BaggyMan

UPS: No problems, I am sure other have, but they have been on the money every time for me even internationally (Portugal and two to France) PostOffice: Bass went missing got less than the value back and didn't get the postage refunded. They also managed to reduce the recipients wife to tears blaming her for not paying attention. Second occasion they swore blind the address of the house next door was the delivery address, who obviously objected that they had it wrong. So, they said "so you are refusing delivery.." In the end they returned it back to me. n finally left a Fender Jazz in a fully marked Fender box behind my dustbins, didn't leave a card or email, I found it three days later (two of which had rained all day.) Hermes: Missed two delivery dates even though they agreed to both, then said they didn't have the package, then found it, and delivered it to the wrong address. Now this with Argos refusing the parcel because of the size, they knew my address and contact details yet wanted to send it back to the sender. TNT: bit expensive but ok

So, over on the auction website that must not be named, I purchase a G&L L2500. Much happiness and excitement, but with a lot on the to do list this week the hour each way to pick it up was out of the question. Option available "deliver to Argos for local pickup". Handy thinks I, saves missing the courier etc. Pays up and waits. Normally if I ship a bass I use UPS (I know some don't like 'em...) as I have had no issues and normally a couple of days turnaround. did the deal on the Monday with a vie that it may turn up in time to gig on the Saturday. Update says yesterday..(one week and a day to go 25 miles or so..nice) Check the courier...the dread Hermes. every dealing I have ever had has had 'issues'. So checked the status on the due date, still not delivered, with a note saying the were trying to contact the sender to return it...from a depot 1 mile away from the Argos they were supposed to deliver it to. Turns out this particular depot has a history of high value 'missing items'. Quite unhappy I get down to the depot to be confronted with a sign on the depot door "parcel inquiries not available , ring this number..sign'. Moving from DEFCON 2 to 1 I tail gate man employee, and (somewhat amazingly) remaining civil request a "WTF is going on?" status. The guy was quite helpful (a first for this lot) and finds my parcel to inform me that they tried to deliver to Argos, only to be told the parcel was too big for Argos to accept. So luckily me picking it up stopped them from returning the damn thing and wasting my £35. Massively slow delivery, bad communications, not contact lines , and no customer services at the depot. Ebay offering a service that Argos doesn't support. Dumbfounded. Who do I shout at or even how. Especially, after a recent run in with the post office who lost a bass I shipped with them and with casual indifference didn't even bother to apologise. Pfft...definitely resent handing over monies and insurance premiums to cover the inept handling of the couriers who should have some legal duty of care for your item you have paid for a service to deliver. And yet we even have to insure for if they lose or damage it.

@odysseus Succinctly put. I guess its the attitude I was commenting on, its a horses/courses deal. I am doing the covers band things and a separate originals/rock stretch to play project as well. So covering the bases (basses...). Was nice to play to a packed pub.

Not sure if I am making a point out just meandering through thoughts from the weekend...who knows. I have been playing live since 1986 and across the years I have played songs like 'mustang sally' 'black magic woman' ...'sweet home Chicago etc more time than I suspect I even can remember/count. In the latter years there is definitely a dialogue amongst fellow musicians along the lines 'I aint playing that old *&^%", and whatever you play someone in the crowd requests one or more of the above. Now this of course is the covers band circuit gigs, if you are presenting original material request like this are even more annoying...'play something we know...". Normally to indifferent crowds in half full pubs. So, this Saturday I played in a covers RnB /soul band and played every 'classic' under the sun. The pub was packed, everybody had a great time. Probably one of the liveliest and fun gigs I have had in a while. Sure its bread and butter pub stuff, but hey why not it was fun. So I guess my thought is, do we do we kind of shut ourselves off just because it easy to play and well know, and forget just to have fun with it sometimes..?

The one i have hankered after since first seeing it in the 90's yet only seen a couple and always in photos, never in the flesh.. the Peavey b quad 4. Never played one but just wow...what a bass. Rare as heck, mad and unreliable electronics.....maybe its a never meet your hero's moment bass wise..

So, who out there bought into the signature bass market? and how did it work out. My stories 1. Billy Sheehan Guitar 1. A Yamaha ltd pacifica, budget friendly "single out with a guitar hum bucker at the neck" version. Needed a fret job to prevent blood loss, in the end. Swapped out the bucker for a real Dimarzio, good sounding bass. also added a d-tuner that never got used. Looked the part though. Guitar 2. A proper £1000+ Mk1 Billy Sheehan Pacifica. Huge in every way, sound neck. Beast of a bass. Conclusion: The proper one sounded great ...as long as you wanted 'that Billy' sound. seems like a dumb thing to expect it to be all things to all men...but its was brilliant at its job but nothing outside (cue: howls of Pacifica owner rage comments..) 2. Geddy Lee Bought in early to this and got a CIJ Jazz. What a bass..loved it.clanky and very Geddy like. Terrible machine heads... Conclusion: More like a Jazz than a 'Geddy only' bass. Great neck (marmite comment I know some people dont like thin necks). A mate of mine owned a twin neck Wal for a spell (he collected Wal's..) apparently the number 2 of 2 originally designed for Jonas Hellborg, midi, fretless huge. In the end a novelty coffee table sized bass. So who else...Macca hofner, the fella from the foo's p bass, more exotic one off's . Interested how people have get on trying to swim in the same pool as their hero's...Was it worth it?

Have owned a bunch over the years but cream of the crop have been Yamaha 425x Sire V3 (astonishing value for money). I have one for sale but even new they are in your price range Sire V7, secondhand they are a good buy Ibanez BTB - fancy woods big and chunky bass, monorail bridge. Nice all round bass

good chat folks.

the whole 'what wood from where' debate is another level of confusion. I asked a question about what companies were the most environmentally aware in a letter to bass player magazine years ago. The answers were really interesting. Yamaha were amazing in that they manage their own wood supply from land they own, any off cuts are used to generate power etc. other side of the coin Mr Peavey referred to me as a tree hugger and the last time he flew over the amazon there seemed to be a lot of trees....that aside its actually a really murky business as illegally logged tree look just like managed one when cut up into guitar shapes. Going back to the thread i do hope that things like roast maple is an alternative to quickly vanished tropical hardwoods and that we start valuing the latter more so than we do. (step down off high horse...and relax).

Maybe we will be seeing standard maple necks with roasted boards as well..

I have seen that Sire are already offering it on the v10 series and have seen a Chinese make that is on the up called Shijie and they aren't boutique prices (not cheap though so I guess prices are still going to come down..)

As a veteran of owning many basses, with Maple on maple, rosewood on maple, even ebony on mahogany necks...whats the deal with roasted maple, its right up there with the worlds new obsession with gin and IPA beer ( I challenge you to find a non Guinness stout in a supermarket...). Saw Ernie Ball mentioning that it crystallises the resin structure or the like. Is it a reaction to the lockdown on rosewood? Its was nowhere a couple of years ago and its blooming all over the place. And whilst we're at it why isn't mahogany controlled more tightly....it aint planted its just cut down, yet guitar company's are now selling models in their ranges which are mahogany bodied cheaper than the ash or whatever versions (sire v3 vs Sire v7 for example).