chris_b

The TI's on my PJ5 are nearly 10 years old. Still sound fantastic. They'll see me out. I also have a Jazz with 12 year old GHS flats, still going strong. I also put a lump of foam under the strings, of each bass, to take off some of that top end!

Mono Vertigo M80 gig bags are the best, but more than you want to spend.

I am a Fender fan, but they said nothing that would make me reach for my bank card.

Sad news.

I don't need a pedal to start a number in the wrong key!!! On Sunday I managed to hear Bm instead of Dm!!

It's fun going back and hearing your younger self and realising what kind of player you were then. When we had a 25 years reunion of our R&B/boogie band we got the tapes out, and discovered none of us could play that fast anymore!!

Hi Dave,I've been working out for a couple of years, focusing on strengthening my core. I still have limits to what I can lift and carry, but it does help. I feel much better and am more agile than I've been for years. Good luck with your exercise plan.

If it's a rehearsal. . . . what are you trying to prove. . . . sit down!!

We put no pressure on anyone. They can do what they want to do and sometimes our band leader will make suggestions, which they are free to ignore. We see people starting as nervous wrecks and gaining confidence month by month. Then you see those same people coming back with others they've met, at the same stage of development, and playing as a band. Sometimes they are good sometimes they are not, but several youngsters have gone on to be professional musicians.

How so? Is the action too high? Do you bend the strings a lot?

If someone wants to do a solo spot at our jam night they are allowed. Duos get on as well. At one point we had a guy singing an unaccompanied sea shanty! Then he recited a poem. It wasn't good, but if you ask you get your shot.

At a jam a few years back, before the smoking ban, a friend was up using my back line. I usually go to the stage, between bass players, to help with the lead, EQ, tuning pedal etc. So I walked up to the amp to find a lighted cigarette on the side of the cab! It hadn't burned down far enough to cause any damage, but that’s what you can get when other people, even friends, use your gear!!!

Do you have Dunlop Strap locks fitted? They can extend the balance point an inch or two. That might be enough to correct the neck dive.

If Nathan East dropped in I would ask one of the jammers if he could borrow their bass. . . . cos he wouldn't be playing mine! It's the rule, it's in all the advertising, and, so far, everyone has been happy to abide by the rule.

Why do you want to change? You don't like the sound, or just want a different sound? The main issue with replacement pickups is finding the right dimensions. Try an outboard preamp. That will alter/improve your sound without the need to mod your bass.