BigRedX

[quote name='Steve Browning' timestamp='1491467428' post='3273200'] About '89 to '95 roughly. There's a story to this. I used the slab on Play With Fire while in the band but, they got the 70's lineup together after recording was finished and dumped those of us making up the numbers. Wally redid all my bass parts and so my version is not on the album. If you have seen the video for Eve Of Destruction, that's me sporting an Epiphone Rivoli poncing around on Dungeness beach! [/quote] Thanks for that. I've not seen the video and it doesn't appear to be on YouTube. I do however have the single on 12" vinyl. Are you on the cover?

[quote name='PaulWarning' timestamp='1491466477' post='3273186'] we're using media hut, thanks for the heads up on damage, should be well delivered they're charging us £50 for it! [/quote] Media Hut were one of the companies we used who had poor transit packaging. Luckily for us, because we went for something a bit more fancy instead of standard sleeves which we did ourselves, only the inner paper sleeves were damaged and required replacing. Had we gone for standard printed sleeves, the whole job would have had to be reprinted, as not a single box escaped some degree of damage.

[quote name='Steve Browning' timestamp='1491462916' post='3273148'] I didn't gig it because I found the body would cut into my forearm after a while but I did record a song with it during my time with the Pretty Things. [/quote] When were you with The Pretty Things? and what song did you record with the Slab? I'm a massive Pretties fan (my first band was even named after one of their songs).

[quote name='PaulWarning' timestamp='1491398721' post='3272712'] The band I play in are on the verge of releasing a new album and the people that are organising the production of the CD's and Vinyl are asking for full payment before they start (vinyl can take 8 weeks) is this normal business practice? [/quote] Yes it is. I've done a lot of CDs and Vinyl (and cassettes) over the past 10 years and every single supplier I have used has demanded payment up front. Who are you using for your vinyl production? One thing to watch out for is, vinyl packaging for transit is very poor, and the last two deliveries I have had contained damaged items as a result. Make sure that someone from the band is available to receive the records when they are delivered and has the ability to photograph them if necessary. We complained both times about the poor packaging and got replacement paper sleeves and some money refunded to cover the costs of repacking the vinyl with damaged sleeves.

That's because back in the day all the BBC programmes were made by the BBC and used their own in-house trained engineers. These days nearly everything is made by independent production companies. The BBC no longer does training for the technical jobs and those who did receive BBC training are now in the minority. There is still the excellent Tonmeister course at the University of Surrey, but places are limited and programmes are made to a budget, which means the production companies can't always afford the best technical people. Also decisions on sound are being made by programme producers and others with no real understanding of what is required to deliver the best possible sound to the majority of viewers. Hence the recent spate of complaints about programmes where the dialogue is almost inaudible over the foley sounds and BGM. I'm sure it sounded great in the editing suite, but that's not how the majority of viewers watch the finish programme. Also in the past very few people used anything other than the TV's in-build (tiny) speaker so programmes had to be mixed to take this into account. Nowadays the assumption seems to be that viewers have fancy surround-sound systems to go with that huge flat-screen TV, when IME that is most definitely not the case and the small speakers on modern screens don't even have the benefit of a large "enclosure" to help them deliver a decent sound.

[quote name='dyerseve' timestamp='1491222130' post='3271293'] What's not ideal about it Kevin? I use a similar stand for my basses and it is perfect and nicely portable. I cant see how the width of the bass could be a problem for these types of stands... [/quote] I've got a Hercules Mini stand. The only use it ever gets is to hold a symmetrical bodied guitar when it is in my lounge. It's simply too small and insubstantial for any other use.

The bass might be 5 years old already rather than new, but it's also 5 years closer to being a desirable vintage instrument...

Buy a keyboard synth

[quote name='Deedee' timestamp='1490705813' post='3267201'] I think users of 'serious' older amps would strongly disagree [/quote] They also had Bulgin connectors for the mains lead, but no-one in their right minds would want that nowadays.

If you are not using an amp with valves in it then you should invest in a pedal with some in, or one that emulates valve style distortion. If you have ever heard the isolated bass tracks from 70s rock recordings you will surprised by just how much dirt is in the sound, that isn't anywhere near as obvious when you listen to the whole mix. Once I'd figured this out my bass bedded much better into the whole band sound, than when I had been going for a predominantly clean sound.

[quote name='Passinwind' timestamp='1490901118' post='3268977'] For starters: Did you need a Shipper's Export Declaration? What Harmonized Code number did you use for the customs declaration, and which customs form did you need? Did you confirm that you had sufficient third party insurance for a vintage instrument, since US couriers are notorious for not actually providing that in the event of a claim? If there was a dispute who paid for return shipping and customs brokerage fees, if any? For experienced sellers all this stuff is a known quantity, and part of the landscape of doing business, but many first time sellers tend to just say no thanks. My wife and I both worked as FedEx couriers, and frankly, so many people get international shipping wrong over here, and as usual, even one bad experience balloons into an Interweb meme at the drop of a hat these days. [/quote] If you really need to deal with all that stuff in the US then I will happily concede that shipping outside of the country for you is simply too much hassle and stop trying to buy musical instruments from you. Having said that though I've successfully bought basses from private sellers in the US through eBay... Selling something to someone in another (non-EU) country here in the UK is far simpler, which is probably why we are so unsympathetic to the US stance on selling abroad. IME you simply get in touch with the shipping company - I use UPS or FedEx booked through a broker for international shipping. If you need a customs declaration for the country you are sending to the shipping company provide the appropriate one as part of the shipping documents, and IIRC there's not a lot to fill in - mostly a short description of the item (I've found that "Bass Guitar" is sufficient) and the value, which is the price I sold the instrument for. And that is it. Customs charges and import taxes are the responsibility of the person receiving the parcel. Insurance is bought at the time of booking the delivery and I have had occasion to use it for a package to Japan that was lost in transit. The shipping company paid up promptly, in full and without any quibbles. I've never had anything returned, possibly because all the items I've sold have been fully and accurately described, so I haven't had a problem like that, but if it was to happen AFAIAC it would be the responsibility of the person returning the item. When it is that easy here in the UK you can probably appreciate why we can't understand why US sellers are so reluctant to ship abroad.

