NancyJohnson

[quote name='spectoremg' timestamp='1508958474' post='3395671'] Tried without luck to get Albert Hall tickets. [/quote] You and half the country. Albert Hall's ticketing website is a debacle. Ticket resellers did OK, mind. How long is is going to be before it becomes mandatory to upload a photo of yourself that gets printed to the ticket?

If it helps, I didn't like the 2015 Thunderbird either, but it really wasn't the disaster you've described it as either.

[quote name='Bigwan' timestamp='1508752947' post='3394115'] And what part of all of that means Sander De Gier's business deserves to go down the tubes? You started the asshatery mate... [/quote] OK, get a coffee. For a decade plus, I worked for a very successful wristwatch company - if you search my posts you'll find out who they were easily enough and hey, you know I'm buying a Lull, so you you must have done your due diligence. Our product was pitched from the low end/catalogue business up to pieces with a retail price of c.£650/700. Largely because of one key piece of technology (that no one else had), so we romped home year after year through a combination of sales betterment and a strong marketing strategy. At one point were the 3rd biggest watch company in the country by sales (only behind Rolex and Omega) and top by volume by a country mile. Because we were doing so terrifically well, one bright spark in our managerial structure decided that we should start punching out of our weight and bring out a [i]Signature [/i]range of watches that were pitched at £2-£3K range. Pretty much everyone in the business was horrified and correctly so because in hindsight was a massive failure. Now this wasn't down to the product being rubbish, it was because no one wanted to pay that amount of money for something they could buy a Rolex or Omega for. It didn't matter that these pieces looked great (albeit a bit too blingy in my eyes), or that they were handmade by watchmakers in Japan, or that they synchronised with the atomic clock or had diamonds or had crystal glass etc. no one bought them because they were overpriced and it cost the company a whole lot more than just money and we got our ass handed to us on a plate. It affected our market share, our reputation and standing in the sector. All because of strategy and one man's folly. Now juxtaposition the Lowlander with the above and apply the same analogy. The Lowlander is representative of the Signature range we did, because passion, commitment, workmanship, innovation don't necessarily come into things when you're in business. Maybe he can sell a dozen a year and live comfortably off the profits. Granted, he may only make/sell five of these basses and then consign the design to the bin, but ultimately he's an unknown luthier asking potential customers to stump up nearly £3K for a bass that kind of looks like a Thunderbird, but really isn't. £3K will buy you a lot of bass elsewhere and would likely go some way towards a 70s Gibson Bicentennial Thunderbird or a '60s model if that's your thing. Looking at his other models, the same applies. Custom shop prices for guitars that ape Precision, Jazzes and Strats, but aren't Fenders. This ultimately is my point, but I make no apology for you not being able to read that into my post. I mean, credit to the guy for trying, but at the end of the day, he is pitching a £3K bass into a marketplace flooded with better(?) £3K basses; Spectors, Lulls (heh), Sadowsky, Warwick and so on. I think you can probably pick up an entry-level Fodera for that money too. And when you do actually pull that £3K bass out of it's case, the shock will be that you've paid £3K for something that people will squint at it and say, 'What the hell is that?' I'll look forward to seeing how you get on with one if you decide to buy one, but suspect there won't be an order winging its way to Ballymena any time soon, but please feel free to prove me wrong.

[quote name='Hellzero' timestamp='1508660830' post='3393544'] Did you watch Sander DeGier video ? I don't think so. You'll get plenty of informations about his new approach of this Thunderbird. I hate Thunderbirds, but you have to recognize its work and knowledge. I tried a friend's 2015 Thunderbird (new price is close to £2500 GBP !) last week and it's simply a piece of sh*t, really the worst instrument ever made : impossible to play as it's neck diving all the time and absolutely muddy sound, lacking so much definition. [/quote] [quote name='Bigwan' timestamp='1508677507' post='3393683'] Perhaps if it said Lull on the headstock (and possibly cost a couple of thousand more) you might like it more? [/quote] Let's address these snips. [list] [*]Yes, I watched both the videos, but hey, thanks for telling me that I didn't. [*]Hellzero, you hate Thunderbirds. Well, good for you. I like Thunderbirds. Hooray for me! [*]Hellzero, if your friend paid £2,500 for a 2015, then he's been done, hook, line and sinker. The internet is your friend's friend. Shop around. For £2,500 he could have bought a Lowlander. You should have worked on him. Perhaps there's a reason why he bought a Gibson. [*]Hellzero, neckdive, impossible to play and muddy sound. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt. Big yaaaawn. [*]Bigwan, because, oh yes, if it had Lull on the headstock I'd definitely buy three. Maybe four. (And remember, I didn't bring Lull into this thread, you did.) Put Spector on the headstock and perhaps Gary would buy a handful as well. [*]I liked the tone (but the You Tube video is drenched with EQ and reverb), I liked the volute, I thought the rear straplok location was interesting, but not something I'd consider. [/list] Thing that I don't seem to be able to grasp here is that if you got lucky you could by three used Thunderbirds for the price of that bass and with the Lowlander you're getting a copy of the aforementioned bass, but with the added bonus of having two big bites taken out of the body, which for me is a mahoosive turnoff. It's like those Schecter and Jackson basses that ape the Gibson design but there's something fundamentally wrong/flawed with the body shape. If the bass retained the original body shape, then I would probably been more positive/interested. On their other stuff, the Origin and Evolution basses look OK, but not really my bag in the slightest. The Soulmate, BeBop and Surfer are just Precision, Jazz and Strat reinterpretations. The Junior looks like a Novak Charlie Hunter.

