Burns-bass

I had a similar frustration and, while I'm younger, I've also had a few years where I couldn't be bothered to play. Some days, I still can't. For about 3 years I spent all my free time cycling, and now play bass a bit now and then. I swapped to upright which is great fun.

The problem all of these streaming services (and online subscription-based platforms) is that there's little cost to leave them and sign up to a competitor. The simplest parallel here is Netflix. Neither Spotify nor Netfilx own the majority of their content, they license it. At the moment the big push is to gain market share and crowd out competitors, then increase the price to a point where they at least make a profit (instead of losing billions). It's not revenue that matters to a business in the long-term, but profit. At some point there will be a dramatic shift in the business model (see Uber already attempting to increase costs for example). At this point we will see how consumers react. Take a look at how eBay cast Paypal aside when the law finally caught up with Paypal and demanded it began operating within the law and dispensing their responsibilities as a processor of financial transactions. As soon as consumers are asked to pay the full cost for the service, we balk at it. It will be the same with Spotify, but another provider willing to lose billions to achieve a monopoly position will be propped up by venture capital and early-investors.

Sarcasm isn’t dead! Modern Squiers are brilliant instruments available at a great price. If it plays well, then it’s definitely worth taking a punt. They’re also inexpensive ways to get modding too, and with a few changes (pickups, tuners and bridge) - all of which you can get second hand on here, then you can have a brilliant bass for not much money. Personally, if you want to dip your toe into he 5 strong world I can heartily recommend a Sire Jazz Bass. They’re a little more expensive, but also wonderfully made.

Agree with the poster above. Nice instruments but they’re really stretching the notion of vintage at £900. At that price you’re about £100 away from a Fullerton reissue of the pre-CBS Precision basses which are wonderful instruments, with US quality. I’ve got a fair few Jap jazzes and Precisions and had possibly 20. Again. The quality can vary too, so don’t buy on spec but give it a go.

They’re like a poor relative of Wotsits. I reckon if you took a straw poll of the ‘great’ British public the majority would mention cheesy snack than a musical note. As an old man it’s another reason to shake my head.

To redress the balance I ordered a set of strings on Amazon 10 days ago. After received my confirmation they’d been sent after about 10 minutes it turns out, 10 days later, that they hadn’t.

I think you’ll find that quavers in the real world are a processed food snack flavoured with cheese.

This is a fascinating insight into what makes a super-tight live band. I read somewhere that McCartney would rehearse for about a month, and he can (and does) choose some of the best musicians in the world. I'm sure you're sounding fantastic already ,when the adrenaline hits on the night it will be amazing.

Bass heaven - a desert gold limited edition Stingray on the music stand Bass Hell - a 16 month old baby about to smack it with a TV remote control (I managed to stop her!)

Guess so.

It's no a criminal matter, it would be a civil dispute (unless the shop reported the item as having been stolen). Bonkers, I know, but I've been in this situation myself.

The Squier is a great instrument, but the Sire is a real step up and worth the extra. Only problems I've found so far are the tuners are bit weedy and the bridge lacks a bit of mass, but that can all be sorted out pretty quickly enough.

They’re so expensive aren’t they? I remember buying a bass when I was at college for £15 (must have been 1997) and a Peavey TNT 130 for £85. That’s not a bad rig for that price. By 21 I was gigging an Atia Cat II The Pro Bass. Lovely! All paid for by a paper round or shelf stacking at Asda.

Be aware of CITES too.