obbm

I'm not aware of any inherent musical history in the family although I believe my paternal aunt and grandmother both played the piano. I had trombone lessons at school from the age of 11 but after seeing Little Richard in 1962 built my first, truly dreadful, bass, bought a book and taught myself using the family radiogram as an amplifier. My mother was more tolerant than supportive however she did lend me the money to buy a proper Framus bass and allow the band to rehearse in the front room.

1957. Moved from Cornwall to Surrey, started Grammar School and was encouraged to learn to play the trombone, rather badly. Rock 'N' Roll was just a the latest music fad, of no interest to me, disliked by my parents and anyway it was bound to be replaced by some newer fashion. Fortunately it wasn't, however it took another 3 years for it to click and another 2 years for it to make an everlasting impression when seeing Little Richard live. Out with the trombone and enter the electric bass.

Talking of fret-dressing or refrets, I have a '73 P with some dreadful frets which need sorting. Any recommendations as to where to take it in the South East?

Would the BCer who left a speaker cable with me on Saturday please get in touch by PM. It's sorted and I'd like to send it back to you but don't have details.

The best Bash yet. Thanks to all involved.

[quote name='markstuk' timestamp='1474631915' post='3139410'] I did.. I was asking what the distributors actually do for their cut these days? As in what value they add to the supply chain, not that it costs them money to run their operations... [/quote] Different companies adopt different buiness models. Mesa and Musicman have UK distributors as the middleman between factory and dealer. This makes it easier for the manufacturer as they are only dealing with a single point of contact in each country for ordering. The prospect of a manufacturer having to deal with a myriad of local resellers is a total nightmare which is why they work this way. Fender however have a wholly owned subsiduary, Fender UK, who do much the same but are part of the corporate umbrella and as such have to follow corporate policy with regard to pricing, etc. Quilter currently seem quite happy to deal directly with a sole UK Reseller however if their business grows dramatically and they increase their market presence then they will no doubt go down the Distributor route with a consequential increase in prices to pay for it. Mesa Boogie, for their own business reasons, appointed Westside Distribution as their Distributors. They handle a number of different manufacturers product lines and have offices and warehouse facilities and deal with sales forecasting, ordering, import processing, warehousing and onward shipment of all the products they handle. They pay for UK advertising, exhibition attendance and general marketing. In addition they are response for post-sales warranty so if your Prodigy dies it will have to back to them for it to be fixed at their cost, assuming that it is still within the warranty period. All of this is paid for from the mark-up on the products they are selling as well as salaries, national insurance, business rates, insurance, and all the other overheads that go with running a business. How they apportion mark-ups to their respective products is down to them. One could try and protest by not buying anything in which case they would say there is no market for this product and stop importing it. If you want to continue this discussion tomorrow I'd be more than happy to carry on.

[quote name='markstuk' timestamp='1474631455' post='3139404'] Mesa D800 retail in US - $699. Retail in UK £845 Quilter Block 800 - $599 US retail . Retail in UK £620.. What value is the Mesa distributor adding? [/quote] Read post #66

[quote name='markstuk' timestamp='1474631102' post='3139399'] I do have a mesa :-) but this does not excuse sticking with a distribution and pricing model that stuffs the UK marketplace.. [/quote] Dare I say but Musicman are the same. They have a Distributor and Dealers which is why they are a lot more expensive in the UK than the USA.

[quote name='markstuk' timestamp='1474631045' post='3139398'] So what value are the distributor adding for their 20% in this instance? [/quote] Sorry, which instance?

Like all things in life, if you don't like Mesa's price then don't buy it.

[quote name='markstuk' timestamp='1474630417' post='3139381'] Quilter amp pricing in the UK and Europe appears to follow the £=$ model ... So if they can do it... [/quote] Not a fair comparison as there is no Distributor just one Dealer who probably buys directly from the factory.

[quote name='largo' timestamp='1474628969' post='3139363'] Fair enough, but my experience from buying US products has always been close to paying the same in GBP as you would in USD. A US Fender Precision is about $1350 from Sweetwater & about £1350 from Guitar Guitar. A Mesa Subway D800 is $699 from Sweetwater & £849 from Bass Direct. Personally, I think someone is making more than their fair share on the Mesa gear coming into the UK. [/quote] I suspect that your last point is closer to the truth however you are not comparing like with like. You have to also consider sales volume. Fender sell far more guitars than Mesa sell bass amps. Guitars are easier to support as in general they don't go wrong so mark-ups can be lower as the inbuilt support costs are lower.. If an amp fails then the cost of fixing it is considerably higher. BTW I have no connection with any importer, distributor or dealer, I just speak from experience having worked for 40 years in the high-end electronics industry. It's the way it is and no amount of winging will change it. If you want to pay US prices for something then go there and buy it. Bring back Freddie Laker and Skytrain.

