Burns-bass

I’m no expert, but I found swapping to Weichs was a game changer in terms of my dexterity and I found no difference in terms of sound. Personally, I’d do the swap on all strings, but that’s just me.

No. Check the windings at the bottom. If they’re damaged or broken, then discard them. Otherwise, just use your fingers to straighten it out.

I did this trip with my girlfriend (now wife). We spent two months travelling through Spain and France in a camper van. Great days.

The best thing to do is chat with a shop such as Thomas Martin who can help you. Those guys ship basses (some of which are worth a fortune) across the world. It won't be cheap, but it will be done properly. They're likely to be very busy, so perhaps an email is best in the first instance. Unless the bass is valuable (£3,000 plus I guess) I can't see it worth flying over. As Joe suggests, it may be better to buy one when you get there.

I asked my finance bloke and it seems I’ve got this wrong so ignore me!

They’re a consumable part so I’d replace them (unless it’s a vintage Fender, when of course breaking the original solder joint somehow releases the mojo out there by a poorly paid factory worker in the early 60s).

Just because you’re in the USA, it doesn’t mean you need to register for US tax. My business is based in the UK and we work with clients in the States, Europe and Hong Kong. As long as your transactions are recorded here I can’t see why you’d need to hassle and inconvenience of a US bank account. Stripe with a card reader should enable you to process transactions anywhere and have them paid to your UK bank account. I have a retail business and we process international transactions here.

I think you can appreciate someone’s bass playing but not know much about them. I reckon Greg’s doing the right thing to crowdsource some opinions from bass players.

It can be networks of people involved. One way it works is that someone with dirty money uses it to buy an asset at an inflated price giving it the veneer of legitimacy to it. The money is then transferred several times and returned to the original purchaser. Everyone takes a cut. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/may/17/cyberlaundering-funds-terror-internet-fake-transactions-cashless-society Another is musical instruments as antiquities being used to store capital. Guitars can easily be transferred across borders and few questions are asked about where they came from. Happens a lot with antiques. I worked at Trading Standards for a bit and it’s fascinating stuff. https://shuftipro.com/blog/antiquities-market-a-conduit-of-money-laundering-and-terror-financing/

Perhaps, I’ve heard stories about using such deals to launder money. This is so out of the realms of reality it smack of such things. I knew a plasterer who’d use his cash warning to buy second hand guitars (including some of mine). He’d keep them for a bit then sell them on if he didn’t like them. The principle is the same.

It’s a weird place. As you’d imagine, it’s a large, dusty and smelly old room filled with old furniture and old men (I don’t mean this negatively, I’m reasonably old too, it’s a statement of fact). I think that the sale room makes people go mad. Or they’re not considering value, and just want what they want. It’s quite good fun to be in a room with loads of old gear. But you quickly realise how much of it is junk. I think l the inflated prices for the last bass are either money laundering or a way to boost assets on a balance sheet.

Absolutely pathetic. Likely to be a money laundering scam or some other duplicity here.

Your playing was beautiful and smooth, mine less so! At the moment I’m working on intonation, so it’s quarter note pulse for half an hour at a time. I remember seeing my dad with loads of interests.

My kids (4 and 6) ran in while I was playing double bass and stomped around the room shouting “boom boom boom boom boom boom” which is apparently what it sounds like downstairs. I’ll miss it when they’re too cool…

I bought the PA, pay for storage, set it up and don’t drink at the gigs we do and we still split it because we sat down like grown ups and discussed it. Ive worked with bands before where I received a few for the gig which was less than the split, but the singer booked the gigs, paid for the rehearsals and basically did everything. This was absolutely fair to me. I reckon you should have a chat and ask what’s happening. Don’t drink and don’t get personal, just ask the question.

It’s a few quid. I’d have a chat and figure out what the deal is. The guy *may* be ripping you off, but there could be an alternative explanation. In my band, we split everything equally. I bought the PA but we’re paying it back from each gig. This happpenned because we all sat down and agreed. At the end of the payment terms we all own the PA. Happy days.

Stuart comes across as a complete and utter idiot here. Assume he’s probably tired and frustrated, but it’s not a good look.