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Hi Maude et al, Very sorry to read this. Here is the honest and unabridged story of the B Social from start to finish, you may want a hot beverage and a biscuit before you start, you definitely will by the end... So after an evening with our Japanese importer in early 2013 it became apparent that due to the increasing number of players living in small apartments (Japan especially) traditional bass amps for the home were simply too bulky and often too loud for their desired application. However despite players attempting to get around this by using very small bass combos or going down the iPad into headphones route there was still a desire for a premium amp for the home that would not look out of place whilst providing high quality performance. So with these thoughts in mind we set out to design what would become the B Social. We knew from the start it should be more than just a bass amp and that it should also be a premium stereo Bluetooth streaming music player so that it can also take up that role for people where space is limited. Also from the beginning we felt it was important to have two inputs for song writing sessions/jams and perhaps most importantly so the B Social could used by music teachers, both can plug in etc, play music/backing track via Bluetooth etc, encouraging players to write and record easily together(Hence Be Social) We then expanded on this by having the built in audio interface for direct recording, again we thought it would be great for jammers and teachers/students as the interface will split the audio from the separate inputs so resulting in two separate recorded tracks. Then we had the thought to make the set up as ‘clean’ as possible it would be great if the unit had an integral wireless system to remove the need an instrument cable. I don’t think this had been done on any guitar/bass amp before? Boss have just done it 3 years later on their new Katana Air... Lastly the addition of our AppTek input meant certain Amp Sims and FX could be used expanding the overall possibilities. So now we knew what we wanted and then there was just the challenge to get all that into a small stylish box with perfect performance and no noises interference etc. Music streaming needed to be of high quality whilst retaining the instrument reproduction/performance we would expect etc etc. Whilst it may not seem it from the outside this was a huge and ambitious project for a company our size bearing in mind we have one full time engineer and another part time(Roland/Boss alas we are not) but we wanted to make the best product that we could and move things forward for today’s generation of ‘Pro’ home players. We also added two 4ohm speaker outs so the B Social can be linked to and drive two 4 ohm cabs if really big bass/volume was ever required. A B Social driving 2 x 810s is much fun indeed. It was by no means an easy challenge but move forward to mid 2014 and after months of coffee fuelled late nights, weird noises and copious swearing we had a final prototype that did everything we wanted beautifully(in fact it still does as it’s on my desk playing music as I write this). So far so good... Of course once you have a prototype you have to cost it and then mass produce it consistently to the standards we have set for ourselves over the past 21 years. The cost we knew would be higher than was ideal purely to the amount of tech in it and the fact the only speakers that we were happy with were the Italian made SICA Dual Concentrics of which are alas not cheap. Because of the tech/home consumer aspects of the B Social we felt it would be best to not build it in our factory but a factory more used to manufacturing this type of product. (I will come back to this) The final costs however did come in quite higher than what we had originally aimed for and if using our normal margin/mark up would mean the B Social would have to retail at roughly £800... Way too high it goes without saying. We weren’t however prepared to cheapen the product after all the work so instead decided that we would cut our own margin on the product by around half of what we would expect to make on a regular product which meant with distributor and store margins factored in we could get the price down to what we felt was a more realistic and achievable £599. So fast forward to January 2015 NAMM show, we launch the B Social and the reaction is fantastic, everyone trying it loved it and we were happy, price was never scoffed at by anyone who tried it. However despite not a single person in the UK having seen let alone tried one at this point this happened: Now we will always take these kind of threads with a pinch of salt but also naturally we do listen to the feedback taking on board what we can etc. So this did hit a nerve more than perhaps it does normally with people suggesting we should be selling the unit for less than what it costs us to make...The costs meant we were not making a great deal per unit and yet despite this we were being chastised for how much the unit was. A PJB Double Four is around £400 with no Bluetooth, no wireless transmitter/receiver, no recording interface, no secondary input, no IOS app connectivity etc, no independent EQ for the music being streamed etc etc. So it truly amazed us the toxic reaction to the price point. Regardless we move forward and thankfully sales and feedback were very good. For many of our artists it’s the perfect on the road companion and a large number of our artists have bought and use the B Social nightly in the dressing room on the road. some have even had flight cases made for their B Socials which is always nice to see. Fast forward a couple of years and lots of B Socials have been sold and all is well. We did however start to notice that whilst the vast majority of units were built as spec and all good we were finding the odd one where there were issues, mainly small things but a number of units were actually not shipped out because of this. Easy to do with our stock in the UK as we spot check every shipment but more tricky on direct shipments from the factory to distributors overseas as it is up to them to do the same as us and spot check shipments. Whilst I am sure the majority do this there are also some I would think do not... Because of these issues and after much arguing with the factory we began to lose faith that every unit was being built properly and to spec. (Remember this is/was not our normal factory) Because of this we have sadly now been halted production and it is highly unlikely we will use that particular factory ever again. The majority of units out there should be and will be great (hence the guys saying theirs are fine) but majority is not good enough. The two units from here that were sold on Ebay before Christmas were both B stock sold at a highly reduced rate as they had been loaned to a school previously but all was assumed to be ok with them, of course as laid out clearly here they weren’t and those items have been refunded and will now not be resold at any price. Hope this helps to clarify the situation somewhat. Time for a beer.

