chriswareham

There's not many more black than my Stingray Stealth (although the mythical ebony fretboard version would be a little blacker):

I gig a 1979 bass and have on the past gigged with a 1977 one that's now a back up. No problems with either of them, as I had them checked over when I bought them, and the only things showing wear and tear were the jack sockets.

Typical Eko hollow body if it feeds back then. My Eko semi-acoustic cost blew several power valves in my amp when I didn't hear the feedback in time. All I knew about it was a low rumbling and vibration from the stage decking ...

It looks like someone with a spastic bowel following a mutton vindaloo has "redecorated" the headstock.

i find that Rick basses clean right under the rim and leave a pine fresh smell.

[quote name='UglyDog' timestamp='1427115468' post='2725869'] a newbie asked if Laughing Cow or Philadelphia Light was best for metal. [/quote] I'm was so trying not to stoke that particular fire, but surely it depends on the sub-genre of metal. My recommendation would be Cathedral Mature Cheddar for your classic heavy rock and Stinking Bishop for blackened death metal.

[quote name='Raymondo' timestamp='1427013664' post='2724587'] I tried, I did, .....I really,really tried to ignore it...... but you know what happens when you've had eight pints of Doombar [/quote] Rabbit poo the next morning. Or is that only me? Guiness has the same results.

[quote name='The Admiral' timestamp='1427067104' post='2725504'] This is becoming rather like Last of the summer wine'. [/quote] Have you seen that TV channel called "Yesterday"? Seems to be documentaries about the Nazis interspersed by reruns of Last of the Summer Wine. What's that all about?

I assume you mean the one started by "Bronner". Surprised the mods haven't deleted it or at least locked it, as it seems like an obvious troll to me. I've criticised the attitude of Hall and his acolytes, as well as stated how disappointed I've been by the Ricks that I've played, but they are a unique looking and sounding bass (the reason I've tried a few is that I love the sound and look, but ended up with a couple of fakers that suited me better).

Blimey, lots of familiar studios in London mentioned so far! I used to endure La Rocka in North London at one point, which was the filthiest, most poorly equipped rehearsal studio I've ever seen. The worst if it was that it was hardly cheaper than my favourite studio, Terminal in Londonbridge (which I think others have mentioned above but not by name). Have also used Mill Hill Music Complex, which is great except in Winter when the lack of heating becomes very apparent. In Acton, Panic has great rooms but the bass amps are terrible Ashdowns, while around the corner Survival has better equipment but is a bit damp in Winter. There is also a great three room rehearsal place in Kilburn called Resident Studios.

[quote name='Bassassin' timestamp='1426193329' post='2715585'] Hall "worked for the British government"? What have I missed? J. [/quote] See this post on RickResource: [url="http://www.rickresource.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=194687&p=209286&hilit=government+hall#p209286"]http://www.rickresou...nt+hall#p209286[/url] It's part of a thread where someone's complaining about RIC's bad customer service with regard to the colour bleed on a blue bass. The guy posted a query regarding the problem on the official RIC forum. His post was removed, and he was subsequently banned from the forum. He then posted on Rickresource, where a number of other people came forward with the same issue affecting circa 2005 blue finished Ricks. Ben Hall (John Hall's son) acknowledged that there had been a problem. John Hall then waded in with his usual passive-aggressive stance and effectively told the original poster to shut up as his bass was "illegally imported".

Hall possibly went after Basschat rather than TalkBass because he felt he could afford to piss off w few thousand Brits on a fairly UK centric forum, but not a massively subscribed international one. I wonder if the BC owners ever contacted the firm that he claimed represented him or RIC in the UK. I did, and they couldn't recall ever representibg him or his firm and certainly don't now. With his claims of having worked for the British government and to know "important" people, Hall strikes me as a Walter Mitty like character.

My Greco RB700:

[quote name='spacey' timestamp='1425984063' post='2712959'] Rick make bespoke instruments to those that have the money to buy a bepoke instrument, why should they let people ripp of the brand and put them out of bussines, you want a Rick, buy a Rick. [/quote] They're not bespoke. They don't offer custom models, they're all banged out on CNC machinery. Their quality control is notorious, their customer support often blames faults on he instrument owner. [quote name='spacey' timestamp='1425984063' post='2712959'] They are expensive because they are made in the USA where they have to pay workers a living wage. [/quote] Nope. They are expensive because supply is deliberately kept way below the demand, meaning they can charge a rather inflated premium for what is quite often a poorly made instrument. My Greco is superior to a Rickenbacker - for instance the routs in the cavities are way cleaner. They are made using automated machinery just like any other "mass produced" brand, except for the finishes which are often poorly executed (see the complaints about the "Blue Boy" finish in particular).

