Fishfacefour

Would have loved to see the magic band. Major influence on my guitar playing a long time ago. As a counterpoint, I Just remembered one of the most encouraging events when we played on the same bill as Isaac hayes and he came up to us after our set and said 'I really dig your music man'. Having the approval of black moses was mind blowing and gave us encouragement to keep going.

I just listened to Spanish Joint by D'Angelo from his wonderful Voodoo album and half remembered that Charlie Hunter played bass and guitar on this at the same time using his 8 string contraption. I remember when I found that out I felt really discouraged: I could make a decent pass of the bass, maybe learn the guitar part OK, but to play both at the same time is some sort of next level music magic! Another similar feeling was when I saw parliament/funkadelic live in the early 2000s. The tightness and level of creativity blew me away, and this was waay past their peak. I came away half inspired, half discouraged feeling I could never reach those heights. Now music isn't a competition, but have you ever seen a band or heard a recording that made you think 'why bother?' And, How did you snap out of it? Or alternatively, who have you seen that were so bad it made you hate music?

How to disappear completely - radiohead

I've been intrigued by medium scale as it sounds like best of both worlds really. Only medium scale I've seen on offer is the ibanez mezzo which I'm ambivalent about tbh. But I've never played one or seen one in the flesh though so will remain open minded. Lots of maruszczyck medium and short scale at bass direct but they're probably more than I want to spend, and I'm nowhere near BD to try them out. I have my Covid jab next week, so will feel happier going to a shop to try things out soon.

Blocks and binding always do it for me. No idea why. I wouldn't want to risk an order from Japan without trying something first. Right, DC jnr added to the (now quite long) shortlist.

Forget you - cee lo Green

Master of puppets - Metallica

Them changes - thundercat

Red alert - bassment jaxx

My old man's a dustman - Lonnie donegan

I'm every woman - chaka khan

As the dawn breaks - Richard hawley

Black Steel in the hour of chaos - public enemy

Girl you need a change of mind - Eddie kendricks

Little Red corvette - prince

I know nothing about grass roots basses, other than they're Japanese I think?

Ooh that looks lovely.

World a music - ini kamoze

I forgot abouy the Gibson dc jnr. They look interesting, as do the fallout and chowny. Can the Gibson do convincing single coil sounds? Some videos it sounds great, others not so much. Also, just spotted a lovely looking Supro huntington at bass direct. So much choice. Not even going to entertain looking at a willcock, too tempting. I knew this forum would give me GAS...

Do the reggay - toots and the maytals

Night boat to Cairo - madness

I have done this in the past. Well, I planned to return it but never did... Its too tempting to keep instruments once they're at home. I hesitate to ask this as its covered in a number of threads, but what's everyone's favourite short scale? I've been poking around some reviews. I haven't heard a Mustang sound that I like, although I love the look. The acinonyx sounds good, but is a bit pricey for me at the moment. The sire u5 looks worth a try. If it's as good as my v7 ill be happy. I'm erring towards the sterling short scale as I've fancied a stingray type for a while. I'm also curious about the Reverend Sentinel but there's not many sound examples online. I can get to merchant City music for a try in the next month or so hopefully. Anything else worth a try?

Yes, I try to keep 1-2-4 on the lower frets, but do occasionally lapse in to 1 finger per fret. I'm trying to be extra conscious of fingerings and positions so I don't lapse in to bad habits. Remarkably similar to my plan... Hope you leave something for me.

I've had my strap at the right height since I started playing: No change in height from standing to sitting. That's always been most comfortable. I'm not too worried about looking cool (even when I was younger). I'll see how it goes. I've been looking in to hand warm up exercises before even picking up the bass so let's see how that goes over the next while. Cheers

Thanks for your replies everyone. I spent a little while last night analysing my posture and hand positions. There is one piece where my wrist is definitely over bending and if I change fingerings I don't need to stretch fingers. It's also a tricky piece so I may be more tense than usual when attempting it! I'm currently playing a sire v7 (one of the first models), the neck dive isn't really an issue, but I was wondering if the 7.5" radius might have something to do with it? I also have a cort B5 with a much Flatter fingerboard, this is generally light and easy to get around. The ibanez EHB look interesting. Not the usual look I would go for, but if I can get some time to get to a shop I'll definitely try them out alongside a shorty. If things don't improve with my more conscious approach to posture I'll look in to a physio session. I'm also wanting to start with a real life teacher once covid retreats further. I'm sure they'll be able to spot any dodgy positions.