This. And this. I'd be willing to send an El Cheapo instrument by post/courier, but not anything decent. Collection only is a way of weeding out chancers and time wasters, too. If someone can't be bothered to collect a quality instrument, they aren't that interested.

Correct me if I'm wrong but I seem to recall in another thread we were being a bit bashed by you and when I apologised and asked for details it all went quiet? Again if we dropped the ball with you apologies but I need at least some info on what happened as we are never evasive or indifferent. If this was done via email and you still have copies would you be so kind to resend to [email protected] so that I can fully investigate what happened and come back to you with some proper answers. Also in these days there are so many ways to contact companies(some would say too many) please remember that we are always at the end of the phone, happy to talk and that is often the best way for a time dependent response...

Absolutely, the core of the amp is obviously ABM, there’s a reason that the ABM range has been in production continuously for 21 years since day one. Saying that the differences are more than just skin deep. Actually the first point is that each Head Of Doom is built here in England by one of two people. One being the guy who actually designed the amp Dave Green and the other his wife Joanne who between them have around 60 years of amplifier design/building experience. This is the same for all our valve heads as well. The standard ABM 600 is made in our China factory so for starters it was always going to be more money than an ABM 600. Externally the steel housing and front panel costs a lot more than the wood ABM chassis and wood sleeve amazingly. Then internal differences are increased voltage running the valve pre amp(the Doom...) increased output transformer and the part which adds a good chunk of the added cost is the three isolated slave outputs, these each have their own small transformer for true isolation. So add to the cost an extra three transformers, all of which are handwired by one guy 10 miles down the road, this also includes the output transformer as well.... Then don’t forget the extra VU meter! ;-) Hope that helps.

If you ever need any help with the V4 just give us a shout

Noel on how he got involved with the JHE (from our interview in 2000). "I saw this ad in Melody maker that Eric Burdon was forming the New Animals. He’d sung with my band from Folkestone called the Loving Kind about six months before. We’d played in a club in London and he’d come up and sung a couple of tunes, and said 'You lot are good'. Basically in September ‘66 I thought I’d audition for Eric in case he might remember me. Did he? No, and that was my bit of good luck! "I played a couple of tunes on guitar and that was when Chas Chandler wandered over to me. He was like a star to me, I was only 20 years old. He said 'Can you play bass?' I said 'No, but I’ll try it.' I was handed a bass, and played three songs with this American gentleman, a drummer, myself and a keyboard player. Three songs with no vocal at all. Then the American gentleman said 'Can I have a word with you?' "There was a nice little pub next door to the place and he discovered he liked best bitter. He talked about music, I asked him about the American scene, had he ever seen Sam Cooke, that sort of stuff, Booker T, and he was asking me about the English scene which at that point was the Small Faces, the Move, the Kinks. Then he said to me 'Do you want to join my band.?' And that was Mr James Hendrix."

