Paul S

Surprisingly, given my general deficiencies in so many other aspects of bass playing, I can swap between various basses without any issues. 30", 32" or 34" scale, 4 string or 5 string, fretted or fretless, EUB. I'm equally bad on all of them The only thing that did my head in for a while was the headless cricket bat style - small body but 2 octvave neck - I was initially compensating for a lack of headstock by playing a couple of frets up, didn't seem right hanging off the end like that. Got used to it in the end.

I was fitting a new set of TI Flats to a newly acquired short scale bass. It did occur to me that I was cutting off rather a lot of the end of the string but I carried on regardless. About 2 and a half strings in I realised I was trimming down a long scale set, the short scale set - bought especially for the bass - were still in the packet on my desk.

A rare local gig for me, should be kicking off around 8.45pm. The rockier side of blues - Hendrix, Cream, ZZ Top, Jeff Healey - if you like that sort of thing. Bring ear plugs To quote @Clarky

I sold it four years ago and have been pestering the life out of the guy I sold it to fairly regularly ever since. I imagine his next step will be a solicitor's letter One came up for sale on eBay a couple of years ago but it was substantially heavier than my old one so I passed it by. And those are the only two I have ever seen. The proportions are much like the Yamaha SG guitars, rather than the Gibson EBs or SGs, which I prefer. The tone was incredible. Medium scale.... Argh! 🥴

Like this one? SB-35. Selling this remains my biggest regret as I am unlikely to ever get another.

This is the biggie for me. These days pretty much anything else I can compromise on if the pros outweigh the cons but if it is too heavy then game over.

Puts a new spin on getting GAS for a heavy bass, maybe?

For you, if that is the case, you are a lucky man and long may it continue. For me, and many on here, the weight of a bass in the single most important factor. Only once I have established a bass is light enough can I consider all the other things but if it is too heavy it is discarded out of hand. Wide straps, duo straps, balance on the strap, core excercise etc etc all help to a point - beyond which weight is the one and only thing that matters. Various people have various issues - back, shoulder - for me it is a raft of lower back problems. These days if I wear a bass that weighs more than 8.5lbs for more than a couple of hours I pay for it for several days afterwards. It just isn't worth it.

If you were to trawl through these pages you'd find that Dunc and I have sold, bought, resold the same gear back and forth many times over the years. But this is the first time we have traded - this very same Shergold Marathon for my '71 Encore short scale EB-3, with a cash adjustment Duncs way. He sent me the Marathon in an indestructible hard case, I sent him the Encore back in the same case the following week. Nice when a plan comes together! Cheers, Dunc - always a pleasure .

Last time I used a piece of foam copper pipe lagging - cut a bit from a length I had spare. Still works.

I saw the Zombies locally a few years ago (5? 6?). Rod Argent went on a full 5 minute rant about having written 'God Gave Rock n Roll To You', not Kiss. You'd have thought that Kiss having placed the song into the international play list, and all the subsequent associated royalties, might have tempered his bitterness but clearly not. Then Jim Rodford, who was peering out from behind a Status headless, played 'Hold Your Head Up' wrong. Instead of dum dum dum staccato dah-dah legato he reversed it to dum-dum-dum legato dah dah staccato. Seemed odd to fiddle with an iconic bass line like that. Blunstone was in good voice, though.

My #1 is a Squier JV Precision. I kissed a lot of frogs before finding this prince which is just the best P bass I have laid my mitts on. The neck is gorgeous. The maple has a little 3D figuring in it and has aged to that wonderful warm caramel. It weighs just 8lbs and the stock pickups have a woody tone that is just the rude side of vintage. It now sports a Schaller 3D bridge which I prefer. I bought it from the original owner who was a drummer and barely used it so really low mileage, too. Tart that I am, I am regularly unfaithful as new and different basses catch my eye but this is the one I would grab if the house caught fire.

'Best' is so subjective but this would get my vote, too. I tried most of what was on the market and settled on this, before I chucked it all and went down the FRFR route. Stupidly small and lightweight, too.

Simple Minds at Wembley Arena TONIGHT! Most excited

Thank you for posting this. Absolutely brilliant. Like you, @ambient, I'm not such a big fan of the 'Something About You' and Running In The Family' stuff but this early period they were just the mutts. And also more recently, post 'Sirens' I would say they have gone back to these jazz/funk roots. The current drummer, Pete Ray Biggin, is a force of nature. Great stuff

I say use a pick and give your fingers a rest. It might sound rubbish to you but no-one else will notice. Most people won't even notice if the bass is playing or not

Fender Precision Lyte is good - not made anymore (late 80s to mid 90s I think) but often pop up secondhand. MIJ, scaled down stratocaster sized body, exceptionally slim neck, active electrics, P/J. They seem to be increasing in value for some reason. Once they were discontinued Fender brought out a Zone bass that was essentially the same, different electrics, but Mexican, with a top end MIA model. I think.

I've gone through a couple of phases when I've been clean, no GAS at all. Then suddenly out of nowhere, like Messerschmitts flying out of the sun, I'll be hit again and fall off the wagon. Bit of a mixed metaphor there, sorry about that. GAS seems to be a negative term but I never see my purchases that way so I prefer to think of it as just curiosity.

A deeply tragic waste of a life, the impact of which reaches so many. Drug abuse is so complex, I'll never understand it, but time and again heroes and loved ones are destroyed by it.

yes, I have the Spectradrive. Does everything I need apart from a tuner - maybe they could pop one in? The Spectrapolydrivetune? I don't understand compressors so just use the one knob, but the drive patch I like is 'clean boost' which just gives a smidge of drive.

Our very own @Dood did a rather splendid and comprehensive review of this.

I always eat a meal before a gig. I am borderline diabetic and if I don't eat (and my blood sugar dips) I get shaky. And grumpy Afterwards I just want to get home - most of my gigs are about 70-80 mins away.

My old Maruszczyk Jake 5 has just come up for sale in the classifieds here. £825 is a 'very' good price.

I had a few lightweight (8lbs or less) 5ers. A Maroos-chick Jake 5, around 8lbs. A Hohner B2V, around 8lbs (not less, surprisingly). SGC Nanyo Bass Collection SB 315 was around 7.5lbs I think. The lightest was a Fender MB-5 which was around 7lbs. Don't see them very often.