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Music? You want to try having a career in anything to do with computers. You instantly become everyone's personal technician and are expected to be able to solve an issue from the vaguest of descriptions!

Sorted the nut height and then put my 'see if it all fits together' set of strings on. At my action height starting point (medium) there are no buzzes at all so I think the basic levelling job was OK. When the proper strings are on, I'll set it up properly and do a double check with the fret rocker and the buzz check at low action in case there are some high spots anywhere. This is how the tru-oil slurry and buff has ended up, finishing at 1500 grit. This is an oblique shot to the light so you can see the surface finish: ...and this is tilted to see the figuring better: It's LOVELY to the touch. Still got to do the final 1500 slurry and buff on the back - and I've still got to do the final buffing of the fretboard and neck - but this is how the whole thing is panning out: All being well it should be finished by the end of the weekend

To be fair, it's bloody better than talking about football or if your kids are gonna get in to grammar school, innit?

I was actually going to move mine or de-badge it altogether, but there is an uncut metal plate on the grill under the badge the same shape so it would look a bit naff. I actually flipped the grill over on mine to match my initials "MW". Not sure if I'll keep it like that but I just wanted to see what it would look like.

What about putting the Wharfedale badge in the top left corner? Or am I over-thinking this?!

Here's a Shuker which with all the fancy options will likely set you back over £4k, a higher spec and more striking instrument than the £15k Fodera for me:

Of course folks could just be trying to make conversation with somebody they know plays music and they're trying to choose a topic with some common ground. In those situations I try to smile and join in the conversation. I'm thinking of calling this approach 'politeness'....I've got a feeling it might be quite useful Not sure about the name yet tho.

Bit late to the party, but I always use Peter at GTS, and have done for about 10 years now. Have never been anything but delighted with Peter's work on my basses. He's not cheap, but only 20 mins from home for me, and I've come to the conclusion that you get what you pay for. I factor in the cost of one of his pro-setups whenever I buy a bass.

I held/played this one...some may recognise it...TBH I wasn't overly impressed with it. It didn't strike me as 5x or £8k better than my GB, Status or Overwater - all of which are around the £2-3K mark - suggests to me the real price for a custom bass. The OP asks about the price difference between the two basses and there have been some interesting responses. What we do know is it isn't the cost of the materials. Can I justify the extra £8K because it's made in a fashionable/ expensive part of NY? What about because of the perceived extra craftsmanship? Do these represent VFM anyway? If you can't justify the additional cost for the invisible factors in the purchase price, then don't - I wouldn't. That's what capitalism is about. The old adage of "it's only worth what somebody will pay" and "supply & demand" ring true here, nobody forces somebody with too much loads of money to buy a Fodera, and for most it won't make a difference in how they play. May make a difference in how they think they play...but they won't fool many....and as we know, the average punter (or most bassists for that matter) can't tell the difference anyway. For me the argument of a Rembrandt being more than a piece of canvas and some paint doesn't stand up for most people. You're paying for the name (and authenticity obviously) but you could pick up a fairly close copy done by one of the artists on Speakers Corner, London for virtually nothing and very few people would know....so to everybody but the most discerning it really doesn't matter. Pretty much the same with these basses. Personally, I'd have the Maruszczyk anyway.

My 30th Anniversary Series II. Number 4 of 14.

Arrived today 14:00pm........................works great.................. Still not going to use GuitarGuitar ever again ! My small board now consists of 1) MarkOne Audio AB-Looper ( to bypass any signal loss or colouration when not using the Zoom MS60-B 2) Zoom MS60-B ....TUNER , CHORUS , TREM , PHASE etc....... now and then 3) TC SpectraDrive ( on all the time ) All fits into the side pocket of my Bass Case (incl the power supply ! ) Pete

Love her meself, looking forward to it.

Fired up my T model this week in the house.. coupled with an Eminence loaded Ashdown 4x10 it sounded awesome, really meaty, clean and warm. Will try it and band practice next week at serious volume and see how it sits in our mix.

To be honest I don't care what a Fodera costs new, if they want to charge that and people are prepared to pay it then good on them. People pay many times more for inanimate objects to decorate their homes, at least a Fodera is a functional instrument albeit a bit naff looking (so is that Maruszczyk Sputnik thing IMO). Just don't try and justify it with silly excuses like astronomical rent prices, super secret wood selection processes by magical forest fairies or amazing expertise that no other luthier can offer. They are just one boutique brand turning out high end instruments among many others, with the high profile comes a high price and that's totally fine. If you want one then by all means get the cheque book out, you only live once.

Yeah that's depressing and frustrating. I have zero patience with learned helplessness. Yes you bl@*dy well could if you cared enough to work hard enough. I had to. The recurring conversation that bugs the heck out of me is Me: I play in a blues band. Them: (look of surprise, pause) Oh, you sing? Me: No. Them: (look of surprise, pause) Oh, you play guitar? Me: No. I play bass. Them: (look of extreme surprise, long pause) Double bass? Me: No. I play electric bass guitar. Them: (look of very extreme surprise, no answer) I'm not over-sensitive to gender stereotyping (and have never met it as a Computer Science lecturer) but why the blank blank blank do so many people still assume that women don't play bass? 😞

Does it come with the ‘surprise’ snapping neck?

They aren't doing anything different from basically every other custom builder, all of them have some exceptional wood to choose from and select nice pieces for each individual build. I think you're giving them far too much credit for doing what boutique builders are supposed to do - they get nice blanks of wood from their chosen supplier, there's no special mystic selection process.

