molan

[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1359766526' post='1960226'] too right- I've been reading this and wondering what has happened to this place in the last few years! Quite a change I think - I always thought there used to be a unwritten rule that you didn't try and make a profit out of buying and selling on here. Yes when ebay/inflation rates/or things generally going up in price get involved it gets more complex. It used to be if barry sold me a bass for £700 and I didn't get on with it I would sell it for about £700 to someone else - even if the bass could have fetched a wee bit more elsewhere, sticking it up here for £1000 a month later... it's not 'wrong' as such but kinda against the spirit of the thing. But then there are lots of different shades of it being right or wrong - like if I buy a bass and two years later everyone wants that bass so the value has gone up then aye you would stick the price up from what you paid. But if you bought something and 2 min later stuck it up... well the motivation for buying it seems to have been profit and not wanting to own a bass - that's when I think it can get a bit dubious for the forum. If it's about basses and there are small amount's of increase sometimes fine, if it's about folk trying to make a profit off each other then it all gets a bit crappy. (and if it is then shouldn't Basschat should be charging £5 per bass ad or something?) Like I'm fairly good at photography and words - so I can make a bass look nice (which makes it easier to sell), you work in a bass shop so I'm sure could easily sell things through there at a higher price (even after comms) just cos we have the abilty to take something from someone in the community cheaply and turn it into profit through our skills.... it doesn't make it morally right does it? [/quote] I hear what you're saying Luke. From a personal viewpoint I don't think I've ever bought a bass purely to make a profit on it. I do buy and sell a lot of stuff but pretty much every bass I buy is because I've really fancied owning it and giving it a try (I'm not including stuff where I've taken something in PX and have said up front I'm only doing it to sell onwards). Every now and then I've picked something up that has almost immediately felt 'wrong' for one reason or another and I've re-sold it quickly. Most of the time I always like to give something a few months to bed in before selling. I do put a lot of my basses up for sale through the shop where I help out and they will almost always go up for a higher price than I paid. There are loads of reasons for this. Simple overheads of running a shop like rent, rates, phones etc. Poxy VAT that's chargeable on any 'added value', Credit card and PayPal fees, promotional costs of advertising etc. etc. it's amazing how much all this adds to the basic price of a bass but there are so few specialist bass retailers out there that I'm more than happy to support one that's just 20 mins from me. There's zilch in it for me but if it helps keep a little money heading their way then I'm fine with getting a little less from some stuff. There's an added extra cost of using a pro luthier to set stuff up properly and/or adding new strings. As it happens someone recently took a run at me for selling at a profit on a bass that needed some serious luthier repair work and strings. Cost me over £120 to get it into a condition where I'd be happy to sell it. It's not something I'd promote because it would look bad on the person who sold it to me. However, I then got a message to say I was deliberately profiteering - I just ignored it

Tried an Ashdown again yesterday just in case my view was clouded by those Nasty rehearsal room heads. But no, it was still horrible, lots of flashing lights, VU meters, eq options etc etc. However, it failed to do the basic job of reproducing an even half decent bass tone Mind you, some people love 'em so what do I know!

[quote name='nottswarwick' timestamp='1359664158' post='1958559'] Really?. I use one and have never A B tested n the same stage....so I just always assumed it must work [/quote] I had a pair of cabs that were quite boomy on some stages. Bought an Auralex and they stopped booming. I've also loaned mine to a friend and he said it really helped with boom at one venue where he'd always had issues before. That's good enough for me to recommend them. Mind you - it does look like you could make one that did the same job for a lot less. Too much hassle for me though, lol

[quote name='johnbiffa' timestamp='1359716914' post='1959154'] These are definitely at the top end of the boutique genre and worth looking out for. [/quote] I agree - I'm hoping the 'postman' may be visiting me on Monday to confirm this

[quote name='uncle psychosis' timestamp='1359673343' post='1958788'] I don't really see why thats a problem. You buy something, its yours. A seller can ask for as much as they want for something---its buyers who will decide if that price is appropriate or not. Is selling a 50s precision bass for a lot more than its original purchase price a no-no? [/quote] I'm inclined to agree. Lots of people lose money on most basses they sell. If someone makes a bit of profit now and then I can't see what's wrong?

Aguilar does it for me every time Just about the best live amp I've ever used. The Orange might be more fun if it was really just you on a desert island on your own though.

I haven't seen any flats breaking because of through-body stringing. However the break angle of the strings is quite a bit more extreme so I'd guess it would increase the chances of breakage.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1359454997' post='1954873'] That's still a [i]lot [/i]of slapping. Depending on how much slapping you're used to, of course. These things are relative. [/quote] Totally agree! It'll be interesting to see how well t's policed this year. Last year it was supposed to be 30 minutes of 'noise' per hour but loads of people just ignored this and carried on playing. Theoretically the show guys have the authority to pull their power but I've never seen that happen. Apart from being stupidly noisy and pointless it's also just plain rude & disrespectful to all the exhibitors who'd actually like to talk to a few potential customers ithout screaming at the top of their voice all day. I'm going to be on a mission to report all the law breakers, lol.

As an aside to the OP - there's a great little App called DutyCalc that works out what you might get hit for if importing from non-eu countries

My old rehearsal studio was equipped with a horrible selection of battered Ashdowns. All of them were awful but one was particularly appalling. The only good thing that came of this experience was that it taught me to keep a little pre-amp in my gig bag at all times

All the cost is in the insurance. You can get a bass to the US for under £50 but it could cost you that again, or more, on insurance. I'm not sure if they deal direct with 'ordinary' people but Parcelflight offer a good broker service. Go to their site, put in your weight and dimensions, choose economy and click to the next page where you can insure up to £3K.

I work one or two days a week at a specialist bass store and they have consultancy arrangement with a real pickup pro who can supply most brands and he really knows his stuff. If you zap me a PM with exactly what you're after I'm happy to get his views for you

I think there's a difference in etiquette between what people say in the classifieds and the EBay section. Generally speaking it's frowned upon to disparage someone's classified listing (unless it's obviously deliberately misleading). However the EBay zone is seen as a bit of a 'free for all'. Some quite nice instruments get a lot of stick here (I actually bought one that was torn apart here and it's both immaculate and seriously nice). I think most potential buyers that might be reading this area of the site will make up their own minds about whether they want to bid on something or not. I have to own up that I'd spotted the Warrior connection and was already watching this - also it's based only about 20 minutes from me. Lots of bassists in my neck of the woods

Nordstrand '51P is your baby - there are two types I think. Just tracked down the hum-cancelling version for someone. Supposed to be very good indeed!

Watch out for some of the cheaper Chinese made ones

My only reservation might be that it could be heavy - not that I've tried a Lul T-Bird, just that conventional T-Birds can be a strain on the shoulder

I quite like the fluorescent pink strings on the "Yamaha More Attitude"

I know some really good people who are total experts when it comes to matching pickups and pre-amps to specific briefs. They are based in the US but I know a way to import through them that usually matches most UK suppliers and it's completely legit with taxes and duties paid If you zap me a PM with as much detail as possible about what you're after I can explain more