chriswareham

[quote name='Marvin' timestamp='1382366722' post='2251244'] I don't work for the courier companies and neither am I defending certain 'work practices'. However, I have on occasion spoken to quite a few drivers and their call rate is quite stupid. The number of items per hour they're required to deliver is just impossible...it possibly explains why they drive like maniacs etc. Combine this with inadequate training and low wages...it would also explain the high turnover of staff for these companies. [/quote] A drummer from a previous band worked as a delivery driver, the kind that effectively works freelance using their own van. His comments on the expected delivery rate were along the lines you suggest - the rate seemed to be based on an assumption that there would be no traffic on the roads at any time of the day and that getting from each drop would be in a straight line!

[quote name='Marvin' timestamp='1382364270' post='2251195'] Just to point out you never dealt with any Parcelforce staff. You were sold the service by Post Office Counters staff. The two are different companies (Parcelforce is neither owned or run by the Post Office) with PO Counters acting effectively as an agent for Parcelforce. I should imagine your complaint would have to be focused on PO Counters for not making clear the T&C's of the service. [/quote] My understanding was that both Parcelforce and Post Office Counters are part of the Royal Mail Group, but it appears that changed early in 2012 as part of the run up to privatisation. So it would be Post Office Counters I'd have to take to the Small Claims Court, which is probably a better option since they missold the services to me.

[quote name='steve-bbb' timestamp='1382361610' post='2251144'] this sounds pretty much like the synopsis you will need to write on your small court claim form [/quote] Small claims court. Now that's a thought. As a contract computer programmer I once made a claim against a client who failed to pay their final invoice. On the allotted day neither they or their representative bothered to turn up in court (more of an office really) and the result was a default finding in my favour. If I claim against Parcelforce and they fail to turn up then they can shove their incompetent staff and T&Cs somewhere dark and hairy :-)

[quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1382360542' post='2251119'] It's clearly stated in the Parcelforce T&Cs (or it certainly used to be) that musical instruments are only covered up to a certain amount. I've used Parcelforce for pretty much all the guitars & basses I've shipped without any problems, which is more than can be said for some couriers (UPS for example). Unfortunately using any courier to send a musical instrument is risky unless you ship the instrument in a proper hardshell case, and even then it's not 100% sure it'll arrive unscathed. [/quote] But if they have no printed copy of the terms and conditions, nor do their staff know them, then how can the sender be at fault? As I stated above, the Post Office counter staff were aware of what the item was and still sold me the enhanced compensation. Also note that even with a hard case they will not honour enhanced compensation claims. The definition of hard case is somewhat open to their interpretation as well, not that even a full flight case would have prevented the degree of impact damage to my bass.

Hi folks, I've just had a claim for compensation refused by Parcelforce. They will only honour insurance claims for musical instruments up to 100GBP, even if you take out enhanced compensation, and only if the instrument is sent in what they judge to be a hard case. In my experience they will sell you enhanced compensation at the Post Office counter - Parcelforce are owned and operated by the Post Office - even if they are aware you are sending a musical instrument. The terms and conditions are not explained to you, and on checking with the branch I used the Post Office do not have them in printed format. In my case, the appeals centre responded with what I now know is their standard refusal that allegs the item was "inadequately packaged". This is despite the box I used being a double thickness corrugated cardboard one, with bracing pieces and packing to ensure the guitar could not move once inside the box. Even with this packaging, it arrived with impact and pressure damage that resulted in a smashed scratch plate and dents through the finish that exposed the wood on both neck and body. The worst part for me is that the guitar had arrived unscathed from Slovakia in a much flimsier box only a few weeks ago. The box I then used to send it from London to Manchester was one that Fender had used to send a special order to a local dealer via the US Postal Service - the box was immaculate, and that's despite the USPS having a fearsome reputation for mistreating parcels! Cheers, Chris PS - Could we make this a sticky topic on the General Discussion forum as a warning to others?

Two basses sounds like a sensible approach, particularly when one's a fretless. I could get away with one bass if it was a five string, since I play stuff in both drop Bb and normal EADG tunings. The only five string I played was too difficult to adjust to, so I stick with two four string basses (plus one I keep for sentimental reasons like someone else in this thread).

One of mine loves to claw the grille cloth on my 15" cab. He has a look of sheer contentment as he does it, eyes half closed and purring. If I shout at him he just seems to dig his claws in a bit harder in anticipation of being unceremoniously removed from the room ...

Beauty in the eye of the beholder and all that, but I think it's pig ugly.

That Alembic five string they have is very nice - I don't normally like Alembics or five strings aesthetically so that's quite something.

[quote name='Spike Vincent' timestamp='1381083908' post='2234206'] I played a "venue" called the Dew Drop Inn somewhere in the depths of London back in the '90's. It was tiny. The "stage" was in front of the entrance to the men's toilet. You can figure the rest out for yourselves.... [/quote] The Dew Drop Inn - that wasn't in New Cross was it? Scary pub, about five minutes walk from my student house back nin the early 1990s. I came back from a visit home at some point to find it had closed down after a fatal stabbing and a drugs raid by the police. The pub that is, not my house.

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1381089909' post='2234316'] I was merely making the point in a cryptic manner that Blitzkrieg would have failed as a tactic had the Gerrmans relied on neepheid's rickety old MK2 Fiesta and typical British workmanship. The upshot of all this is that I am going to buy a Warwick , but preferably an old one made in West Germany before the Wall came down . Make of that what you will. . [/quote] For some reason I'm now thinking of Lieutenant Gruber from 'Allo 'Allo ...

