bassbloke

My tale is more a weekend of fun and games that I experienced when I was in my first band years ago (1995 I think) A name Swedish Death band was touring the OK and we'd been booked to open for their final show - London on a Sunday night. Wicked! I got a phone call from the London promotr on Friday mornign to say that the tour manager alleged he'd been mugged in Manchester and that he was carrying all of the cash needed for the tour, including payment for the coach company. Very fishy. Upon hearing of this, the coach company promptly announced they were returning to Sweden. If the headline and main support (also Swedish) wanted to get home with their gear they would have to cut short the tour, else the company would leave them in the UK. The 2nd support band werer from Belgium and decided that they'd be better off trying to get home from England. The promoter asked if we'd be willing to play the remaining dates of the tour so that the 2nd support could have a go at flogging some merchandise and at least making a few quid. The only problem is that they had no transport. We turn up at the first gig in Tunbridge Wells to find that there's no way the 2nd support can play. So, a 5 band bill featuring 3 name bands is suddenly reduced to a two band bill featuring a couple of demo bands.There was a queue of nearly 200 people outside and the venue aren't exactly publicising the billing. I had to walk the queue constantly to explain the situation. Thankfully the crowd are understanding and most demand a decent amount off the door price too. Next nigt's gig is in Milton Keynes. We load into our band transport -a Bedford rascal - and head on up to the gig. This time the Belgian band are playig but they have no transport whatsoever. WE do the gig and then the promoter plays his trump card-we need to get the Belgian band back to London. We drove down the M1 with 8 people and our backline wedged into the back of a 1.3 litre Bedford Rascal! And so went the weekend. We finally got roped into driving the band back to Dover so they could get the ferry back. They ended up leaving their backline with some strange witch they'd met in Canterbury and arranged for one of them to go backand get it later. Most of my gigs nowadays are more straightforward

I have a full set of 14" steel rims suitable for a Ford, Peugeot, Citroen. Thy're four stud 108mm PCD and in good condition. I also have a set of four Peugeot hubcabs from a 306 DTurbo. These would make good spares - stick snow tyres on them and keep them in the garage or a good upgrade for the 13"rims on a 106. Collection only from Chessington, Surrey

I have just ordered a J3ZD for my US Deluxe V. A snip at £104 inc priority express USPS shipping. It's sure to be a major improvement on the stock Fender preamp. Can't wait.

Not as harsh as the €250 I been quoted just for a replacement power board for my Tech TVM350. That's a £200 repair with guarantee that it'll fix the problem.

The Eden Nemesis silver series combos have got to be worth a look Andertons are knocking them out for a good price [url="http://www.andertons.co.uk/acatalog/Bass_Guitar_Amps.html"]http://www.andertons.co.uk/acatalog/Bass_Guitar_Amps.html[/url]

Just don't stare at the LEDs too much. [url="http://texyt.com/bright+blue+leds+annoyance+health+risks"]http://texyt.com/bright+blue+leds+annoyance+health+risks[/url]

Keep the Mackie, The two Akai pedals and the guitar. Flog the rest and buy a decent quality multi FX unit second hand - either rackmount or floor based. Could I have a price on the Korg Pandora by the way? I love mine and dread the day it finally dies. If I didn;t keep it, I have a few bass playing friends that would appreciate it.

[quote name='stingrayfan' post='36228' date='Jul 24 2007, 07:51 AM']They look like the Village People. Or maybe the Scissor Sisters![/quote] Or extras from the original Battlestar Galactica.

[quote name='mikeh' post='37537' date='Jul 26 2007, 09:26 PM']I wouldnt mind but it looks like its been cobbled together with drift wood aswell!!![/quote] Drift wood! Our bass uses a revolutionary new composite material called papier mache.

[quote]Q: what gauge are the strings? A: HI, THANK'S FOR THE INTEREST. THE STRING'S ARE SIZE'S: .45 .50 .55 .60 .65 .70 .80 .90 .95 .100 .105 .110 .125[/quote] How are you supposed to tune it in? 2nds?

100% fingers. I rarely come across a situation where I am unable to keep up and, to be honest, if I was to play that fast it'd sound messy,so I'm better writing a more appropriate part.

Only the POD XT Pro has a DI out.

I sent my usual friendly [i]'Hello, I'm based nearby and work in London, could I pay cash and collect in person. I have plenty of positive feedback'[/i] message and got a terse reply stating [i]'mail order only'[/i]. He also doesn't take paypal. Make of that what you will...

[quote name='ste_m3' post='33030' date='Jul 17 2007, 01:37 PM']Yeahhhh! The 810 is on its way! I shall have lots of pictures and a write up when it gets here, hopefully tomorrow![/quote] Do you have a car?

If it were me, I'd opt for the Aguilar for the simple reason that you can use it on any bass and it won't cost anything to fit. Also, the only easy way to add that preamp to a P -bass is to hope there's sufficient body routing underneath the scratchplate to house the preamp and battery clip. the shape of the P-bass scratchplate means you have to stick the battery below the pickup, so battery changes would involve removing a dozen screws. You'd also have to wrap the battery and wedge it under the plate to stop it moving about. Too much hassle.

You can draw parallels between ebay and car boot sales,which started out as genuine places to find real bargains and items of curiosity. Now, the dealers and cowboys have moved in and most car boot sales are just dumping grounds for over-priced crap and dodgy far eastern produce.

There is such a thing as choice. If you don;t like private auctions, then make a point of not participating in them. Everyone I've dealt with on ebay has been decent. I've bought and sold several amps and basses and all manner of other items and I've never been ripped off, swindled or given too much of a run around and the reason for that is because I avoid stuff that looks too good to be true. If you're interested in a high value item and on first contact, the buyer is unapproachable and evasive, walk away! It's not worth the hassle.

Leave the $$ with a reliable and trustworthy friend who would at least get some use ou of it and look after it properly. I'm taking care of a pair of Stingray Vs for a mate of mine who is working in Azerbhajan at the moment. I rarely take them out of the house. Certainly wouldn't gig them, unless I had his blessing. However, they get some use, have had decent strings put on them and he knows they're better off with me than sitting in a Lok 'n' Store. Don;t buy a bass here to take wth you. Wait til you get to the states and buy something there- take advntage of that exchange rate. You'll get something nice for your money and it'll be an extra special momento of your days travelling.

[quote name='Stan_da_man' post='32033' date='Jul 15 2007, 12:04 PM']The gear we buy is purely down to how much you can afford, what the sound is like and how well it copes in live situations.[/quote] Or what other people think of it.

NC810 - RRP £1299, Now £499.99 A 400Watt, 8 x 10 combo for £499.99. That's offensive.

You can watch it on the E4 website, but not if you're a sucker running Vista Business Edition like me.

The hole placement on the Badass V is very different to the bridge layout on a MIM jazz V. I had to get mine fitted professionally. The holes do line up properly with a US Deluxe jazz, but you cannot string through body. I don;t think a Schaller is a straight fit eiher.