molan

Unless you really must have a new one is be tempted to look for a good quality used one. MM values plummet like crazy from new and you should be able to save at least 40%!

We've sold a few of these and they seem to be well liked by their owners (I've certainly not seen one up for sale used anywhere which is usually a good sign). Lots of power if you are happy to run bridged into a 4 ohm load. Into a pair of 'regular' 8 ohm cabs they put out about 325w per channel. Not sure if we'll be getting any more in though. We've discontinued Carvin basses and strings now following a change in their company structure and looks like we'll only hold minimal stocks of the smaller BX700's in the future

I've seen them live in New Orleans a couple of times and, if anything, they're even better in a sweaty club live setting than on their recorded output

If you want something classy that will add colour without overpowering your core bass tone then the Lehle Boost pedals are really nice. Really, really well made and have a very high quality sound.

I see the poor creditors of the original version of DV247 are getting just 37p in the £ for the amount owed

Our stand is full now In instruments there will be Roger Sadowsky with some new Metros and NYC basses (depending on what we sell between now and then!) and Douglas Mullen from Eve with a special custom build plus maybe some more. For amps we'll be featuring Phil Jones Bass with a range of new gear - big advantage here is that all of the PJB amps have headphone sockets for quiet practice We've also now got Hermann Gerlach from Harvest Leather over from Germany. He makes some of the very best leather gig bags and straps in the world and they are used by lots of top pro players. He's also another bass player and has some good friends on the pro circuit so watch out for some these visiting us over the weekend!

I've had these on one of my basses and really like them as well. Designed by Dave Boonshoft at Aguilar to be as close as possible to the ones in his original '64 P.

[quote name='Bassjon' timestamp='1422895355' post='2678011'] ^ Good to know, I'm starting to despair at the lack of info on the official website. If I buy a bass there do you think I can ask to have it shipped to me so I don't have to take it on the train with me? Anyone know if that's a possibility? [/quote] Some people will happily do this. We've shipped things and also taken deposits on things for payment at a later date. My guess is that it'll effect the sales price if you're after a mega-bargain. A few retailers / manufacturers will knock a bit extra off towards the end of the show because they don't want to drag things home with them.

[quote name='Woodinblack' timestamp='1422732480' post='2676297'] Well, I mentioned mine not fitting well, but that was in my dingwall. Ironically in my fenders it is perfect. I measured it after he said with a vernier, it is exactly what it should be. Even if it wasn't, and it was true, I think it is a very unprofessional way of conducting yourself when you are a rep for a company, as whatever the truth, it reflects badly on your company. And his rant on what a stupid idea the mute was was even worse as that is the reason I bought one, so for all his 'noone wanted this / you can mute by unplugging / waste of time', so he was calling me stupid. The only thing I don't like about the planet waves lead is that it tangles easily. [/quote] Spooky - there's actually a live thread about Planet Waves cables causing jack socket problems! http://basschat.co.uk/topic/254671-planet-waves-compression-spring-cable-has-loosened-my-socket/page__fromsearch__1 As far as I know the current range is all sorted now though May still be some old stock out there still.

[quote name='Woodinblack' timestamp='1422725873' post='2676158'] I was chatting to a fender rep while the owner had gone off to take a call, and said that I liked the leads that they did, with the microfibre covering, and it got less tangled up than my rubbery planet waves lead. He then proceeded to tell me that the planet waves cables were no good as the plugs they used were too small as they had metric plugs rather than imperial, so they always fell out, and noone ever wanted a mute switch on their cable anyway so it was silly. In fact he went on about it so much my he really put me off buying their products! [/quote] I can't remember which series it was but there was actually a range of Planet Waves cables that were notorious for falling out really easily. Pretty sure it was the same range that had an option of the built in mute option that regularly failed and rendered the lead unusable. I first heard of this from a guitar repair man who said he'd had a lot of instruments in for replacement jack sockets because the leads kept falling out - when he tried them with a 'regular' lead he thought they were ok and he realised it was a lead problem not the jack socket. Although he also discovered that the loose lead had damaged some jack sockets as well because it jiggled around a bit and made the problem even worse

[quote name='Subbeh' timestamp='1422721983' post='2676062'] To be honest I don't think anything he said was far fetched. I'm sure the average music shop will sell more four than five string basses, and they also probably sell more Fender shaped guitars and basses than more interesting shapes like the bongo or thunderbird. His offer is pretty typical of what you could expect for a non p/x deal. As far as bands not liking the look of a bass the guy really isn't talking crap, Ive certainly heard of bass players being asked to play something more image appropriate for the band, not all are willing but it's cropped up on here and talk bass before. Maybe the guy just didnt come across well to you but I don't think anything he said was bull*&%$. [/quote] I must admit that I agree with a lot of what you're saying here. We find that there's no huge difference between 4's and 5's across all sales but there certainly is with certain brands. EG Fender 5's will always be slower to move than a Sadowsky. Bongos are definitely harder to sell than many other body shapes and can take an age to shift. Doesn't matter how they sound, the look just makes some people visibly wince when they see one hanging on a wall. Musicman prices in general have taken a bit of tumble and they depreciate like crazy from new (way worse than Fender). A lot of places sell a new one at over £1,600 but I've seen very good used ones go for as little as £650 (I bought a black one personally for that price). We'd put one up for sale in the shop at about £800, maybe £50 more for a 5 string. However if it hung around for a while it would be more like £750 for a 5. That would give a PX value of £550 - £600. After accounting for VAT and card fees there's not a huge margin in this sort of sale for a retailer. Being told by a band, producer or TV director to change a bass because it doesn't look right is still surprisingly common. I've even known people to be asked to get a different colour bass - White and Black are still very popular for 'TV' basses.

