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This has been on the cards pretty much since I first discovered ACG 11 odd years ago. It was @eude’s Finn 4 which first drew me to @skelf’s basses and very soon after that I saw a Holly-topped Finn. I’ve been hooked since the first bass I bought, and for a long time had a Holly-topped Finn in my wishlist. It almost became a reality about 5 years ago but I never got beyond the “annoying Alan” phase. Fast forward to last year, an ebony Finn which Alan shared on socials made me hatch a cunning plan for a yin/yang pair of basses - one holly, one ebony. Specs were developed, plans were hatched, then I had to be sensible and drop one of the two. Naturally I kept the holly plan as it has been on the list since day one, and the shape changed from Finn to RetroB. Thus this spec was born and a deposit was paid last July. Today the 5 string bass of my dreams was delivered. She sounds as good as she looks, and I’m over the moon 😎 So, the specs: Limba body, bloodwood accent, holly top 3pc Ash neck with ultra slim profile, ebony fingerboard with bloodwood blocks, 30” radius 3+2 headstock with holly facing and limba rear veneer 50mm RFB in bridge, 50mm OPB in neck Passive vol/tone/blend with coil select switch for RFB Black hardware 17mm bridge spacing (Hipshot A) Gotoh resolute tuners Honestly couldn’t be happier at this point, I am looking forward to getting her out in the wild with Katy Hurt next month 🤠 First 3 pics are from my “unboxing”, the rest are Alan’s:

Hi folks Just wanted to share the joy of this exceptional ACG bass handmade by Alan Cringean. I picked this up from Alan yesterday and it’s absolutely stunning. This particular model is a prototype and I’m sure Alan would be more than happy to build another if this is ur thing. From top to bottom the quality of the build is fantastic. The way Alan shapes his necks are always super comfortable to play and this is no exception. It balances perfectly either seated or on a strap. I’m really into filter preamps now and this one is fitted with the ACG EQ 01 by John East. Fine tuning your tone is excellent with the EQ01. Like every ACG I have played ( I have nine!) the quality, the workmanship and the versatility is in abundance. If you’re looking for a custom build at the highest level then speak to Alan. He’s an amazing luthier as well as a thoroughly nice chap. Specs down below. Cheers Stuart Body Olive Top Wood Purpleheart Accent Veneer Alder Body Neck Acrylic Impregnated Birdseye Maple Fingerboard 5 Piece Ash/Purpleheart Neck Luminlay Side Dots Details Set-neck Construction 33″ Scale Length 24 Frets 5 String 45mm Nut Width Satin Lacquer Finish Electronics ACG RFB bridge pickup and ACG FB neck pickup East Uni-Pre 4K Preamp Hardware Hipshot B Type Bridge Gotoh GB350 Resolite Tuners Black Hardware Dunlop Dual Design Straplocks ACG/Newtone Custom Strings

No business being this nice at £150 even at £500, as people have said… well. There we go.

Great white BB414 at ridiculous bargain price = happy me. apparently needs some electrical fettlement…but it looks balls ace.

Well it arrived and I'm pretty happy 😁 In reasonably good shape (I was expecting worse tbh) Much less yellowed than my 78 Oly white P Bass. Pickup sounds good. quite thumpy. The not-so-good bits: Definitely needs a new input jack. Definitely needs a new bridge. Needs a good scrub but pretty great shape for a 50yr old bass, overall

From what I see the age requirements are only to avoid seeing age appropriate things in your 'feed' and checks to ensure no access to adult only content. Basschat has no algorithms to give you any 'feed' - that is obviously based on facebook / twitter style feeds, and we have never had adult only sections, apart from maybe the sections on P basses in sunburst and tort that you have to be at least 70 to have an interest in

We have a 5-8 acoustic gig tomorrow night at The Ziegler Winery. 1 hour commute. Classy place. Daryl

I've bought 2 wenge necks off Ebay. Both only needed minor fret work & that only cost me $25 NZ per neck. Great necks. And I've bought 1 Maple neck off Ali Express. Just needed similar work on the frets. So, all three have been good purchases for me & I'd happily buy again from either place. Here are pictures of all three necks on my made at home parts basses.

