mcnach

[quote name='Monkey Steve' timestamp='1476289916' post='3153098'] I'm currently on my second Mk 2 five string - always regretted selling the first (needed the cash at the time) not just for the excellence of the bass but also for the circumstances of buying it. I had the money, right at the point in (I think, if my memory serves) the late 90's or early 00's that Wal had just stopped supplying shops and moved to custom orders only. So after ringing around the London shops to no avail, I made a call to Pete, who responded with his his best plumber's impression and sucking air through his teeth "ooh, no, you'll have to wait about six weeks for us to build you one...but what are you after?" Well, a Mk 2 fiver. To which he responded "if you want one in walnut and can get here this week I can help you out". Trip to High Wycombe the next day, to be picked up by Pete at the station ("you'll never find us, easiest if you ring me when you get there") and back to the workshop where he presented me with a bass to try and the explanation that they'd built it for a customer in South Africa who had just put off his trip to collect it for six weeks and they could get another one built for him by then. Gorgeous bass, I'll take it. "How would you like to pay?" Waves credit card. "No, we don't take those...can you get cash out on it? See, you'll want a case, and then there's the VAT so that's well over two grand, and if you write me a cheque I have to put it through the books and all sorts and it's a lot of hassle for everybody. But if you give me, say..." Pete looks at empty wallet "...£1500 cash then it saves us all that trouble doesn't it?" I didn't have to think very long. Drives me to the bank, cash withdrawn, bass secured... "Now, I can't give you a receipt because that'll go through the books, but I can give you a 'valuation' and that's enough for any insurer if you want cover for it" Writes out the not-receipt. If my insurers had ever had to pay a claim and contacted Wal to check they would have found no record of the bass with that serial number being manufactured. I do wonder how many other "undocumented" Wal's there are out there. Then Pete asks "when do you need to be off?" Er, no hurry, I just want to avoid the rush hour. "Great, lets go to the snooker club!" And we spend the rest of the afternoon in Pete's favoured watering hole chewing the fat and getting quietly drunk, him insisting on paying for all the beer, what with him now having a very fat wallet. He then made me promise to bring the bass back in a month or so's time so that they could make any tweaks required after it's settling in period, and if could maybe get there a bit earlier to give us some more time in the pub...the bass didn't need tweaking but I still made the return trip. Just to make sure there was nothing that an experienced professional like Pete could spot that I'd missed, you understand. Great bloke. Sorely missed (as was the bass, less sorely missed now that I have a replacement). [/quote] what a fantastic story

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1476278178' post='3152950'] I think it's easy to jump to the conclusion here that a "bedroom noodler" is happy to be exactly that. I would love to gig. I get bored and fed up playing stuff in musical scores. I dream of playing in a band. Bach's Cello stuff is NOT what I want to do. I never did. On the other hand, what is more sad, playing Bach and developing reading skills, or playing old covers bass lines along with a band on an MP3 who will never notice if I stop as they already have a bass player on the track. Whatever you reconsider is the answer to that question, I can't get the old Beatles track out of my head; "He's a real nowhere man, sitting in his nowhere land making all his nowhere plans for nobody". [b]No, I'm not happy with my lot.[/b] Geek also isn't happy with his lot too on the odd day, same as a few others here. But we have made our bed and we lie in it. As for me I'm craps at playing. I'm getting quite good at fixing basses up though and it makes a good distraction from the playing. Sorry for the rant. I'm not really upset. I just feel this needs to be clear to some who may make assumptions. Thank you all for being a great bunch of people. [/quote] Is anybody ever happy? No matter what I do... I always think there's something else I could do that I might like more. I never "arrive" I started as a guitarist (don't hate me! ) and all I wanted to do is play a bit of an AC/DC song. That's it. Not even the whole song! Then I thought "oh, I could maybe stretch to X"... and X kept moving. And I became an ok bedroom guitarist without pretensions beyond that. I recorded things and I was happy. Then I tried playing with others. Eventually I found some cool people and I enjoyed that. So playing in a band would be cool, who would have thought it? Then I discovered bass... which would be handy to add to my recordings. But as I started to pay more attention to the bass I realised that there were some really cool stuff you could do with a bass (I know, I know)... and the same story: at first I was happy with doing A, but once you do A you think "maybe I would like to try B"... and so on, without implying it's a progression where things are better the further along you go. Each step results in something I enjoy, whether it is playing by myself at home, recording or whatever. That's why I continue: because I enjoy what I'm doing, not because I aspire to some undefined goal. But everytime I change what I do, I think of new things I could do. It never ends. It's teh journey, not the destination. And if someone wants to deride another because they have 1500 gigs under they belt and the other person "just" plays at home for their own enjoyment... let them. There are idiots in any field and if they are so insecure they need to feel better about themselves by putting someone else down, it's really just their own problem and probably best to leave them in their own self-centered world. Fortunately the vast majority here are not like that. And the OP certainly isn't one of them. Sometimes when someone gets offended it's really just in their head and there's very little we can do about that. We can't go through life double-measuring everything we do or say in case someone may take something the wrong way. It's their job to understand things before getting upset at them. And this is really not a dig at anybody, we all sometimes take things the wrong way at some point. It's just human. We make mistakes. Then hopefully we rectify and move on. Nobody dies and we continue playing

