SteveXFR

These may not be songs you'd usually listen to but as a bassist, I highly recommend having a listen to them. Maxwell Murders by Rancid Played by Matt Freeman and a great demonstration of what can be done in punk if you're a genius. State Of Non Return - Om Played by Al Cisneros. The bass is the lead instrument in this song. Interesting, Eastern influences, unusual sounds. A bit of a post rock masterpiece.

A mate of mine has a 90's MIJ Squier Strat. He's had it 20 years now, it's his most prized possession and the only guitar I've known him keep more than a year. Those Japanese Squiers are really well made. Personally though, I really like MIM P basses so it would be a tough choice for me.

Forget the DAW recommended by Focusrite, it's horrible. Use Reaper instead. There's loads of tutorial videos on YouTube. If you still struggle, come back with specific questions and you'll get answers.

Did you install the driver software? https://downloads.focusrite.com/focusrite

@The fasting showman Audacity broke me. Its really counter intuitive. Reaper is so much easier

These Focusrite Scarlett interfaces are really popular, pretty much the standard for home recording. Everything you need is there. The interface is just a box to convert the signal from your instrument to something your computer understands. The Focusrite software is just a driver for that. What you then need to do your recording and processing is a DAW such as Reaper and using that is where things get complicated but just because it's a powerful piece of software that does a lot of things. It's important to set up the input details in the options to match your Scarlett interface otherwise you'll get nothing. You also need to setup up the input source in each track.

It doesn't come with either. Reaper is available as a download. There's a 30 day free trial which never expires. https://www.reaper.fm/

I've got a Focusrite Scarlett. I remember it being pretty easy to install. It comes with a link to a free DAW which is terrible so I use Reaper instead.

In to the void - Black Sabbath

Stop - Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

My girlfriends girlfriend - Type O Negative

Weird but not illegal - Party Cannon

Don't they come with one as standard? I've put a tone capsule in a couple basses. It is really good. Having high mids control instead of treble was so much more useful to me.

They're surprisingly tight live. Last time we saw them live, he asked my wife for a thumbs up or down after each song. Unusual but we had a great night.

I'll agree about Matt Freeman. The best punk bassist ever and one of the very best rock bassists

It seems Fat Mike from NOFX seems to have this reputation as a below average bassist but after trying to learn The Decline, I've come to the conclusion that either he was actually pretty good or I'm really bad. He is singing as well as playing bass and yes, it's an 18 minute punk song.

He could have sabotaged Coldplay's career? Let's not judge him so harshly

The Long Road North - Cult Of Luna

Be quiet and drive (far away) - Deftones

I'd have had that straight away.

I've had a few 5 strings and the clearest, nicest B string by far was the Ibanez SRMS805. The fan frets might be a bit off putting but try one, most people don't notice it once they start playing. They do occasionally turn up close to budget

Hey man nice shot - Filter

I didn't like my SUB Ray5 much at all. Poorly made and the preamp is really weak. For a top value 5 string, just get the highest model Ibanez you can afford. If you don't like close string spacing then go for a Yamaha. My favourite 5 string was the Ibanez SRMS805. A bit over budget but I've seen them for £650

The problem is that it's the mediocre that thrives while the interesting, original and innovative struggle. I'm a metal fan and I see Metallica outsell all other metal bands with the same old sound, less interesting than their early stuff whilst the original sounding artists like Julie Christmas, Blood Incantation and Nails make interesting and original music and will never get a fraction of Metallica's success

Spotify and Ticketmaster have destroyed music between them. Now musicians can't make money from recording, touring or even merch sales on tour. They're only good for a tiny minority of bands at the very top of the industry. I use Tidal for streaming but buy records I like and I'll only go to independent venues now and to be honest, I'm seeing far more interesting bands