molan

[quote name='ricksterphil' timestamp='1475087787' post='3143004'] Best music shop experience I ever had was in a store in Birmingham Me and my band were buying a Traynor PA.....well actually the drummers dad Harry was paying (we were in our teens) How much we asked? £400 said the salesman (should point out this was the 70's) How much can you knock off asks Harry (the drummers dad...keep up folks) Oh I reckon no more than 10% off says salesman bloke. Well Harry wasn't happy with that and a session of good old fashioned haggling went on which culminated with us half way out of the shop, with Harry sticking to his offer, before the manager gave in and we got the PA. £240 Harry paid ....that's a 40% discount! Never forgot that encounter, learnt much about the art of haggling that day [/quote] Is the shop still there?

[quote name='Twigman' timestamp='1475085271' post='3142965'] go on then humour us [/quote] I never kiss and tell

You should hear the stories the people in music shops tell about some of their customers 😂

4 Ritters is probably a bit indulgent 😂 Although I've spent more on Foderas 😱 Actually, owning a Jule Monique with Demeter Minnie power anp and a Demeter D800 head at the same time is pretty indulgent too 😬

[quote name='fleabag' timestamp='1474893311' post='3141274'] That takes the biscuit for weirdness. As an Oxon resident myself, which/where is that pub ? [/quote] Henley on Thames - the one 'rough' pub in the town It's right behind the Town Hall and diagonally opposite what used to be the police station. I live in the town but haven't been back there since . . .

My favourite weird pub gig was when I roadied for an evening for a friend. First half went ok but at at the break we heard sounds of shouting, then a scuffle and then glass breaking from the small patio / smoking area. The landlord had apparently picked a fight with a couple of locals. He then turned all the power off and then told the entire pub to F-off and barred everyone present from ever drinking there again saying he'd remember all their faces (this included me and the band). One of his bar staff got the power back on as the punters drifted out and told us we'd get paid but should scarper quickly. The landlord then had another fit of shouting and threw himself out of the pub shouting that he wouldn't let himself back in again He headed off to the car park right next to the police station and attacked a copper who promptly locked him up for the night. The pub was not only opposite the police station but also the magistrates' court. Needless to say he lost his licence pretty soon after. . .

[quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1474806859' post='3140621'] He was also a total crook & was known for selling fakes & forgeries of many high end US guitars & basses. [/quote] I thought all his copy basses were clearly sold as representations of vintage instruments and not sold illegally? I know that the Ernie Ball company threatened him with legal action after he was building replacement bodies for some of their guitars (not basses from what I remember) and he made a public statement apologising if anyone thought his replacements were original parts. I don't remember ever seeing him being formally indicted for anything though and the US is particularly litigious

[quote name='neepheid' timestamp='1474805825' post='3140606'] Sounds like a blowhard with a chip on his shoulder to me. The truth usually lies somewhere between the extremes of this guy on one side and slavish fanbois who will stomp on you (in the Internet words sense) if you dare say anything negative about the motherbrand on the other - EBMM forum springs to mind [/quote] I agree although, unfortunately, Ed R was just about the biggest single guitar shop in the States for a while and probably had more influence on the general public than any of the various web forums. He was a very extreme character and, of course, isn't around any more to rant on stuff like this.

I don't think Ed Roman's famous rant about G&L build quality helped their reputation much. "I hereby rescind any positive recommendations I have made regarding G&L instruments. I hereby will no longer recommend the G&L product to my customers. And I will buy back any G&L guitar that was purchased from me within a two year period for full price paid" He was always something of a maverick but was one of the biggest names in US guitar retailing and offering to buy back any G&L he'd sold was a pretty big knock. I must admit that we tried stocking them for a while at BassGear and they were very slow moving so we delisted them.

I've seen an 'Ocean Magma' finish in the flesh - it looks stunning!

