Kiwi

It might be that the search engine needs re-indexing. I'll see if there's something that can be done behind the scenes.

We've discovered an issue with either the software or the server. Sending out email notifications slows the site down. We don't know why but as a short term measure Ped's turned off the email notifications. We can't have a quick site and notifications. Sorry about that everyone, we know its a PITA as its a useful feature. Although I'm still getting notifications for PM's. What are we doing about it? Ben is in the US at the moment and has limited internet access not to mention the last IP he used was blocked as a spamming IP address. He's aware of the issue and we're waiting to hear back about what can be done while he's away and what will have to wait until he returns. If its a problem with the software there may not be a lot we can do until Invision bring out a fix. Thanks for your patience with this.

Saw her supporting Prince in 2007, she's a kick arse act. Fully committed to what she does. Awesome. If she was in the US, I swear she'd be bigger than Whitney. BTW NJE had to edit your post to remove the link to a fake youtube site. Be careful about www.youtu.be

Haven't seen one of those before. It looks nearly identical to an Ibanez Musician but with an extra knob and two extra switches. Given the inlay, I wonder if it could be ex-Mark Egan?

As a Spector owner I can't really disagree with what Chris has said. There are differences between the streamer body shape and the spector shape. The streamers tend to have a deeper lower cutaway and narrower top horn. The contouring around the forearm is a little different too.

[quote name='bassist_lewis' timestamp='1317552752' post='1391671'] what about contracts? sign them here or out there? [/quote] I can't offer advice on that I'm afraid apart from making sure you get a copy of the contract well in advance of your leaving date. If you're happy with the terms of the contract better to sign it ASAP, otherwise things can be changed before you arrive. If you're not happy with the contract you're also in the strongest position to negotiate. The contact my band had was very reasonable, just be sure that your agent is reputable.

Make sure you have all the details sorted, especially be clear on living expenses and whether accommodation and meals are provided. Accommodation is both expensive and typically leased rather than rented for 3 months or more. Short term accommodation is also available but at central London prices last time I checked. Hopefully things might have calmed down now the bubble has burst over there but its worth being cautious. Also, don't underestimate the amount of time it may take if you have to apply for work visas yourselves. Clarify whether you will need your qualifications attested (which can be a serious PITA as many addresses don't actually have street numbers. So it can involve a lot of running around looking for government buildings that don't have any form of signage and waiting in queues hoping you'll be seen before the very restricted office hours end. So its important to plan ahead for any interactions you have with government departments. People are frequently seen as an inconvenience and source of irritation by civil servants.) My tip: see if the hotel or your agents will do as much for you as possible. You just don't need the hassle. Also, take a Garmin satnav with you. It allows you to find places quickly even if you are in a taxi. Tomtom covers Dubai I think but Garmin have the most up to date maps because they are the most popular in Dubai. You don't need a drinking license unless you planning to purchase alcohol outside hotels or restaurants. The cost of a glass of house white in one hotel I stayed in was 7 quid though. A bottle of jack daniels was available at a club I visited for 120 quid so getting drunk can be a very expensive business. Most ex-pat residents obtain their booze much cheaper from Ajman and smuggle it across the state of Sharja (which has super strict prohibition and moral decency laws.) Having said all that...you will meet very exhuberant Middle Eastern personalities over there (Emirates excluded). Egyptians, Saudi Arabians, Syrians, Iranians all tend to be very warm and sociable but be prepared for them to ask favours that may take liberties, when they feel they have your trust. The expat Kiwis, Aussies and Europeans tend to be up for a party most weekends (at least that was the case while I was there, there might be fewer of them now the construction and property development market has dried up). Dubai society is a three tier class system too. Emirates at the top, professionals in the middle and labourers (mainly indian and filipino) at the bottom. Expect many Emirates to be disdainful and aloof at best and complete man-children at worst. I tended to avoid them where possible. The middle eastern food is fantastic, especially hummus, dolmas, olives and roasted fish. In Dubai there is a fish and chip shop down by the marina if you feel nostalgic. Almost all buildings are air conditioned and avoid spending too much time outside in the day if the temp is above 35. I made the mistake of sitting outside the hotel pool one day in 42 degree heat and still got heatstroke despite slinging iced water down my neck like my guts were on fire. I made it back to my room and was pretty much useless for the rest of the day. I was ok after a 4 hour nap though. Most of all: have fun while you're there. It was a crazy place while I was there so I'm sure it'll be a real adventure for you!

