chris_b

I've done many gigs where that number of frets would be just fine.

On a solid body electric bass a bridge does 5 things; anchors the strings, intonates the strings, adjusts the action, sets the width of the strings and passes the energy from the string vibrations into the body and then back again. The weight and material of the bridge affects this last point. BBOT's were fine in the 50's when bass amps struggled to be heard past the 2nd row and your competition was an upright bass. These days the sonic information in a bass signal chain is significantly more complex than back in the day, and that's all thanks to the many small advances in the engineering (as in modern bridges) of our bass gear.

Surely there’s already enough gear in the UK?

Ask him what his favourite tune is and teach him that.

When I was a kid, I just wanted to survive the education system. I just about did that, then the plan was to be a rich and famous bass player. Failed miserably on that one.

We should all be capable of playing both fingering styles and to know which is appropriate, ie to avoid stretching. So Simandl low on the neck and Saimadl or 1FPF further up the neck.

Sadly no video, but we were queuing at Universal, in Orlando, and about a dozen black teenage school girls, joined the queue behind us. They were very loud, happy and boisterous, then they started singing. Wow, I've never heard such great voices. The hairs on my arms stood up. They were like a hip hop gospel choir. I could have stood there all day listening to those girls.

Sell this bass and buy a Travis Bean.

No. I play everything on the same bass. IMO it's not worth trying to sound like your heroes. Chasing their tone and sound rarely works. Sound like you.

If being in a band is the equivalent of playing a round of golf then OK, but this is why IMO it's usually preferable to keep friends and band members separate if you are more serious about being a musician.

A record and a gig often have different requirements. Most of the Pro's will have a studio bass and totally different basses for the road. Also the live arrangement will often differ from the record.

I have both and have not noticed any difference.

I had left a pretty successful band due to family and work pressures and needed a project that was bass related. So I chose playing a 5 string bass. That was the want. Then I discovered playing a 5 was as easy as playing the 4 string and there were more notes and more fantastic frequencies. There was no going back after that point. That was the need.

I'd suggest your right hand technique might also need tidying up. It could be that you are not plucking the strings accurately enough, ie you're hitting other strings when you play a note.

I didn't find any noticeable difference between through body and top loading stringing on my Lakland. After that discovery I always strung through the bridge. I'd make 2 suggestions; put your 4 string basses away and don't get them out for at least 6 months. Then, learn one thing at a time. Trying to master two new concepts, floating thumb and 5 strings, simultaneously has the potential to derail the whole project. Most of us easily adapted out 4 string thumb positions to a 5 string. Muting an extra string isn't a big deal. You just have to be careful and tidy in your playing style. In reality you still have a 4 string bass under your fingers, so just play how you would normally play. The B string can be introduced little by little over time.

Don't analyse. If a bass feels good play it. I've not had this problem. If I'm selling a bass it's because I've already bought he replacement and the replacement is definitely staying.

The guitar solo is in 4/4 because Dave Gilmore couldn't solo in 7/4! Time signatures are patterns. Like words and grammar, after practice and repetition they become second nature. I played with John Mealing, the keyboard player with 70's band If. They were legendary for using impossible time signatures, and he told us he didn't count anything. He just came up with a pattern and followed it.

I saw ToP first in Boston in 1973 and several times since in London. Cracking band and a unique bass style. I seem to have picked up some of Rocco's preference for hand movement, rather than finger movement, in my fretting hand style, but I can't play 16ths anywhere near as fast as he could. What a great player.

I de fretted my first bass, a Framus Star bass. I wanted to make it more double bass sounding. It worked, after a fashion, but I wouldn't do it again. I took a kitchen knife and slid it under the frets. They just lifted out. I used Polyfiller to fill the gaps. That was a good move because the white finish enabled me to see the fret marking on dark stages. Something I hadn't even thought about before hand! I wouldn't use super glue. IMO you need a process that can be reversed without causing too much damage, if you should change your mind later. These days I'd just buy a fretless bass.

I prefer anonymous black cabs at the back of the stage.

Interesting. I had a JJ Cale project that got rained off by the first Covid lockdown.

The Band, The Meters and Little Feat were fantastic "ensemble" players. You could probably include every Funk band in that list. Funk is a team genre. Also the studio bands like the Funk Brothers, the Swampers and Booket T and the MG's with Isaac Hayes at Stax.

I record a lot of Sky Arts. Recently watched programs on Chess Records, Joe Cocker, Aretha Franklin, Blues in Chicago and Chuck Berry. Mumford and Sons is on at the moment. Great channel.

I was making allowances for the recording. I like his style, it's just slap solos don't do it for me. I still loved that drummer.

Dozens of basses feature in the styles of music you listed in your first post. Don't limit yourself. Try as many as you can find. Don't get tied up with the minutiae of particular sounds. Find a bass that you like to play, put a good set of strings on it, get a good sound out of it, then off you go.