[quote name='Musky' timestamp='1425984035' post='2712958'] Yeah, RIC applied for and got a trade mark on the body shape a couple of years ago. [/quote] Not a trade mark, but trade dress. Which isn't applicable to private sales in Europe of items that don't claim to be RIC products, but eBay pull the listings anyway as they haven't got the resources to properly check such claims. The law is only supposed to apply if a buyer can be reasonably expected to confuse the "copy" with the "original". Which for a bass that is radically different to any that RIC have made - such as the linked headless one - means it isn't infringing the law.

When the British Eurovision entrant was announced a couple of days back, someone suggested they should have put Sleaford Mods in as our entry instead. Now that would have been f*cking mental as Mr Williamson would likely say.

Posted this in the parent forum section as well, but I thought I'd also put it here as it's definitely an interesting piece of JapCrap: [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/131441312234"]http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/131441312234[/url]

No, not one of those unplayable "extended range" things that looks like an ironing board! [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/131441312234"]http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/131441312234[/url]

I use a Demeter Compulator compressor pedal and only notice what it does when I turn it off, so I guess that means it's quite "transparent".

I think you'll find that the correct comparison for the highest frequency string on that monstrosity is to the diameter of a gnat's cock.

I fell off stage at my first London gig in the now defunct Moonlight Club. Overcome with excitement at being on the same stage that had once featured Joy Division, I misjudged the edge of the stage thanks to too much dry ice ...

[quote name='spacey' timestamp='1424872928' post='2701411'] The American built stuff was almost military spec. It was boring to look at, functioned like Army gear, but it always delivered and still does. What changed was buyers, they got more stupid as people got more stupid. Put some bling on, sling it together in China pile it high sell it low and everyone raves about it, until it breaks mid gig, then you wish you had kept that 20 year old American peavey head. Buyers lost the concept of durability and well built as opposed to trendy and cheap. The market changed, blurb and bling is king now. Performance and durability come last. [/quote] Exactly this. I switched to an Ampeg from my Peavey Mk III based on experiences with hired in, American made Ampeg SVT CL heads and 8x10 fridges that I used for studio sessions. The Vietnamese made SVT CL head I bought had quite bad fit and finish in several places, and broke down on me despite being treated very carefully - something that the solid state Peavey had never done, despite being dropped down a flight of metal stairs on one occasion. I had a Peavey Mk IV as a stand in while the SVT was fixed.

[quote name='molan' timestamp='1424853938' post='2701087'] Peavey are now distributed by Barnes & Mullins in the UK. They also distribute Aguilar and have done a brilliant job in sorting out all the supply chain problems previously experienced with Aggie cabs being shipped from the States. They really are a 'gold standard' distributor. Superb service, great stock control, fast delivery and solid back-up for warranty issues and spare parts. They are already contacting dealers and arranging trade displays of all the new Peavey gear available. [/quote] Hopefully this should get Peavey gear into more shops and turn things around for them. I know that back in the late 1990s I had to special order Peavey stuff from the US, as the range they normally shipped to the UK was quite limited. They seem to have lost out in the rehearsal studios - from the early 1990s to ten or so years back the typical bass amps in London rehearsal studios were reliable, workmanlike Peavey combos or stacks. Now it's all that terrible bottom of the range Ashdown stuff (ABM 400 series I think) that sound muffled and underpowered in comparison.

Peavey seem to be the victim of their own success and their insistence on manufacturing in the US. Their equipment has always been bullet proof and often innovative, particularly in speaker design, but thanks to their affordability they've nor really gained the same status as say Ampeg. Now they're being undercut by stuff made in the fat east, and have left it late to switch to offshore manufacturing (unlike Ampeg - my 2007 SVT CL was made in Vietnam). I hope they recover, as I've always rated their gear and have owned both Mk III and Mk IV heads as well as an 1820 cabinet before switching to Ampeg.