molan

I always thought doing my own basic setup was fine. I'm comfortable with bridge height, truss rods, intonation etc. etc. However I've recently been working with one of those guys who does this for a living and charges for his services. He can really, really make a big difference and is much better than anything I can do by a margin that I think it's acceptable to pay for. I'd happily recommend him to anyone who really wants their bass to feel that bit better to play. One thing I would say is that the margins between what I can do and what he's able to do are greatest the lower the required action is. For light touch players who want a super low action right across the board his expertise makes a real difference. He took in a 7 string he other day that played well but the owner wanted it to go lower and be more even playing everywhere. He removed the neck, shimmed it slightly, filed the nut, sorted out some badly fitted frets, adjusted both truss rods, adjusted spacing, re-set the bridge, set intonation and matched pickup heights. It played superbly when he was finished and the owner was grinning from ear to ear when he picked it up. He couldn't believe the transformation. Cost was £60 and, in my opinion, worth every penny

I hear that a rather fine bassist with a history of playing with Whitesnake, Sabbath, Brian May, Peter Green etc. etc is now using an ATS cab

Be very, very careful about the TC RH450. It can be quite an 'immediate' sounding amp in a demo room but a total tone-sucker if not matched with the right cabs and can disappear completely in a live band mix

I only caught a short clip of the show but the bass man didn't like Aaron James to me. Rest of the band were all the same guys I saw with Gregory this summer. This is Aaron

[quote name='keeponehandloose' timestamp='1380867925' post='2231617'] I stall have a csar on my forehead [/quote] Hope it's not Ivan the Terrible

I'd ask what he feels about US healthcare - you'd have to assume he was a pretty successful musician but the system is so poor that he can't get/afford decent healthcare and is really not at all well

I recently had the misfortune to play a bass that was obviously some sort of school project abomination. The fret ends protruded so far and were so sharp that I cut my fingers on it! It also had fret markers at 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 etc

I've had a few attempts to get Protec cases stocked - UK distributor not really very interested in actually 'distributing' them. . . I have no idea how these people stay in business

[quote name='AKAK' timestamp='1380710376' post='2229217'] Tecamps are now being sold by Thomman at a remarkably good price and cheaper than they have ever been! [/quote] Either Thomann are selling these at very low margin or Tecamp have decided to become a bit more competitive. The two Puma heads are much more sensibly priced vs US made brands than they used to be.

I had a good look at some basses with Babicz bridges the other day and I must admit I liked he design compared to a BadAss which, to me anyway, seems to be looking a bit dated now (and yes, I realise the irony of a bridge upgrade looking dated that's on a 1950's designed instrument, lol). The Bass Centre are importing Babicz and fitting them as standard on a lot of basses now. Seems like a really good idea

That sounds like a lot of money for a '62RI. It would need to be particularly nice to play and sound great to warrant that sort of price. I played a brand new Fender Custom Shop recently that was in a similar price brackets and it sounded really, really nice and I think the CS models will hold value better. I've seen early 90's RI basses that have been excellent that have sold for around the £1,200 mark. Obviously this one is quite different but I'm not sure that the early '80's models are really commanding this sort of value at the moment?

[quote name='tonyxtiger' timestamp='1380646217' post='2228413'] Westside expect these mid December. Hope no one is in a rush. I'm having to curtail my excitement now. [/quote] I hear there may be both models available then

As someone who helps out in a shop I have definitely noticed that adjustments are most likely to be needed in Spring and Autumn as the weather changes. It's really unlike The Gallery not to get something right so I wonder if it shifted a little since they worked on it. If they spot an obvious issue like a worn nut or uneven frets they will usually let you know whilst they have the bass. I've had them slightly adjust the action after a setup before but that was mostly down to the fact that I hadn't really given them clear instructions in the first place. Once I said what I was after they fixed it in a flash

I've had a lot of dealings with various custom builders (both instruments and amps). There are definitely some that are completely unable to meet any deadlines and others that get it bang on, shock, horror, even deliver ahead of schedule. The ones I've been most impressed with recently have been Fodera, Ritter and Carvin. All three have very different business models but all of them seem very efficient. Fodera used to have all sorts of problems but they are amazing these days. They give an initial outline time quote and then follow up with an incredible level of detail. You get dates for exactly when each stage of the build will start, from carving to electronics, the lacquer application etc. The new Standard instruments often come in ahead of schedule, the last one ordered turned up 4 months early! Ritter is a tiny operation with just 2 builders (one of whom is often travelling and promoting the brand). The great thug with them is that Jens Ritter is such a 'driven' guy and his enthusiasm for everything just seems to mean that he somehow gets everything ready more or less when promised. Again he has a really tight control over build schedules and this obviously helps. Carvin are much more in the vein of Sandberg and much of the core operation is handled by CNC. Their turnaround time is quoted as 7 weeks from placement of order to delivery (sometimes there's an extra week to get through UK shipping and customs). They always deliver exactly on deadline and everything turns up in perfect build condition and with an incredibly high attention to detail. I'm afraid there are just as many I've worked with that don't get anywhere close to these standards. Some are very apologetic but others just throw their hands up and say it's all part of the job. I often hear that it's a third party fault (especially in terms of hardware and electronics) but I'm not sure this is really a valid excuse. With many instruments having long build times I'd expect the builder to have pre-ordered all third-party components. Could be cash-flow that's the issue here. Few of these guys will get any form of credit so they have to pay upfront for all hardware etc. I've got a custom build in the works right now so it'll be interesting to see how it goes. . .

Popped round to Mick's today and dropped one bass off whilst picking up another for someone else. Had a good natter about all sorts of stuff, played some of his excellent basses and he made a fine cup of tea - what more could you ask for Everything about the three-way deal was really well organised and all communication was clear and efficient. Definitely a safe guy to deal with in confidence!

[quote name='TheGreek' timestamp='1380462089' post='2225583'] Did a 3 way deal with Ron and Molan - went as smooth as...well a very smooth thing... [/quote] Not only did Ron help to organise a super-efficient 3 way deal he also arrived with a little portable drive full of great transcriptions for me to download We also had a good natter about bass stuff and I learnt some really interesting background on the life of a pro gigging cruise ship bassist. A nice day all round!

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1380466622' post='2225676'] Carrying on the theme of not usually liking high-end bass design but liking Ritters... ahem: I don't usually like the design of high-end basses, but I do like this one. I also like Ritter's design ideas and aesthetics. I just think that if I showed up on stage playing one it would look like a bit like a pig wearing a pearl necklace. Or something. [/quote] One of the great things about Ritters is that they are just so 'playable' and are genuinely great gigging basses. Of course Jens makes some that are pretty far out there in design and finish and I can totally understand why people might be wary of gigging them. However he also makes some that aren't as 'in yer face' and Cora's, like this one, really don't look that out of place on an everyday gig. This particular one has certainly seen some decent gigging action

Barry Manilow Joan Baez Joni Mitchell Wings Bachman Turner Overdrive Spandau Ballet Soft Cell Sinead O'Connor Led Zeppelin Billy and the Bollocks Clarence Clemons The guy from Madness Animal in the Muppets

Vic recently bought a batch of pedals from me and arranged payment via a direct bank transfer - all went super smooth and hassle free Definitely someone to deal with in confidence