Kiwi

As mentioned in my status update - a cherry red Yamaha MSG, as played by Alan Murphy when he was with Level 42. and others. One of Yamaha's most coveted instruments and easily the equivalent of a PRS in terms of build quality. I think the MSG's 335 derived body shape is prettier and this one comes with Seymour Duncans as factory fitted. This example isn't perfect, there's a tuner screw missing from the E string of the trem, two pickup screws missing from the bridge pickup and there's a cracked pickup surround. I've emailed Yamaha in Germany as they have a good reputation for response times and requested the parts. Normally, the asking price for these is between 700-1000 quid, I got mine for about half that mainly due to a 'rushed' listing. I'm inspecting and collecting on Sunday.

I saw a TV programme a while that that lamented the demise of guitar solos in pop songs over the last 20 years and credited John Mayer as making solos cool again. I can see parallels with the OP...only bass playing hasn't become cool again...yet.

I don't think it's possible to get a single valve amp that sounds like both a Fender and a Marshall without some power tube swapping. Marshalls generally run on EL38/EL34 and Fenders run on 6L6/6V6. But its possible to get modelling pedals these days that make an amp sound closer to either. So maybe go with an amp that sounds like a Fender and then get a pedal that adds Marshall dirt. For weight, Trace Elliot made some highly rated solid state combo amps back in the early 90's and they are dirt cheap now. They also made some great valve combo amps which can be had for around the 300-400 quid mark.

There's always a balance to strike between simplicity and accessibility. More sub forums means its easier for people to access the topic areas they're interested in. Also, most of those sub forums have been created by request of the membership. There will always be a minority of moaners for whom the sky isn't quite the right shade of pink and that's just the reality of forums. The guitarchat ones are only temporary.

[quote name='White Cloud' timestamp='1385112517' post='2284524'] Hmmm, well lets put it this way...I have never seen an antique Stradivarius violin with a graphite neck. [/quote] Nope... and I've never seen one with LED's either.

[quote name='matski' timestamp='1384857588' post='2281433'] I have a MusicMan Cutlass - which has a Modulus graphite neck fitted as standard. It is 30 years old. It has no problems. [/quote] I've owned three Cutlass basses and played two more with problems. [quote name='White Cloud' timestamp='1385063137' post='2284098'] Really? I am a fan of Graphite - but don't see why wood wouldn't last as long as a composite if cared for. [/quote] Depends on the timeframe obviously...but I'm thinking 50-100 years...if a graphite neck was properly cared for too.

Traynor would be a good choice for those on a budget, most of the ones I've seen for sale have been in the US however. So some importing and voltage conversion may be needed.

Or get a buffer preamp installed with separate buffers for each pickup.

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1384941456' post='2282471'] I think you should do it anyway, if only for the probable very high entertainment potential. [/quote] Sometimes I think this is half the reason ANY forum gets popular...but even if we do got a tribe of brand snobs attempting to dominate, I'd expect the other members to keep them in check and isolate them...or put them on ignore...either way, starve them of the oxygen that attention and recognition provides. And if those brand snobs made a deliberate choice to keep going despite knowing they were having an adverse impact on the experiences of other members...well, pard'ner, I'd reckon that would be a mighty fine time for the mods to step in an' open up a can o' whoop ass... Yes sir...yes sireee. So why don't y'all pull up a rockin' chair, hack yourself a plug o' chewin' baccy and stay a while...

[quote name='steve-bbb' timestamp='1384936739' post='2282400'] Black Russian [/quote] That'll scare the clergy.

Awesome, so we'll kick something off and see how it goes. Of course there's always a chance that something untried will fail but that's no reason not to give it a go if members would be prepared to support it. So...lets see how it goes.

[quote name='pete.young' timestamp='1384895287' post='2282095'] You misunderstand me. I am not interested in even the baby steps of setting up guitar chat. I would prefer to see you concentrate on improving your core business. [/quote] Pete you'll also be aware that Basschat isn't a one person show...

[quote name='icastle' timestamp='1384883898' post='2281864'] I warned you that this rhythm methodology didn't work very well... [/quote] Ah...so I'm pulling when I should be...pushing?

I would too. Why aren't they available?! They would be so cooooool (and warm). This is outrageous!!! Who THE HELL runs the merch-...oh...*cough*. We'll look into it. It's probably about time we had another round of orders.

