Rich

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.

One on top of the other..? Sorry, I couldn't resist. As you were.

no. no, it shouldn't. and do you know why? because the self-appointed goosestepping grey suited penpushing bureaucratic thugs in brussels have outlawed block capitals. i know this is true because i heard a bloke down the pub going on about how he'd heard from his mate who had read it in the sun. the sooner we are free of the eu's dictatorial jackboot (and so on, ad nauseum)

Well you've totally devalued the thread by removing all your text -- very grown up -- so there's not much reason to keep it open now.

No. No, you wouldn't. And do you know why? Because thanks to the unelected faceless bureaucratic dictatorial unelected quasi-fascist bullying faceless unelected bureaucrats in Brussels, you can't buy a GALLON of petrol. You can only buy it in euros now. And even if you could, the unelected faceless bureaucratic dictatorial unelected quasi-fascist bullying faceless unelected Health & Safety bureaucrats won't let us burn ourselves even if we want to. The sooner we are free of the EU's unelected faceless eurocratic dictatorial (cont'd p.94 of tomorrow's Daily Express, and every other day in fact)

+1.

"You can't polish a turd." "How to start off a new guitar series, by Gibson Step I: Take one of your great designs, throw everything but the name out the window, make the wonkiest, most appalling design you can Step II: Throw as much tech on it as you can and call it "futuristic" Step III: throw a $4k price tag on it Step IV: Profit" "Remember when Homer Simpson designed a car that ruined his half-brother's company? That." "I could have sworn that this 'guitar' was taken out back and put out of it's misery." "Hahahahaha.... are you for real? It really does look like a bowling ball."

Keep practicing that line, so you can keep a straight face when you say it to the missus. "Honest love..."

Bought Chris' EMG-HZ MM pickup. Lovely condition, looks and sounds great in the JayRay. Easy transaction and friendly comms, an absolutely thoroughly bloody nice bloke

I was entirely self taught. As a consequence, 36 years down the line I still have all my self-taught faults. (And yes, my thumb positioning sucks. I'm a baseball bat player, and I have to work to stop myself doing it.) I should have spent more time learning scales and modes and less time learning to slap. Slap was more fun though

How about the humble whistle? Not an instrument per se, but then not a vocal either. Very prominent on the Scorpions' Wind Of Change, Roxy's Jealous Guy and The Seekers' wonderful Georgy Girl. Second best. The actual best bit is where the needle lifts off the record at the end.

What better way? Beer AND fretless

Showing your age there, old chap

Definitely more than an element of this, I reckon. The only way they're going to banish the nerves is to just do it. Definitely time for a cards-on-the-table talk with them. Tell them how it felt before and after YOUR first gig, the relief and elation. Tell them you're booking a gig because that's the whole bloody point, that you aren't going to be made to feel guilty over any imagined pressurisation, and that a band that farts around practicing but never gigs is not what you signed up for. Only maybe say it a bit nicer than that

I like it too. I don't necessarily have a thing about weird basses, but I like the shape. The fragility of that top horn would be a concern. And yes it'd be ideal headless, and that's deffo what I'd have done if I'd been the buyer.