Silvia Bluejay

I loved the show, as always. And I was asked whether I was a journalist or a professional photographer. I guess they should see the photos before paying me such compliments, though

She did, 335 to be precise, and two videos! I'm downloading them to the PC as we speak, and then I'll get down to sorting the wheat from the chaff...

Yay!

LOL, thanks, will do

Will do, Deb, and lots of photos as always. And Si [b]isn't[/b] a girl, by the way

Back from a week-long visit by my best friends from Florence - with obligatory tourist trail duty - and jumping right back into the fray with this gig! See you later

Welcome to BC, Dan, from a fellow lefty. I did say we're a growing army! All the best for your originals gig - let us know how it goes and post photos if you take any.

[quote name='Bobo_Grimmer' timestamp='1341150731' post='1714310'] Ha ha! While looking these basses up i found your post about yours from a Google search. As soon as i saw it i had a Wayne's world moment.... [/quote] And I'm not even getting a cut from NS for all the good publicity I'm giving them! Anyway, being left-handed is now officially cool and there appears to be a small but ever-growing army of us.

Welcome, CJ! You've gravitated to the best place a bassist can find online

Welcome, Arthur, from a fellow heavy rocker (I go even further back than you do into trad territory, and include Sabbath and Priest). Love the Cliff/Jason/Rob triad, do you like David Ellefson of Megadeth too? Rock on metal bro \m/

Hey, she was a bit of a looker when she was young. I mean, turning the tables for a moment, if you were a woman, would you fancy, say, BB King as he is now? But he's still a legend.

Jokes aside, welcome Shawn. It's a beeeautiful instrument. This is yours truly lovingly hugging hers:

Ooooooooo...... I know that grammar isn't exactly what matters about that bass, but I can't help wondering where they got that name. "Stiloso" may be correct, if old-fashioned and not in use nowadays, but grammar would require "Lo" as opposed to "Il" as the appropriate article - Lo Stiloso. Oh, well. /end of pedantic rant/

COPYCAT!!!!

Very, very useful. Thank you.

I adore my NXT (which cost around a grand) but it sounds and feels nothing like a real DB - the £300 HB is closer to a double bass in shape, sound and - er - unwieldiness

Bumping this to get more suggestions in! I flooded Cerberus Cell's FB page with links to London music pubs and venues, but I guess they may need more suggestions for outside London too.

OK - I can't comment on the Stagg as it's actually different from my NXT. As for the Harley Benton, yes, that's exactly what I've got, only in black rather than sunburst, as I wasn't sure whether the paint job it might look cheap, given the price. The reason why I chose the cheapest was that I wanted to make it left-handed by myself - which I did with reasonable success - without losing a cartload of money if somethng went wrong. My comments above still stand. You get what you pay for, I guess.

When you mention the Harley Benton, do you mean the entry model 500 as in my signature? If it's that one, it's very basic, but IMO decent value for money. You may find that you prefer to install a set of new strings, and that the headphones output is really quiet, and that the fingerboard is painted and therefore will get your hands dirty for a while. On the other hand, the sound obtained with the DB setting is closer to a real DB than the same setting on my NS NXT, for instance (which I seem to remember is similar to the Stagg you mention?), which suggests that the more traditional shape and the active electronics may make a difference. Perhaps you could point us to the exact models you are talking about, for comparison?

Good question. When I was helping with one of my ex's bands we did the tax thing too, but it was more than 10 years ago, so my experience is probably not relevant now. I seem to remember that the IR (HMRC) objects if you run a loss on a certain business for more than a number of years, and asks you to close it down? Would be interesting to hear more recent experiences.

Anyone else received this link to a petition from Bass Gear on Twitter about flying with instruments? Been going on for a few weeks, by the look of it. I signed it (The most relevant info appears [i]after[/i] you sign). [url="http://www.musiciansunion.org.uk/news-events/2012/06/12/musical-instruments-on-planes-sign-the-petition-now/"]http://www.musicians...e-petition-now/[/url]

Yup, very true. I know that Fast Fret is a shortcut, in a way, and using lemon oil is the done thing, but I find that FF is all right, and quick, and slightly less hassle, for a fingerboard that's simply a bit dry as opposed to needing an overhaul. Incidentally, the directions on the Fast Fret container state the following: "Rub stick firmly over strings and fingerboard, before and after playing", which seems to imply more than just getting a bit of oil on the wood while cleaning the strings. I knew about the fret polishing cloths. I need to buy some, in fact

+1 to the above. Fingerboards seem to dry out more quickly in bright light, at least in my living room, which is sunny, British weather permitting, and relatively warm (but the basses are in a slightly cooler corner, protected by a curtain). My basses have rosewood and ebony fingerboards; I haven't had the opportunity to work on the ebony yet, but I've cleaned the rosewood ones with Fast Fret - it does say on the container that it's safe for fingerboards! - and they are now as smooth as new. The thin layer of mineral oil applied with the normal Fast Fret brush is completely absorbed after a couple of days max, and leaves no residue.

LOL!!!

Wow. Fantastic. Thank you for that vid and your detailed explanation.