Yay - Bass Day Europe refund is now in my account = £47 Purchase cost of the ticket for the Ian Allison & Janek Gwizdala event = £39. I've now got enough left over for the price of a London pint of beer! Hahaha

At The Cricketers in Westcliff on Easter Sunday. Our "long-awaited" debut at this venue. I've wanted to get in here for a while - it's one of the good ones on the local circuit. Someone who used to work at another local pub where we play approached us to play at this venue as "he knew what we can do" and convinced his boss to book us. It turns out we didn't disappoint! It was a little quieter than I had hoped for, but Easter Sunday evening is an odd one. But the people there were up for a proper party and stayed till the end. The chap who booked us told us his boss was very happy. He also said he's looking at putting on a cover band event at their music venue next door that they also run (locals will know this as the former "Club Riga" venue bar - which was quite a popular venue for originals and tribute bands. I even saw Michael Schenker and Blaze Bailey play in there several years ago). Anyway, he said they've just got it up and running again and want to put on a cover bands event with the best bands in the area and has invited us to join the roster... which is nice. A couple of other people involved in local bands told us they really enjoyed our set and performance, too. I was very happy with our performance considering we were a man down (guitarist on holiday), which meant the other guitarist wasn't able to double on keys, which restricted our set choice a little. We also had a dep drummer as our usual drummer was watching West End show with his family and wouldn't have made it back in time to set up. He actually showed up to watch halfway through the evening, so we dragged him up for a song. As such, me and the sole guitarist had to work a little harder and creatively. I got to use my "Eliminate the guitarist" Helix preset for a few songs, which blends in an octave-up driven guitar tone as well as power chords with my standard bass tone. Sounded great to my ears, and filled a hole during a couple of solos.

Pictures say all that needs to be said, it's taken me a while to get here, but I suspect that of all the fretless Precisions I've owned (P, PJ, PP, PM) and all of the board materials I've used with them - rosewood, ebony, maple, graphite - this is by a long way the sweetest. Classic Vibe body, PUP, and circuit (the PUP as I'd been told would be the case, is very very good indeed), paired with a stunning Warmoth neck. First rehearsal tonight

And finally, fully assembled, the slightly briefer briefcase:

Out for a gig last week....

It's getting dangerously close to a tone wood argument I'll admit

+1 I would rather a bit of hardware with a roadmap of updates and long life than reactive bringing out the next big thing every year or so.

I've only ever bought a bass off a Reverb seller once, and it was a complete success. Ergo, there's absolutely nothing wrong with Reverb, you're all crazy, what the hell are you all talking about?

Got this beast on loan:

All going ahead though a 2 year wait, counting down the days already.

Busy day…

I remembered I had some cow print fabric on a shelf in the workshop so I thought I'd try and have a go at doing a fabric top on the hidden pickup bass Just gotta wait till tomorrow so the epoxy is fully cured so I can sand the top back flat.......👍🏻🤟🏻

I’ve always liked the single-cut SM2, and when one became available from Jones Basses, I just couldn’t resist—I had to buy it! 😅 I’m glad I did, because the craftsmanship is top-notch. Surprisingly, the bass balances quite well too. Mind you, even if it didn’t, I’d be fine with it since I mostly play sitting down anyway. Tone-wise, it’s very versatile with a strong midrange presence. The action is perfectly set. Super happy with the bass that I am going to have another one built with the multi-coil configuration. 😑

I've owned a CV-5 and loved it, except for the fact that despite the J-buckers' and coil tap switches' versatility it couldn't sound like a Jazz Bass. I recently pulled the trigger on a J5 and totally love it. Schecter is awesome quality, and their thin C neck profile is just superb 👍

The very business model of PP is to scam out some sizeable pocket change from all parties involved. Google "Honey browser extension scandal", owned by PP... literally everyone involved lost money, except PP. Sorry, I am a very passionate PP hater. 😁

IIRC, Line 6 said they planned for the Helix platform to last around 10 years before being succeeded by the next generation. Since then, they have been great with firmware updates and have added some fantastic features and models. I'm quite grateful for that sort of roadmap, as I don't want to have to replace my hardware every other year to get new features. Quite a brave move for a hardware company. And let's not forget, the prices of new units are the same as they were 10 years ago. That 10-year estimate expires this year, so I expect to see something new from them soon. I suspect they have not been sitting on their laurels and will have a few exciting things for Helix 2.0.

