DirkThrust

[quote name='chris_b' post='409857' date='Feb 15 2009, 02:21 AM']These guys may design good cabs, and I'd be interested to hear a Bareface cab, but [i]my[/i] cabs sound great so I disagree with your sweeping generalisation!![/quote] Only if you class Bergs as mainstream cabs

Fender also make taper wound strings. They are standard fit on new US Fenders

Removed by Ebay due to listing violation. Hmm Pity. I was bidding on that. Beautiful bass

[quote name='NancyJohnson' post='375687' date='Jan 9 2009, 10:10 PM']Andy Second, I notice that your original post just said 'then don't buy it'...the other two paragraphs followed [much] later. Third, to address your original comment, in business a retailer signs an application with a wholesaler to sell their products. Generally this contracts the retailer to abide within the terms and conditions set out by the wholesaler. The wholesaler will suggest a selling price for each SKU (stock keeping unit) to which the retailer should adhere. This means that, to a degree, the wholesaler can control the retail price, which can be deemed as being able to keep the retail price artificially high. This also means that you will not find any great bargains as product will be priced by the technical terms of: 'there or thereabouts'. The retailer will be given leave to discount product, or, in the case of your ESP, perhaps to recover the cost price of the product if it doesn't sell; this could be in form of sale or return of product for credit, or agreement to discount the product to recover the cost price (as maybe the ESP wholesaler wouldn't deem it worth the bother to have the product returned, booked back into stock, then credited/refunded to the retailer). This isn't rocket science. It's business.[/quote] If I'm at work I don't always have time to type long posts. Is this relevant? While I'm sure the pricing of items in shops is a fascinating subject I was speaking in very general terms. Fender will sell these things for what the market will bear. If the surprise expressed in this thread about the high price of them is reflected across the general bass buying public they probably won't shift very many. The advertised price of these will come down. If it doesn't you can resurrect this thread in six months and tell me I'm wrong.

[quote name='NancyJohnson' post='375077' date='Jan 9 2009, 01:36 PM']I'm sorry? Fender (like every company) will have a RSRP - a recommended sale retail price - that they give to the retailer. It's really down to the retailer what they want to sell it for, but the retailer will also need to operate within Fenders suggested level of discount. The buyer can haggle, but the retailer knows full well what they can go down to pricewise. P[/quote] Then don't buy it. Obviously you're not going to get one for less than it costs to put in the shop, but if you're determined to have the latest offering from Fender then you will have to pay what the shop is asking. Wait around 6 months until there are more in the country then you can shop around and the price will be discounted. You can be sure they won't remain at that price. I've been eying an ESP in a local shop. It's been there for nearly 8 months without selling and the shop has just dropped the price by £350.

[quote name='RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE' post='374559' date='Jan 8 2009, 10:42 PM']The necks on these things look too new. Because of that,the result is very shoddy. If I was gonna relic something, Id at least make sure the whole bass looked in the same state. They look crap anyway(my opinion) [/quote] I'm not a fan of relicking but part of the point of it seems to be that it accurately replicates actual playing wear so it gives the neck a worn in feel which some people prefer. From this POV it does seem to have a practical purpose. If they are just beating the crap out of the body and leaving the neck as new it does seem like a blatant ripoff when you consider these things are nearly twice the price ofthe re-issues they are based on. But OTOH [quote name='bass_ferret' post='372058' date='Jan 6 2009, 02:56 PM']If people want them they will buy them. If people dont want them dont buy them.[/quote] THe buyer determines the price, not the seller.

[quote name='bumnote' post='372344' date='Jan 6 2009, 07:31 PM']Did Fender make the camera you used as well? [/quote] He he. Miaow

Here's another (equally poor) one, but the shape of the top horn is a bit clearer. An additional bit of info which may help is that this pic was taken in the Philippines and bearing in mind the enormous cost of European products out there and the fact that the place is awash with everything Japanese, it tends to indicate Yamaha rather then Warwick. I can't even make out if it's a five or a six though.

Haha didn't realise it would be so problematic. The flash on the camera went off ok but for some reason didn't illuminate the subject.

Can anyone identify this bass. No particular reason just that it sounded incredibly good and I was curious what it is. Sorry about the poor quality pic.

[quote name='Bigwan' post='346137' date='Dec 5 2008, 09:24 AM']I'll probably get flamed for suggesting this, but I'm using an Ashdown ABM for my simple tone machine. It's lighter weight than some of the other suggestions here. Valve drive on 12 o'clock, pre-shape on, eq off. Only gain and volume to worry about then. As far as I'm concerned Ashdown would do well to release an amp with gain, valve/clean blend and volume AND NOTHING ELSE. There are thousands of guys looking for a simple bass amp - that could be just the tool and surely more useful to them than these mythical 'little giants' we keep hearing about...[/quote] I agree. I rarely use anything on my ABM but a bit of valve drive and it sounds great flat. Companies often don't seem to cotton on to what punters want without a hefty kick up the arse.

I've been considering one of these on and off for a while. How does it compare tonewise to the Trace?

"This Guitar is All Hand-Craft work and provides Highest Quality Song." How can you resist?

[quote name='Prosebass' post='341548' date='Nov 30 2008, 11:41 PM']I think the shop should be named and shamed.....anyone with any experience of good retail knows you never alienate a good customer. And this was not an inexpensive bass. Method I have always employed is staying at the counter and telling everyone who comes in the story, usually works but then I am a grumpy old belligerent sod Keep us all informed with the outcome Andy[/quote] At this point in time I can't really criticize the shop. They've been pretty helpful in spite of the fact that they haven't been able to sort the problem. Mind you, they've had the bass for the best part of a month and still haven't put it right. I'll see what they say tomorrow. Having played Nigel's (bumnote's) Jap Precision I'm rapidly falling out of love with the US made ones. For nearly £900 it's just not good enough.

Thanks for the replies. I had an idea in the back of my mind that after a certain period of time you don't have the right to an automatic refund. I'll be asking for a refund then. [quote name='skankdelvar' post='341130' date='Nov 30 2008, 02:01 PM']Have seen a number of comments recently about Fender neck bows - which Precision was it?[/quote] It's a 2008 US standard. The latest model. I've only played one other that was hanging in a shop and that had a neck like a banana. Reading the thread about overpriced American gear, maybe I've been lumbered with one of Fender's "export" basses

I've got a six month old Precision with an unplayable neck by virtue of the fact that all the frets above the 12th fret are higher than the rest. Sighting down the neck it has a visible forward bow at the body end. So tomorrow I'm going to return it to the shop where I bought it but I wondered what I am able to request that they do. Presumably since I've been playing it for six months I'm not entitled to a refund, and their technician has had it his workshop twice already and doesn't seem able to fix it. So can I ask that they replace the neck or the whole bass? Any pointers on the laws that apply to this would be useful.