promising innovation, let's see if it's just more marketing hot air. I'm genuinely curious.

Failure Swift.

The basses used on my favourite albums which immediately spring to mind are, off the top of my head, a Zon Legacy, a Spector NS2, a G&L SB-2, an Aria Pro II Integra, a G&L L-2000, a BC Rich Eagle and... another Spector 🤣 No doubt, the original Fender designs are superb but they are not the be all and end all in the way they used to be. Jumbling up existing parts or a different colour of paint isn't innovation, no matter how much FMIC want you to think it is. Fender stopped innovating when the big man moved out. I'd love to see some genuine innovation from them, something genuinely new and creative but I fear this will be another minor tweak of the same core instruments, as it has been for the duration of FMIC's tenure. Perhaps this time it'll be different, let's see.

Absolutely. They make sure their instruments appear in the hands of a lot of the most popular instrument players. Association sells. They have not innovated anything useful in quite a while, however.

The Dimension was the answer to a question no-one asked. What hole in the market did it fill? This is where everyone gets Fender wrong. They point to mediocre instruments of no purpose and say "Nobody wants Fenders which aren't P basses or J basses" but the fact remains, Fender have yet to put out a "J on steroids" which can compete with Sadowsky, etc or any other variation of the original Leo Fender designs which sell plenty. There are so many companies which exist as enhancements riding on the back of the original Big F designs but these are markets which operate outside the unerstanding of the FMIC boardroom, it seems.