Skybone

Very true. I'm not keen on the J Bass neck, but it still looks great.

That's nice. The Flower P3 looks very interesting.

Difficult just now... Our rehearsal room has only just re-opened, as the owner's had to get some alterations done, in order for him to get permission / insurance to re-open (that's what he's told us anyway). Our old singer left in April, so we're looking for a new singer. Thankfully, there's a few people interested in the role, we had the first audition (and first rehearsal since March) last Friday. Good singer, decent range, confident etc., will he want to be in a band with a bunch of guys old enough to be his Dad? Next audition / rehearsal is around 3 weeks away (weekends away booked etc.).

Again, pub & club venues don't always have the monitoring that gives out enough welly to be heard over the over-eager drummer. Some sort of amplification is essential, be it an amp/combo/FRFR setup. All IMO of course.

Might just be because I play bass, but I always find that bands that don't have a bass player are missing "something", no matter how good they and their songs are (likewise, I also find that bands like The Royal Blood & Clatter are missing "something"). Except maybe The Doors, but they did use a session bass player on some of their studio albums.

Bats or the fans?

It only goes to 9 because it's a pre-decimal Vintage Reissue?

Coloured Ball Ends & no silk, could be Dunlop steels? Not a fan of Nickel strings, due to the skin reaction. Kind of a half way house from flats sound wise IMO. Much prefer stainless steels.

That Spotify account is great for finding new music. Yes, there is a lot of stuff on there that doesn't float your boat, but for every few artists doing stuff you don't like, there's one or two doing stuff that does stuff you do like. New music by old bands, new music by new bands. Bring it on, I'll give it a listen.

They're ace.

Nice bass, hope it's worth the wait.

Meanwhile in Lancashire...

My solution is the "bargain basement" equivalent... A HD500x into the Effects Return of an Ashdown combo. Works for me. I know for a fact that any gigs we play, the monitors are going to be rubbish.

What's the name of the maker? Quasimodo?

I do hope there's going to be pictures when it finally lands.

Fender Rumble 500 if you can afford one. Ashdown Rootmaster or the OriginAL C210-300 would be very good choices. Light weight & powerful enough for a band. I have an Ashdown AMP 300, which is a special run for Muzik Produktiv. Basically an older MAG 300 EvoIII amp in a Rootmaster cabinet. Not light at 22kg, but more than enough for a loud rock band. www.muzik-produktiv.com

Another vote for Dunlop DBS Steel's. Used the Warwick Red Label Steel's for a while, they sounded great, lasted for ages, but were a bit abrasive. Definitely a good choice if you're on a budget.

https://www.gak.co.uk/en/ashdown-studio-jnr-super-lightweight-bass-combo/928295 https://www.gak.co.uk/en/laney-2017-rb1-richter-bass-combo/906977 https://www.gak.co.uk/en/orange-crush-bass-25-orange/133004 https://www.gak.co.uk/en/fender-rumble-lt25-bass-combo/923734

It's cheaper at GAK. https://www.gak.co.uk/en/hotone-nano-legacy-thunder-bass-5-watt-guitar-bass-head/99447

It's a VERY good price on a Ric. Very early 4003 in a nice colour.

That Lollar pickup isn't cheap though. Pretty sure you could emulate that sound without spending loads on just the pickup.

Has Private Walker brought his suitcase again?

New Biffy: https://www.biffyclyro.com/video/instant-history/

As a big fan of things prog-y and metal-y, I thought I'd give them a try. Always on the look out for decent new music. I'm afraid that they're not my bag either. The syncopated rhythm thing is tight, but a bit overbearing and gets a bit tedious for me, a bit too "genre specific", and playing to a specific genre IMO. They're good, just not my thing. I have found a few good bands on Spotify, like Black Book Lodge, Klone & Cog from Australia.