Are there many "bass layers" in Oxfordshire? It sounds like a fun pastime - I might need some instruction on exactly how to lay my bass first though 😬

[quote name='BassTractor' timestamp='1474406705' post='3137857'] Shshshshshsh! The potential customer already has a Terror Bass, and I need new glasses! Seriously though, I've told him I believe the Streamliner basically has a different character rather than more guts, just in case he thinks 900W into 2 Ohm is a lot more than 500W into 4 Ohm. [/quote] Sorry - I didn't read the very first post properly. I thought some was just asking for opinions of each amp

Doesn't go to 2 ohms but I use a GK MB200 as my back up amp. It's tiny and fits in the pocket of my gig bag. 200w is just about loud enough in an emergency and I can DI into the PA from it as well

The big question here is how recent is 'recently'. If you're inside 14 days you have strong grounds to return under distance selling rules (although these are complicated by eBay). Arguing that the seller's description of "9 out of 10" is inaccurate will be really tough because it's simply not measurable - you can't find a published account that will have much credence in exactly what 9 means for a 40 year old instrument. For a great early 70's P I don't think £2k is outrageous (especially from a dealer) but it's a bit over the top for an average P. The main decider, for me anyway, is how it sounds. A few hundred either way isn't a huge amount for something that sounds amazing

[quote name='Norwood' timestamp='1474374641' post='3137464'] Thanks Molan, now I'm hesitating between a 121H and an AC, I don't know if just a 12" is reasonable. With the 121H I can add an cab extension in the future. [/quote] The AC is very loud on its own but a 121H combo sitting on top of another 121H cab will chuck out more volume and low end. Of course, that's a fair bit more money

[quote name='sifi2112' timestamp='1474359493' post='3137298'] +1 to what Molan just said above Stand alone combo is ideal for me, unless JB or Walkabout are loud enough without taking an extension cab (which defeats the purpose really). I could just take the head out & use the 212 I already have which sounds great but is heavy which is probably why it hasn't sold ... Or just get a decent head to pair with it. Molan what head would you recommend with my bagend 212 ? Sorry to derail my own thread lol [/quote] It's a while since I've been able to try a BagEnd 212 but from what I remember they like a lot of power. I've had a go with a hefty Carvin 1000w and MarkBass SD800 worked pretty well too. I think big, powerful, clean and clear is good with these

[quote name='Norwood' timestamp='1474296939' post='3136908'] I would like to know your notice to choose between the AC and a cmd 102P [/quote] I like the MarkBass 2x10 cabs (especially the 4ohm version) but the combo is a bit of a 'non starter' for me. It's good that it acts like a stage monitor with the speakers angled up but it just sits too low on the ground for me. I don't play with my amp settings a lot during a gig but having to bend so low mid gig would continually annoy me. One thing I should reiterate is that there's a major factor in why I like the AC as a standalone combo. It's the only one specifically designed not to work with an extension cab. For my personal use this means that when I grab a combo I'm getting the full output from the amp(s) rather than a lower 350w output from any other MB combo. If I needed a much bigger sound then I'd consider a combo plus extension cab but, again, from a purely personal perspective, I'd be using separates for that kind of gig.

I'd take the Orange over a Streamliner any day. Streamliners always sound muddy and lacking definition to me. Almost exactly the opposite of what I'd be looking for in a bass amp Orange amps tend to be a bit of a 'one trick pony' but if you like that 'trick' they can sound great

[quote name='dood' timestamp='1474278801' post='3136656'] Ah! ha ha! You typed the same as me at the same time [/quote] Great minds think alike eh Dood

[quote name='EBS_freak' timestamp='1474284909' post='3136747'] The other thing to be wary of is manufacturers that time the cabinet with a distinct midrange hump. This cons the ear into thinking its a lot louder than the next cab. [/quote] You beat me to it, lol. Totally agree, there are a few manufacturers who build in mid-range humps to increased perceived loudness. To my ears they tend to sound bloody horrible. Nasal, harsh and 'gritty but they do appear 'louder' and this makes some people really like them because of the old 'louder = better' argument