Tim2291

Slap isn't a style of music . You could use the Hofner for funk if you really wanted!

Any bass is great for any style! I have an explorer that sounds identical to a P-bass. It all comes down to how you set your tone up. The joy of modern active basses is that most have very controllable pre amps so you can fine tune as needed, I played in a metalcore band, toured with them and still play the same Ibanez now for functions! The only time you may get some odd looks is if you grabbed out your 5 String D-Roc on an old school jazz gig where image is important. Nothing to do with the sound, but the aesthetic may be wrong.

We're finding at work that couriers are just terrible in general at the moment. Nothing to do with the RM strikes, they have just given up making any efforts to do their job at all. It has all started really since Brexit to be honest, related or not I couldn't tell you. Read the terms and conditions, whatever service you pay for, they don't have to actually do it. They can charge next day and take a week but the customer can't argue it at all.

I guess his descriptions are 100% accurate aren't they!

I like this one the best! https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/364026716624?hash=item54c1aee1d0:g:YjcAAOSwsIBjVxe9 Description is perfect!

His address is on this thread somewhere if you wanted to knock on his door and ask for your money back?

One of the addresses I saw was an accountants office so that wouldn't be any help!

To be fair, I had one dealing with Polar and they weren't too bad. But obviously my experience could be a fluke!

There was a post earlier from a member of Chic to Chic mentioning a Ltd company... Could be useable for people making enquiries! https://www.companysearchesmadesimple.com/director/uk/929435839/?companyNumber=14022329 With regards to the FB scams, make sure you look at the profile of the person selling! Just clicking on the Mick Mason and Tom Bannister pages puts red flags up instantly. A working musician only posting 10 photos, all that look like the same gig and only 6 photos all of very random things... Is the Carpenters Experience genuine? Seems odd to me that a nationally touring tribute act, calling themselves the UK's leading Carpenters show would have a website that doesn't work and barely anyone responding to their events.

Has anyone contacted the bands he claims to be a member of? If nothing else they should be aware of this as it could impact their reputation!

One thing I have found is that a lot of bass specific books are lacking massively in general theory past the bass clef. As others have suggested, general Jazz theory is always a winner, that will cover pretty much everything you will ever need. Any books on walking basslines are great but make sure you are learning the concepts not the parts they have written out!

First of all... Gallien Krueger, only contacted their aftersales once as a tweeter (somehow) failed in my cab. Replacement sent FOC within a few days! Other than that, can't fault the fact that I've had a 700 RB2 for the last 13 years and never had a single fault... although recently the tuning mute indicator LED has failed 😱. Guitar Centre Southsea (local shop) are always brilliant. Northwest guitars are great every time I deal with them. Before PMT took over, Nevada in Portsmouth were great! They sold me my Ibanez brand new with £700 knocked off the list price... maybe I can see why they were taken over!

Good luck with the operations, I hope they help and you can get back to playing in some capacity. Have you thought about a stand for the bass? Similar to what guitarists use when they have an electric and acoustic in the same song? Potentially it could set it up so you could sit to play and relieve any pressures on your back!

Does Lee Sklar count? Technically his work with each artist has been a small body of work... collectively it's a mental amount though!

Both great choices! Post some photos when you've got one!

Keep an eye on Facebook Marketplace, Gumtree, Ebay, Reverb all are great places to find some great gear at bargain prices!

Warm up before anything, but an idea I had from an old tutor that helps build stamina in both hands, run a simple single octave major scale up and down with a metronome for a few minutes and then increase the time each time. Use a major scale shape that uses all 4 fingers, of course substitute any scale that does similar! There's also a book called Bass Technique Finger Gym by Simon Pratt that has a lot of useful exercises for improving stamina.

I have a BBN5 (budget 5 string) that I had literally dragged round behind a car in a college car park because I was a super edgy cool student and wanted the bass to be road worn... I've since stripped it, defretted it and painted it lake placid blue with satin finish. Plays brilliantly and the relatively weak j-bass pickups give a really good tone for fretless!

Ken Smiths are amazing instruments and all of them sound like a Ken Smith... which is brilliant, and also a hinderance in some aspects!

Do it! Go for the crackle paint, i'm debating either that or a hydro dip on my cheapo explorer!

Hi Gary, First of all, welcome! With regards to gear, you can't go wrong with Yamaha, my first bass was an RBX270, light, plays amazingly (I have had it professionally set up) and the tone is good enough for most gigs, plus you avoid paying the Fender premium! Nothing wrong with Squier or Fender obviously they are solid guitars! Ibanez make some great gear as well. Ashdown make some great amps that will be good for practice and for as you start to improve. If you have a budget of £500 and you are more than happy to spend that on your bass gear, buy second hand and get good equipment! You can get a brilliant set up in that budget that could last you years. The joy of second hand is that unless you trash the gear, you're unlikely to lose a huge amount if you decided to sell! For example, I bought an Ashdown cab for £80, it's not the best but I could sell it for exactly what I paid with no issues! The buy/sell section of this forum is great because it is unlikely that anyone here would sell you anything dodgy knowingly. You can always post questions on bass chat and the hive mind will always be on hand to help if we can! Whilst buying a £15,000 guitar won't make you a better player obviously, there is a hell of a difference between the very cheaply made unknown brand guitars and the trusted (yamaha/ibanez/fender and their subsidiaries) brands "beginner" ranges! Some of the budget gear is horrible to play and could put you off rather than encourage you to continue playing.

If they don't understand the first time, point more aggressively and shout louder and slower.