Happy Jack

Apparently it was too heavy for his uncle to get it up into the loft ...

I'll see you, and raise you a contrabass balalaika ... http://youtu.be/HV66fWWzs2c

Yup!

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1415352837' post='2599435'] I see you went for the quintessential "Englishman on holiday" combo of vest, shorts and sandals... good stuff... [/quote] Be grateful I was wearing that much ...

I should probably leave this alone, but it so happens that I was lucky enough to visit Fodera in NYC, meet the makers, see the workshops. No, I wasn't buying one! Essentially you're buying into a pretty exclusive club, and like any other such club they're a really nice bunch of people who make you feel right at home. They're still a family firm, everyone there is absolutely into what they are doing, and demand permanently outstrips supply. In that environment, you can charge pretty much what you want. How much you'd pay for a Fender or a Yamaha is simply irrelevant. They don't compete in that market. And of course I played one. I am in no way a great bass player (and that's not false modesty) but I own and have owned some lovely instruments, so I can make some sort of comparison. The Foderas I played were simply wonderful basses. Better than Alleva Coppolo or Status or Goodfellow or Dingwall? No, of course not, at this level "better" becomes meaningless - it's simply a matter of what you enjoy playing. If I'd had the money available, I would have had no problem at all with paying Fodera prices. I didn't so I didn't.

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1415297806' post='2598986'] At the bar level, for me it's [i]"never look like the patrons , look like your in a rock band"[/i]. ... However, if I go see the Stones, I want to see some cool threads. [/quote] Interesting. For pub rock I tend to agree, and I try to stand out from the punters without being in any way extreme. For "cool" DB gigs I prefer to dress up a bit more and look like a performer. At the higher levels though, there are plenty of bands who've made it big at least partly by dressing like their audience. Status Quo from about '71 onwards are possibly the perfect example, but then so was pretty much all of UK punk.

[url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-Fender-Precision-P-Bass-62-75-Reissue-Early-Eighties-Awesome-/291262262368?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item43d0956c60"]http://www.ebay.co.u...=item43d0956c60[/url] So that's a '62/'75 Re-Issue from the '80s. OK, no possible confusion there.

[quote name='thebassist' timestamp='1415289844' post='2598857'] I posted in another thread that I'm in the market for a 6 string at the moment and while looking around online, the prices of Fodera basses has really struck a chord. They seem to be upwards or, in some circumstances, in excess of double the cost of any other "equivalent" basses out there. I know taste, what people like, etc. is extremely personal and very subjective indeed but are they really that much better in people's opinions? [/quote] I suppose it depends on the chord that was struck.

[quote name='UglyDog' timestamp='1415288551' post='2598830'] Interesting concept. I hate Coronation Street, but I can't say I've never gone out of my way to watch another episode just to remind myself how much I despise it. Perhaps I should? [/quote] Hmmmm ... the trouble is that you don't have to go out of your way to have all hell irritated out of you by bass-slapping.

http://youtu.be/xR8CyK1mZOg

[quote name='molan' timestamp='1415275000' post='2598613'] [i] Long hair. Over 22."[/i] [/quote] It's been a very long time since my hair was over 22" long.

[quote name='ped' timestamp='1415275017' post='2598614'] Did we? I missed that. What did they say, good things I hope? [/quote] Apparently the handles have fallen off.

In all fairness guys, t'crossbeam's gone askew on't treddle.

Well, logically I suppose it has to be http://youtu.be/kQbpyrRM1S4

Mind you, if you're drifting into that sort of price range you might also want to check out http://www.soundsliveshop.com/p/Fishman_SoloAmp_SA220_Acoustic_Perfomance_System/FISH-PRO-AMP-SL1?CAWELAID=1830893541&CAGPSPN=pla&gclid=Cj0KEQiA7NyiBRCOhpuCm9Dq6b4BEiQA9D6qhYh7WR4uGe80ds-cxpYS6yG9WkWsJN9FFQDCa4sG3P4aAkx_8P8HAQ I picked up one of these (relatively) cheap in a closing-down sale and for small acoustic / semi-acoustic gigs it's pretty bloody hard to beat. Sets up in about three minutes flat, has two channels with independent controls, sounds as good as you'd expect a dedicated Fishman unit to sound, and always attracts attention. A very sexy, professional piece of kit which can either sound great as a DB rig or can be used to amplify an entire small band. When I'm playing with King Ralph (vocalist, semi-acoustic guitar, double bass, mic'd-up cajon) I usually run the four inputs into a mini-mixer, and then take two outputs from there (vocals + cajon / guitar + bass) into the two inputs of the SA220.

[quote name='icastle' timestamp='1415025519' post='2595755'] ... some of them will be where people have PM'd you and hit your profile page in doing so. [/quote] Now [i][b]that's[/b][/i] something I never knew ... every time someone sends me a PM then they automatically hit my Profile page? That would be the "function of an algorithm" referred to earlier then.

As of five minutes ago I had 10,979 Active Posts on My Profile (fair enough) which showed up under my avatar as 7525 Posts (fair enough, I'm guessing that excludes posts in Off Topic etc.), but also I had 5159 Profile Views. Huh? In 7.5 years on Basschat I've averaged nearly 1500 posts per year (nearly 30 per week) but I've also had my profile viewed nearly 700 times a year (nearly 15 per week) throughout? That seems like a ridiculously high number. Is there some function of the algorithm that has escaped me?

[quote name='ras52' timestamp='1415016483' post='2595591'] You beat me to it (I guess that means I'm stuck in the queue behind you.) Those of us of a certain age will recall that the going rate was 1d. Now, at yer typical railway station, it's up to 30p. Which is 72d! [/quote] For six shillings, I'd expect someone to come and hold it for me.

[quote name='Geek99' timestamp='1415011072' post='2595503'] Maybe an up to date asking price in the title should be a requirement - then people can easily filter out bands they aren't intersted in. [/quote] That will only work when sellers mention the bands famous for using this particular model.

http://youtu.be/XqBRxu21oZc

A video of the presentation I gave on Saturday to the SouthEast BassBash. Obviously it's very similar to the one I did at the South Coast Bass Bash two months ago, but this is the improved & extended 12" version.

You must really trust the handles then.

And you'd probably blow the handles off.

[quote name='bartelby' timestamp='1414659892' post='2591820'] Sorry, I wasn't aware I wasn't allowed to have a differing opinion. I'll edit my post for you shall I? [/quote] I suspect that most BCers spotted that my comment was intended to be humorous. And therefore not be taken seriously. I didn't really think it necessary to splash the smileys about, but since you ask: Enjoy!