Possibly because you have a limited idea as to what talent is. Go and create a YouTube channel, when you have even just 10,000 followers, i’ll show you someone who is talented at assessing what their audience wants, then creating good and consisting content to sustain that. Whether that talent is important to you doesn't matter, they're earning a living doing something you can’t. Si

Yep, for some reason we had karaoke at work just before Xmas, and everyone was trying to get me up singing. I play bass in a skinhead punk band, my "singing" is really not for karaoke at TV volumes in the workplace. They said, well can`t you do a Bon Jovi song then, as if for some reason skinhead punk and Bon Jovi are similar. So I showed them a clip of the type of music I listen to and play. That stopped `em.

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There is much about this bass that really makes me smile. Full report in due course......

Henry " The Thumb " Thomas from the Rockschool TV series of the day .

Spotted this morning. Looks like a great deal for someone in the market for one of these.... https://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/product/180328325347007--lakland-skyline-44-64-custom-pj-natural-mn

Brilliant gig and he's still playing a Westone (thunder 3a as far as I could see)

killer horn section

For anyone interested, I gave up on lemon oil about 2 years ago as I found it wasn’t really nourishing the rosewood boards on my guitars. I have used it for years and it never seemed to properly condition the wood, it just soaked in and the board looked fine for a week and then dried out. I did some google research and found a lot of luthiers and guitar companies in general moving away from it and using Music Nomad F-One oil. I bought a bottle and tried it and for me and my guitars it works so much better than lemon oil and has lasted and really seems to ‘feed’ the wood and make it look and feel superb. I’m converted and think it is well worth it (a bottle will last a few guitars for years).

Given the fact that he was presumably just about to probe the inside of your mouth with a sharp object, a plucky choice of words I’d say.😙

Ssshhhh, it's the secret Fodera woodland timber fairies which hand select every piece of wood when it is a mere sapling, then play their magic flute as it grows so it produces the correct timbre when it becomes a body blank. But don't tell anybody, they'll all be doing it then. Besides, Shuker hasn't even got the frets and pickups in straight on that bass, the nitwit.

That seems to imply that other basses are more difficult to fit in the mix [1], which is not true... It's a matter of preference, taste, and the goal with respect to the kind of sound to be achieved. [1] as if all mixes were the same... (and of course: he/she who pays the bills, gets to choose)

You're haven't quite grasped this capitalism thing. You should be charging 10k.

Rocking out on a Westone Thunder 1A, still a criminally underrated bass, in my opinion

Is this like "Youth-Hostelling with Chris Eubank"? 😂 (copyright Alan Partridge)

Everyone at works know about one of my bands at least. Some even regularly show up at our local gigs following us on facebook. For a time, our trumpet player was a colleague. Why would they laugh at me? The fact that I have the key to the poisons cabinet and access a wide range of acids and sharp implements has nothing to do with it 😛

Quite a few years back a bunch of us in the office were talking about bands we'd seen 'before they were big'. We were just chatting really, but I think secretly we were trying to outdo each other. There was a pause in the conversation, and then one of the older guys looked up and said, "I saw Hendrix in Worcester..." Instant win, end of contest

Regarding Ableton... it’s roots lie in live performance and that’s where it initially gained notoriety as the tool of choice for people wanting to performing live with a DAW... which inevitably appealed to DJs and electronic musicians. Hence it’s now ubiquitousness in those scenes. But it can of course be used as a regular DAW in home studios. @Leonard Smalls of this parish uses it to great effect, for example. I have the ‘light’ version myself and it’s very good indeed - and very different to other DAWs (in a good/interesting way). Given that I don’t perform live, I just found that I wasn’t making the most of its functionality - and the functionality I was using was already available in my DAW of choice (Reason). Hence I didn’t explore it any further. If I was starting over, however, I’d certainly consider Ableton. It’s the world’s most popular DAW for a reason. Another strong contender rarely mentioned here is Fruity Loops. Lots to choose from 😉

See this is why I try not to mix with other bass players in person. You really are a bunch of miserable basstards !

That's why I have one of these: A lot of my mates are geeks anyway so they can fix their own.

I'm such an ar53, I clicked on this thinking I was going to find fretless basses constructed of metal....

synthesised clap sounds. I'm beta testing an editor for some modular synth drum modules. Part of the deal is a build a small library of presets. This module has 44 different parameters to play with... Might switch to Hi Hats for a bit...

Vincent Crane. the whole of Arthur Browns first album had some great playing Alan price an awesome version of I put a spell on you great solo.

Don't drop it in either the bag or the plastic case. It's heavy enough to rip the folded aluminum rails right off the rack.

It's probably damaged stock. Look at that bass! It's been melted like a marshmallow over a fire.... Oh, it's a singlecut. But yeah, 7 grand cheaper.

Totally agree. I don't even like 5 strings and that is a beautiful bass. I remember playing one like it at the bass guitar show a couple of years ago. Similar wood, but left naturally blonde. That was an amazing bass and a "step away from the vehicle" moment.

I think you might have missed the point. Attracting and retaining viewers on a YouTube channel is not something everyone can do or learn to do. It does take talent. Some people have a natural flair for entertainment, most don't. Would you be able to generate material that would attract hundreds of thousands of viewers on a regular basis? There are kids on YouTube who have earned far more than I'll earn in my lifetime. All power to them.

Progress on my new build! Can’t wait to get my hands on this beast!

Feet repositioned and badge moved! Will put back later when I decide what I am doing..

[walks into shop] Can I buy your Maruzoo... Marushu... Maruzaku... Mooroozoo... Ah b0llocks, I'll have that Fodera. No wonder I'm skint.

Found the link your after https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/proginfo/2018/03/on-bass-tina-weymouth