Burns-bass

True, to a point but the tweakable HPF is a godsend in some of the rooms I play in (where feedback seemingly defies logic). It’s also great for doubling gigs too, and the DI is ace. I can mark my settings on a piece of paper, slide it into the case and it’s ready for any gig. (I may be justifying my £240 spend - but I have to!)

Your logic - shared by most politicians it seems - will see us inexorably slide into war with Russia. Fine if that’s what you want, but hugely dangerous and damaging to us all. Trump can see this and is trying to avoid it. (The mechanism he’s using is cruel and punitive, but he’s a mob boss and if you want security, you pay for it. I this case, that’s about $500bn)

No, the NATO expansion is the real issue, supported by the EU. Ukraines neutrality (or perceived neutrality) is the aim. Russia would be a pariah state if it had occupied and annexed the whole of Ukraine. Far easier to have toppled Zelensky and installed a puppet regime favourable to Russia (something the US did by proxy in toppling the elected Ukrainian government in 2014). This is much more complex than Ukraine as a benign and neutral country that was quietly going about its life (as plucky little Belgium was in 2014). The media needs to shift from the idea of Putin as a Hitlerian dictator hell bent on invading Europe. Your analysis of the reasons for invasion are much more likely to be the reason for it all. The attempt to simplify this into a binary good v bad narrative completely denies the complexity of the situation.

Ukraine has been squeezed between EU/US expansionism and a bolder and stronger Russia. Admitting this - which no politician will - provides an explanation (not an excuse) why Russia has invaded Ukraine. But your points here are wrong. Despite the media reporting, the EU isn’t in conflict with Russia, Ukraine is (which is neither part of the EU or NATO - and won’t be part of either in the near future). We are not at war and we should actively do anything to avoid this. The first step a foreign troop takes into Russia will see an escalation that would end in nuclear war. Probably start with tactical battlefield weapons and move on from there.

It may not help you but it could help build a case against them. Sometimes the police will act.

Shows how engaged I am with popular culture!

Sorry to hear this. It’s a sad reminder that there are scumbags out there. If you have his address and details it’s worth sending details to the (non urgent) police email address.

I’m bemused at a lot of the stuff that’s now collectible, which is sort of the point I guess. You could get an old Gameboy at every car boot sale in the UK for about £2 in the 90s. Now they’re £50 or more. Whatever you think it is, it won’t be that. Guy on the radio reckons that limited edition trainers are a collectible of the future. Keep them in the box etc. Sounds as good as anything else.

I’ve got a couple of festival gigs and this is the sort of thing people like. I hope so anyway.

It’s perhaps worth explaining what kind of tone you want and the type of music you’re playing. If it’s thumping classic blues you’ll need one thing, or if it’s delicate jazz you’ll need another. I found wing pickups to be a nightmare, especially when amplified at volume. They’re also precarious if you move the bass around a lot (which I do to gigs and practices). Copperhead is a good bet and an affordable piezo. (I’m selling one but that’s not why I’m saying this.) As Chris and the rest have said, can become an expensive game chasing tone.

Me too! Wonderful piece of kit.

Echo all this. Don’t underestimate the importance of a good pre-amp when building your amplified DB setup (this isn’t for you but the OP!)

It wasn’t too bad. It started hazing but I asked my friend who’s a luthier (a proper one) and he told me to take it to him. Was all sorted with no damage. I also once put a wine glass on top of the bass (we were having a glass in the studio after some recording) and that left a mark too. It’s an old bass, it happens. Won’t ever sell it.

I once used Pledge on a 1966 jazz bass. I do not recommend this.

I’ve completed the survey and would love to see the results. As someone who has designed surveys before (and who works a lot with academics) I’d suggest changing the title of the survey and consider adjusting some of the questions as they’re quite leading. Best of luck with it all.

Nice one!

I went to the guitar auction at Gardiner Houlgate (work is slow) and I played this. It’s a handmade luthier built bass with a Sims Custom Shop neck and full Status electronics. It’s quite bonkers but it’s utterly amazingly well set up, with a pencil thin jazz neck with built-in LEDs. Little play wear and a fully fitted custom flightcase all for £503. It was very much a speculative bid, but I’m really happy with it. The mind boggles at what it much have cost when brand new.

To be fair, you’ve effectively described the vintage instrument market in about 3 paragraphs. I’m not suggesting any of these things is *worth* the cash - far from it. The original post was asking what the collectibles of the future will be, and it will inevitably be the stuff that’s discarded. None of this stuff is logical, is it? We exist in a world where some kids aren’t eating 3 meals a day and adults are paying thousands of pounds for boxed Star Wars toys and Pokemon cards.

Publishing is an incredibly tough business with lots and lots of interdependencies and deadlines. If you’re messing around with it, you’re going to run into problems - which certainly seems to be the case here. Shame. Thankfully you should all be covered by PayPal.

Studios want authentic sounds. Stuff like Mellotrons, Fender Rhodes, Wurlitzer pianos, Tape-based echo systems and (to some extent) vintage guitars are all fragile, yet expensive. I guess we should accept that logic doesn’t necessarily have a huge part to play in nostalgia and vintage value. I may of course be wrong and all this stuff will end up in a skip.