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1476280024' post='3152978'] In my mind I was thinking of the shop, rather than the Factory. That would be a nice enough visit.. [/quote] actually that's what I thought too...

[quote name='Muzz' timestamp='1476278237' post='3152952'] Every single day. Not for nothing is the phrase "She's with the tuba player" one of the rarest ever heard... [/quote] !!!

[quote name='timmo' timestamp='1476279430' post='3152970'] that is the reason i never imparted any comments. Mine work great and sound great, but I am comparing them against cheap hifi stuff, so I have no idea how they sound against others. They could be crap for all I know ☺ [/quote] I wouldn't say they're crap either I liked them enough to buy them in the first place. But then I found I like the M50 better. They seem better built too.

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1476270743' post='3152836'] That would depend, amongst other factors, of there being a monitor channel free for this. Modern digital desks usually have enough monitor outputs, but many traditional desks have only 2 for monitors; maybe 4, and they may all be used, in which case you'd have to share a mix with others. Just a thought. [/quote] Most places I play have digital desks, and for others, I don't mind sharing a mix: it can often be better than what I get without the headphones, I'm sure.

[quote name='RockfordStone' timestamp='1476271876' post='3152851'] i've noticed this before i have always found it strange that on a forum of bass players where we talk about bass, there seems to be groups that look down on those that aren't fully working musicians at times.... surely the point is that we ARE playing bass, regardless of if it is at wembley or aunt fanny's back room? [/quote] yeah, some may imply that but... that's not what the OP or the vast majority here said

[quote name='EBS_freak' timestamp='1476267919' post='3152800'] That's my mate Alan - he used to do some mean swirling on guitars... but the chemicals was beginning to have an impact on his health so he gave it up. I still think he is/was the best swirl painter ever. Anyway, this is his new bag now. Top guy. [/quote] Oh, cool! He was great to deal with. I saw some of his swirl work on the website, really good stuff.

[quote name='TrevorR' timestamp='1476268102' post='3152803'] Not if a Wal costs the same as an imported Lakland! [/quote] if an imported Lakland cost as much as a Wal costs now, then I would not be able to have one of those either

I'm completely ignorant about this... so excuse me if my question makes no sense Would it be unrealistic for just one band member to go IEM? As in... this bass player here Would it be possible to invest on something that I can carry with me and give to the soundguy to provide me with my own mix in my IEM earphones? I don't think my band is ready/willing to move all to IEM, and I play in several bands. If there's a relatively uncomplicated way that I can be independently IEM'd wherever I go, I think I and my ears would love that.

[quote name='scrumpymike' timestamp='1476260364' post='3152697'] OK then, who would be up for a UK M-Club factory visit in Spring '17? Perhaps based on cheap flights to a nearby airport (assuming there is one) and local B&B-type accommodation with at least a full day available in the factory. If there's a demand for a group of, say, 6-8 of us, I'll run this by Adrian, get some prices, and do the organising. Do you think Adrian would be OK with this pierreganseman? [/quote] I'd be up for that. Sounds fun

[quote name='TrevorR' timestamp='1476239168' post='3152616'] And we'll all play our Wals through them! [/quote] you're a cruel cruel man

[quote name='project_c' timestamp='1476234682' post='3152611'] Don't Barefaced cabs use imported materials? Like neodymium? What british materials could you replace that with? Also - even though they're great - what if that's not the sound you're after? [/quote] My comment was in jest, as JTUK doesn't particularly like BF cabs

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1476215060' post='3152456'] and most of them done in a pretty average way. [/quote] ... by definition

[quote name='timmo' timestamp='1476198695' post='3152211'] Only used PJB 850-H [/quote] I had a pair which was ok but I never loved them. It started dropping the sound on one side (it wasn't the cable) and got rid off them and now I use Audio Technica ATH-M50 which I feel are a lot better.