We've been through this debate many times over the years and you have to understand that there are at least 2 companies trying to make a profit out of it. The Distributor and the Retailer. Firstly the distributor's operation. On top of the basic shipping, duty, and tax, they also have staff, general overheads and warehousing costs, warranty support, advertisng, exhibitions plus the cost of distribution to products their dealers. Then you have the Retailers and all their costs who are also making a profit. This is the same for most countries apart from the United States where the retailers are able to buy directly from the manufacturer. The result is a significant hike in the price over here compared to over here. It's just the way the commercial world works and it won't change any time soon.

As well as my kit I'll be bringing a few cables for sale including Sommer instrument leads, Klotz speaker leads and some of the new pedalboard patch cables using the Hicon banjo jacks. Also have some used Neutrik connectors at 50p each. Anyone need anything specific?

If you are sending something abroad and contemplating using the Royal Mail International Track and Sign service be warned. Advertised Specification from the Royal Mail website. [quote][i]Tracked & Signed is a combination service offering [/i][i][b]full end-to-end tracking[/b][/i][i], [/i][i][b]signature on delivery[/b][/i][i] and an [/i][i][b]online delivery confirmation[/b][/i][/quote] The response when a package gets lost is [quote]Items sent via our International Signed service are tracked up to the point where they leave the UK. Once they have left the UK, our Track & Trace system will just show that the items have been passed to the overseas postal service for delivery. These items are signed for by the recipient (not necessarily the addressee)but we cannot supply a copy of the signature. [/quote] Surely this must contavene trading standards or some other legislation.

Jeff bought a set of strings. A very simple and straightforward deal. Top Man.

[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Updated: List of for sale items what a good idea[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]01. Ashdown Rootmaster Mag 212T cab - £60 o.n.o. (silverfoxnik)[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]02. Trace Elliott AH300 head - £120 o.n.o. (silverfoxnik)[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]03. Mesa Boogie Four:88 with footswitch (markstuk) if not sold by then[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]04 Cort A5 Custom SP. (markstuk)[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]05. Allparts Jazz 70's in off-white with maple board/blocks, Wizard pickups & Gotoh bridge (Cetera)[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]06. DeArmond (Guild) Pilot Active Bass (Cetera)[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]07. [/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]08. [/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]09.[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]10. Line 6 Sonic Port Interface for iPad/iPhone/iPod (obbm)[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]11. Knackered blue plastic case containing non-knackered amp leads, guitar leads, a patch lead, and a speakon lead (MacDaddy)[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]12. Warwick Rockbass Streamer Standard 5 String[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]13. Fender Jimmie Vaughan Tex Mex Stratocaster, White with Maple neck and Fender gigbag - £550 o.n.o. (noisyjon)[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]14. Ibanez SR740 - Upgraded £325, [/font][/color]Babicz FCH 4 String Bridge, Chrome[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif] (Grangur)[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]15. EBS Multicomp, EBS Bass IQ, Ashdown Lomenzo Hyperdrive, Gigrig Generator, Distributor and accessories, Diago Gigman pedalboard (Graham)[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]16. MXR Custom Comp CSP202 - £45 (JapanAxe)[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]17. Status S1 5 string headed, funny post box colour! Price? Dunno yet![/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]18. Epiphone Dot Studio (w/mods). Discontinued black, with black hardware and cream binding. Very clean. Hardcase, long throw bridge, Sperzel locking machines, Wilkinson zebra humbucker in the bridge position, Dunlop Straploks, strap. £225.00 for the lot. If no interest, I'll take it home.[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]19. Sandberg vm £650 ish or trade for what have you cash either way as [/font][/color][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][color=#282828]appropriate [/color][/font]

[quote name='NancyJohnson' timestamp='1474207286' post='3136241'] Dave, did I ever tell you that I love you? Krispn, thanks. Dave, are you able to bring it along next week? Cheers P [/quote] Will do.

I've got a 3U EMS case that you can borrow.

Thanks for the comments. Not sure about offering as a raffle prize but I'll happily give them in return for a donation to BC or the SE Bash Charity. I'll take them with me to the Bash next weekend

Over the past years I seem to have changed string quite quite often in an attempt to find which does it for me. Rotosound to DR Sunbeams to DR Lo-Riders, etc. As a result I have discovered that I have a large collection of strings, some of which have hardly been used and which are taking up space. They are now sorted and packaged however they hardly worth selling. What should I do with them? Recycle? Anybody want any?

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1473876682' post='3133817'] Yes, but if the tuning heads have small spindles aren't they small for the full width of the 100 string? I guess that's down to trial and error. [/quote] I work out the length to take the string just beyond the nut and then put on about a cm of heatshrink. sleeving. Cut the string to the required length and then unwind the outer layers back to the heatshrink then it's only the inner core that goes around the tuner. Next job is to find some better tuners.

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1473876177' post='3133807'] Piccolo strings? [/quote] They appear to be small gauge, full length and are tuned up an octave. The ones I've cut down are 40-100 and tuned normally.