Sean

[quote name='bottomfeed' post='269901' date='Aug 25 2008, 11:30 PM']Sometimes do the boiling thing ([i]with a bit of salt &/or vinegar![/i]) ...it gets the zing back but it never lasts as long as from new & they are a little more prone to breaking...[/quote] I prefer mine fried and find cheese and pickle a better flavour for adding.

I got a silvery shiny Gig Skinz bag and when I pulled it out of the car, I was asked if I'd stolen it from the Scissor Sisters! Yes, it's shiny and very camp but I couldn't live with a camo (also very camp) one or a black one as they'd get left behind or lost under a dark stage!

[quote name='Prosebass' post='267332' date='Aug 21 2008, 08:09 PM']Ah 200,000 since they opened ......![/quote] Nah, it definitely said per year. Prose, you are obviously as geeky as me with the calcs, obviously as cynical too!

[quote name='BassBus' post='267304' date='Aug 21 2008, 07:31 PM']Every business that comes out and says "we have x... happy customers..." is always hiding from the real problem. That being there is a problem with their attitude/service. I too run my own business and there is always that little saying 'If you do something well a customer will tell two people about it. If you do something badly they will tell 12 people about it". If you have 200,000 + satisfied customers just think how many you could have if the concerns of the posters on this thread are met. As Happy Jack says "Your call".[/quote] 200,000 customers a year = 312 days of trading a year = 641 customers a day! how many staff? If they were open 12 hours a day that would be 53 customers an hour, almost one a minute IF they are open 12 hours a day! If I was that busy I wouldn't give a monkey's uncle about a few whingers on Basschat! They'd be busier than McDonald's if they had decent service. I've heard some stories in my time but that one is the best...

[quote name='Crazykiwi' post='265879' date='Aug 19 2008, 08:46 PM']I also think places like Bass NW or Bass Central in the US are excellent examples of how every person who comes in contact with them is treated like a potential customer. I'd cite Bass Gallery and Bass Direct as worthy UK examples too.[/quote] I've bought three basses from Bass Central in the US and found them to be absolutely fantastic to deal with; they keep you up to date, deal with "change of mind" decisions professionally and in a very chilled out way and seem genuinely interested in you as a bassist. As far as Bass Direct goes I must say that after my experience there this week I doubt I will be spending my money anywhere else in the future. Mark has put together a superb little business which is built on supplying top quality gear and customer service and attention that in my experience is unrivaled even in the top end luxury car market. The atmosphere Mark creates is totally relaxed and very chatty, the guy knows his stuff and has the experience to back it up. He's totally passionate about bass and the gear and builds a relationship and rapport first and foremost. He's not at all pushy, just very knowledgeable and damn honest; you just know he's had all the same experiences in the past that we have described here and has differentiated his business from the crud that we have all experienced in the high street. If you think I'm exaggerating or doing a promo get in touch with him next time you get GAS - [url="http://www.bassdirect.co.uk"]www.bassdirect.co.uk[/url] Or just go to his forum on this site.

[quote name='NJE' post='264456' date='Aug 18 2008, 12:01 PM']I used to live in Cardiff and as far as I am concerned it is rude guitar shop capital. Cranes Music is by far the worst, there used to be one really nice chap in there who was a bass player and he was cracking to chat to, but he left, I find the staff rude patronising and just plain ignorant to the stock they have. Gamlins is ok, again one nice chap in there who is great but the rest of the staff are clueless. My friend and I went into gamlins and he had £700 cash for a new amp and we went to try a few. He wanted a Fender Hot Rod, and they had one on budget. We were playing and then the miserable old bat who owns the shop (i think) came over and told us to shut up because there ws a little boy with his dad trying out an encore strat. My mate went mental and basically waved the cash at her and said "im going to cranes to spend this then".....hilarious if not a bit rude. I hate music shops, but I still want to go to the gallery...the holy grail!!![/quote] Our keyboard player used to work in Gamlins and can vouch for the fact that the misrable old bat is indeed as you describe! Emile in there is great and I have bought some odds and sods in there over the years but not any more. Cardiff is a shocking place to buy music gear but GM Music is the King of Sh*te and that smarmy bloke with the cheap suit (can't remember his name) in there drives away more business than he brings in. If he only knew how repellant he was he'd have have his problems sorted!

[quote name='alexclaber' post='266328' date='Aug 20 2008, 02:46 PM']I don't believe scales are the right place to start on bass. Instead, learn the basic arpeggios - major, minor, dominant 7th, minor 7th, major 7th, half diminished, diminished. If you're outlining a chord sequence that will help you far more than learning whole scales in each key. It's all about the root, third, fifth and seventh. You can do so much with those four basic notes. Alex[/quote] +1 - I'm teaching my "student" this at the moment and he's flying with it. He's started adding the scale tones recently and things are really slotting into place for him. He'd never touched a bass until April this year!

No regrets!

[quote name='Alastair' post='266228' date='Aug 20 2008, 12:41 PM']I know a few scales and theyre very useful but I prefer to just figure what works and what doesnt out by myself![/quote] Knowing scales and the interelationship of them makes the process of figuring out what works much easier and more pleasureable. I've done this from a before and after POV and it makes life so much easier and more creative. It's like trying to write poetry without knowing how to speak the language you're writing in if you don't know the theory.

[quote name='7string' post='263416' date='Aug 15 2008, 11:25 PM']It's similar to when Van Halen left Peavey for Musicman. Peavey took his name off the guitars, re-named them (to the Axis) and kept selling them.[/quote] Eddie left Musicman for Peavey and then when he left Peavey they rebranded too and kept selling as the HP model [i]and[/i] they rebranded the 5150 amp range too.

I admire the patience involved and the amount of self control. I would have had to have withdrawan from the gig as I know from experience that we have at least two band members that would have gone into psychomode before your "take 1".

I phoned him over a year ago (more probably) and was on for about twenty minutes (I wasn't paying!) I can't remember much of what we spoke about but he came over as a really warm guy and genuinely interested. He told me all about the yellow Stu Hamm bass in the photo on the ad I told him about the forum we have here and I did a thread on it but that might have been in the BW or BT days. He said he was going to check out the forum, I don't know if he ever did but I remember him saying that he looks at TalkBass regularly. If you've got money to burn, give him a call.

[quote name='mewsie' post='261649' date='Aug 13 2008, 03:55 PM']btw: i'm in the band big thanks to everyone![/quote] Well done, Mewsie! Thanks for posting the charts, guys. This popped up on the same day I was asked to learn it by my band; looks like this is the next Mustang Sally!

I sleep like a log after a gig usually. Though when I wake up I feel a bit down, like there's something missing. Do I grieve the passing of the previous gig? Who knows? It certainly has some kind of emotional effect and I agree that that "hole" is very easy to fill with whatever is around, fortunately nowadays that's tea and marmite on toast.

I always have a back up but you really can't argue with Stewart's logic. I carry a DI in case the rig goes pop which is more likely. I have seen quite a few string breaks over the years though fortunately never my own.

[quote name='acidbass' post='196616' date='May 11 2008, 06:20 PM']Good question! I'd love to see a Who tribute band, having seen the original band a few times and always feeling that my ears don't hurt as much as they should afterwards [/quote] I think he might have those bits of tape to prevent earth buzz problems but saying that now he would have to have them at the top if he plays conventionally.

[quote name='MB1' post='252827' date='Aug 1 2008, 03:16 PM']MB1. Have you seen how much that one on EBAYs got to! [/quote] £151!!! Anyone on here buy it? Told you they were sought after. Could have bought that one in the link above and made a tidy profit.