Rich

Here's my reason for unreservedly recommending Jon's work.

I know how that feels bro. At one time and in desperate straits, I was a mouse-click away from putting my beloved Wal up for sale. Thank god we never did it, eh?

Oh my god, how bad was that film? My then-GF and I went to see it, people were walking out left right and centre but we just had to stay to see if it got any worse. Remarkably, it did.

100% convinced that Jon will be as upset and horrified as you, that such an awful thing has befallen one of his artworks. I'm sure he'll see you right.

I honestly don't think the Sire headstock is any worse than this.

Witters used to have a really nice Fenix P-J bass. He offered it to me when he sold it, and like an idiot I declined... what an utter berk I am.

Nah thanks. I've had my share of 100lb amps. My back loves my 4lb Shuttle and so do I

Yes. Our drummer has the Gigster and reckons it has revolutionised his playing. He hardly ever asks for any kick in his drum fill these days, he gets it all via his butt.

I de-glossed the back of the neck on my 1st gen V7 with a pan scrub. Half an hour's work, hey presto, nice satin neck. And agreed re: tuners, they were the only Achilles' heel on my bass too. Upgraded to Hipshots.

There's nothing flash about this one, just a woman walking along a street with bits of lives happening around her. But i love it. And so did the Verve, it would seem

Well that's one name for it.

Yes. If only we could all be so stupid

Likewise. I'm sure many of us would give body parts to have a sit down with the man. But as we know, it ain't happening. Still, it's nice of the Heil to give him spotlight attention he didn't want.

Sad, but true. (geddit??!?!??!???)

Perhaps I've been unlucky then, and have only been to the 3 or 4 out of 900 that seemed to be inhabited entirely by football-shirt-clad nerks who think that drinking Stella rather than Carling makes them sophisticated, habitually shout "Oi oi!" at people 6 feet away from them, and are seemingly engaged in a contest to see who can laugh the loudest at nothing and spill the most beer. Perhaps if I went to a 5th one, I would find the haven of peace and tranquility that many some seem to find them. I'm not going to find out.

So were Gerald Ratner and Robert Maxwell

What I've seen and heard of him leads me to the conclusion that he is a big-mouthed thin-skinned spiteful hypocrite. Still, I'm sure people have said worse about me in the past and will in the future. I'm also sure that Mr Martin wouldn't give a rat's derrière about my opinion of him.

Seriously, dont let a silly thing like the headstock put you off. It's so minor in the scheme of things. Oh, and most of those knobs can be easily bypassed by flicking the active/passive switch. So they don't have to be a problem either. Have you played one? Whereabouts in the UK are you? You're welcome to try mine if you're relatively nearby.

Fixed.

You could also ask Rich as he's depped with them a couple of times my man Witters is right, they're a superb band and a great bunch of blokes. You couldn't ask for a better rhythm pal than Adrian the drummer. I shall be very jealous of whoever gets this job.

Yes. Frequency range is the very first thing I look at in a cab's specs, followed by weight and SPL. The last thing I want is a cab that's going to fart out every time I hit low notes on the fat string. Although I'm sure somebody will be along in a minute to tell me that the freq range is no indication of a cab's robustness at 30Hz.

Those are gorgeous. And now I have massive headless GAS. Great. Thanks. 😠

Yes, it's surprising how good a Rick impression you can squeeze out of a Jazz. Geddy did it for ages, after all I get a decent Rickalike tone from my Sire, neck pickup through the Ampeg model on my Line 6 XT Live.

No preamp yet... but the latest addition are neck side dots. Bigger, whiter ones in what i feel is the right place on a fretless bass. These are Letraset-style rub-on dots carefully applied and then given a careful wipe over with a cotton bud dipped in lacquer.