I suspect we all sympathise with where you're coming from Big Red; but if it's the case that Ashdown now have (generally) fantastic and responsive customer service and from what you are saying it is a big improvement on what you experienced 7 or 8 years ago then that is something to be applauded and cheered, right?

MBBC30e.pdf MBBC27c.pdf MBBC27a.pdf MBBC35d.pdf MBBC35c.pdf MBBC31c.mp3 MBBC31b.mp3 MBBC27e.mp3 MBBC29d.mp3 MBBC27e.pdf MBBC29a.pdf MBBC29b.pdf MBBC29d.pdf MBBC29e.pdf

Sounds about right to me.

I'm lucky with my neighbours. Technically we are detached, but due to various extensions built over the years there's about 1 inch between. A few years ago Neighbour 1 was having trouble with his teenage daughter. He was embarrassed about the music noise. She had her window open and was blasting Cypress Hill out. I said I reckon I could stop it with 1 conversation with her. I saw her later. Told her I approved of her music. She was surprised I had heard of Cypress Hill (!) I told her they were one of my favourites. And then I started to rap Insane in the Membrane at full volume in the street. With dance moves. 10 seconds later she was running away from the greying middle aged man rapping outside her house. Job done.

Dunno if anybody's said this yet, but an ambiguous chord is still a chord. You can pick two notes completely at random, and if you play them together you have a chord. Giving it a name is a separate issue.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaand she's finished! Currently out of the country but I can't wait to get back and pick her up from Alpher HQ!

And yet another one kills Rock n Roll.

Another anecdote among the many already on here: I recently sold a Shuker to a BC member. He drove over from the Nottingham area (a round trip of a good 80 miles I would think), came in and tried out the bass; we had a very pleasant chat about nothing in particular; he handed me the cash (actually counted it out in front of me); picked up the bass and off he went. A very amenable encounter all round. This is just a personal thing I know, but for me meeting the people I'm trading with is half the fun.

I am not a prolific buyer second hand but I have collected the three basses I have bought from here. One a 200 mile round trip to Sussex, another was a 400 mile round trip to South Wales and the third a 1000 mile round trip to Scotland. Admittedly the latter was tied in to a trip up North anyway. I much prefer to collect in person as it allow me to inspect the goods in front of them but also hand them the cash / bank transfer there and then. Deal done and no thoughts after the event as to what could go wrong. The first two people did a deal with me on petrol costs so it was cheaper than a courier for them and did not increase my costs too much. I also like meeting other people, especially bass players so the trip becomes an adventure. I have also delivered an amp to London to ensure both sides were happy with deal. Yes time is a factor but I am prepared to prioritise my time to make it work. I also enjoy driving my cars.

And there was me thinking a dyad was some kind of mythical creature, like a faun.

You too buddy

No worries matey. x

I refuse to respond to any enquiries about items I'm selling. If people are really interested in buying they'll make the effort to find me.

And there's your answer - way too many scammers around these days. If I'm selling a high-value bass or amp or anything else, I will always prefer the buyer to visit in person, try it out to check that it actually works and does what he wants, and then pay in cash so that he can't fraudulently recall his money later. Sad, but true.

3 is the minimum.

Sad how Noel ended up, but...........even knowing how it would end, I doubt he would have traded his life for any of ours. He was there and he was great.

It can be worth contacting the seller directly and asking. Some really will be collection only, but some will agree to a meet, or to source boxes/bubble-wrap for a good offer and confirmed sale. I`ve secured postage deals on collection only eBay items with direct contact before.

