Good points, all, Robin, and thanks for putting my rather terse words into a more meaningful explanation Steve.

I struggled with old boxes for years, and it wasn't until I remortgaged the house and traded up to a second hand modern Bugari that I actually started to get anywhere with a playing style.

With modern boxes, you only shell out for the basses that you actually play. I jiggered my back staggering round trying to hold up old 120 bass dreadnoughts. 80 odd is more than enough for the folk idiom.