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Yes, it cost extra to develop and is a smaller run so unit price is higher than the regular which has been produced en masse and was designed 10 years ago.

Ooh, that looks just the ticket, if the string spacing is as you say it is. Hmm, but I‘m in Europe and get whacked with import duty. I‘ll definitely keep an eye out for one of those over here - thanks for pointing this out 👍

I would imagine up-and-coming young players with some coin are buying the hell out of the Charles Berthoud signature model.

Just going on the sheer number of big name artists using Schecter, I've got to think it's not a lack of famous players that are a problem for them - though a lot do seem to be hard rock or metal players. I don't think I've seen a Schecter in a physical shop but still, I own two and a good friend of mine owns another herself. Mine are a Riot 4 Aurora Burst and an SLS Evil Twin, both lefthanded. They're both great instruments, particularly the Evil Twin. My friend has a C-5 GT in purple and it looks and feels amazing (for a righthanded instrument). I guess the reason so many manufacturers build Fender-esque instruments is because those general shapes are so baked into the cultural psyche that people expect them and so it's a relatively easy money-maker, especially if you can do it cheaper and with just a touch of modern features to put your own twist on proceedings.

Any idea why the VIP is €50 more than the normal case?

When I joined the internets some 20 years ago, nobody would care if you did anything to a 1978 Fender. The consensus was that pre-CBS instruments were the gems, to be preserved in as-built condition if possible. Some early CBS-era instruments were also seen as good, but you had to hunt them out. Then the Overton window shifted. Stuff from the late '60s and early '70s suddenly had the potential to be good, on occasion. You had to find the one in ten that played as nicely as a hallowed pre-CBS gear. Interesting that stuff from the peak wilderness years of Fender is now considered valuable enough to cause some pause before modding. Then again, London's Calling, Rocket to Russia, No more Heroes etc is all stock '70s P Basses...

I hope never to find out...

I'm sooo tempted to order one of the last few blue ones from Anderton's. There were seven available this morning. I don't need it, but £149 is such a ridiculous deal... 🤔

So do I, but it cost a lot more than £200.

My '90s Epiphone Rivoli had a nice meaty neck on it, from memory. Not uncomfortable, but not the half pool cue necks that turn up on some shortscales. One of the few basses I regret selling.

Whilst flats don't suffer tonally once they've lost the new zing (which I'm always glad to see the back of), I find the intonation deteriorates after a few years, especially on the low E. When I remove them, I find minute dents in the windings caused by the frets. I suppose once they've bedded in, they don't move or stretch, so the same part of each string contacts the frets every time you play. That probably doesn't do their ability to vibrate cleanly any favours.

I'd rather have a Stargazer than a Ricky. I loathe the Rickenbacker shape.

Soak Lonely - The Police

Darren bought some strings and other bits and bibs from me. Fast payment and he kindly took the time to let me know when the package arrived safely. Great Basschatter and trade with absolute confidence.

The design of the drivers in a sub differ from those used as mid bass drivers. The voice coil is usually bigger which dissipates heat and allows greater power handling. The coil and supension are designed to allow greater excursion and the cone is heavier to reduce flexing and to lower the resonant frequency extending the bottom end of the frequency range. Collectively these changes mean a 15 in a full range cab is a different beast to a 15 in a sub. What I have considered is buying a small sub for use with the 10" tops. It isn't a problem though: I really do have all the bass I want from the 310's, and no issues to date with power handling.

I became a fan in 1982 after picking up the 12" single of Market Square Heroes in a bargain bin for 50p. It has Grendel on the B-side, which remains one of my all-time favourites. I saw them live in 1984 on the Fugazi tour at the Southend Cliffs Pavilion. Fish took a shine to me (well, I was 15 and pretty) and handed me a glass of coke which he'd been drinking from on the stage. I took a sip and found it was strongly laced with whisky. I kept the empty plastic cup for years with its dessicated whisky/coke residue, until one day my mum cleaned my room while I was out and chucked it out thinking it was rubbish. In the 90s I bought a second hand Aria SB as my first 'serious' bass because Pete Trewavas played one. (Not the exact same model but close enough.)

Nice photo!