discreet

Nice!

Ha! Smarties, readies, wonga, folding, beans, cabbage - call it what you like, I don't have any of it.

Ha! I don't think I ever owned that one. Or the other one. EDIT: No wait, I DID own the Dakota red one. Didn't recognise it because of the bloody tort guard and cream pickup covers... That's a truly great bass. But of course I don't have the readies for it, as usual. Tsk!

I am a fan of maple boards. And I suppose if I wanted a rosewood board I'd be better off buying it in the UK and sidestep the CITES thing.

Well that's peed on my chips. Thanks for the info, though.

Oh dear. Really?

NOW we're getting somewhere! It only remains to agree on exactly how many Smarties you think would be reasonable...

Ha! I suppose if it does happen again you could hide inside it, or something. Sorry, I didnt think this through.

Do you mean one tube at a time or one Smartie? If the latter, the postage to send tens of thousands of Smarties individually would cost far more than the bass! It would be a novel method of hire purchase though...

I tend to agree, but back in the real world, finding a better drummer is much easier said than done! If I were as uncompromising as I'd like to be, I'd never be in a band, I'd never rehearse and I certainly wouldn't do any gigs. Having said that, the band I'm in currently has an excellent drummer and I'm grateful for that.

In both cases it can be done, but it's a huge effort which makes you hot and irritable.

Oh my God, you said the 'c' - word!!

I suppose for a traditional old-school drummer, a possible solution would be an electronic kit that looks like a regular kit..?

Absolutely. In parts of East London it's de rigeur to look like a Victorian butcher or an Edwardian cricketer, for some reason. I won't do it, me. As a modern Victorian it would be a step backwards.

The only idea or tip I can provide is 'get another drummer', which I'm sure you don't want to hear. I know how difficult finding a good drummer is, and I know how much more difficult it is to find a good drummer who can consistently play quietly and in time. In my experience, a drummer who has been hitting hard for decades is probably half-deaf if he's not been using ear protection and there's no way he will change now. If he's a reasonable chap he'll use Hot Rods and that would be my first port of call as it's a cheap, simple option to try first.

Could be mine, too! Why don't you buy it for me and I'll pay you back... in Smarties. Wibble!

Nice Jap PB for Not Much I'd snag this myself if I had the readies, which I don't. Hence this: https://www.ebay.com/itm/332659888782 Even with shipping it's a good deal.

Could have been the Kinks...

Thats a shame. BT's muscular bass lines made the Attractions what they were. Major contributor.

I've had many basses over the years including some fairly expensive examples, but my current go-to is a modded HB P-50. Admittedly I upgraded the tuners, electrics, bridge and strings but all you really need to do is buy one and put some decent flats on it. The necks on these are remarkable and very playable. Real old-school vintage thump, for peanuts.

Bingo!

Sounds like a sanity clause...

Quite right, too. How can you expect people to take you seriously if you're clearly not serious yourself?

With a 'regular' drummer and bass player The Who would have been boring, I bet. It was KM and JE's pyrotechnics that made that band what it was. They were both pioneers in their way. If PT can't see that, he must be a ****.