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Ashborygirl

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Everything posted by Ashborygirl

  1. Oh the irony. I did not say TE was a budget brand. Gibson bought an aspirational, class leading brand & shut it down in just 4 years. If you think that was improving the brand, fair enough, I have some magic beans to sell you.
  2. All true, but its odd the supply chain issues only arose once Gibson took ownership. Meanwhile MB's competitors have been able to churn amps out by the thousand. Kudos to Peavey for bringing back TE, especially using UK manufacture. The Elf is a terrific amp. But it doesn't reflect well on Gibson that they sacked all the staff and mothballed the brand yet Peavey have now made the brand a commercial & critical success.
  3. Find me a Gibson made MB for sale in the UK, there are none & haven't been any since Gibson bought them. Gibson shut down production of TE in 2002. Those are demonstrable facts.
  4. Read what I wrote; 'All either disappeared or now just trade names for budget gear' One or the other category, not both. Nowhere have I said, implicitly nor explicitly, that MB & TE are in the latter category. You can't buy a MB in the UK since Gibson's take over & Gibson discontinued TE production. I'd have thought the category those 2 brands fall into was fairly obvious.
  5. Where did I describe Boogie as 'budget' or TE as 'crap'? Gibson bought Boogie in 2021 & there have been no new Boogies in the UK since. Gibson say they will come back, but for now, you can't buy a new one. So that patient, if not dead, has been in ITU for 3 years. Gibson bought TE in October 1998 & moved the majority of manufacturing to the US & Asia. They closed the UK factory in December 2001 & effectively ended TE production. I'd say that was Gibson killing off the brand. Peavey bought the distribution rights in 2006 & relaunched the brand, albeit using the same OEM boards found in some Peavey branded amps. Nothing inherently wrong with that, but I doubt it's what Fred Friedlein envisioned for his company.
  6. But what about 54 years ago? I doubt Gibson shifted the name to Japan to improve quality.
  7. Compared to what it was, yes. Unless you think closing down UK production in favour of far-eastern production was to improve the quality, rather than cut costs?
  8. USA Epiphones were out of production for nearly 50 years. In that time the name was used exclusively on cheaper Japanese & Korean made instruments. Hardly progress from their pre-Gibson heyday.
  9. Gibson, their QC hit rock bottom 20+ years ago & it's been downhill from there. The fact you now get a QC checklist signing off things that have clearly never been checked really takes the piss. Oh & their dedication to buying out promissing companies to kill them off. Trace Elliott, Steinberger, Tobias, Epiphone, Kramer & now Mesa Boogie. All either disappeared or now just trade names for budget gear.
  10. One dating feature that seems to be universally recognised is the zero fret, which was only introduced after WMI bought the rights to the Kay name in 1969. I cut my teeth on a Kay 20b, £59 from Cleveland Music circa 1980. I remember my dad kicking off because the shop gave me some free plectrums with pictures of marijuana leaves on them. I was 11 years old.
  11. It's easier to get forgiveness than permission!
  12. Doh, 1.4 inch nut. Amended accordingly.
  13. Offered for sale is my Markbass Micromark. An astonishing amplifier, there is no way a 45 watt amp of that size can possibly sound anything other than lousy, right? Well, it not only sounds superb, but it's also damn loud too, you can see in the pictures where I have the volume in the house, any louder & I get complaints. This is an excellent practice amp, the best I have found by some distance. £199 shipped to your door - assuming that's Zone 1 UK, all other locations will be more. Alternatively, save £15 & you can visit Great Ayton - twinned with itself; 6000 residents, 4 surnames. A cup of tea & a warm welcome awaits and I definitely won't ask if you want to see a cool trick with a pair of handcuffs.
  14. With a heavy heart, I'm selling my Nordy Cat bass. I think everyone knows how good these basses are, they may look like a toy but they are superb basses. Don't think this is an instrument with some idiosyncratic tone that may find a home on the odd song, it kills in every application and has a huge range of tones on tap. You could happily pitch up for a session with a cat & be sure that it will fit in, no matter what the genre. Factor in the super insane weight (under 7lbs), short scale, 1.4 inch nut & 17mm string spacing and the thing almost plays itself. This one is in superb condition, with no dents, dings, cracks or scratches - you'd not know it wasn't a new one. It's currently strung with a new set of GHS stainless flats - although I think I prefer D'addrio nickel rounds on it if I'm honest. I don't have a case or gigbag for it I'm afraid, just the original shipping carton & a lot of those foam peanut things. I would strongly suggest collection for this one, I can repack it all for your courier to collect but I'd really advise against it. When it arrived here I was expecting it to be in bits but it somehow wasn't - your choice, your risk though. I'm just south of Middlesbrough, in a quaint little village - just ignore all those news reports about visitors disappearing, nothing's been proved. Yet.
