molan

Bass Gear stock a good range of Carvin amps and combos: http://www.bassgear.co.uk/product-category/bass-amps-and-cabs/carvin-amps/ They are great value for US made kit but the shipping and taxes make a significant dent in the prices. This is especially true if you're shipping just one unit. The shipping cost for an amp or combo is a fair bit and then the customs guys whack 23% on top of both the unit price and the shipping cost I really like the two big power heads. £499 gets you the 1500w with lots of tone shaping options and my fave is the £625 B2000 which has a really muscular powerful tone and will pump our 2050w! They had a few of these in stock but sold them all. Not sure when the next delivery will be in. Carvin hold the smaller combos at a UK warehouse but the big power heads ship directly from the States and need to be brought over in batches simply to hold the competitive pricing (I checked the cost of brining over a single BX1500 recently and it came in £55 higher than current sale prices!). Carvin customer service is great. They even have a guy in San Diego who starts at 6AM every day so he can be online for more of the European working day

It wasn't anyone I've seen with him before (and I've seen him a lot of times!). In fact I didn't recognise any of the band except for Altrinna He had a pretty stable touring band for a long time so maybe this one was either put together for this show (or possibly the Greatest Man tour which I didn't see). I thought he was using an Atelier Z through an Aguilar DB750 & pair of GS 410's. Don't know if that was a hired rig for the festival as I saw at least two other people using the same set up. If it was an Atelier then they are pretty cool basses. Only ever seen one other player with one over here - Francis Hylton of Incognito.

I'm afraid I find them irredeemably dull I don't mind the odd bit of modern folk but this lot really don't do it for me at all. I am a bit biased against them though, lol. I worked with Universal Music for a while when they first took them on and had to sit through a meeting with one of the label chiefs who went on, and on, and on about how they were the future of music and were going to save the industry etc. etc. (they've certainly shifted a lot of units so he obviously knew something we didn't!). He expected us to join in the mutual appreciation society but, other than his junior staff, no-one could really muster any enthusiasm for them That was one hell of a day actually - next meeting was with another label chief who basically told us that without him there wouldn't have been an Amy Winehouse. He was even more pretentious than the Mumford sycophant. . .

I was genuinely surprised by them and actually quite enjoyed them. The super short songs that just seemed to stop as they were setting a mood seemed a bit odd at first but once I got te hang of what they were doing they seemed to work. The strange posturings of the bass man made me smile too

[quote name='KevB' timestamp='1372674463' post='2128304'] Unfortunately I tuned in as Damon Albarn was 'singing' like he does and quickly moved on elsewhere. May revisit the session on iplayer where I can fast forward where necessary. [/quote] It was like two different shows - he opened with the Damon Albarn stuff from the new 'atmospheric' album & then kicked him off stage and came back, resplendent in matching red leather suit, hat & shows & launched into the 'classics' set. The second half was a different world, gutsier singing, funkier playing from the band (although maybe not as good as previous bands I've seen with him) and an all round proper soul legend performance. Even had the wonderful Altrinna Grayson on backing vocals

I've played a couple of these and they are seriously nice. The neck profile must be about the slimmest I've ever tried and with the great fretwork that you get in Carvins they are a dream to whiz around The finish will be the 'triple step' option which really brings out the depth of the flame and curly maple tops (especially on darker colours). This one is pretty cool : http://www.bassgear.co.uk/product-category/bass-guitars/carvin/

Lol - You should hear me play, almost every one of our customers makes me sound like a novice I don't think any of the people at BG has the remotest interest in trying to 'out-play' any of the visitors or to intimidate anyone about gear knowledge. I've never seen the point this but have visited far too many shops where it's the norm. We're just a bunch of enthusiastic amateurs at heart who enjoy trying to make a go at running a music shop flogging things we like to play. Actually,Mathis last point is very important to us. We try really hard to only stock things that at least one of us (ideally all three) enjoys playing and feels comfortable recommending to someone. Where possible we test things out at rehearsals and gigs to see how they sound in the real world. There's at least one amp manufacturer that we simply won't stock because we find their amps uniformly awful in a band context and another that we just don't trust not to die in the middle of a gig Sound slime Mrs A has good taste. Shame she wasn't in on a day when we have our chocolate stocks replenished (my wife works for Mars) - always goes down well when trying to comfort the wife/girlfriend following an expensive bass purchase . . .

