molan

[quote name='Thunderbird' timestamp='1420925408' post='2655222'] Many firms even big firms where I have worked say the have no money but bosses and directors always seem to do all right in general IMO [/quote] And they all run music retail businesses and sell high end gear and don't care about youngsters wanting to buy strings?

[quote name='Thunderbird' timestamp='1420919278' post='2655113'] I am going slightly of topic here but you hear all these firms moaning about there trade suffering and that they can;t compete with on line firms but yet the directors and bosses all seem to live in big houses and drive big sw***y cars so things obviously are not as bad as they make out. And also it is not just about Thomann being cheaper they have great customer service unlike many shops here that dont give a monkeys about the young kid with a tenner to spend on strings and just want to sell high end gear at a nice profit I am afraid lots of so called music shops are there own worst enemy [/quote] Which firms are moaning and have owners living in big houses and driving sw***y cars? Just interested because I've never met any of them. I'm not doubting they might not exist just interested to know who they are?

It's interesting to see all the comments in this thread about Thomann and their buying clout. In some cases they actually are not able to buy any cheaper than anyone else. However their logistics operation is so large and efficient that this can allow them to sell way cheaper than other European retailers. A recent example is a brand that has a fixed price policy to all retailers. From what I understand Thomann have a large truck (or trucks) circling the USA collecting products and delivering them en masse to a central sea based shipping point. Everything is put in a huge container and shipped together. I'd assume they have a big insurance contract that covers everything whilst in transit. There will also be a big saving in centralised paperwork on the importation and clearance fees. Individual shipping cost per unit is negligible because so many things are coming over at once. Conversely we recently bought two units from the same supplier. Our shipping cost was $400 with an additional $80 for insurance. Depending on exchange rates that's a cost of about £150 per unit. On this simple calculation Thomann could afford to offer £100 discount and still make £50 extra profit (and that's obviously excluding any other savings involved in running an online only business). On the surface this looks like a good thing for buyers of this product. A straight £100 saving (or more) simply saving on shipping - the only people being hit on profits are the courier companies. Manufacture is still getting the same price and the end user gets it for less money. The potential downside is that this particular product was previously unavailable to try at any retailer in the UK. We reintroduced the brand and lots of people have been able to try them out and have subsequently purchased. If our margins are so eroded that we can't afford to stock this brand then it's highly likely it won't be available to demo anywhere in the UK. Obviously people could order online, try at home and return if not happy. This wouldn't allow comparison against lots of other similar products which, for some people is very important. This isn't a moan about online retailers, that's just a different way of doing business that can be very succesful. However, as a gigging bass player I think it will be a sad day if the few decent shops in the country are closed down because of the new economic models

[quote name='icastle' timestamp='1420811768' post='2653751'] Hence the 'Not sure if they still do it' comment. They certainly did back in the mid 80's, but that was 25 years before the 'Competition Law' stuff that covers price fixing only appeared. [/quote] It is absolutely still the case that some large suppliers and/or distributors will aim to price fix. Dealers discovered selling below a certain price and/or margin can find their supply 'severely restricted' in the future. . .

[quote name='karlfer' timestamp='1420905199' post='2654825'] I was under the impression VAT wasn't applicable on used equipment? [/quote] VAT is payable on everything a vat registered shop sells. Calculation is based on any profit made.

[quote name='andy67' timestamp='1420811643' post='2653746'] Quite happy to be wrong, just going on info imparted to me from a rep. [/quote] No idea what he was repping but 45% markup is definitely old history. The more exclusive and higher demand products are the lower the margin an MI retailer will make. May be an odd accessory out there at 45% but not instruments or amplification that I know of. PS - If he does rep basses or amps that actually sell at 45% markup then get him to give me a call and we'll stock them!

I know three pretty accomplished luthiers and all of them have given up making complete instruments. Simply not enough money in it because the relative cost of labour compared to machine built instruments was too high. One of them now has a high end restoration and repair business, another is a classic setup and regular repair man and the third works in a guitar shop. I think it's really difficult to make any sort of money these days as a bespoke, small volume, builder. Great hobby and a useful string to add to your bow as a setup expert but, as others have said, it's a potentially long road for little, financial, reward

Pierre Ganseman is your man for advice - he's lived in Berlin for a few years and knows his way around Plus he's a big funk fan so will know the best live music venues as well

[quote name='skej21' timestamp='1420883647' post='2654459'] Some nice gear, including a Fodera. I thought they were totally 'unplayable', 'ugly' and 'obscenely priced'?! He would've known that if he spent less time recording and touring the world with legendary artists and spent more time on basschat... [/quote] That Marcus Miller bloke is the same, he has 3-4 Foderas (I think he sold one in 2013 for charity) that he uses regularly and records with

My mum has an iPad and uses a rubber tipped pointing device. She's never touched her screen with a fingertip!

Just goes to show the power of good marketing and a top name artist endorsement. People often say that artist endorsed and/or signature basses don't have a lot of influence but the buzz about Sire online has been huge since this was announced. I'd guess if a new Korean made Fender J clone was released without the Marcus association it would get very little media and forum coverage. The Flea endorsed bass was similar in terms of coverage and expectation but these do seem a lot nicer than those ones.

