Kiwi

[quote name='leftybassman392' timestamp='1397334665' post='2423012'] All the instruments on his stand were Berlins IIRC - all very high spec custom jobs and all massively expensive (as in £3k+). No Lefties sadly so I couldn't give any of them a spin but they definitely looked the part. [/quote] I saw their stand at the Electric Live part of the London Acoustic Guitar Show 10 days ago and the instruments looked nothing short of stunning. It was the only stand where I did a double take...

[quote name='ezbass' timestamp='1411215657' post='2557584'] How am I only just discovering this thread? Looking awesome Steve, great design and that blue is just stunning. Looking forward to the updates and the finished article. [/quote] Thanks EZ. It started off being Jaydee meets Fodera and Steinberger but with the way its turning out I suspect it'll be more Steinberger, Jaydee and PRS. The maple top is breath taking.

The Bass 400+ is the best valve amp out there IMHO. I've owned one and its unbeatable for clean power. They're also designed and built like brick sh*t houses. When you buy one though, check for rust on the transformers. Rust can reduce their efficiency by bridging the layers. The only downside is the weight...

[quote name='pmjos' timestamp='1410963929' post='2555106'] A friend of mine's dad (a Marconi Electronic Engineer) designed the microprocessor MP11 graphic with MIDI for Trace eons ago when they were in Witham, Essex. We must be going back well over 25 years. I remember thinking how damned smart it was with endless presets and shaping options. [/quote] I owned one. It was OK but not a particularly versatile piece of kit. It was definitely an eq and not a preamp - no effects loop or capacity to run bi amp or stereo.

Unfortunately I haven't had the time to go back up there with organising a house shift and taking time out in NZ. Jon was going to do the bridge assembly anyway but decided there were 4 or 5 other instruments he needed to do first. I may have time in the first half of October though...we'll see although Jon didn't return my last text messages.

Unfortunately, my stuff won't be in the UK until the middle of November. So I won't be bringing much bass gear. I *may* have a couple of new cabs though and the guitar set up featuring Ibanez TSA5 combos, a Yammie MSG and a custom strat (now signed by Nile Rodgers!) I have a request for gear to try though, would anyone be able to bring any of the following? 1) Wampler Black 65 pedal (for guitar) 2) Rivera-era Fender combo e.g. Princeton, Super Champ or Concert (not a Twin though) 3) Status Series 2000 (before 1991)

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1410559030' post='2550902'] Really..? Why was that..? [/quote] A drop in quality...perchance?

Is Francis Monkman playing with them?

These were the first 5 strings to be widely endorsed. I can remember all sorts of bassists playing them in the mid 80's as an alternative to Steinbergers. How is the string spacing? It always looked a bit narrow. But its an instrument I've always had respect for. Huge warmth and growl.

If you saw the front of the guitar off, you'll have really good blow torch access.

[quote name='silverfoxnik' timestamp='1408208838' post='2528118'] Good suggestion about the Jam Room, Steve.. We'll have to do something about that. [/quote] I was thinking it might be worth doing in the Main Hall, Nik.

Generally, electronic upgrades will deliver one of two benefits: 1) They'll give you more control over which frequencies are emphasised before the signal hits your amp 2) They'll reproduce more faithfully whatever response the pickups are putting out. This is where headroom becomes important. Some bass manufacturers have fitted circuits to their instruments that colour the sound using fixed frequency boosts. I couldn't tell you who they were however although I have a few hunches. Re: Alembic electronics, it depends on the upgrade. Alembic offer a single filter wiring loom along with sets of their aviator pickups and I have a set fitted to my Pedulla Pentabuzz. What you can expect is very hifi frequency response. I'm not so keen on the filter as it only allows control over treble, not bass. There have been times when I would have liked to dial up the bass a little. If you want to go down the Series II or I route, the electronics from Alembic direct cost a small fortune. There is a company on fleabay called Boogieman who manufacture and offer retrofit electronics for Alembic basses that offer similar functions to the series circuit but caveat emptor there. Again the filters in the series circuit don't offer a lot of control over bass frequencies.

Count me in but what I bring will depend on whether my kit from NZ arrives in time. If it doesn't then I'll be bringing some short scale six string piccolo basses and probably spending my time in the jamming room. Great venue BTW. It might be worth setting up a middle row (and power points) in the room as I recall space around the sides was a little tight last time.

Ped and I both owned an Alembic Elan 6, not only did it weigh a ton but it was the darkest sounding bass I've ever heard. Huge lows and only a begrudging amount of attack - the string spacing was a little tight IIRC. They don't come up very often but may be worth a look?

I agree its black magic - pretty much every single aspect of construction has some impact on the sound of a pick up to a greater or lesser degree. The black magic part comes in the knowledge of how those aspects interact. I don't buy pickups off the shelf any more though, all of mine for the last 6 years have been custom made by either Wizard or Armstrong. The great thing about Armstrong is that they already make pickups for so many other manufacturers so all I have to do is say 'I want something that sounds like XXX bass' and they'll know exactly what I'm after.

Peavey made some incredible basses in the 80's and 90's - let down by awful pickups. The Jeff Berlin model is a little cracker and like hens teeth now, the Rudy Sarzo model they made is fabulously easy to play too (in fact if they'd ever offered that as a 5 string my gas may cured sooner).

My EBS Combo 60 has proven to be well worth its purchase price. Tilt back feature is very handy too.

[quote name='flyfisher' timestamp='1407233881' post='2518521'] Yeah, but that was when 6d was really worth something and you could buy a house, a new car, a new bass and full rig and still have change to take the missus out to the cinema with a slap-up meal afterwards. Ah, the good old days. [/quote] Lllllllllllluxury!!