molan

Something vaguely similar happened to me recently. Courier said package delivered but the buyer hadn't received it. I managed to get a scan of he signature of the person who'd taken delivery and it turned out to be a neighbour/friend who'd taken it in and hadn't spotted the buyer was home from work yet. I'm assuming you've tried all the local houses to check that it's not sitting in an, absent-minded, neighbour's hallway? Should definitely report to local police as well - they ought to take some interest in £1,000 stolen package.

It's a bit of a way to travel to Surrey but Steve at stevesamps.co.uk is an absolute whizz when it comes to fixing valve amps. Sorted a very obscure problem with my old SVT that had baffled two other amp techs - and he didn't even charge me much for sorting it either

Damn - iPhone glitches screwing with me and messed up the end of my last post' Is the YY 'worth' the amount a new one costs? If you can afford one and don't get wound up by the inevitable cliches of whether any bass is 'worth' this much then I think undoubtably, yes. Having worked for 'the man' for 30 years then I kinda feel I can indulge myself with a Yin Yang without Gavin to feel guilty for it, lol. Is one worth about 40 Squiers the definitely not - but, on purely personal preferences I know which I'd rather be spending my 'precious' bass plain time with

So the YY arrived this week and it surpassed all of my expectations The quality of construction was exactly what I'd expected having tried a few Fodera customs in the last 6 months but it's way nicer in he flesh than the photos suggest. From the pics the 'classic' YY basses look very 'black and white', however, up close you can really see the gorgeous woods of the ebony and holly and they feel much more 'organic' than I would have thought. The ebony is really lovely and there's lots of different textures to the colour with some really nice natural wood finishes coming through. The neck may just be the nicest I've ever played, smooth, perfectly shaped (for me anyway!) and just beautifully finished. I'm no pro player (as anyone who's heard me can bear witness to) but I have had the chance to play a swathe of 'pro' basses and this one just knocks all he others into a corner as far as I'm concerned! The core sound is, unsurprisingly, very articulate and is really responsive to player dynamics. It shows up technical glitches but when you really get things right it just 'sings' like nothing else I've ever played. Fodera say that they are only going to produce 6 a year of these moving forwards because they are just so labour intensive, having one that was completed this year feels nice but it's really not any kind of major reason that I like it so much! Is it 'worth' the current $12,500 price tag (about £10K in the UK after taxes) - well that depends on whether you can afford one and So - apologi

We've been quoted close to £200 for PLI this year and I wondered if anyone had any recommendations for good insurers to get a quote from?

I am beginning to question why I always go away this time of year - I've missed three years worth of SE bashes now! Still - I guess sitting on a beach in the Caribbean whilst it's cold and snowy at home does make up for it a little Actually if BA flew here any day other than Saturday I'd have delayed my trip just to be there - but don't tell the wife, lol . . .

Spooky - I was reading about the album release last night and made myself a little note to try and listen to some stuff today - popped into BC first and here was your note Listening to MySpace right now - sounds King Crimsonesque (which is a good thing as far as I'm concerned!) based on first couple of minutes. Looking forward to hearing the rest!

[quote name='Chris2112' post='1033173' date='Nov 22 2010, 08:50 PM']There seem to be a lot of people asking about this now. Customs aren't mugs though, they're trained to spot just about every scam coming in to ensure that no one can buck the trade laws of this country. Every penny counts to Westminister now, and given the risk of trying to smuggle stuff in I'd day you're best off keeping it above board or just buying in this country.[/quote] I spoke to someone today who's been arguing with customs who impounded a bass being shipped from the USA. He'd taken it out as hand luggage and left it there to have some work done on it. They asked for written proof of his 'export' to the USA and a receipt from his original purchase that showed import duties had been paid on it when it was first imported. He'd paid cash for it on a private sale a couple of years ago and had no proof he'd actually taken it over with him. Eventually he gave up arguing and lashed out £225 to get it released from customs (value based on the insured amount plus the shipping charges)! It was worth more than the insured amount and he had the work completed very cheaply by the original luthier who'd even marked the return as a warranty repair. Overall he just about broke even on the whole thing but it does make you wonder if they are paying closer attention than usual at the moment. . .

Nice one RastaMan

[quote name='steve-soar' post='1030915' date='Nov 20 2010, 10:14 PM']And, you own a smashing Fodera that was last played by him. PICS!!![/quote] It's not actually mine - although it it is at my house at the moment Another pretty serious player (that's compared to VW & not me, lol) borrowed it for a week recently and was very impressed too! Should be heading up to BassGear in Harrogate later this week.

Having seen him recently as the 'house' bass player for Bootsy and I can definitely say that he can hold down a simple funk groove & make it sound great without even remotely trying to play any of the flashy stuff I also saw him trying out a bass on the Fodera stand & just playing away quietly to himself - I was maybe 3-4 feet away and his technique mesmerised me!

Nice one Pete

I tried some of these in LA the other week - so tempted by a set of slime green ones but managed to resist Played Divinity Roxx's metal flake pink Warwick with day glo pink strings, I think it suited me but no-one around to take any pictures. . .

So, in the last seven days I've : Sold 1 x amp, 5 pedals, 1 x bass Bought 1 x amp & 1 x guitar In a slightly 'roundabout' way I've also sold another bass on a reference from here Net money in about £3,400 Net money out about £1,600 That's £5,000 worth of transactions - seems to suggest that this is indeed a pretty good place to buy and sell bass related items to enthusiasts N.B. I should add that the £1,800 worth of 'profit' on these transactions was eaten up in the previous week (and then some!), lol. . .

[quote name='obi 2 kenobi' post='1026854' date='Nov 17 2010, 01:35 PM']It is the godlike genius of Byron Miller. Sideman with Roy Ayers, Herbie Hancock and George Duke for decades[/quote] Thanks for that, he's one of those guys who I've heard of but don't really know anything about - must go and search out some of his stuff

[quote name='Conan' post='1026828' date='Nov 17 2010, 01:00 PM']Check out the solo from 1:48 onwards... [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ov2Z7LCIBqA"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ov2Z7LCIBqA[/url][/quote] Love it - Who is that on bass? I should add that I'm watching this on iPhone and the vid is very blurry, lol. I thought it was Stanley Clarke on the original album but that doesn't sound like him to me (and I've never seen Stan the Man on a P?).

I think both Bernard Edwards & Rocco are in that league of player who always sounds intrinsically like themselves whatever bass they use. I've seen Edwards on MusicMan, BC Rich & Fenders & Rocco's been through a few different basses and amp setups (including endorsement deals) over the years but you just know who it is when you hear them playing I'm having a complete Chic fest at the moment - I have a homemade 'hits' compilation on my car iPod and playing it pretty much in rotation. Although Bernard E is great I think it's some of Nile Rodgers' guitar playing that really kills for me. The part where he comes back in on Good Times after they break it down in the middle is one of my favourite guitar moments ever, lol.

Interesting that Ampeg have recently announced a 'Heritage' reissue of the B15 as well: Haven't seen a price yet but I'm guessing it's a lot more than an Ashdown!