jonnythenotes

What these budget companies do is say ' yes we will' to every enquiry they recieve, take the booking and the money for doing the job...always in advance.... And then hopelessly try and resolve the massive problem they have created afterwards. The only way this will ever be resolved is by one of two ways....Reduce the number of jobs they take on, so they are all achievable in reasonable time, and allowing for ' not able to deliver' situations. Secondly, take on sufficient drivers to manage the workload they have taken on. The chances of either of these two options ever happening are absolutely naff all, so to use a very appropriate saying from the olden days, 'give em' enough rope and they'll hang em'selves. It's just a shame this could take a bit of time, and more misery for us, the people who pay them to f*^k everything up so incredibly well.

Mr Riva.....that's sounds like a bit of a wizard wheeze to have a bash at. Just got to slice a bit of foam off an old and very unused gym mat that's in the shed. Will keep you posted me ole fruit..... Thanks.....

Aha.....I will slap a set of them on to see how is sounds. Thanks for they....

Can anyone tell me what were the strings originally fitted by Yamaha to the Bb2024X. I have changed them a couple of times, and am now running with D'addario lighter gauge strings, but I am wondering what were fitted as standard, as these would have been what Yamaha deemed the ones to suit the bass best, and give that all important first impression to any potential buyer hearing it for the first time.. Also any suggestions on what to use to give it a really nice funky ' there and gone' punchy tone without to much of that zingy hi-end string sound. Ta very much folks...

For whatever reason he did this, be it time constraints put on him by his depot , trying to save himself a few minutes here and there, or just plain ignorance of his responsibility to the customer, he now is out of work. What is absolutely paramount to the Royal Mail / Parcel Force is credibility in the eyes of the general public. As a company, their number one selling point is trust.... Of all the millions of pounds they handle every day, none of it is theirs...it's ours...we just trust them with it for a given time to get it from A to B without any issues whatsoever. If anything threatens this in anyway, the penalty is almost always dismissal.... Whether this be wilful delay of mail, theft, forging a signature, not locking your van up while you are away from it, or even riding your Royal Mail bike without a helmet on... these can, and have ended in the sack for the offender. Every month there is a Royal Mail magazine goes out to all employees, and one section in particular is always interesting reading...who got sacked, and for what reason that month. It's a brutal, but effective way of saying ' we don't take prisoners or show leniency. Also in this article is what custodial sentences were handed out for the more serious incidents, such as proven habitual theft. So, with what may seem like using a sledgehammer to crack a walnut, this individuals predicament is now an example of what to expect if you stray from the straight and narrow to many other delivery drivers. It's such a shame that something that was inexcusable, yet without malice by the driver has cost him his livelihood, but if it was me who had found my bass thrown over my gate, I would, without doubt, have gone super nova as well. Put the clock back a few days, and it might have ended differently, but it's done now, with no one feeling to happy about the whole thing...

Greetings Earthling.....

I remember vaguely a review on the T bass before it was released, and I am sure it was a sort of dark green prototype. Shortly after that, they released the SE version (Special Edition.) On the strength of that review, I bought a T bass from Musical Exchanges in Birmingham, which I still have, and it cost me 12 hundred quid.. They made 100 of these on the very first run in a five string, in a lovely Sea Foam Green,.(not sure about the four string.) Made quite a few after that run in various colours, but never really took off. Shame as they are nice bits of kit..

One thing that may help is to choose a song that you have not yet learnt, and therefore formed an ' I must look at the fretboard ' mindset, Start from scratch feeling your way to the correct notes. An example of this would be 'With Or Without You.' This just repeats the same pattern continually, so you have plenty of time to get it right. If you already have learnt this song, pick any straight forward blues 12 bar tune, and work on this. Once you have learnt it 'blind' so to speak, it will really help with the confidence and self belief thing. If you take away the visual side of learning a song, you have to rely on how the neck feels, and how far your hand is from your body, and it doesn't take long before this replaces the need to stare at your fretting hand. I think the best part of any gig is the grandstand view you have of what's going on in front of you with the audience, and I always (rightly or wrongly )think a bass player looks cooler, or more proficient if they know where their hand is, and just take an occasional glance to reaffirm this. Pick an easy song, turn the light off, and off ya go...

Well said Maude........it's almost a bit of inverted snobbery....... You know what you have got, really clued in people know what you have got, and that's good enough. Everyone else can stay in the ' everyone's got one of them' club.....

I always have mine rolled back a little...maybe using 80% of what's available. Always like to have a litle bit in reserve...the old 'ace up the sleeve' routine. Also it holds back some of those more unwelcome noises such as string whistle etc.... I just prefer a less powerful signal leaving the bass to the amp...

That last comment should have said 'pointy end'

It's such a shame that so many people, bass players included, have no idea how good Yamaha bass guitars are. So many times comments like 'oh, it's a Yamaha'........or ' That looks Alright' are the best you can expect, even though they sound great, look fabulous, and can cost well over £2000. However, if you have an entry level Fender for example,that feels like you are playing something that fell off a tractor, people's reactions are so different.... ' Wow, it's a Fender' or ' Best bass in the world' are what you expect...and get... from people. Fender, without doubt, make some of the most wonderful instruments, but just because it has the 'F' word on the headstock, in no way reflects whether it is a good bass or not. It's just a presumption people make with Fender, and the reverse of that with Yamaha. My BB2024 will completely urinate over most Fenders, yet because it has Yamaha on the headstock, it's a case of, 'ah well, one day you might get a real bass.' There is no way I would swap this for a Fender, unless it really was something a bit special. I would much sooner put up with people's 'never mind' comments, and live with my Yamaha, than have something of lesser quality just for the sake of a few admiring glances, one or two slaps on the back, and the right word on the pointy... Having said all that, I would still love to own a good Fender P, simply because they do look very nice, and a good one sounds awesome...

That's a really good point you have made Delberthot.....

What is recognised as the best Yamaha bass you can buy ? It can be either new or old, but must be a model that was, or can still be bought either new or second hand..... ( no 'one offs' or Frankenstein basses.) I have a BB2024, which is rated pretty well by most of the reviews I have read, but is it the best ? Just curious as there are some real beauties out there, both old and new, but given the choice, which one would you go for....

So bad it's good.....A local band.........Seamus O' Blivion and the Megadeth Morris Men..... also on you tube....

Very sound advice Roger, and that is exactly what I will do.....thanks..

That's quite interesting to know Mr Riva.... I was initially intending to spend about 500, and I got pointed in the direction of Bass Direct where there is a nice P bass for sale.... And that's when I spotted the Elite... Lust set in, the budget was instantly forgotten, and that's why I am asking about the Elite as Its an unknown quantity to me. Thanks for that....will follow up.

I have had a lot of gear off Mark, and his integrity is absolutely not in question here, I just want the opinion of a few people who know more about Fenders than I do. Also, I have noticed a small screw head showing between the A and D string on the head stock just above the truss rod aperture. I have not seen this on other Fenders, so again, can anyone put my mind at rest about this bass...

Looking at a Fender Precision Elite II advertised on the Bass Direct web site. The serial number has been removed from the headstock. So what's that all about...Was it nicked at some stage? Is it a real one? what does that do to the resale value of it? and is it now worth the asking price ? I am interested in buying it, but I am very apprehensive because of that insane act of vandalism. I can only think of one reason why someone would do that to a guitar, and that would be to make it untraceable. What do you reckon....