Sandpaper is fine - start off with coarse stuff (say 100 grit or maybe 200 if you are using a power sander) but STOP when you hit wood (cough). Then continue with progressively finer grits 400 then 800 to take out any visible scratches in the wood. Tru-oil is very good and while it goes touch dry very quickly, it can take weeks to harden. I've used it on my kleinberger body. I've also used danish oil on my strat neck - that can take weeks to harden also. Both are reasonably durable once hardened.

[quote name='skankdelvar' timestamp='1384828407' post='2281284'] Fie! And you a roister-doistering agrarian music specialist? A 'backlog' is the log you keep at the back of the fire, all ready to go, like. [/quote] It's also something discovered unexpectedly in reserve shortly after a Gentleman's morning ablutions have been completed...all ready to go, like.

OK well the news I was going to share is that we DID have a developer lined up and poised to sign a contract but he pulled out literally at the last minute. This is turning into a f***ing joke but, personally I've stopped laughing. We've got interest from two more however and we're waiting to hear back on a price. Part of the problem appears to be that there's not enough work for them to be seriously interested. So...in the meantime, we have talked about setting up a sub forum on here to at least get something kicked off. However, there is a caveat... One of the features we'll install with the next Invision upgrade is a single sign in to Basschat, Guitarchat and Drumchat. What we don't know yet is whether the administration behind the scenes is done from a single location or from a location for each of the websites. It would make it kind of simpler if it was one, which would also mean that when we do get the other sites up we could transfer threads between forums. BUT... ...we don't know that yet. So if we do set up a sub forum, there is a risk that we may not be able to transfer threads over to the other sites. That's no reason to not kick things off quietly though. [quote name='pete.young' timestamp='1384813641' post='2281160'] I'd quite like to hear about some plans to develop this forum, for example what you are hoping to do to make the blog work again, restore the wiki and take a look at the backlog. [/quote] Its enough of a struggle right now to get the thing set up...baby steps first, Pete! I plan on consulting with the core of interested members on what they would like to see once we've achieved lift off.

There's no real answer at the moment. I have a very early graphite necked bass from 1979 and it's still going strong. Issues with necks have typically been due to construction - either tensions built into the neck that have resulted in the fingerboard delaminating (Modulus basses), or a lack of stiffness in the phenolic fingerboard that has resulted in bowing of the neck under string tension (Modulus again after making necks for Musicman and some isolated examples of Status basses in the early 90's). I suspect they'll last much, much longer than wooden necks if they're well made.

Oish and there I was, ready to post an update on developments with the forum...maybe I should hold off for a while...

[quote name='jackotheclown' timestamp='1384362751' post='2275728'] Well they have set practices I guess some of the practitioners work with the cruise lines though, so I can't just go to my GP. But yeah £500, sucks.. [/quote] They don't need to be endorsed by the cruise lines to be competent. You only need to be assessed by a competent doctor. You might even have grounds for a professional complaint to the [url="http://www.gmc-uk.org/"]General Medical Council[/url] if you have reason to believe the doctors are profiteering.

[quote name='Fat Rich' timestamp='1384175429' post='2273510'] The Kubicki ply neck was good and I'm surprised more manufacturers didn't try it. It would maybe allow guitar builders to make more consistent instruments, but I think it's unlikely that a great sounding ply bass would ever sound have that "something special" about it like maybe a great vintage bass or a handbuilt mega pound bass. [/quote] My first bass had a ply body...and so did my second. So I upgraded to a Jaydee and never looked back because the ply bodies dampened a lot of the lows and didn't sustain anywhere near as well as the Jaydee. I've not tried the multi-hued ritter in RR's post above but generally I would take a solid body of super cheap meranti over "birch ply" any day. The Kubicki necks are laminated but the laminates are a lot thicker than those in ply wood. It's probably not doing the design any justice to call the neck plywood any more than calling it is to call a steinberger 'plastic'.

[quote name='Roland Rock' timestamp='1384164085' post='2273298'] Plywood bodies tend to have a more 'layered' sound, kind of a 'multi-tiered' tone with alternating timbre directions ;-) [/quote] Vintage plywood even more so.

This lecture by Ned Steinberger on the future of musical instrument design is worth a look. He talks about the relationship between musicians and technology but ultimately doesn't know where its going to go. [url="http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/40596134"]http://www.ustream.t...corded/40596134[/url]