[quote name='Bigwan' timestamp='1508339906' post='3391483'] Really? Like, really? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and all that. [/quote] There's no doubting the design lineage, but come on, it is a bit of a munter, especially the double cutaways and the accommodating pickguard. They're copying everything else from a '60s Thunderbird, so why not just go the whole hog? The demo sounds decent enough, but it's swathed in layers of reverb; I'll wager that that tone is obtainable from pretty much any bass with fresh strings and decent outboard gear.

[quote name='Bigwan' timestamp='1508339906' post='3391483'] Really? Like, really? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and all that. No arguing over the price, it's not cheap, but neither is a Lull ($4.3k wasn't it? Plus shipping and import duty no doubt...). [/quote] £4.4K delivered.

Any progress here?

Hideous and it's a snip too at nearly 3,000 euros. Sorry, but man alive, with a sales strategy like that, this company needs to go down the toilet.

Are they new or used?

As discussed elsewhere, played two gigs in Milan on Friday and Saturday (13/14th October). Hot and sweaty packed houses. I'm home now...back to reality. It was a load of fun.

I actually thought DV247 were based in the UK, so that threw me, but I guess they can probably ship from anywhere. Anyhow, to get back on point, your contract of sale is with the seller, not UPS. DV247 should be refunding you or expediting another bass to you. Also you shouldn't need to set up an account with a courier to be able to track a parcel; they should just be able to give you a shipping/tracking number and you should be able to just plug that into the appropriate online track and trace website.

I have a soft spot for these. The design and build is top-notch but for one thing; a distinct lack of rosewood board availability. There never seemed to be any in black with a dark board.

eBay is your friend. You'll probably find that buying from the US, even including shipping, is still as cheap as buying in this merry island.

Rhythm deaf? Like Adam Clayton? *Now, now, before you go shooting off, I'm being sarcastic. It was in fact Mr Bono who said, 'Adam can't even clap in time,' and I just have a tendency to agree with him.

So many threads like this where the OP has either just joined BC or has been lurking for years. One post, then the member doesn't bother to take up the thread again. No closure.

[quote name='Evil Undead' timestamp='1507534193' post='3386032'] Unfortunately neither of those come in a short scale, and I have chronic hand/wrist trouble, so that's off the cards unfortunately. This is the only bass I'm able to play comfortably, and the only one that's kept me being able to play tbh [/quote] You didn't mention short scale was an issue and you're wrong, Spector do make a short-scale model. You still haven't said what this mystery bass is either.

[quote name='Pinball' timestamp='1507492888' post='3385887'] Why not sell find another bass that you are totally happy with? [/quote] My thoughts too. Potentially, you're looking at throwing £££ at replacing the guts of your existing bass (whatever it is and because it plays nicely) and in truth you're probably never going to be 100% happy. You're saying you want active EQ, thump, decent pick tone, brittle slap etc. Just buy a Stingray or a Euro Spector NS. Job done really.

If slap is dead, then there is a god.

Coming to a bookstore near you in Autumn 2018. More here: http://www.rushisaband.com/blog/2017/10/07/4981/Geddy-Lees-Big-Beautiful-Book-of-Bass-coming-Fall-2018

Just a weenie bump here. 'XTC: This Is Pop' debuts on Sky Arts this evening. It'll no doubt feature on catch-up services.

I wrote a Christmas song a few years ago. I could loan you that. It's got everything.

Location/Venue: A party at Hope Cottage, Egham Your age: 15? 16? Your bass: I played rhythm guitar. I honestly have no idea what it was. Your amp: A borrowed Carlsboro Scorpion. The set list (some of it): I have a recording of the set. All originals. Titles included 'Woggle Your Bunkum', 'Let's Go Disco!', 'Underpants Are Naff', 'Rosie'. Interestingly enough, Gerry Cott (Boomtown Rats) and Steve Lillywhite were standing about six feet away from us for the whole set. Steve was local. His sister Claire was lush.

Not sure whether this is a topic for General or Off Topic. A couple of weeks ago, our singer raised the topic of hiring a plugger to get us airplay of some kind. Last night it came up again, specifically this place was mentioned: http://www.plugginbaby.com. At this point, I kind of sculked off into a shadowy corner of our rehearsal room. The plugger he mentioned offers three packages ranging from £150 to a staggering £350 a month, obviously with no assured success rate and little in the way of tracking what the business is actually doing to get your music out there. I had a look through their website earlier and just saw a lot of bands with great hair that I'd never heard of, getting airplay on stations I'd never heard of. I texted our singer and politely declined joining in on this little venture citing I have basses and holidays to pay for. Anyhow, as we have a Planet Rock DJ on these boards (and Planet Rock is one of the stations the plugger cites as being on their list), I'd be curious whether Darren would care to weigh in with his experiences and whether plugging works in any capacity. I just searched the Planet Rock playlists too, several dates, several times and I knew every band that had airplay. Not one unknown. Paul