neepheid

And we'll keep saying it until people get it.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1382361332' post='2251137'] No pickles, for starters. [/quote] No, stuff 'em in - I like pickles. Nice and tangy in the upper mids.

[quote name='pst62' timestamp='1382367804' post='2251279'] I've just ordered a Hipshot Supertone from the US via ebay Does anyone know if I'm likely to get stung by Customs once it arrives here, and if so wot's the cost likely to be? [/quote] Luck of the draw. You've got a better chance of passing through unhindered if it's a small package, they always seem to target big stuff first (and logically speaking, they're mostly right to do so). I've had a Supertone slip by undetected before. The cost depends entirely on what the value declared is. You'll pay 20% VAT. You'll pay that on goods and carriage cost if it's commercial goods, goods value only if it's marked as a gift (which unless someone is sending you this Supertone FOC, it shouldn't be). You're not in the realms of paying Import Duty - value ought to be too low for this. If it's being sent USPS, they hand over to RM/Parcelforce who will pay the duty on your behalf then bill you for it with an £8 handling charge on top. Fun!

I guess I'd ask the Gibson Custom Shop to make me a Les Paul bass, my way. Haven't decided exactly how that would go though.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1382290462' post='2250189'] She has musical endeavours? Do they coincide with yours in any way? [/quote] Rarely. She's a singing teacher and classical soprano. We've played together a couple of times in makeshift ska/2-tone cover bands though

My wife supports me in my musical endeavours, and I support her in hers.

Any bass I can't afford is overpriced.

Grr!

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1382007467' post='2246584'] Maybe, but I'm from a generation when going against your parent's taste in pretty much everything (especially music) was a required part of discovering who you were. My parents meagre record collection consisted of the blandest of the bland classical music and trad jazz. As I said in my previous post I can't recall having had any interest in music at all until I discovered pop music in the early 70s on Radio 1 - which was never on at home, I had to go away on holiday to hear it for the first time. Even artists as innocuous as Bill Haley and Cliff Richard were considered to be degenerate tuneless noise by my parents... [/quote] Sounds like I got pretty lucky then.

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1382001730' post='2246472'] To me its rather sad that it's acceptable to like your parents' music. The few records my parents owned held no interest in the slightest for me. In fact I can't really remember being interested in music of any kind until I discovered T Rex, Slade, The Sweet etc. An important part of my "growing up" involved rebelling against my parents' taste in almost everything but especially music. [/quote] It's fair enough to hold this opinion, but it saddens me that you found yourself in that situation and it has coloured your judgement in this way. I found my parent's music to be highly entertaining. I was weaned on my Dad's vinyl and cassettes - Cream, Wishbone Ash, Deep Purple, Genesis, ELP, Curved Air, Fleetwood Mac to name a few that I recall and it didn't do me any harm. Loved it then, love it now. I found my Dad's stuff much more interesting than a lot of the pish that came out of the 80s. A sufficient primer in music to keep me interested BECAUSE of what I heard instead of IN SPITE of what I heard (or didn't). My wife's late father was all about the Beach Boys. She still likes 'em too. Maybe it depends when you grew up, and it certainly depends upon who you grew up around. To be honest, I think my parents were/are pretty cool and I didn't have much to rebel against.

Lovely, but can't say I care for the knobs. Not my bass though, so crack on!

You've got nothing to worry about. Distance selling rules will keep you right.

Well it's not me that's using them, but it's Manchester's finest: [url="http://www.manchesterguitartech.co.uk/shop/"]http://www.manchesterguitartech.co.uk/shop/[/url]

Honestly, I don't like hard cases. I only have three, one which was intended for the bass in question, one which came with a bass I bought (the Hiscox the Gibson IV I bought from Hutton came with, funnily enough) and one which I bought early in my bass playing days because I didn't know what I wanted and it had a cool B movie poster printed on the top of the lid. In which basses with angled headstocks don't fit. D'oh! The only time they ever get used is in mass transportation to the bass bash. But that's speaking as someone who generally takes care of his own transport to gigs. If my bass was being thrown in and rattled around in the back of a van that I'm not driving, I might change my opinion. But right now, I can't argue against being able to sling it on my back, so it's gig bags all the way for me. Decent ones, with good padding though. Only sold one hard case separately in my life, and it was a non-original one, so I didn't have a problem with it. Would be inclined to keep hard cases which come with a bass, it's like the whole package.

Some new pics from Rich - the colour starts off a bit wayhey but mellows into a nice deep red with repeated coats:

This information is absolutely no use to you but I just like to mention that the preamp in my Gibson Victory Artist is fully 2 band active and passive. The only annoyance about it is that instead of using concentric pots it uses dual pots. Home position in active is half way round. Home position in passive is 10, obviously. So if you flick to passive, you have to remember to "turn up" (of course I actually mean cut less) the bass and treble. Then you get a nice surprise if you flick back to active, because everything is +5, +5. More Gibson fun/idiosyncrasy/annoyance/WTF for you there

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' timestamp='1381761720' post='2243275'] Probably not rocking hard enough. Common problem with Gibson owners. [/quote] Awa' an' bile yer heid.

Indeed: "We do not recommend sending any item over £1000 as it cannot be covered for more than this value in transit." - from [url="http://www.interparcel.com/help/faq.php"]http://www.interparcel.com/help/faq.php[/url] OK, to rephrase - for a cheapskate like me who has frequently dealt in sub £1000 basses, I have found Interparcel to be brilliant The last time I had a high-ish value trade (Guild B402-A for a G&L El Toro), I did it in person. Approx 400 mile round trip.

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' timestamp='1381753635' post='2243124'] If its a Gibson guitar, they are designed to have the headstock break off (must be, because if it wasn't on purpose, they'd have fixed the issue by now, like every other guitar manufacturer) so most luthiers in the neck repair field will be familiar with the work. [/quote] Aww man, how come none of mine have broken off? By this logic does that mean all my Gibsons are defective?

UPS via Interparcel (take their "Interparcel UK Standard" or "Interparcel Premium" options). My go-to solution and never had a bad experience yet. [url="http://www.interparcel.com/"]http://www.interparcel.com/[/url] ParcelForce are to be avoided because their insurance is unsuitable for any musical instruments worth over £50-200 depending on the service you pick (the faster/more expensive the service, the more inclusive insurance you get). You cannot increase this for musical instruments. Well you can, but it won't pay out. Inclusive insurance as detailed here: [url="http://www.parcelforce.com/help-information/compensation-refunds-and-claims/inclusive-compensation"]http://www.parcelforce.com/help-information/compensation-refunds-and-claims/inclusive-compensation[/url] Quoted from [url="http://www.parcelforce.com/help-information/compensation-refunds-and-claims/items-we-exclude-compensation"]http://www.parcelforce.com/help-information/compensation-refunds-and-claims/items-we-exclude-compensation[/url] : "Musical instruments - no enhanced compensation is available"

Meh, unfunny crap, the only redeeming feature of that vid that it's not happening to any of my basses.

Putting my scientist hat on, I'd say that an electric bass is a collision of coincidences, guided in the general direction of perfection by a combination of skill, experience, intuition and luck.

I am loving this.

[quote name='Ou7shined' timestamp='1381576217' post='2240803'] Are we confusing mud with bass? .... tone vs frequency [/quote] Stirrer