Skybone

No idea, only used the Stainless ones.

Warwick Red Label Nickel's https://www.gear4music.com/Guitar-and-Bass/Warwick-46210-Red-Label-Medium-Light-Bass-Strings-40-100-4-String/NEN https://www.thomann.de/gb/warwick_46210_red_strings_nickel.htm I personally prefer Stainless Steels, and I always found that the Fender 7350m's were fantastic, until they discontinued them. Stick with the Fender 7250's.

Don't forget late 70's / early 80's MIJ (Ibanez / Aria / Westone / etc.) is always a good bet, though even they are starting to get silly prices.

Sennheisers

Sennheisers

For the back of the neck, how about getting some "cutting compound" from Halfords to try and flatten it out. It's kind of like T-Cut Polish, but used to get rid of imperfections in car paint work before either the next coat of paint or the lacquer. Worth a try (and a bit of elbow grease).

Any of the Khanate albums, or a spot of Crass.

I'm still scarred by learning "Frere Jacque" on recorder at Primary School!

I recall being 10 or 11, and buying a copy of Rush's Hemispheres from WH Smith's. Excitedly, I got it home, put it on Side 1, and heard the songs from Side 2. Fair enough. Turn the LP over, put on Side 2... I wanted to hear the full album, so the following week, I took it back to WH Smiths & got a replacement. Fast forward 20-odd years later, the Hemispheres mis-print was worth a fortune. Should have kept it, but I wanted the album (which I still have).

Slap is the Bass version of "Shred" guitar. Great when done well, and when it fits in with the song, tedious when overdone.

Ashdown CTM's, Orange AD200, or the Laney Nexus. You could always try and find a Marshall MBA400, or there's the Eden 300w valve head (don't know what it's called). Or, you could look at the Matamp GT200.

And good luck finding a Variax bass (unless you already own one). They weren't very popular at the time, and were discontinued quite quickly. Why not get a cheap Jazz, like a Squier or some other Jazz-a-like, and do the conversion to that instead of your main Jazz? Or just get the Variax and use that?

Tony Iommi is a leftie anyway, and it's the fingers of his fretting hand that were damaged (ironically, on his last day at the factory). He made some plastic "thimbles" for his fingertips.

Avocado burst

I bet he spends far too much time on US based internet forums...

Thing is though, Rich Tone is a good shop, that give good service with friendly, knowledgeable staff. They sell instruments at all levels for all budgets.

RIP Dave. Saw them not too long ago, brilliant band.

Someone had an X3 for sale on one of the Facebook buy/swap/sell groups, asking £95 IIRC.

The XT Live is still a good setup, although I would highly recommend the HD500x. I had a Zoom B3 for a while, and although it sounded good, I found it quite "limited", as you could only have 3 effects running (including amp sims). I then bought an XT Live, as I had an XT Bean since they came out, added the Bass Pack, and IMO, the sound quality of the sims were slightly better than the B3, plus you could have quite a few effects running. I compared it with the B3 for sound quality, with a view to selling one & keeping the other. The XT Live won. After a while, I got a bit frustrated with the XT Live, although the Amp/Cab sims were good, it was a bit "lacking", especially in the effects department. They were good with guitar, but a bit lacklustre with a bass. Did a lot of searching around, looking at alternatives, and although the Helix was recently out, only the "full fat" version was available, and therefore out of my price range. After some searching around, I settled on the HD500x, although the Bass pack was limited (3 amp models, with 2 variations of the same amp, and a couple of cab models). Again, there was little info available on how it sounded from a bass player's perspective, there was loads of very good reviews from guitarists. Bought one, then got the HD Bass pack. When it arrived, I compared it with the XT Live, and to be fair, the HD was head and shoulders above the XT in sound quality. Still using the HD, and loving it. The effects are brilliant, and there's plenty of scope for different sounds. It is now eclipsed by the Helix range of course, but it's still a great piece of kit IMO.

I had an L2000 Tribute for a while, it's a nice bass to play, quite a chunky P / MM StingRay style neck. Unfortunately, the only thing I didn't like about it was the sound. Couldn't find a usable sound in there unfortunately. Tried all the passive & active combinations, just didn't "sparkle" for me. I would certainly say try and look for a second hand MIM Fender Jazz, though any of the ones you mentioned should easily fit your brief. Good luck.

The Toneman stuff is pretty good if you're after Ashdown on a budget. Even better value is the AMP range from Muzik Produktiv. They're exactly the same, just different stores. PMT are doing the MAG range as well, same as the Toneman/AMP ranges.

Thomann Squier P/J: £198 https://www.thomann.de/gb/fender_squier_affinity_p_bass_pj_ilbk.htm Harley Benton Violin: £129 https://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_beatbass.htm Hofner Ignition Violin: £259 https://www.thomann.de/gb/hoefner_ignition_beatles_bass_vsb.htm Have both a "modern" bass and a "classic" bass

The transformer's may well affect the weight on the strap.

If it's a studio bass, then I'd actually say you should look at something with a P/J setup. Squier do a few, as do quite a few other manufacturers. If you fell in love with the Violin style bass, then look for another one. The Harley Benton from Thomann would be a good start. Hofner do some very reasonably priced versions as well.