I quite like them. Doesn't have all the bells and whistles of the SM series but sounds great for powerful rock stuff. Actually I really like a lot of the classic era SWR gear. Gigged an SM400 for a long time combined with a Triad cab

The using of a third party collection agent is a well known ruse used by EBay scammers on a very regular basis. The EBay trick is that the person pays you. The courier collects and the buyer then says the item has not arrived and it appears to be untraceable as it hasn't been collected either in person by the buyer or a 'recognised' major courier. We get approached at the shop on a regular basis by people trying to do this and as soon as we insist on a courier like FedEx or UPS they strangely never contact us again. In this case the only concern appears to be whether the money is genuine or not. You could insist on meeting at a high street bank to get the cash cleared if you're at all concerned.

I've got a Carpenters hits album on iTunes - often gets played late at night driving home from rehearsals The programme is on again at 1:00 am on BBc4 by the way.

Dr Ducks Ax Wax is goo for cleaning just about everything. Have to use a tiny amount though. We use it in the shop and have had the same bottle on the go for about 18 months now!

We had a late '60's vintage Fender VI in the shop for a while. I kinda liked it but it really struggled in lower registers if played like a more 'conventional' bass rather than a Bari guitar. I'd never have considered it to handle 'regular' bass duties without a lot of eq'ing on both amp and desk. Obviously there's people out there doing this though so it's obviously possible to get one to work!

If you're likely to be playing a lot at home then a T-Bird my not be the best choice as it's not the most comfortable of basses to play seated

The Aggie P is based on Dave Boonshoft's personal '64P bass and sounds really nice if you're after a more vintage tone.

[quote name='kevvo66' timestamp='1420245285' post='2647253'] My ideal bass rig on a budgie !!! ,would be a ashdown eb180 combo [/quote] You might need to allow a bit extra for some hefty vet bills once you've removed the squashed budgie from under the Ashdown

La Bella still make the strings and, interestingly, don't often mention the Jamerson connection much any more after his widow sued them for using his name and image for marketing purposes. They switched to Donald Duck Dunn instead (which is still pretty impressive!). They are the 760M Original 1954 set.

Bass is an easy choice for me. I don't know what the gig it just has to be a Precision as that'll cover any gig. Best one I could see within budget is the funky Roger Waters model at £500: http://basschat.co.uk/topic/252457-fs-fender-roger-waters-signature-precision-immaculate-condition-l500/page__pid__2646616#entry2646616 Again, without knowing the gig I'd look for a flexible but powerful head with plenty of tone-shaping options. There's not a lot out there that's well made and has a strong gigging rep so the Carvin BX700 does it for me: http://basschat.co.uk/topic/251659-carvin-bx700-lightweight-flexible-powerful-head-on-hold/page__pid__2644931#entry2644931 For cabs I'd look for a good all rounder that I know can handle a lot of gigs with ease and isn't overly coloured. This Aguilar GS112 looks a very strong contender (although it may now have gone!). http://basschat.co.uk/topic/251551-aguilar-gs-1x12-nt-l200-traded/page__fromsearch__1

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1419454550' post='2640215'] Once again I missed a Diamond Bass Compressor for sale on here... dammit! Not a particularly 'remedial' compressor, it's true - but it doesn't half make your bass sound big and glossy. [/quote] Still my personal favourite. Almost like a compressor for people who don't like compressors

[quote name='woodster' timestamp='1420148346' post='2646187'] It's a controller for a sub bass platform that Dave stands on. [/quote] Jools is fairly tough on stage volumes and quite particular about the way the band is set up live. Dave's cab is invariably firing straight at Jools so he has to be very careful about volume. He much prefers to hear himself through an amp and cab and likes to feel the bass as well. He has a custom built pad that he stands on which generates a lot of the feel of a big rig thundering away without the volume. I've tried something similar at MusikMesse and was really surprised at how well it worked. We were listening through headphones whisky standing on the pads and it genuinely felt like we were listening 'live' at far greater volume than we were being fed through the cans

[quote name='neepheid' timestamp='1420143450' post='2646119'] Does there always have to be a ruthless dissection any time Later/Hootenanny is on the telly? Another way of looking at it is that it's far and away the least cringeworthy countdown to the bells on the television. I happily watched Hootenanny and at the bells I went outside my front door with a dram of Glenrothes and watched fireworks while being serenaded by the ships in the harbour tooting their horns. A splendid time was had by all. [/quote] I so agree with this. It never ceases to amaze me how many BC'ers seem to revel in having a go at live music on TV. Doesn't seem to matter which genre, channel or programme style. There's always somone taking huge offence at professional musicians playing live on TV for the entertainment of others. My step-son and I watch it together most years and always enjoy it. Our tastes are incredibly different but there's always some people we both like and some we both think aren't so hot. Every year someone pops up and surprises us and that's always some highs and lows but, overall, I'd rather watch this than the tripe and/or repeats churned out elsewhere.