[quote name='Sammers' timestamp='1476197106' post='3152197'] Audio Technica ATH-M50's for me. First saw them on the Snarky Puppy live recording videos and thought if they're good enough for those guys they're good enough for me. Use them with a Peavy practice amp, works perfectly at any volume! [/quote] That's what I use, I quite like them.

I wanted to get a pair of Area J pickups, and for some reason not many places in the UK sell them. In addition, they're all black. I came across a place where you can get anything DiMarzio makes, and order custom pickups too. So if you fancy some unsual combination, this would be a good place to go. The guy I dealt with was great, and very fast to respond. My cream Area J pickups should be here some time next week... [url="http://www.pickupmagnet.co.uk/store.html"]http://www.pickupmagnet.co.uk/store.html[/url] Nothing to do with me, I just found the shop very useful and I thought others may benefit too.

[quote name='deksawyer' timestamp='1476199967' post='3152235'] I have a 1980 Custom, and it does sound great - it sounds very compressed on the bridge pickup fully on with a very nice attack/bite to all the strings - I rarely use the neck pickup although I sometimes blend a wee bit in to add a bit of girth. No other bass sounds like it, although a Stingray can sound close (ish) in my opinion, but is a bit more aggressive. My Stingray (and my RAY34 for that matter) feel nicer to play as well, and the weight is not so bad with a neoprene Mega strap. I'm gonna have a local builder make me a fretless neck sometime... D. oh, and here it is.. [/quote] That is a beauty!

[quote name='scrumpymike' timestamp='1476202087' post='3152267'] Tidings of great joy!! Just discovered that the tone pot on my Cazpar 4p is also a push-pull knob that switches the humbie to single-coil mode. That puts the cherry on top of a very nice cake. [/quote] Ha! I had the same on my first Jake... cool surprise!

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1476035710' post='3150687'] If I had £3k ear marked for a bass it wouldn't be going anywhere near a Metro. Yes, we need a revote, so we can have nice cheap basses what were people thinking..!!! [/quote] If things keep going this way, one day you would only be able to afford Barefaced cabs. Think about it

[quote name='project_c' timestamp='1476112819' post='3151411'] Tanglewood it is then. Everyone looking forward to their new Tanglewood british bass? Mm, i can't wait. Or will you splash out on that chinese Squier once Mexican Fenders become unaffordable? Or just go the whole way and remortgage your 6 bedroom house for an MIA? (unless MIA now stands for Made In Africa, in which case it'll be fine). Does anyone actually want to live in a country where no products from abroad are available, (unless they're cheap pound shop garbage, or immensely expensive)?? That's what happened in Eastern Europe under communist rule, no? [/quote] Maybe we'll stop being so extravagant and own maybe a couple of basses, or three... instead of the collections a few here seem to hoard Even £3000 is not a huge amount if you think of it as an instrument that you might use for decades. be grateful you're not a pianist... or even a tuba player!

[quote name='molan' timestamp='1476047662' post='3150871'] One potential customer last week wanted us to sell below cost simply because prices have risen so much recently! [/quote] Ha! I should try that next time I go shopping

[quote name='TimR' timestamp='1476182526' post='3151981'] There's a difference between not liking, being indifferent and being too picky and choosy. I've come across musicians who just won't play certain tunes for no other reason than they don't like the artist. Put 4 people like that in the room and you start to severely limit the music you're going to play. Playing in a band is all about compromise, if the members of the band aren't going to compromise on anything then you won't get anywhere. [/quote] absolutely. even in my originals band there's a few songs that not all of us like that much... but if a couple of the members really liked them, we developed them and we play them. Some songs I enjoy more than others, big deal... if I chose only to play the ones I really liked I would probably be at home a lot more There are a few songs I *hate*... but even those I could play from time to time. I think I like music above all, and playing a few songs that don't 'speak to me' sometimes is a small price to pay for all the other moments.

[quote name='mrtcat' timestamp='1476135118' post='3151735'] Haha yes they must look kinda familiar to you ;-) [/quote] I thought so but wasn't sure

[quote name='ambient' timestamp='1476139035' post='3151767'] I think the posting of Wal based threads should be banned . [/quote] I think I'm with you on this one... I keep getting flashbacks to Saturday's gig... I'm so happy he was a lefty, as otherwise I'd have tried that bass, and I might now be out there selling my body to get the funds