I have been testing different IEMs these last gigs and I think I can comment some thoughts about them: Sennheiser IE100 pro. The most comfortable headphones I ever had. Flat response. Everything is there, but not in a spacial way. Nice bass, mids and highs. I can hear my whole band and myself without any problem. Isolation is nice. KZ ZS10 pro X. They sound terrific. Everything is there, good bass and nice mids. I can hear everything very clearly. My only issue with them is that I am not that comfortable with them. I tried several buds and I cannot feel really comfortable with them. Isolation is nice. All my bandmates use them. KZ Castor (bass enhanced). This set is what KZ recommends for bass players. They include switches to change the eq. They sound good. However, if you have some bass boost, the bass sounds really artificial. There is sub bass, but it is not very defined. I think they are a little bit more comfortable than the ZS10. Isolation is the same than the ZS10. I prefer the ZS10 overall, but they are really nice headphones. KZ ZST. Really good headphones. All the frequencies are heard and you can hear all your bandmates. They sound similar to the ZS10, but the ZS10 sound more spacial IMO. Bass is good and defined. Isolation is the same as the other KZ models. MEE6 pro. Nice and very comfortable. Soundwise are a little bit worse than the Sennheiser or the KZ. I have ordered the Seinnheiser IE400 pro to see if there is much of a difference.

Thanks for the demo. Now I just gotta do my typing exercises every day so I can fill in the form quickly enough on the next round of orders

To be fair, there is a certain amount of micturational extraction by Aliexpress sellers. I have found the sales people are often obsessed with commission at the expense of everything else, including their jobs. In their minds, so long as they are selling something that looks like the photo, any deviation in materials from the agreed specification isn't important to them. Their mindset is opportunistic, irresponsible and at times disingenuine...a bunch of cowboys. I had dealings with a company called Shenzhen Grand which left me out of pocket and with a bitter taste in my mouth at the games they were playing. They were good at making amps but their instruments were less playable than a wishbass. The good luthiers in China (and I have found one that could rival Fodera) don't need to sell on Aliexpress.

Screwing rubber feet onto shiny new Markbass cabs might affect your warranty, and with a lot of lightweight thinner walled cabs, there often isn't a great deal of wood to hold a screw for a decent sized rubber foot. I recently road tested an LFSYS Goodwood cab and it had no feet, but did have hard plastic stackable corners. At under 9kg, there wasn't a lot of weight to 'plant' it on a hard wood floor. The simple solution was to use a 'mighty mat' non slip carpet mat, the type that can be bought cheap at most DIY or convenience stores. Protects the cab, stops it slipping around, also protects the flooring, and no need for rubber feet. Saying that, I will always fit decently large rubber feet on bigger and used cabs and amp heads, even if they have stackable plastic corners like Markbass kit has. For brand new stuff with a warranty, I'd prefer using a mighty mat.

Will they be renaming it to Deluxe Reverb or Twin Reverb now?

Oh hey — Reverb here. 👋 Just to clarify, Reverb is not being purchased by Fender. Two new investors—Creator Partners + Servco—have entered an agreement to purchase Reverb. I think the confusion probably stems from the fact that Servco has a long history with Fender stretching back to the '50s, and is now a majority owner of Fender. Once the deal closes, although we'll share a common investor with Fender, Reverb will be a privately-held, independently operated company. You can read more on our blog. Cheers!

So, a 63 body with a 82 neck and a Fralin pickup! It might even be a decent player's instrument, who knows, but ridiculous to be putting it up as a vintage bass with a vintage price tag!