Just want to say thanks to Skol for setting this up. Decent audio hosting sites aren't as easy to find as they once were and its something Facebook seems to have missed.

My well-mojo'd preEB Frankenray is here: I've owned three cutlasses too.

Nice one Colin, thanks for the heads up. Banned and blocked account?

I'm constantly amazed at how they manage to reinvent exactly the same product in different ways and never change anything. They've gone from producing basses to marketing an image. They're an absolute master class in marketing. Major respect.

Luke I like your thinking...

Ain't worth jack if noone buys it...

Have you thought about sending him a PM? We'd hate for widespread panic to break out. The UK has had enough rioting for this year.

OK here's my thing. Its fair to say I've got a bit of kit. I bought most of it in anticipation of using it either live or recording at some point. I'm not using it though and I've reached a point where I've started to wonder whether I will. The band scene in the earthquake striken city where I am is mostly pub based and the rock orientated set lists haven't changed in 20 years which is a bit...disturbing and disappointing too. I don't plan on leaving NZ until the global economic situation picks up which could be 5 or 10 years maybe, assuming a new financial world order hasn't asserted itself by then which could mean that NZ is a better location anyway. I don't use 4 strings much, but I like having access to them if the mood to listen to them strikes me. If I gig its normally with one bass, I would take the '00 Spector since I've modded it for gigging. Love the sound of the rest of my basses but just feel they don't get used enough. Same goes for amps, love the Shuttle 6.0 when I'm feeling lazy and the rack sounds great in stereo. I'll keep the MIDI rig until I've satisfied myself whether I can make it work (waiting for a piece of kit to arrive). But the Trace V8 is a rock amp through and through, and I've never felt satisfied playing rock. Some of you have already been through this rationalisation process, did you make the cull or cave in? PS: The Alembic and Shuker are staying with me to my grave. The Spector WILL probably stay with me because its so highly customised.

Do you mean L and XL basses? They stopped making them some years back. The synapse series is an updated version of the L/XL series but its not made in composite. You can still get hold of 4 string XL basses off Ebay though, they were made from 1980 through to sometime in the 90s'. I bought mine a couple of months ago and I really like it. Very warm sounding and the simple one pot eq is incredibly effective. Very cool bass. [i]Good:[/i] Warm sounding Very stable Compact Replacement face plates can be used to customise without devaluing the instrument Cool looking [i]Bad:[/i] Small body may take some adjusting to (nothing to rest your wrist on) Still a touch of headstock dive (which can be compensated for in the fixing to the boomerang strap plate) You won't be able to do burpy jaco impressions on it

[url="http://www.thebasspalace.com/"]http://www.thebasspalace.com/[/url] Some of you may not know much about the Bass Palace. I bought my first Ken Smith bass from the Swamii, and it was a great exchange. However later on others weren't so fortunate, which left a bit of a sour taste in people's mouths. However the one thing I do remember was that he had by far the most interesting range of secondhand gear I'd seen online anywhere. So I'm glad he's back, probably the cheapest place to find a 70's jazz bass in my opinion.

I have 3 band parametric preamps by Klaus Noll on my main instruments (and paid full retail for them, I'll add). However inspite of my preference for Noll, I still think you should start with an East preamp mainly because you have an odd pickup choice with potentially different impedances and outputs. The individually variable gain controls and input buffers mean the East circuit can be used with pretty much any combination of pickups so would be an insurance policy. The frequency centres are located at useful points as well (at least for the MM +midshift circuit that I have). Klaus can do input buffers as well but they'd be additional to the standard circuit. I've had Seymour Duncans in my Spector too, they were a little raw sounding for what I was looking for but that could have been down to the bass as much as anything else. The Wizards are pretty sweet though.

hope you have a great gig

FWIW, I make a point of buying the cheapest possible strings I can find, and I've not been let down yet. £5-7 a set if you choose your Ebay seller carefully, mostly when they're selling NOS.

Woof! Looked at getting one myself a while ago but went rack instead.

Nice one Sibob, congrats!

I agree with BigBeatNut, sounds like you've just saved yourself a whole load of hassle and lost potentially very little. People who take the business too seriously before it takes them seriously usually end up disillusioned, frustrated and generally a bit obnoxious. They invest too much of how they value themselves in their music and not enough in themselves as whole people with a range of needs and values. So when the business overlooks their band, they take it personally...like they as people are being ignored, rather that what is being played. Next thing you know, they can't handle the rejection and take it out on the band mates...