molan

[quote name='ped' timestamp='1359398323' post='1954204'] Oh, and there will be free lanyards for all the lovely BC folk who come to the stand and meet other BC folk. Don't worry, you don't have to stay long, or talk to Dood. [/quote] Talking to Dood is my favourite part of the show! The entire BassGear stand will be populated by BC folk this year Even better news, for my poor ears anyway, is that we'll be in the quieter zone this year. In fact, theoretically, they are restricting crazed noisy slapping to just the first 15 minutes of each hour even in the main hall!

As someone who's worked in online marketing pretty much since it existed I can safely say that these ways of artificially paying for views, downloads, site visits, likes, app installs, search clicks, links etc etc have been around from day 1. As others have said, some are legit but, unfortunately, many are not. In fact quite a few of them can seriously damage your web credibility and reputation. I'd steer well clear unless you're certain you're getting something that's actually worth having.

I've never heard of anyone wanting someone to learn 15 songs for an audition? May need to watch out that the other band are just trying to get a dep in for one night. Do you already know them? If they are remotely serious and, possibly more important in the long run, professional, then they should let you have copies of the set list with any arrangements that differ from originals. I always give full details of any songs for auditions with arrangements and MP3's in the correct key as a matter of course. It's really not very hard to do given the number of free programmes out there to adjust keys etc. Obviously having fun is the most important thing but I'd definitely make sure I was really happy with each band before making this sort of commitment

I have no idea if this is real or not but looks fun!

I must admit that I think there's still a general perception of 'made in Japan' instruments being inferior to USA. This must be partly down to years of Fender pricing them below their USA standard models? To be honest I think that us Brits in general are pretty jingoistic when it comes to appraising instruments pretty much anywhere outside of the UK or USA. In fact, if I'm being really critical, there's a hell of a lot of players out there who look down their noses at anything other than American made instruments. A lot of this is just good old Fender, Gibson, Rickenbacker, MusicMan etc heritage followed up, in more recent years, by the rarity and desirability of the super Jazzes pioneered (to something approaching a mass market anyway) by Roger Sadowsky and the custom shops at Fodera, Alembic, Spector, Zon etc. Personally I'd think that Japanese and German craftsmanship, manufacturing skill and attention to detail would be at the forefront of modern instrument production but there's still a bias over here against them (interesting that Warwick reversed this trend for a while but seem to be quite out of favour now). I guess the other one that still surprises me is the negativity you see against lots of UK luthiers. Maybe not so much here on BC but try selling a Shuker, Sei, Overwater, GB etc to the more mainstream bass playing public and watch them turn their noses up when you say you have a handmade British instrument. Anyway - I have a Danish super-J on its way fairly soon so that'll keep me quiet for a bit until I spot an Aelier Z or a nice Larry Graham Moon up for sale Definitely going to browse all those other links people have suggested as well!

I must admit I'd normally think there's an over saturation of the expensive Fender clones but I think that an NYC Sadowsky is just about the easiest high end bass to sell on the used market so there's obviously lots of demand for them. It's a funny old market at times, Fender traditionally struggle to sell high end active basses but 'copies' of their core design fetch £3K new and can easily go over £2K used. I played an ESP CS bass once, very nice but I know the owner found it hard to sell for anything like what it cost new. Never heard of Atlansia before - they have some pretty crazy designs! http://www.atlansia.jp/BASS.NEW.HTML#P1 There's even a 1 string 'Solitaire' bass in here, lol

He was an American Idol winner (or at least a contestant) I seem to remember?

I'm not sure about cheaper brands but there are a few of the high end 'boutique' brands that have all been rising in value over recent years. Stuff like Fodera & Celinder etc have been on the up for a while. Alembic prices have really dipped but rarity and build quality should mean they'll rise again. Definitely a brand that could do with a modern 'name' player or three to start championing

I saw the amazing Francis Hylton tearing it up on a lovely looking Atelier Z bass last night and it started me wondering why we never see any of these for sale in the UK? I've never played one but it really sounded great in Francis' hands and reminded me of the very best of something like an NYC Sadowsky. Anyone here tried one? I also got to play a Moon recently as well and that was a great bass - again it really nailed that modern 'super-jazz' sound and feel. Although the odd one pops up on the used market, it's another brand you rarely see in the UK? Bacchus is the other one I can think of. I have a feeling they have some 'offshore' basses but their MIJ ones have a good rep. I guess it could be that people associate MIJ with a 'cheaper that MIA' Fender and think anything from Japan should be lower cost? Or maybe the simple cost of distance shipping and an expensive local workforce just makes them too expensive for anyone to import?

So - a year or more onwards and Francis is still the man. Went to see Incognito at the Jazz Cafe tonight and they were on absolutely top form - one of the best performances I've seen from them. Purely by chance I ended up about 3-4 people from the stage and right in the perfect sightline to watch everything Francis was playing, also getting a fair bit of stage sound from his MarkBass rig. Some absolutely amazing playing and so effortless as well. Top, top player

If I ever played on a stage and venue large enough to need one then I can't think of anything I'd rather have than an Ampeg 8x10. Meanwhile, back in the real world. . . Aguilar 12's do it for me. A pair of DB's with a Matching DB750 head or, for an amazing sounding lightweight solution the SL's with a Tone Hammer 500. Only others that come close are Bag Ends but they are generally a little too heavy for me these days

Off to see them at the Jazz Cafe in Camden tomorrow night

[quote name='dood' timestamp='1359069105' post='1949577'] It's so frustrating watching all the exciting updates coming from NAMM - I have a lot of colleagues / musicians I work with over there enjoying themselves and I cannae be there too! Nyaaaarghhhh!!!!! lol [/quote] If it's any consolation I hear it's raining

[quote name='chrismuzz' timestamp='1359068704' post='1949567'] Probably!! Though i bet if we opened a poll asking how many members would use this setup the majority would say no [/quote] Be interesting to open up the poll to studio engineers and producers though. . . Funnily enough I haven't had a studio owner, and senior producer, buy a set of La Bella flat wounds from me to go on his studio P Bass because 'nothing sounds better than that' for at least 10 hours (true story!).

[quote name='chrismuzz' timestamp='1359067605' post='1949548'] I guess that would make the best bass a Fender P *hides* [/quote] Interestingly every bass sounds good through a B15 and a vintage Fender P sounds pretty good through almost any amp. Does this make a vintage Fender P through a B15 the best combination ever?

The new Aggie pickups look interesting

1960's Ampeg B15N - the amp used on more amazing studio recordings than anything else?