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MiltyG565

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Posts posted by MiltyG565

    Looks like Modulus are making a comeback.

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    [quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1415554343' post='2601421'] Flea will be able to order a pair of new ones ready for the next tour too, he must have worn those ones out by now :D [/quote]

    But he uses Lane Poor pickups, and they've been out of production for a long time!

    He got a new one last year, IIRC - matte black with "Flea" inlayed into the fretboard.

    Quality Cables

    in Recording

    Posted

    Planet Waves / D'Addario make some really good off-the-peg leads. One of the best things about them is that they have a lifetime guarantee, so if it ever breaks, just return it for a new one.

    PayPal Problems

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    [quote name='ash' timestamp='1414771231' post='2593185']
    Thanks that's reassuring. :) It's not a great deal of money but I was rather angry at the seller who sold me a cosmetically damaged amp and then more or less accused me of lying about the issue. It's an eBay item of course but the window of opportunity for any resolution is rapidly approaching so I'm worrying in case the refund 'bounces', the seller says 'tough luck' and eBay says its outside their return policy time limitations. Hopefully that won't happen.
    [/quote]

    When is the latest you can put in a dispute?

    You should maybe dispute it, just in case, and then once the refund comes through, cancel your dispute? I know it's not very fair on the seller (assuming everything they have done is right), but it's one way to protect yourself.

    It doesn't matter how much money it is - that's your money. It rubs on me when people say "Ah but it was only a fiver", yeah, but it was my fiver that somebody else now has.

    PayPal Problems

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    [quote name='ash' timestamp='1414764877' post='2593092']
    Yes those three dreaded little Ps again!
    This time I've been waiting far too long for a partial refund to plonk into my account. Refunded on the 20th Oct - seller sends an email informing me its been refunded and left his account. I get an email from PayPal saying the refund has taken place. I check my account balance - it's at zero - I check the payment details for said refund 'Pending until Oct 27th. Ok a week fair enough....however I'm still waiting! Have contacted seller who sent a screenshot of the transaction details at his end I contacted PayPal three times by email to get automated emails that said nothing of relevance. Today I tried ringing several of their provided numbers and guess what? 'The number you have dialled has not been recognised' ....???!!! So then I tried to send an email complaint but it didn't let me sign the declaration at the end and kept sending me into an endless loop of redirected pages. I gave up. :(
    Any ideas or similar experiences?
    [/quote]

    This is the problem. I encountered the same problem when I got a refund from a transaction (because delivery to NI was going to cost an extra £30!) a couple of months ago (June, I believe). It took a couple of weeks, but it did eventually come through, and all the angry emails I sent them never got a proper response from somebody (or something) that could understand what I was actually saying. Just automated responses which made promises of a proper response, but none was ever forthcoming.

    I suppose what I'm saying is sit tight and hope they make good on their refund. Then resolve to avoid it like a plague.

    (Re)Mixing Challenge - VOTING!

    in Recording

    Posted

    [quote name='Skol303' timestamp='1414765930' post='2593105']
    Well done guys! :) I haven't listened to them yet, but I'm looking forward to doing so.



    C'mon Milty, we're all waiting! :P

    Seriously though.... no rush. You've got until late tonight to get it finished. And if not by then, just upload it over the weekend and I'll add it to the running order once the voting has started - no problem.
    [/quote]

    I'm just enjoying a coffee. After that, I'll upload my mix :)

    However, having listened to some of the other mixes, mine will just be making up the numbers :lol:

    (Re)Mixing Challenge - VOTING!

    in Recording

    Posted

    [quote name='Skol303' timestamp='1414705772' post='2592586']
    A quick heads up that entries must be finished and posted in this thread - as SoundCloud links - by midnight tomorrow (Friday).

    There's still time to have a go if you're working on something. But not much. So look busy ;)
    [/quote]

    Cheers! I'll upload tomorrow afternoon :)

    Fender, In trouble?

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    [quote name='skankdelvar' timestamp='1414696972' post='2592441']
    In a way, it's a bit like blaming the global banking crisis on the confusing number of savings accounts available from the average high street bank. :)
    [/quote]

    But that [i]is[/i] what caused it! I can't find a suitable savings account for the life of me! Meanwhile, a small mountain of pennies accumulates on my desk.

    Fender, In trouble?

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    [quote name='Marvin' timestamp='1414674806' post='2592096']
    The problem with streamlining the models within each range is, as as been seen on this very thread, people end up saying '..but, I'd to see them do...' which of course means another model.

    Fender aren't a boutique or high end manufacturer, they should stick to being a mass manufacturer but make sure they have very good QC. People still buy into the brand so the core of their business is probably quite healthy.
    [/quote]

    Fender are a high-end manufacturer. They make a lot of very expensive, very nice guitars. They've diversified over the years to try and capitalise on the beginner/hobbyist market.

    Fender, In trouble?

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    [quote name='skankdelvar' timestamp='1414640901' post='2591726']
    Certain inconvenient facts emerge from the swirl of opinion:

    * Fender is the world's leading musical instrument brand with #1 market share in the USA for guitars, basses and amplifiers. FMIC turns over around $700m a year and - in terms of its core brand sales - is perfectly healthy. This at a time when other brands are disappearing or licensing their names to - er - Fender.

