Bassfinger

Is that perhaps more a function of better design, better materials and more accurate construction, rather than any inherent chracteristic of simply having more mass?

Mrs Bassfinger was a copper, and had worked into CID and Major Crime before becoming ill and prematurely retiring. She still used to find time to run a Brownies group, go to piano lessons, etc. Just takes a little planning, is all, like any shift worker. Having said that, shes now head of year at a very large school, doesn't work shifts, earns more, does shorter hours, never does nights or weekends, isn't likely to be assaulted, so on reflection she feels that leaving ultimately worked to her benefit. The good news is your lass is statistically unlikely to be there for long. Turnover is so dire now that the level of service for the average police officer is now barely 5 years. Fair play to her though - I wouldn't do their job for 4 times what they get paid, and we're lucky to have people like your friend who are willing to make so many sacrifies to do something worthwhile. Fingers crossed it works out well for her.

Grabbing a spare bass is rather quicker than restringing and tuning. I tend to use a second bass for songs that require a different sound. For example, my venerable old HB MB4 BLK is perfect for Buck Rogers, Song 2, Buddy Holly, etc, so carrying a 2nd bass does bring benefits above and beyond being simply a backup.

Prior Planning and Preparation Prevents Pith Poor Performance. I go prepared for every reasonable eventuality when I play live (2nd bass and spare steings and luthiers toolkit), and if someone else can't be bothered to do so then im not bailing them out by lending them something as precious and personal to me as a bass. I take my hat off you for soing so, but I'm also happy to affirm that I would not have been so generous.

Thing is, even if you buy a new bass that is still liable to require some fine tuning of the nut and a proper set up in order to give its best, so these are liable to be in your future regardless of the option you go with.

The pickups are sensitive to the vibration of the strings above them, not the instruments body, not the neck, or the birds flying south, or the earths core. Provided the saddles are equally hardened there is no means by which different bridges can affect the sound. Indeed, the more energy a bridge "absorbs", mas people say, the less is available to make the strings vibrate above the pickups. So, im going with no difference. They can come with handy stringing and adjustment options, but I can't actually hear any difference and Ive yet to see an oscilloscope trace that shows any difference.

Like being spanked? 🤪

As it happens Ive been a bit busy with mine too...

Believe it or not, currently listening to the Shadows. Ive ontained a 6 CD set which contains all their studio recordings from 1958 to 1966. All of it is good, some of it positively brilliant. This covers the period where Jet Harris played, and latterly Brian Locking - Jet Harris has quite an ornate style, and as he develops his style you can hear a lot of stuff based on scales. Locking is a simpler player, often locked into the root notes, and while not a bad player isnt half as good as Harris had become.

My best - my Geddy Lee Jazz Bass. Tried a few before settling on on that was the bears porridge, just right. Not really had any bad gear purchases in 2021, although the Behringer tuner pedal is a bit underwhelming.

I find that if chumps start on me that standing up to my full height, spreading my lats (and sucking in my stomach!), and staring them dead in the eye usually encourages them to keep it civil. It may be a ballache when buying clothes, but being rather large has its advantages when some little prat with a Napoleon complex fancies a whinge.

Indeed. For the purposes of that comparison Czechoslovakia could easily be a small town in Indonesia.

Spot on. Not only are the ranges overlapping, but the brands are too. For example, the Squier CV's quality and performance is consistently very good, much less variable than the Mexican or American factories. Indonesia are knocking out instruments for pennies that in terms of feel, playability, sound and finish are often easily the match of much of Fender's own branded range (some of which is also made in Indonesia...) under the 7 or 8 hundred quid mark. As a result Squier are nipping at the parent companies own soft underbelly, which must be pleasing for Squier management and uncomfortable for Fender marketing execs. Fender are very fortunate. They're able to live off their image and history, and have a gullible customer base that wrongfully believe the closer an instrument is made to America then the better it will automatically be. Both these factors allow them to set their pricing accordingly to exploit the warping of the market that they created and maintain. Just as well because, as you say, by any other metric their business model is laughable, but these two factors are so powerful they can get away with it.

Ah, paint. Hadn't thought of that. A bit of plastikote might be the answer. Cheers. I don't play with the thumb either, but I don't want to remove it ( the tug bar, not my thunb) and be left with holes (it doesn't get in the way for me so im cool with keeping it for the hole-hiding reasons), so I'm left with making it look a bit less stark and maybe matching the new pickup.

Its not that clear cut. Over the years the QC for both factories has been very variable. There are plenty of frankly shocking (for the money) MIA's about, and some very lovely MIM's. And vice versa. One can only make a judgement on an individual instrument by instrument basis, as the variable QC makes blanket judgements rather meaningless.

...bar and find myself in need of another for my 50's CV precision. It currently has the black tug bar that came as standard, but im after a cream, ivory or vintage-aged-white coloured one, but the closest I can find is plain white. Do any of you fine fellows/fellowesses know where I could purchase one and satisfy my desire? Many thanks.

Thats a really selfish attitude. I couldn't care less about politics and don't want to hear it from either direction, and one of the nice things about this forum is that it is supposed to be a poltics free zone. This kind of petty political sniping and points scoring ruins it for people that just want to read about or discuss the topic at hand. Import/export issues are what they are, and it should be enough for grown adults to leave it there instead of mentioning politics.

He does seem to have set himself up as an arbiter of what is supposedly good, correct and right in all matters bass. Yeah, right mate. Of course, in this case its his viewers that supposedly made the choices.

Why is that? Does he look like the head of the netball team?

Never had any significant cause to grumble while playing for a real audience.

Find some and ask them, perhaps?

Im picky about who I play with. I know folk who'll play with anyone just to be in a band, but that's not how I roll. If they aren't decent musicians, take it seriously, then I don't want to be involved otherwise it can be a frustrating mess. A decent drummer and a decent rhyrhm guitarist make it all worthwhile, and allow me to play at my best. I also think cafefully before becoming involved in a band where players can't read music. I wouldn't say that I would never join such a band, but it makes discussions around various aspects of musicality a bit tiresome and as I get older I can't be doing with wasting time and effort on explanations.

Of course theyre so efficient because they pay badly, ruthlessly exploit staff, haven uestionable HR practices, actively resist unionsnin the workplace, use limited packaging sizes to save on time and storage, charge their drivers for the use of the vans they use for their work (imagine the outcry if posties, DPD drivers or dustmen had the cost of their vehicles deducted from their wages?) and shuffle profits around the world to favourable tax regimes. Their unethical behaviour is what makes them so efficient - the two are inextricably dependent upon one another. So I refuse to use them as I have some tiny vestige of a social and environmental conscience, and pay all my taxes without demur. Conversely, it bothers Mrs B not at all and she merrily orders stuff and marvels at how efficiently it appears on the doorstep.

Their customer service has a good rep. Our new PA was missing a few leads, so we contacted them and there was no hassle - just profuse apologies and new leads by 24 hour courier the next day.

We do this track in our band - did it last night in fact - and I spent a while analysing it while learning it. Flea never plays it the same way twice by a long margin, so I came up with my own with is about 2/3 true to the album version, and about 1/3 my own work. A good song to do live, and our guitarists enjoy letting rip at it as well.