Unfortunately the first and last of those aren't very wonderful.

Both are beautiful IMO, although I prefer the Pagelli, because it's an original design.

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1490890095' post='3268868'] Buy OBBM, buy once. [/quote] Until your guitarist nicks your cables...

[quote name='Passinwind' timestamp='1490890410' post='3268874'] Unfortunately, if the instrument has rosewood of any type in it that is emphatically no longer the case for those of us in the US. It never really was the case though, actually. [/quote] I can appreciate that post CITES no-one wants to take a risk with sending instruments abroad. However, can you explain for us here in the UK exactly what the problems were for someone in the US were with sending a bass abroad before CITES messed everything up, because from the opposite side (sending from the UK to the US) then only issue was the increased postage.

YouTube videos work fine on my desktop Mac, but are invisible on my MacBook Pro. Both are running the same version of El Capitan and Safari 9.1 I was getting a message recently overlaid on the videos saying that the YouTube API has been depreciated - this is the one that the forum software uses to display videos in posts. I suspect that this is at the root of the problem.

IMO there are only two reasons not to be using OBBM for all your cable requirements. 1. You have both the time and expertise to be able to produce your own leads to the same high specification as OBBM. 2. You require something very specialised from either a visual or connector PoV that OBBM cannot supply at a competitive price.

[quote name='Andyjr1515' timestamp='1490863758' post='3268555'] Yes indeed - it was one of the photos Mick sent to me when he was describing the full-length fretboard concept. It's something else isn't it! [/quote] I was going to order one, but unfortunately when I enquired, Pagelli had just licensed the design to Marleaux, who never bothered to get in touch with me, so I ended up commissioning a Sei Flamboyant instead.

I've bought and sold lots of basses from other parts of the world, but never through an ad on TalkBass, as IME even before CITES all the basses I was interested in seemed to be owned by members who were reluctant to ship outside of the US. Having had lots of experience of buying from other countries, I know in advance that shipping is going to be more expensive for me, and I know that the additional cost can put some potential buyers off. I also know from the basses I've sold to people in other countries that here in the UK at least, sending a bass abroad is no more difficult than sending it to the next town in the same country, it just cost a bit more. Maybe because there is such a big potential market within the US, sellers don't think that dealing with someone from another country is worth the slight amount of extra effort, when a US-based buyer will be along very shortly.

+1 for Neutrik plugs and OBBM's cables. I have cables that I made up over 30 years ago with Neutrik connectors on them that are still going strong. My last lot of new cables were made for me by OBBM in 2010. Not a single one has shown any sign of unreliability despite having been been gigged heavily for the last 6 years.

[quote name='thepurpleblob' timestamp='1490879060' post='3268716'] Yeh - my happy situation is playing 1 or 2 gigs a month maximum but it's very hard to find people with the same lack of ambition. They either don't want to gig at all or hate their day job and want to play 7 nights a week. [/quote] Join and originals band. Most of those will only be playing once or twice and month. You will however been spending more time in the rehearsal room working on the songs as you write them, but that tends to be more "sociable" hours.

If you're not feeling it any more, then don't do it. I'm now in my mid-50s and would still be playing at least once a week if my band was being offered the gigs. I don't always like the late hours and the travelling, but TBH I wasn't anymore enthusiastic about that side of gigging back when I was in my early 20s, so for me nothing has really changed.

[quote name='lojo' timestamp='1490852094' post='3268457'] Indie was originally artists releasing on independent label music , so bands not signed to a big label... ...I could be wrong of course and often am [/quote] The Independent Charts which is where the term "Indie" originally comes from was always based on the status of the distributors being used and not the labels themselves. Many of the so-called independent labels were subsidiaries of major labels but used independent distribution rather than using their parent label's distribution network, and therefore their records were eligible for the independent chart.

If that was me, I'd be looking at spending lots of time and money experimenting with string gauges (and tweaking the truss rod) to find out what suited my playing style and the guitar I was using. I'm sorry I can't offer any more advice than that as IME everyone is different when it comes to gauges and tensions. I like my strings fairly taught at the bottom end to the point where I have a dedicated guitar for drop D with a slightly heavier bottom string so that the "D" feels the same as the "E" on my guitars with standard tuning.

[quote name='Twigman' timestamp='1490803288' post='3268201'] We've distribution via Cherry Red at the moment. It's their money tied up in the physical product too. We get a statement and royalties every quarter ....we sell copy via our own outlets but effectively have to buy product from Cherry Red to do so..... [/quote] With Cherry Red funding the physical product and being the distributers, you should be fairly safe when it comes to getting your money - to me it looks more like a licensing deal than a distribution one. When you are a small label (essentially a band self-releasing) relying on 3rd party distribution it's unfortunately fairly easy to get ripped off. My personal experience with distribution deals has been disappointing in terms of getting either unsold product back or income from those records that did sell. However at least I didn't suffer the same fate as a band a friend of mine was in where they lost their entire stock of their debut single and any money owed after their distributer went bust.