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1381086022' post='2234247'] I remember that advert . I always thought it would have been better if he had said " Just like a Panzer." , but maybe that's just me being cynical. [/quote]

[quote name='Roger2611' timestamp='1381084158' post='2234209'] I would have to disagree, the bass you sold me has a sound that I cannot get out of any of my other basses a real glassy piano type sound, it just seems to have a "different" sound which I think has to be down to the construction, the size and mass of the bridge and the size of the bass itself, when I tried the genuine article I think it had a less pronounced version of the same sound [/quote] Hi Roger! I'd suspect that the Rockinbetter sounds the way it does because of the scale, longer than a Rickenbacker 4003 I believe, and the pickups which are nothing like the ones in a real Rick or my Hondo. I guess I should point out that I'm not knocking anyone for choosing a bass with an exotic wood or anything like that, but if you were to stick the pickup from a Musicman Stringray into the same position scale wise onto a Wal for instance, then I'm pretty sure the sound would be the same. Now semi-acoustics versus a solid body, or something made from a aluminium (Travis Bean?) I would expect to sound notably different even with the same electronics.

I've always assumed that the type and placement of pickups are the only thing intrinsic to how a particular bass sounds. Strings have a impact on the sound, as flkatwounds clearly sound different to round wounds, but that isn't an intrinsic part if the bass itself. All the stuff about different woods or body shapes sounding noticably different is bollocks in my humble opinion, at least on solid body basses. For example, my Hondo Rick clone sounds indistinguishable from the real Rick I played in a shop last week, and the Hondo is plywood!

Oh yeah, and I've also literally played in a toilet. It's a converted Victorian public convenience on the edge of a park somewhere in Kent. Struggling to remember exactly where, but Maidstone springs to mind and I'm sure someone on here can name it.

Grottiest venue has got to be the now derelict Sir George Robey in Finsbury, closely followed by the also long gone Camden Falcon. At the "ropey Robey" the drains had backed up and flooded the dressing room. A previous band had even abandoned one of their cabs that had been overrun by the tide of filth. The Falcon was just neglected, but the sound woman (who was in a dub reggae band) worked wonders with the crappy PA to get a truely great bass heavy sound.

Smallest venue I've played was a place in Brighton. It's the upstairs room of a pub, and looks like it used to be the landlords living room. Proper PA and a great gig the first time we played there. Went back a few months later with a Belgian band we were touring with. Turned out the landlord was having a violent row with his wife, and we were told in no uncertain terms that we should bugger off. The Belgians disappeared briefly, then told us to get out of town quick when they reappeared as they'd slashed the landlords car tyres. I was expecting a knock on the door from the boys in blue for weeks, since the hire van was in my name.

Doesn't the Boss space echo pedal have a "sound on sound" looping mode? I know it's supposed to be a digital recreation of the RE-201 or RE-301 tape echo, and the slightly more up market RE-501 that I owned certainly worked as a looper. Brilliant for layering a loop and then leaving it on playback while noodling over the top - instant John Martyn kind of sounds.

Name and shame : Camden Underworld - electrics so dodgy it blew up my amp, and an obnoxious sound man who refused to do sound checks (at a gig night we were promoting and had hired the venue for). Camden Purple Turtle - sound guy got so pissed the previous night he didn't notice someone had nicked the DI boxes, resulting in not enough for our gig. Name and fame : Nambucca in Holloway Road, the landlord (ex professional tour manager) is a lovely guy and his wife made the bands tea with an accompanying tray of biccies. Frank of Flag Promotions, lovely guy who tries to please everyone but often gets mucked about by bands with ideas above their station.

Used to have my bass so low that it took two straps buckled together to get it there. Being six foot four tall didn't help either. Nowadays the strap is a lot shorter, but I often slouch forward and have the bass only a few inches from the floor, so I still appear to be subliminally channelling the Peter Hook stance...

Sold my hypothetically similar shaped bass on eBay by listing it as a Buy it Now and including a closeup picture of the body without showing the horns. In the description I said to contact me for further pictures. The item title said exactly what it was. Sold within a couple of hours, and I didn't receive an abusive email from a certain Mr Hall, although others who have sold items in a similar manner claim to have done so as the Rickpolice had already reported the listing to him.

Not too convinced by the idea that Chinese manufacturers are doing well because of great customer service. In my experience they are successful thanks to the exchange rates that allow them to sell to countries such as the UK at very attractive prices. The quality is more often than not very, very variable with inconsistencies and high failure rates for items even from the same batch. In my case I'm talking about electronic components and high volume injection moulded parts, where it would have been better in hindsight to deal with the higher prices and slower turnaround of a European manufacturer.

[quote name='Cosmo Valdemar' timestamp='1380463142' post='2225598'] Funny that, the guy in The Gallery snorted with derision when I told him I used Rotosound... [/quote] That sounds highly unlikely. They showed considerable enthusiasm about my crappy old Hondo bass when I took it to them, despite it probably being worth many times less than any of the basses they have for sale.

It looks very similar to the right handed Peavey I had as my second bass. Very good neck, but nothing spectacular in the tone department. Well worth £50 though.

noelk27 - thanks for the detailed info. Now I've got to resist the urge to track down one of those Arias!