chris_b

I haven't seen Gregory Porter yet, but I though the Hugh Laurie and Dizzee Rascal shows were interesting.

Your marketing department is making that up.

Because when an armchair expert starts to tell a world class company that they don't know their business as well as he does. . . . it's obviously an Oh, Dear moment.

Bobby Vega has some cool lines where he taps, slides and uses harmonics.

I played a Fender Precision for the first 25 years so 18mm-19mm at the bridge is the only measurement where I still need consistency. I play 5 string basses so wide necks are par for the course. Width at the nut and scale length? I don't even think about them.

Oh dear.

Short scale basses might seem like the logical suggestion, but kids younger than 10 learn on a full size piano without any trouble. There are plenty of YouTube videos of kids playing full size P basses, because a full size bass is easy to play, even with small hands, if you have the right technique. I'd suggest your 10 year old tries out some basses and chooses his own, but starting the same week you sign him up for one-to-one lessons so that he learns to play it correctly.

Yeah, I've played Superstition many times but never in Eb. Did get asked to do it in D once. Low D was lovely, made the whole room vibrate!

If you Google "Talking Book Songs" for instance, it brings up a Youtube link to all the songs on Talking Book.

I'd rather be playing a modern bass than one made in the 1950's. Whatever they do to them these days that's different is fine by me.

I believe early versions of Badass bridges required either a shim or rebating into the body, but I've not heard about any others.

You get better at this the more you do it. I periodically run over sets of bands I play with, just to keep up to speed. Also many of the songs are interesting to play. I got a call once at 10 am on a Saturday asking if I could be in Devon by 4! It was a wedding and I'd never played with the band before. They got a lot of busking, but the audience wouldn't have spotted the cracks. My memory is pretty good. If I can hear a melody line then I can get by. I've done gigs with little notice and you just do the best you can. If you are really stuck, just turn the volume down and the bass up so no one can hear the notes!

You're playing Triggers broom.

Change the strings and see what happens. You could be OK, you might need to adjust the bridge saddles but even if it's not perfect, I doubt you'll make the bass unplayable. If you really can't play the bass with rounds, then is the right time to decide if you need a new nut.

. . . . oh, and James Jamerson.

Jacko only needed one.

If no one notices you you're not loud enough.

One of my lockdown projects was Stevie Wonder songs. I've charted most of Music Of My Mind and Talking Book, all of Songs In The Key Of Life and Hotter Than July and some of Innervisions, Fullfillingness and Square Circle. There are some great songs, brilliant arrangements and plenty of riffs that just make you smile. Once you get into SW you discover he has favourite chord sequences which are used pretty regularly. When you spot them it makes working the songs out a little easier.

I owned one bass for the first 25 years I was playing. That wasn't unusual at the time. I still use one bass for 90% of my gigs. It's a good one so I don't see it as limiting my playing at all.

I sold my mk3 5 string Wal for what I thought was a top of the market price. . . . . . but the prices just kept climbing!!!!

Interesting.

I'm missing packing the car, the travel, setting up, the challenge of making an audience like you enough to get them to come back next time, packing up, the travel home and unloading the car. IMO inane and nonsensical rubbish from drunk punters is par for the course and no more than water off a ducks back. I couldn't care less what they are asking for if I'm gigging.

I have no regrets about selling any bass gear. Everything was sold because it was replaced by something better.

In the 90's I bought a 400+ and then added a Mesa 210EV and a Mesa 115EV. I thought the amp was OK but I don't see why it is so revered. I preferred the Ampeg SVT3 PRO that replaced it. The cabs, however, were a cut above the competition. I briefly owned an early Mesa D800, which I liked a lot, but not enough to retire the Aguilar AG700. The WD800 and TT800 look like very interesting amps. With @agedhorse designing the Subway range Mesa's bass amps are reaching new heights.

A great example of how your sound doesn't count for much, even on a record, but what you play and how you play it trumps everything else.