molan

I'm a huge fan of big rich metal flake finishes I had an Alleva Coppolo P bass with a heavy flake candy apple red finish and white pearloid pick guard - gigged it a few times, looked great under stage lights!

And he looks good in red boots sporting a White Rickenbacker too! http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a1/Rick_James_-_Street_Songs.jpg

I had a set of Maxima gold stings on a Warwick once and they made my fingers go black and blister! Turned out I have a low level allergy to gold so I can't really blame it on the strings, lol. Really didn't like Chromes and had some Rotosounds that shredded fingers as well

For 'everyday' playing my vote goes to the Aguilar Octamizer. It tracks really well and I don't have to play anywhere near as precisely as on other octave pedals I've had. For gigging purposes I find this make it much more usable than anything else I've tried

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1382628415' post='2254667'] Low self esteem, white gb with a white finger board and blue leds? You need to come out of your shell! [/quote] My thoughts exactly I must say that EBS_f would be one of my first call people if ever I was buying a new PA setup. I love the way his live rig has been put together. One of the most professional function band rigs out there. Really efficient in terms of number of units and wiring, lights etc.

Excellent stuff - never heard of him before but his cast of musicians is a bit of a 'who's who' of top session guys!

[quote name='Lowender' timestamp='1382577202' post='2253968'] I also think Mercedes are overpriced. But if you want one and can afford one, buy it and enjoy it. [/quote] Ah ha, I think I can see where you're coming from now. From what you've said it sounds, to me anyway, that you think 'expensive' must equal 'over-priced'. I know a lot of people that would agree. from my perspective Mercedes are probably one of the least over-priced automotive brands in the world. Choose the right one and it will last for 200,000 miles with basic maintenance, still look pretty good at the end of its life and they retain value incredibly well. Once you get over the hurdle of initial purchase cost they are one of the most efficient vehicles to run on a cost per mile covered basis relative to their purchase price. The simple demonstration of this is that cab drivers all over the world drive them as their first choice car. These aren't guys who are driving Mercs for any sort of flash reason, simply that they do their job really, really, well, are low cost to run and hold value. Just a great, no-brainer, business decision for them. Definitely expensive but not 'over-priced. This is how I feel about instruments made by Fodera. They are super-expensive but no-one is deliberately 'over-pricing' them in order to make an extortionate profit. They do what they do really well (many would argue they are without equal), they keep on doing it for a long time (my 30 year old one looked immaculate after years of heavy gigging) and they hold value really well. You're also paying for people who, mostly hand-craft their instruments and don't stick a plank in a machine and watch it spew out the other end. Human labour carries a cost and, to my mind, the world would be a lot sadder place if everything was cheaply mass-produced by machines in a faceless low cost location For me an instrument made in a large factory that has £50 worth of cheap materials in it that has been chucked in a machine to be spewed out the other end almost completely assembled and then flogged for £300 is 'over-priced' - it's not expensive but the profit margin on it is huge (and you can bet the low-paid workers who pushed the buttons on the machines won't be seeing much of that money either).

[quote name='nottswarwick' timestamp='1382607181' post='2254187'] Yes, I'd echo this too. Kick drums un- amplified are not full or deep sounding enough to push through a full pelt back line. I know, it might seem incredible, but it is true, My other life is as a pro drummer by the way. My first pro work was on drums, from pits to large shows, and millions of pubs, clubs and functions. So I stand by this, sorry. And whenever I am I a pub watching a full electric band with tops only, it sounds "ok" but the kick drum is light in thee mix. A bass rig can fill a room, a kick drum won't. End of story. [/quote] I worked as a sound engineer for a while with a really good guy who hired loads of gear and also ran large PA's for touring bands. The first thing he ever told me was that you have to mic a kick drum for it to actually sound like a drum and not a dull thump. Of course, after that he told me a lot more stuff - if only I could have retained his 30+ years of live sound knowledge, lol.