[quote name='skej21' timestamp='1372609710' post='2127650'] Contacted bassgear via email today to see if they had stock of the Aguilar TH500 carry case. Despite being closed on Sundays, Barrie replied within minutes offering to reserve one for me so I get one when the next batch arrive. Truly fantastic service! [/quote] Our mottos is 'we never close' Or was that The Windmill strip theatre during WWII?

[quote name='Billy Apple' timestamp='1372521821' post='2126792'] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Me and the Lady Bones have just got back from a trip to Bass Gear. Phil is a lovely guy who let me get on with a vintage 4001 which sounded ace thru Mark Bass and Berg. They have a wide range of stock, and lots of stuff you don't see in the run of the mill type places. The Ritter's will take your breath away. I was just sorry to have missed Barrie.[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Very nice to be made to feel welcome and not a hindrance.[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]I highly recommend you take a visit [/font][/color] [/quote] Sorry I missed you too! I'm only in the shop 2-3 days a week and Saturdays are usually fairly quiet. The Ritters are killer instruments. I snuck one home a couple of weeks ago and am struggling to bring myself to take it back again I'm guessing the MarkBass was the Big Bang. I have to admit this really surprised me as I thought it was going to be too bright and aggressive with the Bergs but it just seems to work really well with them. That Ricky is fun to play isn't it? I can't resist slinging it on a super long strap, grabbing a pick and trying out my best Bruce Foxton impressions (which are, of course, rubbish!).

[quote name='tedmanzie' timestamp='1372546277' post='2127151'] i suppose this is better than primal scream [/quote] But did you see the female bass player with the see through top and the sparkly black bra ? Definite highlight of the PS set for me!

[quote name='4 Strings' timestamp='1372546188' post='2127150'] Don't underrate Keef as a player, he's been doing it long enough and knows a bit. [/quote] Just got into his stride for the encore - loved his tone on Satisfaction!

This bass comes up for sale over, and over, and over again on US EBay. You'd think they might have sussed it out by now

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1372512110' post='2126632'] Seasick Steve - country blues for people who buy CDs at ASDA. [/quote]

Excellent - hope the weather stays dry and warm

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1372502871' post='2126486'] Are these being collected from you or from someone else being sent to you? [/quote] From other people - there's loads of people out there who seem to have a phobia about dealing with couriers so I often volunteer to sort this out for them so they don't have to bothered with anything other than packing and printing the paperwork

I book basses for collection by courier all the time and from all over the world - Australia, USA, Continental Europe, Scandinavia and, of course, UK. I've never had a single problem with damage. The odd box that might have taken a whack but the contents has always been fine

I'm with Luke Haines, lol "This Seasick Steve performance with JP Jones is the worst thing that has ever happened in the history of everything"

[quote name='paulconnolly' timestamp='1372455438' post='2126085'] Thanks for your contribution. It was really helpful . Anyway, moving on [/quote] Sorry thought the OP was "is anyone watching" rather than "who likes". I was watching, I didn't like, in fact, to be really honest, I thought he was atrocious and felt like that was a chunk of my life I will never get back

[quote name='simon1964' timestamp='1372451448' post='2126008'] I think Molan's figure of £650 would be a very good deal, but you can certainly get very nice used Stingrays at around £700 - £800. So I'd agree that one is over-priced. [/quote] Last Ray I had was an immaculate black 3 eq model. Cost me £600 without even trying to negotiate. Generally black and white go for slightly less than natural. Other colour prices bounce around all over the place but really nice Birdseye and flamed necks can definitely add value

I've tried many times to 'get' Seasick Steve but I find him duller than a very dull thing indeed

Decent condition used 4 string Rays are readily available at around £650.

We were entirely spoilt by having a bespoke build stage and top notch sound crew so it wasn't too tough for us. It's a bloody tall ceiling though! If you get a chance see if you can get up to the balcony area that overlooks the hall when someone else is playing. The view of the hall with people in and music on is amazing. In fact, if it's open maybe get someone to take some pics of you playing from up there. They'll look great in the portfolio