oggiesnr

There are many examples of where someone who designed/created an article receives money on an ongoing basis. At it's most mundane level Disney make money every time a toy is sold which features one of their characters, whether or not they made it or sold it. Half the jigsaws I sell make money for the original artist. In the gift business overall copyright management is a huge issue, in business generally it's an even bigger issue. All those disputes between Apple and Samsung? They're all about on-going royalties for parts of products that one company designed and the other company may or may not be using without paying for them. In the great scheme of things the rights/wrongs of copying music is just the public froth on a much bigger issue. On the issue of paying for something which has already been created, why not pay? It's one model by which stuff gets made and relies on sales to generate the income, not just for the record companies in this case but also for the artists involved. Artists are not salaried employees, if their music doesn't sell (for whatever reason) then they don't get paid (or even end up in debt after taking the advance into account). Steve

It's going to be down to what either his wholesaler stocks or who he can persuade to do business with him. My personal approach would be to work out how much I could afford to spend on basses and then rather than just buy cheap basses buy fewer but across a price range with a little conservative eye candy at the slightly higher end. The problem is going to be pricing. He won't be able to afford the discounts that G4M etc offer which is based on volume and he's not going to appeal to the bassheads who know exactly what they want and are just interested in the cheapest price so he's got to appeal to the parents buying presents for kids and the casual buyer. In that case name recognition has value, so "Squier by Fender" has a value, ditto Yamaha, Ibanez and possibly Peavey. The sort of names that non-playing parents may have picked up. The other issue is that he can't afford to sell dogs, if he sells a crap bass it will come back to haunt him. So, even though it can be hard, if his supplier sends him a dodgy bass it needs to go straight back. Good luck to him, Steve

[quote name='ubassman' timestamp='1360873777' post='1977825'] Steve...your surname isn't Thomann by any chance !! [/quote] Nope, it's just the usual clutter you acquire if you hang around the folk scene long enough! I now have a one in, one out policy agreed with SWMBO. However she hasn't spotted the flaw that it isn't instrument specific Steve

I've always thought that The Beatles biggest contribution was to the "business" side of the music business. I'm old enough to remember all The Beatles merchandise that appeared which (to my recollection) was a new revenue stream that hadn't happened before. They also became a sort of template for the boy band which still seems to be used to this day. It's interesting (in a geekish sort of way) that their most successful song in publishing terms (so royalties from plays and covers rather than initial sales) is "Yesterday" which one wouldn't probably describe as ground breaking. Steve

I'm a couple of months in and I'm getting my head round it. My self inflicted complication was to buy a fretless five stringer and rather than using the "one finger, one fret" approach I'm tending to use my double bass fingerings most of the time. It's getting there slowly. Steve

I only have one DB ... plus a fretless five-stringer, a Tacoma acoustic and an old Antoria ... plus a six string acoustic guitar, twelve string and a bowl back ... plus a dulcimer, mandolin and balalaika ... plus a bandoneon, two melodeons and a concertina ... plus assorted recorders, harmonicas and whistles (which are the easiest to smuggle new into the house). In my defence I would state that they all get played (except the Antoria which I keep for sentimental reasons ) Steve

This version of a classic [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Us-TVg40ExM"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Us-TVg40ExM[/url] Steve

A large door fell on the pair of them, how and why are subject to HSE investigation so not much is being said. Lovely bunch of guys, my thoughts go out to all the families. Steve

Well two of the gigs have been done. There were some tuning issues, especially on the E and A strings, I kept a mental note of how much I'd had to tighten them up and made sure to slacken off the strings when it went back in the van. Only real issue was my left wrist, after the first three dances it started hurting like mad where I'd broken it in the past. Fotunately most of the tunes seem to be in E minor so I could play more open strings than usual. Steve

[quote name='51m0n' timestamp='1360750098' post='1975680'] Personally I think live sound is at least as much to blame, the current insanity with unbeleavable low end sub bass dominating every mix and SPLs over 110dB are making people think that music only sounds good when the bass is a mahoosive wall of unintelligable sludge trying to rearrange your organs. I like it loud, but I like my hearing more, and a great mix live or on a recording os the one that carried the emotional content of the performance and track best to the listener, in some cases a wall of unintelligble sludge would be the best solution for that, but nowhere near as often as it is offered as the solution. [/quote] +1 So far this year I've given up on two concerts where all I could hear was a wall of drum and bass. I wasn't the only one who left but they'd already got our money so I guess no-one cares. Steve

Second hand Stentor student. Lots of them about and fairly reliable quality wise. You need to check which size his teacher thinks he needs and be prepared to change up as required. Once he gets to full-size and looks like staying with it, then is the time to spend a bit more money. Steve (who went through it with his son)