Quick view on Mackie stuff - if you but anything with electronics in it (power amp, powered cabs, mixer etc) and it breaks then you can head straight to the nearest tip with it. Mackie gear is notoriously difficult to repair, I know one amp tech who pretty much refuses to even consider working on them. A friend of mine had a powered mixer fail recently and the potential cost of repair was way more than it was worth. I realise this can be the case with a few brands but my amp tech says Mackie is one of the worst. Maybe they have proprietary electronics in them that aren't easily replaceable I have to add that putting PA behind the ban is asking for trouble in just about any venue. Even with mics that have a super tight pattern you're going to pick up whatever's being fired at them through those speakers. It's fairly simple logic really - the rear speakers must be louder than the unamplified voices going into your vocal mics. This mean that the vocal mics will undoubtedly be picking up other, potentially loud, noise from the PA = feedback loop. Keeping the volume low and/or tuning the hell out them with a set of graphics will help but then that's going to kill your headroom and/or the sound is going to get pretty nasty. I have used side-fills that fire across the stage at larger venues with some success but with a decent set of monitors (an area where modern tech has really improved quality) I don't think it's really necessary any more. As others have said, I'd try setting up in a more acoustically efficient manner and re-tuning the PA to take this into account before lashing out any more money.

[quote name='Roland Rock' timestamp='1382542904' post='2253449'] I think the point was that a chunk of your money is going towards expensive NY rent and wages. [/quote] But there's only one place in the world that they're made. Does that mean they should move to the middle of nowhere to reduce pricing? Or maybe outsource to China? I don't think you can compare a mass market product that's available in multi-locations with corresponding multiple price points to a custom built bass guitar that's only available from one place. Maybe we should be trying to work out what is over-priced relative to geographical location costs and overheads. Gut feel is it's probably the bottom end of the market where the greatest over-pricing is happening on mass produced, machine made, instruments and not the top where the man hours per bass are huge because of the labour intensive construction and attention to detail that's involved

[quote name='xilddx' timestamp='1382570969' post='2253946'] Awesome mate! Thank you!! What's your page man? [/quote] It's the BassGear one [url="https://www.facebook.com/BassGearUK"]https://www.facebook.com/BassGearUK[/url] The post has been seen by 104 people already - doesn't mean they'll watch the vid but it's in their news feed so they might give it a try and/or pass it on. There's live tracking of number of people that see it. The 6,500 come from all over the world. Really interesting to see where outside of Uk. Over 2,000 in USA & 700 in Brazil (I didn't even know there were 700 bass players in Brazil!). London is biggest City followed by LA & then Sao Paulo. We'll often try to promote individual bassists or artists if they send us stuff. Reach tends to be lower than for simple things like a new bass that's arrived but we always feel it's worth supporting real musicians and having a go at getting the word out about new releases or live vids from recent gigs etc

FaceBooked it for you - over 6,500 'likes' to our page so should reach a few more people

[quote name='NJE' timestamp='1382569645' post='2253937'] Does anyone know how to get a copy of the album? I can't see a link on their website. [/quote] Although they had an album launch gig the actual release was help up and it hasn't been officially released yet. There was an initial pressing and a number were sold at that gig but nothing since then as far as I understand

[quote name='EBS_freak' timestamp='1382543458' post='2253464'] [sup][/sup] [sup]Mesa not keen on selling many then? [/sup] [/quote] Small company, not super equipped to deal with high demand surges. That's what it feels like to me anyway!

[quote name='Lowender' timestamp='1382539779' post='2253396'] I agree with everything said. Good people. Meticulous attention to detain. Fine instruments. High overhead. But that's the rub. I think this puts in in perspective. I was recently shopping for a sofa and found a nice on at a very trendy shop in an expensive part of town. Lots of personable attention with knowledgable salespeople. They served tea and crumpets while you peruse the store. The sofa cost 1200 quid. Then I went on line -- saw the same exact sofa (they even used the same picture). 400 quid. Moral of the story. I understand that privately businesses have higher overhead. I just don't want to one the one to pay for it. [/quote] I can't see how this has even the remotest connection to buying a custom built bass? You can't pop online and buy one for a third of the price. In fact I'm not even sure you can do that with any bass, whether it's a £10K Fodera or a £500 Fender?

