project_c

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1477205504' post='3160457'] What's the problem with the neck? [/quote] There's a buzz on one spot, the B on the D string, which stays there even when I raise the saddles so it may be a little uneven just on that spot, it's definitely a job for a luthier. (It's a lined fretless). Also I like my action unreasonably low, so I'd like to get that neck as close to silly low action as I can, but it's a 70s Fender neck which i love so I don't want to mess with the truss rod with my crap setup technique. My concern is that if I give it to a non-specialist, they'll either do a hack job or tell me my action is too low and do nothing much apart from give the rod a turn and raise my strings a bit.

I'm not even sure if there's such a thing as a luthier / repair person that specializes in fretless basses, but I need a bit of work and a setup done on a fretless neck to get the action as low as possible, it's a vintage neck so i'd like to give it to someone who knows what they're doing. Anyone have any recommendations? Definitely needs to be a bass specialist as opposed to a general guitar person, I know the guys at the Gallery are great, is there anyone else out there in / near London who's good? thanks

I've had a look around and the only 100% british musical instrument seems to be made by a company called 'the great british banjo company'. You can buy a banjo with a union jack on the headstock, which I think will actually make an appropriate replacement for all our instruments, as Britain slowly transforms into a back-water redneck swamp. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uzae_SqbmDE[/media]

[quote name='hubrad' timestamp='1476278869' post='3152963'] And don't forget that all that Chinese etc gear is paid for in US Dollars, so is subject to the same vagaries of exchange rate shenanigans as US or European stuff, be it basses, smartphones or tvs. [/quote] I didn't know that, i guess those chinese Squiers will also become unaffordable to most people then. Great times. What's actually 100% produced in the U.K.? I don't mean just musical instruments, but anything? What 'Consumer products' are 100% designed, sourced & manufactured here? What's going to be more affordable?

[quote name='Rich' timestamp='1476272116' post='3152857'] Well they're totally wrong on that count. For them, it's the cheapest it has been since 1985. $1.22 to the £? How much cheaper do they want? [/quote] It's less expensive than before, but London remains one of the most expensive cities in the world, if you're an American tourist not from LA or new york and are not used to big prices for food, hotels, transport etc. Look at prices in London in 85, and look now. Things have gone up drastically. Their currency may be more valuable, but even with the collapsing pound it's still expensive. Although going by current predictions that will probably change as the pound continues to fall apart, so you may well be right eventually. So tourist might be encouraged by that.. But then why would you want to visit a country that alongside the rain and wind is now viewed globally as a place that's also unwelcoming to foreigners? You should look at what the global media are saying about the UK and the people who live here, it's not looking good right now..

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1476191367' post='3152127'] If things keep going this way, one day you would only be able to afford Barefaced cabs. Think about it [/quote] Don't Barefaced cabs use imported materials? Like neodymium? What british materials could you replace that with? Also - even though they're great - what if that's not the sound you're after? It's nice to have options. Lack of choice and uniformity was a characteristic of communist eastern europe, which the british usually speak of with contempt. Communist countries restricted manufacturing to the eastern bloc, and they built the Trabant as a result. But at least they had free education and no homelessness or unemployment, which is unlikely to happen here.. I struggle with this notion that everything will just be British made and manufactured by a handful of companies, or completely unaffordable. It's pretty absurd. New tech will develop elsewhere through collaboration, and we'll just be left behind.

Tanglewood it is then. Everyone looking forward to their new Tanglewood british bass? Mm, i can't wait. Or will you splash out on that chinese Squier once Mexican Fenders become unaffordable? Or just go the whole way and remortgage your 6 bedroom house for an MIA? (unless MIA now stands for Made In Africa, in which case it'll be fine). Does anyone actually want to live in a country where no products from abroad are available, (unless they're cheap pound shop garbage, or immensely expensive)?? That's what happened in Eastern Europe under communist rule, no?

[quote name='obbm' timestamp='1476104801' post='3151291'] Exchange rates are always moving up and down. In my working life I've seen the dollar/pound swing between almost $1 =£1 up to $2.4 = £1 and back. Just because the rate is bad today doesn't mean it will stay there. [/quote] That's true for times when things are relatively steady, not so much when there is major change or turmoil. But i genuinely hope you're right, and not just for the sake of affordable basses. (food, employment, education and housing would be closer the top of the list, but the price of instruments is just a part of a bigger picture)..

[quote name='Kiwi' timestamp='1476082632' post='3150980'] Unless they're using a lot of imported parts...ABM's prices are bad enough in doubling within two years from 20 quid to forty five for a headless tuner (yes, ONE tuner). Goodness knows what impact Brexit is going to have. Chinese prices will no doubt fill the gap where products can be produced without too much professional judgement and retailers will start championing the value and credibility of Chinese made goods on discovering that the alternative is not selling anything because the majority of customers can no longer afford the alternatives. Or...someone will take the plunge and invest in a UK based 3D printing bureau capable of mass producing bass parts... [/quote] Exactly! I just don't get how people can't see this, but it says an awful lot about why we're in the mess we're in. Either British builders will have to raise their prices if they keep using what we consider quality parts - USA pickups and hardware for example - OR they will need to start using cheap Chinese copies which we all know are sh!te. British manufacturing isn't exactly cheap at the moment is it? If a builder has any pride in what they do, their prices will go up by just as much in terms of percentages as any other imported thing. Or maybe you will either end up with a boutique 'all british' design which relies 100% on british manufacturing but is totally unaffordable, probably even more so than an import. As for 3D printing - the technology is not ready for that yet. It's good for making a prototype to test your design, but 3D printed instruments are still at novelty stage at best.