    * Fender's share of the guitar, bass and amplifier market has continued to grow since the introduction of the multi-model, multi-price point business model, even during the downturn in the musical instrument market dating from around 2011. This would suggest that the 'confusing number of models' has - in fact - been a highly successful business strategy. Buyers seem to like the idea of greater choice and have voted with their wallets.

    Events show that those who would have preferred the company to slash itself back to producing only expensive replicas of old designs in a few colours would have backed the wrong horse.

    * On annual sales, FMIC [i]as a whole[/i] is only marginally profitable due to faulty corporate strategy enacted by its owners. FMIC would probably have cleared its historic debt overhang with its IPO had the company not put too many of its eggs in the Guitar Centre basket (due to conflicting ownership interests) and not bought the massively over-valued Kaman corporation. There is no problem with the core Fender guitar and bass operation but rather with the implementation of FMIC Group sales and corporate acquisition strategies.

    * Fender (like the other great amp brand Marshall) has more or less vacated the bass amplifier market whereas sales of Fender guitar amplifiers have increased dramatically since the early 2000's. The multi-level, multi-price point model has worked well for the guitar amps though there remains a market gap between the Chinese imports and the 'low-end' Mexican and American products.

    * Published instances of recurrent or systemic Fender QC problems are vanishingly rare by comparison to Gibson and - only a few years ago - Rickenbacker. A cursory inspection of the numerous forums devoted to Fender and to specific Fender guitars (e.g. TDPRI) supplies proof - were it needed - that Fender guitars and basses are - on the whole - reliable products.


    The rumours swirling around FMIC have almost nothing to do with Fender brand guitars / basses / amps or the 'end-user experience'. We think we know what we're talking about. But the fact is that BC comprises a small, closed group of (mostly) hobbyists with narrow opinions based on little more than window-shopping and some experience of a few instruments over the years. We might 'know our Fenders' but we know next to nothing about the industry or the company which puts them in our hands.

    And - as recent IPSOS surveys have shown - what we [i]think[/i] we know about [i]anything[/i] is almost always wrong. :)
    [/quote]

    What I was thinking was of a way for Fender to increase its profits by limiting the range to some of the best selling, then all the esoteric and boutique versions lumped into a special range of limited production, very high-quality guitars. Limited product would make them even more desirable, so they could bump the price up a little, and make even more profit. And all this was, in my mind, a way to get money in the door to pay off the debt.

    Of course, another way that could go is people get annoyed by the regression in range and move their custom to Gibson, or similar other big-name electric guitar brands.

    I don't know my Fenders - I know what I like, and I know what other people like. I'm not really a connoisseur or Fender enthusiast.

    And yes - The IPSOS Mori results today are a bit funny :D But they were on contentious and sensationalised issues, which we know distorts focus and accuracy. I'm not surprised.

    OLP MM2 Stingray - active + Basslines pickup £180 *** SOLD ***

    in Basses For Sale

    Posted

    [quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1414544245' post='2590602']
    Ha! crucially the back of headstock picture is all blurry :rolleyes: I'll update it.
    It's made in China, I'm pretty sure (I could go to the other room and check but... :P)
    It's one of what I call "version 2". The first ones were mostly natural/maple and pretty heavy with chunky necks, and VTT controls. I had one, not nice. The second ones were better, with necks that were wide but shallow... overall a bit slimmer than modern Stingrays, and the more common VVT controls. They were mostly black, or silver or metallic blue. After this, the versions that came afterwards used the smaller kind of bridge and the slightly more angular bodies, and fancier tops.
    [/quote]

    Ah! Yes, I've had a few "version 1"! :D They weren't active, and they weren't exactly pleasant. They sounded alright, but looked and felt... cheap.

    Looks like a neck of similar quality to my Korean one!

    Hmmm....

    Fender, In trouble?

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    [quote name='spacey' timestamp='1414529914' post='2590390']
    Can it ever be brought back ?
    [/quote]

    I'd like to think so. I don't know how far gone they are, but until the shutters are pulled down, it's always worth a shot. And if it's managed right, it can be turned around.

    I would have thought Fender could afford the best and brightest to make them money. Right off the top of my head, I thought of a few things which I think almost certainly would increase profits. Maybe it's a case of "can't see the woods for the trees" for Fender execs?

    Fender, In trouble?

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    [quote name='Mornats' timestamp='1414527166' post='2590333']
    Sounds like a plan Milty :)

    I remember someone posted a link to the Fender custom bass builder than pretty much let you build one of around 4 basses (including all colour combinations) in their range. Or in other words, if you trawled the list of Fenders on any guitar shop site you could pick out anything you could make in the custom builder. It was a very pointless tool in my opinion. My main trouble with Fenders is trying to find one that's a little bit individual. I think Fender have been taking notes from Henry Ford - you can have any colour so long as it's three-tone sunburst. :)
    [/quote]

    3-tone sunburst really works for Fender, though. It's not really my cuppatea, but people do like it. That's why they produce so many sunburst instruments - it's a safe bet.

    But this is what I'm saying - if they reduced the range, then every so often ran a "special" colour, people would buy it. I'm pretty sure colour/appearance is quite a deciding factor for most people.

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