Checked again on Monday and still no definite UK prices or confirmed delivery dates Vague hints they may be more than initially predicted. . .

I see the, not very well known, Mr Sheehan has made the cover of Bass Guitar Magazine this month

[quote name='Lowender' timestamp='1382453945' post='2252331'] Let me try again. Fodera's FEEL great -- very solid. But it's a bit of an illusion. One can make the comparison to a very EQ'd pre-amp. They may sound louder and sweeter but after a while you might start to hear a falseness to it. It's the same thing with the feel of a lot of these boutique basses. That "solidity " seems attractive for a while, but it can also be a bit stiff for some things. Fodera's also have a lot of sustain, but again, that isn't always preferable, yet at first it seems appealing. This is more the case with the more expensive neck-through basses. Oddly enough, Joey Fodera plays a bolt on. He says he prefers the sound. Funny how the guy who actually makes the specialty instruments prefers a less expensive version. As for the Fodera sound, they have a nice clean tone, but one that doesn't cut through a band or a recoding especially well. I think this is the reason they aren't embraced by a lot of recording artists. I always knew this but didn't want to fully accept it. After a while, I got tired of defending what was SUPPOSED to be a magnificent instrument. The one client who wasn't happy with the sound was simply representative of what I've been feeling. And the fact thjat it was totally unbiased confirmed what i've felt for a long time. Fodera's are a bit toneless. I don;t know if it's the combination of woods, or the design or the lack of finish. With 3 different pups, it was still weak and lacking in character. For me. [/quote] I think the 'for me' is the most significant part of this post. I couldn't disagree more with the rest of it. I gigged a Fodera for years in a soul functions band and it was possibly the best tone I've ever had in a band situation. Able to sit perfectly in the mix and bags of tonal variation that allowed me to cover dirty funk, classic soul and more modern pop with ease. I recently sold it to a top session player who covers mostly jazz, funk and Latin and it can handle those genres just as easily. Sure Foderas cost a lot of money but all these top session guys don't buy them because they look pretty or so they can show off down the dog and duck. They buy them because they have the potential to sound fantastic in the right hands

[quote name='Lowender' timestamp='1382454522' post='2252340'] And what is that finish? Oil? They are not poly or nitro or any kind of gloss lacquer. That's all I meant. . [/quote] It's a catalyzed acrylic lacquer. Each instrument receives between 10 and 15 coats of glossy finish. They are hand rubbed roughly every 3-4 coats or so. Once the finish is determined to be thick enough they do a final rub out with a succession of finer grade sand paper and pads culminating in a coat of wax that is applied with 0000 Steel Wool. They do not use any wood filler or grain sealer. I think this puts them a few leagues above a cheap thick coat of glossy poly that some people use to hide the wood and build quality

[quote name='Mike' timestamp='1382431210' post='2251933'] Fantastic! Must catch these guys at some point. [/quote] Couple of support gigs coming up (Shalamar at the O2 and Sheila E at The Bridge) but no headliners booked at the moment. Maybe sometihng looming in Paris I saw them play Rhythm Stick live at the beginning of the year - great gig!

I've just been playing a '61 & a '73 and there's definitely some tonal variation in there. I must admit that I tend to use them either wide open or completely closed and don't do much in between The '73 sounds killer wound right down and played aggressively!

[quote name='BetaFunk' timestamp='1382312077' post='2250602'] He definitely needs a double dose of Sun Ra. [/quote]

Sums it up for me http://youtu.be/ZBeC-LcLoP0