This is also worth keeping an eye on... https://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/MTD-Kingston-Z-5-String-Bass-Cherry-Red-Finish-Gig-Bag/112739572310?hash=item1a3fcd5a56:g:WVYAAOSweLBaUg2c

+1 me too,Hartke didn't give a damn when my new Kilo died,they didn't ever return any of my emails. I got my CTM100 second hand from here & when i phoned Ashdown (twice) for a little advice they couldn't have been more pleasant/helpful to me so they get a big thumbs up from me.

The first week back at work is always hard.....so I bought a bass to get me through In reality I wasn't looking for a new bass but I wanted a BB for a good portion of last year but I thought I had staved that GAS with other purchases, until I played one of the new BBs I can't quite afford a BB735 but this popped up on Facebook. Haggled a bit and got a good price for it. Turns out the guy had a meeting at a building right next to my flat so got it delivered straight to my door the next day! It's in A1 condition, original strings feel like they have barely been played. While they aren't the best strings I do like the tension of them so they're staying on for the time being. If you've played a BB you'll understand what I mean when I say: It just works. Nothing fancy, it just sounds massive. Really love the grit you can get on either pick up, wouldn't mind if it was just a touch lighter though. Took it to a jam night and got several compliments saying how full it sounded so colour me chuffed. Now most importantly, PICTURES

Unfortunately, the links to Major-Minor's fabulous Boot Camp series of tutorials were lost as part of the site migration. Thankfully I had saved them offline onto my PC for future reference; unfortunately (and I hadn't realised until I checked earlier) I only saved Sessions 1 to 26e. Thankfully, Stevie had saved Sessions 27 to 36, which means we've got the complete set! The Major's Bass Boot Camp text for Sessions 1 to 14e.pdf The Major's Bass Boot Camp text for Sessions 15 to 17e.pdf The Major's Bass Boot Camp text for Sessions 18a to 21e.pdf The Major's Bass Boot Camp text for Sessions 22a to 26e.pdf The Major's Bass Boot Camp scores for Sessions 1 to 14e.pdf The Major's Bass Boot Camp scores for Sessions 15 to 17e.pdf The Major's Bass Boot Camp scores for Sessions 18a to 21e.pdf The Major's Bass Boot Camp scores for Sessions 22a to 26e.pdf The Major's Bass Boot Camp text for Sessions 27a to 36.pdf

Great playing!!

I bought a second hand mk500 head and had a minor issue, Mark Gooday sent me a message and offered a free service. Turns out I could solve it myself - just a dusty pot. But still. I’d say they’ve shifted enough gear to have the one or two problems as described...nothing without a good explanation...i know much bigger companies with much worse service/support records, and more “boutique” brands with hilariously bad service in comparison. I’ve used their gear for a long time, and haven’t had anything other than a good time. I suppose there are 1000’s of their punters having a trouble free time who aren’t compelled to write about it.

Respect to Ashdown for coming on here and giving the background to it all. I suppose they're just Being Social...?

You really must, it's a masterpiece of comedy.

Not mad at all. Strings are so important it makes sense to try as many different types as possible. Took me years to settle on my favourites yet I'll still break out and try something new occasionally.

I've seen stills of him using the Thunderbird (#4), a sunburst Thunderbirdm a Rick, a NR Epiphone.