Not to mention European manufacturers prices will also go up drastically soon, so if you're a fan of say.. i don't know... Marusczyk, anyone? Expect a big hike in his prices once you start paying import duty on stuff from the continent.

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1476035710' post='3150687'] If I had £3k ear marked for a bass it wouldn't be going anywhere near a Metro. Yes, we need a revote, so we can have nice cheap basses what were people thinking..!!! [/quote] So we shouldn't worry about the british pound self-destructing? The price of instruments made abroad are just a small indication of a bigger picture surely. Or maybe I have it wrong and it's all fine. Also going by that logic, why even spend money on a US Fender or MusicMan? Clearly nobody likes those. Meanwhile thank goodness all manufacturing can now take place in the UK and we will never need to buy anything from abroad again. Looking forward to the british wood, strings and electronics on all those Shukers and Sei's everyone will be playing from now on. (Except the maker of Sei is actually from Europe, so if you're proper british surely you won't be getting involved in any of that).

I'm surprised that this is such a shock to people, the collapse of the pound was one of the main things almost everyone predicted would be a direct result of brexit. I think the relatively mild price increase in these products is just the beginning. But hey, look on the bright side, now we've got control back, who needs all those rubbish high quality products from Europe and the US anyway? I for one can't wait for the influx of high quality musical instruments from the 'global market', we all know the best basses are made in China, Africa and India. It's going to be great.

£1700 would have easily got you a $3000 bass in 2007. Today that same bass at the same price will cost you £2500. The value of uk currency has collapsed.

[quote name='bassintheface' timestamp='1475766982' post='3148615'] As the title, I'm in the market for a small ish, but quality home practice combo - ideally with headphone output plus an AUX in. I've had a quick look at the Phil Jones BG75 - any good? Any other similar recommendations? I guess the other option is some decent monitors, an interface and and a decent pre like a bass buddy or similar?? Cheers! [/quote] If you go the interface route you don't really need a pre. I go straight into an interface into Logic, and out through headphones. If you buy the lowest latency interface you can afford, you can use the EQs, compressors and a million different plugins in your DAW to shape your tone. I personally don't use any of that, literally straight in and that's it, love the dry tone just as it is. Decent headphones and / or monitors are essential though.

If it's a choice between nickels and steels, I prefer steels because I find nickels a bit tonally unfocused and 'boingy', for my playing style anyway, but nickels do feel better. I would recommend trying HiBeams because they feel much nicer to the touch and they retain their tone even when they're very old. The zinginess, not so much, but that disappears after a couple of days with any strings I've tried.

Just bought a bass from Chris, all went as planned, many thanks for a smooth transaction!

[quote name='yorks5stringer' timestamp='1475510168' post='3146499'] Tried their Facebook and Twitter accounts? Seems a bit odd (if it were a scam) to partially fulfil the order...? [/quote] Yes it is a bit odd, looking into it. I might edit the thread title in the meantime, don't want to bad mouth them unnecessarily.

word of warning to any others ordering from this company - I have not received the rest of my order and they are not responding to my emails, so I'm beginning to wonder if this is a scam. If I have no response from them by tomorrow I'm filing a paypal claim, in the meantime beware!

Live music in general seems to be ok if you go by venues and festivals, except in London where the only people that can afford to go out are Chinese investors who hate all forms of culture - and they don't even live here to begin with - , Russian oligarchs and their prostitutes who prefer shopping and eating foie gras as opposed to listening to music, and people who have inherited their dad's money and prefer to eat fake street food, snort coke and drink cocktails to anything to do with music culture. Elsewhere, young people don't want to hear pub bands and cover bands any more because nobody under 60 cares about those songs any more, and young people don't want to listen to the same songs their parents listen to when they go out with their mates. I don't like live music in pubs either, unless it's jazz. I go to pubs to talk to friends, so a live amplified band playing rock covers would make me pack up and leave immediately. Live venues on the other hand are usually rammed if the band playing is ok. When I was a teenager I went to loads of gigs which were empty, it's not a new thing, it's down to how popular your music is more than anything else. The rest is down to genre, some people prefer electronic music which is much better suited to a night out if your drug of choice is not alcohol. Young people still like a night out and a dance, just like they always have.

Nice! Love black & maple Fenders, here's my 3 main basses, the 2 Precisions get the most use but love all 3: - 90's USA body with 78 USA fretless neck, CS62 pickups, tapewounds, missing tone knob (keeps falling off) - 83 USA with Quarter Pounders, tapewounds - 2011 USA Jazz Dlx, stock, strung with Hi-Beams - overweight ginger cat, born 2015, has wind

*dodgy photoshop alert* i'm on my lunch break so only had a few minutes to knock this up but if they styled this bass to be a bit more 'gibson' and changed that guard it would look much better to me.

I love Watt, and I reckon this bass will sound pretty good, and those pickups are going to be nice for sure, but I'm not sure about the aesthetics either. The half Gibson half Precision thing is ok in theory, and the Pedro inlay is great, but maybe it's the colours and the matt finish that make it weird, and the guard does make it look like the Orange bass a bit.

Yep, it's true apparently. Sad news but they've been around a lot longer than most.

Some don't fit, look carefully at the area on your pickup covers where the screw goes, has to be identical. I bought some covers from eBay that didn't fit, had to send them back and order from elsewhere. Can't remember which brand now and it's not in my eBay history any more, but I know not all of them fit.