molan

Official update is that the Prodigy will not be shipping into the Uk for 6-8 weeks. There's a strong possibility that the, higher powered, Strategy may come in at the same time. Numbers will be very small for both heads to begin with. Pricing may change - there were initial list prices for both but these are circa 6 months out of date and it's possible a completely new set of Mesa Boogie prices will be issued soon (this doesn't necessarily mean they will rise - the £ has improved against the $ in recent months). With reference to an earlier question - there is no fixed pricing agreement in place for Mesa Boogie products. Dealers may choose to stick to RRP but that is their prerogative and not anything that could be enforced by a manufacturer (I have a feeling it's not even allowed legally in the EU).

Still some tickets left if anyone fancies this!

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1380099377' post='2220657'] Hmmmm. Here's an example. Mesa Walkabout Scout 12: US: $1600 UK: $2800 (i.e.£1750 from Thomann) That's £1000 mark-up. Even when you take into account shipping it across the Atlantic, taxes, etc.. something's wrong there. [/quote] That's above RRP in the UK, although not much. RRP is £1,599 so it should be able to get one for less from a UK dealer. I'd estimate a UK dealer could sell for £1,500 if he wanted to. I will get some price updates though because these prices are maybe 6 months old now.

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1380097440' post='2220628'] When you do, can you give him a gentle(ish) slap and say 'That's from WoT in protest at your EU pricing policy', please? [/quote] That's part of the problem when there's an independent distributor involved in the supply chain. Good (or at least better) for product availability but is going to add anywhere from 10% - 25% to prices to cover their margin This is just about to happen to another major US bass brand in the next few weeks as well. . . Edit - I don't think distributor margins are excessive given costs of storage and other overheads. Let's face it, you never meet a rich musical instruments distributor!

I'm seeing the UK distributor on Thursday mornng - will be able to report back on details of pricing and availability after that

[quote name='Salt on your Bass?' timestamp='1380027944' post='2219717'] Wow that looks nice!! I reckon they'll end up around the £2k mark here?? any advances? [/quote] UK list price is £1,499 so expect 'street' to be lower than this. Strategy list is £2,299. These prices were set a few months ago so they may change.

BassGear have some free tickets to see Paul Turner's band The Dark Sinatras at the South Street Centre in Reading this Friday - 27th September. They describe themselves as "a high octane mix of rock, progressive metal and hard funk" and are a real departure from the type of music Paul is most often associated with. Loads of odd time signatures and some super tight playing - they really are quite something to see live if you're into modern heavier stuff like this. Paul is a stupidly good player and his fingers seem to move at the speed of light on some of their stuff BassGear has about 6 tickets left to give away to see them and the venue is a good size and easy to get to in Reading. Just email info@bassgear for tickets - first come first served Might be an opportunity for a little BassChat night out if anyone is local and fancies going Should be able to get Paul to come and say hi as well - he's a super nice guy and really friendly! Here's a couple of examples of them playing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiPKglkUrQ8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_zkh3VOjwE Their site: http://www.thedarksinatras.com/index.php South Street details http://www.readingarts.com/southstreet

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1379933931' post='2218317'] The first time we did the BassBash at that school, I brought along four varieties of in-ear or headphone rigs for people to compare and set them all up in the Quiet Room. That also allowed people to bring basses to those rigs and hear what the basses actually sounded like. Think I might re-visit that idea next year ... [/quote] For the London Bass Show BassGear were set up in the 'quieter' zone and people were only allowed to play through headphone amps and noise isolating cans (all the little Carvin combos have decent headphone pre-amps). Worked really well and was easy to set up. Could probably do something similar next year

I'm firmly in the Tone Hammer camp as well. To my ears the Streamliner sounds a bit 'flabby' and lacking in punch compared to the TH. Another possible might be the MarkBass Big Bang. I really like this amp but you don't see many of them out there. Has a lot if the MB sound but adds something a bit extra tonally and some genuinely useful features too

[quote name='Clarky' timestamp='1379803783' post='2217014'] And my favourite moment of the day was being able to tell Dave Swift to be quiet (during my inept talk on DB). Yes, me, blagging rubbish bass player telling 23 year pro Dave Swift to be quiet. Still makes me giggle. He was so nice about it too. There's a message there. [b]Nice people do well[/b] [/quote] And he had a gig in the evening all the way over in Ashford and didn't get home until 4:15 in the morning. He then found time to say thanks because I watched his gear for him whilst he was doing the Q&A session! Definitely very nice people indeed

[quote name='Hamster' timestamp='1379859264' post='2217466'] Interesting preamp/DI from Dave Swift - [/quote] Coming to a dealer near you very soon indeed And I hear all the first orders from any BassChatters are getting an additional discount - yay!

[quote name='TheGreek' timestamp='1379869703' post='2217585'] Why no photos of the sandblasted one you had at the SE Bash??? [/quote] That'll be this one then

[quote name='urb' timestamp='1379797760' post='2216938'] What Sei bass you got? [/quote] It's the 'stealth' model All black, Original 4 headless, weighs just 6.5 lbs. Quite an old one, serial #51

Always nice to see lots of familiar faces and to catch up and to meet some new ones too Would have liked to hear Dave Swift but go caught having to look after his basses for him instead, lol. Some nice instruments and amps around and some really cool monster cabs that reminded me that I have a bad back and need to stop looking at them! Plus I came home with some new, super light gauge, strings courtesy of Mick, fitted them immediately and had great fun zooming around on my Sei Big thanks to Gareth for minding the basses I bought along for people to have a go on!

[quote name='Hamster' timestamp='1379698544' post='2215926'] Many thanks to Dave Swift who will be bringing a few nice items for the raffle table! [/quote] And some basses for sale if anyone's interested These will include: Chapman Stick 10 string Steinberger Q4 in a luscious candy apple red Aria Sinsonido 5 fretless travel bass I'll have some raffle stuff too from BassGear Not sure what i'll be bringing along personally - I have a pair of double gig bags so I'm guessing it'll be 4 basses for ease of transport . . . Oh, and a funky Parker Fly 5 that someone wants to try

Have you tried writing to Phil Jones? He's often a really fast replied to things personally

I'm usually a big fan of matching headstocks but they don't always work well on burst finishes. I'd want to see the actual bass rather than a 'simulation' Black looks 'wrong' to me so natural gets my vote.