  15. These things are unbelievable, no bass should be this good or this versatile at this price. I've had to sacrifice most of my gear recently but my cat is staying.
  16. I always struggle describing sound. What I'd say is, until I was told they were BKs, I assumed they were likely vintage units. I find most current vintage voiced Jazz pickups sound way too honky at the bridge - like it's come to define the vintage J bass sound. The 68 I've had use of had the honk but it wasn't overpowering & it isn't with the BKs either. It's a smoother, more balanced tone that still has that burpyness going on but more besides. If I was looking to upgrade a J bass then the BKs would be on my go to list.
  17. Bare Knuckles, although not sure which models (or if they do more than one model!)
  18. Now sold. Thanks for all the interest. Due to the ongoing saga of the daughter's car I am forced to part with this magnificent bass. Everyone knows about Bravewoods, they're truly spectacular instruments, and this one is no different. Having owned various Road worns & Custom Shop relics, a Nash, a Suhr Antique & and an Xotic, I can safely say this trumps all of them. That is no mean feat since they were some exceptional basses. For some reason though Bravewood seem to have found the secret ingredient that takes the relic thing as close as it could ever be to an original. Having had long term access to a '68 Jazz I can say the Bravewood sits way closer to it than any other bass I've played. You just have to look at that rosewood fingerboard, super dark and glossy just like the real deal. Anyway, exceptional build quality & attention to detail, exceptional tones & playability and at half the price of a Fender CS. Whoever gets this bass will love it. Everything works as it should, frets are tip top & its nicely set up with a new set of Ernie Ball Cobalt flats. Bass comes with a Hiscox hard case but I have no packing materials so this is a collection only job. It means you get to visit Great Ayton, a beautiful village, population 4000 and only 6 surnames. It's twinned with itself & most of the locals still point at planes. No trades thank you, poppa needs to eat.
  19. SOLD A brand new, unopened set of Elite Detroit flatwound strings. Guaranteed to turn George Osborne into Joe Osborne, Gordon Kaye into Carol Kaye & Fiona Bruce into Jack Bruce. £20 delivered to your door - assuming it's in the UK.
  20. Offered for sale is a Rebel Relic aged bridge for a P or J bass. Good quality product, cost @ £60 new. £20 posted to your (UK) door, note - no mounting screws are included.
  21. For sale is the ubiquitous Seymour Duncan SPB 1. Its still one of the best vintage P bass pickups out there but is comparatively cheap as it's not sprinkled with sweat from some distant cousin of James Jamerson. Leads have been trimmed to fit a typical P bass & you'll need your own mounting screws too. £50 Inc of UK postage. If the lack of magic pixie dust concerns you, I know a bloke who once stood next to Bob Babbitt at a urinal - I'll see if he's got any splash back to rub on it. That should improve the sound no end.
  22. Now sold to the man with the, frankly magnificent, beard. Hello folks, my daughter's car has gone bang in a very terminal way so I need to move a bass or two on or she'll sit round the house giving me shade all day. This is a Nate Mendel that is rather special because....er........ok, I got nothing, it's just the stock Nate Mendel that we all know & love. Everything works as it should, it's strung with Elite Detroit flatwounds, sounds great & that neck is as wonderful as everyone says. Only issue to be aware of is that, at some point the previous owner fitted an SPB 1 pickup & appears to have made a screw up. In the pickup cavity there is the remains of a broken height screw, it's not in the mounting screw hole, it's above it & sits about 2mm proud of the wood. However, you obviously cant see it & it doesn't interfere with the mounting or range of movement of the pick up. I suspect ham-fisted Harry probably started screwing in the mounting screw in the wrong place (not the existing hole) & it sheared off. Only mentioned for full disclosure. Otherwise, we have the Fender gigbag, tags etc & the original shipping carton. If you want the bass shipped I can pack it but can you organise your own courier, local pickup is always welcome too. Not looking for any trades - unless it's a city car with an auto-box & less than 2000 miles on it. I know folks like to make offers but in this case it's as cheap as it gets for a Mendel so don't look the proverbial equine present in the mush.
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