[quote name='largo' timestamp='1422700316' post='2675729'] With the prospect of getting more Euro's for the pound should I be looking at buying my next piece of gear from a European company rather than UK? 1000 EUR was about £850 last year, this year it's closer to £750. I don't mind supporting my local music shop, but if they don't have (or can't get) what I'm after then what does matter which online store I buy from. Times are tight, so I'd rather have £100 in my pocket. I'd be interested to see what others think. [/quote] Need to watch pricing trends carefully - the prices on one major European made brand being sold by a very large European online retailer have quietly risen over the last two weeks. Some products actually rose above UK main dealer prices last week. . .

[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1422701744' post='2675750'] but I guess your 5000e Ritter might have just got £200 cheaper in the last 4 weeks.... [/quote] 14 month build time - 'the value of your investments could go up or down'. . .

[quote name='BILL POSTERS' timestamp='1422536660' post='2673785'] I just point blank refused to play Alright Now Its the height of naff. [/quote] I missed a band meeting recently and the buggers grid to slip this in the set while I wasn't looking. I also point blank refused to play it.

There's a new Starbass Pro due out fairly soon. Principally made in Germany and wih German components but lower priced than the 'crafted' in Germany range.

Look for a used one, they pop up all the time Make sure it's 8ohms though. The 4ohm can is a great standalone unit but it won't work with the combo and will damage the amp. Most of the ones you see out there are 8 ohm though.

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1422440568' post='2672561'] They should hire Bobby Vega..he can do it all. But the fact is... you go to any bass shop and the guy playing the bass will be showing off his best chops... and slapping 90% of the time. [/quote] It's actually quite rare for us to get major slapping going on in the shop. Maybe just because we have an older customer base than a high street store.

I really like them but another brand to try before you buy. I've played one that was completely lifeless and bland and another with a, very slight, fretboard issue. I think these are real exceptions though, every other one I've tried has been uniformly excellent

The big, big advantage of the matching MarkBass 210 cab is that the combo is stackable on top of the cab and it's really solid. There's also an option to tilt the combo upwards on top of the cab so you've got the speakers not only raised but pointing up at you like a monitor

This article doesn't talk about the key but it's a fascinating insight into the recording of the original. Also a great excuse for your keys player to use when he says that Stevie's clavinet part is impossible to play properly live http://homerecording.about.com/od/mixingyourmusic/a/mixing_superstition.htm

I've been listening to his show for years but I think it's lost its way a bit recently. Producer changed a while ago and I don't think it's really recovered since he went. Still one of the best shows on radio and I listen virtually every week but, for me, the better Solar radio shows have more variety and interest these days.

Of suppliers we deal with I've spoken to two fairly recently about importing brazilian rosewood from the USA to the UK. Both said it was potentially possible but paperwork trail was very important and the more details about provenance the better. One basically said it was too complicated since about 2012 and that they had experienced instruments being seized and inspected (although they were cleared ok). Based on this they wouldn't export to the UK unless it was a really exceptional circumstance. The other said they would be happy to export. However these woods were likely to be expensive and would almost certainly stay in the US. Certainly there was nothing readily available for 2015. We also heard that there was a knock-on effect for high grades of Honduran rosewood (sometimes offered as an alternative to Brazilian) and that prices had risen and supply was limited now. These regulations can also effect Abalone. Some suppliers have to get export certificates for instruments with abalone inlays. So long as the paperwork is all in order it's much easier to obtain export licences but without these then they are liable to seizure. There's a nasty little clause in th seizure regs as well that say there's potentially no recompense and good will not be returned to the supplier if found to be contravening regulations. Edit - I've also been asked to verify that there wasn't any Brazilian rosewood or mahogany on a bass that I shipped privately to the US. This was just from my local FedEx depot. I'd specified 'guitar' as the package contents and when the guy came to collect he asked what woods it was made of and had a short list of woods that couldn't be exported. I had to sign to say that there weren't any. He didn't ask to inspect at all but said there was a possibility of US customs opening the package to check. I'd say this was about 18 months to 2 years ago.

[quote name='Annoying Twit' timestamp='1422126260' post='2669050'] Are the kits on your website? I had a look and I couldn't find anything. (I might have looked in the wrong place). Not that I'm likely to buy anything as up-market as a Carvin kit. But I'm curious to know what sort of high quality kits are around. [/quote] Each kit is actually made to order and there are stacks of options so it's near impossible to provide accurate prices without going through a detailed spec sheet. Most people use the Carvin site to build a spec sheet and then we'll price it up and/or make recommendations (with help from the pro builders at Carvin). We've never really pushed these as a major sales area because general demand for kit basses isn't huge. Feels like we need to set up a dedicated page for kits and self build parts.

We sell kits from Carvin and/or individual parts. I've seen some assembled kits and there is a quite difference between even kit basses from the same manufacturer and their fully finished instruments. The kit built instruments aren't desperately bad but the general quality of final fit and finish isn't up to the same standard as the professionally built ones. Of course the kit builders get a lot of satisfaction from self-builds and they save a fair bit of money but I think even they would admit the finished item doesn't have the same quality of a factory instrument.