jazzyvee

[quote name='crez5150' post='897583' date='Jul 17 2010, 08:37 PM']As someone who has been Audited twice for band earnings.... I say regardless of how much you earn (unless its a paltry sum) DECLARE, DECLARE, DECLARE!!!!! I paid £33 tax on my last tax return[/quote] I agree I declare all and include reciepts for everything, rehearsals, strings, cases etc etc. An artiste I worked with a few years ago had a tax audit and they went through his stuff then asked him a general comment about a specific music festival as if he was interested personally. The artiste replied yes that he has been there but never played there, at which point the tax man produced a poster from his briefcase listing the artiste as headlining the festival. you can imagine how thorough the rest of that audit went. Its worth remembering from a tax point of view and also if you are on social security. Tax & DHSS people still have private lives and they could be at one of your gigs as a punter and recognise you when you sign on, ( again that has happened to a musician I've worked with), or get audited. So my view is that if you are doing something public like gigs are, it is safer to declare it pay your taxes and protect yourself from tax or DHSS fraud. If you are declaring you probably will not as you say end up paying much if any tax unless you are doing big stuff. I think my biggest tax bill for music was about £35 5 years ago on a good year when I was touring a lot. But then because I have a day job all my music earnings go back into upgrading, maintaining equipment etc. so I'm technically always running at a loss. Jazzy vee

[quote name='lozbass' post='852681' date='May 31 2010, 03:04 PM']That's a good question and one to which I don't have a ready answer (I'll do a bit of research!) It sounds a bit weird to talk of 'high-end' Alembics (they're all stratospheric!) but I know what you mean. The sigs and up tend to have a bridge block (a big piece of brass bolted into the body into which the bridge is fitted) - the idea is that this contributes to the distinctive tone of an Alembic...I'm not at all technically knowledgeable but those versed in physics can probably provide an explanation. The electronics also undoubtedly add a lot - I don't necessarily find them clinical (though it's such a subjective term) - indeed, with all the filters and boosters open wide, they sound huge! I'm trying to be objective here too - I've never heard any other bass with such an enormous, dynamic, ringing tone - no problem at all for big, brash, clanging rock.[/quote] Hi I'm a new member, a long time alembic owner and this is my first response. i'm an exclusively alembic bass player and have a number of their basses short scale 4 and long scale 4 and 5 string basses. The closest long scale bass that has simple controls like a spoiler is I would say the standard alembic Elan which has volume pan and low pass filter. It is also an all maple body and neck is maple with some slim walnut laminates, so the tone has a lot of high end frequencies without losing the bottom end. Most of the more higher end Alembics have the bridge bolted to a large brass sustain block. The idea being to keep the vibrating string vibrating for longer whilst reducing some of the higher levels of attenuation that would be experienced if the bridge was bolted directly to the body and hence improves sustain of the vibrating string. I don't find any of their instruments sterile sounding at all. I think one of the key things about their basses is their pickups and electronics. Their pickups, unlike most other manufacturers, are low impedance and "non voiced". The are just designed to reproduce as accurately as possible the signal from the vibrating string. The pre-amp and filters allows for a very wide, useable and versatile tonal spectrum. I wouldn't be interested in anything else. Jazzyvee