[quote name='lowlandtrees' timestamp='1360654600' post='1973931'] Are these 2 videos not giving conflicting advise? [/quote] One of the few things that I've learnt about Double Bass is that there are at least two ways of doing anything. However whilst the videos give different ways of achieving it they are both looking at the same thing, how to "hold" the bass without doing yourself a long term injury. Which you use is, I suspect, a matter of trial and error and seeing which one works for us individually but the ultimate aim is the same, being able to play the bass in comfort and without damage. Steve

My usual listing technique is to list the item at the lowest I'm prepared to accept for it and forget about a reserve. I know that common wisdom says that this is wrong and may put off bidders but I just find it saves a lot of hassle and wasted time all round. Steve

Section 2:2 of the above - Exceptions to the DSRs - "auction sales, including online and interactive TV auctions. They do apply to some activities described as auctions depending on exactly when and how the sale occurs." Also if the seller states in their conditions that returns are at the customer's expense then that is the agreement you have made on purchase and you have to pay those costs (Page 10) Steve

If it's a really gross distortion then raise it via Ebay and possibly dispute it through Paypal, tends to concentrate minds. However descriptions which are accurate but maybe not 100% complete are a risk you take with on-line purchases, been caught like that myself and marked it down to experience. Given the growing propensity of distance buyers to return stuff (I saw a figure of 20% quoted by one company recently) I can see why the seller would say it's at the buyers cost (I do it myself when I sell). Steve

[quote name='thumperbob 2002' timestamp='1360590983' post='1972841'] Nothing is truly new and I find we really do get messed up by the detail- will there be another Beatles? [i]There probably is a genius type band singing in Cantonese somewhere-[/i] ( but we wouldnt know that ) [/quote] Mongolian actually, Anda Union, on tour at the moment and absolutely stunning. Steve

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1360508637' post='1971375'] When I was a trader on eBay, I occasionally got messages from idiots who pointed out that they could buy the same items slightly cheaper somewhere else, and what on Earth was I doing sticking 5% on top?? Like I was supposed to be providing a service out of the kindness of my heart! [/quote] In my business I get this all the time, my usual answer is "No problem, go and buy it from them" Steve

I don't mind derivative bands, I'm basically a folkie so much of what I do and listen to is derivative. What I do object to is bands being labelled "innovative" and "original" when they're not, and then not acknowledging their influences/sources. Steve

Another take on the same subject (there's some good stuff in his other videos as well) [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1Cc-aaz50o"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1Cc-aaz50o[/url] Steve

Hey man, I asked you to hold that for me for three weeks until my cheque* came through. Steve * grant/wage/dole/commission - delete as appropriate

Be nice to the soundmen, crew and venue staff you meet along the way. Not only will it make your life easier on the road but folks have long memories and word get's around in this business. It's lost in the folklore of the industry who said it first and to whom but the advice "Be nice to people on the way up because you'll meet them again on the way down!" remains good. Have fun Steve

[quote name='jakenewmanbass' timestamp='1360350948' post='1969236'] Kev it's really hard to describe in words, but basically you can have the back of the lower right bout against your left knee which prevents the bass from pivoting out of position, if you place the bass slightly forward then the natural tendency is for it to pivot forward on it's left axis which you prevent with your knee. [/quote] This is quite a good video on the subject [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gn6xlVSax4[/media] Steve

On my £250 bass, after the luthier had given it a once over for stability and any obvious fatal flaws, I had the following done - new strings (in my case spirocore mediums), neck shot to give some relief, new soundpost properly positioned and I had the tailpiece (which was a chunk of metal) replaced with a carbon fibre one. Total cost just shy of £300 and the net result was a playable bass which sounds across the range and will do until I've passed my Grade 5 (at which point SWMBO has said I can spend some more money ). The only only change I might make would be a new bridge but that's not urgent. The guy I bought the bass from had a play on it at the weekend and commented on how much better it sounded. Steve

Jack the Lad - Old Straight Track (you can play jigs and reels on a bass, and I still keep trying) Pentangle - Basket of Light (a very young Danny Thompson proving that root/fifth is not the only way to play folk) Steve

[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1360002129' post='1963365'] Listen to Caustic on my Soundcloud page. The bass cost £1400 [/quote] Very nice, I've got a lot of listening to do! Back on subject. Do keep checking out the For Sale page. I bought mine from here for £250. I've spent £125 on strings and about the same on a set up and it sounds great now. OK it's plywwod, it'll never be as good as a £2000+ instrument but for learning and getting into the swing of it it's a nice solid instrument. Have fun Steve