Jack - unfortunately I think this is completely wrong, sorry! Ok here's a bit of detail to hopefully clear up the confusion on this: Are your music activities a 'commercial business' / 'profession'? Starting point is that you need to be doing your music as a business with a view to making a profit (whether or not you actually make a profit is another matter!). If it is just a perennial loss making hobby then you won't get a deduction and nor do you need to worry about including your music activities in your tax return. Expenses Any income expenses that are 'wholly and exclusively' relating to your music business can be deducted - ambient gave a couple of examples where he was allowed to validly deduct costs in relation to his professional music activities. Capital expenses Depreciation (which Jack mentions above) is a specifically disallowed expense (it has to be 'added back' for tax purposes from your accounting profits) What you can do is claim 'capital allowances' which is the tax equivalent of depreciation. There is currently an 'annual investment allowance' which allows a 100% deduction for the cost of capital items. The AIA limit is currently £200,000. Taking the example of a Wal bought for £4,000, yes you can in principle deduct the whole cost of the Wal and set it off against your other music business income. If this results in a tax loss for your music business then the loss can be set against income from other sources in the same tax year (or carried forward to offset against your music business income, only, in future years). Subsequent sales of capital items If you sell your Wal down the line: (i) for less than you paid for it, you need to include the sale price as income (i.e. reversing some / all of the capital allowances previously claimed). (ii) at a profit, then you would reverse out (i.e. include as income) the whole £4,000 of capital allowances claimed. You will also have a capital gain, although there are various CGT allowances and exemptions that should almost certainly mean you don't have any additional CGT to pay. You should however be able to deduct the cost of your replacement gear in full (assuming that the annual investment allowance is still available) in the tax year you buy it. Hope that helps! Disclaimer: the above note has been provided for general information purposes only for my fellow BCers and specific advice relating to your circumstances should be sought from your accountant.

I'm sorry if I touched a nerve. I didn't want to cause offence just highlight a single word you used. As far as I am aware marriage is not a job, they are not the employer and you are not the employee. You are the king and you wife is the queen, and your children are the prince and princesses of your castle. I love my wife and kids to pieces, respect them and only want the best for them. I want them to grow and realise their full potential, to become who they were truly meant to be (my eldest child, 26, is transgender) and I am fully supportive of that decision too. Be who you are, not who others expect you to be.

I still listen to 3CR quite a bit. I knew he was with Alan Hansen's daughter for a while. No idea who he's with now. He was a rare old talent. I loved what he did.

is that supposed to mean something - or we still in the 60's and I should beat her until she does???? We can't all be knuckle dragging alpha males eh??? FFS!

Good move. I’ve contemplated picking up a second one in the past, to chuck in the gigbag just in case!

Why do you need to? I don't like thirds much (especially the major 3rd) which on the guitar always sounds slightly dissonant to me so I'll either leave it out all together or replace it with a 9th which I find far more interesting and musically pleasing. And to answer the OP as soon as you play more than one note at the same time it's a chord IMO.

Hnnnngh that looks good. I've had a bit of a thing for Yamaha basses the last year or two, especially the pick-ups. Not sure what it is about them but they look really cool! Seeing one in that colour makes me want to play some 80's hair-metal, and I totally mean that as a compliment What's that monster on the right and why's it so long? (ooh 'eck)

Nice little family you’ve got there!

... but it can be rendered inoperative; I select 'Repeat' (an icon at lower left...). I'd rather have the current track repeat than have a random whatever spoiling the mood. Sod, 'em, I say; sod 'em all.

Anyway, just to cheer everyone up here's the Ace of Spades album cover with some kittens on it.

Yesterday was the first time I had the chance to let the 4 Stroke run loose. To cut a long story short: it’s awesome. Lots of lovely mids, controlled lows, way better in the band mix than my former Streamliner 900, and with a lot of heft to the tone. Especially paired with my SolidGoldFX Beta, the tone was to die for.

I love the look of all three 😀👍

Lucky you. I never liked playing with headphones. Even when I'm playing quietly, I use my amp. But yes, you do have to mind the levels and remember just how much bass can travel through walls. However, to prevent someone from playing amplified at home (keeping levels reasonable) during the day is just not on either. Some people expect absolute silence from their neighbours, and sometimes the same people are the ones who think nothing of playing their home cinemas with sub-bass and yelling in the house at 3am when they come home after a few drinks... It's tricky. When a neighbour has unreasonable expectations and demands, at some point you have to say 'enough' and live your life too... but you're taking a gamble as to what happens next, so it's important that you remain 'reasonable' even if others aren't, so that if the time comes, you cannot be found to be at fault.

It's a metaphor for our overcrowded planet: there isn't much room left...