Ryan Martinie has moved to Fodera from Warwick, his signature tone was always a Warwick Thumb, and yet, his Fodera sounds just the same, with a maple neck, korina body with a maple top. The pickups are in that classic Thumb 5 position however, which like you say, has to be the secret sauce... https://fodera.com/collections/signature-instruments-standard-series/products/ryan-martinie-black-beauty-standard-deposit

PB 1814 (Cherry) 1980 PB 1757 (the famous one: Tulipwood) 1982

New update to the nano cortex - 2.0 software which might draw some more bassists who just need a few essentials in a gig bag friendly package with iPad interface. Looks good.

5 feet 6 here, and although I managed with a Thumb BO 5er back in my late teens, early 20s, I wouldn't want to be playing one now in my 40s! I moved it on, primarily as I wanted to go back to a 6 string, and couldn't afford to keep both, but once I went to a more comfortable bass, I could never go back. The sound was immense, they looks SO cool, but ergonomically, a very bad design compared to a lot of others out there, including other basses in the Warwick catalogue.

I've played them in shops and they sounded and felt a little lifeless acoustically. But the amplified sound is pretty good. I've ummed and ahhed over getting one but really need more playing time to decide and it's not like I can walk into a shop where I am and find one so it might have to wait until I'm back in the UK. In the meantime, the Moon MBC5TN I picked up a couple of years ago is virtually identical in construction apart from mahogany body wings so that itch has been scratched more or less.

I went again last night and it was fab. A really welcoming crowd especially the regulars. I chatted to lots of new faces and even had a dance. My friend got mistaken for a drug dealer but we put that to rest quickly. Amber had some compliments on how good she sounded being played with a pick and all was good with the World.

I don't think Reverb can be judged on the people who use their platform, they can't really take action without just cause. Last experience I had on Reverb was trying to land a pair of Alembic pickups for an upcoming project and the guy was pretty unreasonable just because I was in China. I could arrange and pay for my own door to door shipping and he still wanted 30 bucks. He eventually sold them for $100 less than he wanted from me. Similar situation with a rare Carvin FS77 footswitch for a guitar preamp I sold just recently, the seller kept flip flopping until he got a US based buyer. I've had good experiences with UK and European sellers though and the one time I needed support in dealing with a transaction that went a little awry, they stepped in promptly and chucked some Reverb credits at me to compensate for inconvenience.

I've, technically, bought one bass off Reverb, but only because I spotted a bass I wanted that was being sold by a dealer dealing through it. I then went to the dealer's own website and the bass was £800 less than advertised on Reverb, I expect due to their selling fees...Deal done and, although not needed, I expect the aftercare would have been much better if I'd dealt with the dealer directly rather than through Reverb. I'm not deluded in thinking I'm the only person who's done this.

The thing is, it's not "AI", at least not what the originators of that term envisioned back in the 1960s. That's why the actual name of this thing we're talking about is Generative AI. It just consumes huge amounts of existing data and basically rewords it. It's not sentient. It's not intelligent. It's the equivalent of a traditional search that instead of listing the actual source of the results just produces a single summary of the most common results. That's why it's so susceptible to poisoning - get it to ingest enough dodgy source material and you can make it spout any old b*llocks you want it to.

Still want. It's funny, after all these years of not playing a Tobias shaped bass, I really need one in my life again. This one.

I think the 1600 is essentially the bolt on neck version compared to the 3000's neck through build. not certain about all of the fine details, but from what I've seen the electronics etc are the same. Some I've seen listed with rosewood fingerboards rather than the ebony of the 2/3000 but others have stated ebony so not 100% on that. I think they're similarly elusive, not impossible to find, but they certainly don't seem to come up all that often. I belive (although prepared to be corrected) that the 1600 was also called the BBX for some time

Local Social Club in Sunderland called Steels on Saturday night, a bass playing mate sent me this pic. Big club but had a full house with a great crowd in 👍🏼

I own 2 x J5s from Overwater. Both 35 scale's and an absolute dream to play.